Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle In 5.56 Nato, Left Handed!

Looking for a great deal on a left-handed bolt action rifle?  Tanner's in Jamison, PA has a rack of these Ruger Scouts in 5.56 Nato right now for a very good price.




There's no telling how long the deal will last, so if you have a hankering for one of these, look them up and give them a call.

Winter Wonderland, Bing Crosby

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

Ruger is auctioning a 9 x 19 P94 made in 1993, with laser.  This gun was sent to Ruger's ad agency and was returned to the factory a few years later.  The laser does not currently work, but you can probably deal with that after you diagnose the problem. There were fewer than 2000 of this model built, so it is unusual, but probably has little collector interest.  You may get a bargain!  CLICK HERE to read the full description and to place that winning bid.  $703

Where Are You Christmas? Faith Hill

There's Nothin' Like A Nice Piece Of Hickory!

What Child Is This: Mormon Channel

Tuesday Torque: Fairbanks Morse 12 HP Model N

Engine friend Bob Gill has been walking around this big Fairbanks N for forty three years in his shop.  It has taken that long to find or make all the parts he needed to make it run.  Lesser engine collectors might have parted it out, but Bob is made of good stuff.  That is Bob in the nice mustache.  Thank Goodness for engine men like Bob.  He does things that mechanical wannabes like me only dream of doing.  The video is by Gary Bahre, another engine legend.

Gravel Caution Redux

A repeat from a few years ago, with a new photo:

"Travel the gravel in a front wheel drive? (Also All Wheel Drives) Slow it down to around 40 and your little buggy will stay between the ditches much better. Go fast, look away at your phone, dodge a deer, and get out of the tracks, and suddenly you are on marbles. You let your foot off the gas and your car suddenly wants to swap ends. I have seen a few on their tops in the ditches around our place over the years, and it was always a front wheel drive. Rear wheel drive cars stabilize when you back off the gas, but with your front wheels hooked to the drive train you need to keep power on and steer back into the tracks. That is hard to do when you are skidding. Anyhow, slow down when you are on a loose surface. You will also have fewer flats, because the front wheels flip nails hiding in the gravel. At forty or below, nails have time to lay down again. Drive fifty in our neighborhood and you can expect a nail a week."

                                                                Click Photo To Enlarge.
You also have to be aware of pinch points on the backroads.  The road narrows down at culverts, and there are dropoffs like this one where drainages go under the road.  This one is a good four feet deep and it is a wonder that this car bounced through without rolling over.  The car is surely totaled, but the driver has only some minor bruising.  Shopping for a car is better than recovering in the hospital, but it is a cost that can usually be avoided by slowing down and driving a bit like an old man.  Consider what your safe speed is if you have to swerve and hit your brakes.  I still recommend forty as a limit, and I slow down more when I am in areas with deer movement.

Angel Eyes, Emmylou Harris

It Does Carrots, Horseradish, Apples, Tomatoes, Potatoes, and CRANBERRIES!

Y'all will want one of these, no doubt!


Back To The Old Grind!

Carols From King's College

The Joy Of Early Morning Dog Walks

I get dressed and hook up three of the Schips first thing every morning.  Susan hooks up Skipper, the old one, and Teddy, the white dog.  Venus is brilliant in the early morning right now, and after we feed the dogs I walk them again as the sun rises.  Views like this remind me that life is good.

The sun popping over the horizon brings out the gold highlights on our pines.  The one in the middle is a shortleaf pine, and it has been extra pretty this fall.

Back inside for a cup of coffee, and I watch the light play over the trees across the pond. 

Twelve Days Of Christmas, Boston Pops Orchestra

Weekend Steam: Britain's Greatest Machines

This video has some fascinating history that you probably have never heard. Thank You, Merle!

O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel, The Piano Guys

Some Children See Him, James Taylor

Quit When I'm Ahead

We hadn't been to Pistol League since before Thanksgiving, so we went tonight.  Last time I shot a 470 (out of 480) and then 471.  Tonight I pushed a bit to stay within the time limit and shot a 470 on the first one.  I thought I could do better, so I slowed down and concentrated  a bit more.  That got me a 469.  I knuckled down for a third target and shot a 467.  At least when I am concentrating I can call my misses as the sight drifts off at the trigger break.  Pistol League is a great stress reliever, and the indoor shooting in the winter improves our skills for shooting steel in the summer; and vice versa.  I have been neglecting practice at home, and if I can spend some time behind the barn I might get closer to a score of 480.

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Brenda Lee

Cut Springpoles And Leaners Like A Boss

These small diameter springpoles and leaners may not look like much, but they can act just like a bow at full draw, and they can smack you right in the face if you cut them wrong.  Here is the method I use.  It is much easier than shaving the compressed side until all the stress is gone.

Jingle Bells, Barking Dogs

Give A Gallion Compensator For Christmas!

These .22 compensators made by Mike Gallion are the Bee's Knees.  If you have a shooter in the family they will love to receive one of these.  You should also order one for yourself if you enjoy shooting.  Mike makes a model for pistols, and a slightly different compensator for .22 rifles.  Look for the compensator on the left side of this blog and click to go to Mike's site.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Honored American Veterans Afield

Ruger built this beautiful 12 Gauge Red Label over-under shotgun in 1990.  It was used as a demonstrator, and then sold in 1992.  It was returned to the factory for unknown reasons, and it appears new in the photos.  This fine shotgun will sell mid-day, December 5, 2018.  CLICK HERE to read the full description and to place your bid.$4025

Baby, It's Cold Outside!, Margaret Whiting and Johny Mercer

Tuesday Torque: 85 Horsepower Bessemer Oil Engine

Two stroke Bessemers work pretty much like a chainsaw or weed whacker engine for intake and exhaust, but this one is an oil engine, and if you watch closely you will see that it has a fuel injection system.  This type of engine could burn some mighty low grade fuel, and I think that many of them ran on crude oil.  It gets a bit of load after the one minute mark, and it chugs  a bit.  Thank You, Merle, for spotting!

George Got It Right And Bagged A Good One!

Our friends, Dusty and George have been spending quite a bit of time hunting in the Belle Prairie timber.  They have both learned how our little bit of deer habitat works, and how the deer use it.  There is enough relief and habitat variety that your best bet on different days depends on hunting the right spot for the wind and weather.  Most days you will see deer, but being in the right place at the right time works best when you hunt often enough to understand how the deer behave.  George read the forecast for Sunday and bet on the right spot.

                                                             Click Photo To Enlarge.

He hunted with his wife's muzzleloader, with no animal scents, on the ground among trees, with a log for concealment, and held still for a couple hours while deer and varmints strolled by.  This nice trophy came out of our deep cover before George gave up for the morning.  He took out both lungs and the aorta with a shot at about 15 yards, and the buck ran about 20 yards.  That is good hunting and good shooting, George!  Congratulations!

Carol Of The Bells, Mannheim Steamroller

Going To Work Monday Morning Should Be Sweet

Back To The Old Grind!

Holly Jolly Christmas, Burl Ives

Jackhammers Have Sure Changed!

I remember, and have used a jackhammer that was powered by a big, gas powered compressor trailer.  It was big, heavy, and noisy.  That is probably where I gave my tinnitus  a start.  We have three separate projects in our renovation work that required the help of a jackhammer.  Nowadays, you plug your jackhammer into a 110 outlet and start hammering.  Pretty neat!   I have no idea what one costs, but now the common man can run a jackhammer to work off tension if he so desires!  BTW, Ford Plumbing is a first class outfit.  They are in high demand because they get it done right.

Silent Night, All Day Long, John Prine

Weekend Steam: Rides With Chuck; Are You Blue?

The blue paint job always looked funny to me, too, but that is what a Baker was painted.  Don't get vertigo watching the gears go 'round!




Again, Many Thanks to Merle, who is our spotter for good videos. What with the renovations going on, plus regular things like making firewood, Merle's picks are keeping this blog going.

It Seems We Will Always Have Poachers

There are more ways to poach than you can shake a stick at.  We hear the rifle shots early in the morning and late in the evening during bow season.  Deer are checked over the phone or Internet now, and nobody views the carcasses.  There are a lot of deer tagged as bow kills that are killed by rifles.  At least those deer are counted.  The number that are killed, stripped of the best cuts and antlers and never reported are a complete unknown.  Then you have trespassers, who fancy themselves to be real hunters, but they can't see a boundary line or ask permission from the landowners they hunt on.  Don't get me started on road hunters.  I interrupted a couple of road hunters on the backside of our timber today.  They drive around at daybreak and dusk, popping deer from the road, and tagging them as legitimately killed deer.  A poacher from Texas was caught near us last year.  He had been violating in our neighborhood for some time, and his fines totaled up into five figures, plus his truck and equipment.  Guys like him do a lot of damage to our deer herd before they are caught.

Sleighride, Leroy Anderson And His Pops Concert Orchestra

Hickory Snag Schoolmarm; Dropping Two Stems On A Punky Stump

This one turned out nice!  I looked at this tree last year, but never got back to it.  I dropped it yesterday and the wood is dry and ready for the stove.  I cut the stems separately because the stump has rot and is punky.  I did not trust it to hold together if  I dropped both stems as one tree.  Thump your snags and make sure your wood is solid enough to make a good hinge.  Make a good corner in your facecut; no bypasses, and get out of the bullseye when you turn it loose.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, Frank Sinatra