Saturday, September 5, 2015
Friday, September 4, 2015
Golden?
These anniversaries sneak up on you. Fifty years ago I went to work at this little appliance store in Washington, Iowa.
I swept floors, washed windows, cleaned nasty old refrigerators and stoves, and wrecked my back moving old 15 cubic foot freezers out of basements. I've been unemployed a total of two weeks since I became a wage slave. I worked on a section crew for a short time, took care of a handicapped student for a year, fought forest fires, and was a mechanic in both the oil and coal fields. Currently I take nice nature hikes and do a lot of writing. I wore this jacket for a few years after I went off to school (I worked then, too.) and people understandably called me Jarvis. A few of them still do.
The end is in sight, but not quite yet. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Might be this...
Or maybe this...(I'm not really into trigger warnings, but before you click Play, note that the video below is from Blazing Saddles.)
Let's face it, I'm Tired!
I swept floors, washed windows, cleaned nasty old refrigerators and stoves, and wrecked my back moving old 15 cubic foot freezers out of basements. I've been unemployed a total of two weeks since I became a wage slave. I worked on a section crew for a short time, took care of a handicapped student for a year, fought forest fires, and was a mechanic in both the oil and coal fields. Currently I take nice nature hikes and do a lot of writing. I wore this jacket for a few years after I went off to school (I worked then, too.) and people understandably called me Jarvis. A few of them still do.
The end is in sight, but not quite yet. I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Might be this...
Or maybe this...(I'm not really into trigger warnings, but before you click Play, note that the video below is from Blazing Saddles.)
Let's face it, I'm Tired!
Gary Bahre Has Made Another Basket Case Run!
Old Bessye spoke yesterday for the first time in about ninety years! We feel kinda like this!
It has been a long difficult journey for Gary from this collection of broken, rusty parts, to this:
This is Gary's photo after he had it ready to try. He primed it, rolled it over, and it ran out the priming fuel; twice! Gary still has lots of finishing up to do, but the old girl is breathing again.
It has been a long difficult journey for Gary from this collection of broken, rusty parts, to this:
This is Gary's photo after he had it ready to try. He primed it, rolled it over, and it ran out the priming fuel; twice! Gary still has lots of finishing up to do, but the old girl is breathing again.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
e-Postal Target Two-Fer
I'm going to hold off on posting scores for August until after the holiday weekend, so everybody gets to shoot both the August...
...and September contests!
Both of these contests are made for good scores, so have at it and have a good time. Also consider this: The bullseye on the ram target is 3" diameter. At 25 feet, that is 36 minutes of angle. A practiced pistol shooter should be able to hit eights on a good number of the shots. The sweet spots on the September targets are about 1" by 2", or 12 by 24 minutes to make the four 20 spots. Hickok 45 in his videos has his 24" gong out at 80 yards and regularly hits it, even with snubnosed pistols. That is a 30 minute of angle shot. It would be a breeze with a rifle. With a pistol you have to pay extra attention to sight picture, trigger squeeze, and Kentucky windage, but it is entirely doable for someone who knows how to shoot.
Consider the August target again. The rings are 1, 2, and 3 inches in diameter. That is 12, 24, and 36 minutes of angle at 25 feet. We all need to shoot targets like this regularly to see problems in our shooting technique and to become better shots. We all need the practice, so print those targets and go shoot this weekend!
Click the targets for the links to the rules and the pdf's.
Both of these contests are made for good scores, so have at it and have a good time. Also consider this: The bullseye on the ram target is 3" diameter. At 25 feet, that is 36 minutes of angle. A practiced pistol shooter should be able to hit eights on a good number of the shots. The sweet spots on the September targets are about 1" by 2", or 12 by 24 minutes to make the four 20 spots. Hickok 45 in his videos has his 24" gong out at 80 yards and regularly hits it, even with snubnosed pistols. That is a 30 minute of angle shot. It would be a breeze with a rifle. With a pistol you have to pay extra attention to sight picture, trigger squeeze, and Kentucky windage, but it is entirely doable for someone who knows how to shoot.
Consider the August target again. The rings are 1, 2, and 3 inches in diameter. That is 12, 24, and 36 minutes of angle at 25 feet. We all need to shoot targets like this regularly to see problems in our shooting technique and to become better shots. We all need the practice, so print those targets and go shoot this weekend!
Click the targets for the links to the rules and the pdf's.
.22 LR In Stock...
...at Natchez Shooters Supply. We have had excellent accuracy from the Federal Game Shok and the CCI Standard Velocity. We like Velocitors for using on varmints through a rifle. If you study chronograph information on the blogs, you will see that Velocitors do not give you any advantage from a short barrel. You need to use those rounds in a rifle to make the extra expense worthwhile.
AND, Midway has the Federal Game Shok cartridges at a good price, too.
Illinois residents need to have an account with their FOID on file for online ammunition sales. Natchez wants Illinois residents to call in ammo orders. I don't know the ordering policy for Midway, but you do have to set it up with your FOID in advance.
AND, Midway has the Federal Game Shok cartridges at a good price, too.
Illinois residents need to have an account with their FOID on file for online ammunition sales. Natchez wants Illinois residents to call in ammo orders. I don't know the ordering policy for Midway, but you do have to set it up with your FOID in advance.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Steam, and More! Old Threshers Begins Thursday, September 3, 2015!
There is lots more about Old Threshers than steam engines; like Dancing Girls at the Saloon...and the blacksmith shop in the North Village. Old Threshers starts September 3 and runs through Labor Day.
Georgetown Loop # 12
Big 'uns! And Little ones, too!
Old Threshers goes on through Labor Day, so pack up the babies and hit the road for Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.
Gun Blogger Rendezvous X Reports
Kevin at Smallest Minority
Billll at Billll's Idle Mind, and Part II
Liz
Not Claswitz and Part II
and last, but certainly not least is the report on GunBloggers.blogspot.com, by Lucky Gunner.
Check back over the next few weeks at the Gun Bloggers site, because more photos and video will be posted, along with plans for GBR XI in 2016.
Billll at Billll's Idle Mind, and Part II
Liz
Not Claswitz and Part II
and last, but certainly not least is the report on GunBloggers.blogspot.com, by Lucky Gunner.
Check back over the next few weeks at the Gun Bloggers site, because more photos and video will be posted, along with plans for GBR XI in 2016.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Gary Bahre's 8 HP Vertical Bessemer Update
Gary has had several interruptions this year that kept him out of his engine shop, but work has resumed on the Bessemer that Susan and I collected near Blaine, Kentucky nearly forty years ago. I am still amazed that we loaded this thing into the back of the American Motors station wagon by ourselves, and even more amazed that we were able to drag it all the way to Southern Illinois in 1980. This project is a real capstone for Gary's engine collection. It's extremely rare, and the rebuild had several difficult challenges. He will be belting Bessy up to one of his engines soon to break her in before he actually fires up.
This engine ran a sorghum press during its short working career, and I think the owner should have stuck to using a mule. The water jacket is broken from freezing, and the rod was broken, probably from a lack of lubrication. The drip oiler had to be kept topped up and dripping well for the rod, and I bet it went dry several times before the rod hammered itself to death. Great Work, Gary!
Video courtesy of Gary Bahre
You can read about the restoration process and see more photos on This Smokstak Thread.
This engine ran a sorghum press during its short working career, and I think the owner should have stuck to using a mule. The water jacket is broken from freezing, and the rod was broken, probably from a lack of lubrication. The drip oiler had to be kept topped up and dripping well for the rod, and I bet it went dry several times before the rod hammered itself to death. Great Work, Gary!
Video courtesy of Gary Bahre
You can read about the restoration process and see more photos on This Smokstak Thread.
Ruger's Auction To Benefit The Light Foundation
Jump on this one! Ruger built their improve Red Label Shotgun for just over one year, so there won't be many chances to get one of these. This is a 12 Gauge gun, and you can read all about it HERE. This gun will sell mid-day, September 2, 2015. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the Light Foundation.
$2102
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