Weekend Steam

 Avery produced traction engines in three basic styles. They made return flue engines with the engine on top of the boiler, undermounted engines with a double-simple engine mounted on a frame underneath the boiler, and traditional traction engines like this one, with a locomotive style boiler, and the engine on top. The firebox door is a fascinating piece of machinery on Averys, and the feedwater heater on the left side of the boiler is distinctive.

Crankin' It Up With Our Old Buddy Brat; and Bart, and Rambler

Swingin' Down The Lane, Isham Jones' Orchestra by TrueBlueSam

 Swingin' Down The Lane, Isham Jones' Orchestra, May 3, 1923

 Brat and Bart started out together on this Isham Jones' record, but Rambler insisted on being in on the action, and I had to switch cats in mid-stream.

Why We Clean...

I don't always clean a gun right after I use it, but I do clean regularly.  Probably more often than most of my guns need it.  Last week my brother Chester and I took Dad's Remington 550-1 out to the range and gave it a good workout.  I think the last time it was cleaned was over twenty-five years ago when I mounted a scope on it for Dad.  He has probably not shot more than 100 rounds through it since then, and if I know Dad, he gave it a few drops of oil for its trouble every time he fired a shot or two.  We oiled the action before we shot it, and took it apart afterward.  Good thing we did that; the accumulation of powder residue was getting almost embarrasing. 

I read up on the Remingon 550-1 tonight, and I never appreciated what a neat machine it is.  It was the first .22 auto that could shoot Shorts, Longs, and Long Rifles.  The way Remington made this rifle work was with a floating chamber, which they called a piston.  It is just a bit longer than a .22 Short, so the pressure from a short cartridge acts on the front of the piston, greatly adding to the pushback on the front of the bolt.  Save the photo of the action so you can blow it up, and you can easily see the back end of the 'piston'-'floating chamber.'  Pretty neat, and I never noticed it before.  I will have to make sure it is oiled properly, and exercise it with some  .22 shorts the next time I visit Mom.  The 550 is easy to tear down and clean.  Use a screwdriver to break loose the fitting at the back end of the receiver, and pull out the spring and the bolt.  Hose out, blow out, oil, and reassemble.  Remember to oil the floating chamber.

Here I am, cleaning Mom's 10/22 Compact, which we have customized a bit with an adjustable lightweight stock, Volquartsen parts for the trigger assembly, plus a scope and sling.

Hey Kids!

How many old appliances can you find in the woods today?

The only things I have found of worth in all my years of looking at old dumps in the woods was a globe for a kerosene lantern, some twenty-five years ago, and a belt pulley for an Economy gas engine.  But, I always look.

I count four; one of them is hiding behind the tree top lying on the ground.

Ruger's Auction To Benefit Homes 4 Wounded Heroes

Ruger's auction this week is one of the final Mk I Standard Model Pistols made in 1982.  Collectors really want rare pistols like this one, and you must be bold to bid.  Click Over if you have the right stuff, and put in a bid that makes you feel good.  All proceeds go to help wounded service personnel.  This gun sells mid-day, Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

Pre-Winter Shooty Weekend

I had a great weekend with Mom up in Iowa.  We did her Christmas shopping, took care of some yard work, changed light bulbs, and we went shooting a couple times.  Mom shot a pile of guns on the first trip to refresh muscle memory for operating her pistols and revolvers.  She wears out fast shooting double-action-only, but she can empty her LCR a couple times with just the short break to reload.

 
The next morning we did speed drills, and Mom came home all energized from that.  We set up five targets across the front of the shooting lane, and she did V-drills with her Mk III 22/45 until she couldn't hold it up.  I let her rest for a few minutes and had her do double taps from one side to the other; then we repeated the entire exercise with her 10/22.  She is really getting some good speed now, hitting a target twice and moving to the next target.  She is making pretty tight groups, too, for fast, flat-footed shooting.  
In between the above range trips with Mom, I spent most of Saturday afternoon shooting with my brother, Chester.  We took his Marlin 39 that has been resting in the gun cabinet for more than thirty years, and he found that it shot just as well as he remembered.  I'm back in Illinois now, and it's back to the old grind tomorrow.

Tuesday Turbo Boost

At The Eleventh Hour...

...take a moment, say a prayer, and thank the vets in your life.

Not My Victrola: Edison Army-Navy Phonograph

Just in time for Armistice/Veterans' Day, VictrolaMan has cranked up his Great War vintage Edison. These were made to entertain our soldiers in France, and this one is one of the few that came back to the states after the war. It's a very rare glimpse into the past, and my only complaint is that VictrolaMan should have played a tune from 1917 or 1918.



In order to enhance your enjoyment of this musical treasure, you should soak your feet in a muddy trench for several days, have a case of cooties, munch a Red Cross doughnut, and wash it down with coffee from an aluminum canteen cup.  God Bless Our Vets.

Ralfy's Finest Video