Tuesday Turbo Boost

Well, as winter moves in on us we need to switch to more indoor activities... Da Yoopers, Bingo Fever.

Get Thee To A Gunsmith!

We went to Carmi today and cleaned up trash at the Carmi Rifle Club. One of the advantages of cleaning up a rifle range is the brass you find. Today I found 19 Winchester .308 brasses, and eight of them hadn't even fired. All of them had light strikes, and were left lying on the ground. I will pull the bullets and reload all of these to 7.62 x 51 pressure for use in the old Ishapore Enfield.

The person who left these will probably never see this post, but if someone can reach him/her, please send him to the nearest gunsmith ASAP. The firearm you are using has a problem. Maybe a dangerous problem! The fired rounds are visibly longer than the unfired, and I suspect that excessive headspace may be the culprit for the light strikes. It's better to nip this problem in the bud than to put up with it, or try to solve it without knowledge of the internals of the firearm you are using. Hands, face, eyes, are all too valuable to risk using a malfunctioning rifle. Please get it fixed!

Stay Sharp!

Back To The Old Grind!

The Legend Of The Candy Cane

Not My Victrola: First Sunday Of Advent

Weekend Steam: Owosso, Michigan North Pole Express

Thanksgiving Pic Of The Day

Pattie supervises Josh and passes on secrets of fluffy mashed potatoes.

8th Grade Grads!

Teddy and Sheba have now completed Middle School successfully.  Can they figure acreage, bushels in the bin, and cords of wood?

No, but they will wait at the door for permission to go, go to their mats, wait and recall, and stay. Also, Sit, Down, Leave It, Drop It, Walk, and Halt!  Many Thanks to Ken Fritz and Jagger's Doggy Daycare!

George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation

We need citizens more than ever today with the faith, courage, and steadfastness of our Founding Fathers.

"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

Great Deal For A S & W .380 Bodyguard!

Rural King has a today-only-Internet special for their pocket 380. I have handled these, and I like them better than the Ruger LCP. One of the big improvements is a slide lock/release. The Smith also has a manual safety, just in case you want that on your pocket gun. I recommend a good pocket holster and leave the safety alone. CLICK HERE to check it out. Shipping is $9.99; I assume that is to a Rural King store that handles firearms.

Not My Victrola: More Mama!

Here's Al Jolson performing That Big Blond Momma. Great, fun lyrics!

The Last Rose of Autumn

It's gone now. The temp dropped into the mid twenties a couple nights ago. Honeysuckle leaves are still tight though, and I sprayed a bunch of those today.

Crankin' It Up With Brat The Cat: That Big Blond Mamma Of Mine

The Tennessee Ten made this fun song into a great dance record for Victor on July 23, 1923. This was  a hit for Al Jolson: "She's so big and I'm so small but what do I care? Someone else got cheated, I got more than my share!"

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

Ruger is offering another one of their classic P90 Decocker pistols in .45 ACP this week. This one was built in August 1991, and the P90 appeared in the 1992 Ruger catalog. This auction will end mid-day, November 25, 2015, so Click Here to read the full description and to place a winning bid. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the Light Foundation.

$710.99

Tuesday Turbo Boost: Whaddayou Get?

Are You In The Mood For Pie?

Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: A Good Old Ted Lewis Song

Don't let the saxophone get you down; Ted plays his clarinet at the end of this nice dance record.



Posted on YouTube by EdmundusRex

Weekend Steam: Something You Won't See Every Day

Winter E-Postal Match At Sand Castle Scrolls

Danno at SandCastleScrolls has posted the November Mr. Completely e-Postal match, which you can enter until Mr. C posts the target for March, 2016. Read the rules carefully. You only need to fire off ten rounds per target, so you can shoot until you like your score. There are two no-shoot targets, and the Free Parking target looks mighty tempting. You mustn't touch the lines on it, though. I will be measuring all the targets before shooting this one to figure my tactics. Thank You, Danno! It looks like a great contest!

More Game Camera Action!

The shooting lane behind the barn is showing more activity every day, and I hope that our deer hunting friend scores one of the nice bucks we are seeing. Here's the latest video.

More Than A Little Tipsy

We have had rain and wind, so I checked the tipping pin oak. Ten days ago it was 5 inches off plumb in 2 feet. Today it is a little over 5 5/8" off plumb in 2 feet. This tree is between 85 and 90 feet tall, and 5/8"  here represents a bit over two feet of movement at the top. This tree's top is now 20 feet off center. What with the root rot and general decline, I am betting this tree is in the pond before Christmas. I hope we have a little warning and can set up a camera for the big event, but it will probably do it in the dead of night or while I am at work.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

Ruger's auction this week is a 20 gauge Red Label Shotgun owned by none other than Bill Ruger!

Collector interest is high on this sale, but it is still worth your time to Click Over and have a look. This gun was used, so it has a few minor scratches, and since it is not new, you don't have to lock it away in your safe. Take it out and shoot this beauty! This fine shotgun will sell mid-day, Wednesday, November 18. 2015. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the Light Foundation.

$4275

Buck Number Three

We are now up to three nice bucks that are inhabiting the woods Out Behind The Barn. I was hoping to do a little plinking over the next weekend, but it will be the first part of gun season for deer, so that's out. I am not going to help the road hunters by spooking deer out of the woods.

Tuesday Turbo Boost

Let's Start This Work Week By Busting Something!

Back To The Old Grind! vid by Gary Bahre

Brave Dog

Lightning is a sad case. He showed up as a stray in the autumn of 2012, and he was slow to tame. We put a heating pad in a doghouse for him and began putting his meals there, and pretty soon he made that his home, but three years later we still cannot touch him. He walks with us, he comes when we call, but he needs his vaccinations, and we know from the way he coughs that he has heartworms.

We always know when someone drives in because Lightning goes ripping out of his house and across the porch as soon as a car comes off the blacktop. He would make a great squirrel dog because he can follow a squirrel from tree to tree. I even saw him catch one on the ground once.  Last night Lightning was barking loudly, so I went out to see what the problem was, and he was barking at a skunk that was just below the porch.  I went for a rifle, and by the time I was out the door Lightning was halfway across the yard with the skunk out in front of him.  He was staying back twenty feet, but he kept the pressure on.  He drove that skunk across the road without triggering him to spray.  Good Dog! We put extra treats in his bowl.

Not My Victrola: One Of Elsa Lanchester's Classics

Weekend Steam: Big News

Game Camera Fun

We are enjoying the pictures we get from the game cameras. We set one to shoot video and this is some of the action we are seeing.

Incredible Tale Of Bravery In Vietnam

I saw this video over on Curmudgeonly and have watched it twice already. I don't do many re-posts from other blogs, but this is so remarkable I want more people to meet these heroes.

Poetry From The Great War: Charles Vildrac

Relief

In our place
Fresh troops have come
Sent up the line
As bait for death
Met face to face.

We needed all night to make our escape,
All night and its darkness,
Sweating, frozen, to cross
The martyr forest and its swamp
That shrapnel scourged.

All night in which to crouch,
Then to run like the wind,
Each man picking his moment,
Trusting to nerve and instinct
And his star.

But beyond the last entanglement,
Out of it all, on the firm road,
Met together, with no delays,
In the glow of the first pipes lit,

Then, mates, O lucky winners,
Then what stumbling voluble joy!

That was the joy of shipwrecked men
With hands and knees upon the shore,
Who laugh with an agonized happiness
As they recover their treasure again;

All the treasure of the vast world,
And of memory unplumbed,
And of the thirst that can be quenched,
And even of the pain you feel
In the shoulders since all danger passed.

And the future! Ah, the future!
Now it is smiling, in the dawn:
A future of two long weeks ahead,
In a barn at Neuvilly.

Ah, the appletrees in blossom!
I'll put blossoms into my letters.
I'll go and read in the middle of a field.
I'll go and have a wash in the river.

The man who is marching in front of me
Whistles a song that his neighbour sings
A song that is far away from war:
I hum it too, and savour it.
Yet: to think of those killed yesterday!

But the man who has tripped
Between death's legs and then
Recovers himself and breathes again,
Can only laugh or only weep:
He has not the heart to mourn.

Today's first light makes all too drunk
The man who finds himself alive;
He is weak and is amazed
To be dawdling so along the road.

And if he dreams it is of the bliss
Of taking off his boots to sleep
In a barn at Neuvilly.

Charles Vildrac

Translated from the French by Christopher Middleton.
From: The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry, edited by Jon Silkin, Penguin Books, 1979

Crankin' It Up For Veterans' Day

Big Tipper

We ought to start a tree tipping pool and see if we can raise the money to pull this big boy out of the pond when it takes its dive. We have been watching it for many years after noticing that muskrat activity had undermined the south side of the root system.

It's big alright. The roots had mushrooms growing on them after rains this year, and the ground is kicking up on the north side.

In 2010 it was off by 2 3/4" in two feet. In recent weeks it has changed to 5" The change is very noticeable from the back porch, and we won't be surprised when it goes. I hope the squirrels survive the drop.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

This week you have a chance to acquire a classic Service Six revolver made in 1983. Ruger made these from 1971 until 1987, when they were replaced by the GP 100 line. This firearm appears to be in fine condition, and the reason it was returned to the factory is unknown. The price is not out of reason as I post this, so GO LOOK and Place Your Winning Bid! This fine six shot, .357 Magnum revolver will sell mid-day, November 11, 2015. 100% of the proceeds of this sale will go to benefit the Light Foundation.

$710

Happy Birthday, Marines!

Bonus, with Lee Marvin!

Tuesday Turbo Boost: Gotta Travel On, Bill Monroe

HALF A CUP?!?!?!?!

You have to do better that this for Monday Morning!


 Back To The Old Grind!

Not My Victrola: I Drink Mine Black, But It's Still A Great Song!

From way back in 1928 comes You're The Cream In My Coffee, a happy song, and it's great for dancing. We have been busy with yard work all weekend and gave Brat the day off, but he will be back next week.

Weekend Steam: Powerful Pullers

Window Of Opportunity, Every Fall

This is bush honeysuckle, one of the invasive plants eating the understories of Illinois timber. It is very shade tolerant, and it can get big. It will make your timber impenetrable if you ignore it for several years. It has a great weakness, though. It stays green after frost when all the other plants in a woods have gone dormant and shed their leaves. It also drinks up glyphosate herbicide and dies much more easily than some of the other invasive plants out there.

A 3 gallon backpack sprayer is the only equipment you need to go after this plant, and you will need to re-treat your woods every fall for several years to eradicate it. A mist blower is a more aggressive tool for applying herbicide, and it is well worth the money if you have an advanced bush honeysuckle infection in your woods.




We will be out spraying these plants in our woods the next couple weekends, nipping our problem in the bud. Killing this pest is one of the easier tasks a forest landowner should do, and it is always gratifying to kill unwanted vegetation.

God Blesses His Beasts

Some folks see miracles; some don't. I do. Today was a wet day and I had plenty of writing to do inside, but I had a call from a landowner who was insistent that she needed help with a timber sale. I usually take down information, and then do a recon later so I can offer good advice. The lady then came to my office so she could show me on a map where her land lies; then she wanted to go right then and have me look. Well, it wasn't raining that hard, and I enjoy walking in the rain, so I went. I made a big circle through her woods and needed to cross a creek, but the bank on the opposite side was too high, so I walked downstream looking for a place I could hop. I found this little girl on her back where she had fallen down the bank. I picked her up and she was still alive, but almost unresponsive. I placed her between the root swells of a big red oak for protection and she was still breathing when I left her. I don't know if she will recover or not, but at least she won't die on her back, and the rain tonight would have finished her off in that streambed. Take your blessings when God hands them to you, and be sure to offer thanks.

Out Behind The Barn This Morning

The camera snapped this photo at 5A this morning, less than 25 yards from the shooting bench in the back of the barn. Now, if he will just show up during legal shooting hours...

October e-Postal Scores!

We had a total of fifteen targets submitted this month, and Bill's Bullseye Sights made a big showing. I shot with the ghost ring for the first time and am amazed at how well it works. I managed to connect the eyes on two ghosts, and it boosted me to an embarrassingly high score. There was plenty of good shooting by other entrants. Merle managed to touch both a bat and a ghost with one shot from his Browning Hi Power, boosting his score on that target to 100 points.  Bill managed to connect the eyes on one of his ghosts, getting a nice score with the aid of his ghost ring sight.

Class 3; Rimfire Pistol, Iron Sights\ non-magnified red dot	Firearm	Distance	Score
David aka TBS	Ruger Mk III, Bill’s Bullseye Sight	25’	130
Billll	Mk I, Bill’s Bullseye Sight	25’	85
Susan aka Mrs. True Blue Sam	Mk III, Bushnell Red Dot	25’	65
Mike	S & W 617, iron	25’	50
Eli	Mk I, Bill’s Bullseye Sight	25’	45
Merle	Mk II, Red Dot	25’	40
Pattie Ann	Mk III, Red Dot	25’	35
Merle	Super Single Six, Iron, .22 Mag	25’	30
Class 4; Rimfire Pistol, Magnified optical sights
Merle	TC Contender,   2x	25’	40
Class 5; Centerfire Pistol, Iron Sights/Non magnified red dot	Firearm	Distance	Score
Merle	Browning Hi-Power 9mm	25’	100
Fred	Colt 1991.45 Auto	25’	55
Merle	S & W M625 .45 Auto	25’	45
Fred	Beretta 92FS 9mm	25’	30
Class 6: Centerfire pistol, Magnified optical sights
Merle	TC Contender 9mm 2x	25’	40
Class 7; Rimfire Rifle, Iron Sights/Non-magnified red dot	Firearm	Distance	Score
No entries
Class 8; Rimfire Rifle, Magnified optical sights (25 yds)	Firearm	Distance	Score
Billll	Marlin 795	25 yd	85

Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation

Ruger is offering a .44 Magnum Carbine this week. It was built to commemorate 25 years of production, and to close out this model. This one has collector value, so don't expect a bargain this week. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the Light Foundation, and this carbine will sell mid-day, Wednesday, November 4, 2015. Click Here to read all about it and to place your bid.
$1726.44

Tuesday Turbo Boost

Feed My Chicks

Back To The Old Grind!