so waht ya doin today?
- Thread starter fiver
- Start date
L Ross
Well-Known Member
I have a fondness or weakness for all of the old W.C.F. cartridges. I'm sure it was instilled in me by my love and admiration for my Father. To a young boy a Dad can do no wrong, especially when that Dad really was a good man. I of course wanted to do everything my Dad did. So as to not digress too far I'll skip right to my one of my Dad's hobbies.
Being relatively poor, my Dad's hobbies tended to be on the modest side. Where his Chiropractor friend had the means to be a serious gun collector, my Dad collected cartridges. We had 1,800 lbs. of live ammo in the old farm house, a statistic my Dad was inordinately proud of. He'd go to gun shows with his friend and sell cartridges from Phillips 66 quart oil cans he had cleaned, painted the outsides battle ship grey, and hand lettered in black enamel. As an example, one can that vividly sticks in my memory from 55 years ago said, "W.R.A. 45-75 75 cents ea." with a little swoosh under the price like you'd see under a signature from an old document.
In Winter when the up stairs bedrooms in the unheated, uninsulated, 1863 vintage house got too cold for us boys, the bunk beds came down to the living room closer to the only heat source in that whole place, a fuel oil space heater with a 5 gallon reservoir on the back. I'd lay in the lower bunk and Dad would line up cartridges on the cracked linoleum of the "dining room", and starting with the shortest, smallest on the left, they would progress to the biggest tallest on the right. Those big boys were almost all paper patched. My Mom was from South Dakota, and Dad garnered a lot of old ammo from "Out West", and believe me there was a lot. He had an egg crate full of .44 Henry Flats with a raised H head stamp as I recall.
Well anyway, the "dash" cartridges and W.C.F. cartridges hold a special place in my heart, no doubt planted there in a cold, drafty old dump of a house in the early 1960's.
Now a days, I have a gun collection my Dad could not even imagine, and while the days of 25 dollar 1873's is long gone, I have my toys. The little 25-20 is particularly useful toy, and I have a Low-Wall, a 1892 rifle, and now this little Model 25 pump. In the book, "A trapper's Legacy: The Tales of a Twentieth Century Trapper." Carl Schels tell of his life during the Great Depression in Northern Wisconsin. During the Winter of 1933-34, Carl scraped together enough fur money to order his first real gun from the Montgomery Ward's catalog and he ordered a Model 25 Remington pump in 25-20. Wrote Carl, "This was always considered the violator's gun." "It had all the firepower needed, but the main thing was it didn't make a lot of noise."
Two of my very close friends recount that their fathers kept hunger at bay for their families with 25-20 lever guns. They both told me the same thing, the target was the white patch on a deer's throat. One family was from northern Wisconsin, and the other from the Iron Range in Minnesota.
I will take a deer with one of these guns, most likely the 92. I cast and reload for them, and I use the Low-Wall on squirrels and the target is the eye ball. I wish that the good jacketed bullets had not been discontinued by the manufacturers. Why is it all the good stuff doesn't last? I miss real Winchesters, Bodies by Fisher, and good 33 and 25 jacketed bullets with cannelures.
Last edited:
Ian
Notorious member
Having fought rust cancer on many a Fisher Coach Corporation body in a semi-arid climate I can't say I share the love. Poor seam sealing caulk and even poorer moisture drain designs cause chronic rot in some really hard to access points. Later GM bodies were half the gauge, but dipped in an anti-corrosion vat before painting, plus had considerably better ventilation and drainage points. Paint didn't stick so well, but neither did rust.
JonB
Halcyon member
The tale of the old wheel barrow
A short story by Jon Baldwin 5-19-2019
I really love old things that look rusted and busted. I don’t recall exactly which auction I bought this old rusty wheel barrow at? But it was in southern Minnesota in the late 1980s. I used it many times at my brick house in Arlington. It was very useful there, it seems I was always doing some brick work on that place. This old wheel barrow was great for heavy items like rocks and bricks, but not so much for soil or sand, due to the holes rusted through it. I’m not sure what kind of life it had before I found it, but it got plenty of attention while I had it at that place.
In 1990 my job forced me to move. I stored many things at a friends farm, including this old rusty wheel barrow. While it was being stored, my friend’s mom spotted it behind the barn and decided to use it as a flower planter. She claimed it as her own and it became useful once again.
Three years later and two more address changes for me, I went to claim my stored items. I loaded all my items, but one. I was told that the old rusty wheel barrow is no longer mine, it was hers. While I wanted it back, there was really nothing much to do about it, she had always been more than generous to me during all the years I knew her, so I surely wasn’t going to put up a fight for it. I figured at that time, she’d use it for a few more years and get sick of it, and let me have it back.
...A couple decades later...
That old rusty Wheel barrow was filled with weeds. It hadn’t had flowers for over a year, because my Friend’s mom had been ill over that time and then she passed away. She was loved by many, and many were at her memorial celebration.
Several months passed and my friend was fixing up the place, I stopped by and asked if he was gonna have any use for that old wheel barrow, because I still wanted it back. He laughed and told me, “After all these years? You don’t want that old rusty thing, it has many holes and is useless as a wheel barrow.” He further told me that he liked it as a flower planter, and was gonna plant flowers in it, so he was gonna keep it. I surely didn’t expect to hear that, and to be honest, I was quite upset.
Now that shouldn’t have upset me? It is just an old rusty wheel barrow, not really worth anything. I thought to myself, where did this selfish pang inside me come from? Why was I still attached to that old wheel barrow? What is even worse, this bothered me for several weeks. I talked to other friends, telling them the story, looking for sympathy, but of course there was none offered, as I was being foolish. I prayed about it, and finally was able to just let it go.
That summer turned to fall. I never did see any flowers in the old wheel barrow that year, but it didn’t matter as I was over it. Winter came and went. Spring arrived, the old wheel barrow was moved off my friend’s lawn. My friend tells me, he didn’t like to mow around it anymore, and if I still wanted it, I could haul it away. Funny thing is, I really was ‘over it’ and I couldn’t think of any reason to use it for. I have other wheel barrows to use for yard work. I don’t plant flowers in planters, I rarely had any luck with that. I learned it’s best to plant flowers right in the ground, so God can feed and water them.
Anyway, I still really love old things that look rusted and busted, so I reluctantly brought the old wheel barrow home.
I thought maybe this old rusty wheel barrow would serve as a curio mixed in with some of my other yard relics. For a while, I thought it found it’s spot, but it just killed the grass sitting at that location for a couple seasons. I really don’t think the old rusty wheel barrow was happy here.
A couple weeks ago, during a phone conversation with a relative, she tells me she is going to a flea market looking for a “vintage” wheelbarrow for a fairy garden. I don’t really know what a fairy garden is? But I told her, that I have the perfect thing for it.
The Photo is of the old rusty wheel barrow on this rainy day, as it just arrived at it’s new home. I think I can see it smiling.
A short story by Jon Baldwin 5-19-2019
I really love old things that look rusted and busted. I don’t recall exactly which auction I bought this old rusty wheel barrow at? But it was in southern Minnesota in the late 1980s. I used it many times at my brick house in Arlington. It was very useful there, it seems I was always doing some brick work on that place. This old wheel barrow was great for heavy items like rocks and bricks, but not so much for soil or sand, due to the holes rusted through it. I’m not sure what kind of life it had before I found it, but it got plenty of attention while I had it at that place.
In 1990 my job forced me to move. I stored many things at a friends farm, including this old rusty wheel barrow. While it was being stored, my friend’s mom spotted it behind the barn and decided to use it as a flower planter. She claimed it as her own and it became useful once again.
Three years later and two more address changes for me, I went to claim my stored items. I loaded all my items, but one. I was told that the old rusty wheel barrow is no longer mine, it was hers. While I wanted it back, there was really nothing much to do about it, she had always been more than generous to me during all the years I knew her, so I surely wasn’t going to put up a fight for it. I figured at that time, she’d use it for a few more years and get sick of it, and let me have it back.
...A couple decades later...
That old rusty Wheel barrow was filled with weeds. It hadn’t had flowers for over a year, because my Friend’s mom had been ill over that time and then she passed away. She was loved by many, and many were at her memorial celebration.
Several months passed and my friend was fixing up the place, I stopped by and asked if he was gonna have any use for that old wheel barrow, because I still wanted it back. He laughed and told me, “After all these years? You don’t want that old rusty thing, it has many holes and is useless as a wheel barrow.” He further told me that he liked it as a flower planter, and was gonna plant flowers in it, so he was gonna keep it. I surely didn’t expect to hear that, and to be honest, I was quite upset.
Now that shouldn’t have upset me? It is just an old rusty wheel barrow, not really worth anything. I thought to myself, where did this selfish pang inside me come from? Why was I still attached to that old wheel barrow? What is even worse, this bothered me for several weeks. I talked to other friends, telling them the story, looking for sympathy, but of course there was none offered, as I was being foolish. I prayed about it, and finally was able to just let it go.
That summer turned to fall. I never did see any flowers in the old wheel barrow that year, but it didn’t matter as I was over it. Winter came and went. Spring arrived, the old wheel barrow was moved off my friend’s lawn. My friend tells me, he didn’t like to mow around it anymore, and if I still wanted it, I could haul it away. Funny thing is, I really was ‘over it’ and I couldn’t think of any reason to use it for. I have other wheel barrows to use for yard work. I don’t plant flowers in planters, I rarely had any luck with that. I learned it’s best to plant flowers right in the ground, so God can feed and water them.
Anyway, I still really love old things that look rusted and busted, so I reluctantly brought the old wheel barrow home.
I thought maybe this old rusty wheel barrow would serve as a curio mixed in with some of my other yard relics. For a while, I thought it found it’s spot, but it just killed the grass sitting at that location for a couple seasons. I really don’t think the old rusty wheel barrow was happy here.
A couple weeks ago, during a phone conversation with a relative, she tells me she is going to a flea market looking for a “vintage” wheelbarrow for a fairy garden. I don’t really know what a fairy garden is? But I told her, that I have the perfect thing for it.
The Photo is of the old rusty wheel barrow on this rainy day, as it just arrived at it’s new home. I think I can see it smiling.
fiver
Well-Known Member
that's a hod tenders barrow.
the frame is very similar to the barrow I have, but mine now wears a rubber tire and has a big square bucket.
a fairy garden is a make believe small town you plant flowers etc. around the little houses and make small gardens etc. for each place.
think of an outdoor Christmas village.
Littlegirl has a tiny one in a planter in front of her place, I like to move things around in it and add or remove stuff when she isn't looking.
it looks like some of her buildings are in the back round of the picture there.
the frame is very similar to the barrow I have, but mine now wears a rubber tire and has a big square bucket.
a fairy garden is a make believe small town you plant flowers etc. around the little houses and make small gardens etc. for each place.
think of an outdoor Christmas village.
Littlegirl has a tiny one in a planter in front of her place, I like to move things around in it and add or remove stuff when she isn't looking.
it looks like some of her buildings are in the back round of the picture there.
Last edited:
uncle jimbo
Well-Known Member
Spent the weekend out to Flaming gorge for the fishing tournament. It was extremely cold both days, it rained a lot both days, and the wind blew a lot both days. It blew so hard on Sunday, we got off the water about 11:30 even though the tournament didn't end until 1:00 pm. The fish didn't want to corporate at all. We didn't even get on the leader board at all this year.
Last edited:
Ian, interesting adjustable ported bass reflex design. Had an uncle who's hobby was 'inventing' new cabs. He had some pretty neat ones, speakers weren't very good at the time. Only thing I crank up anymore is the bass amp. My autos have stock systems and will never get anything more. Gave Dad's voice of the theater A-L system to son, too big for my place. Always did like the 15" JBL better. Mom wouldn't let me turn the dual showman over 3 in the house.
fiver
Well-Known Member
well it stopped snowing.
the sun come out, it rained, the sun come out, it hailed,,, sigh.
oh I ended up performing the water heater procedure I explained to Jon earlier in this thread.
I was gonna move the Pioneer home stereo upstairs and hook the record player up so I could listen to some of the 'new' records I have piling up.
the wife had a hissy fit about not having enough hot water for her usual 45 minute water and steam extravaganza.
of course the little vacuum adaptor I made disappeared somewhere, as did everyone when I needed some actual help instead of just an audience.
now I gotta go buy a couple more heating elements.
the sun come out, it rained, the sun come out, it hailed,,, sigh.
oh I ended up performing the water heater procedure I explained to Jon earlier in this thread.
I was gonna move the Pioneer home stereo upstairs and hook the record player up so I could listen to some of the 'new' records I have piling up.
the wife had a hissy fit about not having enough hot water for her usual 45 minute water and steam extravaganza.
of course the little vacuum adaptor I made disappeared somewhere, as did everyone when I needed some actual help instead of just an audience.
now I gotta go buy a couple more heating elements.
Got back from GS's orchestra performance. Plays trumpet and had a ensemble solo. Wed. the older has his show, euphonium (funny tuba). Dang, these kids are good and they actually get to play some decent music. Vid doesn't upload but he's the only 7th grader in the ensomble.
Last edited:
Ian
Notorious member
And here I thought I was sentimental about stuff. I got one of those steel wheelbarrows just Jon's that off the old "family farm" which is still in operation and in the family (actually all interest was sold to a BIL who was also a family business partner of 60-some years). The second-generation farmhouse built in the 30s is falling in, and the wheelbarrow was with some other metal scrap in the collapsed cistern, so I drug it out and carried it home in my trunk, eight hour drive.
Whooboy, what did I do today? Well, got up at six AM and hauled a trailer load of brush to the dump, made it to work only ten minutes late, worked all day, came home and cut/loaded/tarped/tied down another load, ate supper, played blocks and barbies with my daughter, then tore apart the downstairs mini-split for the semi-annual internal cleaning/anti-microbe treatment. The blower wheel especially builds up with some kind of mold-ish funk to the point that airflow gets restricted and it stops cooling well, plus starts dripping water on the floor due to the omproper airflow and condensation patterns. Real PITA. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today if all goes well, except I plan to drink Scotch instead of being Mr. HVAC Technician at 10 PM.
Whooboy, what did I do today? Well, got up at six AM and hauled a trailer load of brush to the dump, made it to work only ten minutes late, worked all day, came home and cut/loaded/tarped/tied down another load, ate supper, played blocks and barbies with my daughter, then tore apart the downstairs mini-split for the semi-annual internal cleaning/anti-microbe treatment. The blower wheel especially builds up with some kind of mold-ish funk to the point that airflow gets restricted and it stops cooling well, plus starts dripping water on the floor due to the omproper airflow and condensation patterns. Real PITA. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today if all goes well, except I plan to drink Scotch instead of being Mr. HVAC Technician at 10 PM.
Wifey stopped at B$N yesterday for some quicky book presents. In their attempts to promote authors? and books,by displayed location.....
She snagged me a Wright bros. book by David McCullough.
He's an OK writer.... a touch "fashionable" in his approach twds history but hey, it's about a cpl of my hero's so I'll put up with his "slant".
She snagged me a Wright bros. book by David McCullough.
He's an OK writer.... a touch "fashionable" in his approach twds history but hey, it's about a cpl of my hero's so I'll put up with his "slant".
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
The little Marlin and Remington slide actions in 32-20 and 25-20 were pretty popular in my section of the Adirondacks back in the day. They were almost always "the wifes" gun. Some were considered "boys guns" and all were used for deer. I suppose back in the day of the hi speed 32-20 loads it was almost do-able, but as recently as the early 80's I saw boys going into the woods with a 32-20 Remington and standard 32-20 ammo. Undergunned IMO, especially for the larger bodied mountain deer. For a stalker that can get up within 50 yards and put the shot in the right place, yes. Otherwise it's way too light. But the rifles themselves are a joy to carry and shoot. I'd grab one in a heartbeat. The 32-20 was far more popular than the 25-20 down there by several factors.
We did have one old lady near me that took a bear every year or 2 that was bothering her sheep with a 32-20 Win 92. Tough old lady.
More rain here. Got a crap load of stuff to do. Worn right out though. This arthritis in the knees in keeping me up nights. Getting real old, real fast.
We did have one old lady near me that took a bear every year or 2 that was bothering her sheep with a 32-20 Win 92. Tough old lady.
More rain here. Got a crap load of stuff to do. Worn right out though. This arthritis in the knees in keeping me up nights. Getting real old, real fast.
L Ross
Well-Known Member
Yesterday was the post shoot cleanup. Picked up targets, removed the temporary target stands from the Boy's Rifle Match and mowed the range. Was pleasantly surprised to find myself in the midst of a migration of Scarlet Tanagers. I saw at 15 males and females. They were relatively tame and let me get within 20' of where they were perched while I was on the mower. Now the Phoebes, heck, they use the mower as a beater to chase moths and such out of the grass for them to snatch out of the air. Our last year's prairie planting seems to have become the in spot for the Indigo Buntings to feed. I saw 9 as I drove the lane alongside the prairie to get to the range.
Supposed to be rainy again today with winds in excess of 30 mph. I may just have to work on loading ammo for the new to me Model 25 and a bunch of .308s for next months cast bullet match.
Supposed to be rainy again today with winds in excess of 30 mph. I may just have to work on loading ammo for the new to me Model 25 and a bunch of .308s for next months cast bullet match.
fiver
Well-Known Member
Bret try some Excedrin PM.
that stuff puts me out when I got some minor ache and pain stuff and need a good nights rest.
I was informed Littlegirl was gonna come over Saturday to help put the wood up to support the roof in the greenhouse.
only problem is I ain't got the wood, and wasn't gonna get it till next week end.
I still need a tree and I wanna put in a short fence, but wasn't planning on that until next year when I done phase-3 of the garden.
might just have to focus on the one area for now and get it done, the outside of the greenhouse needs some finish caulking, and some longer screws to tie it into the inner frame anyway,, and if I got the help [shrug] might as well take advantage of it.
that stuff puts me out when I got some minor ache and pain stuff and need a good nights rest.
I was informed Littlegirl was gonna come over Saturday to help put the wood up to support the roof in the greenhouse.
only problem is I ain't got the wood, and wasn't gonna get it till next week end.
I still need a tree and I wanna put in a short fence, but wasn't planning on that until next year when I done phase-3 of the garden.
might just have to focus on the one area for now and get it done, the outside of the greenhouse needs some finish caulking, and some longer screws to tie it into the inner frame anyway,, and if I got the help [shrug] might as well take advantage of it.
CZ93X62
Official forum enigma
I have never considered the 25/20 WCF or 32/20 WCF in the light of "Deer caliber". Both are legal for that use in my state, but I sure as h--l wouldn't try such stunt work with those rounds. Some parts of that "light-tackle fishing" ethos just do not translate well to either the game fields or to the self-defense venues. This applies to the high-velocity 32/20 as well as its self-loading counterpart the 30 M1 Carbine. Not enough for deer, for me anyway.
As short- to medium-range varmint calibers, the 25/20 and 32/20 excel. Add in the 218 Bee and 22 Hornet here as well. I have no experience with the Bee, but LOTS of shooting with the other 3 under discussion here. Better coyote-whackers have yet to be developed. If I was to venture a guess, that role was assumed by that Marlin 27-S ranch rifle I inherited. Keeping coyotes off of petstock and livestock was no different in 1919 than it is today. Today's hunter is more apt to grab a 223 gas gun to conduct such transactions, and the 223 has more reach and a flatter trajectory. But most of the song dogs I have dispatched have fallen within ranges that both 25/20 and 32/20 can reach decisively and accurately. As varminters, the 25/20 and 32/20 only give up a bit of range to the 223.
As short- to medium-range varmint calibers, the 25/20 and 32/20 excel. Add in the 218 Bee and 22 Hornet here as well. I have no experience with the Bee, but LOTS of shooting with the other 3 under discussion here. Better coyote-whackers have yet to be developed. If I was to venture a guess, that role was assumed by that Marlin 27-S ranch rifle I inherited. Keeping coyotes off of petstock and livestock was no different in 1919 than it is today. Today's hunter is more apt to grab a 223 gas gun to conduct such transactions, and the 223 has more reach and a flatter trajectory. But most of the song dogs I have dispatched have fallen within ranges that both 25/20 and 32/20 can reach decisively and accurately. As varminters, the 25/20 and 32/20 only give up a bit of range to the 223.