Hoosierbuck

Thanks guys. I appreciate it very much. For a non-hunting day it was about as good as it gets, getting loved on by the kids and spoiled by my wife. 39 ain't so bad thus far! Thanks again, HB

You, sir, are my kind of guy. I'd take your cases to court any day. HB

I deal with this stuff daily. The clear, bright line answer is NO, ends do not justify means when the means are illegal. HB

She's a long faced old girl, for sure. WTG. (Can't get over the size difference between Southern and Northern deer...) HB

Nope. My bride of 15 years does not hunt. She grew up fishing, though. She says that she will take hunter ed. when the kids do, and is interested in shooting a bow, and maybe even bowhunting. She likes to shoot guns but says she does not want to hunt with guns. HB

MMMMMMM....meat! How far did they each go? Shot on the first one looked perfect. I couldn't even see the second hit. Sounded just right, though! HB

A venison snack stick with lots of cayenne in the mix. MMMMMMMMMM. HB

It seems overwhelming at first, as you can see, but it really isn't that hard. When you buy one it will come with a DVD. The two you are considering are pretty popular, and get pretty high marks for user-friendly. I'll write more when I get a chance... Good luck! HB

The only downside to shooting a calf is that you will run out of that awesome meat sooner than later. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Congrats! HB

There are great deals to be had on muzzleloaders in various classifieds. A while back i picked up a nice Lyman caplock for like $150. Look for a Lyman, Cabela's Hawken, T/C Hawken, or one of the various more modern ones if you come up with a little scratch for it. HB

A pretty brunette with blue eyes is always a welcome sight. HB

Good news, Randy! Your future is known and planned by One who is doing a better job of it than any of us could. The apparent downside is that it is not known to you. I say apparent because not knowing our future is really a huge blessing to us. Look at all the valuable living we have done that we would have skipped if we had known how it would turn out? You are a product of your own history, and that has molded you into what you need to be for your own future. Just going to have to trust in the Lord and believe he has great things planned for you, which will be revealed when it is time. Keep plugging day by day and then you'll realize that you have gotten past it and you are fine! HB

Wow, heavy stuff, buddy. Good advice above. Just try to remember that lots of times emotions have very little basis in rational reality. Just like she is not a bad person or a failure, neither are you. As guys we like to be the be-all end-all for our families, we are fixers, it's what we do and who we are. Sometimes we can't do it alone, and that is OK. Praying for you, bro. HB

He's so modest. Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back, Mr. Lucky Dog. (I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes, I'm just saying...) HB

Just beautiful. Brings a tear to the eye. Oh yeah...lucky dog. Owning one and paying the freight on it is one thing, you earned it, good on you doubleA. Getting to shoot one without shelling out the green...that make you a Lucky Dog. HB

That's not totally true, an in-line would be ok as long as it used percussion caps and left it exposed to weather. Side locks are the most common rifles with those attributes, however. Can't go wrong there. HB

Spent a little time BC (before children) studying Okinawan Shorin ryu- Matsubayashi and Kobayashi styles. (Spelling might not be right on those.) HB

Your interpretations are correct. No 209 primers, no closed breech or plastic jacket primer holder set-ups. All sidelocks with percussion caps or flint locks would be legal. Knight's older models like Wolverine would be OK, too, among others. HB

It is pretty, and the best part is it's coming to live at my house! WOOHOO! Thanks, GW! HB

Rumor has it Randy didn't have too hard of a time making the shot, it was running down the deer on foot to stick an aspirin to it's side so he had something to aim at that was hard! WTG, Randy! Great buck and great pic. HB

Just go with you natural instincts and everytime they gush about the President...throw up all over their carpeting. I bet they stop after 4-5 times. I am queasing just sitting here thinking about listening to that drivel. HB

Read Bluelk's chaptetrs on ML. There is a reason we stickied those up at the top of this forum, and that reason is Rich had forgotten more about ML's than most of us will ever know. He lays out a very specific plan, which I am sure would do worlds of good for your ML. That said, I just clean 'em and shoot 'em. HB

Doc- Part of the deal is speculation. I let a yearling or spike buck walk, and shoot a doe. Most fawns, I believe, are does. The highest mortality group of deer is fawns. Choose between killing a doe that MIGHT bear a buck fawn that MIGHT live to be 2, or kill a little buck that has already beat both of those odds. I don't kill all the does in an area, either. When i see a train of 12-15 of them walking through, I guarantee they aren't going to miss 2 or 3 from a population maintenance standpoint. That and what he said up above about carrying capacity, sex ratios, etc., etc. HB

Good deal on a good gun. I rely on Glock to protect that which I love in this world. HB

How much do you spend a year on life insurance? You may never need it, and depending on the policy, it has little or no cash value. All I am saying is that you should look at it as a one-tie life insurance expenditure. $500 is not too much for trustworthy "policy." Now, about that handgun, you are specifically buying it to protect your life, or those you love- and you hopefully will never have to use it in that capacity. IF you ever do have to use it in that capacity, how much extra is it worth to have utter confidence in it? How much to know it will not jam or malfunction when life is at stake? I say spend the extra pesos and get a decent weapon, considering it's intended purpose. A used Glock, Beretta, Sig from a police trade in would be a good deal. Check out Gunsamerica and the classifieds at the Smith&Wesson forums (man do they move guns!). Good luck, bud. HB