Dave, naked with Hillary??? Sometimes I worry about you, have your meds been adjusted lately? haha. Good points here. Good hunting.

6.5/284 seems to be worthy of lusting over... maybe doing so will help repel that Hillary image.

I'd rather be naked with Hillary than naked with Obama. Both are unsettling though

ill dream of somebody eles whlie deer hunting tommorow....
why not bring a .338 marlin with then yoou chould give us a report on it???

Actually, out the other week, my father and I were traipsing around. We spooked two nice does and what looked like a shooter buck. My 6.5x55 has a Bushnell 6500 on it, turned down to 2.5, and dad had a vortek on his .30-30. The first words out of my mouth before we hit the bush were "Check and make sure you're down on 4 power!" the next thing Im hearing dad curse as he turns it down from twelve times from zeroing the rifle XD

Clay, what did you take?

Dave, while waiting on stand, ponder this subject for a future article. How Good Were the "Good Old Days"? Take an 1895 Winchester or other old turn-of-the century classic and check the accuracy with ammunition loaded to vintage times. One would think that 100yd. shots were more challenging back then. Minute of angle accuracy? More like "minute of grapefruit" perhaps. Just a thought to help keep you awake, and much healthier for you than thinking about Hillary or Rosie au natural.

Ahhh ... I fondly remember a thread involving Rosie O and proper uses for a .50 Barrett :-) .

mad dog9999: That was just creepy. Plain and simple.

Mike Plotner: Although he has never said so, my perception in reading this blog and other F&S articles is that Dave Petzal only tests and writes about lever guns on a "has to" basis. He would much rather write about his bolt guns. What a pity that he'll never know the kind of love affair he could have if he would only give his heart to a big bore lever gun... It's probably because he is a lefty.

Would it not make sense to check your zero after the trip, instead of before it?

dear mr. petzal. I would like to inform you that even though up here in maine it is very cold (its gonna snow on tuesday, just to let you knwo) there are still deer up here, i know a outfitter that shot a 260 pound deer this year. So even though there aren't a lot of deer, there are some huge deer still walkin around. Wish i could tell u the good spots, but i couldn't online

If the thought of Hillary doesn't work for you, just picture Helen Thomas in her place. You'll be bug-eyed for a week.

Already down to 3X, thank you.

6.5 Norma is an interesting choice for Maine. Not a bad one, but interesting.

Hillary naked?! That's worse than the way my ex-wife looks lately-had the unfortunate experience of running into her today-so now,between the two-I may never sleep again-let alone fall asleep on my stand!
Here in Ohio it's shotgun only,and I prefer no scope on my deer gun,I can hit the target just as good with open sights at the distances I usually shoot here. WVa is rifle,and my scope is turned down now-before we even leave the house.( Wife can't go this year,I'm using her .243 for WVa.)

Ishawooa

I let a good bull get by me last month since he only gave me about 3 seconds to shoot. Sun in my eyes so I did not see him the first second and a half he was in the open.

I tell folks that unless an elk is posing for the magazine photographer, you generally have 3 to 5 seconds to see, decide, aim, and shoot. Some do not believe me to yet.

The very thought of the Hillybeeste nekkid will haunt me for years!

Dave, Do you have a favorite handload for this rifle yet?

Good thing there were 30 mph gusts. In reality your rifle shoots 4" to the left.

Should be tender & Tasty Dr.

I'm 58 years old and have deer hunted since I was 10 when I killed my first deer, a respectable spike-horned buck. I lived (and still do...) on a 700 acre farm in SE Va, tucked in a corner between a major swamp and a river. Pristine "lowgrounds" when I was 10 and hunted by only a few neighbors with hounds. I took my bicycle (with a gunrack mounted) to the lowgrounds to hunt at every opportunity. One Saturday morning I got there at daybreak, settled down for the morning hunt and the sun rose. I warmed up in its rays and fell asleep. Next thing I knew, I was feeling something warm on my face, opened my eyes and looked right into the eyes of the biggest buck I could ever imagine! He walked right up to me and sniffed! Scared the ever-living s##t out of me! I raised my single-barrel to port arms and watched him saunter off, dam glad he didn't eat me!
Haven't fallen asleep on a deer stand since.

My avatar is now me and my first grandchild. I have been away from the site a long time. My daughter got married quite a while back to the Navy boy who now works for the Sheriffs Department and I am blessed with a grand daughter Morgan born Sept. 8th, 2010... thanks Jim, Moishe, WAM.

This is a lot better picture... she is my angel!
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs827.snc4/68719_15702576432...

I dunno about that Hillary stuff, you might wake up and shoot yourself!

Dr. Ralph;
looks like you're holding a Ruger #1.
If yo'd be so kind, tell me what you think of it(if it is), what cal. and so forth.
been right on the verge of getting one but haven't got that final push yet.
thanks

Yes dale it is a Ruger No.1A light sporter. It is chambered in 7X57. I like it a whole lot. It is not the most accurate rifle in the world although I have a brother in law that has the No.1V varminter in 22-250 and it is a half minute of angle gun.

I hunt in thick cover out of a treestand and it is very handy and small and perfect for my needs. You can get off several shots very fast also, the fact that it is a single shot has never been a hindrance. I have one of those cartridge carriers on the stock if you look close you can see there are four more bullets right there. In fact I actually killed two deer yesterday. There were three and they all just stood there after my first shot so I reloaded and shot again. The limit is three a day in Tennessee we have an overpopulation problem.

I've never been worried about my first shot, it's always the second that worries me. I've never had to put it to the test in the field, though.

Several times the last years, I've taken out a rifle, fired a couple rounds, then looked, or had someone verify, through a spotting scope. Every time my first rounds were absolutely unbelievable, I've put the next one in west Egypt. Either adrenaline or overconfidence, I figure.

Dave:
I just bought a Nosler 6.5/284. What scope do you have on yours? I'm thinking a Ziess 3.5to 10 x 50. Your thoughts Please///

One of the last things I check when putting my rifle in the cabinet is the the scope power, on min. For my 3x9's that is 3 and my 2x7 that is 2. At the range while sighting, I max both. When hunting I try to remember to boost them off min to a mid range, 3x9 to 6 and 2x7 to 4.5 This has worked for me for years. By making sure they are on min when they go in the cabinet at least they won't be on max when I get in the field. I have never had a problem finding the animal with the lower mag but have once with it on a higher mag. Thankfully that one time, she (doe) stood around to let me see her, knowing I couldn't shoot her.

Dr. Ralph, ditto on welcome back and congrats. Dale beat me to it, wondering about the Ruger. From what I read that 7x57 is hard to beat.