A simple question for lurkers and active members-

[Varmint Shooter]

TK, Sorry if I offended you by asking that question.
I've owned a couple 204's, nothing against them, great rifles. Killed a lot of
squirrels and rock chucks when Bill K and I were hunting together.
Age wise, I'll be 77 come May.

P.S. Bill K is the best shooting buddy anyone could have, bar none.

[Tom Kat]

I didn't think I was saying anything rude to you. I did answer your question. And I wasn't trying to disrespect you. Thats the problem with the internet, you cant see any non verbal communications. In real life I am a friendly, easy going guy.

I hope you understand what I was looking for- a link between generations (by age) and this caliber we all love. Normally I am the oldest person in all my endeavors, this forum is the exception.


In general, the youngsters tend to post more, and post more pictures. And in my observation, tend to champion other calibers, I.E., 6.5 CM

Look on the bright side. You know Skipper will jump in on your behalf if anyone gets sideways.

No hard feelings on my end.

[skipper]

We have some really great Moderators on this site. I'm proud to be in such company. This has always been a great place to exchange information, ideas, and PICTURES. Let's get back to posting up a storm. The forum is more active now and I hope it stays that way.

Thanks Rick!

[Bill K]

Well I could not really head anywhere to shoot today, due to snowy weather and a little Jeep plowing and snow blowing. Little over a foot, with more still falling. Garage roof pull off, then shovel to clear doorways, then the other two to clear drive and street.
Maybe some shooting in a day or two.

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If anyone wants a little exercise, come on up...

[Tom Kat]

That makes me feel a little better about the blanket of snow headed here tomorrow and the following arctic air blast we will get later this week...Kansas in Jan, its what we expect.

[Bill K]

Hey TK, if a old guy like me can get out there and clear that white stuff, even if slower than I used to, a young whipper snapper like you should do well at it.

A photo of what it looked like up here at my place last Dec/Jan.

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Pushing 7-8 ft. Me on snowblower.

[Rick in Oregon]

That makes me feel a little better about the blanket of snow headed here tomorrow and the following arctic air blast we will get later this week...Kansas in Jan, its what we expect.

Tk....you're welcome!

(West to East storm track in case anyone is not paying attention. )

[Tom Kat]

You are right, I CAN clean it, I just hope not to!! We don't get near the amount you have in those pictures, its rare we would get more than 10 inches at once.
I have a tractor and blade for my drive way. I am lucky as I work from home.
The normal way here is clean off the minimum you can and pray for some warm gulf air to come up this way and melt it.

The price for all of that is spring time tornados, fueled by that warm gulf air.

[MTPaul]

Howdy all!

As a recent "lurker" over the past day or two but having bitten the bullet and just registered, I thought I'd also chime in. I qualify as a "younger member" of the Septuagenarian Society (72) but next month I'll rack up another ring on the old oak tree.

After having read several posts recently and having developed a sense of how much pictures are indeed appreciated, I'll also attempt to add to the winter wonderland pictures and provide one taken last year as I cleared our driveway. This year, in our neck of the woods anyway, it is an entirely different picture with barely a skiff of snow...a harbinger of a dry, hot and forest fire plagued season?? Only time will tell.

I have more to say and questions to pose to the 204R membership but those will have to wait.

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[Rick in Oregon]

Welcome there, MT Paul!

Good to have you aboard. You live in one of the only two states I'd gladly live in, but alas, I'm too old now to move with too much crap anyway. Lots of like-minded guys here, feel free to post away, and remember that we're a 'visually oriented' bunch, so pics are welcome, as gun porn is strongly encouraged!

[skipper]

Welcome aboard the 2-0-Forum MT Paul. Ask away, and see shall receive.

[Bill K]

Yes Welcome MTPaul. Post away and photos are well liked anytime. Is a stat I recently read true in Mt ? Only about 32% of the land is public. How is the varmint shooting up there ? Plenty of public or private access ? Just curious if that is true.

[MTPaul]

Thank you all for the welcome aboard comments. I'll do my best to uphold the exemplary standards set by those who have preceded me on this forum.

Yes, MT does boast over 30 million acres of public land and while this sounds like a lot of space, and it is compared to other states, it only amounts to around a third of the entire state's 94 million acres. Keep in mind there are only three larger states in the US, Alaska, Texas and California, but the latest population of MT is only a whisker over 1 million. If you are looking for places to get away from it all, depending on where you start, you only need to drive less than hour to find peace and quiet. But what with the latest turmoil throughout the rest of the US (COVID, crime, cost of living, homelessness, etc, etc), we have seen an influx of people recently looking to escape to the Big Sky state which has caused its own set of problems which I'm sure many of you can well imagine.

Having grown up in the more rural western edge of the Willamette Valley in OR, and having two brothers who still live there, seeing the changes in demographics and recent political persuasion only serves to make me even more glad that I now live in MT.

[MTPaul]

I failed to comment to Bill K and his questions about varmint shooting and the public/private access. My bad...chalk it up to Old Timers disease.

Varmint shooting, with varmints defined as Richardson ground squirrels, prairie dogs and of course coyotes, can be excellent as long as you can; 1) find them and 2.) have access. I am fortunate to have time on my hands (aka retired) therefore, I have been able to cultivate private land contacts who have allowed me to thin the varmint population from time to time. Yes, there is a fair amount of public land as well (state, BLM, Forest Service) where you can also find spaces to shoot and I use these resources as well.

I don't limit my forays looking for varmints to just MT and I have been known to spend time in the only other state I would ever consider living...WY.

[Bill K]

Thank you for the information regarding land and you critters. I have the same squirrels and of course Rock chucks and coyotes also, which is what I hunt 90 % of the time. Big game for me, at my age now and lost of my shooting/hunting buddys over the years is local mule deer and bear. But it is good, so I am happy.
At least my area of the N.E. portion of my Kommie Kalifornia is still available with good public access and decent private properties that allow hunting.