gregintenn

Thanks everyone. You have reinforced what I already thought. I'll just shoot my reloads so I'll have empty brass to reload again.

To remove the poopie pipe and the lungs, heart, etc. Without splitting the pelvis, I've had a lot of frustration removing the bowels. Without splitting the ribcage, I have trouble removing the heart, lungs, and other assorted stuff.

870 Remington is great. If you can find a used Ithaca 37, you will have the best pump ever built.

I like reloading. Several people I come into regular contact with have asked if I'd relaod ammo for them. I'd like to, but in the litigious society in which we live, the prospect of an accident happening scares me to death. I know guys who do this and haven't had any problems. I fear someone having an accident, my fault or not, and sueing me for everything I've worked hard to accumulate. Do any of you do this, and do you have any suggestions of how to legally proctect myself from frivilous lawsuits if I decide to try my hand at relaoding for the public.

Thank you so much for your input, wd-40. Tandy is where I was planning on going when I decide to stock up on the supplies. Also, thanks for this thread. I've always been interested in leather tanning, and this has been very informative.

Reloading supplies.

RCBS Pow'r Pull Impact Bullet Puller - MidwayUSA This one works fine; just don't overtighten the threaded cap.

I have a question. I am considering trying my hand at holster making. Is there any part of a deer hide heavy enough for this purpose, or am I better off purchasing leather?

I came up with nothing this weekend. Yesterday morning I saw a decent buck loaping across a large hay field. He was at least a quarter mile from me. This morning I ran a deer from my hunting area when walking in. The light wasn't yet bright enough to tell anything about it. Later, a spike walked directly under me. I still enjoyed getting to hunt even though I came up empty handed. Let's see some pictures! I know a lot of you did better than me.

WOW! I wonder if it will make Boone and Crockett once it is officially scored after the drying period.

I just saw a Remington (I believe the model number was 710) bolt action at Wal Mart in Bowling Green Kentucky. It had a synthetic stock and was chambered in 243 Winchester. The price was $357.99. I believe it would satisfy your criteria quite well. You do know that Wal Mart can order a large selection of firearms from a catalog you can find in their sporting goods department.

Sure.....but where's the fun in only one gun? Need is really a subjective thing.

It doesn't seem comfortable to me to carry a saw every time I go hunting. Could be I just haven't ran across the right saw.

I like the looks of some of those knives at WalMart. How well do they hold an edge?

Forschner Knives - Fibrox Butcher Knives These are some really good butcher knives for the price.

Here's the one I use. The blade is d-2 tool steel, and measures 0.1625 thick and 4.5 inches long. It is heavy enough to chop through the pelvis without much effort. It also works well for skinning.

How do you split the rib cage and pelvis with a small folding knife? I like a heavy knife...not extremely long, just heavy. I've broken several lockback knives field dressing deer, so I prefer a fixed blade. I also prefer the skinner type blade to the drop point. They are less likely to puncture the intestines.....an unpleasant experience. Either of these would make a good field dressing knife.

A big part of my job is customer service, and I find that while you run into a few idiots that can't be helped, most people end up being easy to work with once they learn that you actually care about their problem or concern.

Wouldn't sunlight reflect off this to the point of blinding anything or anybody who looked at it?

Remington, in my experience, has one of the best customer service programs in the industry.

Don't give up. It might be all you get, but you might be able to wring out a bit more accuracy if you put the effort into finding the right load. I've owned a few 77 Rugers. Some shot a bit better than what you've said, some not as good. I haven't fired the new Hawkeye models. I've actually had some guns that shot tighter groups with full length resized cases. You never know what might make a difference. I'll also suggest you try a flat based bullet instead of the boattail. Good luck in shrinking the groups. Keep us posted.

Try adjusting your overall length. What kind of rifle are you shooting? Are your groups dispersed evenly, or are they strung out vertically or horizontally? Have you thoroughly cleaned your barrel lately? I'm sure you've thought of all of these, but once in a while you might let something obvious slip by. Many rifles simply don't shoot any better than that.

I imagine it was the fault of the internal lock.

If you leave them in place, doesn't the wind or falling limbs or some such damage them?