Hey everybody,

I'm from Northern California – not the ultra-liberal Bay Area, but the rural part that Hank Jr. sang about in "A Country Boy Can Survive." Won't be a Californian of any type much longer, as we're in the process of moving to northern Arizona. My wife has accepted a good job opportunity down there and I simply can't deal with the new gun and ammo laws that will go into effect Jan. 1, so it's adios to the Golden State.

I'm a lifelong hunter, shooter and lover of dogs that hunt. Upland bird hunting is my favorite because of the great involvement of the dogs, but I've hunted just about everything there is to hunt here in the West. I've done more shotgunning than anything and I'm still a fairly serious trapshooter, but I've started to burn out on that game a little and have begun shooting my rifles more often. I recently purchased my first Savage on a whim. It's an Axis II in .30-06 hardwood.

I'm looking forward to learning a lot from you folks.