i am hunting with 300 AAC Blackout this year. since im south of the cutoff i can't rifle hunt, but i can pistol hunt. so i built an ATF classified pistol on the AR platform. I was working on sighting it on friday and was keeping groups under 2" from 100 yards. i suspect it could do better but I am just not that good. that rule is so antiquated.... so i am working around the rules as best i can.
Really cool looking! I think its cool how you got creative! Do you reload yourself? That is one of the reasons I can hit Gatorade bottles with a 243 and 270 at 400 yards.* This year I can only get a doe though.. G and F messed up my license. Hoping my 5x5 muley is still waiting next year Edit* With very little practice from the past year. And my dad helps a lot with what I need to fix
i dont reload yet but intend to. i shoot with some friends regularly and we have talked about going in as a group on the equipment then getting together to reload as needed. 300BO ammo is pretty spendy if you dont reload. about 50c a round for target ammo and $1.30 a shot for the deer ammo i picked up.
300 BO is only good up to about 120 yards as it is a heavy round and is nearly subsonic. tons of people use it for hunting deer and hogs, but its not good for those 300 yard shots. it is also a favorite for suppressed shooting due to the subsonic ability of lighter loads.
i dont reload yet but intend to. i shoot with some friends regularly and we have talked about going in as a group on the equipment then getting together to reload as needed. 300BO ammo is pretty spendy if you dont reload. about 50c a round for target ammo and $1.30 a shot for the deer ammo i picked up.
300 BO is only good up to about 120 yards as it is a heavy round and is nearly subsonic. tons of people use it for hunting deer and hogs, but its not good for those 300 yard shots. it is also a favorite for suppressed shooting due to the subsonic ability of lighter loads.
We got a lot of ours for free maybe 7 years back when someone who reloaded, garage started on fire. My dad asked to go in and look for stuff, he got a press, lots of tools and tons of ammo. Some of the ammo was ruined though..
Today we were trying some my dad had quickly reloaded a few days before for my 22 250 he thought he had checked them all when he got them but he must've missed this one since right as I was loading in the chamber I noticed a crack all the way down the neck...
Reloading is definitely worth the money. Once you get the hang of it its easy.
Today we had 50, 243 that were measured for the correct length and had polished for a week. We got them done bullet and all in, in about 30 minutes. This was with some issues with a few measurements too
And thanks for the compliment! Lots of people seem to get freaked out by the AR platform guns for various reasons. They are really a neat piece when you look at the simple mechanics of how they work and how modular they are. It's super simple to build them up any of a million ways and are a blast to shoot
And thanks for the compliment! Lots of people seem to get freaked out by the AR platform guns for various reasons. They are really a neat piece when you look at the simple mechanics of how they work and how modular they are. It's super simple to build them up any of a million ways and are a blast to shoot
I would love to have one just to be able to shoot them! AR actually stand for armalite rifle not assualt rifle so I always get confused when people are freaked out by them..
Can any of you identify this bird sound? is it doves? it is a kind of cooing sound if you ignore the chickens. I have been enjoying being serenaded by the pheasants this week but this one is new to me. (Excuse my dirty window sill lol)
I was going to say pigeon, but if you all agree it is a Sand Hill, I will believe you. Did you all know they were on the endangered list 35 years ago? My oldest brother worked at a Wildlife refuge in Maryland where they were propagating them so they could be released again. I remember walking out into the flock. He said, "Take off all your jewelry or you will lose it and maybe a finger or part of your skin. They like shiny stuff."
I wish Ralphie would have told me that was you!!!! I thought it was family of his helping him this morning! Yes, that was me in the black jacket pulling cups from cages. I am glad your kids are interested. Get them to showing in the Junior show next year! They have a Junior Showmanship they can participate in, then the birds are judged in the cages the same as the Open birds for the other part. WE NEED MORE YOUTH!!!!! If we don't start bringing a lot more young people on board, the fancy of chickens will disappear. We cannot let that happen!!!!!
Partridge Chanticler
Dominiques
Speckled Sussex I got best and reserve of breed
Legbars were judged but I was not allowed to win anything. Also I made an error with the white sports. Mike Gilbert told me how to correct it for the next show.
Minnie got best of the world or Miss Universe or something she really did well.
Ralphie is a goober! I am QUEEN of ALL CHICKENERS!!!!
Okay, in seriousness...
I only ended up taking :
2 Large Fowl Dark Cornish pullets (got 1st and 2nd out of two)
I took an Old Trio (cock and 2 hens), took Best Cornish with a hen, and Reserve Cornish with the cock. There was only one other Dark Cornish hen other than my birds in the LF Cornish.
I did get two big rosettes for those two placings though, which is cool. I then turned around and sold those 5 birds and 2 more that were int he truck to a young man in Wisconsin. Go figure, I decide to sell a breed and they are the ones I do the best with.
So, here is the big surprise, I get there this morning and get called up to receive Best English Trio with my Cornish! Well, Holy Cow!!! I figured, I must have been the only trio in the English Class. Then someone told me no, there were some Orpingtons in it too! So, I was really blown away. I don't know for sure, but if there were, then maybe I should have charged double for those birds!!!! Seriously, I hope the kid has good luck with them and I have no regrets. I love Cornish, but they are a PITA to get bred so they are in condition and right maturity to show. Those ones were either just starting to molt or just coming out of it, which was why I can't believe they beat any of those Orps.
Ralphie isn't kidding about some of those birds, folks, there are birds that will make hatchery ones look like bantams when they are not.
I also took in a trio of New Hampshires and got beat, but justifiably so, the others were gorgeous! But they were just another trio from another exhibitor. I may get a couple of pullets from him at the show in New Ulm next month.
I took a cockerel and a pullet of my Bantam Salmon Faverolles too. I would have taken a young trio too, but one of my pullets in the pullet pen of them decided to play rooster and treading up everyone's backs and ruined a few of the best ones. I am NOT happy about that.
Whoever it is may lose her little head if I catch her.
Here they are though:
This is the one that got Best English at the State Fair, but this judge didn't place her, but went with the other one that I took to State with her. See, different judge, different day and went with a different bird.
I didn't realize the cockerel had his head turned. Sorry. I have about 20 just like him the pasture, I can take another picture.
Honestly, folks, I almost didn't go. However, I had paid for my entries, I had paid for a hotel that I couldn't cancel, so I wasn't going to throw that away. I am so glad I did go, I had a great time.
I got to sit with Ralphie and his dear wife, Judy. We talked for quite a bit since the food had a mix up and the caterer delivered half our banquet food and half Mexican food for another party, so they had to straighten that out and it delayed dinner for a while. It was really good, as usual and I got to have more for lunch after clean up. See what you miss when you leave early? I am just poking fun, asthma and dust don't mix, I know.
In all seriousness, I like getting awards as much as anyone, I guess, but I think I was more excited the day Holm texted me to say he and his sis got Champion and Reserve at their fair. I must be growing up or something because I find more joy these days in helping others get birds that will win for them. I find the people I am meeting in the hobby to be the most rewarding of all and I will continue for as long as I can and keep collecting friends who share this interest. I wish more of you could have made it out, but the support of the chicken world comes from different aspects. So, thank you!
Ralphie did good! His birds were better prepared than mine by far. They looked good and did well. It is even more important to bring those ones out that are the only ones in the class, not because you get to win first place but because it promotes the breed. I may never win big with Buckeyes, but I like showing them so others can see them and hopefully learn about them. The same with most of my birds, actually. I like taking those that you don't see often enough so maybe someone will take a liking to them and try them out. I won all sorts of ribbons and rosettes and trophies as a young person and all those things are either in the trash or at my mother's house still or in a box on my attic where they haven't seen the light of day in over 20 years. I am glad to see one more person join the ranks of the the chicken breeders, and here a few of you are joining along. That is a wonderful thing to see.
And ejb, you should have come to the show, but I understand you were out looking for another feather critter. I hope you were successful in finding what you were looking for or successful in keeping your wallet safe from a mistake
Either way, it was a beautiful weekend to be in Minnesota!!!
I am so glad you did well and got more help for next time.
I have questions about showing open class at a county fair. Basically I need the whole list of what you need to do and if birds need to be tested for disease ect, ect, ect. I have never shown before at all and want to bring in some of each breed we have this summer just to bring the number of animals up at our really small fair in Red Lake County. It is not to be confused with Red Lake Indian reservation. We are near it but not it. Plus we have 7 different breeds and thought we show them off. I had some one look at me in disbelief the other day saying, " I didn't know there were that many different breeds of chickens!" So it is just for fun and educational for those looking.
So who wants to give me the low down on all of that?
@oakridge have you ever brought birds to the Pennington County fair in TRF?
First to take birds to any show or swap in Minnesota, you MUST have them P-T tested within 90 days of the show. Not all county fairs do Open Class poultry, so check on that first. Beyond that it is as much prep as you want to put into washing and cleaning feet and greasing up feet and legs and so forth. Make sure you don't have bugs on them as others don't appreciate you bringing them IF you have them. That was why some of my birds stayed home as they have gotten mites on them again. I did find out while I was there that using Ivermectin pour on for cattle as some on here already do is most effective, and that Frontline will actually kill fertility on birds, so good to know.
If you have white birds, there are a couple of cleaning and brighten methods I could share but we can discuss that later.
IF you are going to show, get birds that will be of appropriate age and maturity to compete, which means getting them hatched as early in the year as possible. For Open shows, the ages are under a year for cockerels and pullets, over a year for cocks and hens. 4-H follows different rules, probably to keep a level playing field.
As Ralphie can attest, things are different at an APA Open show than a fair.
I just won up to our dog barking and ending in a very deep howl, and then coyotes that were very close to the house howling back. I immediately sat up and went to my parents room. When I got there I could hear the coyotes really well. They must've been 30 feet from the house. Pretty daring seeming as we've set our dog off on them before.
To bad they were gone before I could pull a flashlight out to look for eyes..
Morning . Woke up early . Another day of roofing today . My grandson and friend were a big help . So much prep work on a tear off . Cleaning the roof of nails is a pain . One side is ready to start putting steel on . That should go kind of fast . Other side needs nails removed yet . Rain Wednesday .
Ralphie Mike Gilbert is a good guy . We go back to the mid 70's with the Ameraucanas . He earned enough show points for master exhibitor a few years back . Herb Holtz mentored him in showing . Knows his stuff .
I had to get onthe 'puter to print some stuff this morning (egg carton labels) and thought i would pop on and see if I could win today, but Jerry beat me!
Good morning all! my chickens we huddled in on the roosts this morning. brrrrrr its getting chilly!
Ralphie, what did Mike show? Ameraucana bantams? I am glad you did so well, as it is motivation to go forward. It is always nice to get pointers and education from the seasoned vets.
I wish I had been there to see all the birds and help out.
I can appreciate the asthma problem, as my wife and boys all have it. I only have Avian Pulmonary Disease, which can be very troubling. I am really not supposed to have the birds anymore, but I take precautions to keep from having problems. My wife can attest to the fact that I have difficulty heeding good advice, and she says that I am stubborn due to the fact that I am 50% the good Scandinavian (Norwegian).
