Handsome Rob

Kinda like a Lay-R-away plan....huh, huh? :) That's actually how I built mine. Bought a part here & there as I found them on sale/used & cheap & got up & running in around 4 months & well under $500

You thinking he might try a Big Wheel drive by? :D

Any particular reason to steer clear?

Dude, for 5 bills, keep a weather eye open for a used AR. Probably a poly lower version, but I'm sure you can find one. Hell, a little shopping around & you could build one for that. Man, when I was 6 I got a used bike for my birthday. I reckon if had had got me the 1980 version of an AR I think I'd have died out of sheer happiness!

I didn't realise the barrel program was done away with. That sucks donkey sausage! :( In all honesty I would imagine a .22-250 would be a little much. That's a damn big case to try a reduced load in. Up to 400yds, there's not much a .22-250 can do that a .223 can't, at around ¼ the cost for store bought ammo.

Another advantage, if you've got a Handi rifle with the SB2 frame, you can buy additional barrels as you see fit.

What would you think about maybe an H&R Handi rifle in .38/.357? A friend of mine up in Michigan has just bought one (to have reamed to .357 max, but that's another story) as a light recoiling deer rifle. I would guess with light .38 loads it could be easier to shoot than a .22 but has the capability of handling even super hot, heavy .357 loads.

For some reason, I really thought this was going to be about circumcision.

It would be right up your street Dave! Primitive skills galore. Want to learn to knap flint? This is the place. Primitive cordage? Gotcha covered. A host of awesome people, fantastic campfire banter, fiddle playin', banjo pickin', Dutch oven cookin', canvas tentin', arrow shootin', hawk throwin', fun lovin', shine drinkin', great time!

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,50213.0.html Here's a link to all the details, the entry fee is only for access to the target range.

If you're serious, there'd a fantastic event happens just outside of Clarksville the first weekend in May: The Tennessee Classic, sponsored by Primitive Archer magazine. You can buy the wood, pre-sorted & roughed in for around $30-80 & spend the full weekend, Friday through Sunday, building a traditional, useable, hunting weight bow under the guidance of some of the finest self-bowyers in the country. Other than the cost of a stave or blank, it's completely free of charge.

At last, yeah. I've had it on my planner for 6 weeks & I get exited to see it's recorded every week. Until I remember it's a 3 minute promo...

It's mostly going to be used within 300yds a a combination varmint/hunting/plinking rifle. I doubt if it'll ever get shot beyond that so I was looking at minimum magnification scopes. It'd be nice to find something that went 1-5 or so.

Recommendations needed for a light recoiling .223 Well a pistol scope work, or do I really need an intermediate eye relief scope. It's going on a Ruger scout. Looking to stay south of $150.

5) if he does, I will buy it.

Proper muzzleloading rifle or modern inline? In a side lock, you'll need a .440 or .439 ball & patch. Usually .015 or .018 thickness. If it's a modern inline, you're on your own. I have zero experience there!

Holy crap! It goes gold on the SCI method. I don't have a proper tape, but using a cloth tailor's tape I get 36-5/8" after being in an air conditioned room for 7ish years. I know the Black Wildebeest was green scored in Namibia & back then I was told it blitzed the SCI record & was top 10 at least for Rowland Ward's. I've never really thought about entering anything though.

Not a clue Chris! It's hanging in my office right now, but I wouldn't know how to measure it!

It's awesome. A little on the heavy side with the new stock, but as standard it's a fantastic little gun. Very handy, great irons, superbly accurate, nice balance (just a tad nose-heavy) smooth action & just a wonderful walking-around-hunting gun.

Don't get me wrong, by the way, I have absolutely nothing against big calibers (I regularly play around with my .458 win mag) but I don't understand the thinking behind a 300wm for Tennessee deer! What the heck are these people thinking? Ok, so, maybe you have it in your head that one day you'll go hunt moose or elk out west, but surely if you've done that research, you know that a $60 scope on top of a $300 gun that costs upwards of $3 per shot isn't really the best use of funds....

Thanks y'all! Just showing what you can do without all the 'must have' bowhunting gadgetry ;)

I really prefer my shots as close as possible, preferably under 20yds, but I didn't figure I'd be able to get that close on an elk in open country! Normally I only practice out to 25 or so, but honestly, shooting instinctive with no sights, I don't really let distance bother me. I either know I can or can't make the shoot.

Florida hog. I built the bow from a piece of Ipe deck board & bamboo flooring..... Texas feral goat, 58# Pronghorn longbow.... Namibia '08, Black Wildebeest.... Warthog & Springbok from the same trip....

Yep! Killed a black bear in Quebec last June with this bow & a stone point. That particular bow is an osage selfbow I built & is as primitive as it gets. I'd be comfortable taking a shot on game out to 15yds or so. I mostly bowhunt with a modern recurve or longbow & I'm quite comfortable at 25yds. I spent most of last summer, however, practicing at longer ranges ready for Colorado Elk & I was totally at home shooting to 40yds. Just to be anecdotal; the selfbow draws 60# at my draw & shooting a 715gn, flint pointed arrow, still manages around 155fps. Blew completely thru the bear ;)

Real men use Real bows ;)