What Did You Shoot Today?

[Ian]

50 years from now someone at a lumber dealer will have a story.

When I worked at the cabinet shop we got a random few bullets that turned up in knotty alder from the PNW, no doubt misses and pass-throughs, occasionally one would tear up the wide-belt sander. We had a nice cast lead .45 (probably a 45/70) in profile in one board from a wood order for a customer who wanted extra knots, a few knot holes in door panels if possible, and even a little bark edge here or there if we could work it in. We did, and I suggested we use that bullet board to make the panel over the kitchen sink. Boss wasn't crazy about it but we did it anyway and the couple loved it. How many people have a conversation piece like that? The tree had healed around the bullet completely and made a neat grain pattern and I imagine was quite a conversation starter among guests in the kitchen.

The broken glass and razor blade fragments we encountered frequently in Chinese plywood was considerably less amusing.

 

[fiver]

now we know where all that junk from the ww buckets went.

 

[RBHarter]

I have a 9mm FMJ that was from the old shop in that other lifetime .

We had a job that called for about 400 24" 4×4 blocks so we set a stop and 1 guy feeds 2 at time , a second makes cuts , and the third guy stacks . Handy since there were 3 of us we'll set in our placement as a team . We're zooming along making probably 24-26 blocks a minute , 16" radial arm saw , and there's this wham-bang and the motor hits the arm stop and the outer cut off block is on the floor . There's this gawd awful vibration and the cut looks like a palm tree blew up on the ends.

We had 6 teeth laid over from 45-90° on a 68 tooth blade and 2/3 of the tips gone . For what it's worth a 16" saw will run right through a piece of 3/8 steel rod or possibly an 60d spike like the nail shaped tent stakes dead center and completely invisible in a 4×4×16' . Kind of on those $110 a pop Oldham blades too . .

 

[Ian]

More from the FrankenFlinter, this time worked the FFg load up a little (running low on FFF). It seemed to like 55 grains and was shooting pretty well so I filed the front sight some more and put three on white target. All at 50 yards. I'm happy.

 

[462]

Rifle: Ruger American
Caliber: .223 Remington
Bullet: Sierra 77-grain HPBT Match
Powder: IMR 4895 24.0-grains.
Distance: 100-yards.

This target shows the fallacy of using only three shots as proof of a rifle and/or load's accuracy. The first three shots were those under the bullet. After wiping the massive grin off my face, I told my local friend and occasional shooting pard that I ought to pack up and go home. The next two shots are proof I should have.

 

[462]

Ian and I posted at the same time. My three shot group comment was directed at gun writers, not him or other forum members. We know better.

 

[Rushcreek]

I shot a big skunk with my Taurus PT22 at a range of 6 inches.
It was in my sons live trap. He has a sense of smell, I don’t- so I showed him how I carried the towel draped trap out east of the yard, set it down gently and wait for the shot to present itself.
The big old skunk apparently farted a bit on demise.
My wife told me so….

 

[Ian]

I guess asking for the pelt is out of the question now......

Michael, there are several reasons I didn't shoot more than three for the final test group. For one, I don't clean consistently and I'm using a hippie hand balm in a handy tin like shoe polish comes in for lube because I'm too lazy to make more patch lube, so there's that. Had a very, very tight ball right after the short starter due to fouling and that one went way low on the black. Had a hang-fire and an involuntary weak-jerk during the shot that pulled the one high (offhand was pointless today, waving around, not feeling well and not shooting well), and finally I already shot enough today to know the rifle will group with the load I worked out if I take some care in loading so really I just wanted to get the powder charge verified and file the front sight so I don't have to aim high anymore. The last reason is the three shot group looked good and I know is representative of the rifle so I didn't want the "me factor" to screw it up! Plus I just wanted to ding some steel using a post as a brace after the sight-in.

What sucks is when you're on the seventh shot of a bughole and looking at the group through the scope that anxiety thing starts creeping in as in the back of your mind there's this little voice saying "don't blow it, don't blow it!" and you blow it. Mind games.

 

[462]

Ian, I knew you had your reasons, and among them was shooting a rifle off-hand that by design causes flinches as it explodes directly in front or your face. Too, gun writers have been getting ribbed, lately, so thought I'd add my poke.

I did think about leaving that three shot group as it was and moving on to another target, but not being a gun writer I knew that it would be cheating. Still, I'm happy to know (and show) that a factory-scoped rifle built to meet a certain low-end price point, and my handloads cobbled together on a Lee Classic cast iron turret press, are capable of producing such groups. And we both know how that vision thing can adversely affect what a rifle and our loads are capable of.

And, yes, I was sweating the fourth and fifth shots, and the sweat that was dripping off my brow and onto the glasses and into my eyes caused the last two shots to wander.

Yep, your three-shot target is a keeper and one your kids will be proud to show their grandkids.

 

[Mitty38]

Tested loads and different bullets for the 1911 in 45 ACP.
Shot every sample @CWLONGSHOT sent with LongShot and Red Dot. Several different charges.

Came to the conclusion. Getting 8 more lb of longshot and a lee or lyman.200 grain SWC mould.
Then melting down what's left of those other bullets CW sent me, and making swc's. No offence CW but those 200 grain swc's you sent me are the ends all, does all for that gun.

Shot those 200 grain with 6.7 grain of long shot. Beat all the other bullets and charge combinations I took out today.
30 ft 3 inch groups standing. Which is my best. For a 5 inch barrel on anything. My son could get 2 inch groups but he shoots 2 inches low so I still outscored him.

 

[Brad]

Ian, I was a firm believer in a 50/50 mix of Hoppes 9+ and Vaseline hand lotion. I shot all day with no cleaning. Works very well.

 

[Wasalmonslayer]

Snuck out the the range today even thou it was snowing, windy and just down right cruddy!
Shot my savage 6.5 creed to zero the scope after having the barrel shortened 6”.
Final group 4 shots at 100 right at .5”.
Happy guy I am!
This is my hunting rifle for the area we go in Idaho. Max shot is 200 yds.
I took it as a 22” gun with a brake and it was not handy at all!
Will post a rifle pic next time I am in my shop.
Working on cleaning it up right now.

 

[Wasalmonslayer]

Going to adjust zero next range trip. I was tired of freezing today!

 

[fiver]

i'd just click them in now and go with it.
6 up and 2 right, lock down the caps and move on confident in my bullets hitting to 300yds.

 

[Wasalmonslayer]

That’s my plan but want to “confirm” that adjustment when I am not shivering and my teeth are not chattering….
Was not horrible cold temp wise but the constant breeze was yuk!

 

[Snakeoil]

.22 Match today. No wind for most of the match. Everyone with a scope should have shot clean. But we didn't. I could not see my groups at 200 yds because of the mirage coming out the window and I only had a 10X scope. My spotter was looking thru 2 pains of glass so he could not see either. Shot a nice group at 3:00 on the target and 1 in the dirt at 3:00. He said "gimme a click left" about half way thru the 10 rounds and I said no because the wind was starting to come and go an I wanted to be sure of my hold-off. Bad move on my part. He ended up shooting clean.

Our Fearless Leader shot clean as well. Tie breaker is the offhand shots at a 12" buffalo set at 300 yds. Fearless Leader hit the buffalo, turned it 90 degs and it stayed on the stand. Steve hit the buffalo and knocked it off the stand. I told Fearless Leader that he came in 2nd and a half. I'm sure he is going to twist the scorekeeper's arm and call it a tie for 1st place.

Fearless Leader brought a very rare gun for show n' tell today. First Allyn conversion. Basically a 1865 musket with a chunk hacksawed out of the top half of the barrel just ahead of the breech plug and a trapdoor assembly screwed to the barrel. It took a .50 cal rimfire cartridge. Gun is like new. The history is interesting. Peabody actually won the bid to produce the first breech loading cartridge rifle for the Army. Buy the Army was pretty much tapped out cash-wise at the end of the Civil War. Allyn worked at Springfield and since his designs were the property of the arsenal, it was his design that they went with instead of Peabody's.

Just think, if it was not for the Army pinching pennies at the time, we would have never had the Trapdoor Springfield.

 

[462]

Yesterday it was the 6 1/2" S&W Model 624 and the Randall 1911.

Tested plinking loads for the 624 with Arsenal's 429421 (432421) and SR 7625, with 6.2-grains coming out the winner.

The Randall's recent full length guide rod problem has had me thinking seriously thinking about converting it to Mr. Browning's configuration, but so far vacillation has won out over action. I did replace the Wolff reduced power recoil and main springs with the original factory springs, with no notable difference in function and/or accuracy.

Lyman's 452374 and 5.0-grains of Unique did their usual flawless performance. Lee's 452-230 TC had three failures to feed/chamber, but I forget to check if they were with the Randall magazines or the Check-Mates. I've tweaked the extractor at least twice, but after so many thousands of rounds it may be time for a new one.

 

[Snakeoil]

I guess asking for the pelt is out of the question now......

Speaking of pelts, is anyone interested? I have two coyote pelts that were not split open to be skinned. Were started at the rear and worked forward, keeping the hide intact. It produces a tubular hide which is probably nice for hats or mufflers. Both have the head included. Tails are shot on both hides. I assume the tails got beat up in the skinning process. Gorgeous fur. I have no use for them.

If there is interest, I'll post for sale in the Swap section. Never dawned on me that someone here might want them.

I have a friend that is nuisance trapper. Not sure if he can sell the skins. I know he gets lots of calls for skunks and the law says he must kill them. If you are looking for skunk skins, Ian, I can ask him. Not sure if they tend to spray when you shoot them.

 

[Snakeoil]

Just asked my friend the nuisance trapper about skunk pelts. He said he does not get them tanned anymore because the shipping costs to the tannery have gotten too expensive. He said when he was still selling them, he was getting $45 to $55 each. I was surprised to hear that.

 

[Ian]

Pm on the way.