After going back to visit relatives and friends in the Midwest summers for 25 years, I have determined it is uninhabitable there. The heat and humidity is stupid bad. I am from WI, my wife from MI, both are the same. Oh, and then it's 30 below in the winter. No thanks.
Born and raised in WI. Moved away after college to MO, loved it there, bought land, still own it. Turkey and deer hunting is great. Still go back there every year. Jobs for me and my wife moved us to WA. Fishing/crabbing is great, hunting not so much. You're 3 choices would all be great.
Dang, I've had mine for over 11 years now without an issue. Other than an oil change every year or so, no problems. I would try another oil change and maybe a filter change (the one above the pump). Maybe check all the hose clamps too for tightness.
Snug is better than not snug. If you're really concerned, clean and swage the pockets next time. I have an RCBS pocket swager that really has served me well, especially with previously crimped pockets on .223/5.56.
These are factory for now. I bought a bunch of ammo just for the brass. The components to reload were about as expensive as the ammo itself. I'll start reloading this summer hopefully. OK, I'll admit, I'm not that great of a shooter anymore, my eyesight is not what it used to be. But I'm...
As I stated earlier, here in WA I have put in for 5 categories of elk, deer, sheep and moose for 20+ years. And my chance of drawing any of them is still a fraction of a percent. Is that any different than completely random? Doesn't seem so. Too many people applying, too few tags. I will...
If you want to get more into the hobby, get your hands on a book titled Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas. I affectionately refer to it as "The Brown Book of Knowledge".
And another time, same buddy and me were in a goose blind with my dad in WI. Every 2-3 minutes or so my dad was emitting some of the nastiest smelling gas ever associated with the planet earth. After an hour or so we couldn't handle it. Hunt over. We didn't get a single bird that day. I...