40-year-AZ-hunter

"The money will not be going into the general fund. The revenue will be paid directly to the AZSFWC and therefore no state agency can touch the money." Not very reassuring..... AzSFW in charge.

The bill is schedule for a hearing in the House Commerce committee on THIS Wed. Jan 9. Tell me that this is not being rammed thru? http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/agendas/01110202107%2Edoc%2Ehtm Interestingly, Weiers is the Chair of that committee. Guess what will happen? This is before the Commission meets on the 10th. WTF.

"Of course we are talking about 0.2 of 1 percent of the tags, the change in drawing odds is so small that it cannot be calculated. " This is very misleading. Look above at the description of the tags to be sold. It includes many of the best tags in the state. While it may be only 0.2% of the TOTAL tags, it is a MUCH higher percentage of the most sought after tags. It should also be noted that the person who wrote this is a member of the unelected Board of Az Sportsmen for Wildlife. Funny he did not mention that in his signature line. Here are the members of that unelected Board, ARIZONA SPORTSMEN FOR WILDLIFE CHAIRMAN: Alan Hamberlin BOARD MEMBERS Chris Denham Brian Dolan Randy Gaskill Hays Gilstrap Floyd Green Todd Hulm Nick Heatwole Mark Nuessle Art Pearce Trent Swanson (Note added at 9:30 PM on 1/9/11 - Nick Heatwole has clarified later in this thread that he has not been on the AzSFW Board for over a year! http://arizonasportsmenforwildlife.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=67 It appears that this list taken from their website today is not maintained. How the heck can we trust them with all these valuable tags when they don't even seem to know who is on their Board? Also of note is that this bill is never mentioned on their website including under their list of "Political Action" or "Current Issues". I wonder why they are not so proud of it????) I've looked at their website and can not find a copy of the bylaws for the organization. That would be interesting to see. Some of us were very suspicious of Az Sportsmen for Wildlife when the group was formed by a few VERY well to do fellows. It is still run by an elite group that includes some VERY well to do fellows who are not elected. Everyone should read this bill VERY carefully, then contact your State representative and senator as soon as possible. Dont wait either. Notice that the bill has an emergency clause "This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law." I dont get what the hurry is except to get it done before the majority of hunters hear about it. We surely dont need more raffles for hunt permits. The drawing is essentially a very fair raffle. Let's keep it that way.

Great gesture Frank!

How long have you owned the shotgun?

Congratulations. I'm thrilled to see one go for that much money. I hope mine are in that range if I decide I need to sell.

I have a pre-64 Winchester model 70 Westerner .264 magnum that I've owned for 35 years and rarely shot. Recently, I got to thinking that I should see if I could equip it for shooting 400-500 yards. Trouble is, I have not found a load that seems to work well in it. Most of the loads I've tried have been with components I've had on the shelf for many years. Sierra and Hornady 120-140 gr spitzer bullets, IMR 4350 and 4831 powder. Most of the loads I've tried have grouped in the 2-3 moa range. The best shooting load is Remington 140gr Core-Lokt factory loads at just over 1 moa. I know bullets and powders have been improved over the years and am thinking that I need to try some "modern" bullets. Do any of you have suggestions for a brand/type that is particularly accurate, especially in 6.5mm? At this point, I'm not really interested in the likely performance on game, but rather in working up an accurate load. I'll worry about whether it's a bullet suitable for game later. The rifle would be used for both deer species in AZ and antelope (if I ever get that lucky). If you happen to shoot a .264 mag and have a specific load that has worked well for you and would share the info, that would be wonderful too. Thanks for any suggestions. Bruce

A round and a flat file work great.

"We don't have any "semi-primitive" areas in Arizona " I just read this thread altho I was aware of this ruling some time ago. Just for all of your information, the forests in Arizona have LOTS of areas designated as "semi-primitive". It is one of the classifications the FS uses in what they call the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS). These areas are prevelent in all of the Arizona national forests. The semi-primitive classification is further subdivided into motorized and non-motorized. If this ruling was to go national, MUCH of the forest service land in Arizona would be affected. Just Google "ROS" and "semi-primitive" and the name of your favorite forest. You will find lots of references. You can also ask the forest for a map of the ROS classifications for the forest.

Got 'em Phil. Thanks so much! Bruce

You're likely already in that range with Remington factory fodder. What dies are you using and have they loaded accurate ammo for another gun? FL sizing just enough to headspace on the shoulder instead of the belt, or bumping them all the way back every time? I believe they are RCBS dies (cant remember for sure as I have a number of die sets and am not home to double check) and I have not had another 264 to load for. Interesting question tho since the factory ammo groups better than the handloads I've tried to date. I normally try to set my sizing die (for anything I'm loading) back just enough so it only neck sizes. I guess I should say that altho I've reloaded for 45 years, I've never had a rifle that I had to fret over being too precise in order to get reasonable groups. I do however weigh each charge. Heck, I'm not expecting 1/2 moa. I've just been frustrated that this rifle is so fussy. Part of the reason I broke it out after many years is that I was thinking I wanted to buy a .257 Weatherby but could not afford it. Then I got to thinking that my old .264 should do anything a .257 Weatherby will do so why not just try to set it up for longer range shooting. Again, longer range to me is 400-500. Normally, I dont use my favorite rifle (a pre-64 featherweight .270) at over 250 yards. It shoots about MOA with just about anything I feed it. Thanks again. Bruce

Have you looked at the throat with a bore scope or just with the naked eye? Unless you look through a bore scope, even a cooked barrel looks sharp and clean to the naked eye. Sorry! M Just with the naked eye. I have a .243 that has visable throat erosion (again with the naked eye) and it shoots quite well. I'd be very surprised if it is "shot out". Also, as I said in the original post, it will shot just about 1 moa (at 100 yards) with Remington factory ammo. I guess if nothing else I can just shoot factory ammo, but that just does not sit right with me. If I cant get it to group better with some modern components, then I'll shoot the factory stuff. I'm not trying to shoot near as far as some guys do. Consistently in 6" at 400-500 yards will be just ducky with me. I guess another alternative would be to take it to a gunsmith with a bore scope and have them tell me what it looks like to them. Thanks again guys for all the suggestions! Bruce

I'd love to have them Phil. I'll send you a PM. Thanks, Bruce

Hey Matt, Thanks for the info! I've got a couple questions if you dont mind. I've reloaded for 40+ years but never tried for nats-butt groups, therefore, I've always worried more about the bullet and powder to use than the particular brand of cases or primers. Do you have any thoughts on how much difference it really makes to use Federal 215s versus other primers like Remington or CCI? The same question for cases, ie SuperX versus Remington? I have cleaned the gun well with Sweets and Hoppes. The bore looks perfect to me. The lands are sharp right to the front of the chamber. Another question (sorry, but as I mentioned, all my stuff and experience is with decades old components) regards "moly coated" that you mentioned. How do I know whether a particular brand of bullet is so coated? Thanks again!!!! Bruce

Thanks Jeffro. I have found over the years that older rifles (and this rifle was made 50 years ago) seem to be more sensitive to load development and are probably not as inherently accurate as new rifles. Old rifles had wood stocks which as you point out are more problematic bedding. The triggers (factory) were not as crisp and the advancement in making barrels all tend to argue against the older factory rifles. Since this rifle is worth more in original condition, I dont want to modify it. If I cant fing a load I'm satisfied with, I'll just put it back in the safe. I will be very happy with a load that will consistently shoot 1 MOA. I'm hoping that the stock rifle is capable of that since it will shoot Remington factory loads at just a little worse than 1 MOA. I've also got a pre-64 featherweight .264 that I bought 20 years ago. I only shot it one session and IT shot 3-4 moa. The pre-64 .264s never caught on and I think one reason was the inherent inaccuracy of the loads available back then. I'm hoping that with some better bullets I can improve it enough to feel comfortable taking it hunting. I'm hoping that the improvements that have been made in components, especially bullets, will let me achieve my goal. I have to believe modern bullets are more consistent than 35 year vintage Sierras and Hornadys. Someone told me that 6.5mm bullets were kind of a second class stepchild back in the day. heck, part of the problem is probably that I'm not as steady as I was 35 years ago either! Thanks for the names of some brands to look at. A 140 gr would be great.

Just saw your story Nick. Congratulations!! Great ram! Bruce

"If you buy them new they will cost you $1100.00" Does Leica even make the BAs any more? I thought they replaced them with the BNs about 8 years ago and then replaced the BNs with the Ultravids a few years ago.

Sold. Thanks. .

I have a very nice Simmons handgun scope that I just don't use anymore. It's a Simmons ProHunter 2x20. Silver in color. No ring marks. No scratches. Lenses are perfect. Long eye relief. Only trouble is I lost the turret caps. $30. Pick up in N. Phoenix. Bruce

In my humble opinion, asking which is better Leica or Swarovski is like asking whether you prefer blondes or brunettes. Both are great and to each his/her own.

That's great to hear. I also have a LRF1200 and if I remember correctly they only have a 2 year warranty, but I have heard that in the past few years Leica has gotten much better about fixing things no questions asked. I have other Leica optics that are also out of the formal warranty period so it is great to hear how they treated you.

Jay Scope turned out to be Televid 62! Will put it to good use! Thanks for the scope! We went bear hunting but didnt get to "your" area. Still no bears where we went (area where I told you). Good luck to you. Bruce

I'd like to buy your scope and sent you a private message. Thanks.

Looks like everybody is trying to extend sales while this recession is hurting dealers and manufacturers. Look for some super deals as the holiday season approaches. That's the big time for retailers and if they can't lure customers then, their business may be in trouble.

Thanks Buck., guess I'm going to have to learn some new tricks. Bruce