This issue:
LOADED FOR BEAR
The epidemic of rabies in coyotes continues in southern Texas as a result of spillover of infection from a well-established reservoir of rabies in domestic dogs at the Texas-Mexico border. The state of Texas and the USDA report slow but steady progress in their program to vaccinate coyotes across an extensive portion of southern Texas using baits containing oral rabies vaccine.
Since 2003 rabies have been detected in bats from 78 of the 258 counties in Texas.
Last November a woman in a movie theatre in Uvalde discovered a rabid bat crawling on her ankle. The woman underwent preventive treatment.
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Mossberg offers a new 100 ATR All Terrain Short-Action Scoped Combo in .243 Winchester. This gun has a walnut stock and comes with a bore-sighted 3-9 9x40mm variable scope. For less than $500, you get an all-around animal control and varmint gun that is also good for deer and antelope. Use 80 grain bullets on varmints, 100 grain bullets on the bigger stuff. More information at www.mossberg.com. |
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By building a superior miniaturized M14 back in 1974 and styling it as a sporter, Ruger came to own the light, handy ranch rifle category. Say the words “ranch rifle” in cattle country and what comes to mind is the classic Ruger semi-automatic Ranch Rifle Mini 14/5 in .223, a gun whose maneuverability and ease of handling have made it the rifle of choice in back-country pick-ups and on horseback for three decades now. The standard Ranch Rifle is now available 6.8mm Remington SPC cartridge, a flat-shooting Special Purpose Cartridge, excellent for long-range varmint and deer hunting, with performance similar to the .257 Roberts. Ruger has improved the back sight on the Ranch Rifle; it sells these days for around $775. The All-Weather stainless steel model with synthetic stock goes for about $835. For more information, click on the Ruger link on this page. |
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Thinking about a new deer rifle? One option worth considering is the Savage Model 114 Classic, a sturdy American-made gun that offers a lot of utilitarian quality and craftsmanship for about $700. Available in long action calibers .270, .30-06, .300 Win. Mag. and 7mm Rem. Mag., the 114 Classic is drilled and tapped for a scope and features an adjustable AccuTrigger, a detachable box magazine, a hinged floorplate, and free-floating barrel. The stock is American walnut with contrasting fore-end, wrap around checkering and a Monte Carlo comb with cheekpiece. For more information click on the Savage banner on this page. |
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Imagine a traditional lever-action rifle capable of taking elk out to 250 yards. You can stop imagining. Last year Marlin, in partnership with Hornady, came out with the .308 Marlin Express LeveRevolution cartridge. Now they’ve created a fine rifle to shoot it with it, the new Model 308MX. Marlin claims that this rifle, shooting the new Express cartridge, produces .308 Win. type performance. Gun Tests, the independent rating service, agrees, and gives the 308MX an “A” rating. This is a traditionally-styled blued rifle with a 22” barrel and a walnut stock. Side-ejection makes the rifle ambidextrous for left-handers. For more information go to www.marlinfirearms.com. |
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In light of continuing problems with rabid animals that lose their fear of man, it’s not a bad idea to have an extra rifle stashed in a handy spot. For about $200 Savage offers its Magnum Rimfire Model 93G in .22WMR. This bolt-action rifle has a five-shot magazine and shoots dead straight. A plain, classic walnut stock and blue finish along with Savage’s adjustable AccuTrigger makes for one heck of a deal. And it’s available in a left-handed version. Click on the Savage link on this page for more information. |
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Ruger has caused some excitement with its new Target Mini, which takes the standard Ranch rifle and adds a heavy barrel, adjustable harmonic dampener, and laminated target stock. At the end of his review of the Target Mini in the August ’07 issue of Guns magazine, Charles E. Petty wrote ”When all is said and done Ruger has elevated the Mini-14 to a completely different level of fun.” Team Ruger, shooting Target Mini 14s, won two Shooting Industries Master competitions against teams shooting A-15 target rifles. The Target Mini sells for about a thousand dollars. For more information, click on the Ruger link on this page. |
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
…It was like a scene from some sort of weird movie, with mist rising from the ground, spooky-looking snags festooned with Spanish moss and everywhere, silhouettes in the grey light, the statuelike hulks of dozens of turkeys. All I had to do was take my pick and give him a load of No. 2s and I’d be back at the lodge in time for bacon and eggs.
So what happened? I tried climbing out on a slippery log for a better position and wound up heels over head in the muck below. By the time I cleared the ooze out of my eyes and located the shotgun, there wasn’t a turkey in sight. But what a wonderful sound they made taking off!
Jim Carmichel, “Hunting Land Game with a Shotgun”, 1972 |
T & S Trip Hopper
Range Cattle Feeders
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