Hump day

Only two days until vacation. My scope for the garand came in today, and the mount is showing it will be delivered tomorrow. I can't wait to assemble it. I will take it out Friday or Saturday, weather permitting. I called the gun shop I ordered my rifle through. They said my rifle is on back order. They are suppose to look into it and let me know when it should come in. I really wanted it for vacation time. The club is suppose to have someone in giving lessons on trap shooting. I have never shot trap, so I am looking forward to trying it out to see if I like it or not. They are also putting the finishing touches on their new archery stand. It turned out great. They are looking into getting some 3D targets for that  area.

New toy on order

When I took one of the engineers from work out to the club to check out the facilities, he brought out his savage .17hmr plinker. It was a blast to shoot and accuracy was amazing. His had the thumbhole stock which was comfortable, but I prefer the more traditional look and I love walnut stocks. I went and ordered it today. Comes with scope mounted and sited for under $300 out the door. Should have it by next weekend.

I also owe a huge thanks to Tam from View from the Porch blog for pointing out the new scope mount for the Garand. I ordered one for my Garand. It is my favorite out of all my rifles. The main reason I wanted a M1A is the ability to mount a scope. This mount installs without butchering the garand in any way. It comes with mounting hardware. I also have a leupold scope to mount to it when it comes in. I used my Cabela points for the scope which was already on sale.  Hope it all comes in before vacation starts.

 You can find the mount at http://www.ulitimak.com/  along with many other mounts and scopes. What I really like is the fact that they bolt on without having to drill or modify the rifle as I could not and would not butcher a piece of history. Am looking forward to trying it with the scope. I  am going to get the new wiring harness installed on the mustang. Hope to get the hydraulic clutch mounted to the trans as well. I am going to pull and rebush the pedal assembly as well. If the weather is warm enough to allow it, I will paint the garage interior as well. The end of vacation is the Indy 1500 gun show, so that will be a fine end to the vacation. Five more work days to go til freedom. Yeah...

Spot shoots started

It wasn't too bad out today. It only made it to about 60 degrees overcast and misty. Not as many people showed up as I would have expected. Someone said the paper didn't run the  ad on time. I managed to get half my work hours in today, and met up with some of the guys I shoot with. It's a pretty good time. They supply free soup and beverages for the workers and shooters. They have .22 shoots for the kids as well. They use bird shot in the .22s making it possible for even the little tots to win. Wednesday is our monthly meeting. Counting down to vacation. Only two more weeks.

Almost March

Spring is just about here. Tomorrow is a gun show, then off to the club to get some work hours in. Throw some guns in the car, and make it a great afternoon at the range. Met up with some of the guys that shoot at the cowboy shoots last week. Try to line up with some of them and go hurt some of the metal bad guys. Still haven't shot my new shotguns yet. Hope to break them in tomorrow. The lever action one is definitely different. The one guy was talking about bringing out some of his flintlocks and muzzleloaders. My brother loaned me his black powder navy colt that I would like to take and shoot. I have the Uberti version in .38 caliber. I need to make a new site for the black powder one. I have the material and I can use the Uberti to get the correct size and shape.The spot shoots start on Sunday at the club. It is suppose to be almost 70, so it will definitely be nicer than the last shoot I worked when it was snowing on the range.
I finally received the wiring harness for under the hood on the Mustang. Should have it in while I am on vacation. Only two more weeks. I lined it up for the Indy 1500 gun show. Managed  to get the Monday after the show off too. If I find something too good to pass up, I can take it out and play on Monday. A couple weeks after Indy is the spring time machine gun shoot. I may try to take a vacation day so I can get a hotel out near it this time. I would like to hit the Patton museum while I am out there. It would allow me time to see the after dark shoot where the helicopter comes around and blows stuff up in the pit. It really is a totally fun experience. I have to go at least once a year. They have it in April and October. It is a huge gun show with military stuff everywhere. Flamethrowers to rent, machine guns to rent, helicopter rides with machine guns inside. Only in America.

Range day number two

Went back to the club today and talked to some of the guys that run the cowboy shoots. I like to go there during the week and shoot the targets for fun. I did get some tips on the loads they run. You can use any caliber as long as it is not jacketed. I talked to them about what loads they were running. The commercial stuff is extremely low velocity. The guys also told me how to load for the lever action. It is suppose to feed .38, but misfeeds regularly. They said the easiest fix is to do a .38 load  in .357 brass. I was hoping on being able to use the .38 ammo so as to have one caliber that would feed the pistols and rifle as opposed to two different lengths. They have a really nice setup down there. I told them I would help work at the next shoot. It will get some of my work hours in and I can check it out at the same time. What is really nice is they don't force you to wear the cowboy outfit or recite something before you shoot. They don't want baseball hats and tennis shoes, but you don't need a cowboy hat or any other oddities to shoot. They say just come out and have fun. They have set ups where you shoot a pistol stage followed by rifle and some have a shotgun shoot at the end. There are several events running side by side. Very impressive setup. One building I thought was just used for signing up for the different shoots is actually a lounge area with a stove and coffee to keep warm as well as seating to relax. They did a nice job on it. It looks like something you would see in an old western on the outside as well as the inside. I have never used muzzle loaders, so one of the guys said he would bring some of his out and we can play around with them some time. He wants to see my lever action shotgun. He has seen pictures, but has never got to shoot one before. Says he has a variety of old flintlocks he will bring out too. Sounds like a great time. Most of the time I go out there, I spend more time talking with people than shooting, but that is a fun in itself. Might get some coupons to the Indy show. One of the guys that I talked to said he went to Indy a couple years ago, and they keep mailing him dollar off coupons for entry to the show, and he doesn't go. Said he will try remember to throw some in the truck for me. I told him about the Louisville show next weekend. Don't know if they will go or not. It would make the drive more enjoyable.
Went over to the archery area and it looks like they finished the stand. Suppose to be putting in 3d targets as well. They are making the parking lot a lot bigger and putting in stone so it should be less muddy getting in and out of there. I may go back out tomorrow after work if the weather holds out. It was in the mid 70's today. I am enjoying it while it lasts. Hard to believe it is February. Not ready to go back to work. Having too much fun and the weather is too nice.

Range Day

Went to the club today with someone from work that wants to join and his son. After giving him the tour of the grounds, we settled in at the range. He had a nice .17 HMR rifle with a scope. I have a new toy to put on my list. It was fun and extremely accurate. You can drive nails with it at 100 yards. He told me where the new gun store is where he bought it. I was looking for it a couple weeks ago and couldn't find it.Has a goofy looking road going to it that more resembles a goat path than a road. He is suppose to have decent prices and a pretty good selection. He really enjoyed the grounds and didn't hesitate filling out the application. He brought one of his kids with. His wife was busy and couldn't make it today. Told him we can line up and bring her out some other time of her choosing. His kid was well mannered and a decent shot. Took the O3A4 out again. I managed to get the scope sited in, and the bolts loosened up on the mount again. I remembered my tools today, but still haven't put any loctite in the box. Have to locktite the bolts and start over. Tried to use the bore sighter I bought over the winter. It is the type that has a sleeve and you load like you would a bullet. Naturally the batteries died immediately, before I could even use it for the first time. Trying to find batteries for it. Have to look around for magnifying glass. I can't read the numbers on old batteries. May head back to range tomorrow and try again.  Didn't make it to the Duck's Unlimited dinner. We stayed at the range late and had dinner afterwards. It was a fun day.
I also made it to Red Ghost gunstore. I picked up powder, more primers and some lead bullets for cowboy town. Lucked out and got 500 bullets for $30. May go back and get more of them. He bought them off of a friend of his that was getting rid of his inventory. Regular price is $50, so that is a really great price. Once I get use to reloading, I may get set up to cast my own bullets as well. Want to get use to reloading first. Starting off easy with 38 specials. Been saving brass for a long time, so I should be set for a while. Need to load some .45auto as well. They shoot wild bunch matches in cowboy town, where you can use a 1911 for your pistol. I have a lot of brass for that as well, but did not think to pick up lead bullets while at store. Gives me reason to return to store during week.
Rossi lever action rifle doesn't feed well. I bought it new last year, or the year before. They need to work on their quality control. They should be embarrassed letting a product go to market with all the mill marks and burrs. I will take it apart and deburr the ramp area so that it will feed without the bullets The Louisville one is suppose to have the nations largest military gun show going on at the same time. Have to see if I am ambitious enough to drive it or not.
Have to see what I feel like doing tomorrow. Don't know if I want to work on Mustang, start reloading, or go to the range again. I am definitely checking out the new gunstore in the morning. Wish I could have gone to the gunshow with my brother and Og today. Rumor has it Brigid is in their neck of the woods as well.

Nice weather still holding

Finally the weekend. One of the managers at work wants to join the club I belong to, so I am going to take him and his son out there tomorrow to check it out. He helped get my brother an interview down here and is a really nice guy. Does a lot with his family. Was suppose to bring his wife out, but she had to work. He bought her a gun for Christmas. If he likes the club, I 'll get his application turned in. The spot shoots start next weekend. Should be a lot warmer than the last one I worked. Weather forecast is still looking unbelievably great for February. It was almost 70 today and suppose to be in the 60's for the weekend.

Tomorrow evening, Ducks Unlimited is having their raffle and dinner at the local 4H complex. Suppose to meet up with some of the guys from work and get to meet some of the spouses. Should be a good time. I went to the Friends of the NRA last year and had a great time. This sounds similar as far as the raffle part. Sometimes I bump into some of the neighbors and/or club members at these functions.

Got the Vette started yesterday. I will start it up and let her run for a while tomorrow. Needs the dust washed off. May go by the car wash tomorrow. Not really warm enough for me to wash the car with the hose in the driveway yet. I want to pick up some paint while I am out tomorrow and throw a coat on the garage walls when the weather warms up. Can't wait for vacation. Three more weeks. Not really going anywhere. Just want to get some work done on the car and hopefully the Mustang drivable. Hope everyone has a nice weekend and the weather holds.