Everyone has there own opinion and procedure for barrel break-in I will tell you what has worked the best for me after several years of setting up and breaking in new guns for myself and several others.

1. I always completely disassemble and thoroughly clean ANY new gun no matter what inside and out. New guns are sent full of excess oil, grease, cosmoline etc. This is where most shooters get into trouble they pick up there new gun throw rings and a scope on and go shoot BAD MISTAKE!

2. Having the right tools saves alot of time and makes things alot easier
good cleaning rod
correct jags and brushes
solvent and oil
bore guide I wouldn’t even consider putting a rod or anything down the barrel of 1 of my rifles without one.

3. For 10 shots clean after every shot, then shoot 5 3 shot strings clean after all 5, then shoot 5 5 shot strings
cleaning after each 5. I know this is 50 rounds but it is worth it to break in you new investment correctly.

This has worked well for us on alot of rifles of numerous manufacturers.

Always use a good solvent then patch dry then add a little oil your barrel will last and this will get the most accuracy out of your barrel. Good Luck and Good Shooting!!

Supply and Demand is exactly right, and for every person that decides not to come to Iowa because of the high prices, there are several more that are willing to pay. That has been my point, the outdoor companies and yes there WHITETAIL CELEBRITIES coming in and filming all there shows etc. are as much competition to the non-resident hunters {tags and prices} as they are to the residents over land. Most people just fail to realize this because they are so taken in by them.

Now as far as thinkin Iowa has been stickin it to ya for years if that is the way you feel, no one has ever forced anyone to come here and hunt that is your own fault not ours.

Comparing Iowa Hunting to Minnesota Fishing is like comparing apples to oranges.

First off I said the flooding is 1 of the reasons license prices are going up right or wrong it is the truth. Believe me us residents are paying for it to.

Yes we as residents are worried about protecting our whitetail herd and were proud of it. Look at our seasons we can harvest 1 buck with a bow and 1 with a firearm. Our firearm season doesn’t start until the first saturday of december well after the main rut unlike some states. Our firearm season statewide is limited to shotgun, muzzleloader or handgun not rifle like alot of other states. Iowa has done a good job on our deer obviosly or people wouldn’t want to come here and hunt. Being able to take 2 bucks as a resident, well i guess thats just one of the perks we have. It seems alot of states are a little jealous over what we have maybe they should re-evaluate their own states management and seasons.

You don’t think the WHITETAIL CELEBRITIES have anything to do with the rising costs of non-resident licenses, stop and think again they are the driving force behind the increase. You don’t think every person that watches there shows don’t want to come to Iowa. Yes they have drivin land prices up on farmers, you are right about high prices being good {if you are selling}. But tell me what about the cattle farmer that has rented the pasture and timber up the road for 10 years then the next thing he knows, the landlord who lives in the city calls and says he is either gonna have to pay more rent or he is gonna lease it out to TEAM REALTREE because they are offering way more money. That is a FACT and is only 1 example I can get you some Iowa farmers names and numbers for several more if you want. It is a double edged sword believe me it is happening more all the time, and it is costing all of us. Hunting is becoming more commercialized and that is a problem in every state.

Believe me I don’t agree with everything the DNR has done by any means but I also see why they are doing it.

Yes the resident tags are going to go up at the same time the non-resident tags do as for how much we are in the dark on that yet.
Take a good look at the big picture of this we are our own worst enemies. The companies we all support are the ones that are competing against us in alot of ways down here and driving the prices and demand up. Go to west central Iowa and talk to some local hunters see how they feel about Mathews, Primos, Scent Lok etc buying and leasing there hunting ground to film there shows. Go to southern Iowa and find ground you might just be surprised on how many of these companies have alot of it all sewn up, and then turn around and promote Iowa deer hunting. They have made the demand for Iowa deer hunting therefore prices skyrocket. So think of that the next time you go to cabelas and bye that new Mathews bow Scent Lok suit etc. They are your non-resident competition and they are going to PAY FACE IT!!!! That is the biggest reason the prices have done what they are doing.
It is not the Iowa residents that are doing this. The Iowa residents and the DNR have done a good job of managing our deer herd in alot of aspects, now there are alot of outside sources trying to capitolize on it not just the IOWA DNR.

The floods last year caused way more damage than alot of people realize, and yes that is 1 of the reasons for the increase. The other reason is what alot of us down here call protecting a resource, the way the whitetail world has blown up over the last decade here in Iowa is insane, and you can blame a good portion of that on some of the WHITETAIL CELEBRITIES. These people have come in areas of the state bought or leased up land drove prices up on area farmers FACE IT they are the problem, and they are willing to pay so think of that the next time you are all sewn up in buying there sponsors products and supprting this trend. These hunting celebrities and companies are the competition and are the main reason for rising prices THEY WILL PAY!!!!! and that is what makes it tough for the average working man to hunt. So remember that next time you are takin in by Bill Jordan, Micheal Waddell etc etc.

We did alot of shooting last year with the new LEUPOLD and the NIKON, I am shooting a TC PRO HUNTER, what I found was the LEUPOLD has solid dots in the reticle while the NIKON has open circles. I myself preferred the solid dots at long range it seemed like there was less margin for error compared to the open circle, and they were easier to see in low light conditions. When I switched from the NIKON to the LEUPOLD it tightened my groups by more than a few inches from 150 to 250 yards. Check them out we are all very happy with them.

Check out the LEUPOLD Ultimate Slam scope it is made for muzzleloaders and shotguns. It is a 3-9×40 with a similar reticle to the bdc, myself and two buddies used them this year and found them to be more accurate than the NIKON and not quite as much money.

Check out LEGACYSPORTS website and their Escort shotguns, they offer a 20ga. youth model a buddy of mine bought one of these for his son,they sell for around $500 and so far it has functioned flawless. You can also check TRI-STAR guns out I think they might also offer one. These are a couple companies that are up and coming, not to hard on the pocket book and seem to offer some good bang for your buck.

I will also vote for the TC but I would recommend the TRIUMPH the break open action is great and makes cleaning way easier on a guy. I personally have a ENCORE PRO HUNTER and I do love it but the TRIUMPH is less money and shoots just as well.

Most rifle barrels that are free floated and bedded should be floated to within about an inch in front of the action, you will find that most factory rifles are not this way. Alot of new wood stocked rifles have points of contact in the barrel channel which can effect accuracy when the the temperature changes and the wood expands and contracts, and as the barrel warms up from shooting. I personally check this on all my rifles and sand out any point of contact or rough spot it usually doesn’t take much, and I believe it does help in shooting in different conditions.

I have been shooting a Panther Bull 16 in 223, it has been a great gun so far will shoot in 1″ at 100 yards so accuracy is pretty good. The only thing I would recommend is to do or have someone do a trigger job on them. The factory triggers are pretty stout and have alot of creep to them. Put in a Timney trigger and it takes care of that problem, makes for a nice crisp trigger on a good shooting rifle,

That 22-250AI is a sweet round. There is a post right now on predator masters under shooting and reloading that has alot of info about that cartridge and fire forming brass for it. The 22-250AI is pretty much the equivelent to the 220 SWIFT, which in my opinion is the king of the 22 calibers.

Check out M&M taxidermy in Allison 319-267-2658, Mike does a great job and is very reasonable.

We have been shooting Black Cloud BBB at geese since the opener here in Iowa, I am very happy with the performance of these shells. Shooting through standard chokes, do not use a patternmaster with these shells, they pattern very good with a standard modified. We have had no problems at all with the shells, I am sold on this new product.

We have been shooting Black Cloud BBB at geese since the opener here in Iowa, I am very happy with the performance of these shells. Shooting through standard chokes, do not use a patternmaster with these shells, they pattern very good with a standard modified. We have had no problems at all with the shells, I am sold on this new product.

Check out the Federal fusion ammo they offer a Fusion Lite 30-06 with a 170grain fusion bullet mv 100yds is 1740fps mv at 200yds is 1510fps. product # is F3006FSLR1. I have not shot this particular round myself, but I have shot some of the regular fusion ammo at the range for a buddy and it does shoot extremely well. My suggestion would be to find a box of this and try it out on some targets.

Check out the Federal fusion ammo they offer a Fusion Lite 30-06 with a 170grain fusion bullet mv 100yds is 1740fps mv at 200yds is 1510fps. product # is F3006FSLR1. I have not shot this particular round myself, but I have shot some of the regular fusion ammo at the range for a buddy and it does shoot extremely well. My suggestion would be to find a box of this and try it out on some targets.

I think party hunting here in Iowa is just fine the way it is and I personally like it that way. Every hunting group has certain guidelines they follow for themselves and work out amongst themselves on who will shoot what and how many its just working together. I myself am a supporter of QDM and will only shoot a larger buck or a doe no pencil heads. In my group there are others that are just happy to shoot a deer of any kind to each there own… In my opinion moving the gun season back a few weeks in Minnesota would help tremendously on the kind of bucks you have, not hunting them with a gun during the rut.

I think party hunting here in Iowa is just fine the way it is and I personally like it that way. Every hunting group has certain guidelines they follow for themselves and work out amongst themselves on who will shoot what and how many its just working together. I myself am a supporter of QDM and will only shoot a larger buck or a doe no pencil heads. In my group there are others that are just happy to shoot a deer of any kind to each there own… In my opinion moving the gun season back a few weeks in Minnesota would help tremendously on the kind of bucks you have, not hunting them with a gun during the rut.

Thanks for the welcome everybody happy to be here! Haven’t been fishing iowa lately, but have been up to Mille Lacs several times this year and done very well, can’t stay away from the pond with the fishing being as good as it has been this year!!!!