.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
More . . .
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 . . .
Views: 5