It looks like it's a Hawken Plains Rifle. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.gunauction.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=8707443" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.gunauction.com/search/displa ... um=8707443</a> I thought it was a musket, but apparently there some rifling under all of the rust inside the barrel. Now I just need to find out how to clean it up a bit so it looks presentable.
I got new gun! A lovely little CZ 452 .22lr with a full length walnut stock. I also got to test my Suhl in a private indoor range in the middle of Nebraska yesterday (owned by a farmer/accuracy guru) and have been spoiled as hell by shooting using a one piece rest. Surprisingly, it didn't shoot any better using it than my two-piece system,but they are super slick to use. One piece rest system (all aiming done by two fat knobs under the butt) Two piece rest system (all aiming done by two fat knobs on the front rest top) My first match is next weekend and for once I feel prepared because this gun was averaging groups around .15-17" for 30 shots at 50 yards and was two points away from a perfect 250 score on a couple of targets. Hot damn!
Its probably going to sound like I'm talking shit (I'm not) but I don't see where the challenge is in that. You put a gun with a specially designed stock on a stable base, turn some knobs to dial it in and squeeze a trigger. Its almost like you're just testing the accuracy of the gun and not your shooting abilities. Unless that's the whole idea?
Trakiel is right, and I'm not offended in the least. Comparing a benchrest rifle to other rifles is like a top fuel dragster to your car. Every component is designed purely for precision and it is totally impractical to use it for anything but benchrest target shooting like a dragster can only zoom down a straight track. So, yes it is very easy to shoot indoors because it requires mechanical skills and not marksmanship. Take it outside and shoot in the wind and it can be a devil. Matches are won by those who can read the wind best. The shooting I did was to test individual lots of a certain ammunition and compile data on how it patterns so its helpful to remove as many variables as possible.
Obscure/obsolete/vintage rifle and cartridges. Shitty, semi-focused camera. Ironic self-deprecation. Bestow your accolades upon me, hipsters!
Has it been sporterized much? The old Redfield sight looks very much at home on your Krag. A bad ass old gun for sure...
The barrel has been cut down to 21.5", and the stock cut down to carbine length. The rear sight mounting holes have been filled in and filed off, and for some reason a dovetail was cut into the top of the bolt shroud. It also has a M1903 banded blade front sight sweated on. That sight is great, because it's a no-drill base that mounts in place of the magazine cutoff switch. I found an old M1907 pattern sling that really complements the look of the rifle.
I went to town on a trigger guard blank this weekend so the custom stock I'm making for the new CZ won't have the cheap stamped factory steel guard anywhere near it. The one hitch is the peice is aluminum, but I can epoxy coat it with a matte finish to match other matte metal on the rifle (I prefer blued steel). At least that meant I could do the job in a few hours vs. a few days if it were steel... More pics... Spoiler Before: After: Lil preview of the wood I'm using... California claro walnut.
Now that work on a stock for my CZ .22 has begun, I'll finally have something I've wanted for years- a matching centerfire and rimfire rifle pair. It will be awesome with my Winchester .270. The stocks will be virtually identical from the trigger to the butt (I hope) with the fore-end length in proportion to the barrel. Spoiler Another pic...
Looking for some advice picking a revolver for white tail hunting. The area I hunt rarely allows for more than a 50 yard shot and I want bragging rights for killing a deer with a handgun. I've got my eyes set on a .44 mag Taurus with a red dot sight but I'm not sure what barrel length to go for. Is it worth getting an 8" barrel over a 6" or is the 8" just unnecessary at shorter ranges?
Just curious, why Taurus? I shot a nice doe with my SA 1911 at about 30 yards with Novak sights. That being said if I had to have a revolver for deer hunting, I would get one of these. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/models.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/models.html</a> I know the Taurus is more budget friendly, but after owning a few different models they make, I will never buy another. Nothing but issues with them, mainly feed related.
Exactly. Trying to stay under $700 here, even if it's used. Plus I just like the way they look more than others.
As mentioned, Taurus's build quality has gone downhill over the last couple of years. I own a Taurus 1911 that I am pretty happy with, but I bought it second hand and it's a couple of years old so YMMV. It's not hard to find people that aren't happy with them. For example: http://www.handgunforum.net/taurus/26348-taurus-quality.html If you want to stick with a revolver for hunting and assuming you don't mind buying used, I would probably get either a S&W (model 29 in .44 mag/686 in .357) or Ruger Redhawk/Blackhawk. At 50 yards, 6" vs. 8" wouldn't make that big of a difference, but I would go with the 8" if you plan to do a lot of hunting with it since you get a little better velocity out of it. You should be able to get one of those used for right at or around $700. I picked up a 6 inch stainless 686 the other day for $525. Also, here is a pretty good list of things to check with a used revolver. Just make sure to ask permission to do it: http://thefiringline.com/Misc/library/Revolver-check.html
Got back my little Oregon Arms Chipmunk .22. I spent about an hour cleaning it up last night--took the whole damn thing apart and it looks so good now. It's so wonderfully small. Can't wait to shoot it after all these years. And here's a vid of a guy shooting it. Spoiler
Brings a tear to my eye. That was the first gun I was given as well. Not super accurate but countless frogs and birds died by my hand.
My wife, kid, and I just moved into our new house this weekend. You'd think that a quiet cul de sac in the middle of an upper-middle class neighborhood in textbook suburbia would be a nice place, but I was about 1/2 second away from drawing my pistol last night. I went to the grocery store last night. When I got home, I parked my truck outside the garage and carried the groceries through the garage and into the house. I just left the truck doors open because I'd be coming right back out and my arms were full. When I came out of the house for the 2nd load of groceries, I saw a guy standing right next to my open truck door just staring at me. He looked eerily similar to Billy Bob Thornton's character in Slingblade except that he had the build of a meth addict. One hand was at his side and the other was behind his back so I was instantly on high alert. "Can I help you?" I asked him through the garage. He just stared at me blankly. I repeated my question and he just started slowly walking toward me with his hand still behind his back. I immediately swept my shirt and put my hand on my pistol, ready to draw if he came any closer. It's a big garage, about 30' from front to back and he was coming diagonally and would have had to come around my wife's car to get to me, so my line of engagement was the threshold of the garage door. When he saw me sweep my shirt, he stopped and slowly introduced himself as my neighbor. I didn't take my hand off my pistol until I saw both of his hands and even then, I approached him very cautiously. He seemed harmless enough, albeit pretty strange and a little creepy. At one point in his never ending, repetitive, one-sided conversation/monologue, he tried to give me a high five. I just stared at his hand and refused. High five fail. He just kept talking about treating my birch trees and just kept asking "Are there any questions you have about the neighborhood? Anything at all?" And then would pause and stare like a teacher searching for an answer from a bunch of braindead students. Luckily, he's moving out on June 8, but not because it's a bad neighborhood (he made this abundantly clear by repeating it at least a dozen times throughout the one-sided conversation). We've been in the new house for 5 days and I've been approached by the local con-artist and almost drawn my pistol on my neighbor. What the hell have we gotten into?
The shotgun stock I'm working on is looking good sooner than I expected. Some more wet sanding (i.e. a ton) and a couple thin topcoats and it'll be ready to checker. Also, a cool photo I took right after finishing my first card at an IR 50/50 match this past Saturday. A target with 25 bulls with a .25" center ring you're aiming at. It's 50 yards away, looking through my Leupold 36x. The target scored 243 out of 250.