Grady269

Tracking Dogs In VA we can run deer with dogs but not during Bow or Black Powder Season. However; you can use them to track on a leash. With that said I have an older 'retired" female beagle that I use just for that purpose and she is the BOMB. Last year one of my buddy's shot a deer and tracked it to the edge of a big creek. We took old VV down there the next morning and she followed the track for over an hour and found the deer. It was a poor shot 1/4 to with the arrow stuck in the shoulder. This deer would have never been recovered without a tracking dog. Older dogs work much better for me than a younger dog because they will cold trail a lot better. So far VV has recovered 11 deer out of 14 in 3 years. The 3 she did not recover were still on the move while tracking.

Yes that's it.

So far I have shot 500 rds through it the Sig 522 and I like it a lot. I found it uses the Black Dog mags form Tactical Solutions which is also a plus. I ordered 2 spare 10 rd clips and 1 pare 30 rd. So far the gun has been great zero jams or malfunctions. $42 for a brick of Yellowjackets not too hard to swallow. The adjustable stock has been great for my son whne he shoots it.

IF your going "Cheap" If you are going to go for "Cheap" that's bad but inexspensive can be good. If you want a new rifle a Howa is a very good inexpensive rifle and has one of the strongest actions on the market. If you are willing to shop used guns you can probably get pretty much whatever you want inside your budget. I picked up a Remington Model 700 Mountain Rifle in .270 with a 3-9x40 Leupold before christmas for $575.00

I leave me ladder stands in place just pull the seats off. 2 of my 3 ladders are doubles and a major operation to move them. I take everything else home to the barn.

Do a little looking and find someone who has coon dogs. Most coon hunters actually like to take someone with them who has never been. I prefer a good rabbit hunt with Beagles in the day time but coon hunting is a close second.

Cost I am in sales so I tell people all the time not to buy on price but of course that's BS! I think up to a point when you buy scopes you get what you pay for and all the rest is personal opinion. My opinion is: Bushnell Elite 3200 3-9x40 $199 is the best low end rifle scope out there Leupold 3-9x40 VXII $299 is a good scope that does not gathe rlight as well as the 3200 but comes to my eye better than the 3200 Leupold 3-9x40 VXIII for $489 is a fantastic scope and is the one I prefer on my hunting rifles. Zeiss 3-9x40 for $399 is the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned in my life and I would prefer to have a $59 4x Tasco. I am in the market for a high magnification rifle scope now and am not sure what I am going to buy. I am strongly considering an Elite 3200 5-15 for $389. I am pretty sure that is what I am going with.

After over a month wait for a new shipment to arrive at my local spoting goods store I took possession of my brand new Sig-522 .22LR. Man this thing is a blast, I took a hundred rounds to the bench to sight it in and had to go back to the truck for more ammo 10 minutes later. Only drawback is it takes longer to load the 30 round mags than it does to empty them. The squirrels are gonna think it's Armegeddon.

Deer Rifle,I clean it beginning of the season and again at the end of the season. Varmint Rifle, Maybe twice a year. I think you should clean a rifle about every 50 rounds. My Ground Hog gun sees maybe 50 rounds a year. I clean my .22's more than anything that is some filthy ammo. I try to go through the safe at the end of hunting season and clean everything and apply a light coat of new oil.

Bushnell vs Leupold I really like the Elite 3200 I have. Compared to a VX-II Leupold I would say that the 3200 has it beat on clarity and low-light by far. The Leupold is better for eye relief though. For the $$ I would buy the Elite over the VX-II everyday. VX-III is a different story, it wins hands down.

I don't know how relevant this is to you.. I bought an 870 turkey model with the 21" barrel. I saw it in the store and had to have it. My reason is in VA we hunt deer with dogs. It really appealed to me to have such a short light gun to carry when I was hiking dogs through the woods. The issue: it did not shoot buck shot worth a sh*&&(. I tried a buck-kicker choke on it actually made it worse. I ended up ordering a 26" barrel from Remington and now it shoots buck-shot great. The 21" barrel shoots turkey loads fine. Not sure what the reason for the poor performance with Buck-shot was out of the 21" was not good though and it looks like the mossburg is a short barrelled gun as well. Not sure if you would have the same issue.

I bought a kit form Dick's Sporting goods with a Kershaw fixed blade and a one finger gut hook included for $35. I like it a lot. I carry a Kershaw Scallion every day and have gutted quite a few deer with it.

I have to say I am on the side of M. Gardner and I think he gives good advice. There is a lot of liability associated with a carry gun. To me you have to consider and understand the law related to self defense. There is a big difference between what flies for protection in your home and what flies in public. I have a CCW as well as my wife but "rarely" do I ever carry a handgun. I do however carry a stun gun and mace. If I mace some dirt bag it is not going to be a big deal. What a lot of people fail to consider is that when you carry a gun you take on the responsibility of possibly having to use that gun. What happens when you use it? You better know you are in the right before you pull the trigger and you better have plenty of money for legal fee's handy.

I have always been a big Browning fan, but am a firm believer that the name "Browning" down not mean what it used too. I bought a BAR Short-trac in .308. sHOT 5-6" groups @ 100 yds. I had the barrel re-crowned, and as close to lapping as could be achieved on a semi-auto. now it shoots 1" groups $480 later. They really lost me when they cancelled the auto 5 still I think the worst move they ever made.

They list them on the website

Check out the gun shows or used racks. I picked up a Remington 788 in 22-250 and topped it with a Bushnell Elite 3200. I have almost exactly your budget in it and it shoots fantastic.

The best gun is...... There is always a lot of talk about the best Caliber... The winner is the one in the rifle you are most comfortable with. I have a good friend of mine who is 71 years old. I have known the man for over 30 years. Every day of hunting season he carries the same Winchester Model 70 in .257 Roberts. I have never known him to miss, he handloads, he practices, he sleeps with that rifle. Find the right rifle and marry it.

Another shot at the picture[ATTACH]5157[/ATTACH]

Killed one of my best deerever last week. He came out into the cutover I was watching and started tearing up a pine tree, now is head is gonna be hanging on some oak. [ATTACH]5153[/ATTACH]

You should try the Federal Nosler ballistic Tip's. They shoot great and they kill really good.

I bought my son the Handi-Rifle in .243. I ordered an extra stock and had the original cut down to 11" LOP. Mounted a 3-9x40 Leupold on it. He has not done real well with it so far. I was suprised that it has a little bit more recoil than I would have anticipated. He is (7) and weighs 62 lbs. He is also shooting a Charles Daly youth 20ga. I cannot say enough good stuff about the CD, it is a fantastic youth gun. The .243 has not seen a lot of use to be honest, I have just noticed that he has trouble holding the rifle steady enough to be "accurate". the 20ga has been a lot more fun for him and an upgrade from his .410. He has actually become quite deadly with the 20ga. In VA we do a lot of dog hunting and shotguns with Buckshot and quite prevelant. So far this year he has rolled (1) doe and (1) turkey. I have really backed off the rifle with him and gone back to the .22 and .17. He shoots the .22 fantastic, and has really excelled with the shotgun rabbit season will be a blast for him. So with all that said my best advice would be to be cautious and not push him into a gun that is too much for your child. .243 was too soon too quick for my boy. I have also found my boy loves a good squirrel hunt way more than a deer hunt. Kid's love to shoot!!!!

I have a $250 coupon on the way from Remington for my 597 17 HMR that has been re-called. It can be used for another Remington product. I was thinking of buying a model seven predator in .243. I was curious if anyone has one? I thought it would be a nice supplement since I do not own a 243. It looks like a handy little rifle.

90% 90% is a unique number and it is best averaged from 100. 90% means that out of 100 shots fired your average is 90 deer killed and 10 deer lost on a running deer with a rifle. Acutally 90% of hunters could not hit 90% of skeet thrown by hand with a shot gun. 90% of hunters can not hit 90% of deer standing still @ 100 yds. I think the folks on this board have substantially less than a 10% chance of re-shaping your thinking into that of a reasonable person.

You can get the 700 in .257 Weatherby mag.

You can kill deer on 1 acre if it's where they like ot cross when they are being run. Pay attention to where dogs cross your property, it will be close to the same area a lot of times. Pay attention to your scent control and get up in a tree stand. People think deer don't pay attnetion to smell when they are being run by dogs, that is just not true.