"A Dog...

...rests all over when he lies down."*  Skips seem to like sleeping with their feet in the air.  They are cute when they dream about chasing rabbits.

* Stonewall Jackson said this about men.  He liked to see his men lie down when they broke for a rest.

Sattley Engine, Sold by Montgomery Ward

Everyone who is interested in gas engines is familiar with the Economy line that was sold by Sears. Less common are Sattley engines which were sold by Montgomery Ward. This is very well restored throttle-governed engine, but I wish the owner wouldn't add gas while it is running. The fellow in the background isn't having much luck starting his baby.

Hard Candy

Hickory presents a real paradox for wood aficianados.  It is one of the hardest and heaviest woods, but when the tree dies, a multitude of wood eating insects attack it, and turn it into sawdust in short order.  A dead hickory is a downed hickory.  Turn it into firewood immediately, or forget it.

Once you put a live hickory on the ground, you are on a timeline.  Cut it, split it, stack it in the barn to dry, and burn it the next winter.   Wait two years to burn it, and you have dust.  I have seen joists and studs made from hickory a few times over the years.  It's a bad idea.  Powder post beetles move into hickory as soon as the wood is dry, and the wood quickly disappears.

Many hardwoods, but especially hickory, attract powder post beetles in the spring, who lay eggs in open pores.  Larvae hatch, tunnel in, and turn strong wood into dust.  The solution for hardwoods is to kiln dry, turn it into a product quickly, and apply a wood finish that seals the pores of the wood so insects can't break in.  Way back in the pre-EPA good old days when you could buy effective insecticides, you could mix up some chlordane and kerosene, treat your hickory, and it was safe for decades.  I once turned down a FREE fifty gallon drum of Chlordane because I had no way to move it at the time.  Dang.  I wish I could find a few gallons now to fight termites around the barn.

Ruger's Project Valour-IT Auction For December 5

Ruger announced another gun auction to benefit Project Valour-IT on November 21.  This is the fifth of six consecutively numbered Green Beret 10/22's made by Ruger in 1973.

 Ruger's writeup from the GunBroker auction page:  "There are only two of these rifles left! This is the fifth of six consecutive serial-numbered “Green Beret” 10/22 Carbine rifles Ruger is auctioning off. The serial number of this rifle is 110-63737 and the rollmark date is May 31, 1973. The Green Beret is worn only by qualifying United States Army Special Forces soldiers. These soldiers played a significant role during the Vietnam conflict, and because these rifles were rollmarked in 1973, it is possible they were prototype samples of Vietnam-era commemorative rifles. The barrel, receiver, trigger, trigger guard, barrel band, and butt plate are Teflon-coated olive drab green. “RUGER GREEN BERET” is stamped on the left side of the receiver. The Sturm, Ruger address is stamped on the top of the barrel, and there is no manual warning on this gun. Other features include: an American walnut stock; 18-1/2” barrel; folding-leaf rear sight (adjustable for windage and elevation); and gold bead front sight. The frame is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. It will be shipped with a 10-round rotary magazine."

This auction will end December 5 at 12:30 PM Eastern Time.  Click Here to view the auction page.

Not Just Tough, It's Evil

Take a pistol with a red-dot sight zeroed at 25 yards, shoot a tiny target at 20 feet, and you not only have to squeeze off a good shot, you have to do it while guessing in the right amount of holdover. Zeke shot this target and completed it in 45 shots. Billll made the same score with iron sights on his Ruger, and I didn't threaten either one of them with my score.  Click Here to read the rules and print your target.  Send the scans of your targets to truebluetravelinman (at) gmail (dot) com, and I will post the results early in December.

Handgun Hunting Information From Ruger

Tom Kelly continues his series with RugerFirearms for the benefit of those who are interested in handgun hunting. In these two video presentations we learn about ammunition and accessories. Longtime readers of gun publications already know that many gun writers advocate large bore, hard cast bullets for taking big game. Mr. Kelly reinforces that idea when he cautions against using hollow points designed for self defense. That's something I haven't really pondered much, because of my personal hunting experiences. Going out behind one barn or another and taking deer at less than 25 yards, bullet choice is not terribly critical for me. One deer that I took with a .50 caliber roundball ran 50 yards with a disconnected heart, but the bullet did not exit because the soft lead expanded just like you would expect soft lead to do. If I hadn't nailed the heart, the lack of an exit wound might have made tracking the deer difficult.  Another deer season, I shot a little buck with a .58 caliber Minie ball at very short range, and that bullet made a very impressive exit wound; the deer still ran 50 yards.
 
 I've grown to prefer jacketed bullets over hard cast bullets, because they just seem to shoot better for me, and I don't shoot enough to make the extra cost a problem.  I wouldn't be afraid to shoot a deer with a jacketed hollow point at our place, given that my shots tend to be at very short range.  I think that my handloads would punch all the way through a whitetail just fine at 25 yards, but I take Tom Kelly's advice very seriously because he has hunted more game than I have, in many more situations.

Ready For Monday or Hardly Able?

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola

Winter blew in right after Thanksgiving, so it's time to get out the warm coats. Back when raccoon coats were a hot item, they cost more than a new Ford.

Weekend Steam: Over There In France

Uploaded by wdtvlive42 on Jun 28, 2011 "During World War One the allies needed to construct railways throughout France to help move men and supplies. The quickest method available was to construct a network of two foot (60cm) narrow gauge lines. First we see Army personel laying the sleepers and track, ballasting work, loading and laying of pre-built trackwork. Next we take a ride on the train and see scenes of the railway in action as the little trains trundle along country lanes and through the town streets. The film ends with scenes of the train taking soldiers towards the front lines. After the war the lines were abandoned and most of the locomotives and rollingstock simply left where they were last used. "

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789." G. Washington

Ruger's Project Valour-IT Auctions: You All Missed A Deal Last Week

 Some VERY lucky soul bought the Ruger M77 Mk II Police Rifle in .308 Win last week for a bargain price: $965.  There isn't a rifle like this in Ruger's catalog this year, but just for comparison, the current Ruger Tactical Rifle lists for $1199.  The current model has a 20" barrel, which is more convenient for packing, but will give you a lot more muzzle blast than the 26" barrel of the Police Rifle.  The current model has a molded stock instead of the laminate wooden stock of the Police Rifle, and it also has two forward studs, but does not include a Harris bipod. 

You really need to be paying attention to these auctions every week in case Ruger offers something that you would like.  The current item, which will sell on Wednesday, November 21 is this One-Of-A-Kind .44 Magnum Vaquero with the state of Arizona stamped on the left side.  This gun is perfect for home defense, the trail, or for your collection Click Here to follow the auction, and remember that it goes Wednesday, November 21, Mid-Day.  Your bidding helps wounded heroes, so please be generous!

Tougher Than It Looks; The November e-Postal...

...But a challenge can be a lot of fun. This weekend while the family is together, set up to have everybody try their hand at shooting the Mr. Completely e-Postal match.

Billll, of Bill's idle mind has submitted his target, shot with a Ruger Mk I, with iron sights. The smallest soda bottle and the gong are harder to hit than I thought they would be, and the score to beat with an iron sighted .22 pistol is 45. I am going to give it a go with the Mk III using a red-dot sight on top, and if I don't embarrass myself too badly, I may try it with the Single-Six. Click Here to get the target and study the rules. Use a sling if you shoot this contest with a rifle.  Keep your elbow under the stock, and don't drag wood.

Brownells Range Wagon

 One of the instructors at the Montrose, Iowa Appleseed shoot this fall used this neat little gadget to move his range supplies.  If you have several guns, ammo, cleaning supplies, targets, and etc. to move from the car to the shooting range, you need one of these.   It would also make a great gift for that shooter that already has everything.

A Little Good News About The Drought

 Back during the summer I checked several tree planting projects, and it didn't look pretty.  I was seeing 90 % dead trees in projects; but hardwoods are pretty tough, and they have a few tricks up their sleeve.

 The pines we planted last spring are gone for good, but many of the hardwood shut down and kept their roots alive.  The rains we had around Labor Day revived them and they are much better than I had hoped.

 The hard part is finding them; the trick:  look for the leaves, not the stem.  The leaves really stand out in Fall Panicum and other annual weeds.

 Spot the leaves, and then you can see the tree.

Easy.  And it sure is encouraging.

Push On To Thursday!

Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam: Stack Talk From Colorado

Uploaded by reddog15 on May 13, 2008

"Durango Silverton engine 480 was pushing empty cars back into Silverton with the drivers slipping!"

Not My Victrola

 This song fits for folks like me, with two left feet. I think that we have posted this song on a piano roll, but this time you get to hear the words, sung by Frank Crumit.

 Uploaded by wild apache on Jan 24, 2010

I'll be able to find the time this weekend to do one of our records on the Brunswick,  so there will be a Crank Up for you.

Hey, Julie!!! Here's A Review Of The Henry Golden Boy!

Hickok45 must have read your comment the other day, because he has posted a video about the Henry Golden Boy!

Firearm Deer Season Begins Friday In Illinois...

 I ought to put this guy in the barn for safekeeping.

Big Fairbanks at Boonville

We posted a video of this big single cylinder Fairbanks-Morse a few years ago, but now that I have a real video camera, I had to shoot it again. I processed this into a video at 640 x 480, and it took 1 1/2 hours to upload on our DSL connection.

On The Heels Of Veterans' Day, Ruger Is Still Auctioning Guns To Help Wounded Service Personnel

The team at True Blue Sam continues to stand in awe of the good folks at Ruger, who are auctioning away fine, collectible (and Shootable) firearms, and then donating 100% of the proceeds to Soldiers' Angels.  They are doing all this to help wounded servicemen and women who need voice activated laptops to communicate with family and friends after suffering severe wounds and injuries in service to our country.

This fine, M77 Police Rifle in .308 will sell mid-day Wednesday, November 14, 2012.  Click Here or on the picture to bid on this fine rifle, which will be right at home in a collection, on the range, or in the field.  Note that this rifle has two forward studs, so you can mount the both the bipod that comes with the rifle, and a sling swivel.

The new one on Ruger's auction block is a one-of-a-kind, possibly a prototype, that every Ruger fan will want to bid on.  This is a .44 Magnum Vaquero, with the state of Arizona stamped into the left side.  Click Over to GunBroker and take a good look at this one.

This Ruger Vaquero will sell a week from Wednesday, on November 21.

Thank You Ruger!

Sad Milestone

Courtesy of Arlo, and Jimmy Johnson.

Deer Season Is Coming Up...

....You might need one of these.

 Back To The Old Grind!

Poet's Corner: A Pot of Tea, by Robert Service

A Pot of Tea

 You make it in your mess-tin by the brazier's rosy gleam;
    You watch it cloud, then settle amber clear;
You lift it with your bay'nit, and you sniff the fragrant steam;
    The very breath of it is ripe with cheer.
You're awful cold and dirty, and a-cursin' of your lot;
    You scoff the blushin' 'alf of it, so rich and rippin' 'ot;
It bucks you up like anythink, just seems to touch the spot:
    God bless the man that first discovered Tea!

Since I came out to fight in France, which ain't the other day,
    I think I've drunk enough to float a barge;
All kinds of fancy foreign dope, from caffy and doo lay,
    To rum they serves you out before a charge.
In back rooms of estaminays I've gurgled pints of cham;
    I've swilled down mugs of cider till I've felt a bloomin' dam;

But 'struth! they all ain't in it with the vintage of Assam:
    God bless the man that first invented Tea!

I think them lazy lumps o' gods wot kips on asphodel
    Swigs nectar that's a flavour of Oolong;
I only wish them sons o' guns a-grillin' down in 'ell
    Could 'ave their daily ration of Suchong.
Hurrah! I'm off to battle, which is 'ell and 'eaven too;
    And if I don't give some poor bloke a sexton's job to do,
To-night, by Fritz's campfire, won't I 'ave a gorgeous brew
    (For fightin' mustn't interfere with Tea).
To-night we'll all be tellin' of the Boches that we slew,
    As we drink the giddy victory in Tea.

Not My Victrola

Published on Nov 6, 2012 by cdbpdx

"FOR DE LAWD'S SAKE PLAY A WALTZ by Elsie Janis, recorded October 22, 1912. Elsie Janis was a singer, actress, and songwriter. In 1918, she went to France and performed for the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI and was quite popular for that. Enjoy!"

Weekend Steam: One Of The First

Uploaded by Greg Druffel on Oct 7, 2008

"Had it's origins in a simple case of neighbor helping neighbor, grew to a significant community event over next 15 years. As much social as about the technology of days gone by. At this time steam threshing was still very fresh in the minds of the people shown."

November Mr. Completely e-Postal Contest: Shoot Like Mr. Hickok

The November e-Postal contest gives us the opportunity to have a little fun like Hickok45.  If you have watched a few of his videos you know that he loves to shoot two liter soda bottles, and they always provide a good show by sending out long plumes of colored fizz.  Mr. Hickok also has a big gong ( I think is about 20" diameter.) sitting out at 80 yards, and he is pretty good at hitting it offhand with any gun he is showing to his viewers.

The rules for this contest are pretty simple.  All shooting is to be done offhand, one or two hands, at twenty feet or as close as you can get to that.  Rifles should be shot as close to fifty feet as you can get; offhand; a sling is recommended.  You are welcome to darken the lines or add color to the bottles so they are easier to see.  It is OK for you to scale the target to adjust for range distances.  If you don't have access to a copy machine that can shrink and enlarge, you can change the target from a pdf to a jpg in a photo editing program, and then scale the target to adjust for your distance.

Shoot the largest bottle one time;  the second bottle twice; the third bottle three times; the fourth bottle four times, and the fifth bottle five times.  Then, ring the gong five times.  Keep track of the number of shots and enter that on the target.  The lowest score in each category wins.  A perfect score requires twenty shots.

Click Here To Go To The PDF of the target; or click the picture of the target in this post.

Photograph or scan your targets and send them to truebluetravelinman(at)gmail(dot)com, by December 1.
Enter the name on the target that you want posted in the scores.

Mr. Completely has asked me to take over the organizing of the e-Postal contests next year, so I will soon be posting his recommendations on how to host an e-Postal contest, and soliciting for hosts.  The current hosts will have dibs, of course, but I think we will have a few slots to fill.  

Update: An Added Bonus!  Billll, of Bill's Idle Mind has filled the bottles with cola, and shared the jpg file.  Click on this pic, save to a folder, and you should be able to print it out to the correct size. 

Project Valour-IT Auction Ends Today

The hammer will fall at 12:30 PM Eastern time today, November 7,2012, on this Convertible Ruger Super Blackhawk.  This fine revolver has cylinders for both .44 Magnum and 44-40.  Only 1200 of these were manufactured in 1990 and 1991, so there will be collector interest on this one, but it is also a great gun to buy for daily use.  Click Here to check it out on GunBroker.

Ruger is donating 100% of the proceeds from this auction to Project Valour-IT, which provides voice activated laptops to wounded soldiers.

I See Dead Cars

 I run into old cars and trucks on a regular basis; it's one of the benefits of being asked to look at timber.  This old touring car body has just about returned to dust, and I am guessing that it has been sitting here for well over fifty years. 

 I don't know the brand of this one, so I took photos from a few different angles to help the experts, and see if anyone knows what this old car is.

 There is a ventilator up front, and in the lower photo you can see the cutout for the instrument cluster.  Is two gauges a cluster?  If you have a good guess, please leave a comment.

Jenga, Anyone?

Ralfy's In Love

Ralfy got a deal on an old bottle at an auction, and he shares the experience of opening it and finding first impressions.

Sunday Mornin' Comin' Up...

...And Sunday evening goin' down.

Ruger's Project Valour-IT Auctions

Ruger's newest fine firearm offered for auction to benefit wounded soldiers is this:  " We have another great auction item this week. It is a Ruger® M77® Mark II Police rifle manufactured in April 1993. It features a black laminate wood stock, 26" black matte finish barrel, and includes a Harris bipod and a set of Ruger® scope rings.

100% of the proceeds from this auction will be going to Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT. For more info and to place a bid go to:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=314509261 "
This rifle is quite a deal, folks. The barrel is longer than any of the current rifles in the catalog, and those extra inches will milk just a little more performance from the .308 cartridge.  You can use this rifle for target shooting, varmints, or big game hunting.  The Harris bipod is a valuable bonus.  This rifle won't have the collector appeal of some Ruger firearms, so it should go for a realistic price.  You can't go wrong on this one, and it will sell a week from Wednesday.  

This CONVERTIBLE Super Blackhawk will sell on Wednesday this week.  This fine revolver has cylinders for both .44 Magnum and 44-40.  Only 1200 of these were manufactured in 1990 and 1991, so there will be collector interest on this one, but it is also a great gun to buy for daily use.  Click Here to check it out on GunBroker.