Shooting
Obeying the Voices
Back in May of last year, I wrote this: I ordered a Rossi Model 92 stainless in 44 Mag with a 24-inch barrel yesterday. I could be writing this as an admission of weakness, but this isn’t AA. I did this with malice aforethought. Do I regret all the stuff I’ve said previously regarding 44 Mag rifles, lever actions, etc.? No. However, I do believe the voices within cannot be disobeyed. What got me down this path? I’ll tell you truthfully, that I got tired of all the nudging. It seemed like the moment I finished that thread last June, … More . . .
Another Trip to Turkey Camp
I went back down to Turkey Camp yesterday. I had several projects that needed work, and I wanted to get out and listen to the turkeys. First off, let me describe yesterday morning’s scouting trip. Starting at 20 minutes before sunrise, a large flock started going off near the Honey Hole. I could not count all the gobblers; they were all going off at once. However, there were several hens in there as well. I think this is the final incarnation of the winter mega flock. The mass gobbling ended abruptly about 10 minutes after sunrise. It sounds like the … More . . .
Return to Turkey Camp
This is the earliest I’ve tried to return to camp in 20-some seasons. A good deal of it is because I’m retired now. In the past, I had to wait until the weekends. Last year, I was still feeling the chemo and had to wait until someone else could go down with me. Every year, I start looking for a day with highs of at least 50F and no precipitation. Last year, that was late February. Some years, it’s been the 3rd weekend in March. The place was intact when I got there. The winter had been mild and there … More . . .
GP100 — A Long Time Coming
This story really starts back in Regan’s first term. I got into shooting shortly after college. My main focus was hunting, but I also enjoyed plinking. To that end, my buddy Jerry offered me a 3-screw Ruger Blackhawk in 357 Mag. I went through gobs of 38 Special ammo with it. For a long time, it was the only centerfire pistol I owned. When I first started reloading back in 2000, a light 357 Mag target was one of my first projects. Over time, I had shot that Blackhawk enough that I was starting to get a hard-to-remove buildup in … More . . .
Homebrew Black Powder
This is a project that really started a year and a half ago, just before I started Chemo. I had just purchased a Pedersoli Brown Bess musket and went looking for some black powder to feed it. None of my usual sources had any, and I the outlook was bleak. The Goex plant had closed and there was no longer any commercial powder production in the United States. The thought hit me that things were not going well. Given the unfriendly attitude the government was taking towards firearms and ammunition, it might come to pass that I could be out … More . . .
Getting Caught Up
It has been a few weeks since I could post anything meaningful about the farm, and here it is, almost time to open Deer Camp. Let me get y’all caught up. Pre-Season This is the view from the stand at Hundred Acre Wood. As you know, I was feeling pretty wretched last year at this time. In fact, I was still having problems with stamina and fatigue until about a month ago. All of a sudden, my bone marrow and kidneys finally took the last step towards normalcy, and going into September, I was feeling the best I have in … More . . .
A Cartridge Box for ‘Bess
After I got my Pedersoli Brown Bess last year, I started realizing how different this was than any other firearm I owned. The ‘Bess was normally fed a diet of paper cartridges. A bore-sized roll of paper was created. The ball went down first. This was tied off on both ends. The powder was put in next and then the paper roll was folded over. When it came time to load, the shooter would bite off the top of the roll, prime the pan and then pour what remained down the barrel. What remained, ball and all, was stuffed down … More . . .
Trip to the Farm
The weather was going to be ideal, so I took the opportunity to ride down to the farm and get some chores done. Most of the weekend was spent dealing with the water system. I ended up replacing the shallow well pump and some plumbing in the cistern, but I did get a chance to get out and do some shooting. It is that aspect of the trip that I want to detail. The Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem I have not had the chance to really wring out the Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem. I bought it … More . . .
Bess’ Bigger Balls
Back over Memorial Day, I had the Brown Bess for an exercise to see what size ball shot the best. Last year, I was rather pressed for time and just took the conventional route and shot .69 ball using a paper cartridge. This would have been the standard load coming at the Patriots in the Revolution, the Lobsterback Special if you will. The British were more concerned with fast reloading than they were with outright accuracy. So a really undersized ball was okay. With the paper and all it stayed down the barrel and allowed a soldier to fire multiple … More . . .
Memorial Day Weekend, 2023
I made it down on Thursday– it’s great to be retired–and was able to spend Friday morning at the bench without interruption getting two projects figured out. 25-06 Mauser When my buddy, O.T., was about to pass, he let me buy his 25-06 custom Mauser. It is an easy rifle to shoot, but the terminal performance on whitetails has not been what I would expect. Now that I’ve got all the time in the world, I figured I would bear down and get this rifle sorted out. I compared 117 grain Hornady RN and SP vs. 100-grain Speer Hot Cor … More . . .
Down to the Farm
I made it back to the Farm for the first time since the end of Deer Season. Now that I’m retired, I can go went the weather is best and not try to shoe-horn things into the weekends. Tuesday afternoon, I got to fire some of my recent reloading projects. The first of these was 4 different loads (2 bullets with 2 powders) pursuant to taking on the coyotes. Of the 4 loads, I found that a 52-grain Speer Hollow Point over BL(C)2 gave me the best grouping. The other choices involved CFE223 and a 55 grain Hornady SP. I … More . . .
Quantum XG Dry Fire Laser Training Cartridge System
Y’all may be getting sick and tired about all of my posts somehow leading back to the chemo treatments, but that is just how it is. It’s been 6 months. I just got done with 2 weeks of tests, examinations, and a CT Scan, and they all came back negative. Still, there are lingering effects, mostly from the bug juice more than the cancer. I still can’t feel my feet due to neuropathy, and my stamina is not what it was, but all this is improving slowly. Back in October, Angus and Moose were down at the farm shooting pistols, … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 5
This installment of the series will conclude with what was going on at my reloading bench and the final payoff. In looking back on what I have shared so far, getting the right mindset and stopping all the wrong headedness is what allowed me to escape Planet 4 MOA. All the rest was either window dressing or confidence building. Along the way, I found most of my rifles shot better groups than I expected. The least of the concerns was what I was feeding these rifles. A Word on Factory Ammo Before I discuss reloading, I want to put in … More . . .
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