About Ed Hale

I am an avid hunter with rifle and Bow and have been hunting for more than 50 years. I have taken big game such as whitetail deer, red deer, elk, Moose and African Plains game such as Kudu, Gemsbok, Springbok, Blesbok, and Impala and wrote an ebook entitled African Safari -Rifle and Bow and Arrow on how to prepare for a first safari. Ed is a serious cartridge reloader and ballistics student. He has earned two degrees in science and has written hundreds of outdoor article on hunting with both bow and rifle.

Our First New Hampshire RV Trip

This article is about our first camp experience with our USA made 2022 Mini Lite Rockwood 2104s 22 ft trailer.

2022 Forest River Rockwood Mini Lite 2104 S in Wilmington, NC

It was July 26 when we drove my Toyota Tacoma with the Mini-Lite in tow, from Plaistow to Wolfeboro. The trailer hitch had stabilizer bars that worked very well and came with the trailer.

We did use the ECT power feature of the Tacoma, which was adequate for this trip. Speeds of 45 to 55 mph were the norm and achieved up to 15 mpg.  The stabilizer bars limit the turn/back up radius to a max of 45 degrees.

The jack like stabilizers on each corner are not really levelers but make the floor much more stable and not intended to lift. 

The RV AC unit worked like a champ as did the fridge and freezer. 

Electric and water hookup, Sewer hookup was easy too. 

The Mini-Lite comes with a outside mountable, 17 inch gas griddle and was used to cook breakfast each morning. It worked well but needed better leveling by me for cooking runny eggs. 

The rv queen murphy bed feature worked well to stow. The bed was firm to sleep on. When the bed is stowed, a sofa is created as the sofa back can lay flat or flip up. We did not use the inside gas stove.  

The shower unit worked very well. 

It rained 6 inched in our RV park overnight and it was very noisy on the roof but we stayed dry. The awning was deployed and handled the rain runoff well. 

Overall RV performance was excellent.

 

So far a big thumbs up.

 

 

 

Big Game – Max Point Blank Range

Ethics are essential. I stick to my cartridges max point-blank range (MPBR), or often much less. What does that mean?

Accordingly, MPBR is the furthest distance your bullet can go without dropping out of your game animals kill zone and still have sufficient energy for a clean harvest. Example: Your game, a whitetail deer has a kill zone of say six to eight inches or so. If your bullet falls to the bottom of that kill zone at longer distances, then you are at your maximum range without adjusting your scope (MPBR).

In my case, using ballistic software, my MPBR often falls in the 250-to-300-yard range. Really, I have never had to shoot at game beyond 300 yards. 

It takes long-range practice with the cartridge and bullet you hunt with and know the effect of wind on your bullet. Hunting ethics are essential!

A book that I have in my hunting library below. 

If you are like me, experimentation is fun.

 

Good Hunting!

Outdoor Camping: New Rockwood Mini-Lite – Made In The USA

My wife and I took the plunge and purchased a new USA Made 2022 RV, the Rockwood Mini-Lite Model 2104S for camping. We tented when we were young but now we will camp and travel in comfort and style.

https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2020-forest-river-rockwood-mini-lite-travel-trailer-floorplan-2104s-tr45035

2022 Forest River Rockwood Mini Lite 2104 S in Wilmington, NC

2021 Forest River Rockwood Mini Lite 2104S in Raleigh, NC

 

My  2021 Toyota Tacoma 4×4 tow capability is up to 6800 lbs. and set the stage for RV size. This RV dry weight is 4841 lbs. and can have a payload of up to 1933 lbs. We figure our load will be 600 lbs. or less for most travel. Our murphy bed is a short queen size and can be stowed to increase room. The U-Dinette converts to a long bed and is nearly a queen in width. We have a gas stove, microwave, fridge/freezer, TV, sink, bathroom and lots of storage. And outdoor mountable grill.

We will be in training for it next week and take it on our first New Hampshire camping trip soon, up in the NH lakes region. 

More soon…

USA Made or China Made?

Some folks, like myself, are trying to avoid purchasing from adversary countries, aka China, and prefer to buy USA goods. Sometimes you can’t.

Looking for USA made Outdoor products can be a daunting task when the majority of outdoor goods are made in Asia/China. If you are concerned and want to buy American then you are in luck for some gear.

Coleman makes some US made goods but majority appears to still be  Asia made.

When searching for goods, look to find where it is made.

The truth is USA businesses are still importing from China and you may not be able to avoid buying Asian/China goods. But stay at it. I found some alternatives. You can too.

In your Internet search bar use words like “USA made” does help some.

On Amazon you can read “answered questions” on a product and can give you a “where made”. I was able to sometimes find alternative goods but we are still forced to buy some China goods. 

Some US businesses are getting the message to seek other non adversarial manufacturers.  Example: I believe it is not “If”China invades Taiwan but “when”. And then we will be forces into change.

Start Now! You can do this!

Good Searching!

 

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Conceal Carry Without Special Need

New York gun case New York State Rifle & Pistol Asso­ci­ation Inc. v Bruen, addresses whether New York state’s concealed carry law violates the Second Amendment.

A century-old New York state law that requires gun owners to show “proper cause” — or a specific special need — to carry a handgun in public and was struck down by the Supreme Court 6/3 yesterday.

The momentous ruling by Supreme Court yesterday  has larger implications across the nation for self-defense without requirement to show special need.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-shoots-down-ny-rule-set-high-bar-concealed-handgun-licenses

10 Point Turbo S1 Crossbow Arrow Flight with Killzone Broadhead

I am very pleased with my 10 Point Turbo Crossbow (390 fps) and my NAP Killzone Cut-on-Contact 100 grain mechanical broadheads however at 35 to 40 yards, my target points hit 6 inches higher than the Killzone broadhead. I have adjusted for the broadheads.

Killzone provides a practice blade. It isn’t easy to assemble the practice blade but once done, it works. Note that the there is a pencil point type head that you can get as well for this broadhead but i prefer cut on contact point. Haven’t killed a deer with it but we shall see.

Now is the time to purchase hunting items because they’ll be sold out come August/September.

Good Shooting!

 

 

Tall Ladder Tree Stands Can Sometimes Be Hard To Put Up- But A Powerful Hand Crank Hoist May be Helpful -Updated

Today tree stands get taller, and I keep getting older. The other day my friend and I beat ourselves up getting my Muddy Excursion 17 ft Stand up, or not so up. The tree was the best of several we observed near a deer trail. We are not as spry deer hunters as days gone by, accordingly we had to work smarter not harder.  We left the stand down and I reconnoitered a solution back at home on the internet.

Muddy sells a hand crank hoist and 25 ft strap that can ratchet hoist-up my stand. I bought one. It is on the way so we will have it soon to report on. Below is a helpful video of it but would use two people instead of one. Safety is key.

 

 

Update 

I used this hoist yesterday and it worked like a charm and made it very easy with 2 people. Some hunters hoist solo (alone). Be safe! Just be sure the ladder is not on a slope because the stand platform and seat will tip forward (not level). Or you can buy a leveler for your ladder base if that tree is your only choice. I like my Muddy tree stand and Muddy hoist. I also purchased snap-on pins for fast disconnect. Tree Stand Snap Pins – Muddy Outdoors (gomuddy.com)

 Good Hunting! 

 

 

 

 

Beware! Deer Ticks in Southern New Hampshire Are Very Active

Here in Southern NH it is early June and the deer ticks aka black leg tick that carry several very serious diseases, such as Lyme Disease, are very active. A 15 minute walk on our back lawn near woods produced 5 deer ticks on my wife and dog. My pants were sprayed with permethrin thus none crawled on me. 

https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/disease-prevention/infectious-disease-control/tickborne-diseases 

The primary disease they can carry is Lyme Disease but here in NH the diseases according to NH DHHS include:

  • Lyme disease (most common reported tickborne disease)
  • Anaplasmosis
  • Babesiosis
  • Powassan virus and
  • Borrelia miyamotoi.

Symptoms (from NH DHHS)

Many tickborne diseases will present, at first, with nonspecific symptoms that may include:

  • Fever,
  • Chills,
  • Malaise (not feeling well),
  • Headache,
  • Muscle and joint pain, and
  • Lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes).

Some may also present with other systemic (body systems) symptoms, such as:

  • Neurological,
  • Cardiovascular, and
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms.

Powassan virus infection, in particular, can progress to meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord).

  •  About 10% of Powassan encephalitis cases are fatal (cause death).
  • About half of those who survive the clinical disease have permanent neurological sequelae (nervous system injury/damage). 

As an Outdoorsman, I am acutely aware, but these ticks are sneaky, and I have been bitten several times. Luckily, I discovered them early or took a prescribed medicine by pill such as Doxycycline to destroy the bacteria.  

My primary defense is awareness, and to spray clothing and shoes/sneakers with Permethrin. You can buy it as a spray in the camping section of most department stores. And when inside, change clothes and do a tick check in front of a mirror.

Also you can put suspect clothing in a dryer for say 20 minutes or so to kill the ticks. 

Stay Safe!

My 2007 Key West 216 Arrives in New Hampshire – Update

I bought this 21.5 ft boat “The Americana” and trailer on-line via POP-Yachts. They were great.

The process was straight forward, see pictures and boat specs, make a bid. Once accepted, a formal marine survey was performed by an independent expert. Then using an escrow account money was deposited and then closing. 

The boat arrived from Florida just as I hoped, in perfect condition. I used Interstate Haulers to haul my boat north. Also great! The driver gave progress reports as the boat was driven north. 

I inspected my new boat, and compared identical with the dozens of photos on pop-yachts website. I was so pleased.

The gas tank is 80 gallons and at 5 bucks a gallon that’s an expensive fill-up.

Having registered the boat and trailer, my wife and I took the boat out.  She purred like a kitten when I turned the ignition key and the Evinrude 250 hp performed very well at speeds just under 50 mph and at trolling speeds. Going out again to fish with my son in a few days. 

 

More soon…

 

New Used Boat Arriving: Key West 216 Bay Reef

The new used Boat and aluminum tandem trailer arriving is a 21.5 ft modified v-h below. Retail brand new? No, I could not afford a new one!!

On the very same day, I purchased this boat, i also sold my 16 ft Sea Fox.160cc Pro. A great day.

We love salt water but equally this Key West boat is supposed to be good on lakes. It sports a trolling motor too and a power-pole anchor.

No T-Top yet but we shall see…

We hope to find some Haddock with this rig besides stripers and mackerel.

More soon!! See you on the water. Look for “The Americana” out of Newburyport in a few weeks.

Good Fishing!