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