EricF

Here's a photo I took in Montana...kinda blurry trying to use a multiplier and manual focus...but you get the idea: At 190 yards.........

Looks good to me bro. Real good actually. Good job!

Wow! Nice deer there. Enough nicer to be able to witness such a find as that!

Outstanding is the only description!!! Congrats to you and her for such a successful outcome.

I'm not savvy to lease costs in Illinois...so bear with me...as this may be way outside what I'm considering. Consider me 'ignorant' on the issue...so simply saying "are you crazy" is an acceptable reply. Couple questions and comments: -I can pull off probably two weeks vacation time. -How much $$$ and how many acres? -Is this what us Easterners consider "big buck country"? -How does this compare to "using an outfitter" vs "this lease deal" vs "hoping for good buck on public land"? I have one, maybe two, friends who had planned to simply try to get into a 'public land' hunt for a week or two next year. However, if this somewhat 'lucrative' versus the 'public deal'....we may be game. Sorry for the questions....but, honestly, I'm clueless on this issue as it may applie to Illinois. Here in NC, I can spend $400 to $1000 for membership in a club with a three month hunting season...but, nothing really above 110 inches...and that's a dream for most folks around here. Thanks!

Wow! Great job! The Marlin 336 was my first gun as well....still have it....my daughter shoots it. 150yds is cake with that gun. Congrats!!!!

Here's a few more, draw your own conclusions on size. Anyway, he seemed to be a likeable person. I hope I didn't offend him, as I can be somewhat to the point and upfront.......:poke: Sorry for the 'gruesome' aspect here.

Congrats. I was in my 30s before I saw a buck like that....Good Job, and keep at it!

Sorry, been gone a while with fishing season and work. Anyway, did another trip with Milk River Outfitters. Met Mike Waddell while out there doing a shoot. Nice ten I got, very happy with it...and the staff as usual. Great bunch.

I hunted MRO last season and going again in 2010. Here's some info: -they're not the "designer lodge" atmosphere you see on TV with fireplaces and big leather chairs...these guys are real ranchers who get down and in the dirt like the rest of us. Their setup is as nice as most of us live in...and they feed you well. -they will go the extra mile and put in full days to get your animal. -Darren, the whitetail expert, knows where every deer is on the leases...he drops you off at your stand and continues to scope the other areas until he picks you up...if he thinks you should move, he'll move you. -after you score, you can stay your remaining days and tag along with the guides or go home. Great pheasant and praire dog spots within a quarter mile of the lodge. -they want you to tag your animal...not shoot the first one...but don't pass one up that you'd shoot the last day either. -I was there for two weeks...everyone who came and went got their animal within the first three days...except one antelope hunter. The goats had already started dropping horns so that made it tough. A great group of guys, just like us, your typical down to earth hunters who simply love to hunt.

I have one. My wife bought me the 28", black, for a birthday gift...without my even knowing. I got it on last Friday, shot it Wed and again today, Saturday. The mag extension is not necessary, as there will be an extended magazine available...the magazine comes completely out the forearm, accomodating a different and longer magazine...a three second evolution. The trigger guard is quite different, but I feel it adds to the "new look altogether". It's very very light, coming in at a hair over six pounds. The typical Benelli accoutraments are in the case, shims/chokes/wrench/thread cleaner/oil/etc. I do think the bolt assembly is a trick to remove as compared to my SBEII...actually making it a slightly longer breakdown evolution. It feels good in the hands all the way around. Function: I haven't 'patterned', etc. this gun yet. I've put about 100 rounds through it today, just loosening it up a bit. I fired twenty five as quickly as I could load it, getting it nice and hot. I fired three from the hip, as fast as humanly possible using 7/8oz loads...just to see what would happen...nothing happened, it ate em like candy. I did this four consecutive times, as quickly as I could load them. So I've qenched my 'nervousness' about it eating light loads...it did, and I'm pleased. Overall, I was somewhat set aside by the looks, but it really grows on you. It has nice lines and feels good in the hands. I am a Benelli fan however, and might be somewhat biased. The price tag on this one was $1375 out the door. I should also add...recoil. I shot my SBEII equally as much as the Vinci today...interchanging guns through the time period. The Vinci has recoil, don't think it doesn't, but for the loads I shot I really noticed only a slight difference in feel, not a remarkable difference between the two. My SBEII is walnut/black...NO comfortech. With 3" loads, maybe I will see a marked difference...I'll let you know.

....and be thankful. Here's what I just did: I just got back from the jeweler picking up a pair of diamond earrings...$533 bones! Here's why I did it: Her sister had breast cancer, with the typical surgery involved and preparing for follow chemo and radiation treatment. Her mother is facing the same thing in the next few weeks. Her two aunts have already been through it. As you may have guessed, the BRCA1 gene mutation is present in her family. We went to Duke University Medical Center last week for the test....today we got the results...SHE IS NEGATIVE FOR THE GENE!!!!! The way it works is that the children have a 50/50 chance of having the genetic mutation. We won the 50/50 lottery!!! I tell ya...this mutation is death sentence...bad mojo all the way around. My wife was/is extremely lucky...and extremely grateful, as am I. We had planned to celebrate our Valentine's Day this evening instead of tomorrow...since she is working her second job tomorrow...what a celebration it will be!

Nothing wrong with a career change later in life. I'm assuming you've achieved fruition with a prior one, or not, don't matter. My aunt went to school after age fifty, became the charge nurse on the baby floor (whatever it's called) a few years later. Doing great. Good Luck!

....to do some shootin! Took the fifteen year old daughter out yesterday...beautiful day, warm, light wind. Shackled her up behind the .22, SBEII, .30-30, and....the 7mag!!! After a hundred or more rounds of .22, a box of .12ga, half a box of .30-30...she said she wanted to take some shots with the 7mag on the 150 yard mark. So I set up the shooting bag and turned her loose. She was making good 2-2.5 inch groups at 150...with no "magnum flinch"!!! I tested her with a dead round when she wasn't watching... With her (my first rifle) .30-30, she was grouping them very tight at 100, even with that aggrevating Marlin trigger (gonna get her a new trigger)...minus the first one which was off a little more than we would like. Get em out there guys...she's showing up all the boys at school already, they're not shooting magnum rifles yet!!!! So needless to say, she went to school this morning with some new braggin rights!!! And a small bruise to show em!!! Sorry, no pics...but will be sure to get some next time.

Eric Holder was sworn in today!

I don't know much of anything about the guy except what I've seen on the tube....but, I gotta tell ya, the guy comes across as if he feels he's untouchable. Almost like he thinks he's a mafia boss or something...and the rest of the state leaders are his soldiers and required to abide by his desires.

Hope links are allowed...didn't read that part...anyway, here goes. You can go here: http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ballistics/ and compare ballistics for similar bullets and weights. The real difference is the .270 Weatherby Mag will get you a membership in the OTPG and the .270 Winchester will not.

I agree NAFTA was a starting point. I just mentioned this in conversation a few days ago. My hometown lost hundreds of jobs back then because the textile industry went south like a flock of migrating geese and quick. Buildings are still empty to this day.

A little background...and definition for those not privvy to military healthcare. "TRICARE" is a healthcare plan provided by "Healthnet", an insurance company. It is a contract for military/dependants and simply called TriCare. There are 'three' different elections under the plan...Tricare Standard, Tricare Remote, Tricare Prime. Three options...hence the "tri" in TriCare. The guys and gals are gone from their families more than a hunting show TV host...come on man! Below is a link to the proposals or considerations that Congress will or is taking a look at right now. It's a little large, so enjoy reading. Options 95,96,97 affect military....or will if passed. On December 18, 2008, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a major report entitled "Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care at http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/99xx/doc9925/12-18-HealthOptions.pdf which sets forth 115 policy options for Congress to consider as it addresses health care system reform. Several options in the report directly relate to TRICARE (numbers 95-97): Increasing healthcare cost sharing for family members of active-duty military personnel; introducing minimal out-of-pocket requirements under TRICARE For Life; increasing medical cost sharing for military retirees not yet eligible for Medicare. The options: § Increase health care cost shares for Family Members of Active-Duty Military Personnel. Though a $500 allowance may be available to active-duty military members and their dependents to help off-set TRICARE costs, Prime enrollment fees and copayments would increase, to include charges for military treatment facility care. § Introduce Minimum Out-of-Pocket Requirements Under TRICARE For Life. Under this option, TRICARE won’t cover a TFL beneficiary’s liability for Medicare cost shares up to a certain dollar figure meaning TRICARE would not act as second payer until this amount is paid by the beneficiary. Also, TFL beneficiaries would be charged for services received at military treatment facilities. § Increase Medical Cost Sharing for Military Retirees Who Are Not Yet Eligible for Medicare. This option would raise TRICARE Prime enrollment fees, copayments for retirees and implement an enrollment fee for those using TRICARE Standard. Focus for military is on: · TRICARE beneficiary costs will rise significantly · TRICARE for Life beneficiaries will experience greater out of pocket expenses. · Retirees will pay more for Prime and now have to pay for Standard.

....is about to increase...or so that's the intent. Now that we have a "new regime"...they're back at it again. A plan to increase 'co-pays' by active duty members is on the table. This increase will affect active duty, dependants, and retired personnel. In addition, part of the plan includes a "payment" to use a military hospital. In a nutshell, your deductibles will increase, whether active duty, dependant or retired...and you will have to pay to go the clinic at the base you work at. IF this bill passes that is. Anything they can do to round up that 300mil for Al Gore's paycheck.

Welcome from eastern NC...

Funny...my cousin told me, after reading the first Jeff Foxworthy book of "redneck"..."you know, everything in there relates to us growing up". How true she was...'cept any cannotations in regards to trailers...never lived in one growing up...but did have one for about three years later.

"We Were Soldiers"...hands down. A lesson in leadership, responsibility, and taking responsibility. A movie I show twice per year as "all hands training"...and one I feel every young person should not only watch, but really pay attention to.

I do Ducks Unlimited regularly....didn't even know there was a Whitetails Unlimited!

Come on guys...not one person has eluded to the fact that they're making a great living doing this. Yes, I believe it can be tough gettin in, but you all make it sound like you're losing money every time the TV comes on. I do two side businesses...marine surveyor and private captain. Both of these require secrecy because every guy on the waterfront is trying to knock you out of a ride..and the standard story line is, "I can't make a living do only one." That keeps the riff raff looking for a quick buck out of the business. These are two of the many professions that require more "love of adventure" than it does "need for money"...or that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Like you, both of these require "contacts", "networking", and a certain amount of "know how". One screw up outweighs a thousand good things...and the years spent making these contacts go out the window before the sun comes back up. Good luck with your careers...they are truely one I would love to experience. You are the idols of many young men and women...keep on bringing me my weekend adventures via my TV!!!