Ruger® has a beautiful 12 Gauge Red Label ™ for us to bid on this week. It was built in 1999, engraved, and stored away. This design was not used in production, so it is a one-off example of this fine over-under model. This exciting firearm will sell mid-day, Wednesday, June 1, 2016. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the USA Shooting Team. CLICK HERE to read the full description and to place your winning bid. $2470
We spent most of the weekend mowing, cutting brush, pruning, hauling brush, and moving wood, but we did take time today to shoot the May e-Postal and do a little plinking behind the barn. One of the neighbors stopped by and we discovered that she had never shot a pistol. We fixed that in short order.
This video by Bill Whittle is making the rounds of blogs and Facebook since the remarks by the President in Hiroshima. I first saw it again on Sondrakistan, and it is worth your time to go there and follow the links that accompany that post. The bomb wasn't evil; it ended evil perpetrated by the Japanese Empire. Japan did not surrender after the first bomb, and the military establishment was planning to murder Hirohito for deciding to surrender. Untold lives were saved by the bombs and the heroes who delivered them.
This is an informative, brief video demonstrating the process of loading a musket, something that has fascinated me most of my life. There is a command and precise set of moves for every step. They skip the method of checking for an empty boar, which is "Spring Rammer!" You draw the rammer, flip it around and lower it down the bore. You bring it down with force at the end of the stroke, and it will bounce in an unloaded musket. The rammer will not bounce off of a load.
The load used in these weapons was 60 grains of powder, which sounds anemic in these days of magnumizing muzzleloaders, but it did the job. I have shot and hunted with a repro Enfield in .58 caliber, and shot Minies in it. I bumped the load up to 70 grains, and it shot well. You don't want to push a Minie too hard, or you will blow out the skirt when it leaves the muzzle. These weapons make a very effective deer hunting rifle, even if they are a bit long for carrying in the woods.
Flipped on the kitchen lights and left the room for five to ten minutes, came back and smelled something hot. Flipped the light switch because it was dark, and nothing came on. Whoa, those lights were on when I left the room.
Smoke residue deposited on the cover over the ballast, and where the ballast was spewing. It was too hot to handle. This fixture is just a few years old, and had been fine the day before. If I had left this light on and left home, I know that I would have come home to a pile of rubble. Now I suspect every little curly-cue fluorescent light with a ballast in the base is a fire hazard, too. I know they get hot. We have been switching to LED lights, and I wonder what they will do as they age.
We pass this little Studebaker Lark 2 door regularly and I always give it a look. The six cylinder version would get 20 mpg around town. It's pre-seatbelt, and if it smells salt on the road the front fenders rot out at an early age. The AM radio plays songs like Mrs. Robinson and Both Sides Now, if I remember correctly.
This is a normal call after storms. A lady called and asked me if she should have her maple tree trimmed. This silver maple has been topped twice in the past. One of the multiple tops snapped off and speared the roof of her bedroom.
Looking over the mobile home at the tree you can see a bit of the blue tarp that is keeping the weather out until repairs are made.
It has multiple stems starting at about 8 feet, and then more multiples at about 15 feet, making for a heavy top on a stem that probably has rot in the center. Silver maples are time bombs. You know what I told her.
Ruger® has a beauty for us to bid on again this week. It is an early P85™ from 1990. The only work this pistol has done is to pose for pictures with the publicist when this model came out. It has been residing in the company safe ever since. There is a good chance you might buy this one worth the money, so CLICK over and place your bid. This pistol will sell mid-day, Wednesday, May 25, 2016. 100% of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit the USA Shooting Team. $615
Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules 1. All guns are always loaded. 2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. 4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.
Knives 1. Never cut toward yourself. 2. Always cut away from yourself. 3. Never cut yourself.
AND If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!
Chainsaws
1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).
2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.
3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.
4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.
5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.
6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.
7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.
8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.
9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.
10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.
11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.
12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.
13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.
14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.
15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.
16. Don't cut alone.
17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.
18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.
19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.
20. Do not cut above your shoulders.
21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.
22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.
23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!
24!! Quit When You Are Tired!
25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!
Cutting dead and rotten trees is extremely risky, and your safety always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow before you cut out the back. Don't fight side lean or back lean when cutting unsound trees. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.
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