Parker

The man is doing a bang-up job getting as much exposure as possible before the election: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-207_162-57593814/chris-christie-to-guest-star-on-the-michael-j-fox-show/

Silverado417, Those are great pictures. And your dad got to hunt authentic Chinese ringneck's. Pretty cool way to pass the time.

My Uncle Frank and Uncle Charles served in Korea. Frank spent a year with the Army and Charles with the 5th Marines. Charles avoided a career with the Yankees to enlist in the Marine Corps that summer. The 5th Marines arrived in Pusan on Aug. 2nd, 1950, and engaged the N. Koreans at the Battle of Naktong on Aug. 7th! He survived Inchon and the Chosin Reservoir conflicts, came home missing some toes from frostbite, went to law school on the G.I. Bill and became an attorney, and would die of cancer at the age of 40 years old in 1968.

One more note: late model Deerslayer's had their rear-sight base grooved to accommodate scope rings for forward-mounted LER scopes. Redfield made a set of rings specifically for the Ithaca, but I've heard that Millett .22 rings will work as well. Most don't mount the scope forward anymore and choose to drill and tap the receiver or opt for the DS2 or DS3 models which come drilled and tapped for normal scope mounting.

I'm beginning to wonder what Chris is all about after his comment yesterday. Is his vision for America the United States of New Jersey? Chris Christie Attacks "This Strain of Libertarianism That's Going Through Both Parties Right Now"

I stopped watching at the clown zombie target. That's one minute and thirty-eight seconds of my life I can't get back.

The original Deerslayer was a smoothbore, with a bore optimized for Foster slugs. Due to the rigidity of how the barrel threaded into the receiver, that also contributed to the Deerslayer's accuracy. The DS3 & DS3 I believe are fixed, and free-floating as well. As for English Setters engraved on shotguns, save your money and be on the lookout for some of these oldies, for they all had a Setter or two engraved on them. (Some obviously better than others, given the grade and make of the shotgun.) PS - I have an English Setter as well. They are great dogs. Lefever B grade Ithaca Flues grade Parker DHE grade

I agree, we are our own worst enemy.

Oh, you have the Ruger bolt-action. Nice. Go to Hodgdon's on-line reloading data. Select .357 Mag. data for 'rifle.' I've had good luck with heavy loads using H110 and IMR4227 with the 158 gr. bullet. With Alliant's 2400 you can go to almost 15 grs. with the 158 gr. jacketed bullet.

My condolences to you and your family.

Some history: The engraving was always simple yet tasteful. The dog on the right-side receiver is an English Setter. William H. Baker, Ithaca's founder in the late 1800's, and an aficionado of English Setter's, saw to it that a Setter appeared somewhere on the sides of his S/S doubles and the M37. At the turn of the century, Setter's and pointer's were the premier gun dogs and dominated the field and trial circuits during that time period. Engraving a bird dog on the side of a shotgun gave it credence as a hunting gun. Deerslayer models offered a specially-bored barrel optimized and choked for Foster slugs. The Deerslayer model was introduced in 1959, in 20" carbine and a longer 26" bbl. length in standard and deluxe models. The standard model had iron sights with a RayBar front sight, Deluxe Deerslayer's were fitted with bettwer wood and a rear peep sight. Most Deerslayer's could group Foster slugs into a 4"-6" group at 100 yards. At the time, that was considered pretty good.

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The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics has been conducting this for years, through both questionnaires in your doctor's office and by telephone surveys they've conducted. Whether it is correct or incorrect, they are the contributors to those reports of percentages of gun owners by state that you see often that the Brady Group likes to fling around.

I'll assume you have the newer style Ballard rifling, and not Microgroove? Have you tried the faster burning powders like Unique, 231, 700X, Bullseye? 12 grs. of 2400 seems a bit on the low side for a slow burning powder. 2400 is notorious for lots of residue and unburnt grains.

Therein lies the problem. Unless you have a private piece of land to hunt that you can call your own and curtail access to others, bait an area and get pictures of bear on cam's at regular intervals; you are going to be dealing with everyone else traipsing around during the annual 6-day firearm season scaring everything. It becomes a crap shoot. Those taken become targets of opportunity, either pushed by other hunters as they're getting out of Dodge while you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. I know folks that have had bait out already since summer started and are getting bears on trail cameras. Females range less than males in a given area because of their cubs. Males can range as much as 50 sq. miles. That's a lot of territory, and easy to understand how they disappear so quickly. NJ needs to get a little more create with its season for bear than "6-day firearm," a season which dates back to the Triassic period in New Jersey. A bow season, or special early muzzleloader season would make things interesting. I'm pretty sure "recovery" includes an intact bear. You can quarter it to retrieve it, but a whole bear needs to be brought to the check station per regs.

I anticipate a renewed interest in Che Guevara tee-shirts shortly.

Plan for the retrieval and have a group of friends ready so you can get your prize out of the woods. And be prepared for the protestors at the check station.

Most married men are. Or they are single.

That trooper, Rockwell's neighbor, Dick Clemens, died last year. He was 84.

I won't comment on tactics and/or mistakes, we see enough stupidity in the world to know that no one is perfect. But, the ever-evolving militarization of our police is only in response to the lowest common denominators that walk the Earth but also how we make them out to be the boogeymen some folks would have nightmares about. That helps make for an easy sell. How some departments are outfitted today has reached epic proportions, especially since 9/11 occurred. $3 billion a year doled out from the DHS in grants to departments to aid in "anti-terrorism" efforts make a Lenco Bearcat possible in very garage. You can't deny that this article and others like it sheds light on reality. The "build-up" in weapons and tactics is real. That iconic Norman Rockwell painting of the MA state trooper with the little boy sitting in a diner is from an American era that is sadly no more. This particular theme is a topic for discussion all the time in my family whenever there is a large get-together. Eight members have served/are still serving in law enforcement; from state police, county police, local police, ICE and DHS. The stories I have heard over the last half-century boggle the mind, laced with both valor and ineptness. Collectively they see some good in many of these new toys as value-added but at the same time are shaking their heads in disbelief, as they also see the side that makes them question how we got to this point and why do we need this in a free society. One realism you can steel yourself for, it's not going away nor will get better.

Here's a different spin on your question: What do you imagine are the number grandpa's and dad's, residents here for the last century, who don't have a single COE in their possession, nor have ever seen one, despite having a collection of one or a dozen firearms? I'll bet quite a few.

Do you really believe that statement is true? There are quite a bit more silent, whipped gun owners in New Jersey (less than a million) than there are hunters (less than 50,000.)

I'm jealous. Enjoy your new-found freedom.

Those "abrasions" you see could be lead adhered to the barrel wall. It's not uncommon to see this from firing slugs or buckshot since most are unprotected as they rattle down the bore and will rub on the barrel walls. Shot loads utilizing plastic wads to protect the column of shot will exhibit plastic buildup in the barrel walls, most noticeably at the choke. Barrels are not all finished internally with the same care and craftsmanship as others. Bores that have a rough finish tend to dirty up more than a well-polished bore. (Read about honing a barrel. Someone posted an article on that subject on this forum a while ago.) Chrome-plated bores found on most European guns (I.E. Beretta, Benelli) exhibit a very smooth, high-end finish and are usually a cinch to clean up.

I've been shooting a Renegade caplock since I acquired one in 1981. I'm pretty familiar with BP and BP substitutes. However, for cleaning a vintage cartridge rifle shooting BP, that I haven't done. I'll stick with smokeless powders.