Josh Smith

Sir, I converted my collar-style pinion gear to accept the brake plate! It works really well. Regards, Josh

This depends solely on you. With an IC or modified choke, the gun should be capable of making the holes touch. Since you're the back sight on a shotgun with a bead front, that part is up to you. You can buy, for cheap, no-drill shotgun 'scope mounts for most pumps and semi-autos. This way, you can mount a holosight, dot sight, or low powered 'scope (2.5x is excellent!) on a bird gun for use during deer season. The only way to know you can make a shot, though, is to take it -- in practice, of course. Regards, Josh

Hello, I grew up shooting slugs. My favorite slug gun was a 'scoped H&R Tracker 20 gauge with a smooth bore and rifle sights. With Brenneke slugs, it would cloverleaf at 100 yards. The Mossberg 500 was OK, but it really was too big for me at the time. It too was a smoothbore. Slugs have limited penetration on solid objects, as Clayton found. A Brenneke will not expand/deform nearly as much as a softer Foster, and it's more likely to blow through soft tissue. A soft Foster expands like you wouldn't believe. I've never gotten either to pass through even midsize trees. I've been thinking about another Tracker, but can't find one and have come to really like my muzzleloader (traditional-style sidelock) and will take a sidelock .32 or .36 first, for squirrel. Regards, Josh

That was a really good idea. Using the flash and some Photoshop filters, I got the old decals to show back up, in the pics at least! Here they are: Thanks, folks! Josh

Will do.

I have been reviewing ratings and reviews, and they seem to be on target with this. It caught my eye because someone seem to be selling it cheap, not knowing what they have or something. Guess maybe they know what they have. Josh

Hello, I've been looking at one of these for cheap. What can you tell me about them? Regards, Josh

Hi Folks, I got one of these used off eBay for cheap. I was curious about it. It was advertised as an LEX200, but so far as I can tell, Quantum has no such animal. EX200 is the closest, and upon looking up that reel, I got other reels that looked exactly like it does. Mine just has no markings left. Looking inside, all this reel needed was a good cleaning out of sand and some tuning and polishing. It appears to be pretty good. There is plastic in a couple places I'd like to have metal, but there's really nothing that stands out as terrible in design. What can you tell me about this reel? I'm mostly Abu Garcia in taste and experience, and got this one out of curiosity. I'd been meaning to post this before, and I was just reminded by another thread. Thanks folks, Josh

Hi Folks, A bit of background: When I was 20 I was in college on a law enforcement major. I got to be good friends with the local gunshop owner. He happened have a Class III license and an early AR. It could have been an XM; I don't recall. It had a piece for working the action under the handle and no brass deflector. I'm a lefty. I shot that thing on rock'n'roll, and it was fun until a piece of brass flew back and hit my cheek right below the shooting glasses. It exited with velocity and I had a black eye for a bit. I flinch whenever I get on an AR. I have ever since. Every other rifle I just sort of relax all over, but the AR, nope! I know the brass deflectors will keep another shiner form happening, but knowledge doesn't help in this instance. Regards, Josh

The point was that it apparently kicks up false positives due to Norton's frisky heuristic detection. You might see what AVG says about it. Josh

Hello, A .30-06 pushes a 150 grain bullet 2700 to 2900fps, maybe a bit faster depending on the load. (Garand loads are, of course, different.) The heavier the bullet, though, the more chance of a pass-through. What happens is this: Upon bullet impact, the bullet begins to deform as its design dictates. This creates larger temporary and permanent wound cavities than would be made by ball. As it continues through the deer, the bullet may lose some fragments. Again, this depends on its design. A bullet's main body will stay intact. If the jacket sheds, the main body will be a large piece of lead. The fragments and jacket pieces become secondary projectiles. Chances are bone will be hit, and the bone becomes secondary projectiles, as well, with their own wound tracks. The bullet exits. Depending on whether it's bonded and how well, it may have significant loss of mass, or it may be a mushroom shape with over 99% retained weight. Anything in the .30-06 class (.308, 7.62x54r, 8mm Mauser, .30-06) will go through most large tree trunks and into the next tree. I have trees downed by 7.62x54r and 7.62x39. You cannot count on a tree to stop the bullet. Two large trees, maybe. Remember, if you're aiming at something 50 yards distant with a .30-06, you're working with a near-flat trajectory. Acceleration due to gravity is about 32 feet per second per second, or 32fp/s^2. If you're firing from five feet up (shoulder height, standing) it will take about 0.156 seconds for the bullet to reach the ground. In that time, given 3000fps to be safe, the bullet will travel 468 feet (about 150 yards) before it hits the ground. Will the bullet skip off the ground? Who knows? It probably will, but how far will it go? There are lots of variables here. What it does in the deer really doesn't matter so long as the deer is dead. If you have 200 yards behind the deer and are shooting standing or kneeling, you should be OK. If you aim up, the bullet can travel up to five miles. Regards, Josh

Well, what rods do you have over there? What's your price range? I have always thought that Lightning Rods are pretty OK. They're not high-end by any means, but they're not cheap, either. Josh

Hi Folks, I have been playing with aggression strikes due to large bass being territorial. I've not gotten to do it so much as I'd have liked thus far because I'm still repairing the boat and am stuck on the bank. The lures at this point are large Money Minnows that are colored more like small bass. I've gotten some pretty heavy hits but nothing has taken the hook yet. The presentation is of a smaller bass cruising into territory of a larger bass. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Regards, Josh

I've become convinced through the years that I would want one hand free. This means the 1911 .45acp for me. Yes, I'm giving up wounding potential for maneuverability. It's an acceptable trade-off so far as I'm concerned. Outside, I still grab a bolt action. I'm really wanting an M1 Carbine in excellent mechanical shape (don't care what it looks like) to bridge my gap between rifles and handguns. I'm not a fan of the AR platform. The M1 Carbine fires a 110 grain bullet at around 2000fps. With hollow point ammo, this is pretty potent and certainly better than some so-called intermediate rounds like the 5.7x28. Regards, Josh

Well, the Shimano thing was sort of tongue-in-cheek with a couple other unwritten rules. As far as I'm concerned, everyone has put out some really great reels as well as some stinkers. My only concern is looking deeper than skin deep or even functionality to find what I'm looking for. I have Abu Garcia, Quantum, and look forward to finding a Lew's or two and a Shimano. It would be really boring if ice cream only came in vanilla, you know? Regards, Josh

Hello, Man, I don't hate Quantum and didn't know that folks here did. I knew not to dis Shimano, but only because I was told by a friendly member via PM that it was a bad idea... that, and I have no experience either positive or negative. My first reel was a Zebco. I don't recall what it was; it was a little black thing. The next one was a Zebco 33 (made in USA). I still have Grandpa's made in USA Zebco 33 on a vintage Cherrywood reel in the other room. My first ultralight was a Feathertouch combo, under-rod spinning reel. That thing took bass, walleye, saugeye, and even a couple catfish! As far as I'm concerned, Zebco is good. In fact, when I first saw a Quantum, I was turned off because I didn't know the name. I found out later it was a Zebco and thought, "whey the hell didn't they just say that???" New Zebco 33 reels are not as good as the old ones. I've serviced both and the new ones seem a step away from disposable. It's an insult to the name. Likewise, I've been scared to try the Abu Garcia Ambassadeur "S". I'm sure I won't like what I see inside it. I might be compelled by curiosity, but am sure not looking forward to it. By the way, I did a bit of research and it turns out the Quantum I referenced in this thread -- the one I just bought on eBay -- is actually an EX200, not an LEX200. I have no idea what an LEX200 might be. The EX200 seems like a decent reel with the only thing going against it is the magnetic braking system. This latter is, of course, personal preference. Regards, Josh

http://malwaretips.com/blogs/suspicious-cloud-7-ep-removal/ Looks like enthusiastic heuristics on Norton's part. Josh

I almost used Dex III, G3, but I wanted to give the heavy stuff a go, first. You're right. They do spin slowly compared to the modern reels. I like it. I've not calculated the RPM yet, but the lure travels around 30fps to 40fps or so. I got on my shooting range, cast the line and counted to come up with those numbers. Granted, it's a parabolic curve instead of straight cast, but the weight is usually airborne for a two or three count and travels 35 to 40 yards. It might need lighter oil. I like the bushing reel to ride on a film of oil, though, and not let the axle touch the bushings during the cast. The bearings should probably get lighter Dex III or similar, though. Regard, Josh

Dude, no! I like what works for me. I'm curious about what works for other people. Abu Garcia round reels are what work for me. I bought a Black Max II to see what these were like, and I found that I didn't like it. I have never used a Shimano. No experience. This thread and another thread (where I had asked for a list of reels NOT made in China) prompted me to buy a Korean-made reel. I figured that since I had an early Quantum (a 1310) and liked it, I might as well get a slightly newer Quantum that was made in Korea. I went to eBay and found one that seemed to have been used but not abused. It said "made in Korea" on the foot and I could make out a 5. something on the side. It was advertised as an LEX 200. The expired listing is here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Quantum-LEX-200-Anti-Reverse-Bait-Casting-Reel-Good-Condition-/191224374105?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=U4rTSeBmNRf9tB01kBqE2CD3jjE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc For $8.50, it's nice. There were a couple hangups inside, but that was due to sand and nothing more. It's fixed. Remember, I've not kept up with new stuff since 1998 or so, and even then I didn't read much but went with what worked on the water. Dad was the one doing the reading and studying at the time. I also bought a Mitchel 301 spinning for next-to-nothing. The idea is that, if I buy a reel and like it, I'll fix and keep it. If I fix it up and find out it doesn't work for me as well as I'd like, I trade it, or in what is more often the case, give it away locally to someone trying to break into the sport. The last one I gave away was a spinning combo made of a Shakespeare LXIII I repaired/rebuilt/tuned/whatever. An acquaintance of mine loaned me his flatbed trailer to move some stuff, saved me a bunch of money, and wouldn't take payment. I spooled it with fluorocarbon and told him to enjoy it. Was the Shakespeare LXIII considered a good reel? Heck, I dunno. It looked OK inside and felt good when I tested it. Would it hold up long-term? I simply do not know. It looked like it would but it also had plastic in a couple places I wouldn't want plastic. If I want to know about something, I buy it if I can afford it, and I take it apart. Usually the thing, whatever it is, needs cleaned out anyway, so taking it apart and looking at the guts is incidental to maintenance. If Chinese reels work for you, hey, I have nothing against that. I'm glad they work for you. I grew up on Zebco spincasting reels and later learned baitcasting on a centrifugal-braked Ambassadeur reel. I'm therefore partial to them. I have no idea the long-term quality of the LEX 200. It looks decent and if the components are not cheap, it should hold up. May I ask, why did you think that I am a ? I sincerely don't know. I joined this board when I got back into fishing and found I was behind the curve with regard to equipment. I'm finding the combination of new and old that I like (I love braid and fluorocarbon and hate magnetic brakes, for example). From my limited experience with Quantum, they do seem good. I'm not going to commit myself to a blanket statement like "all Quantums are good." I won't even say that most are. I will say I don't have the experience to say this, and that most low-pro reels look the same and from what I've heard, pretty much all use the same design from the same factories. True? I've not see it first-hand, so I don't know. I'm only relating what works for me and my limited experiences. If someone has a new Quantum they'd like to send me to clean out or tune or whatever, it would give me the opportunity to see the guts and maybe form an opinion. It would be interesting. Regards, Josh

It's an LEX200, or was advertised as such. Most markings are worn off and I can only make out a "5." on the side. Five point what? Dunno. I have no experience -- none, zero -- with Shimano and had no idea they aren't made in China. Oh well. Josh

It's an LEX200, or was advertised as such. Most markings are worn off and I can only make out a "5." on the side. Five point what? Dunno. I have no experience -- none, zero -- with Shimano and had no idea they aren't made in China. Oh well. Josh

Well Guys, I got my hands on a Quantum that was made in Korea. It's much better quality than any of this made in China stuff. It's not up to the made in Sweden round Abu Garcias, but it's pretty good. It has plastic in only a couple places it shouldn't compared to most of the low-profiles I see today. I would own another Quantum like this one. Josh

I love my older Ambassadeur models. I find that when I use newer, reels with faster speeds, my crankbaits start misbehavin', my spinnerbaits start layin' on their sides, and my slow worm retrieves ain't so slow. I have a small handful of things that I'll go faster than a 21 or 23ipt retrieve for, but those are very limited. From here on out, I'm also going to stop talking about gearing and start talking in IPT. As far as I can tell, my old Ambassadeur reels with 4.7:1 gears and the wider spools pull in about as much line as a 5.4:1 low profile, and stay more consistent due to the wide spool. Line depth doesn't vary nearly as much as on these newer reels. The 4.7:1 Ambassadeurs pull 22" to 24" per turn with full spools. The next reel purchase, after I get done with this very nice 5000c I traded for here on this forum, will be a 5500c3, I think. That will give me a faster retrieve with the consistency I want for the times I need it. I have a 5600Mag and it's just a bit larger than I prefer for most things. Regards, Josh

Hello, I was going to put this in the "I'm Trying Mechanical Broad Heads This Year " thread, but figured it would be too far off topic. Some pictures in chronological order: I thought I had more pics. A couple are watemarked an I don't want to get dinged for "advertising." The bow has a whole new configuration, though, with a Trophy Ridge drop-away rest and crosshair front sights. I might have to get a picture of it. Pics of your stuff, anyone? Regards, Josh

There's a world of difference between slugs and arrows. There's a lot of difference between slugs and other bullets. Most gut shot critters will run and may take days to die. Remember, "gut shot" can be intestines as well. Regards, Josh