Traditional Muzzleloading Association
The Center of Camp => The Campfire => Topic started by: Winter Hawk on May 15, 2024, 01:24:24 PM
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That question says it all! It sure is quiet around here. I admit that I haven't been as prolific as I could be, but it looks like membership interest has dwindled to almost being disinterested! :Doh!
Just saying.....
~Kees~
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I'm at work, nursing home.
State inspectors are here all week. Awesome!!
I'm planning on playing with ginger tomorrow.
Gonna run some..535 balls thru her just to see if they tighten up my groups.
With .530 I can cover the my 25yd group with my thumb.
So not expecting much improvement.
I'll try her at 50 yds too.
Kevin
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Just trying to get stuff around the house done. Seemingly a never ending chore.
Getting a beef stew ready to drop into the slow cooker in a few minutes. After that, I will start a batch of pork and beans in the Instapot. As much as I like cooking with my cast iron pots and pans, these few electric conveniences are terrific.
We spent a week at Lake Tahoe last week, and I had the "Joy???????" of cooking on an electric stove. Couldn't wait to get back to my wonderful gas stove at home. I cannot say how much I dislike electric stoves. YUK!!! And the dips^@ts here in Kalifornia want to outlaw them. Goes to show how smart they are (not).
That's about all.
John
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That question says it all! It sure is quiet around here. I admit that I haven't been as prolific as I could be, but it looks like membership interest has dwindled to almost being disinterested! :Doh!
Just saying.....
~Kees~
Yep.
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Been busy building a few new garden beds for the boss lady, got the veges in and going, tuned a dozen powder measures on the lathe and have the finish curing on them, then 3 or 4 nights a week we are at the grandkids soccer games, that cuts into my good dinners, getting tired of pizza, sandwiches and breakfast for dinner, soccer can't end soon enough!
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Been sitting on the porch, waiting for someone to say they were turning out powder measures on their lathe.
Since Jim said that, now I don't know what I'm gonna do. Maybe I should ask him to post some pictures. I might be in the market for an 80 grain for the GPR. Sure am getting itchy to take a poke at that long range postage stamp target ( If I can figure out how to set my adjustable powder measure for 80 grains). :lol sign
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Not doing much in the way of muzzleloading lately. Been doing some kayaking and motorcycle riding. Getting ready for a dirt bike camping trip up to Canada in June.
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Been sitting on the porch, waiting for someone to say they were turning out powder measures on their lathe.
Since Jim said that, now I don't know what I'm gonna do. Maybe I should ask him to post some pictures. I might be in the market for an 80 grain for the GPR. Sure am getting itchy to take a poke at that long range postage stamp target ( If I can figure out how to set my adjustable powder measure for 80 grains). :lol sign
Theyre coming, finish is drying, 80 gr? I'll see what I can do, figured Maple or Cherry?
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Been sitting on the porch, waiting for someone to say they were turning out powder measures on their lathe.
Since Jim said that, now I don't know what I'm gonna do. Maybe I should ask him to post some pictures. I might be in the market for an 80 grain for the GPR. Sure am getting itchy to take a poke at that long range postage stamp target ( If I can figure out how to set my adjustable powder measure for 80 grains). :lol sign
Theyre coming, finish is drying, 80 gr? I'll see what I can do, figured Maple or Cherry?
That shoild be fun, where you headed in Canuckastan?
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I assume your asking me that, Jim. Actually nowhere special. It'll be wilderness. Just us and the black flies :Doh!. We'll cross in Maine. About 1300 miles the way we have it mapped.
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I assume your asking me that, Jim. Actually nowhere special. It'll be wilderness. Just us and the black flies :Doh!. We'll cross in Maine. About 1300 miles the way we have it mapped.
Sweet!we travel often to mid and northern BC for killer trout and grayling fishing, hope I have 1 more trip left in me!
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Well, that's a fine howdy-do! I had a reply half done and somehow managed to make it disappear! Well, try again. ;banghead;
Nothing exciting has been going on. Had my annual physical on Monday; all looks good except for whatever measurement it is for diabetes. I'm now "borderline" pre-diabetic, so have to cut back on sugar which means none as I haven't been a heavy sugar consumer anyway.
Shooting, I haven't really had the chance to get to the range, and when I did it was raining. I'll see what tomorrow brings. If the morning is dry I want to get out and shoot the May targets. Also need to do the weekly shopping.
We had to put one of the cats down last week. He came to us as a foster with medical needs. He was found in a trailer with 27 (!) other cats. It was so bad the folks getting them out had to wear oxygen masks. He was skin over bones, ears were tattered and super sick. We nursed him back to health which took over 3 months, but he has always been sickly with draining eyes and upper respiratory problems. No one wanted to adopt him so we took him permanently. That was 8 years ago. He came down with another sinus infection and it took him down to the point that he couldn't eat or drink, They tried the three strongest antibiotics and they didn't do anything. He had a good life here and we decided it was best to help him over the divide. Still a real bummer!
And that is all the news from Lake Woebegone....
~Kees~
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Yard work, honey do's, Gun club work, garage work, everything but car servicing. when you're retired everyone thinks you're available to help.
This week-end is for ME!!
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Good luck with that !
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Well, I had a good black powder turkey season. I hunted two days and killed two birds with two different fowlers. Now I'm just waiting around for squirrel season to open on May 25th. I have a whole passel of young-n-tenders running around the house that I need to bring in for dinner. I came up with a new recipe for fixing them that I am anxious to try out, birria squirrel enchiladas!
(https://i.imgur.com/M6FUvuZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zlcBaS3.jpg)
Darren
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I did some shooting today .
2x2 spot. At 25 yds.
Pretty good for me from a rest.
Kevin
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Well you tried and tried again, and it looks as though as you have succeeded. Looking good buddy. :hairy
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I did some shooting today .
2x2 spot. At 25 yds.
Pretty good for me from a rest.
Kevin
Kevin, don’cha just love it when the plan comes together?
Myself, along with many others, nearly always start at that magical 25 yd starting point.
But then, according to our own inclinations, we start raising that POI an inch or two at a time until we get, what we think is our own maximum performance out of that load.
FWIW; My old friend Joe Martin and I both thought we could handle a 200 shot, so we both shot “high” at 25yd paper, then moved on to 100, 150, and then 200yds, then we used that same zero to shoot the 25 yd target again, which “finalized” our zero……for me, shooting / testing, a fast twist conical (1:26) it meant I was 6.5 to 7.5 inches HIGH at 25 yds, but for Joe, shooting a .45 cal round ball, it was more like 10 to 12” HIGH at 25 yds….it’s fairly easy to very our zero at any range by going back to 25 yds.
It is a fun game indeed, that we play, and the possibilities are limited only to our own Imagination.
We all love what we do, thinking it the best game in town,
We often tell other folks, when we are explaining what we do, that; “It’s a lot like Golf, but for real Men”!
Still yet, what you’re doing right now, ie, “Load Development”, is clearly the best game in town, and it’s loaded with surprises and lot's of fun!
Best of luck to ya, my friend, enjoy it while you can ‘cause it won’t last forever.
Russ…..
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Started this on Sunday, worked a bit on it Monday, think I can sneak out to my off grid shop today and maybe get a base plug turned for it while watching stripper work on a stock to remove some super shiny finish somebody put on an older CVA,
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Just checking the forum periodically to see if anybody can answer the question Beaverman asked about the thread size.If there was ever a $1,000,000 question , this could be it. I'm just wondering if Numrich Arms might be able to shed some light on the situation. I don't know what kind of muzzleloading parts they may have info on.
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[quote author=BEAVERMAN link=topic=27169.msg243896#msg243896 date=171691468
while watching stripper work on a stock
Wow, your workshop must look a lot different than mine! :*: :laffing :scared: If you need any help let me know. :lol sign
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[quote author=BEAVERMAN link=topic=27169.msg243896#msg243896 date=171691468
while watching stripper work on a stock
Wow, your workshop must look a lot different than mine! :*: :laffing :scared: If you need any help let me know. :lol sign
No room for a pole!
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Oh, man, what a bummer. :Doh!
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I do try to stay busy. . . . .
Am off tomorrow, so I'm going to try to get a bunch of stuff listed for sale: mostly extras I picked up from an estate sale (some ML and BPC barrels, modern scopes, and some misc).
About 6 years ago I decided (after ~45 years of dithering) that I wanted to make a copy of a horn carried by one of my great-greats. From the looks of the horn and the original carving, it was F&I era. When he got ahold of it post Rev War he did some carving of his own.
Tried finding a decent horn lately of a specific size/color/profile? I've been checking weekly for 6 years, no luck on ebay or Powderhornsandmore, or in the FSoT posts on the various forums I follow. I posted a WTB here, but I'm really missing the day when a note to Mr. Wilburn would have 5 of them shipped to my door.
Need to finish doing structural repairs/restoration on a cabinet for my incredibly-patient HSO. Need to get back to finishing the re-stock of my hunting rifle HG, get the Leman converted to a decent honest ignition system instead of Reverend Forsyth's monstrosity, and get a couple of pistols made.
On the bright side, after almost 25 years of work, the end of my boucheron project is almost in sight! I had to pick up some new skills (starting with burning charcoal, so I could set up and run a bloomery to refine bog iron), then figure out the cementation process so I could forge up shear steel. After that, forging/grinding the blade, etc is almost a walk in the park. And given that much lead time, I was even able to scrounge up the required boxwood.
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Just got done casting some .530 round balls. Now I've to dig the tumbler out to tumble them and eliminate that flat spot. Then probably sit on the porch for a while wondering about Joe taking another poke at the long range target . That's not good. The last time I wondered, I ended up making a purchase from Beaverman. What am I going to buy this time?🤔
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Well, I've been watching rain every time I need to do something outside. But in western Nebraska we won't complain about rain I guess..
My grandma is here to visit with us until Friday so we've been taking it kinda easy..
I added a little needed girth to some buckskins the other night while we watched a show she likes.
And today over my lunch I messed around with a design to laser into the top of an urn one of his friends had made for Marty. Cindy had asked if I could engrave, and while I'm not good at carving, I have a handy little laser setup that should do the trick... So that's what's up here.
Joe
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I assume that's the design going on the top of the urn. I'm sure you'll do a good job and Cindy will like and appreciate it.
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Yeah, she wants something central in the top with his name, then a powder horn on one side and maybe a bow or quiver on the other..
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That sounds like a wonderful plan to me. Have at it buddy.
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For many, many yearsm Joe's was known on all the forums as candle snuffer, maybe a candle with no flame and a wisp of smoke coming off the wick?
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I'll have to see if I can incorporate that now. Thank you.
Side note.. One of my best shoots and funniest rendezvous memories is with Marty at our candle shoot. We put everyone else out pretty quick, then back and forth for shot after shot until finally Marty says to me " I don't know about you, but I don't have the balls to finish this!" so we shook hands and shared first place.
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Mostly just veggin'............ :toast
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Just sitting on the porch again thinking about this coming weekends shoot. Deciding which gun to take. And wondering if dmarsh and I are the only TMA members still sucking air?
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I'm at work, nursing home.
State inspectors are here all week. Awesome!!
Kevin
Semi retired nurse here. I have worked extended care and have been thru state inspections.
I think I would rather face down a wounded grizzly empty handed. 🤠
IronHand
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I found a book about making a "board bow". It's really interesting and while I made a lot of mistakes I should end up with a decent 45 lb flat bow. {I hope}
IronHand
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I really admire you guys who are intelligent enough to do things like that. Please explain what a board bow is. I've never heard of such a thing. Probably because I never took an interest in archery related things. And a little late to become interested now.
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I really admire you guys who are intelligent enough to do things like that. Please explain what a board bow is. I've never heard of such a thing. Probably because I never took an interest in archery related things. And a little late to become interested now.
A board bow is one made from a board, rather than a stave of wood. There are a number of videos on YouTube on how to do this.
Even better, how about Ironhand (Fist of Steel?) giving us the title of the book, and the author? I'm interested in trying my hadn at making one myself.
~Kees~
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Still sucking air. Busy this year getting the house ready to sell when the time comes (hopefully years away). With all the rain we were trying to get out log home washed and oiled. Got it washed yesterday and it came out looking new even though she is 40 now. Rain predicted the next 4 days so oiling will be hopefully next week after the rain. New floor on the front porch and BBQ porch remodel. Painted the inside where we have sheetrock.
Spent the last week of May at our cabin in Vermont getting it opened up for the season. Hope to get some shooting in this month. Also spending time with my mother-in-law who will be 100 in September. We take her for rides and visit her as she is now in assisted living and doing very well. No meds and pretty much takes care of herself. Getting all of our medical and dental appointments taken care of so we can spend a lot of time in Vermont. So, the old fart and wife are busy... :bigsmile:
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Well Dave, it sounds like you're busier than a three tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Nothing wrong with that. Keeps you young (I think).
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Yesterday was spent trimming and dropping a few small trees that shade the veg garden. pyro wife was burning the stuff too small for fire wood, today I'll be weed whacking around the beds and machete trimming those dam black berries away from them, then build and set the 4x6 form for a dry concrete pour for the new garden shed the boss lady wants, hoping to get back to that powder horn and get it finished over the weekend, that's if she doesn't come up with another chore!
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Did a bunch of mowing yesterday while it was dry. Watching the veggies emerge (I was late getting seeds in the ground). We're down to 2 cats, and the oldest came down with hyperthyroidism. Had him on blocking meds, twice a day for the last 3 weeks. Took him in today for a blood draw and now he has dropped to the hyPOthyroid range so we'll go to one blocker per day. That will be a relief as, even with a pill shooter, it was a struggle to pill him.
I'm slowly working on a new stock for the Hodgepodge rifle. Today a new butt plate and nose cap arrived from Deer Creek Products so I'll be fitting those to the wood. The stock itself came from Pecatonica; I had sent in the existing stock for them to replicate. They did NOT cut the butt to the same as the original, left it long so I'll be messing with that for a while.
Otherwise life goes on. Wish I had a log home like Dave! I've built several cabins but never lived in them long enough to require cleaning and oiling....
~Kees~
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I really admire you guys who are intelligent enough to do things like that. Please explain what a board bow is. I've never heard of such a thing. Probably because I never took an interest in archery related things. And a little late to become interested now.
A board bow is one made from a board, rather than a stave of wood. There are a number of videos on YouTube on how to do this.
Even better, how about Ironhand (Fist of Steel?) giving us the title of the book, and the author? I'm interested in trying my hadn at making one myself.
~Kees~
The Backyard Bowyer by Nicholas Tomihana.
Pretty basic instructions and the photos are not great but he does give practical advice on how to make a bow with limited tools and space.
IronHand
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Well Dave, your post took me back to our days in Idaho. We also lived in a nice log home about 3 miles east of Hwy 95. We were there about 15 years when we decided to have it washed and oiled and recaulked. It sure looked a lot better when it was done.
Before we bought that, we had a cute little log cabin between the town of Priest River and Priest Lake. I really liked that place. We snowmobiled out of it in the winter and cut firewood out of it in the summer. In the spring and fall, we would just go up there and relax and enjoy. I had a recliner next to a window and all one had to do was sit down in it, recline, and guaranteed - you were asleep in 5 minutes or less. Oh well, so much for yesteryear.
Right now, we are in a campground in Washington on Silver Lake. To the east is Mt. St. Helens. What a view. It's sure not as much as it was 40 some odd years ago when it blew its top.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Off to a shoot today. Said the other day I was sitting on the porch trying to figure out which gun to take. Well gonna try the old Renegade with that Scheutzen powder. If it works well today, maybe I'll use it again tomorrow.
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Good luck, report back
Kevin
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Kevin,
Right about now, you ought to be right up to your ears in Rendezvous. We will be needing a full report on the activities and how the new site is working out. We used to snowmobile with the people who own the place, or at least they did back around 20 years ago or so. Nice folks. Have a great time.
Wondering about the tomahawk range. With all those logs set up, is that the hawk and knife trail walk?
John
PS Don't forget about photos
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Up in my Mountain cabin fixing winter damage and cleaning up. Not bad this year except for some black mold.
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John, I'll post up some rondy stuff in a couple days, once my 3 days at work are over.
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Here's two ol timers discussing flint and steel.
Frog Skinner and skinner .
Kevin
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I had a 12 second fire this past weekend (not good). I need to know what advice he is offering. ;banghead;
One of the guys I was timing, had a 3.22 sec. fire (that's good).
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Quick trip to take my grandma home to Missouri.. Had a day to enjoy the creek with the kids is about all. Lots of quick miles and rain.. Glad to be home and get back to stuff I need to get done though..
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I've been tending to the honey do list and the round to its the boss lady has accumulated, I was informed that these WILL be done before our rondy run starts next month, about every other weekend starting around the 4 of July through the end of Sept, it takes a weekend in between to recoup anymore! then hunting starts!
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Getting ready to head home tomorrow. Going to take it easy, expect to be back by Sunday.
It's been a great vacation, spent time in the coastal redwoods, the Oregon coast and Mt. St. Helens.
Next year will try for Montana and Idaho and maybe 3 or 4 rendezvous.
John
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It's been a couple weeks since the last check in here, whittling away at the boss ladies list ( seems to be never ending) working on putting a silk dress and lipstick on an old 4 digit serial number CVA mountain rifle, started working and cleaning up the brass for the Kibler WR, had a birthday about a week ago ( damn I'm getting old!) oh yea fell 2 days after that and cracked a couple ribs on the left side, that sucked! but... it has slowed down the forced labor on the honey do list, sitting at my work table and doing small stuff like filing and sanding gun stuff doesn't hurt, we will see how draw filing goes today! then trying to start to get ready for our 10 day yearly trip to Sequim WA for Peninsula Longrifles Rondy; leaving in 3 weeks, always good doins. What have you boys been up to?
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Sorry to hear about your accident, and hoping you have a speedy and thorough recovery. Secondly, I don't remember wishing you a happy birthday on the campfire thread, so happy belated birthday Jim. Good luck with the honey do list, and hope you have a safe and enjoyable time at the rondevous.
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Thanks Tom!
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Got back from the 80th Anniversary of D-Day a coupla weeks ago. Just enjoying the retired life on the Texas coast. I might head up to Goliad for some living history later this summer. In a coupla weeks I'll be headed to Frederick, OK for the July Jump School with the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team. Also, I've been goin' to Houston every other weekend to help out Mom, since she no longer drives.
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Definitely not afraid of heights are you Craig? Have fun and report back.
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Definitely not afraid of heights are you Craig? Have fun and report back.
Actually, I am to a degree. I hate climbing ladders, and bein' on a roof. But the ground is just a concept from the aircraft... 8)
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Got ya. I guess I can't get you to put a new roof on my house when I need one. Have fun and be safe. :wave
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Got ya. I guess I can't get you to put a new roof on my house when I need one. Have fun and be safe. :wave
That would be a correct assumption! :hairy
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Sitting on the couch looking at the TMA forum, wondering why it's been 15 hrs. since the last post was made (except the webmaster).
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Resting, just got back from my dirt bike/ camping trip to Canada.1900 miles. I'm whipped. :)
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Doing Independence Day things!
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Resting, just got back from my dirt bike/ camping trip to Canada.1900 miles. I'm whipped. :)
Hope you got pics and stories to share! :hairy
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Spent the day detailing the interior of our new to us 1/2 ton Suburban.
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Are links to youtube videos appropriate on here?
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I believe so.
I've done it
Kevin
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Are links to youtube videos appropriate on here?
You bet, just start a post in the campfire section, not a problem!
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Subject matter appropriate, of course!!
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Went to a 4th of July parade in Cayucos, CA. It was refreshing to see a group of military vehicles in the parade. Two of the Jeeps were armed, one with a .30 caliber machine gun and the other with a .50 cal machine gun. Years ago I saw the same Jeep with the .30 cal actually firing off bursts of blanks. While the rest of California was sweltering with the heat, it was pleasant mid 70's. Not bad.
Afterwards, we went home for the traditional barbecued hamburgers. I grilled up a large serving of onions and mushrooms with Merlot. And yellow corn on the cob. What a meal.
Considering I have little patience with crowds, we again decided to forego the fireworks displays.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Folks were in town for a few days.. Went to the blackhills, then did a tanking trip on the middle loup river...
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I've been making pants
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Kevin
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Looking good, Kevin.
Hope they last as well and as long as mine have. I think they were a 1978 or '79 project.
Amazingly enough, they still fit well after all this time.
I probably should pull them out of storage and saddle soap them or something. The legs are getting pretty bad, the top front of the legs are about solid black.
John
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Not sure I'll be alive to see 40+ yrs of use.
I'll try ..
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Kevin
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Looking good Kevn, hope you pre stretched those hides real good before you went about making those brtches!
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Uhhhh. Yes I think
I guess I'll wear them in.
Never thought about stretching them, didn't know too.
We'll see how this weekend RDV goes in 100* temps.
Kevin
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When I have made any buckskin garment in the past, I put the hides in a washer with just water and ran them through a cycle with HOT water and hot rinse, then with a friend or 2 when just removed from the washer we start stretching by hand pulling against each other like tug o war, work that for about 15 mins, then we staple one side of the hide to a sheet of plywood then stretch the other side and staple and repeat for the ends, let this dry thoroughly, then make the garment, then it will continue to stretch for the next 8 or 10 times it's worn, your mileage may vary but don't be surprised if those get real loose!, On the bright side it will make you feel like the diet is working! :lol sign
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If I'd only known.
I tried looking for videos but kept finding leggings videos instead.
I made these pants tight at the recommendation of a friend.
Also I made them based on a kiowa indian design.
The fringe is what holds the outside seam together.
Each piece of fringe goes thru a double hole back to front then tied off. there by making a stitch as it were.
If the pants do indeed stretch I can in tie the fringe and punch a few new holes .
Kevin
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:hairy
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Went to the shed at 4am this morning and cast 100 round balls. 490's using a Rapine bag mold. On and off the rest of the day, I was removing sprue, trimming, rolling, and weighing. Trying to turn them into 10x material.
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Ordered a new bbl for the Woodsrunner and built a new ball board for its .530's 8) :wave
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A new bbl?? What's wrong with the old one.
I've been away a few days, I don't know what's going on.
Kevin
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A new bbl?? What's wrong with the old one.
I've been away a few days, I don't know what's going on.
Kevin
The original is a .45 and it's just fine ... I feel the need for bigger bore and a tad lighter rifle. 8)
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Makes Sense.
Kevin
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Kevin, wasn't you at a vous this past weekend ? Aside from the heat , how did things go, and did your new britches work alright ?
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100* every day but the buckskins felt ok.
They did stretch a bit but nothing I can't fix.
Had a major gunk build up in my kibler, couldnt prick the vent hole or get her to fire.
Luckily they had water on the course so I gave her a drink and the water eventually soften things up enough to open the touch hole.
Ran some patches and good as New.
Had a good time but all shooting had to stop at 2pm.
Long time to sit around in the heat.
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Kevin
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Kevin,
Get a fouling scraper in your caliber. .62, right?
It looks like a big brass screwdriver that screws onto your ramrod. Get the right screw size.
Not sure if October Country is still carrying them or not, since Treso has gone under the radar.
Maybe he is making them now?
Or maybe Track of the Wolf. I think they are making a lot of their ramrod stuff now as well.
Hope that helps.
John
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Smaller bores .45 and under can be a bit feisty for ignition issues in hot/humid weather. I recently fired my .45 Woodsrunner 27 times in row, almost non-stop, in mid 90F hot sun, no wiping between shots, with nary a hitch. The keys for my success have been using Heavily saturated Gato Feo lubed patches, wiping off BP residue of the pan and frizzen and flint with a flannel cloth, and always picking the touch hole to insure that the hole is clear and to increase the area of chamber powder to receive the heat of the detonated pan powder.
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Water was off all day. There is a big sewer rebuild project in the village and for some reason they had to turn off the H2O. We were warned beforehand that this might happen so I had a couple of buckets and five gallon water jugs filled for toilet flushing, hand washing etc. We have a RO filter for our drinking water at the sink and it has its own pressure tank, pressurized by the water to the house. It stayed under pressure so we had good drinking/cooking water available. The water main came back up around 8:30 (that's 2030 hours for you military types) and I was able to get the veggie garden beds wet for the night.
Otherwise it was same-o, same-o. Flung some arrows with my old recurve bow, didn't do too bad but nothing to write home about. It's been so hot and dry that my lawn has turned brown. Weather man says it will get rainy tomorrow and Wednesday, I hope so as the ground could stand a good soaking. Oh, I sent a couple of patches down the bore of the Hodgepodge Rifle (M/L content).
:bigsmile:
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Not sure how much gunk was in there but I did scrape. Twice and ran a ball puller down there just to be sure I didn't dry ball before I poured water in.
Got a bunch of slate gray powder out like graphite
It's all good now
Gave ginger an endoscopy, barrels all clean.
Actually thinking of going back to my percussion TC for awhile.
These flintlocks take a bit a fussing sometimes.
Kevin
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Flinters all the way, for me. You find a process that consistently works well (meaning, fires with every trigger pull) and yer good to go.
I attend to, and use, my flinters perhaps a tad different than most folks.
I use two rods, both with brass ferrules at one end, the other end tapered to fit down into the pipes. One rod has a jag screwed in and this rod is for leaving down the bbl with an oily patch, after the tube has been reasonably cleaned and the shooting session is over. The other rod is the worker that stays in the pipes and does the ball ramming - it has no jag and the naked tapered end does the patched ball ramming.
All jags have their concave cupped ends filled and leveled with solder - this insures that whence patched they will fit flush against the flat face of the breech plug, thus well cleaning it.
When shooting, only the piped rod is used - the other jagged cleaning rod stays back in the rifle's case. A jag and a ball worm, along with a spare flint, are in the rifle's patch box.
After blowing down the barrel to insure there's no embers left in the tube from the last shot taken, a volume measure of 3F powder is sent down to the chamber and the bbl is thumped with a hand to settle it all down nicely. IF I was concerned about loading the chamber more precisely I'd first shove a 36" brass tube down the bore and pour the powder into the tube's funnel end. This absolutely concentrates the powder in the bbl's chamber ... but this is for bench shooting and not woods walk shooting.
After pressing in the patched balled into the gun's muzzle with the handle of my rifleman's knife, the rod's tapered end does the patched ball pushing down the tube, thus it's up outta the pipes and down the tube to seat the ball. No short started used or needed. I'll bounce the rod to insure a consistent compression of patched ball on the powder charge. When the deed's done it's up outta the tube and down the pipes - no wasted time with rod twirling around.
With a patched ball seated on a powder charge, the rifle is arm cradled, a cloth rag or brass brush cleans the pan, the frizzen face, and the cutting edge of the flint. A touch hole pick is always string attached to the trigger guard and picks at the powder thru the vent to increase the powder surface area to better receive the heat of the pan flash.
The pan is about 1/3rd filled in it's center with the same 3F horn powder, (Swiss, of course!).
After the shot is taken the above process is repeated. There is no need to clean out the bbl if there is a good fit of patched ball into the bore, and the patch material (red pillow ticking) is WELL lubed with Gato Feo. It took me far too long to realize that a heavily lubed patch was the key to never needing to clean the bbl at all for the length of the shooting session and so far for at least 27 balls fired.
YMMV!
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Made a small 3" Japanese forged Damascus blade neck patch knife. Used a piece of antler shed I found last year for the handle and stitched up a sheath from some left over quiver leather. Hangs upside down for quick deployment,
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Nice knife rob.
Your routine sounds similar to mine.
I feel pretty confident in my flinter knowledge and my ability to fix any issues that arise.
Im sure I must have not given ginger the proper care she needed after my last session, which was a few days before RDV and that contributed to the gunk issue.
No biggie, it's all good as I say.
Kevin
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With muzzleloader issues it almost always comes down to a lapse in routine with regards to BP residue - I always wanna keep the bore at least damp if not wet. This means that after taking a buncha shots and Cookie rings the lunch bell I'm running a few moose milk wet patches down the tube that spits wet slop out the touch hole, and leaving a sloppy oily wet jagged patch homed to the breech plug whilst I enjoy Cookie's vitals and grog. Of course, a full wipe out and drying will be required as shooting resumes.
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I lost my DL due to a medical issue so I can no longer just drive to my rifle club outside town. Come to think of it I also can't even take a walk by myself. Shooting/eyes have become not-so-good the past few years. No matter, I still hit my target...uh, not the bullseye I posted though; see, I just shoot at alternative targets: 100% hits. :o
I only own 2 working percussion rifles and they are both pretty awesome. They don't get much exercise because I 'bout always shoot my flintlocks exclusively. I do "get" (AHEM!) to perform my household chores that I can handle - I bet no one is jealous about that! I tinker every chance I get and have made three "pour spout" lids for Swiss and Goex "cans". Also enjoy cobbling up a few powder measures. I don't spend nearly as much time on line as I did during the Covid outbreak and have had to drop several forums I enjoyed. But paring down has given me more time to do other things. :*:
I have to wear this crummy "watch" my squeeze gave me. It's supposed to sound an alert when I fall (which is frequent and the main reason I stay mostly inside). I never wore watches before so it is somewhat "uncomfortable". Hmmm...I know there's more but need to take a break.
(https://i.ibb.co/ZBNDdWC/weak10-1.jpg)
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It's been a while since I posted in this section, since we got back from our trip we sold the trailer and are searching for a newer different one 16 to 18 ft would be ideal, need the right floor plan than works for us. We bought a new to us 2009 5.3liter 1/2 ton Suburban with 110,000 less miles than our 99 Suburban, have been fixing things and detailing that, tending the garden, slowly working on the Woodsrunner; I'm about ready to start the stock stain and finish, I have been remodeling an early CVA Mt. rifle that's turning out pretty sweet and will post pics of that soon. I hope you all have been well and behaving!
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A cousin came by yesterday. After we went out to lunch, we got back to the house and went into the shop. He had brought some manzanita branches with him that he wanted rounded on my lathe.
Unfortunately, there were only a few small pieces that were straight enough to turn.
I had never worked with that wood before, so I had no idea what to expect. Frankly, it was better than I had thought.
I turned two pieces that were pretty narrow, maybe 3/4" in diameter. I drilled center holes in them so he could affix small blades to them.
All in all, it "turned" out pretty good.
John
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Currently in Buffalo NY.
Seeing a long time friend and USAF buddy
Then on to Syracuse to see family
Then on to Philly for a wedding
Then finally back home.
Full ten days of east coast fun.
Kevin
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If you were on the PA Turnpike, you were 10 miles from where I live. Wish I could have met you.
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I went to our monthly men's prayer breakfast this morning. It usually ends at around 11:00-11:15 but it lasted later today. On the way home I stopped by the Napa store for a couple of hose clamps for the new high pressure line in my Ranger's a/c system. That done I charged the system until the refrigerant can was empty which barely put it in the blue "good" range on the pressure gauge. I'll get another can tomorrow or Monday and finish charging it. Hopefully it won't have any leaks.
put a second coat of Alox on the elongated bullets.
Made black bean, tomato and quinoa salad for dinner. Filled the bird feeders and watered the plants. Fed the dog and cats. Checked the "glow in the dark" kitty with the Geiger counter and he is right at 1.00 mR/hr. Yesterday he was 1.24 and the day before 1.50 so hopefully he will be less than .033 and out of quarantine by the end of the week.
Another exciting day in Chauncey, Ohio!
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Kees, I think you should have said busy instead of exciting. :wave
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If you were on the PA Turnpike, you were 10 miles from where I live. Wish I could have met you.
Unless you live @ 39000ft we weren't going to meet.
Would have been better to drive , at least for me.
I would like to have met you my friend.
My wife keeps hinting we should move back here. So we may meet sooner than later.
Kevin
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My bad. I should have known you would probably be flying that far.
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Spent yesterday watching oil dry on the Mtn Rifle and turning some new powder measures to replace the ones I sold recently, have the labor day rondy fast approaching and would like to throw a blanket out and help finance the next Kibler, the boss lady is still scouring market place and craigs list looking for a new trailer that SHE likes, hope she finds one soon, hunting is just around the corner!
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Well we day tripped the rondy and threw out a blanket, not too bad! made gas money and dinner and visit with some old friends like Skillman so yesterday was a freebie, can't complain about that, going to be another warm one here today, was 90 yesterday high of 86 today, I think I'll go water the vegies and turn on the AC and lay low today, hmmmm an afternoon barley pop and nap sound in order, we'll see what SWMBO has planned, wish me luck!
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Hey Jim, is a barley pop the same thing as a brewsky? By the way, I'm sitting here looking up in the sky for Kevin to wave when he flies over. :Doh!
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Hey Jim, is a barley pop the same thing as a brewsky? By the way, I'm sitting here looking up in the sky for Kevin to wave when he flies over. :Doh!
One in the same! just put a couple Leinenkugel Summer Shandies in the freezer, looking at the grill thinking about a couple brats for lunch, better get out those 300 power optics to catch Kevin!
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Boy, it would take me a while to learn your vocabulary on the west coast. It's cool but this dog ain't up to any new tricks. And I don't think that seeing Kevin thing is gonna happen.
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Between work, nasty weather, house fix-em-ups, and never ending honey-do lists I never got to pull trigger once this past August. Just shamefully despicable. Dang. And now we'll be up in Maine for most of September. I swear I had much more time for the fun stuff before I retired back in '97. Grrr.
Anyhoo, just heard from my nephew Kyle that he bought and finished a Kibler Fowler in 16ga, fancy maple too. He's chompin' on the bit to baptize the boomer but his work and weather ain't cooperating. I gave him my bottle of Kibler iron nitrate and he did a super job on the finish, I've gotta go see him and snap some images to post.
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Boy, it would take me a while to learn your vocabulary on the west coast. It's cool but this dog ain't up to any new tricks. And I don't think that seeing Kevin thing is gonna happen.
SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed, a phrase used by the lead character in "Rumpole of the Bailey" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpole_of_the_Bailey) in reference to his wife.
I hadn't realized it was being used anymore until a day or so ago, when I saw an Internet post from a woman who was so mad about the demeaning phrase that she ended up divorcing her husband. Strange, and maybe clickbait.
~Kees~
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Boy, it would take me a while to learn your vocabulary on the west coast. It's cool but this dog ain't up to any new tricks. And I don't think that seeing Kevin thing is gonna happen.
SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed, a phrase used by the lead character in "Rumpole of the Bailey" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpole_of_the_Bailey) in reference to his wife.
I hadn't realized it was being used anymore until a day or so ago, when I saw an Internet post from a woman who was so mad about the demeaning phrase that she ended up divorcing her husband. Strange, and maybe clickbait.
~Kees~
Kees, it was used on the forum the first 10 years or so on a regular basis, I believe that Uncle Russ was the first guy to post that!
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Went out and harvested the garden this am, grilling a foil pack of Zucchini, Crook Neck, Red Italian sweet peppers, some green onions and a couple red taters at the moment, 12 more mins and that comes off and the rib eyes go on, gonna be a good lunch as we have the 5 yr old grandsons soccer game at 5:30 tonight and 7 pm is a little late for SWMBO to stat cooking dinner, Shes trying to keep her blood sugar at an even keel so we'll nosh on a cold costco rotisserie chicken and a pickle cuke and cherry tomato salad tonight!
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What's that address again, Beav? Sounds like I might want to be dropping by for some feed. :P :applaud :applaud
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OK Jim, there you go again. So if you're wondering what I'm doing, I'm looking at Jim's post trying to figure out what some of those things are. But instead of asking you for an explanation, I'll ask SWMBO to explain what some of those things are (she's much smarter than I am). :luff:
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What's that address again, Beav? Sounds like I might want to be dropping by for some feed. :P :applaud :applaud
Sorry, your too late for today IT WAS GUUUUUUUUUD! maybe tomorrow, just head north till you hit Tacoma then head to Kitsap County, give me a holler when your close!
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Oh DRAT!!!!
That sounded like a pretty good meal.
So for lunch I made chicken stir fry with mushroom fried rice.
For dinner, we went out and had shrimp and chips, only salad instead of the chips.
I ate pretty good today anyway.
John
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That sounds good too! I likes me some shrimps! :yessir:
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HWHL :Doh! :laffing :bl th up
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HWHL :Doh! :laffing :bl th up
???????????????????????????????????????????????????? :o :o :o
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???????????????????????????????????????????????????? :o :o :o
Ditto!
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Happy Wife, Happy Life ! :luff: :scared: ;banghead; :*: :wave
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Sitting around the fire on a beautiful night with my wife, and thinking about all the good stuff Beaverman and Bigsmoke are eating. [ Invalid Attachment ]
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Not sure about Beaverman, But I had a tomato and avocado sandwich for lunch today. That tomato was bigger than the bread slice. I fixed one for SWMBO and one for myself and half is in the refrigerator for tomorrow.
Simple dinner tonight, a tossed green salad on a tortilla. I call that a vegetable burrito. Pretty good with gobs of 1000 Island dressing on it, plus a handful of cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden.
Not sure about dinner tomorrow, probably chicken stir fry.
Nice burn barrel you have there. I've never had one that fancy. Usually just an old barrel cut in half.
John
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Just a Thought, Does Happy Wife EVER last more than 30 minutes?
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Just a Thought, Does Happy Wife EVER last more than 30 minutes?
Back when I was young and studly I could get a whole weekend of happy wife sometimes, alas the stud is long gone!
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Sitting around the fire on a beautiful night with my wife, and thinking about all the good stuff Beaverman and Bigsmoke are eating. [ Invalid Attachment ]
Dinner tonight was Burger King on the way home from picking up the new to us travel trailer and dragging that thing home during rush hour on I-5 through Tacoma with 95 degree temps, GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRR I left So Cal 27 years ago for a reason or 2, the temps were one of them, my nephew from Riverside flew in today to visit his cousin (my Son), I'm blaming the heat on him bringing it with him, he's going to get an ear full when I see that boy tomorrow!
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Deep in our 70s, I've come to finally realize that HWHL is a myth ... most wives are never happy unless hubby is at least somewhat unhappy. :Doh! ;banghead; :*: :wave
Off to Maine tomorrow for a few weeks of R&R, some fishing, and a bit of shooting.
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Just a Thought, Does Happy Wife EVER last more than 30 minutes?
Back when I was young and studly I could get a whole weekend of happy wife sometimes, alas the stud is long gone!
Young and Studly kinda sounds like some sleazy law firm. :bigsmile:
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Dewey, Cheatem and Howe. Now that's a SLEAZY Law Firm!!
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Dewey, Cheatem and Howe. Now that's a SLEAZY Law Firm!!
Loved "CarTalk" !
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Well ya'll know what I'm doing today, although the inside of that new to us trailer is very clean...... you guessed it, Mama wants to field day it and make it hermetically sterile to her standards!! and fill it right away with the camp gear that will live in it, never mind that we won't be using it for at least 2 weeks, and to think that I was going to go to our clubs monthly shoot today! ;banghead;
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Well ya'll know what I'm doing today, although the inside of that new to us trailer is very clean...... you guessed it, Mama wants to field day it and make it hermetically sterile to her standards!! and fill it right away with the camp gear that will live in it, never mind that we won't be using it for at least 2 weeks, and to think that I was going to go to our clubs monthly shoot today! ;banghead;
Well, Jim, as the old saying goes, "Man plans, God laughs!" :Doh!
Ain't ya glad you gave Him a chuckle?
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Yup, battle plans don't last very long (can't remember the actual saying).
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I'm still killing squirrels and time until bow season opens.
(https://i.imgur.com/MZZnVub.jpeg)
Darren
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Way to go, Darren :bl th up :bl th up
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Still working on the trailer, changing interior light fixtures to LED, new taillights to led, old ones had cracked lenses, new porch light from that small yellow lense to a 48 diode 9" scare light that would illuminate the Vegas strip that the boss lady wants, harvesting garden stuff, all my bell peppers seem to want to ripen this week so processing and freezing them from future use, same with the Zuchinni and crook neck squash, been getting cool in the evenings here and plants are starting to dwindle, the end of the summer garden coming quick, think we are going to have an early colder fall this year, and as usual another 5 yr old soccer game tonight! What are you fellas doing ?
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I'm trying to keep my wife calm as we are preparing to host at our house her mother's 100th birthday party. Probably 75 people coming, and she is in panic mode. Daughter, husband and two labs arriving from Michigan this afternoon, so it is going to a busy time. I keep telling her to calm down and enjoy to no avail. :bigsmile:
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Took a nice ride out to the Flight 93 Memorial today. Very solemn and impressive.
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Put off coring, peeling and slicing a couple of buckets of apples before drying them but Carol is urging me on. Then go pick some more and do it again. Squash plants are toast, the tomatoes are on their last legs and I have picked the last of the beans. Dug up the carrots yesterday and have a half bucket full which I will probably can. I need to get out and split a bunch of firewood which has been piled up in the back yard since Spring. And then I want to sand down the Ranger, try to stem the rust (again!) and repaint it. I think I need a nap! :laffing
~Kees~
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Put off coring, peeling and slicing a couple of buckets of apples before drying them but Carol is urging me on. Then go pick some more and do it again. Squash plants are toast, the tomatoes are on their last legs and I have picked the last of the beans. Dug up the carrots yesterday and have a half bucket full which I will probably can. I need to get out and split a bunch of firewood which has been piled up in the back yard since Spring. And then I want to sand down the Ranger, try to stem the rust (again!) and repaint it. I think I need a nap! :laffing
~Kees~
I need a nap just reading that! :luff:
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[ Invalid Attachment ]
Out mowing the lawn , been kinda dry
Kevin
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Kinda????????? good thing you git a spark arrestor! :*:
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If I were you Kevin, before mowing the next time, I'd check the air filter first.
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Looks like here.
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Today was a pretty special day.
Ms. Smoke and I took a quick drive up to Prather, CA. It is a little wide spot in the road on the way to Shaver and Huntington Lakes. The purpose was to meet up with my old friend and business associate at his cabin.
We first met in about 1970 when he and his first wife moved into the house next door to me. Little did I know how much would occur with this fellow.
Shortly after moving in, he went to a sporting goods store and bought a Remington 1858. That prompted me to go to the same place and buy an 1851 Colt. A few years later I bought a Renegade and he followed suit. Strangely enough, we could not find any .530 round ball in town so we started casting our own. That sparked an idea that if we could not find any in town, no one else could either. So, we started our own little casting business. We called it Smoke and Thunder Gun Supply. Eventually we started going to rendezvous and gun shows selling our wares.
Anyway, that lasted about 3 or 4 years, until a move dissolved the business. He continued on with S & T, and we eventually bought October Country and grew that.
Over the years, we have kept in touch. Here's on the porch today as we were leaving.
(https://i.ibb.co/2PJGfrc/IMG-7948.jpg)
NOTE: I am the one with the TMA T-Shirt on.
And here is one of us and Ms Smoke
(https://i.ibb.co/2ZqBRWd/IMG-7949.jpg)
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You certainly won't frighten anybody off with those photos.
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:hairy Looking good you 2, Miss Linda hasn't aged a day since we last talked, you on the other hand.... Cal must be agreeing with you both.
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:hairy Looking good you 2, Miss Linda hasn't aged a day since we last talked, you on the other hand.... Cal must be agreeing with you both.
Well, the weather on the coast is really nice, especially if you like fog in the summer, but the politics, not so much...
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:hairy Looking good you 2, Miss Linda hasn't aged a day since we last talked, you on the other hand.... Cal must be agreeing with you both.
Well, the weather on the coast is really nice, especially if you like fog in the summer, but the politics, not so much...
That's one of the main reasons I left there 27 years ago!
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1 Jan 2037? that was a heck of a nap I took this afternoon. Just call me Rip Van Nessmuk. Mr. and Mrs. don't look a day over 21 Sept 2024 however.
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I noticed that also.
The date stamp thing is all screwed up. I took the camera into the shop to have it checked out but they said my camera was too old to work on and they couldn't fix it. So, I get crazy date stamps. What to do, what to do?
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I'm fixin' to head out in a coupla three weeks for Frederick, OK to help train the next class of WWII Airborne Demonstration Team parachutists.
Otherwise, life is good here on the Texas coast.
[ Invalid Attachment ]
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SWMBO and I are headed out in the am to the Peninsula Longrifles Range and property to house warm our new to us travel trailer and it happens to coincide with the clubs fall work party weekend, also opening day Sat for early ML which is a week long and the property is on a Mt side surrounded by Nat Forest and the unit there IS a ML unit, stopping at Wally World on the way and getting my license and 4 species tag, Deer, Elk, Bear and Cat either type Cougar or Bob works!, never know we will be staying through Tuesday, wouldn't be the first time I dropped an animal sitting in camp early in the am, wish me luck boys! Hey Craig looks like your enjoying being retired old friend, good on ya!
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Your wish is my command. Good luck Jim, and have fun. :bl th up
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...Hey Craig looks like your enjoying being retired old friend, good on ya!
Yessir, I am! Best move that the missus and I have made!
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Been a busy few months with all the kids stuff starting back up. Scouts, school, Awana, football etc etc.
I did manage to pull a muzzy antelope tag. I was thinking the date was mid 2 weeks of October but it ends this weekend I got a little whistle bit.. .
Last night I finally got out wth a buddy.. Took a 45 long rifle of Marty's for the heck of it..
Finally found a few critters, hopped out only made it 150 yards with a decoy and a nice buck charged me from across the pivot.. Had to get a cap on quick!.. Got prone, he stopped turned broadside at 117 yards and I shot right flipping under him...
It was a pretty buck and the purdiest decoying you've ever seen!
I hope yall are doing well. I've been absent, but not gone!
Joe
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Sounds like a fun evening Joe, got to stay active with the kids, you blink and they're flying the nest, enjoy them while you have them close! good to see your involved with them in Scouts, many of us here have put in our time, time well spent I might ad. The boss lady and I just got back from our maiden voyage with the new trailer, had a wonderful time, still figuring what goes where and working out a few bugs, work party at the range went very well, great turn out lots of long overdue projects completed, took along the prom queen and got some range time with it, had the run of the property for 3 days, great early fall weather, all and all we had a grand time!
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I usually only build rifles during the winter but I'm going to have to rebuild one of my bike motors in the basement and I don't need any dust, so I've started building a rifle early. This might have to be one of my last ones. After an hour or two, my neck and back get to hurting pretty bad.
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What are you going to build Hank? And good luck with the discomfort.
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I've always been partial of Bucks County rifles. This won't be a copy of any particular one. I'm using up some of the parts I've accumulated over the years. This will be very slim. Somewhat Verneresque.
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Photos of the build are required! Maybe of the motor rebuild also.... :lol sign
I've done nothing much as far as M/L goes, but have been busy in the back yard. The two apple trees are dropping fruit like crazy so I raked them up and put them in some 55 gallon garbage bags for removal by Bateman's Refuse and Hauling on Monday. Then I picked a couple of buckets full of apples which I now have to run through the little core, peel and slice machine & bag up for future use. Got the saw out and did some massive cutting back of branches which were hanging over the fence into the neighbors' yard. I haven't pruned them back since planting them, don't really know what I am doing but need to get them under control!
For M/L content, I took the trigger assembly out of the Traditions Shenandoah rifle to convert it to single trigger. I did that with the Hodgepodge rifle which had the same set trigger, but from CVA. The only difference is that the newer plate is curved a tad bit more than the old one, just enough so they aren't interchangeable. I will also have to polish the lock bearing surfaces to lighten the trigger pull. I'm debating rasping down the comb of this rifle to get rid of the Roman nose. I've not shot it yet so should do that before making any drastic changes to the stock. Wish I was as talented as some of the other folks on here so I could feel more confident of the outcome when contemplating these things! :laffing
~Kees~
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One of these days I'm gonna have to learn how to post pix. ::)
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Well I'm sitting here with the dreaded Covid AGAIN! started feeling the nasal, throat and scratchy ears (same symptoms as last time) Sat afternoon after the club shoot. got a test yesterday am and it's positive, starting to manifest with the low energy and coughing a bit, damn it I don't have time for this crap, too much to do while the weather is still decent!
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Here's hoping it doesn't hit you too hard. Good luck riding it out.
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Damn beaver, again...
I just got over being sick these last 3 days but covid - thankfully.
I work in a nursing home and it's just went through there for the 4th
Time since covid began .
Hopefully the nice fall weather continues for awhile so after you recover you can get out there and enjoy it, maybe make some smoke.
Best to ya
Kevin
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Right now just trying to recover from my week in the hospital for pericarditis. And from having all that fluid drawn. So far, so good. :hairy
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Sorry to hear about your recent stay in the hospital. Hoping you have a full and speedy recovery.
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Yep same here, wish you a guick recovery.
Kevin
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Started working on loads for an Enfield Musketoon. Not much experience with rifled muskets, so it's taking a while. ;banghead;
Ironhand
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Was asked recently by my wife's nephew if I would clean his flintlock. Knowing his background in firearms and shooting , I was reluctant but didn't have much choice. He also wanted me to shoot it and tell him what load to use for deer hunting. It was a Tradition with a removeable breech plug. Not my cup of tea, but It's done. After many patches, scothbrite, steel wool, and many other items, took it to the range. Loaded fairly easy until I would hit a rough spot above the breech. But after shooting that day, and cleaning again, the bore seemed more smooth. I knew he would have difficulty finding supplies, so I used items that are easier to find in our area. Plus preparing a small care package with some of the items he will need to shoot the gun. Don't know what he does or doesn't have, so he will have to buy some more supplies. I don't think he will stick with this, but I don't want to do anything to deter him in any way. I think this target is minute of deer and will work for him. Wish me luck. [ Invalid Attachment ]
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That's a meat target, sitting here on the back side of the covid hill, feeling better but still have those 300 pounds of tired hanging around mt neck, hopefully thats gone in a couple more days, have too many projects to get done before the weather turns to crap!
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Glad you're on the backside of the hill Jim.
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I wish all our ill friends a quick recovery and a speedy return to the range. I've been exceedingly lucky in evading Covid and the Flu, it might have been the fifty-two years of Military and civilian immunizations. Never had Covid or the Flu.
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Right now just trying to recover from my week in the hospital for pericarditis. And from having all that fluid drawn. So far, so good. :hairy
Boy, you've been hammered, haven't you. Pray that you will be recovered right quick, and for future good health! :pray:
~Kees~
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Been a week or so since I posted here, back to 95% after the 10 days of the chinese plague, wasn't as bad this time, getting back into the shop to get a couple orders finished and maybe some more time on the Woodsrunner and then start another Mountain Rifle facelift, boss lady had a short run with the rohna, she's doing better also, 4 weeks till ML hunting season, have a handicap license this year , means I can road hunt and shoot from the road or the vehicle, don't think I would touch off a rock lock inside the rig! Hope ya'll are doing well and staying healthy! :yessir:
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We're having a "Chili Shoot" at the club tomorrow. Not that we're going to shoot at the Chili. It's my turn to cook, Made i gallon of my infamous "Gunsmoke Chili", got Hot dogs, Cornbread, and all the fixin's. I spent all day cooking and baking, I hope everything turns out well. If not, the guy's might well be shooting the chili.
:*:
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Mark, I like your style. But only one gallon? Must not be having a lot of folks at the shoot.
This Gunsmoke Chili, is that with or without beans? And what kind of peppers do you use?
You cannot just throw stuff out here without going into detail.
I have been known to have won chili contests a few times, so I am really interested. Strangely enough, I got my recipe from the label on a can of Campbell's Tomato Juice. Of course, I had to make a few changes (improvements) to make it mine. sure hope I wrote them down.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Ground Beef, No Beans, Onions, Green Bell pepper, Celery, Jalapenos, fresh garlic, Diced tomatoes, chili powder, lots of Cumin, Worcestershire sauce, Cayenne pepper, Savory, Korean red pepper, Liquid smoke. Spicy but not too hot. Sometimes I need to thicken it with cornstarch. Never entered a contest with it. if you want the recipe, I'll PM it to you.
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NO BEANS? What kind of chili is THAT? Chili has beans. Chili con Carne has beans & meat (carne). But chili WITHOUT beans? Tell me it's not so, that I misread the post. :scared: PLEASE!
:lol sign :laffing :applaud
~Kees~
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I have a dandy recipe for spicy cornbread muffins I can share. I make it about once every 6 months for church fellowship meal, enough time for folks to forget about it. Every time I do, I get compliments that is the best cornbread folks have ever had!
~Kees~
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I have a dandy recipe for spicy cornbread muffins I can share. I make it about once every 6 months for church fellowship meal, enough time for folks to forget about it. Every time I do, I get compliments that is the best cornbread folks have ever had!
~Kees~
I use jalapenos, sharp cheddar cheese and bacon grease. Would like to try your recipe if you'd be willing to share it!
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I use jalapenos, sharp cheddar cheese and bacon grease. Would like to try your recipe if you'd be willing to share it!
I sent it to you in an email. Anyone else want the recipe?
~Kees~
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Thank You! Looking forward to trying it! However! Unless someone has planted pine in their yard, we don't have pine here in south central Kentucky. I will try it without and with substitutions. My cornbread pan hasn't been heated this week and I swear I could hear it weeping from neglect!
Something for you to try as an addition, about a cup of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese.
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I get the pine nuts at Walmart in the baking section, where they also have the chopped nuts, chocolate chips etc.
I had actually been thinking of trying to add cheese one of these times. Thank you for the inspiration! :bl th up
~Kees~
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Drove SWMBO around hells half acre today running errands as she likes to call it, got back mid afternoon with enough time to get the first coat of old school Johnsons paste wax on that CVA Mtn Rifle stock I've been working on, another coat of wax and then I'll throw it together and mark it for sale! :yessir:
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I just had to share this. At our October Jump School I was able to honor my grandfather Capt. William E. Gray USMC. He, of course, fought in the PTO during the war. With me are two teammates, and good friends who are Marines who were on my stick to help me honor him.
[ Invalid Attachment ]
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Looking good there brother! :yessir: OORRAHH! :yessir:
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Semper Fi Capt Gray :yessir:
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I'm thinking my next day off--Tuesday--I may make a road trip to The Big City to visit a gunstore and maybe do some trading. I've not shot my trapdoor for a year, or my spare 1860 ever. I've been spending much of my spare time shooting flinters or my carry gun, or teaching intro to flintlock classes. Maybe I can find some new toy to hold my interest for a bit.
Or maybe I'm just bored, and a bit bummed at missing the gunshows this fall. Net effect is the same, eh?
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Just got back from a quick little vacation.
We left the middle of September and spent two weeks in the Sierras, then we went to Salt Lake City for a few days, then spent the rest of our time hanging out at Utah's national parks, Capital Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Zion.
Now to clean up everything and get ready for our next outing.
The next thing on my plate is to move my shop out of the garage and into a freestanding shed. I think it will be better out there.
John
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Hmmmm....Still very quiet around here. I'm around but not much else.
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Just got back from a quick little vacation.
We left the middle of September and spent two weeks in the Sierras, then we went to Salt Lake City for a few days, then spent the rest of our time hanging out at Utah's national parks, Capital Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Zion.
Now to clean up everything and get ready for our next outing.
The next thing on my plate is to move my shop out of the garage and into a freestanding shed. I think it will be better out there.
John
Thought you retired 3 times? :lol sign
Working on the outside round to it's before the weather turns to total crap, then I can get to the inside stuff, mostly restock or bags , horns and such for next years show and rondy season which have become fewer over the years, I did get a second coat of wax on the Mtn Rifle stock today, will buff it off and hopefully assemble tomorrow, pics to come!
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Beav- Yeah, I guess I have retired 3 times or so. Is it only 3 times? Maybe so.
But this darn horn dust is terribly addictive, doncha know? And once you get it in your lungs, it's kinda hard to live without it.
We'll see how this time goes. And if nobody buys them, I guess I will really quit making them, cause I already have about 50 horns in my collection and don't really need any more. Any more would just be bragging.
John
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Beav- Yeah, I guess I have retired 3 times or so. Is it only 3 times? Maybe so.
But this darn horn dust is terribly addictive, doncha know? And once you get it in your lungs, it's kinda hard to live without it.
We'll see how this time goes. And if nobody buys them, I guess I will really quit making them, cause I already have about 50 horns in my collection and don't really need any more. Any more would just be bragging.
John
Only 50?!!! my problem with horns is every time I make one for myself it's like making a new bag for me, I make them, wear them to a shoot or rondy and somebody winds up buying the damn thing off my back, you know you have more Beavs bags than I do, I guess it's only fair considering I'm still shooting out of an OC bag I bought 30 years or so back!
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The Boss Lady's tuit list is finally whittled down so it's time to get back at it, have a dozen frizzen stalls cut out and ready to stitch, will start that tonight while watching the tube, headed out to the shop when I log off I've sold more of the turned measures and need to restock various grains so I'll be making shavings and sawdust today, what's everybody else doing?
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Finished up the frizzen stalls yesterday and drug out the table saw and ripped up some figured maple to 1 inch squares and started turning some new measures, today it's cold and rainy, going to stay warm and watch some college games and work on a custom order bag for an old customer, but first I need to build that Hunters stew this morning and simmer it low and slow all day , this one has Deer and Elk and the Boss Lady is making some homemade sour dough rolls to go with it, think I'll just have rolls tonight, MMMMMMMMMMM
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Messing around doing amateur gunsmithing ... and awaiting the Kibler fowler kit. :*:
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Hunting with the tc .54
Actually more like sitting than hunting. Pretty as slow lately.
But it beats working.
Kevin
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Boss Lady is making some homemade sour dough rolls to go with it, think I'll just have rolls tonight, MMMMMMMMMMM
How about posting her recipe? I made a couple of loaves of sourdough bread on Saturday, came out right tasty, if I say so myself.
~Kees~[/size]
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Kees, there's a few family recipe's she won't share, and this is one of them, I do know that the starter is 110 years old and came with Her Great Granny from Muskogee OK when they moved to Wanatchee WA.
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Cold temps and snow coming to this part of PA. Still 60 degrees today. So went outside to throw the knife and tomahawk. Might not be able to do it for a while.
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Getting the outside stuff done as the weather forecast said 8" of heavy snow expected Thursday night and into Friday. Plow is on the 4 wheeler and I need to test fire the generator. :hairy
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Got about 1 " of new first snow of the year today.
Think I'll go hunting tomorrow morning, then off to the VA for 2 more appointments.
Kevin
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Kevin, is there anymore in the forecast for the next couple of days?
When the white, fluffy stuff started falling, it was always a time of high excitement for us.
That meant snowmobile season was about ready to start.
When there was about 6" on the ground on Ohio Match Road, east of 95, it was time.
It was rough as a cob, but if you got far enough back, it smoothed out pretty good.
On the other hand, regardless of the weather, on November 10, Area 4 opened up for black powder season and I was there. I just loved hunting in those mountains. Never got anything, but it didn't matter. And the snow was just a bonus.
John
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Kevin or John, what's the name of your club there in CDA and how to contact please
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Beav I sent you a pm
Kevin
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Well John they are calling for more snow higher up, above 4000ft.
Another bomb cyclone.
I hunt up Ohio match for elk unit 3
Right where the private land, a tree farm , meets national forest.
Encounter something almost every time I go there.
Dec 2-8 is ANY elk muzzleloaders season
Not a lot of snow yet so I may be able to get there for that
Kevin
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Got it.
We used to live on Ohio Match, about a mile past Rimrock Road, maybe 3 miles from the National Forest.
If nothing else, it sure made snowmobiling convenient. We would just ride from the house, didn't need to trailer.
John
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Shoveling wet heavy snow. Decided to take a break.
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Shoveling wet heavy snow. Decided to take a break.
Shoveling snow sux, thanks God I live where it rarely snows, I don't even own a snow shovel! did plenty of that as a kid growing up in Chicago!
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10-4 on the sux part. After 71 years, I've still never acquired a love for it. Shooting muzzleloaders is a lot more fun.
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Shoveling snow sux, thanks God I live where it rarely snows, I don't even own a snow shovel! did plenty of that as a kid growing up in Chicago!
To paraphrase your statement, Thank God I live where it NEVER snows.
I don't own a snow shovel either.
And I did plenty of that as an adult (year wise anyway) in Idaho. 30 years worth.
It's so much easier to sweep the walkway rather than having to shovel snow off it. Boy, howdy!!!
I had a 10 horse, 26" Toro snow blower that I used on our 100 yard long, uphill driveway. I traded it to a fellow with a bulldozer and a big truck with a snow plow mounted on it for a couple of years worth of snow removal. One of the best trades I ever made. And he did the uphill drive, the area between the garage and the house and the downhill drive. I never did the downhill drive when it was just me moving the snow.
John
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Plowing and shoveling the foot of white stuff we got yesterday. :hairy
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NOT shoveling snow!!!
A few weeks ago when I was at our local ACE Hardware store, I noticed a Blackstone 28" griddle on sale. Went back today and it was still for sale so I bought it. Now all I have to do is assemble the darn thing. Then cook something terrific. I have a couple of books of recipes for cooking on the flattop, so, all I will have to do is wait for the rain to stop next week sometime.
My timing was right on, as they only had one left in stock. $100.00 off the regular price. Not a bad deal, about 25% off.
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Nor'East Jersey got a dusting a few dayze ago. A portent of things to come. Yuk. :Doh!
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Glad I'm not shoveling snow! It very rarely snows/freezes here on the sunny Texas coast... :bigsmile:
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Does Raking and burning leaves and Pine needles count?
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Slept in this am till 10 am!! that NEVER happens then a quick breakfast and shower and off to one of my Granddaughters 9th bday party, had a great time with the family today, then picked up Pizza and a fresh salad on the way home all and all a great day!
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Uuummmmmm pizza!!! Any leftovers Jim?
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Uuummmmmm pizza!!! Any leftovers Jim?
Not after eating it cold for breakfast this morning, sometimes I think I'm still 17! luckily, I still have that cast iron gut :applaud
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sometimes I think I'm still 17!
Jim, I do that also. But a quick glance in the mirror dispels that notion. :Doh!
It's more like the 62nd anniversary of my 17th birthday. :scared:
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Yea I'm sneaking up on my 52 anniversary!
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Just saw a meme that read:
I'm at that age where my mind thinks I am 29, my humor suggests I am only 12 while my body keeps asking if I'm sure I am not dead yet.
I thought that kinda fit in with this twist of the original conversation.
John
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:hairy perfect!
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My problem is that I keep trying to do stuff like I am still 17, then regret it. I look at the pile of firewood out back which needs splitting. It diminishes a couple of rounds at a time, but that's all my back is good for anymore! :o
And how did that happen? Just the other day it seems like, I graduated from high school and was on my way to boot camp in San Diego. Now I look in the mirror and see my Dad looking back at me! :laffing
~Kees~
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Spent the day in the shop with my 6 yr old Grandson working on a pinewood derby car, trying to keep him from loosing a finger or needing stitches, it was like trying to keep a Ferret still! but still fun, he is his Father's son for sure, went through the same thing 36 years ago, man where did the time go?
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Time stands still for no man!
~Kees~
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True but why did it suddenly start Sprinting?
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We went to our monthly shoot yesterday and it was a cold, crappy, drizzly day, shooting 12" wooden dollar store Christmas Trees at 50 yards, various snowman and Rudolph paper targets and a 6' tall plywood grinch at 200 yards from the bench (2 shots each), then mini ball ornaments and 4" candy canes with pistol ( we only allow sidelocks at our shoots), had a good time shooting, wood stove at the back corner of out covered range was cranking, had a good home made chili lunch and this was our annual meat shoot, first 3 places per target picked from Turkeys, steaks and chicken to lunch and breakfast meats and we had a $10 white elephant gift exchange, despite the crappy weather it was a dang good day to be alive!
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:hairy
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Those are the times that will live in your hearts forever, and you will forget about the cold, nasty weather. It is replaced with the warmth of good friends being together. :toast :toast :toast
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Wait a cotton picking minute John. Are you trying to tell me Darren is going to forget this? [ Invalid Attachment ]
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Got my boy out for his first deer. We had a beauty of a 4x at 90yards the night before and he couldn't quite seal the deal.. Then the next morning he decided on this muley doe at 125 ish and dropper her with a great shot and one of his handloads..
I filled my Muzzleloader tag this last Saturday on a big sandhills wt doe... My 54 Tryon... Otherwise just normal running kids and being too busy!
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Got my boy out for his first deer. We had a beauty of a 4x at 90yards the night before and he couldn't quite seal the deal.. Then the next morning he decided on this muley doe at 125 ish and dropper her with a great shot and one of his handloads..
I filled my Muzzleloader tag this last Saturday on a big sandhills wt doe... My 54 Tryon... Otherwise just normal running kids and being too busy!
That will be some good chewing!
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Sitting here trying to figure out why I have no desire to go out this last day of regular deer season, with my smokepole. I hope I have more desire to go in the late flintlock season.
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awesome and exciting.
love seeing the young'uns out in the field.
good on you for encouraging him.
kevin
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Finished up the Christmas shopping earlier today, started some beef stew when we got home and I'm working on a fowler/ shotgun bag for an old customer.
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Spent the better part of the day casting up some .66 caliber round balls for my 1760s Philadelphia fowler using my trusty Marty’s 4-cavity mold. There’s something awe-inspiring about holding one of these massive lead spheres in your hand—over 430 grains of pure lead! Of course, Bigsmoke would probably scoff at me referring to these balls as ‘massive’, but I digress.
It’s easy to see why large-bore smoothbores like this were so devastating on the battlefield or in the field. When you’re launching a projectile this size, it’s not just about accuracy—it’s about sheer impact. No wonder amputations were so common during the period; a hit from one of these wasn’t just a wound—it was catastrophic.
Fascinating, humbling, and a little terrifying to think about the realities of life (and combat) back then.
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Those will eat up some lead ingots quick! :yessir:
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Those will eat up some lead ingots quick! :yessir:
You ain’t kidding! Not as fast as the .715” though… ;)
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well now...you got BIG BALLS! :lol sign
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Working on a new batch of ball bags today, been cut, sewn, stuffed, dyed, we are jacking them at the moment, then I need to go to the shop and cut & drill some plugs, dye them and assemble, 6- 75 cal. 8 of the large up to 54 cal and 6 up to 40 cal, had a run on them lately and trying to build up some stock for the March show.
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I braved the cold and took the Tom Caster .68 cal fowler out for a spin today in preparation for Sunday’s club shoot. Consistently hitting steel at 50 yards and beyond!
Slow-motion video of the fowler in action here:
https://youtu.be/IW0uPtKVGqk?si=kh_9y918_M8A1NMn
Even the ol’ man had to give it a whirl:
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Spent Friday afternoon recovering lead from local gun club. Like Eric my new .62 cal Fowler will eat up the lead. Lucky for me, my club has SASS range close to our muzzleloader range. The SASS guys shoot soft lead bullets at metal targets 15 yards away. Imagine all those bullet turning into nickel-sized coins of lead just dropping on the ground. I scooped up 50 lbs of lead in about an hour. So I'll be casting all winter. and probably harvesting more lead, too.
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I’m envious, Mark! I had picked up 80 pounds of lead (converted into ingots from roofing scrap) from a gentleman on the Muzzleloading Forum and thought I’d be set for a while. Boy am I eating through it quick!
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In my last "intro to flintlocks" class of the year,one of the students decided he "had to have" the horn and measure I'd recently made for the students to use. After several offers during the class, one finally sounded good: he got the horn and measure in exchange for a case of Swiss powder. That's enough to keep teaching the class for 6 months to a year . . . but now I'm having second thoughts. I almost think I should have held out for ~ 60# of lead too! :bigsmile:
I did manage to pick up 5 horns that I figure are worth the effort of making powder horns. One will probably wind up as my version of a horn carried by one of my great-greats; the others will get used for some projects I've had cooking in the back of my mind since the mid-90s.
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If you've had projects cooking since the mid 90's, they should be well done and we need to see pictures when they're finished.
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Finished up a fowler bag for a customer and another for inventory for the ML show in March here in WA, cutting out 2 more bags tonight, a longhunter style and the Virginia Bag that I make; need to finish those and the 4 horns I have on the bench by the 8& 9th of March, good thing I'm retired!
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Beaverman, photos please.
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I just finished defarbing the barrel and lock as well as refinishing the stock on my Pedersoli trade gun. Overall, pretty pleased with how it turned out!
It came to me with a fiberglass ramrod, so of course that was promptly replaced. I also sourced a more historically correct side plate and ribbed ramrod thimbles from Track of the Wolf.
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Excellent!!
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Went out for "Lunch with the boys" today. Nice drive down to Avila Beach, dined at Moon Over Avila, kind of a trendy sort of place. Had their "Trio" lunch: clam chowder, Caesar Salad and a killer ham and cheese sandwich. Finished up with a stroll up the beach. Great thing to do on an almost 80 degree afternoon in January.
Came home to a package from Amazon. Got a set of 5 nice garment bags, a temperature gun and a mandoline. Should make prepping veggies easy, if I don't slice off a finger.
Now, I guess it is time to take the garbage out for collection in the morning.
Will make a salad for dinner, then probably settle in for some down time watching something on the tube.
John
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Went into urgent care this am for what I believe is a torn meniscus of my left knee, happened on Friday when I stepped into a hole in the chicken coop that the birds dug for a dust bath that wasn't there the day before, I have a plastic concrete mixing bin in the coop with plenty of dirt in it that they use except these 2 new barred rock hens that dug this damn hole, tweaked the knee and it hurt a bit , has got worse, a lot worse and finally bit the bullet for a trip in, now I have a referral for the ortho to see me and the earliest will be Feb 6! this getting old sux!
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Did you try the VA? Every once in awhile you can slide in pretty quick.
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Excellent!!
Thank you!
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Haven't been doing much this week just trying to stay warm and off the knee, swelling has gone down a bunch, pain is subsided about 60%, see the ortho Thursday. I need to get out in the shop and get some stuff done but it's been dang colder here than normal, really hasn't got out of the 30's for the last 2 weeks and we have more of the same forecasted for this week and I need to get the oil changed in my generator which is the source for charging the batteries for my off grid shop , grrrr, hope ya'll are doing well and staying warm!
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A good time of year for gun building and the low warmth of the furnace in the shop makes for a slow finish curing.
Kibler fowler in 20ga.
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Man, that's some tight curl!!!!!!!!! sweet!
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Rob, it looks like the extra $$$ you spent for the stock wood was well worth it. That is amazing!
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Went to the Ortho and had a syringe of steroids with a gas pipe for a needle stuck into my knee, that was FUN!, can't wait for 2 weeks to do the other knee!
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Went to the Ortho and had a syringe of steroids with a gas pipe for a needle stuck into my knee, that was FUN!, can't wait for 2 weeks to do the other knee!
Beav, I know what you mean. Early in last spring I attended a session with my ortho lady. I think she used the same style syringe. This was for my shoulder. But, it worked. The shoulder hasn't bothered me since.
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Jim, I hope your results are as good as the ones Bigsmoke had.
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Me too, Doc says it takes 3 to 5 days to feel it kick in, we'll see.
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Took my Sweetie in yesterday for a gel injection in her right knee. Not fun! Actually 2 injections but they just switched vials and the needle stayed in place. Two to go, a week apart. I feel for you!
~Kees~
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Took my Sweetie in yesterday for a gel injection in her right knee. Not fun! Actually 2 injections but they just switched vials and the needle stayed in place. Two to go, a week apart. I feel for you!
~Kees~
Kee, what is this gel called and what does it do?
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Just got back from a three day traditional jazz festival in Fresno.
What a fantastic way to spend Valentine's Day with my sweetie.
Had a great time.
John (Bigsmoke)
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Day tripped rain de voos yesterday with the boss lady, had a good time visiting with old friends and keeping dry and warm in the barn, yea Smoke, you've been there! (the barn that is).
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Just got back from a three day traditional jazz festival in Fresno.
What a fantastic way to spend Valentine's Day with my sweetie.
Had a great time.
John (Bigsmoke)
Wow, that stirred up a memory. Back in '66, I had a buddy who's father was a chief in the navy in Newport, RI. He gave us comp tickets for the Newport Jazz Festival. Remember seeing Count Basie, Herbie Mann and Dizzy Gillespie. Unfortunately, I blew up the engine in my dads' '63 Chevy on the way home.
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Day tripped rain de voos yesterday with the boss lady, had a good time visiting with old friends and keeping dry and warm in the barn, yea Smoke, you've been there! (the barn that is).
Seems like I spent most of my time out in back of the barn.
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Just looked at the Photo thread from about 2019. Enjoy looking back. Scrolled down to engraved items (pic heavy). This was before I was able to communicate here using modern technology. What an outpouring of talent. If you've never seen this before, check it out. I don't know if this man is even with us anymore, but wherever you're at, your work is beautiful. You and Darren have to be related somehow.
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Was that the one with all the engraving? I got stuck on the photos forum just now. I see a lot of names there we haven't seen in years! Wonder how they're doing. I miss Puffer; sent him a PM a while back but didn't get an answer back. I think I may also have sent him an email with the same results. And what about Hawken? He hasn't been on here since the early Covid-19 years. Bummer! ;banghead;
~Kees~
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That's definitely the one with all the beautiful engraving. I think the guys screen name was Lonewolfe20. Kees, I was wondering about Hawken too. I enjoyed his pictures too. So many want pictures, but we don't get very many. My photography skills are very limited or I'd put more on.
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Just finished up a pan charger to give to my wife's nephew I mentioned back in October. I've given him some other items already, so along with this charger, ball starter and a few other small items, I'm hoping the weather will ease up and I might even have to take him to the range. Could be interesting. [ Invalid Attachment ] He just picked up the gun about 3 weeks ago. I just that's a step in the right direction.
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Those look real nice
Nothing to report from Idaho
Winter is here, cold and snow.
Supposed to get up to 50* with heavy rain in the next few days.
Our club shoot is this Sunday but sounds like it will be a wash out.
So guess I'll keep laying new pergo floor in the house.
Kevin
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Raining here today ( surprise!) finishing my second cup and headed out to the shop to cut some blanks and turn a dozen or so powder measures over the next couple days, need some stock for the ML show in 2 weeks, then if I have some energy after dinner tonight I need to work on finishing a bag for the same.
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t's been a busy couple days with more to come, I've been in the shop turning a new run of 32 powder measures of different grains during the day, finished up a custom shotgun bag for an old customer sitting in the evenings watching the tube, staining and finishing the measures starting today, have to dig out the rifles and such for a club shoot tomorrow and then start digging out and staging the bins for the ML show for set up next Friday, I'm supposed to be retired! ;banghead;
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You must be retired, Beav - you wouldn't have the time to do all that if you were working. :applaud
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I had an interesting experience this morning. I drove into San Luis Obispo to the Veterans' Museum for an appointment. They are involved in a project where they interview veterans and get oral histories of their time in the military, what they did, where they were, etc. It was kind of fascinating.
From there, in house they will take the video off the memory card of the camera and transpose it to a DVD. One copy they send to the veteran, one copy they keep on file at the museum and the third copy they send to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC where eventually it will be entered into the official record.
I would strongly urge anyone who is a veteran from any era to contact their local VA office and find out where that service is happening. The combat vets are just the tip of the iceberg and the people who were not involved in combat have stories to tell as well, even if you were just a clerk or a cook, not to demean that.
After my interview, I snuck a peek into the Armory. They have a Lahti anti tank rifle that just fascinates me. 105 pounds of portable 20mm firepower. Man, do I ever have bore size envy. What a hoot that would be to shoot. Of course a magazine of those cartridges would cost about my month's discretionary income so I don't see that happening any time soon. And they have examples of probably every battle rifle that was used in the 20th century and a few from the 19th century as well. Plus a terrific display of militaria mainly from the 20th century.
John (Bigsmoke)
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John, ATTA boy for participating in that, there are several you tube channels that post interviews of vets that I watch from time to time, some interesting stories.
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Took my Mrs. and the kids on a hike up in the pine ridge yesterday.. Was a nice 60+ degrees, so we took full advantage. Picnic, hike, just being out...
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I bought four rifles, all cartridge guns. Heresy!!! How dare me???? What was I thinking??? :Doh! :laffing
Had to send the fowler lock back to Jim as I couldn't get the lock to stay in full cock and when it did the trigger pull was at best an ounce. Pulled the lock and trigger, couldn't find an issue.
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Just finished reading another fine turkey hunting article with a smokepole by Darren. Really good article. Especially the part about the peanut butter cookies. Thanks Darren.
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Tonight I'm going to set some quills to dye. Then the wife and I are going to attempt a few quilled hatbands. My son needs a band for his hat, and I'd like to doll up a second hat for myself.. We shall see how it goes.
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Spent the day digging stuff out, pricing it and packing the bins for the show this weekend, can't believe we are done a day early, I won't know what to do with myself!!
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Well, today I got my second lens replacement done. no more yellow cataracts for me. Can't wait to go make smoke!!!
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Well, today I got my second lens replacement done. no more yellow cataracts for me. Can't wait to go make smoke!!!
My eye doctor has suggested that I might want to have that done sometime soonly.
Strangely enough, I really cannot tell anything is wrong, except it seems more difficult to see in somewhat dark conditions. I don't know if it is anything serious enough to pay attention to now or wait until I can notice things wrong.
What is the opinion of those who have gone through the cataract thing.
John
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Well my immediate plans are an endoscopy today at 9am.
Dealing with some swallowing issues now.
I think this weekend I'll try and set up my new to me wall tent.
I cut and stripped poles from my local woods for the ridge and sides over the last month.
The snow is mostly gone here so time to get ready for rendezvous
Kevin
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Well my immediate plans are an endoscopy today at 9am.
Dealing with some swallowing issues now.
I think this weekend I'll try and set up my new to me wall tent.
I cut and stripped poles from my local woods for the ridge and sides over the last month.
The snow is mostly gone here so time to get ready for rendezvous
Kevin
Kevin, what is the size of the tent?
Getting a new tent is always cause for high excitement. I remember in 1979 getting our tipi. Probably set that darn thing up a dozen times before taking it out to the CdA RDV up at Hudlow. To celebrate that first use, my buddy's dog had puppies in the tent. Everyone had to come see them; I had no idea so many people could fit into an 18' lodge. This was when the RDV was held on Memorial Day weekend and one night it snowed.
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It a 10x12 with 4ft high walls. Single door from yakima tent and awning .
Picked it up with a 6x 8 baker type tent ( sans fly )
For 150$ at auction. I know crazy 🤣
The tent is like new, had ropes with it , just needed poles.
Looks like 50s and sunny tomorrow.
Side note my endoscopy showed a hiatal hernia. No other serious complications.
Read your article in DGW John. Good read .
I understand now why you are called big smoke. Holy Christmas 220 gr 2f. 500+ grain PRB .
You da man.
Kevin
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Kevin,
Without belaboring the point, let me briefly tell you about a few of my other toys.
I had a beautiful 8 bore (about 85 caliber) double rifle that seemed to like a modest charge of 300 grains of Fg powder with a PRB that weighed in at IIRC about 750 grains or so.
And then the big brother of the bunch was a 4 bore rifle. It was a real monster. IIRC it was about an inch bore and shot a RB that weighed 1,450 grains over a powder charge of 400 grains of Fg.
I had an opportunity to shoot a 3 bore once and that was too brutal for me, especially with a conical bullet that weighed around 3,500 grains. I think the owner used a 500 grain charge. I will admit to closing my eyes when I jerked the trigger. It was very punishing, to say the least. I only took one shot with that monster.
John
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We got home from the ML show Sunday eve , ate dinner and crashed, slept 12 hours straight! it was a great show, our sales were the best we've ever done! the gate on Sat was 911 paid entries and the fairground staff had to refill their 3 atm's at 1pm because they were empty! things slowed up Sunday so i had a chance to walk the show and visit with some old friends, all the traders I talked with said they did well also! quite a few younger folks and families cruising
the show with purchased items, THAT was good to see! Spent yesterday putting stuff away and getting ready to start making more stuff, we sold out of 4 of the different caliber ball bags that we make and various other stuff. I spent a little money buying 100 black french flints, 50 of each 3/4" and 7/8", picked up a couple real nice half oil tanned cow hides and a small box of horns from an estate sale of a local gun builder and old club member Rich Pogue. traded a ball bag for 3 tins of #11 caps and that was it! Kind of behaved myself with the $, (not by choice) I was getting the scolding Mom look every time I opened the cash box and grabbed some greenbacks. all said we had a great weekend!
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[ Invalid Attachment ] Got the Rapine .490 bag mold out and cast a few balls. Cutting the sprue off and trimming them up a little will keep me busy for a little while. :Doh!
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That reminds me . I need to make some.530s
Kevin
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Kevin, do you use a bag mold? If so, what kind do you use?
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I use a double mold for the .530s but found a .600 bag mold at an antique store.
No ideas what brand or who made it but its old for sure.
Kevin
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You'll deplete your lead supply if you make too many balls with that antique mold. :Doh!
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Well tomorrow is our annual "game feed" at church. Big potluck of wild game and a usually a great speaker... I get sick of the meatballs and chili you typically see so I try to do something a little different every year.. This year I've been saving my pike from ice fishing and I made pike smoked sausage.. My wife was skeptical (so was I) but dang these turned out actually pretty good... They are 90/10 pike/bacon in natural casings. A mild lime garlic season and good deep smoky flavor..
I think we may throw together some rabbit stew or a BBQ bunny pizza to take as well.. I'll let you know how they are received by the meatball crowd lol...
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Man!!!!!!!!!! sign me up! Pike? GOOD! Bacon? GOOD!, what's not to like? :hairy
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If I had some of those in PA, I'd have some for breakfast.
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Well, today I got my second lens replacement done. no more yellow cataracts for me. Can't wait to go make smoke!!!
My eye doctor has suggested that I might want to have that done sometime soonly.
Strangely enough, I really cannot tell anything is wrong, except it seems more difficult to see in somewhat dark conditions. I don't know if it is anything serious enough to pay attention to now or wait until I can notice things wrong.
What is the opinion of those who have gone through the cataract thing.
John
DO NOT HESITATE - GET THE CATARACTS DONE ASAP - it's like seeing the world anew in crisp, focused technicolor. You will not be disappointed and you'll wish you'd done it SO much sonner.
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I've been begging my doc to do my eyes, but he won't do them. I haven't been able to shoot for over 2 years. I doubt I can pass the eye exam for my next drivers license.
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I've been begging my doc to do my eyes, but he won't do them. I haven't been able to shoot for over 2 years. I doubt I can pass the eye exam for my next drivers license.
Time to "see" a new doc ... ?
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Got back last night from a week long trip north.
Went to Monterey, CA for a 4 day traditional jazz festival, then north to Half Moon Bay to visit with a couple of my cousins. Had a great time, only problem was some mighty heavy rain.
And the trailer continued to leak. Will have to take it back to the dealer FOR THE THIRD TIME to have the bedroom window fixed. Plus a new leak in the bathroom. ARGH, this is getting monotonous.
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Got back last night from a week long trip north.
Went to Monterey, CA for a 4 day traditional jazz festival, then north to Half Moon Bay to visit with a couple of my cousins. Had a great time, only problem was some mighty heavy rain.
And the trailer continued to leak. Will have to take it back to the dealer FOR THE THIRD TIME to have the bedroom window fixed. Plus a new leak in the bathroom. ARGH, this is getting monotonous.
AHHHHH the joys of a RV owner! welcome to my world, it rains here in the PNW as you well remember, a fella has to deal with leaks at least once a year if you travel much, even local trips, your constantly tweeking and twisting your home/shelter, they build RV's to sell, not to last!
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Since it was for breakfast, not dinner, I'll post it here. A neighbor lady accompanied her friend to visit a third lady in New Zealand. They stayed with the NZ lady for three weeks and had fun. In an email I asked our friend if she had tried Vegemite (remember that old '60s song that mentions a Vegemite sandwich?) The hostess not only had that but also NZ's own similar product, Marmite, which she loves and eats daily. Our neighbor sent us one jar of each. If you like umami flavors, salty things like soy sauce, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, parmesan cheese, you might like these spreads. Both are jet black smooth products that look very unappealing in the jar, and even worse on toast. Marmite tries to get around the axle grease appearance of it by calling it "black gold." Both are used in many recipes and ways but especially for breakfast on toast that has first been buttered with unsalted butter. Today we tried it and I really like it, especially the Marmite which I found to be a little sweeter, milder, and not so intense. Here are a couple pics. If you ever find some, try it. Note, for some #$@!! reason I can't attach two pics, I don't think they are too large. If I can figure it out, I'll post them later.
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Here's Marmite (I hope).
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When we were in Melbourne about 10 years ago, I had the opportunity to try Vegemite. I found it to be disgusting!!!!!! Yuk (need one of these smiley face thingies of a person puking their guts out). Needless to say, I was not favorably impressed.
Later that week, we went to the Melbourne zoo. While there I observed a mother ask her 3 year old if he wanted a Vegemite sandwich or a ham and cheese. The kid wanted Vegemite. Hmmm... the kids get hooked on that stuff early on.
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Marmite and Vegemite are the food world's equivalent to the shooting world's Ballistol. You either love it or hate it, there's no in between. BTW, while I love the taste and aroma of black licorice, to me, Ballistol smells like overripe gym shorts. :lol sign. I just thought of something, I wonder how those two spreads would work as patch lubes!!! :stooges:
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Marmite and Vegemite are the food world's equivalent to the shooting world's Ballistol. You either love it or hate it, there's no in between. BTW, while I love the taste and aroma of black licorice, to me, Ballistol smells like overripe gym shorts. :lol sign. I just thought of something, I wonder how those two spreads would work as patch lubes!!! :stooges:
I always thought Ballistol smelt like a cat box that had gone beyond its expiration date. But, considering the first syllable of Ballistol, maybe the gym shorts is more apropos.
As far as patch lube goes, I think those things might be a bit too dense to work well on patches, but they could have a future as bullet lube. Wonder what the aroma of black powder and Vegemite burning would be? In a barrel that had just been wiped down with Ballistol?
Pardon me, I am starting to feel nauseous just thinking about that.
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Got back last night from a week long trip north.
Went to Monterey, CA for a 4 day traditional jazz festival, then north to Half Moon Bay to visit with a couple of my cousins. Had a great time, only problem was some mighty heavy rain.
And the trailer continued to leak. Will have to take it back to the dealer FOR THE THIRD TIME to have the bedroom window fixed. Plus a new leak in the bathroom. ARGH, this is getting monotonous.
AHHHHH the joys of a RV owner! welcome to my world, it rains here in the PNW as you well remember, a fella has to deal with leaks at least once a year if you travel much, even local trips, your constantly tweeking and twisting your home/shelter, they build RV's to sell, not to last!
Jim, If the bedroom window was leaking for the first time, I wouldn't mind it. But we discovered it leaking on our October trip. Took it back to the dealer and had it fixed when we got back in November. Took it out in December and got caught in a pretty good rain. Once again, big puddles on the floor. Took it to the dealer and they found they had used the wrong gasket. They replaced the gasket around the window and water tested it. Took it out this month and had some really hard rain. More big puddles inside. I am really starting to wonder about that place.
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As far as patch lube goes, I think those things might be a bit too dense to work well on patches, but they could have a future as bullet lube. Wonder what the aroma of black powder and Vegemite burning would be? In a barrel that had just been wiped down with Ballistol?
Pardon me, I am starting to feel nauseous just thinking about that.
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I understand, that would be enough to gag the proverbial maggot. A scene from The Exorcist comes to mind.
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Guess the pike sausage was okay, we brought home the world famous traveling trophy! Kids had a good time and had a great message from the speaker. He's involved in our states SYC( special youth challenge). They do hunts for special needs kids/young adults. Very touching what they do. If you know anybody that could benefit from it I have his info as well, they bring in out of state hunters too just holler at me.
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I went to a wild game feed last night at a local church. I looked high and low for some of that pike sausage, but couldn't find any. Closest thing there was goose sausage, and I didn't try any. My wife tried it and said it was good but just a bit too spicy for her. I was looking for squirrel pot pie.
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Guess the pike sausage was okay, we brought home the world famous traveling trophy! Kids had a good time and had a great message from the speaker. He's involved in our states SYC( special youth challenge). They do hunts for special needs kids/young adults. Very touching what they do. If you know anybody that could benefit from it I have his info as well, they bring in out of state hunters too just holler at me.
Good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew it tasted as good as it looked! :bow :applaud
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having tasted both Marmite AND Vegimte, I find the Smell of Balistol doesn't bother at all.
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Regardless of a person's stand on Marmite or Vegemite, we all can agree that this is bizarre and funny. In the 2000's Marmite sponsored an art contest. I suppose in New Zealand patents encourage their kids to play with their food. Here are four submissions. :lol sign. My vote goes to Marmalisa.
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