Recent content by Labs

Said it's not getting much work, not retired...

I have two Franchi Affinity 26" 20 gauges, one the plain jane left hand and the other the almost-too-pretty-to-take-in-the-field RH Scheels Elite Select. They weigh about 5.5 lbs and with the 26" barrels are incredibly fast on the bird. The LOP can be adjusted by way of different thickness...

I too am old enough to have hunted before plastic hull shotgun shells and plastic wads. Back then the hulls were waxed paper. When (not if) they got wet enough they would swell up, particularly at the mouth of the hull. We would have to take a pocket knife and whittle down the swelled area...

This season I've fallen in love with the Franchi Affinity 26" 20 gauge (I have two, the plain jane LH model and the almost-too-pretty-to-take-out-in-the-field Scheels exclusive RH Elite). They are both well under 6 lbs. Combine their light weight with the 26" barrel and they are very fast on...

I would suggest throwing doubles with the backyard trap. The drill is if the shooter hits the first clay, he has a go at the second. If he misses the first clay, he sticks with it and shoots a second shot at it. Once the student/shooter starts getting comfortable, you can add a wrinkle that...

Back in the 90's when I was a Patrol Supervisor with the Devils Lake PD, myself and a NDHP trooper were dispatched to the Cenex at HW 2 & HW20 in reference to a 10-50 (vehicle accident ) car-deer. A pretty routine call as people who hit deer on HW 2 would drive into DL to report it. A very...

If you are hunting or planning to hunt Cedar Dam south of New England, be advised the grass on top of the bluffs above the river on the west side is lousy with cactus this year. I've been hunting Cedar since 2018 and never ran into cactus until now. This afternoon I was hunting my two young...

14.25" LOP is the outer limit for me. The only two 14.25" LOP shotguns I've tried (and own) that work for me are the Browning 725 Citori and Affinity with the "medium" recoil pad. They work only during early season when it's shirt sleeve hunting weather. When it gets colder and I have to...

I've found FS pellets in birds, as well. Used to hunt a lot of waterfowl when I lived in NE ND (very, very few wild pheasants up there) and shot Black Cloud (steel version of Prairie Storm) almost all the time. Finding FS steel pellets in ducks and geese was very common.

Harley, Queenie, and I did a quick after work hunt this afternoon. That little LH Franchi Affinity 26" 20 gauge is proving to be a rooster's nightmare. You gotta love Queenie, she always has a smile on her face...

Would love to get one but that long LOP is a problem for me. I swear, Benelli must think the average shooter is 6'2". Unfortunately, Benelli offers a recoil pad that lengthens the LOP, but not one to shorten it. that's why I shoot Winchesters SX4s (LOP is14 with recoil pad and no spacers)...

Like most, I practice with whatever trap loads I can get on sale during the winter. I'll also pick up some of whatever I'm using for hunting. I prefer to practice on my own property with my own clay bird machines. With a remote operated, battery powered trap I can set up whatever angles and...

Between rain, high winds, and the standing corn & sun seeds, it's been tough going in SW ND this last weekend & current week. Between last Friday and Sunday, the Wrecking Crew and I walked approximately 15 miles of cover to flush 3 roosters and a handful of hens (got 2 of those roosters)...

Never. Variety is the spice of life. That being said, in SW ND there is essentially no waterfowl hunting. I used to live in NE ND where there was world class waterfowl hunting but the only pheasant hunting was birds released by local sportsmen's clubs on public land, after the youth season...

Yes. Been raining in the Dix area since Wed...