Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

It has been a good run of benefit auctions for the Light Foundation, and Ruger officials just delivered a check for $50,000.  The auction this week is the final in this series, and another worthy beneficiary will be featured next week.  Ruger is ending the Light Foundation auctions with a bang, donating a 20 gauge Ruger® Red Label, Over and Under Shotgun.  100% of the proceeds will go to benefit the Light Foundation, and the winner will be receiving a mighty fine shotgun that was manufactured in 1986.  CLICK HERE or on the photo to read all about it and to place a bid. The hammer falls, mid-day, Wednesday, October 1, 2014.

$1700

October Mr. Completely e-Postal...

is up over at Susan's blog. It's a month-long pumpkin-busting festival!



All shooting should be offhand, at 15 feet with pistols.  If you want to shoot with a rimfire rifle, back it out to 25 feet, or more if you want a challenge.  Shoot as many guns as you can haul to the range, and we will sort them out into classes when you submit your scans.  We will divide them up into rimfire, centerfire, and by the type of sights you have, (iron or optical).   Take 10 (Ten) shots at each target you submit.

Points:
1 point for a shot on the pumpkin.
2 points for a shot in an eye.
2 points for a shot in the mouth.
3 points for a shot in the stem.
Extra 2 points if you hit the pupil of an eye.
Extra 2 points if you hit a big tooth.
Extra 3 points if you hit a small tooth.

Click Here or on the pumpkin for the link to the target pdf.  Submit your scans by the end of October to truebluetravelinman (at) gmail (dot) com.

UPDATE ! UPDATE! UPDATE!  Merle wrote to us that he would like to shoot centerfire rifles on this target, and also pistol caliber carbine, and of course if you shoot it, we will score it.  Here are suggestions for shooting centerfire long guns:

Centerfire rifle with iron sights; 50 yards, sitting or prone with your arms (and sling if you have one) supporting the rifle.

Centerfire rifle with magnifying optics; 100 yards, sitting or prone with your arms (and sling if you have one) supporting the rifle.

 When shooting at 50 or 100 yards with centerfire rifle, shoot only 5 rounds, and double the points you make on the target.

Pistol caliber carbine with iron sights: 25 feet, sitting, prone or braced; sling OK, but please don't sandbag it on the bench.

Pistol caliber carbine with magnifying optics; 50 feet, sitting, prone, or braced, sling OK, but please don't sandag it on the bench.

Tuesday Turbo Boost

A real golden oldie, just as your great-grandparents would have enjoyed it!

'Gator Season Is Coming To An End

Just a couple days remain to shoot your September Mr. Completely e-Postal target.  Go to THIS LINK to print your targets and to read the rules.  I will post the scores sometime this week, and will add any late entries as they come in.

Do You Care...

Click the banner at the top of this page to see the current posts; True Blue Sam posts something every (ususally) day!

If Jimmy cracks corn?  Back To The Old Grind!

Photo Credit: Gary Bahre

Not My Victrola: Time To Retrieve The Winter Coat

Weekend Steam: Smoke Through The Water

You all might find this interesting if you have never seen it done.  Flues wear out in steam engines, and here you will see a couple of leaky flues removed and replaced.  Out on the farm in days gone by, a hammer and cold chisel would have been used to unseat both ends.  The smoke wrench is much faster and easier, but you don't want a novice burning metal around your flue sheets. 

Crankin' It Up With Our Old Buddy Brat

Hiram Perkins got tired of workin'
On the farm each day...



November 1920

Can You Stand More Chainsaw Safety?

This is a classic barber chair, caused by a too-thick hinge when the tree began to move.  Barber chairs have killed wood cutters since people began dropping trees to utilize.  The easiest way to avoid a barber chair is to bore cut the tree behind the front face of the hinge, so the hinge is the proper thickness before the tree is turned loose to rotate down.  (They can bust your head, break your neck, chase you as you run, or fall and crush you!)

The bore cut is the first new chainsaw skill you will learn if you go to the training session coming up at Dixon Springs Ag Center on October 4.  You will be Barber-Chair-Proof for the rest of your life, and you will learn many other useful skills, too.  Click Here to find the contact info, and head to Dixon Springs, Illinois, early on October 4, 2014.

Chainsaw Training Opportunity In Southern Illinois!!!!

It's time to work up firewood, and if you have never had real chainsaw safety and use training, this is your chance.  It's a one day session near Dixon Springs, Illinois, on Saturday, October 4, 2014.  After you have had this training you will know how to operate your saw safely, how to make your five step plan to drop a tree, and you will have real hands-on training while you learn your new skills.  Dropping a tree will become child's play to you when you learn the modern way to make your cuts.

 Put that tree where you want it.

Spot problems and learn how to fix them.

 Grade your stumps to improve your skills.

Registration is required!  Cost is $70.  Contact Jim Kirkland at: jakirk (at) illinois (dot) edu, or call 618 695-3383  Jim will send more information to you.

Location: Dixon Springs Ag Center at 7:30 A, 354 State Highway 145N, Simpson, IL
GPS 37.434829,-88.669049.
Field training location:  1275 Carr Road, Vienna IL  GPS 37.438407, -88.801634.

Mr. Kirkland will need your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.  He will also want to know your experience level with a chainsaw.

This is too good to pass up if you will ever use a chainsaw, and the price can't be beat.  Call or e-mail Jim Kirkland right away.  

Photo Credit: J Kirk, Univ. of IL

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

This week Ruger is offering a pistol that is no longer listed in their catalog; a Stainless P85 Decocker made in 1990.  This is a new gun, never fired beyond testing in the Prescott, Arizona factory.  Click Over to read all about it and to place your bid.  This fine pistol will sell mid-day, Wednesday, September 24, 2014.

Tuesday Turbo Boost

Plus, a Bonus Boost!

Every Time They Shout "OOHRAH!"...

....a Marine gets his wings.


Read about it HERE.

Say Nuts To Monday!

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Collins and Harlan

Sister Hasn't Got A Chance Since Mother Bobbed Her Hair. Shared by EMG Colonel.

Relief

...the joy of shipwrecked men With hands and knees upon the shore... ...the man who has tripped Between death's legs and then Recovers himself and breathes again, Can only laugh or only weep... Charles Vildrac, translated by Christopher Middleton

Weekend Steam: An American Crawler In Action!

Holt crawlers were made in California, and were the predecessor of Caterpillar.  Here is a real beauty that demonstrates the capabilities of crawlers.  It was revolutionary, and people of that day would have stood in awe the first time they saw one of these machines running.

Save Your Back While Chainsawing

Don't use brute strength from your arms and back if it's not necessary; that will wear you down. Use your knees to push that saw and save your back!  I didn't realize how much I used my legs until I shot video of myself.  Your legs have a lot of power, and you can use it without straining your back.  Use your legs for pushing the saw when bore-cutting, and for rotating the saw on the dogs when you are making horizontal cuts.

FFA Forestry Contest At Sam Dale Lake!

Thursday, September 18 is the eleventh year that the FFA chapters around my little part of the world all get together for an afternoon of Tree ID, Timber Measuring, Compass and Pacing, and More!  The ag teachers are a dedicated lot, and most of the kids are well prepared.  It will be a large time.  Many Thanks to Wade and Susan for helping this year!

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

This week you have the opportunity to bid on one of the last Ruger Mk I Standard pistols produced, way back in 1982.  Interest is good on this one, but it's not out of sight yet if you really want one of these pistols.  It will sell mid-day, Wednesday, September 17, 2014.  Click here to read all about it and to place your bid.  100 % of the proceeds will go to benefit the Light Foundation.

$655.01

Summer Engine Shows Are Just About Done...

Autumn starts next week, and the engine show season will be winding down.  This little homemade tractor, reminiscent of the Happy Farmer, was putt-putting around at Pinckneyville in August.


One of the best gas engine shows in the country will be at Paducah, Kentucky this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Click Here for information.
One of the special treats you will see at the Paducah show is the Falk engine that our friend Gary Bahre put back to working condition this year. It's worth the drive just to see this one!



Here's an example of an actual Happy Farmer tractor. The farmer was probably much happier when he traded up from one of these, but it is fun to look at.

OK, OK, The Brother-In-Law Song Was Rude and Crude...

...so listen to this one for a good song to have stuck in your head all day. 

Tuesday Turbo Boost: Laugh 'til You Hurt!

Don't Turn It Blue!

Be careful with your tools when you go...


Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: Dancing In The Moonlight with Rudy Vallee

Looks like an early fall, so you better get this done soon. We'll all be moving inside real soon.

Crankin' It Up: A Real Golden Oldie, 105 Years Oldie!

Ada Jones recorded this classic in 1909.  Who wouldn't fall for a fluffy ruffle girl?


My Pony Boy by TrueBlueSam

Weekend Steam: One For The Steampunk Crowd

The YouTuber who posted this video didn't provide much information; just that this was shot in Italy, and it is a re-creation of an original steam crawler design. It leaves us with more questions than answers, but it sure is cute!

100 Years Ago; The Battle of the Marne

One little gun at Nery stalled the month-long German advance and gave the French and British troops just a little breathing space before the Germans made their final push to take Paris.  Hundreds of taxis ferried troops north to fight, and the German army was ultimately stopped and pushed back.  Both sides began digging in, and trying to out-flank the other as they pushed to the sea.  No-one had a clue what the next four years would bring. Click Here and Here for a couple of good writeups of this historic battle, and consider the scale of the beginning of the Great War.  This one battle claimed about 100,000 killed on both sides.  The French and Germans both had 1/4 million casualties, and the British had nearly 13,000.

Stories of German atrocities began to come out, and they were used to good advantage by the Brits and French as recruiting tools.  Deniers abound yet today, and I don't know how much to believe.  We see unspeakable atrocities today in the current world wide war, and our news people are doing a gallant job of ignoring and hiding the extent of evil being used against the West.

Here is what Robert Service had to say about it; and you must remember that he was there, and would be on the Western Front for two years.


"In the streets of the city I see French soldiers wearing the fourragere. It is a cord of green, yellow or red, and corresponds to the Croix de Guerre, the Médaille militaire and the Legion of Honor. The red is the highest of all, and has been granted only to one or two regiments. This incident was told to me by a man who saw it:

The Blood-Red Fourragere

What was the blackest sight to me
Of all that campaign?
A naked woman tied to a tree
With jagged holes where her breasts should be,
Rotting there in the rain.

On we pressed to the battle fray,
Dogged and dour and spent.
Sudden I heard my Captain say:
"Voilà! Kultur has passed this way,
And left us a monument."

So I looked and I saw our Colonel there,
And his grand head, snowed with the years,
Unto the beat of the rain was bare;
And, oh, there was grief in his frozen stare,
And his cheeks were stung with tears!

Then at last he turned from the woeful tree,
And his face like stone was set;
"Go, march the Regiment past," said he,
"That every father and son may see,
And none may ever forget."

Oh, the crimson strands of her hair downpoured
Over her breasts of woe;
And our grim old Colonel leaned on his sword,
And the men filed past with their rifles lowered,
Solemn and sad and slow.

But I'll never forget till the day I die,
As I stood in the driving rain,
And the jaded columns of men slouched by,
How amazement leapt into every eye,
Then fury and grief and pain.

And some would like madmen stand aghast,
With their hands upclenched to the sky;
And some would cross themselves as they passed,
And some would curse in a scalding blast,
And some like children cry.

Yea, some would be sobbing, and some would pray,
And some hurl hateful names;
But the best had never a word to say;
They turned their twitching faces away,
And their eyes were like hot flames.

They passed; then down on his bended knee
The Colonel dropped to the Dead:
"Poor martyred daughter of France!" said he,
"O dearly, dearly avenged you'll be
Or ever a day be sped!"

Now they hold that we are the best of the best,
And each of our men may wear,
Like a gash of crimson across his chest,
As one fierce-proved in the battle-test,
The blood-red Fourragere.

For each as he leaps to the top can see,
Like an etching of blood on his brain,
A wife or a mother lashed to a tree,
With two black holes where her breasts should be,
Left to rot in the rain.

So we fight like fiends, and of us they say
That we neither yield nor spare.
Oh, we have the bitterest debt to pay. . . .
Have we paid it? -- Look -- how we wear to-day
Like a trophy, gallant and proud and gay,
Our blood-red Fourragere."

 Robert Service, Ballads of a Bohemian, Book IV

10/22 Malfunctions With Its Favorite Ammo?

Our old, reliable 10/22 didn't fling empties clear a couple times, and then it went click.  It ran OK after jacking in a new round, but while Susan was changing targets I located the round that failed to fire.  It had been hit with a light strike.  We didn't realize what was going on, but there were a few more failures to throw the empties clear, and one round had one side of the case crumpled on chambering.

Here's what we found out.  The firing pin was sticking forward, interfering with a clean catch by the extractor, and also causing misalignment for chambering.  The cause is a broken firing pin rebound spring, which pushes the firing pin to its rearward position in the bolt.  When broken, the spring can jam up the firing pin, causing it to rest forward, where it is not hit effectively by the hammer.  It can also interfere with chambering and extraction.  This rifle is out of commission until new parts are installed, and they are already on the way.  Listen to your rifle!

Carmi Rifle Club LadySeed Highlight

Dawn is one of the coordinators at the Carmi Rifle Club, and we shoot with her regularly at the weekly Pistol League evenings.  She was able to attend the annual LadySeed event on Sunday, and she earned the coveted Rifleman Patch.  She even scored higher than the required 210 points! I think everyone was just as thrilled as she was.

                                       

Every shooter made improvements from the intense workout, and we plan to attend another Illinois Appleseed event in October.  Check out the groups Dawn was putting on paper!  You can tell she has been practicing, and it paid off.  Congratulations, Dawn!

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

Here's another one for the serious Ruger collectors.  This Super Blackhawk was made in limited numbers and was never a cataloged item.  It is a convertible model in .44 Magnum and .44/40.  !00% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the Light Foundation, so bid until it hurts!  This fine, rare gun will sell mid-day, Wednesday, September 10, 2014.  Click Here to visit the GunBroker page.

$2025.99!  Some joker had to throw change down; I wonder if the tactic saved him a dollar or two.

August 2014 e-Postal Results

August was a good contest, and everyone made enough hits on the targets that they should feel good about their shooting skills.  Billll of Bill's Idle Mind took top honors, and then impressed us by submitting more targets by shooting one-handed, with both hands!   Great Shooting, Billll!  Here's the rundown:

Class 1; Rimfire Handgun, Iron Sights	Firearm	Distance	Stance	Score
Billll	Ruger Mk I	18’	Freestyle	81
Billll	Ruger Mk I	18’	Strong Hand	79
Billll	Ruger Mk I	18’	Weak Hand	66
Chester	Ruger SR-22	15’	Freestyle	79
Mike B	S & W 617	18’	Freestyle	72
Mike B	S & W 617	18’	Strong Hand	61
Mike B	S & W 617	18’	Weak Hand	65
Kim	Ruger Single-Ten	15’	Freestyle	70
Merle	S & W Model 34 Kit Gun	21’	Freestyle	9
Danno	Ruger 22/45	33'	Freestyle	8
Class 2; Rimfire Handgun, Optical Sights	Firearm	Distance	Stance	Score
David (TBS)	Ruger Mk III Red Dot	15’	Freestyle	63
Susan (Mrs TBS)	Ruger Mk III Red Dot	15’	Freestyle	54
Merle	TC Contender 2X Scope	21’	Freestyle	53
Jill Ann	Ruger Mk III Red Dot	15'	Freestyle	38
Class 3; Centerfire Handgun, Iron Sights	Firearm	Distance	Stance	Score
Merle	British Enfield No 2 Revolver .38/200	21’	Freestyle	52
Chester	Springfield XDM .45	15’	Freestyle	50
Class 4; Centerfire Handgun, Optical Sights	Firearm	Distance	Stance	Score
Merle	TC Contender 2X Scope 9 mm	21’	Freestyle	53

Thanks to all who participated.  If I have left someone out, please e-mail right away and straightem me out.  Be sure to print out the alligator target for September and enter again!