Shooting
A New Gunsmith
The thought hit me in early December that the Mooselette could stand a full-sized grown-up turkey gun. I had not finished my first cup of coffee before I found a swinging deal on a Mossberg 535 that was receiving no bids. Bang! I had it. It was on the way to the FFL. I’d scored! The fact that this is titled “A New Gunsmith” should tell you this wasn’t as hot a deal as it seemed. Cosmetically, it was just fine. However, when I attempted to remove the included choke tube, it was a no-go. No problem. I knew what … More . . .
Goodbye Planet 4 MOA
I finished up writing my series on escaping Planet 4 MOA this time 2 years ago. KYHillChick sealed the deal on Christmas when she handed me a heavy box all wrapped up. I unwrapped it and found The Rock and the Medium Bag shown in this video from Caldwell. I’ll be honest. Up until a very short time ago, I really didn’t think I needed one. More precisely, I didn’t think my shooting warranted having one. It wasn’t so long ago, that I was living on Planet 4 MOA and did not know how to get off. Is having The … More . . .
What Power Scope for Deer Hunting
This question got sent to me via Quora: I hunt whitetail deer. I’ve been doing it for more than 40 years. I’ve got a whole battery of rifles that will take deer. Most of them carry a Bushnell 3–9X40mm scope. Some have 4–12X40mm. These are all fairly plain scopes with a Mult-X reticle. I use them in a variety of situations— treestands, ground blinds, etc. I settled on the Bushnell Banner, because it was sturdy, it held zero, and it had coatings that allowed me to hunt in low light conditions. I have pretty bad eyesight. I’m near-sighted. My glasses … More . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 4
This installment will address what I did out in the field to escape from Planet 4 MOA. This is going to be a short one. Most of the serious work was done back home at the shooting bench. However, there were several things I did to improve my lot during deer season. I pretty much stopped shooting my deer rifles off hand. When I first started deer hunting, I was a bow hunter– first and foremost. I shot standing on a raised stand without anything in front of me. When I started using a slug gun– that’s what we used … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 3
This installment in the series will concentrate on what I did at the bench, both the shooting bench and my gunsmithing bench, to improve my accuracy with my deer rifles. I would like to remember that it was a gradual process that started about 2001 and ended with me bagging my first deer at 200 yards now in 2022. Let me begin with where I stood in 2001, when I got the farm At the time I got the farm in 2001, I had two rifles that were seriously dedicated for deer hunting. One was the original Remington 742, acquired … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 2
The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears. James Mattis In this case, General Mattis was right. I had over 20 years of goo to remove and replace. Lies I cannot say I ever came right out and lied to anyone about how well I shot. Compared to what I saw going on around me, I was not all that bad. I never shot a deer at 10 yards and claimed it was at 100 yards. Actually shooting a deer at 10 yards is nearly as much of a feat with a rifle as it is … More . . .
Escape from Planet 4 MOA– Part 1
Back in 2019, I wrote a missive on 24hourcampfire.com on hunting deer where the bar for accuracy was rather low. The Planet Where They Shoot 4 MOA Rifles I would suggest you go over there and read it– read the whole thread if you like. It will really set the stage for what is to come. Planet 4MOA was a very real part of my life. I lived there for a good long time. This year, I managed to shoot a nice buck at 200 yards, and I realized that I had finally escaped Planet 4MOA and moved on. I … More . . .
KY’s Early ML Season Looms
Every year we all get out for the mid-October Kentucky Early Primitive Weapons Season and use it as a dry run for the coming Rifle season. Some might think this is a waste of a weekend. It actually has a point– in fact, several. First off, this gives everyone at camp a chance to be there while the weather is still fairly nice. We can enjoy Deer Camp without feeling like we need to fill freezer space. We are out, we are really and truly deer hunting in usually ideal conditions. Secondly, Early ML acts as a dress rehearsal for … More . . .
More With ‘Bess
I finally got a chance to have some quality time with ‘Bess, just her and me. Up until now, there have always been Moose and Angus sharing the firing line, and all sorts of other constraints. Saturday, I had a chance to sit down with the Pedersoli Brown Bess Musket and really dig in. Even then, I had to hold off a couple of hours as a series of rain showers passed through starting at sunrise. The bulk of my load development centered around the .69 caliber ball. I have a Lee Mold and cast up a dozen or so … More . . .
Anniversary Weekend, 2022
This weekend marked the 21st anniversary of taking possession of our farm. It also marked the first time I’ve felt halfway normal since the Chemo ended. I was actually able to get around and putter a bit. KYHillChick stayed home with the dogs, but the rest of the tribe showed up. Moose and Junior came down Friday with the Mooselette. Angus had a last-minute piping gig, but arrived before sundown. MooseWoman showed up Saturday with her tribe. Saturday night, Moose fixed everyone steak at the campground. Moose and the Squirrel Gun Moose acquired a .32 caliber flintlock Tennessee Mountain Rifle … More . . .
Three Pounds of Powder, The Hard Way
It may not seem like much to anyone, but I had a personal triumph yesterday. It is something I planned well before starting Chemo. It was a close run operation, but I did it. I managed to procure 3 pounds of black powder. How I got it was the challenge. Friendship, Indiana is less than 50 miles from the house. Back when I was an unfettered bachelor, I used to attend the National Muzzleloading Rifle Association (NMLRA )events twice a year. I had not been in 35 years, and I had it on my retirement bucket list to join up … More . . .
A Box for Bess
I’m trying to catch up on all of what has happened in the previous months. I discovered a draft of an entry I was about to make just as this whole cancer thing kicked off. You see, I was scurrying about in mid-March, trying to get the pieces together for shooting the Brown Bess for the first time. It occurred to me that I had no hard case long enough to hold the 58-inch musket. Most production cases end at 56 inches. There was one soft-sided case out there, but it was outside my budget. I, therefore, went to the … More . . .
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