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Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: A Japanese headfier's monologue (Sasaki)
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Had the chance to go shooting with my girl a few weeks ago. We rented a Beretta Neos .22lr and a USP 9mm. I have to say, both excellent, but the Neos was real fun! The ergonomics was great and there's nothing like shooting a box of ammo that costs $3...
Another note, she's a much better shot than I. Both our 3rd time shooting. Gonna have to practice
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Music: 椎名林檎, レミオロメン, L'arc~en~ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Tool, Classical, Spanish Guitar, The Decemberists, Ratatat, Couch, Explosions in the Sky. (equipment in profile)
After a successful phase of fireforming 560+ rounds of new commercial .243Win to .243 Ackley Improved (0.5" accuracy demonstrated), the "brass fondling" began. Consistent and concentric are the watch words of precision brass uniforming. Commercial brass exhibits manufacturing variances in every imaginable way.
First, resize and trim to length. Next, dechamfer, ream primer pockets, and uniformly remove the internal flanges formed when the primer holes are stamped. Finally sort by weight after establishing the mean weight and standard deviation for fifty cases. Average weight cases are then neck uniformed, improving both concentricity and consistency.
Heavy cases will be used for working up powder charges. Since we have uniformed everything we could already, heavy cases must be heavier because of additional brass in the body. This means their internal volume will be lower and maximum working pressures will be achieved with lower powder charges. Maximum propellant charges worked up with heavy cases will be safe in average and light cases, all other things being equal.
And last week's trip to ND scouting PDogs was highly successful. Found towns, got maps, met good folks, and received invites to shoot on private farms/ranches. Theodore Roosevelt National Park and the ND badlands were well worth the ride themselves, although the winds were fierce most days for the new V-Strom, curtailing the ground I could cover in four days. Ahh, the roamin' life on the high prairie . . .
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Doing my duty . . . . the way I see it.
"The trouble with most people is not what they don't know, but what they know for certain that isn't true."
Mark Twain
Is that tac-light one of those Fenix's or is it a copy? How does it compare to your other lights (if you have any others)? Thanks http://www.fenixlight.com/
Here's my torch Night-Ops Gladius - Forget Surefire spend $200 AND actually get $200 worth of a light.
(The M-9 is also airsoft and is undergoing a trigger and hammer spring replacement, hence the missing trigger and hammer.
(Oh and behold the zip-ties and block of wood mag-clamp. Looks pretty "interesting" but its lasted longer than my other metal ones and cost nothing so I'm happy.)
Had the opportunity to go shooting for the first time while visiting my uncle out in Wyoming. He's gotten to be quite a shot and was big into trap shooting for quite a while, but there isn't a good trap shooting setup at his local firing range. We went up into the national forest, found a nice clearing, and put out some targets. Prior to this I had never held a real gun, and he brought along 3 guns, a Ruger .44 similar to this:
A Freedom Arms .357 magnum:
And a .44 lever-action carbine, I forget the make.
For never having fired a gun before, I didn't do too bad. Most shots were close to the target, and out of 6 rounds I usually managed to group at least 3 within a couple inches of each other. I have to say I expected the kick to be a lot worse from the Ruger just based on the size of it, but it wasn't that bad. My favorite by far was the Freedom .357. The smooth grip was a little tricky to find a good fit with at first, but it also allowed for a really easy recoil, and it seemed the most well balanced of the bunch. I liked the feel of the carbine though - it seemed a more natural shooting position to be holding a rifle than a pistol - it was much easier to steady myself there.
Anyway, my uncle also showed me a Remington bolt-action .306 that he'd done extensive modification to in preparation for his first elk hunt. I didn't get a chance to shoot it since he hadn't zeroed it in yet, but he was really excited about it and the hunt. I've got to share this story with you that he emailed the family after his hunt. I found it pretty moving (apologize for the length):
It was likely my first and last hunt. It turned into one of those life-transforming experiences. We (Marion Robinson and his Father, Bruce, the people whose coop farm Halina joined) left at 6:30 in the morning and headed to a steep canyon country west of the Snake River Canyon (the one you drive through on the way to Jackson). We were to meet a couple of friends of the Robinsons at the top, where they went on horseback by a different route. We climbed extremely steeply up the walls of the canyon, Marion on one side, and his father and I on the other. This climb makes the one you, Mark and I did a trivial piece of cake. The weather was wintery, with rain and snow and low chilly clouds obscuring visibility on many occasions. The climb was grueling, up slopes of 45 degrees and sometimes steeper. There are no trails. Bruce once fell and only just managed to grab onto a protruding root and thus didn't go a long way. Of course we are carrying back packs and rifles, the latter often getting caught in branches. Once we got to the top of the ridge we had to continue ascending the ridge to the top of the canyon. We saw evidence of elk everywhere: we were in elk city! But we didn't see any elk.
Eventually we got to the top (after about 2.5 hours) where we managed to get in touch with with Marion, who climbed on the southern ridge. He had already found the two friends on horseback, who had a nice fire going. We all sat around the fire trying to dry out. Our pants and boots were steaming profusely. We ate and drank water, and generally warmed up and restored our energies. It was time to start heading back along the huge ridge Marion came up on. The three of us spread out hoping to cover a broader swath of ground and thus increase our chances of running into an elk. I was on the side closer to the deep canyon by which we came, Bruce in the middle, and Marion on the side paralleling another deep canyon. Somehow we lost touch with each other. I yelled out frequently, but never heard a response. I tried twice to start coming down the side of the canyon to then follow the canyon to the bottom and then eventually the road. But each time I would end up on top of a near vertical cliff. I had to climb back out, which was a grueling effort up an extremely steep slope, fighting shrubbery all the way. Of course, the shrubbery also made it possible to climb and descend by grabbing onto branches. The effort exhausted my energy and rendered my legs sometimes unable to obey my will; they were stiff and extremely sore, as was the rest of my body.
At one point I suddenly saw a bull elk, at a distance I estimated to be between 200 and 300 yards. Under normal circumstances, I knew I could make the necessary shot. But with my fatigue, I doubted that I could hit the side of a barn at that distance. And, even if I managed to "harvest" it, we would never be able to get it out. I had no clue where Marion and Bruce were! And I realized that here is this beautiful animal, who easily manages life in this unforgiving wilderness. At that moment, I could only feel respect for the animal. As the elk noticed me, it trotted past a ridge and disappeared. I fired three quick shots (A universal distress signal), but heard no response. Half an hour later I repeated the process, with the same results. I was beginning to think that I may have to try to survive the night, even though I was wet, and the temperature was already below freezing. But the thought of how this would scare Halina and my partners persuaded me that I must make an effort to get out of there before nightfall. I said "Please God let me find a way out of here." I ate a few dates, drank some water, and again attempted to find a way down. As luck, or God, would have it, I did come to a place where the slope of the canyon wall looked more manageable. It still looked precarious, but by now I knew I needed to get down before dark, one way or another. So I started to climb down. Twice I fell and tumbled 10 to 15 feet, grabbing branched to eventually arrest the fall. My rifle kept getting tangled up in branches, and was throwing me off balance to further complicate my descent. It was slowing me down terribly! As I was reaching complete exhaustion, I finally decided that I needed to get rid of the rifle. I looked at it and then tossed it into a thicket of mountain maples. At the same time I told myself that I will no longer hunt, that it didn't make sense to risk losing my life and depriving my wife of her husband, and my kids of their father for the sake of a rite of manhood. I am practically 61, for God's sake! Why did I need to do this?
I did mange to finally make it down to the highway, after several more falls, bang ups, a somewhat sprained knee, skinned shin, etc. I am just glad that I've been exercising in the gym, that I am now stronger than I've been since my high school days, that my bones are strong, that I am not afraid of heights and exposure, and that my willpower and faith were stronger than my body.
When I hiked back to the pickup, Marion and his father were not there. That really worried me. It meant that they may still be up there in the wilderness looking for me, or they had some problems of their own. I took off the backpack and started thinking that I have to start going back up, on a trail now, to find them. I didn't know how I would do that, given how exhausted I was. As I turned to look up into the canyon I saw a most wonderful sight: Marion with the hunter orange hat emerging from the shrubbery and saying "God, am I glad to see you!" "Am I glad to see you!" I responded. Turns out they had gotten back to the truck earlier, did not find me there, and decided to go back to look for me. Marion made a fire for his father to rest by, and he was to start the arduous task of climbing back up onto the ridge where we last saw each other. It is now past 5 PM, and really cold. He is wet, just as I am. Fortunately, as he started the climb, he saw me walking up on the highway.
We got into the truck and started towards home. I was extremely sore and tired, but elated that it all ended well. Marion said a beautiful prayer of thanks for the happy ending. It turns out that Marion also had fired three quick shots; did it three times and never heard an answer. We must have been really far from each other, and on opposite side of the broad ridge. He was extremely apologetic, said he should have known better than suggesting that we spit up under the circumstances. But I told him that I am to blame. When I first lost sight of his father's orange hat, I should have backtracked immediately up the ridge to find him. Instead I kept going, thinking that all I have to do is descend into the canyon: how hard could that be?
When I dropped Marion and Bruce off at their farm, I gave Marion my nice rifle case and all the ammunition I had (his rifle is the same caliber). I miss my rifle, into which I put a lot of work to make it precise. It was a beautiful rifle with a high precision scope, and an excellent shooter by the time I finished working on it. The total cost was around $1600. But its loss was part of a deep lesson that I will never forget. I think my life was changed permanently. And I think I made two new friends. I am amazed that Bruce was able to make the trip. Although he really struggled, and said he'll never go there again, this comes from a 72 year old man who had heart bypass surgery 10 years ago! Marion is a wonderful young man. The way he relates to his father, his respect and concern for him told me everything I need to know. I'll go on some of their hunts, in easier territory from now on, as an observer and photographer. The bonding I saw between the two of them tells me that these experiences will make us great friends. And for that too I am thankful.
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"Without music, life would be an error."
- Nietszche
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Night-Ops Gladius - Forget Surefire spend $200 AND actually get $200 worth of a light.
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