reasonablenut

I can't actually post the whole thing. So here is the beginning.

Admittedly, I've been incommunicado for about 6 months.

I've had some weird shit to deal with and couldn't find the time to blog.

I think that's done.

We've got a ton of shit to post if I can get off of my ass. I hope that happens, but I can't promise it. See how she goes.

I've been away for awhile. Just because I haven't blogged doesn't mean I haven't done a shitload of really interesting shooting.

This awoke me from my slumber. The New York Times has decided to not charge money for access for its opinion page. I'm not sure that was a good idea as far as my personal mental health goes.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/opinion/23tue3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Dumbass sentence #1:

...a groundbreaking measure signed into law earlier this month by the state’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, offers a realistic hope for bringing more murderers, gang members and other armed criminals to justice.

Think they have those weird, ESP bitches from "Minority Report?" Think they have the future mapped out like those outlaws in the "Terminator" series?

Alas and alack, no.

"Under the new measure — the Crime Gun Identification Act — manufacturers of semiautomatic weapons will have to equip new guns sold in California starting in 2010 with inexpensive technology known as microstamping. This process involves using lasers to create microscopic markings that record the make, model and serial number of a semiautomatic handgun onto its firing pin and other internal surfaces. These markings automatically transfer onto the bullet shell casing when a gun is fired, providing a valuable lead for police investigators when, as commonly happens, casings from the shooter’s weapon are found at a crime scene."

Holy Mother of Jesus, I feel better. God knows it would take a PhD to defeat any of the measures the Kindergarden Cop and his leftist cohorts have devised for the criminal element. I'm sure I could never figure out how to use a file, especially if I didn't have a job and could devote whole days to the endevour.

Why are people who write for newspapers so stupid?

Just because we haven't been blogging doesn't mean we haven't been shooting or scoring.

We got out this afternoon in anticipation of the Whittington thing. We brought 3 rifles, but ended up only shooting the M-40. We ran handloaded match 168 grain and 175 grain (both Sierra.) Both were flawless. Based on advice I've received lately, the 175 is better for long distance. My experience today did not back that theory.

In addition, we shot Aussie, South African, and Lake City rounds (all 147 grain.) The Aussie did great, as it has consistently shown in both bolts and sem-autos. The SA seemed to be a little hotter, but wouldn't extract. Lake City was acceptable, but nowhere near where the Aussie was.

All were accurate, but that's not a reflection on the cartridge; more the gun.

I've broken down and started loading for a single gun. I like chamber-blown Federal Gold Match and then I can load it for the rifle in question.

The Creedmoor spotting stand is something I should have bought years ago. It is stable and has adjustment knobs you won't find on standard tripods.

More to follow.

Thus, I actually forked out some cash and got a Creedmoor stand (ala, the God Scope, for those who know.)

Whittington reports should follow regularly, as I seem to be out my, what Porta's Cat calls, "I don't want to blog, so kiss my ass." phase I seemed to be going through.

There seems to be an extreme shortage of .45 bullet availability. Midway has zero FMJ bullets. Every other outlet I've checked is out as well. One can't blame this on the war or law enforcement, as that seems to be entirely 9mm.

So where the fuck is all this .45 going?

MAJOR UPDATE: First post in a month and I completely fucked up the facts. Ed McMahon was the asshole with the dead moldy dog. Apologies. The comic is still cool, though.

With apologies to Deb, I've been on a bit of a hiatus. Call it dog days of summer or whatnot, but I just haven't been that interested in writing. Shooting-wise there is a buttload of shit I could be blabbing about. Just haven't been in the mood.

In any case, the passing of Merv Griffin made me wistful. I'm an insurance adjuster and he was the first front page motherfucker that sued an insurance company over a mold claim. Mold killed his dog. KILLED HIS DOG.

Then I got a bit more remiscent and remembered one of my favorite underground comics of all time:

Thanks to Joe's Crabby shack, I've found that it appears that a man bearing my family name, might have been partly responsible for this:




I guess Benjamin Franklin also contributed, in his way, to the promulgation of the rattlesnake as an American icon. Fucking weird; read about it.

They really are the worst.

A few weeks back, we needed Large Pistol Primers. We checked with the local retailers and they were all out. Thus, you figure you hit the big box. I mean, everybody uses Large Pistol Primers. Shit, most guys who load just do it to cut down on .45 cost. Well, Sportsman's Warehouse didn't have shit. We took it as a token that it was not meant to be.

Fast forward a month. The Old Man and I went down there to pick up an emergency box of .45 round nose. They didn't have it, of course. I also noticed the primer section was even more eviscerated than when we'd last been there. Do you have a buyer? Do you stock?

Fuck you anyway. You wasted shitloads of my time and you are useless.

When is Cabela's opening?

About a year ago, the Old Man bought an Enfield for about $160 from Big 5 Sports. It was consistently a great shooter, even though it was the cheapest rifle we've ever bought. As such, there was some knashing of teeth on how much money should be spent refurbishing it. Finally, it was decided that such a good shooter could not be left to degenerate further and we shipped it to Dean's Gun Restoration. Following are the results.

Our boys in blue seem to do okay if an old lady leads them to the crime. Otherwise, I'm not impressed.

If the link demands log-in it's "bh3323899" and the password is "bthopkins"

As previously, Ben and I both got CMP carbines. First step was to do something about the stocks as they were both pretty ugly at first look. Ben’s was Italian birch, pretty badly dented. Looking at mine, I couldn’t tell what is was - it appeared to have been varnished and was completely black


The Italian seemed to need the most work so I started with that. Stripped the original finish with Formby’s finish remover (great stuff as is conditions the wood along with stripping any old finish).

Next step was to take out dents as much as possible. Used a damp cloth and a steam iron and that raised most of the dents with the exception of the really bad ones. Left the damp cloth on for a couple of hours, not enough to soak the wood but just enough to keep it damp. One last iron session and we were good to go.

I had originally wanted a lighter finish, but the stock had a lot of hand sweat stains and other water stains all along the stock, so I would up using a Spanish Walnut, which is an extremely dark stain. The first pass resulted in an almost black rifle. Left it a day to let it dry and we were on to the final finish.






I personally prefer a Tung Oil finish versus boiled linseed or any of the various oil finishes. The low gloss Tung gives a satin finish but also a harder surface finish that resists water and sweat stains. If you need to fix it a bit after time, you just apply another coat and steel wool it, turns out good as new.



After four coats of tung oil, light steel wool in between, we had a much better looking stock and about as well as we were going to do with the Italian stock.








On to my stock which was by far the worst looking of the two. After the application of the Formby’s finish remover, we found that we had an original GI black walnut stock! Needless to say, this did not take any stain. We just smoothed her out with some fine sand paper and steel wool and were ready for the final tung oil finish. Word of caution - if you want to preserved the cartouches on a stock you have to less than enthusiastic with the sandpaper and steel wool.














Four coats of tung oil later, and we had a damn good looking walnut stock.














Sometimes the ugly duckling turns into a swan. Start to finish about one week for both.

The Old Man