Hello from the People's Republik of Illinois
I've had a Savage ML II for over 5 years. I've been lurking on this sight for longer than that. My Savage ML II is a hammer out to 200 yards easily. As you may or may not know, the state of Illinois will not let us hunt big game animals with a centerfire rifle using a cartridge (primer, brass, bullet). So, we can use a shotgun with slugs, a muzzle loader and a handgun that has a cartridge that is NOT a bottle-neck cartridge, and semi-automatic handguns are prohibited. To hunt the whole season you have to be an archer. The firearms "seasons" usually entail a 3, or 4 day weekend. The seasons are distributed in a lottery fashion. I have several other rifles. I came here from Texas in 1999. In Texas deer season meant you bought your hunting license and could hunt the entire season with whatever you wished, with exception of a .22 Long Rifle.
I'm 56 and married to the same beautiful woman for 29 years. This is both of ours first marriage. We have a 27 year old son who is also married and he and his wife had our first grandbabby 3 years ago...an absolutely stunning little boy. We also have a daughter who is 21 years old and a Junior at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC). My son earned his mechanical engineering degree from SIUC. I earned my BA and MA in Criminal Justice at SIUC. My lovely wife earned her PhD from Texas A&M University in 1999 and SIUC hired her as an assistant professor in 1999. That's why we moved her from Texas. She has since progressed through the ranks and is now a tenured full Professor and the chair of her department. My girls (wife & daughter) both love to shoot and hunt. I need that grandbabby to be a little closer to us so I can unduly influence him into loving firearms like I do.
