Issue #2 OF 2003


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Hello and Happy newsletter number  TWO of 2003.....  We, for once, are a little ahead of schedule on something instead of behind. Hoping against hope that your reading this by April 10th. A New Year has sprung upon us with lots of ‘new and improved’ products. At the same time, this is being typed at a time of world uncertainty.

          By the time your reading this the situation in Iraq will be who knows. So we will have to see what that brings. How it will affect us is one thing. But, far more important is how it will affect those who are serving our country, as well as serving the world. There is not a single soul in the United States, from the President on down, who wants to go to war. Or to be part of any war. However, it is both a job and a responsibility and a necessity if it comes to that. And we here have faith that if necessary, the U.S. will have sincere and thoughtful commitment.

 Our 3rd annual April 19th Saturday One Day Sale that lasts 3 days....... Yes indeed we are gonna try this one once again. Factory reps will be on hand from Taurus, Nikon, PMC, Verona, and others. Special Prices and inclusions for these products. Plus very special prices on tons of other stuff in the store. Cmon in and have fun, have a donut if you’r early enough. Prices will be in effect for the Friday preceeding and the monday following, but the little extras from the Factory DUDES will only be on Saturday. Stop in and see why we sold almost 100 firearms in a single day last year.

Chronic Wasting Disease.... This ‘issue’ will be the shortest possible CWD column ever. CWD is in an incredibly small (less than 1%) number of deer. No person has ever gotten sick or died from it. And right now we have no real idea of where it came from or how it is spread. So we will just see how it shakes out.

And in the ‘. 17”column, they just keep on coming. Probably about 20 different firearms in this fun new caliber. And if you are asking if its going to last, well bucky, worry not. if Ruger is making a gun for it in bolt, lever and revolver, well than you know its not going to be negative history. And you know why? because people are having fun, FUN.! Ruger... In addition to their bolt and lever 17 rifles, they do indeed have a super single six revolver in 17 cal. They kind of snuck that one in on us. This company continues to carry on the legacy of William Ruger. A legacy that stood (and stands) for great innovative firearms. Using modern methods of production, thus making these firearms very effective and rather affordable. And this is one of the reasons these folks stand at the head of the class.

Black Powder Shootin......  What is new here this year? The first thing that comes to mind is the NEF Huntsman that was such a hit last year. Well buckaroos, this year this gun is going to be in stainless metal with synthetic ‘furnishings’. Powder pellets and sticks still thrill folks. But poured powder and ‘real black powder’ will be used very successfully til the end of time.

Coyote and Fox Folk...... Even with the bizarre winter we just went thru, we have been hearing a few stories from those ladies and gentlemen chasing these critters. And some pretty fancy numbers. It seems as though fox numbers were really good. Here is a fair question, when ISN'T there something fun to hunt.

16 Gauge... Dead? Dying? or about to rule the World? ... In recent years we’ve seen a sort of a comeback for this old gauge. A year ago Browning made a limited run of OverUnders in this size. Remington makes a pump and an automatic this year. Stoeger makes a side by side. Baikal makes an over under and occasionally a side by side. And some of the more exotic shotgun builders make some pretty foxy side by sides. Ammunition choices are not real huge. But you can get shells for just about any need. Do not throw away your 12 or 20 gauge. But the 16 is one more scenic side road you can consider when it comes to that eternal question. What must I have to spice up my life?

Huntin License News..  A reminder that RATES FOR LICENSE ARE NOT GOING  UP THIS YEAR. Maybe next year, but for now we are ‘safe’. Have to offer a political thought here. There has not been a raise in ‘hunting fees’ in 7 years. But, that is not justification for an increase by itself. Many feel that our hunting fishing fees  more than pay our way. In fact, we pay for a many functions of the DNR that have  nothing to do with us. And that’s ok. But we the sportsmen and sportswomen are not interested in being nailed  on this thing. The fact of the matter is that we as a Nation and as a State, have a less than great economy right now. That’s where the dollar crunch comes from. Not the previous two Governors. And the new Governor is not going to be able to really fix this thing. He can only hold it together until the economy gets healthy, then sit back and take credit. 

DNR CALENDAR...........          

published data from the DNR.       

March 31,  2002 licenses expire.  
   
         April 6,  Daylight savings begins        
           
April 14, Conserv. Cong, hearings   
           
April 15, Bear class A deadline         
           
April 16, Period A Turkey opens       
           
April 19, BIlls Big Spring Sale/Lomira 
   
         May 3, general fishing opens Bass southern, Musky So. of Hwy 10         
           
May 24, Musky No. of Hwy 10             
           
June 7, Free fishing day                    
           
June 8, Free fishing and Parks day      
           
July 1, Bear dog train opens              
           
July 21, Huntr choice bonus deadline

Concealed Carry....  Is neither dead nor alive right now. Some preliminary political discussions going on but nothing solid. Wouldn’t hurt for you to drop a note to your favorite politico and say hey, how about it. Remember that 44 states have this as a citizen’s right. Why not you and I? With that said, why not buttonhole your State politician of choice? Tell he or she what a terrific thing this would be. Drop them a nice letter, tell them they are just incredible people, and that they should pass this law. Keep in mind that these politicians, when they get a letter or phone call, use statistics to figure that your note or call, represents some huge number of voters. Its something wild like one letter equals 67 people or some such number. C’mon, step up a bit for the benefit of all of us.

   

Business Hours......

 Open 9 to 9 Mon to Friday

 9-5 on Saturday,

Closed Sundays and Holidays. 

Internet....  We have a website and its got some great links to the sporting goods world of guns and reloading , scopes, hunting spots and a lot of toher vaarious sturfff. Try it and have fun. .        BillsSport  Customer_Service for talking to us.

 

Did we mention our.... SALE on April 19 - Saturday - where we spend weeks getting ready putting crazed prices on tons of STUFF?

Where is this man??.. Thirty years ago or so, a then young fellow came in the store. He asked for our least expensive gun. Handed him a single shot 12 gauge used gun. 15 dollars. He said “I’ll take it, now what's your cheapest gun. Handed him another single shot for like 20 Bucks. He said he’d take it. “Now what's your cheapest gun? We were at a 25$ 22. He took it. By the time he was done, he bought 5 or 6 guns. For like a total of 125$. I asked him what was up here. He said he was getting married the next week and promised his new bride to be that he would never have any more guns than the ones he had on the day he was married. So he was going to spend the rest of his years trading up his inventory.  So my question is, sir, are you still out there? How’s you gun collection coming? How did the marriage turn out? All well we hope!

 Reloading............   We have taken a few steps to make this department  broader an deeper. On the shotgun side, already are pretty complete when if comes to target and field lead loading. We have had a rather good bunch of components for r steel loading. What we have bumped up are alternative shot materials including buck and copper plated. Also some filler wads. Looking to add some Hevi shot and tungsten to the mix.  

 Knives........  You have heard of the Sharper Image? Well, we have the Sharper Edge. Tons of knives in a slew of sizes. Even a sword or two to enthrall ya all.

Fishing Department..... Major changes in ye olde fishin hole. Better batch of rods and reels.  Lots of odds and ends that you as a fisherperson just won’t be able to do without. And if your not fishin for sumthin, you are not fully enjoying the peace that can be found in life.

Crow Hunting..... The last true pure sport left in America.  A day of mourning. March 20th is the last day of the season. Got flattered sort of I guess when the Warden called up and pointedly reminded me that the season was closing in two days. He didn’t want me to forget. Now that’s what I call a full service DNR.

Boots..... Shoes...Hip Boots ... Waders... Sox...(or Socks)... If its goes on your foot, we have you shod. (startin to feel like Mr. Ed?) And at prices ranging from deep discount to closeout. Put your best foot forward, then the other, etc and c’mon down!

Hunters Safety...... Is the incredibly strong foundation for the future of Shooting Sports and Hunting. Girls, Boys, Men, and Women benefit from this incredible program. Support the people taking it and those unsung heroes who put so much into running these courses.

Our Epiphany of the Day.... There is not a single firearm in the world that, if handled properly, is unsafe. And conversely, there is not a single firearm in the world that is safe, if handled improperly.

 EXPOSE’......... Not sure if we should publish this or not, someone may come and ‘get’ us. But hey, it’s amazing. We had been thrilled to hear that Remington was also going to come out with 17-rimfire ammunition this year. But then my secret source burst my bubble with the following information. 17 rimfire comes from Hornady, Right? Wrong, made by CCI. Remington 17 comes from Remington, Right? Wrong again, CCI. Federal 17? CCI again. CCI 17 ammo? Right, CCI. So there you have the secret according to our deep throat.

Gun Clubs... Continue to be the backbone of recreational shooting. And gun clubs continue to be the biggest bargain you can find . Support your local gun club and have fun.  Game clubs offer many of the same benefits as do gun clubs. And looking out from the hill in Lomira, the number of gun or game clubs is huge. Stop in and we’ll have a list of these clubs for you.

 Tech Tips..... We will try today to discuss chokes a little bit. There is a lot of confusion in this area. In those simpler days when shot was lead, lead, or lead, things were easy to figure. But now we have lead shot, hard lead, steel. Bismuth, tungsten, tungsten matrix, Hevi shot, copper. Golly. Choke tubes came about because of steel and the different way steel worked when fired. It (steel) shot way tighter than lead would thru the same degree of choke. In addition it would wear the choke area, something lead mostly wouldn’t do. So tubes arrived on the scene. And at first they were something of a pain. Then a light came on, and we all realized that instead of having to buy a costly ‘other’ barrel to change chokes, just drop a couple of dollars on a different tube. A choke tube is a choke, and all a choke does is make the barrel size slightly smaller or larger in order to make the gun run better with different size shot at different ranges. 

  Bowhunting.....  This column is going to be turned over to Dave this month. He is our new Archery Guru, Stop in and see him when he is here and he can cover your questions want and needs quite nicely. Here he is...... Hi! Our Archery Department is getting a facelift. A much better selection of equipment. Plus some new lines of bows. And a whole batch of treestands including hanging models, and climbers. For you who like sticking to the ground we will have a selection of ground blinds for deer or turkey. Very universal. So come on in and check it out. And stop in to try out our indoor range. Leagues are forming and we as well as you are really going to have some fun here. Thanks  ... Dave

 Sporting Wear Department ...  Coats, Jackets, Vests, Tshirts, Hunting Shirts, fishin Vests, Suspenders, Long Underwear, Trap Vests, Trap Bags,Shooting Bags, Turkey Vests, Gilly Suits, Caps, Hats, Gloves, Pants, Bibs, Belts and a lot of other great stuff. All  with tasteful yellow sale tags on em.

 Last Round.... The month of .April and May look to be busy and fun. Hope to see you and hope you enjoy your spring. Almost forgot to mention our April 19th SALE on Saturday!!

 Thanks......  From us at Bills on ye olde hille. Still having fun and hoping you are too! Thanks for your patronage. Very much!!

 

Ken. Joe, Olde Dick, Al. Older Dick, New Ken, Dave, Kathy, Litl Mike

 


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