Shooting
Bess Gets Her Cherry Popped
Saturday AM, I finally had everything assembled to get my first shot off with my Pedersoli Brown Bess. Things went off without a major hitch. I even managed to dig up some FFG Goex that I purchased in 1986 to use in the inaugural shot. The powder worked like it had been made yesterday. The first thing I did was put some powder in the pan and make sure I was going to get ignition. Check. Next, I loaded a salute round of toilet paper over 65 grains of the FFG Goex. Check. Next, I simulated a cartridge load with … More . . .
More on Bess’ Balls
The first attempt to cast balls for the Brown Bess ended with mixed results. The Lee .69 cal mold cast perfect balls for what would be standard paper cartridges, but that assumes that the shooter would be jamming multiple rounds down the barrel without any cleaning. For precision shots, I wanted a larger ball that would fit tighter. The other mold I tried on the first experiment was a Dixie Gun Works mold whose putative diameter was .75, but turned out to be more like .76– way to big for the .75″ barrel of the Pedersoli Brown Bess. Lee Precision … More . . .
Brown Bess– First Chance to Play with My Balls
Today is looking like the first really good day in a while. The snow is almost completely gone. It’s heading towards the low 60s today. I had reasons not to go to the farm, but I did have time to get my two new molds out and cast balls for the Brown Bess Musket. The first mold is a .735 brass mold I got from Dixie Gun Works. This produces a tight fit with the thinnest patching, and I’m figuring that this will produce the most accurate loads. The other just arrived in the mail this morning: a Lee Precision … More . . .
.35 Caliber Bullet Casting
I got some feedback over the previous post asking for clarification on my 35 caliber bullet casting project. I went back through my previous posts, and realized I never really wrote this up in any detail. I guess it is time I do. Mind you this is not a end-all article with step-by-step instructions. I am not here to teach bullet casting in this missive. This is more of a checklist. The Basic Premise Back during the Obama years, I decided to see how much of my firearm inventory I could feed using cast bullets. For a proof-of-concept, I picked … More . . .
Brown Bess Cometh
The tale starts way back. I had shot a Brown Bess once; it was decades ago. At some point in the deep past I read an account of a fellow in the modern-day using one as a general-purpose hunting weapon. It was one of those back-burner deals. I figured that it might be a decent project for after my retirement. I managed to read up on the idea at times and keep track of who was making them. Several things happened. Cancer right after your 63rd birthday will make a guy think. I was overdue for a firearm. Normally I … More . . .
A New Shooting Bench
Nineteen years ago, I made my first steps toward accurate shooting. I decided to build a dedicated shooting table that would stay up on the front porch. This was big step along the path. Prior to this, I had been going to a range to sight in rifles, but I had my own 200 acre farm now. I could shoot off my own front porch. The previous year, I had tried a few different improvised rests, including shooting over the top of a hay bale. This shooting table I made was not a very elaborate affair. It consisted of scraps … More . . .
New Bore Scope
For my recent birthday, KYHillChick bought me a Teslong borescope. $50 from Amazon. What’s not to like? It comes with the flexible 3-foot borescope, a nice long USB cable and a decent set of instructions. First off, it did not fit my older Samsung smartphone. It’s got various adapters USB built in, but I could not get it to work. I may have been able to make it work, but I had other options. It came right up on a Windows 10 laptop. With WIN10, you just run the Camera program. Nothing else is needed. I then tried it with … More . . .
Shamanic Wind Flags
Some guys use pinwheels. Some people use streamers. I opted for the wind vane concept. The key to a good wind vane-style flag
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Ruger American Predator Redux
Over the winter, I purchased a Boyd’s AT-One stock to go on my Ruger American Predator in 223 Rem. The whole idea of this was to start a dedicated platform for improving my accuracy. This is the first rifle I’ve actually purpose-built for the job. Normally, I’m a hunter that shoots and not the other way around. My first tries with the RAR Predator were back here:Â Wringing Out the Ruger American Predator Since then, I’ve gotten some good groups out of it. The reason I bought the AT-One stock was that the Predator’s factory stock just didn’t fit me … More . . .
Sneaking Back to the Farm
The Thunderstorms are due back after Noon. I’ll be beating it back to town shortly, having concluded a very productive trip to the farm, and one of the best days I’ve ever had. I’ll give you some highlights. As soon as we heard they were relaxing the quarantine, The Shamanic Dream Team started planning a return to Turkey Camp. We couldn’t hunt them– nonresident tags were quashed– however, we did have plenty of other things to do. For starters, I had to mow grass. In places, it was getting waist-high. I stopped in Falmouth on the way to buy a … More . . .
M1 Garand Gas Plug
I’m starting to get ready for the upcoming shooting season. One project I’ve had on the back burner for quite some time was fine tuning my M1 Garand. It’s a 1942 vintage Springfield. One addition is a gas plug. A few years ago Moose wanted to take the Garand out for some plinking. I let him do it. I later found out he had run 180 grain Hornadys through it– very bad Ju-Ju. It did not bend the operating rod up, but you need to watch your loads with the Garand. It was tuned to M2 Ball, which was not … More . . .
What makes a good deer rifle?
What makes a good deer rifle? I’ve been contemplating this now since the first Reagan administration. Every time I pick up a rifle, I’m pretty well judging it based on how well it would take a Whitetail. However, for all that mental energy, I do not think I have ever sat down and written down my thoughts. It’s almost been 40 years. I’d best get started. The first thing I have to state is that my idea of a good deer rifle is based wholly on where and how I have hunted. If you hunt somewhere radically different, then you … More . . .
Testimonial: Dyna-Tek Bore Coat is Amazing
I just wanted to give you a quick story about my Savage 99 at the range today. First off, though, I need to give you a bit of history. KYHillChick bought me this Savage 99 in 308 WIN in 2003 for my birthday. I’ve used it every year as my Opening Day goto rifle since. I encountered a bunch of problems getting it ready for its first season. Most of them were easily worked out. The one lingering problem was that it required at least 5 fouling shots every year before it would begin to shoot accurately. From there on, … More . . .
Range Day
Angus and Moose brought some from friends out from town, Keith and George, the new guy. Everyone had a good time, but you wouldn’t know it from the expressions. It was a hot one for September. Temps were in the high 80’s. Update on The Mauser From Hell Before they arrived, I was working on a couple of my projects. You may all remember The Mauser from Hell, a sporterized K98 that has previously given me fits. Over the winter, I opened up the barrel channel and removed enough of the old bedding to fit a dollar bill down the … More . . .
A New CC Pistol
Ever since I took my concealed carry class a few years ago, I’ve been trying to find a decent full-sized pistol for everyday. Originally, I was carrying my Ruger P-90 in 45 ACP. It’s a great pistol. I’ve had i t close to 20 years, but it only has an 8-round capacity. Last year, I tried a new Ruger SR9. It was an ideal pistol in 9mm. The mag hols 17 rounds– more than double the P90. I just found myself missing the action of the Ruger P-series. I finally found just the right piece, a Ruger P95DC. It’s a … More . . .
The Big Book of Gun Gack
I spent Saturday reading in John Barsness’s book, The Big Book of Gun Gack. You have probably read the author, he’s published in a heck of a lot of magazines, and he’s got a slew of good books on Amazon.com. This one is a collection of articles about a select bunch of rifle cartridges for the hunter and John’s take on reloading for them. It is a book for the hunter that reloads. . Table Of Contents Working Up a Load in the 21st Century Modern Rifle Powders Rifle Primers Rifling Twist Pre-Testing Big Game Bullets Sizing Cases … More . . .
The Mauser from Hell
Strap in, guys. This is a long and bumpy ride down the bunny hole of rifle loony-ism. It all started back in 2013. SuperCore was cleaning out his gun safes and I picked up his K98 Mauser in 8X57. He’d been having trouble getting it to shoot. He’d taken it to two local gunsmiths. The first had hosed it up and the second had gone to jail on charges he’d willingly sold guns to known felons before mucking it up further. I picked up some 8X57 dies and some 8mm bullets, and went to work on a load, figuring I … More . . .
What’s the Best Factory Ammo?
Just a while back there was fellow asking me about ammunition for his deer rifle. “What’s the best factory load?” he asked. “For me,” I replied, “I’d say it was the 30-06 180 grain Musgrave round noses.” “I’ve never heard of Musgrave!” he said. “You probably wouldn’t.” I replied. “A boatload of the stuff came in from South Africa back in the 80’s. It was the one and only time I saw it.” “What about now?” “I haven’t bought ammo at the store since Clinton was in office.” I said. You probably think this is going to be another shamanic … More . . .
Woke up this morning (and bought myself a gun)
It’s raining graupel this morning. It’s above freezing; the little ice balls are hitting the roof and making such a racket that it woke me up. This is not the sort of day for thinking about turkey hunting, but there it is. The switch inside my head has but two settings. One setting is for deer. The other is where it is now. I have already been to the basement once this morning to check on supplies of ammunition. I have enough 3-inch #4’s to last for a few more seasons. My calls are still all packed up. However, I’ll … More . . .
Eight weeks and Counting
I just watched the countdown timer cross the 8-week mark. It’s now exactly 2 months to the start of Kentucky’s Modern Weapons Season. I stayed home from the farm overnight. It was going to be hot and muggy and thunderstorms have been moving through since sundown Friday. I’ve been busy down in the shamanic reloading cave all week, replenishing the larder. 25-06: 117 gr Hornady SPBT over H4831sc 30-06: Lots of 150 and 165 grainers over H4895. 30-30: 170-grain cast lead over H4895 — more green powder coated stuff 308 Win: 165 Grain Hornady SPBT over H4895 357 Mag: 125-grain … More . . .
A New 100-Yard Target Stand
Back when I was wringing out the new Ruger American Predator in .223 REM, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. There was a lot of wind, and my groups were getting spread out horizontally a good 4 inches while the vertical difference was less than an inch. I looked into it, and the horizontal deflection of a 20 MPH wind on that load was indeed 4 inches at 100 yards. I frequently have gusty winds out at camp when I’m sighting in deer rifles, so I began thinking about a fix. The nice thing about having a place of your own … More . . .
Wringing out the Ruger American Predator
I was out shooting with my new Ruger American Predator in 223 REM. Overall, I impressed with a lot of things. There are a few flaws, but they are minor. I am also very happy with the Bushnell Banner 6-24X40mm scope I mounted on it. My only beef is that this is not a rifle that single-feeds easily. Feeding on the magazine so far has been flawless, but popping a single round in, no matter what bullet or seating depth, invariably causes trouble. I’m had that trouble before with a couple of rifles. It is a minor irritant. I have … More . . .
Scotty’s Birthday
Scotty is turning 13 this month. Scotty’s decided that a squirrel hunting trip was a perfect birthday gift. So, he approached me to see what all it would take. No one in the family had received Hunter’s Ed, so there was an overnight trip down to a class down in central KY tacked on to the deal. It was Yute Weekend last weekend, but there were no more Yutes. Little Mooselette is still a couple of years away from her first deer hunt. The farm was open so . . . Nobody got a squirrel, but that didn’t matter. Big … More . . .
The Whelenizer Makeover
The Whelenizer is back on the rack, I had a blast trying out my new cast loads down at camp over the weekend. I went with the idea of loading as I went, 5 rounds at a time, and I got a chance to survey all the territory between 42 grains and 50 grains of H4895. Accuracy was best between 42 and 44. I was able to break 2500 with 50 grains, however both the accuracy was poor and the velocities were all over the place. My conclusions are as follows: 1) 43 grains of H4895 gave consistent velocity and … More . . .
News from the Shooting Bench
I have been working feverishly with new cast loads for my 35 cals. This past weekend, I finally got a chance to run them through the chronograph. 35 Whelen I pulled the Whelenizer out of the rotation last year in preference to my new 30-06 Ruger Hawkeye. This year, it was time to put it back in. I have been casting RCBS 35-200-FN with gas checks, and then powder coating them. My old Whelenizer load for the Rem 7600 was a 200 grain Rem CL over H4895, running at slightly reduced velocities– roughly equivalent to a 358 WIN. I started … More . . .
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