Synday Morning Dawg

We had a good road trip yesterday, meeting and greeting family and celebrating the birthday of Milady's mother. I did get to meet one interesting dog, a fellow named Pierre, who lives with some of Milady's kinfolks.

Pierre is a fine example of a bijoun, a large friendly dog. Of course, his mistress is lovely as well. I'm always pleased to visit with her.

Of course, my dog was happy to see us when we got home, right at dark. Even meeting and greeting old friends and family, it's nice to be home.

Road Trip

Milady and I are leaving shortly on a day trip. Her mother has attained her 90th birthday and we're gathering with the family near Denham Springs, LA to celebrate. There will be four generations in attendance for this event. Lots of food and family and laughter.

Y'all play nice.

Boehner Balks

And rightfully so. It seems that our President wanted to continue the talks this weekend at Camp David, trying to get some kind of fiscal relief. Boehner balked, and rightfully so.

The President doesn't need to go to Camp David. Trips cost money, and he doesn't have any money. He's got a vacation planned in August and he needs to cancel that trip too. The country is broke, and by default, he's broke. If the Treasury is too broke to write Social Security checks, the country is to broke to send the President on yet another vacation.

I've been looking at the President's budget online, and I could trim a trillion or so in just a couple of hours. He wouldn't like it much, because some of this pet projects like high-speed rail and green energy would find the funding gone. Oh, and both DOE departments. That's Energy and Education. I'd cull them too.

With the Dept of Energy, I can only find one good excuse for them to exist, and that's maintaining our nations nukes. I'd fold that division into DOD, and tell the rest of those guys to take a hike.

The Dept of Education would be two part-timers in OMB. They could write the checks that return revenue to the states. Let's see... 50 checks. Yeah, two guys would be able to handle that in a day, two days tops. I'd call a temp agency for that job.

Moving on to Homeland Security, the BATFE would come in for a large overhaul. Those not indicted over Fast and Furious would be transferred to Bureau of Prisons. That should encourage other govt employees to not play fast-and-loose with the nation's laws.

The First Lady's office? What is that? We don't need it. If we ever elect a bachelor President, are they going to hire a first lady? I don't think so. That office is simply exorbitant, and if we're talking about cutting Social Security, the first thing that should go is exorbitant expenditures. She doesn't need a budget.

You don't want me to get into Health and Human Resources, Commerce, or any of those other lesser agencies.

That's the way you cut a budget, Mr. President.

Blessed Rain

I awoke this morning to a gentle rain. There's a thunderstorm to our north and when I went outside to greet the day, I saw that this is no passing shower. We're getting a good rain and by my calculations the last time we got measurable rain was on June 21st. That's very nearly three weeks.

I guess that means I'll be mowing grass on Monday. That's good. The lawn can use the moisture.

Esquire

Did you see this? How can we not love Obama? You better drink a shot of whiskey before you read this paragraph, it's a rip-roarer.

Before the policy choices have to be weighed and the hard decisions have to be made, can we just take a month or two to contemplate him the way we might contemplate a painting by Vermeer or a guitar lick by the early-seventies Rolling Stones or a Peyton Manning pass or any other astounding, ecstatic human achievement? Because twenty years from now, we're going to look back on this time as a glorious idyll in American politics, with a confident, intelligent, fascinating president riding the surge of his prodigious talents from triumph to triumph. Whatever happens this fall or next, the summer of 2011 is the summer of Obama.

This has got to be satire, it's too cloying for a rational opinion piece.

How can we not love Obama? Let me count the ways.

9% Unemployment.
Sluggish economy.
Third year of trillion dollar deficits.
Racist Attorney General.
Nanny-state Energy Secretary.
BATFE running guns into Mexico.
TSA excesses in every newspaper.
Gasoline prices through the roof.
Runaway spending.
Threatening to starve Grandma.

The list just goes on and on.

I remember when Esquire was a cool magazine. But this piece, seriously. A painting by Vermeer? You've got to be shitting me.

The Sky Is Falling

Our President ratcheted up the hype today, telling Americans that he can't be sure that Social Security check will go out on August 3d if Congress doesn't agree to let him borrow more money. Really.

President Obama on Tuesday said he cannot guarantee that retirees will receive their Social Security checks August 3 if Democrats and Republicans in Washington do not reach an agreement on reducing the deficit in the coming weeks.

He's like a kid who can't live within a budget and comes asking for more money after he's squandered his allowance. The argument at this stage isn't about how much he can spend, it's about how much he can borrow. Frankly, I'm tired of him spending money he doesn't have, which means I'm tired of him spending money he has to borrow, which means I'm tired of him spending.

Live within your budget, dumbass. That's what every household in the United States has to do, and what got us in this mess in the first place. People borrowing more money than they could afford to repay. When times get really tough, Americans sell things that they don't really need. I bet that we could abolish the BATFE and save a couple of billion. We could get rid of the Department of Energy and save several hundred billion.

What I'd really like to see is a law that if the US doesn't have a budget by July 1st of every year, no elected official at the Federal Level would be eligible to stand for election for ten years. None of them. Not the President, not the Congress, none of them.

The United States doesn't need to borrow any more money. It needs to live within its means.

Power Pro 2000 MR

A month or so ago, I ordered powder. Haz-mat charges being what they are, I normally order several pounds at one time. The dealer had a new Alliant powder in stock, Power Pro 2000 MR so I decided to order a pound to see if it was any better than what I'm using in the .308 Winchester.

My .308 Winchester load uses Reloder 15 powder. Over the years I've gotten very good accuracy from RL15 and intend to keep using it. Indeed, one of the powders I ordered was a 4 lb jug of RL15. Still, I wanted to try the new powder because the Alliant company made some pretty fantastic claims about this new powder. When the powder order came in, I put the pound of the new powder on the shelf and forgot about it. This past weekend I decided to get it down and look at it. Alliant claims it's a spherical powder, but when I poured a little on a sheet of paper, it didn't look spherical. It looked like spherial powder that had been squished.

It's a shiny black color. I think that those gold-tones in the photo are artifacts from the flash. One of the claims that Alliant made is that new powder would push a 150 grain bullet to 2950 fps. Bullshit, I thought, that's .30-06 terrority. But, I had a box of 150 grain Hornady SST bullets and some match brass, so I prepped 24 cases. I loaded them in 0.3 grain increments from 49.3 to 51.4 grains and seated those 150 grain bullets to the SAAMI length of 2.800".

This morning I went out to the range and set up some 100 yard targets, then put the chronograph on the tripod. I sat down at the bench and started shooting. My Remington 700 has probably the longest lede in modern history. Bullets seated to the SAAMI standard length are no where near the rifling, so it's a pretty good jump to the lands, especially with those short 150 grain bullets. Group size wasn't quite as good as my Reloder 15, 165 grain load, but I noticed that as I increased the powder charges, the speed of the bullet increased quickly into what we normally see for .30-06 loads. I've made a handy-dandy table.

Then, when I got to 51.1 grains, something magical happened. All three shots touched. When I measured it later, the group size was just a tiny 0.58 inches.

Is that a fluke? Did all the stars align? I don't know. The following group, the fastest one I shot, measured a more rational 1.30 inches. You have to remember, this is a hunting rifle, just like it came from the factory. I haven't even floated the barrel.

That last 3-shot group sizzled across the chronograph at a smoking 2971 fps. The group opened to a classic 1.3" triangle. I looked at the primers and found nothing untoward. No flattening, no cratering.

I ran those numbers through my ballistics program. If I use that 51.1 grain load, and sight it 3" high at 100 yards, it will be dead-on at 250 yards and down just 4 inches at 300 yards.

Power Pro 2000 MR powder deserves another look.

LIght bulb wars

Have y'all been paying attention to this? It seems that in 2007, the Democrats passed a law that's going to effectively ban the incandescent light bulb from sale in the United States. Really. There is a bill currently pending in the House that would repeal this nonsense.

Evidently our Energy Secretary doesn't believe that Americans should have a choice. He came out swinging this week, saying

Mr. Chu said the more-efficient bulbs required would save consumers money over the life of the product, even if the up-front price is higher. "We are taking away a choice that continues to let people waste their own money," he said.

Mr. Chu thinks that it's the governments business if people waste their own money. I don't think it's any of the governments business what I do with my money. Actually, I think that employing Mr. Chu, indeed the entire Department of Energy is a waste of money.

As I recall, the Department of Energy was begun under the administration of Jimmuh Carter, who couldn't figure out what to do about high gas prices. If Speaker Boehner wants to cut the budget, he should start by defunding the 26+billion that the DOE sucks out of the economy each year.

Mr. Chu wants to take away my choices. Indeed!

Sunday Morning Dawg

The dog likes his scritching, and sometimes he'll just show up for scratching. I'll be sitting at the computer and suddenly I'll find the dog standing beside me, leaning on my leg. It's hard to get a picture of a dog on my leg, but he came up to Milady the other day when I had a camera nearby.

The dog loves to have his head scratched.

Jumped or Jammed?

Jumped or jammed? That's the question that handloaders often ask, and while there are no steadfast rules, it's a question that every rifle will answer if you let it. The sad truth is that each rifle is different, even two made side-by-side on the assembly line. Each bullet is different, with varying lengths and ogive shapes, so there are no steadfast rules.

SAAMI, the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute, realizes this and have published standard specifications for firearms and ammunition. It's a one-size-fits-all approach and guarantees that the ammunition you buy will fit the firearm you have and will be safe when used properly. However, that ammunition is a standard length and your rifle might not be standard length. If you set the bullet out a little bit, you might get better accuracy, but you won't know until you take some measurements and shoot some ammo.

There are all kinds of ways to spend money in this hobby. You can make chamber casts and you can buy comparators, indeed, there are plenty of ways to make the measurements you need. We frugal types only need to know how far it is from the bolt face to the point where the bullet is jammed into the rifling. You've got your rifle, and an empty case or two, and hopefully a box of bullets.

Find a case where the bullet is a tight slip fit and insert a bullet by hand into the cartridge mouth. Then carefully chamber that dummy cartridge. You should feel resistance as the bullet hits the lands of the barrel. Lock the action, then carefully extract the cartridge. Sometimes the bullet will stick in the lands, but most often it will come out along with the cartridge. If the bullet sticks in the lands, tap it our with a cleaning rod from the muzzle. Most often, the bullet will simply be in the end of the casing, and you can then measure it with a caliper. Of course, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

In my case, I had some 150 grain Bornady bullets and wanted to find the length for my Remington 700 in .308. If you look at the picture above, the dummy cartridge on the left is the jammed cartridge. The dummy cartridge on the right is the SAAMI length cartridge. As it turns out, my Remington must have the longest lede in the history of loose chambers. That cartridge measures 2.966, much longer than the SAAMI spec 2.800.

Indeed, with this particular bullet, there is very little in the case mouth, so little that I plucked it out with my fingers after the photo was taken. If I want the finished cartridge close to the lands, I'm going to have to use a heavier bullet, which is longer than the lighter bullet. Bullets in the 165-180 grain weights might be better for this particular rifle, as I can seat them closer to the rifling with enough bullet in the case mouth for good tension.

Decisions, decision. I've got a couple of boxes of 165 Gamekings on the shelf and my son's .30-06 really likes 150 grain bullets. I might save this box of Hornadys for his rifle.

Jobs Lost

I was a kid back in the early '60s when President Kennedy announced the great challenge and the national mission of going to the moon. I watched with great interest as the astronauts made their way in baby steps all the way to the Sea of Tranquility. I cheered their successes, bemoaned their failures, and watched with horror during their tragedies. I laughed with them, cried with them, and am intensely proud of the fact that the only footprints on the moon are American footprints.

That's over now. Our manned space program is in its final flight. The Obama administration, through lack of foresight and vision, doesn't have another mission for us. Some folks are worried about a brain-drain as the best and brightest leave the agency to pursue other challenges. Others, on a more mundane note, are concerned that as many as 23,000 jobs could be lost in one country in Florida. However, when you start tallying the industries that supported this program, you find workers in Connecticut, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama that directly support the space program.

My libertarian bent hopes that private industry picks up the slack. There are exciting things going on in private space travel, and maybe it's time for private companies to take a greater interest in the universe. There are worlds out there to explore and fortunes to be made beyond the borders of our home planet.

Friday Range

I took my Winchesters to the range today to sight them for the hunting season, and to get some new chronograph data for the loads I like to use.

My favorite cast bullet load in the .30-30 is the Lyman 311041 bullet over 27.0 grains of IMR 4895. Some days I shoot that load very well, some days I can't hit the side of a barn. Today was okay. I fired thirteen shots at the target, measured every one of them. That 170 grain cast bullet is going an average 1930 fps. I shot seven shots, then adjusted the sight to bring the shots up to the bull. Then shot 6 more shots

That's a 5.3" group, but when you realize that the front sight covers 10 inches at 100 yards, I don't see any shame in that shooting at all. I was using a 6 o'clock hold on that 3" target dot, so that I could see it hovering over the front sight. I'm pleased and we're going to leave that load alone. That shooting isn't going to set any records, but it's shooting well under the width of the front sight and any whitetail that steps out inside 100 yards isn't going to complain.

Another load I like in the .30-30 is the little Speer jacketed 130 grain flat nosed bullet. I push it with Reloder 15 to about 2175 fps from my Synthetic Model 94. I fired two, 3-shot groups, hovering that 3" dot over the front sight. After the first 3 shots, I increased the elevation on the front sight and you can see two distinctive groups on that paper.

I'm satisfied with that one, too, and I've locked the sights on the rifle. Anytime I can shoot into the area covered by the front sight, I feel I'm doing well.

Sunburn

Grandson Zachary (8 years old) came over today to hang out with me. When he got here, I was at my loading bench, making cast bullet loads for my .30-30. I was at the bullet seating stage and tired of pulling the handle on the press, so he got a stool and helped me seat bullets. Then I taught him how to run a Factory Crimp Die, which is indispensable for cast bullets.

Afterwards, he wanted to go swimming, so he put on his swimsuit then complained "PawPaw, you never swim with me."

"Oh, really," I exclaimed. "Stand by." I found a swimming suit and got into the pool with him. We had a hell of a time until lunch, when we changed and headed for McDonalds. After lunch we came back to the house and he played in the back room while I snored in my recliner. I had intended to take those cast-bullet loads to the range today and run a series over the chronograph, but I'll get that done tomorrow.

The one problem is that this tee-shirt feels a little scratchy on my back. I believe PawPaw might have a sunburn on his shoulders. Serves me right for swimming without a tee-shirt. I'll have Milady put some lotion on my shoulders later.

Handgun Wednesday

I had to go to a glass shop today to get a chip repaired on my pickup windshield. The glass shop is just a mile from the Sheriff's office range and I thought that I'd take time to do a little pistol work,

When I got to the range I found a B6 pistol target and posted it on the 25 yard line. I've not yet gotten used to the crunchenticker trigger on the MP45 pistol I carry, and I focused today on trigger control, and finding the reset. I'm getting better with that pistol, but I'm not yet where I want to be. Using a 6 o'clock hold on the bull, I started squeezing the trigger and consciously holding it back, then releasing slowly to find the reset.

After 50 rounds my speed was starting to increase, but I was stringing shots down the paper.

All my shots were staying within the width of the black, but they were stringing down the paper to the five ring. From the target analysis guides I've seen, that means that I'm breaking my wrist down, dropping my head, or relaxing too soon.

I'm getting better with that pistol. I'm using smaller targets and analyzing what I'm doing wrong, not simply standing slack-jawed looking at a target with no bullet holes.

Gun Case

If you're like me, you are always looking for quality gear, and you're always looking to save a dollar. I've found a couple of gun cases that might suit your style.

A couple of years ago I needed a case for my AR15 and I ordered one from Midway USA. Midway bills it as a Tactical Rifle Case, and I'm smart enough to know what tactical means. But, they had the case on sale and I ordered one to see how it was made. For the AR15 I ordered the 42 inch case and it fit the rifle really well. What I like about the case is that the four velcro pockets hold magazines perfectly and the two additional pockets are good for oil, rags, a front sight tool and other accouterments. What I really liked about the bag was that over the course of two or three years, that bag did everything I wanted it to do, and never showed wear, never malfunctioned, always a quality piece of gear at a really exceptional price.

Last month, they had the bag on sale for $19.95 and I ordered a 46" length to see if my hunting rifle would fit in the bag. I ordered it in olive drab as a change of pace.

I'm inpressed. The quality is excellent with thick padding for the rifle. The zippers run easily and the velcro seems to be top quality. Best of all, a standard hunting rifle fits in the case.

That's my ugly rifle, a standard Savage 11 FNS with a 22" barrel. It fits, with enough room to zipper it in easily. It could be used in a pinch as a drag bag, with the straps that come attached to the bag. The best part about this bag is the quality, and the low price is a bonus. Midway puts these things on sale fairly regularly, so put one in your wish list and when it goes on sale you'll get an email. You do have an account with Midway, don't you?

I see that Midway has their Pro Series cases on sale. If I needed something like that, now would be the time to buy it.

July 4th

Today is July 4th, probably the most significant date in American history. Lots of notable things happen on July 4th. Some of them recorded in the books, some of them not recorded in the books. This is the day that Americans celebrate independence, go go out and celebrate. Give thanks for those who came before us and give thanks for those who are standing on the line today.

Go to a parade, go to a fireworks display, go to a church, it doesn't matter. Get out and celebrate being an American.

July 3, 1863

By this time in the afternoon, Pete Longstreet watched Pickett's pale Virginians go in, the high water mark of the Army of Northern Virginia. The war's not over yet by a long shot, and the butcher's bill will continue to be paid. Tomorrow, Lee will begin his retreat from Pennsylvania and rain will begin to fall.

Down south, times are grim for the citizens of Vicksburg and tomorrow the city will surrender to Grant. I have heard that after the siege of Vicksburg, rain began to fall.

For tomorrow I intend to mow my lawn, break from the heat of the day, then go watch a small town fireworks display in Pollock, LA. There is no rain in our immediate forecast, but we're not expending nearly the gunpowder, of Lee, Meade, and Grant.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We hosted a birthday party last Sunday by the pool, and when we broke out the cake and ice cream, the dog wanted his ration. Milady put a scoop of ice cream in a bowl and put it where he could get to it.

There's nothing like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a hot Summer afternoon.

Independence Day

On July 2, 1776 the Continental Congress declared the colonies to be free and independent states. That July 4th thing? That's the day they adopted the Declaration of Independence. They ordered the document to be printed. Then, on July 19th they ordered that it be engrossed (formally printed for signature), then they waited for the engrossers to do their thing. They signed it on August 2nd.

This is properly the holiday weekend. We current Americans, we who are spoiled to instant communication and WYSWYG printing aren't familiar with the concept that it might take days or weeks to get a document from one place to another. There wasn't any Xerox machine in those days, no faxes, no phones. If you wanted a document, someone had to set the type and print it. If you wanted a document formally engrossed, guys sat down with pens and parchment and wrote it out by hand.

But, today is the day we declared independence by adopting the Lee Resolution.

On this day in 1863, Henry Lee's kinfolks, Bobby, launched attacks against the Union flank at Gettysburg. He sent Ewell to hit the fish hook, with Hill demonstrating against the center. His main thrust was with Longstreet and John Bell Hood against the southern flank. On top of a small hill, the 20th Maine stands wondering what's going to happen next. Before the day is over, Joshua Chamberlain will have won a Medal of Honor.

July 1, 1863

On this day in 1863, in a sleepy little Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg, Harry Heth sent two brigades into town to find shoes. They found, instead, John Buford and his cavalry. Before the next two days were finished, legends had been made and soldiers such as I remember the brave men on both sides of the line.

Friday Range - New Shooter

Jeffery came over today. Jeffery is the 11 year-old son of my son's girlfriend. The ladies wanted to do some shopping, so Jeffery was going to hang out with me. We went to the range.

I wanted to chrony some loads, so we put a couple of carbines and revolvers into the truck and headed out. Jeff has been to the range with me and he knows the drill. In short order we had the chrongraph set up and I ran some loads across it, finding just what I expected to find.

I noticed yesterday that I had one standard load that I didn't have chronograph data for, and I wanted to run it over the screens. It's a pretty standard load for the .357 magnum magnum. 14.0 grains of Alliant 2400 and a 158 semi-wadcutter bullet. I cast my bullets from wheelweights, using the Lee TL358158 mold. The load showed a real steady 1207 fps from my 6" Model 28, and a blistering 1710 fps from my Marlin 1894.

After we got through with the chronograph, I let Jeffery have some .38 special loads and posted a 25 yard bullseye target and let him try out the Marlin carbine. With .38 special loads it's very manageable and in just a few minutes he was keeping his shots in the 8-ring. We took an opportunity to talk about things like sight alignment and trigger squeeze Then I handed him a handful of magnums and asked him if he could hit the 100 yard gong. In just a few shots, he was ringing the gong, making it swing.

It's nice to have a shooting partner for a Friday afternoon session.

Lothrop

Our family has a family name, Lathrop that is passed down from generation to generation, generally as a middle name. My granddaddy was Edward Lathrop Dezendorf, and my grandson is Quinton Lathrope Dezendorf. Names change over time.

My sister has found a gravestone of the fellow who is probably the guy from who we got the weird middle name. Sis claims that he is our 9th-great-grandfather.

Confined Newgate Prison 1632-1634? I'd love to hear the story on that! From the website above, his stone is found in front of the Old Lothrop Hill Cemetery in Barnstable, Cape Cod, MA.

Edit: Just heard from sis:

Rev John Lathrop succeeded Henry Jacobs as the leader of the Independent Congregational Society in London after Reverend Jacobs left England for Virginia. On April 29, 1632, the congregation was discovered by the authorities and 42 of its members were imprisoned. Within two years, all were released on bail except John who remained incarcerated at Newgate Prison, nicknamed, the Clink. Hannah, his wife, fell sick during his imprisonment and died in 1633. John was then finally released from prison on the condition that he leave the county.

How cool is that?

Cast Bullet Wednesday

As soon as I finished the post below, I threw my range box into the truck and headed for the range. It was a quiet day out there, and I walked into the office and saw the Captain, told him I wanted to hang a red flag and go shoot. He was okay with that.

As I drove over to the firing line, I saw another deputy, one of our reservists, drive up behind me. I've worked with the guy several times and he wanted to shoot his Winchester Featherweight in .308.

Beautiful day to be on the range. Temps were in the high 90s with a RealFeel temp of 109. Slight breeze from the south. Hotter than a whatchacallit out there. I was glad I had packed an ice chest with bottled water.

Here's a better picture than the one from earlier this week. This photo was taken with my Canon SLR and it's much clearer than the last one I posted.

First, I wanted to work with the trigger on my SW MP45. I haven't completely learned that trigger yet, so I hung a bullseye target on the 25 yard pistol range and shot a few magazines. Slowly. Ammo was my standar cast bullet .45 ACP load. Shots were all over the paper and I concentrated on sight alignment and trigger squeeze. The MP45 pistol has some loyal adherents, but I'm one of those guys who grew up on revolvers and 1911s. I can't get used to the crunchenticker trigger on the plastic fantastic. Slowly, I worked the trigger, trying to find the reset and noticed that my groups were starting to shrink. On the fourth or fifth magazine I noticed that my groups were starting to tighten and the shots were landing in the 4 inch black bull. Wonderful. I shot another magazine and put the pistol away. Enough work for one day.

Then I went to the truck and took out the Winchester 94 and my cast bullet loads. Sat down at a bench and surprised myself when I rang the 100 yard gong on the first shot. It's been a long time since I used iron sights and the front bead on that rifle subtends six inches at 100 yards. I had the deputy spot for me and fired another round, rang it again. He told me that I was striking the gong on the left side of the plate, good for elevation. Adjusted the sights and in just a few more minutes, I was hitting it near the center of the plate. Walking down to the target to check the other deputy's grouping, I noticed that my shots were hitting the gong near the center in a 4" group. Not bad at all for iron sights and a rifle I haven't shot in a year or longer.

After getting the sights adjusted I took a bead on the 200 yard gong and rang it. Fired again and missed. Fired again and heard the bullet strike. Fired again and missed. 200 yards is a long way when the front bead hides the whole target. Still, I'm confident that at 100 yards I can hit a 9" plate, which is minute of deer. The energy on that particular load isn't sufficient for much more than that, so I'll limit shots at game to 100 yards.

I shot nothing but cast bullets and iron sights today and I feel better than I've felt in a while. I may have to take Milady to supper later to celebrate.

.30-30 Winchester

I was piddling on the bench yesterday and noticed a big plastic pickle jar full of brass. I picked it up and looked inside. .30-30 brass! It's been a while since I played with the .30-30, so I got out my notes and started prepping brass.

The .30-30 Winchester, originally billed as the .30 Winchester Center Fire was introduced in 1895 by Winchester for the Model 1894 rifle, the standard lever action rifle that's been made almost continually since. When the .30 WCF was introduced, it was the first small bore smokeless rifle cartridge and was touted as the latest-and-greatest scientific development in gunmaking history.

No one can doubt the popularity of the cartridge. All of the ammo makers build ammo for it, most of the rifle makers have made rifles chambered in the cartridge at one time or another. the Model 1894 was manufactured between 1894 and 2006 and Winchester produced over 7.5 million of them. They're still being built by FN, the company who took over when Winchester folded in '86, and brand new ones are available today. The other rifle that popularized the cartridge was made by Winchester competitor Marlin Firearms, who started with their Model 36 rifle. The 336 came out later and most estimates place the Marlin addition to the business at something over 6 million rifles.

It's safe to say that there are a lot of .30-30s in the gun safes and closets of the USA.

The cartridge itself is a handloader's dream. That long neck and low pressures combine to make a cartridge that's easy to reload with good brass life. I normally make one of two reloads in that caliber.

On the left is the Speer Hot Cor 130 grain flat point bullet. I load it over Reloder 15 powder to about 2200 fps. Recoil is mild and it carries enough energy for deer-sized game out to about 125 yards. The cartridge on the right is my favorite load for the caliber. It's a Lyman 311041 bullet, a gas-checked design that I lube with Liquid Alox. The bullet weighs just a little over 170 grains from my alloy with the gas check applied and I push it with 4895 powder to 1850 fps. Good accuracy from both of them, to the point where I have one Win 94 sighted for the jacketed Speer load and one Winchester sighted for the Lyman cast bullet load.

It's easy, in this day of long-range rifle shooting, and big scopes and bipods on rifles, to forget that lots of game was taken with anemic old cartridges like the .30-30. I would imagine that the sportsmen 100 years ago were quite pleased to have the new cartridge and took everything in North America with it.

I wish I could say that I own a fine, pre-64 version of the Winchester 94, but I don't. My cast bullet rifle is a later rifle known as the Antique Carbine. It was the first of the non-commemorative commemoratives and is described by one wag as "Winchester's attempt to put lipstick on a pig". Still, it is a good working rifle and the inside is very tight.

It's a light, handy carbine that weighs in at 5.6 lbs and I've cut the stock down to a total length of 36". I added a Williams FP sight and it's my idea of a nearly perfect truck gun or woods-wandering gun. I think I'll grab some ammo and take it to the range.

Arlene

I see that the depression in the Gulf has upgraded itself to a tropical storm, named Arlene. This is the first named storm of the season. She's expected to make landfall sometime tomorrow on the northeast coast of Mexico.

Maybe as she turns to the north after landfall, south Texas will get some rain. That would be a blessing.

The Weaver Reticle

Several weeks ago I bought a scope for the Ugly Rifle and settled on the Weaver Buck Commander in 2.5x10. I shot that rifle with that scope while the boys and I were at the range yesterday and I like it. Like it a lot.

Many of you are familiar with mil-dot scopes. The reticle on the Buck Commander has something that Weaver calls the Command-X reticle. It looks something like this.

The literature that comes with the scope provides references for each of the stadia lines on the lower verticle, and they're supposed to provide aiming points at various yardages to help the hunter. From looking at the table, the stadia lines are supposed to be regulated for Federal .30-06 150 grain ammo, with the A point being zero at 200 yards and the D point being a dead-on hold at 500 yards. Something like this:

Well fine. Life seldom works like the literature that comes with a scope, but we can glean useful information from the reticle, nonetheless. The table tells me that with Federal Gold Metal Match in .308, I can expect the various aiming points to be at 100, 215, 310 and 420 yards. That's still useful information. My .308 load is a close match for the 168 Federal GMM load, and I sight my rifle to be 2" high at 100 yards. That's a bad habit I got in to a long time ago. I learned yesterday that for a 300 yard hit on a 12X12 steel target, I had to hold the A aiming point at the top of the target and the B aiming point at the bottom of the target.

The Buck Commander is a fine little scope. Optics are clear, the aiming marks are easily viewed. Best of all, you can have this scope for under $200.00. SWFA lists it at $184.95 and other retailers are within a few dollars. I bought mine from a local merchant and he matched the SWFA price. One feature I really like is the finger adjustable turrets. I always hated digging in my pocket to find a coin for a coin slot. The turrets are marked for 1/4 inch at 100 yards and have a return-to-zero property that I find easy and workable. You simply pull up on the finger turret to disengage the turret, move the scale to zero then push it down to re-engage. Very simple.

I doubt I'll ever pull the trigger on a deer-sized animal at 300 yards, but using this little scope boosted my confidence about hitting a target at that distance.

MIchelle Bachmann

I see that Michelle Bachmann has made it official. She's running for the Presidency of the United States. Good for her. I've been following her for the past several months and I'm pleased that she announced. I like the things she says and I like her approach to government.

The liberals, and to be clear I’m NOT one of them, want you to think the Tea Party is the Right Wing of the Republican Party. But it’s not. It’s made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who’ve never been political a day in their life, libertarians, Republicans. We’re people who simply want America back on the right track again.

That's an important distinction to make. I like what I'm hearing from Michelle Bachmann. It's early in the political season and there is a lot of shaking-out to do, but I hope she's got the legs to go the whole distance.

Range Day

My boys and I took off this morning to go to the range. We had scheduled the day at the Sheriff's office range to use his 300 yard rifle benches. I forgot my camera at home, and pressed the little camera on my cell phone into service.

Looking downrange from the benches. You can see the 100 yard berm with four paper targets posted, the 200 yard berm with targets posted and if you look way down in the treeline, you can just make out the 300 yard berm.

Here's youngest son Joey working his mil-dots on the 300 yard targets. He was trying to decide which mil-dot to use at the varying ranges. He finally got it figured out and shot a 1.5 inch 3-shot group at 300 yards. That Savage rifle can shoot.

Second son Matthew trying his brother's Security Six on the pistol lanes. Matt's not much of a pistol shooter, preferring his heavy barreled Savage 111 in 7mm Rem Mag. Matt shot some fine targets with that rifle today. They have a half-size silhouette at the 300 yard line and Matt shot it several time. Once he got the scope dialed in, he was deadly with it.

Joey and Elder son Barrett watching Matt shoot the revolver. I imagine that I personally fired less than 10 rounds this morning. Once I had fired the Ugly Rifle at the 300 yard steel target and heard the plong of bullet hitting steel, I was very happy to spot for the boys while they shot. It was a beautiful morning to be on the range and any day is a good day to spend shooting with my sons.

Sunday Morning Dawg

What happens when you feed peanut butter to the dog? It gets stuck on the roof of his mouth.

I ought to be ashamed of myself, but he loves it.

Seattle Terror

Did y'all happen to notice that two guys were arrested recently for conspiring to shoot-up a military recruiting station in Seattle? Yeah, two guys,

Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, who also went by Joseph Anthony Davis, 33, of Seattle, and Walli Mujahidh, also known as Frederick Domingue, Jr., 32, of Los Angeles, will face terrorism and firearms charges for the suspected plot.

We're not sure what prompted them to want to shoot up the place, but according to an Assistant AG...

"Driven by a violent, extreme ideology, these two young Americans are charged with plotting to murder men and women who were enlisting in the Armed Forces to serve and protect our country," said Todd Hinnen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

But, no one identifies that violent, extreme ideology. Were they birthers? Truthers? Episcopalians? Mennonites? The report never identifies their violent ideology.

I wonder?

Minot

Minot, North Dakota is flooding. The river over topped the levees and from all accounts, a sizeable portion of the town is destroyed. Minot is a town of about 36,000 and estimates say that as many as 12,000 residents have been displaced. Instapundit reports on a reader email.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of houses will be destroyed. I live on the South Hill, and thankfully, my home appears safe from the flooding. However, many of my friends and co-workers are not so fortunate. People have made their best efforts to move their belongings and prized possessions to higher ground, but everyday seems to bring worse news. 3 days in a row the predicted crest level has been higher than the previous day. Friends that two days ago thought they were safe found out yesterday that they were not. By the time this thing is over, perhaps a third of the town’s homes and businesses will be destroyed, along with the vital infrastructure that links the north hill and south hill neighborhoods.

The only silver lining to this disaster has been the response of the community. I am not from this part of the country (I hail from the East Coast) and nowhere that I have lived has ever faced this kind of adversity. But I would be proud to call this town my home. I have not seen one person whine or complain. I have not heard one hopeless person ask when the government or FEMA would rescue them. The town mobilized itself days ahead of the impending disaster and began planning for the worst; secondary levees and sandbag walls went up with breathtaking speed, and thousands of homes were evacuated without incident. Think of it as the anti-Katrina. Once the townspeople saw that their worst fears were about to be realized, and their homes and livelihoods destroyed, instead of giving up, they have only redoubled their efforts to save what can be saved. Their stoic determination in the face of absolute catastrophe amazes me.

As someone who has been flooded out of a house, I understand what these folks are going through. As I recall the experience, I never saw FEMA either, just local folks helping one another. FEMA has gotten better since the Katrina-Rita debacle, but you're still going to be on your own for three days.

Whitey

I see that the FBI got Whitey Bulger. He's been on the run for 16 years.

That's the problem with warrants. They never go away. Eventually, they catch up with you.

Pot Roast

With all the rain, I decided today to make a pot roast. It's one of my family's favorites, and one that I learned at my grandfather's knee. The recipe is here, but I decided today to include a green pepper in the mix, along with the onion and carrots.

That dutch oven is going into the oven for four hours. Closer to dinner, I'll cut up some new potatoes and make mashed potatoes with the skin on them. This is old-style cooking from my childhood.

Skeered

It's been lightning and thundering for two days and my dog is skeered slap to death.

He's hiding under anything he can get under.

.35 Remington

I profess a love and long abiding respect for the .35 Remington. The cartridge has been around a long time. It was originally chambered in the Remington Model 8 rifle in 1908. It's probably the last of the line of mid-powered rimless cartridges that were designed for early autoloaders of that period. Framk Hamer used a Remington Model 8 in the ambush that ended the career of outlaw Clyde Barrow.

When I was a tender youth, my buddy shot a .35 Remington and propounded on the advantages of the cartridge as a dense woods deer rifle. I couldn't afford a centerfire rifle, but I listened to my buddy and dreamed of the day I could put cash down on such a masterpiece of engineering. Then, one day when I was in college I was walking through a hardware store and saw a Marlin 336 in the rack. I asked to look at it and saw that it was chambered in .35 Remington. The price tag, new in box, was $87.50, still more than I could afford, but the counterguy told me that they had a layaway plan. So, I plunked down $10.00 to hold it, and started saving my pennies to buy the rifle. In ninety days it was mine, paid in full, and I realized I didn't have enough hard cash to afford ammo, so I waited another 30 days to afford $8.00 for a box of Remington ammo.

A friend of mine went with me to a convenient pipeline and we set up a target and sighted the rifle. I still had 10 rounds of ammo left at the end of that exercise and no more money in my pocket.

Several weeks later I was walking down a logging road with Joe Duhon, a classmate, in the Kisatchie Forest just south of Provencal, LA. We were late getting to the woods, Joe having stuck his Volkswagen in a mud hole. As we walked down Kisatchie creek, a deer stepped out of the trees and started across that tiny road. I threw the rifle up, snapped a shot and Joe and I were surprised to watch the animal spin around like he was pole-axed and drop into the dust, dead as Het. The deer kicked twice and lay still. Joe and I looked at each other, then started pacing the distance. Eighty-seven long steps. When I examined the deer, the reason for his demise was apparent. The big 200 grain bullet had entered at the point of the right jaw, traversed the neck and come out on the other side of his head. He was a middling spike buck, but for two starving college students he represented a lot of meat. Getting that deer into Joe's Volkswagen is another story. Suffice it to say that the front luggage compartment was covered in blood before we unloaded it.

The .35 Remington is considered a rather anemic cartridge. It throws a 200 grain bullet at about 2000 fps. It's long been overshadowed by other cartridges, but every deer I've killed with that rifle has exhibited much the same tendencies. They fall over, kick once, and die. There's something about putting a 200 grain slug into play that seems to end the discussion. The old slow-moving cartridges do a magnificent job when used the way the old-timers intended them to be used.

I use just one bullet in the .35 Remington. The Remington Core-Lokt 200 grain bullet. Pushed by IMR 4895, it trundles along and hits the target with surprising accuracy. Marlin still makes the 336 in .35 Remintgon. At 38 inches and 7 pounds, it's pretty much a perfect woods rifle. I suspect they cost more now than when I bought mine in '74. At some point, I put a 2X Simmons scope on my rifle and it's taken several deer over the past 38 years.

Several years ago, I passed that rifle down to my son, who also has sons. We were talking about an upcoming shooting trip and he mentioned that he was thinking about bringing the Marlin. I rummaged around on my bench and found some Winchester brass and a few old left-over Core-Lokt bullets. We'll see next week if the rifle can still shoot.

Yeah, there are faster, flatter shooting cartridges out there, but there's something special about the .35 Remington.

More on Gunrunner

The revelations just keep coming. The New York Post opines that it may go far beyond the ATF.

"They had to go to Justice to get money, to get FBI agents [and] all of the other people that helped coordinate this and to get the wiretaps they used," said Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

We're starting to see Eric Holder's name attached to the conspiracy, and if he didn't know about it, he should have known about it.

As for Holder, said Issa, "he should have known. It was his obligation to know." And other committee officials insist "it's quite certain that Kenneth Melson was not the principal architect of this plan."

Melson is going to be the initial scapegoat. However, this investigation should go beyond Melson. I'm convinced that at the very least, Holder should face indictment.

Blessed Rain

The day began dark with overcast. As the sun rose, the sky was yellow and the wind began to pick up. The rain started in earnest at about 9:00 and has been steady since. It's coming down in buckets and I've pretty much shut down the days activities. I managed to get the one onerous job done before the rain started and right now I'm listening to thunder and surfing the web.

Most of this will run off, but the ground is getting a well-deserved drink of water. The dog is cowering under my chair, scared to death of all the commotion outside.

As far as I'm concerned it can continue like this all day. I've got red beans and sausage in the slow cooker, and sandwich fixings in the fridge. I'll continue to comfort the dog and watch the rain.

Rain

Late this afternoon we had the first measurable rain since May 21st. Thirty days without rain. That just ain't natural for Louisiana.

It wasn't much, but it beat the hell out of nothing. The National Weather Service says we might get some more tomorrow.

Very good pilot

This guy lands a small aircraft on the roof of a motor home. Impressive.


LiveLeak.com - very good pilot

Remember

Do you remember when you could put your own foot in your mouth?

Me neither.

The house has been full of grandkids all day. The last one just left.

In the gift bag, I got a new McManus book. I'll start reading it tonight.

Sunday Morning Dawg

We've been eating outside by the pool quite a bit, or better yet, sending the grandkids out to eat by the pool. The dog has learned that scraps appear near the patio furniture.

Here's he's trying to figure out how to get on the table.

Even though there are lots of gleanings under the table. He doesn't look like he's starving.

Father's Day

I'm told that this weekend is Father's Day weekend, and if I know my children, they'll do something appropriate. I don't really need anything, so presents fall into the "cool" category. I've already written about one gift I've received, and it's a huckleberry.

The one thing I'd like this Father's Day is something I can't have. I'd like to spend just one more hour with my old man. To drink one more cup of afternoon coffee.

I miss you Old Man.

Babysitting

We're babysitting the three-year-old and after supper, he gets a bag of dinosaur fruit gushers as a dessert. He's running his mouth like kids do and he asks me what's the name of the dinosaur he's holding in his hand. I tell him "Ernie". That satisfies him and he eats the candy. Several minutes go by and he's got another piece of candy in his hand. "I got another Ernie."

The kid's gonna think that dinosaurs were named Ralph, Bob, and Ernie. I ought to be ashamed of myself.

Final Quals

I went to the range this morning for an optional qualification. We're only required to qualify with the duty pistol and the shotgun, but I wanted to qualify with my Model 60 and my rifle. We went to the rifle range first.

My carbine is a bone stock Bushmaster XM15-E2S. Basically, a 16" heavy barrel carbine with no extras. Not even a scope. It's basically the same rifle I used in the Army for about 25 years. One of these days I'd like to get a better trigger for it, because it's got a gritty trigger, but I've been shooting rifles like this all my adult life. I cleaned the course with it. No problem

There were three other guys on the line with their heavily modified, short barreled tactical carbines. They all scored under me. The old guy with the stock rifle ruled the firing line. There's a lesson there for the younger guys. Don't get cocky. That old guy with the iron-sighted rifle might show you a thing or two.

After that was done, we walked over to the pistol lanes to qualify with our backup pistols. I shot my Model 60 and dropped several rounds low. Still qualified easily and if those shots had been on a goblin, he'd be wandering around with a bad lower GI tract. We'd probably find him at the emergency room. They just weren't good solid center-mass shots.

Now it's time to take a break for a couple of days, catch up with the grass cutting and load some more ammo. Late next week I'll start re-learning the trigger on that M&P 45.

New Cell Phone

I got a new cell phone today. One that I can operate.

Stolen from this guy.

Score

I went out to the sheriff's firing range this morning to get some trigger time on my Model 60. I want to qualify with it tomorrow morning and needed to put a couple (of dozen) rounds downrange to re-acquaint myself with the trigger.

The sheriff has several ranges there, one of them is called the Citizen's range, and it's generally open for the citizenry to use. 8:00-4:00 Tuesday through Friday, there's normally someone available to open the range and serve as rangemaster, subject to no tragedies or hot call-outs.

Someone was using the qualification range, so I wandered down to the citizens range and found the red flag flying. Talked to the rangemaster, posted a target and started working on my 25 yard shooting. I spent about an hour on the line, working my sights, taking time with my trigger and wearing a blister on my index finger.

The police marksmen use that part of the range because it features a 300 yard berm with good target backers. They use the standard cartridge for police marksmen, which is the .308 Winchester, and they use the good stuff, Federal Gold Medal Match. I happened to look in the brass bucket, and what did I spot? Spent .308 brass. All Federal GMM brass. 60 rounds. I know it's once-fired because none of those guys reload. They all shoot the sheriff's ammo. Plus, 20 rounds of Hornady Match brass. Oh, score.

It's full-length sized, deprimed and rumbling in the tumbler as I type this.

Poor Losers

It seems that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup and the poor losers in Vancouver decided to riot.

I've worked a lot of sporting events during my time as a cop and poor losers are the biggest source of trouble. People wanting to fight because their team lost. Losers! They should have big red L's tattooed on their foreheads.

I don't understand people who get so riled-up about a sporting event in which they're not competing. Sure, I understand supporting a team, but when folks get so wrapped up in a game that they can't maintain control of their emotions they shouldn't come out at all.

It's a game, folks, played by children. Whether it's basketball or football, or soccer, or baseball, or even hockey. They are all games played by children. Someone is going to win and someone is going to lose.

It's okay to suffer defeat in a sporting event. That's how the game is designed. What is not okay is the inability to handle defeat. It's only a game. A game that children play. If you can't handle that, then you're a loser in more ways than I can describe. Stay home and let the rest of us enjoy the game for what it is.

Retrainer Day Three

Day three of the retrainer and we went to a shoot house at the local National Guard Camp, Camp Beauregard. The Army and the National Guard are seamlessly integrated like never before, with scores of thousands of Guardsmen having been deployed over the last twenty years. The Guard trains their troops to real-world standards and one of the things they have to learn is how to clear houses and rooms.

So, the Guard builds what it calls a MATCH house. MATCH is an acronym for Modular Armored Tactical Combat House and it's basically a big steel building sandwiched with steel and plywood walls, with hallways and doorways and rooms that the trainers can configure to several different scenarios. In these houses you use live ammunition with total confidence that the ammo won't leave the house. A facility like this trains our troops in the real-world scenarios they're likely to encounter while deployed. The house has speakers and is totally wired for video so that training exercises can be captured for review at a later date.

Facilities like this insure that our troops are completely trained-up before they move to deployment. It keeps them safe, keeps them professional and is an asset to any training calendar. It's a real-world, train as you fight type facility and it teaches our troops to get used to firing in a building, increasing their muzzle awareness and taking out targets in close combat.

A long hallway with several doors looks remarkably like the hallway of a school, and we often train on active-shooter scenarios. The MATCH house is perfectly configured to support this type of training, and the Guard lets us borrow their facilities when they're not using them. So, today we scheduled the MATCH house and spent the day conducting one-officer, two-officer, and three-officer scenarios with live ammunition.

Today was probably the very best training we've had on this type of scenario-based exercise.

New Holster

My son came in an hour ago and presented me with a new holster, custom made inside-waist-band for my Smith and Wesson Model 60.

It's a beauty, ain't it? Made from stiff saddle-leather, it's strong enough that it doesn't collapse when I draw the revolver.

As a fancy added touch, he included my brand into the corner stitching. I registered this brand when I was in the cattle business and it's become sort of an unofficial trademark for everything that we hand-produce. The photo shows the quality of the stitching.

How's that for a Father's Day gift?

Electric cars

They may not be all that green. A new study out questions whether the benefits of electric autos outweigh the effect on the environment.

Many electric cars are expected to need a replacement battery after a few years. Once the emissions from producing the second battery are added in, the total CO2 from producing an electric car rises to 12.6 tonnes, compared with 5.6 tonnes for a petrol car. Disposal also produces double the emissions because of the energy consumed in recovering and recycling metals in the battery. The study also took into account carbon emitted to generate the grid electricity consumed.

Oh, damn! The amount of carbon generated over the life of an electric car is over double that produced by a contemporary internal combustion engine.

Whaddya expect from coal powered vehicles?

Retrainer Day Two

Retrainer day two is over. Range day. This morning we qualified with the handgun and the shotgun. The handgun we use is the Smith and Wesson M&P 45. Some like it, some don't. I'm not crazy about it because I don't shoot it well. I never had any trouble qualifying with my revolvers or my 1911 Kimber, but two years ago the Sheriff issued us the Smith autos and I've been struggling to qualify with it. Oh, I qualified, but not with the scores I'd like.

I know that I need more trigger time with that pistol and that's something I've got to make time for. It's important that I shoot that pistol as accurately as I can and I've just got to learn to deal with that trigger.

The shotgun, on the other hand, was a real eye-opener. Shotgun qualification, while not difficult, is fairly random, as you have to deal with buckshot patterns. Until today. We used the Federal Premium ammo with the Flite Control wad, and the performance of that shell is magnificent. Even at 25 yards, all nine buckshot were hitting the target in a pattern of about 6 inches. If you were putting the bead on the center-mass of the target, you were blowing a big hole through the center of it. Qualifications in this state is 12 rounds, two slug and 10 buckshot. They count the holes in the target and with 9 pellets per shell and 2 slugs that comes to a possible 92 points. Lots of folks were qualifying in the high 80s

That Federal shotgun ammo is some good stuff.

Tomorrow is day three, the shoot house. It's time to run and gun.

Oh, Damn!

It seems that a news reporter found a brand new police car up on blocks after the car had been left at an electronics shop.

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) -A brand new Shreveport Police vehicle was discovered early Monday morning on cinder blocks, all four tires and rims stolen.

KSLA News 12's Adam Hooper actually reported the crime to police just before 3:00 a.m.

The car was parked at a Stoner Avenue electronics shop waiting to have equipment installed in it.

Somebody's going to jail over that! Mark my word.

Day One

Day One of our retrainer is defensive tactics. We use the Monadnock Defensive Tactics system and it's a one day retrainer. It's done.

Yes, it's good training. Yes, it's necessary for us to do our jobs. Yes, it sucks. Really, truly sucks. There's nothing enjoyable about it. It simply sucks.

Now, I've met the standards for another year.

Retrainer

I've got retrainer this week. Today, Tuesday and Wednesday. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it's a time when police officers re-do their professional qualifications on such things as required by law. Once a year I've got to be re-certified.

It's a pain in the butt, but I get to network with some good people, some of those folks I only see once a year. In a few minutes I'll be loading my gear into the truck and heading for the training site.

Oh, joy.

A Tale of Two Tumblers

I've been reloading for nigh on 40 years and never felt the need to buy a tumbler. If my brass was dirty, I washed it with soap and water and let it dry. However, I don't think that I'm too old to learn new tricks, and the forums kept extolling the benefits of tumbling brass. But I'm frugal and didn't want to spend an enormous amount of money on something I might not like.

Then I was surfing around Midsouth Shooters Supply and came upon a new item, the Smart Reloader SR737 Nano. It cost only $23.48, and I was making a bullet order anyway, so I clicked it into the cart and paid for it. I figured I'd give it a whirl and see what I'd been missing.

Just about the time the order shipped from Midway, I got an email from a reader, we'll call him John, who told me that he had an old Dillon Reloader tumbler, a CV-500 that he hadn't used in a decade and he was sending it via the UPS truck. Gratis.

Well, hell, I thought. Now I'm going to have not one tumbler, but two. And in the space of a week both showed up at my door.

Let's talk about the little one, the Nano. It is touted as holding 300 9mm cases, and it might. I own no 9mm guns. As you can see from the photograph, it is considerably smaller than the Dillon and takes up a lot less space on the bench. It buzzes, not unpleasantly, but you can tell when it's plugged-in. It doesn't have an on-off switch so it's either plugged in or not.

As soon as it came in, I unpacked it and put it on the bench. Added a little media and some .38 special cases and plugged it in. I immediately noticed that with the light weight and the vibrating motor, it wanted to walk across the bench. I placed it behind my press and let it vibrate. Got busy doing other tasks and in about an hour, realized that I didn't hear it vibrating. I went out to check on it, and it had turned itself off.

Hmmm. The motor was warm, so I unplugged it and opened it. The cases were clean. Very good. The fact that it had turned itself off was disconcerting, but in another hour I plugged it in again as a test and it started happily vibrating. Okay. Whether through design or design fault, it turns itself off.

In another day or so, a big box arrived at my door. The Dillon! I also unpacked it and got some media. This thing is a hoss! Compared to the Nano, it's a monster. It's heavy, weighing about five times what the Nano weighs. When you plug it in, you notice it's got an on-off switch and when you turn it on it's heavy enough that it doesn't try to walk off the bench. It's heavy, solidly made, a tribute to the Dillon name. It also holds about three times as much media as the Nano.

I dumped in a gallon zipper bag of .223 cases and turned it on. This big tumbler isn't as noisy as the little Nano. I let it run for an hour and opened the lid. The cases were clean.

Now I've got two tumblers, and I use them both. For big jobs, or jobs that I want to run for more than an hour, the Dillon gets the nod. It's a beast of a machine and I like it a lot. For the small jobs, say 50 cases of .308 after decapping, the Nano gets the nod. I keep it on the bench and I'll drop in a handful of cases to clean the resizing lube off the cases before reloading.

I use lizard media that I buy from the local pet store. It's fine enough that it doesn't clog flash holes and it flows easily from .223 cases.

Many thanks to reader John, who sent me the big Dillon and taught an old dog a new trick. I like both tumblers and each of them has a place on my bench.

Sunday Morning Dawg

This dog loves his ball. It's a miniature basketball I got at a promotion and brought home to him. When I was cussing and raising hell at the plumbing problem I had last week, the dog gathered the only two things that mean anything to him, and he went into a convenient corner until the ruckus died down.

His ball and a dryer sheet. He loves dryer sheets, although I don't know why. Sometimes you'll see him carrying a dryer sheet around. Go figure.

Then, later in the week when I rented the carpet cleaning machine, you'd have thought that I brought aliens into the house. The dog did not like that carpet machine. So, of course, he had to go find his ball. God Forbid that damned machine would tamper with his ball.

I'd love to know what goes on in that dog's head.

Honey-do list

At this point of the summer I've comepleted my honey-do list. My honey didn't fill it, but other obligations like church and family have been requesting attention. This morning I rented a carpet cleaner and did some work in the living room and hall, then I went over to the church to replace a fill valve in one of the bathrooms. I used a Fluidmaster replacement valve, installed it, checked for leaks, flushed it half a dozen times and things seem to be okay.

Now I'm going to take a break and pack an overnight bag. Milady and I have tickets for a Bill Medley (Righteous Brothers) concert tonight and we'll leave here later this afternoon.

No Crime Scene

Did you see this?

It was a bombshell tip that led to potentially the largest police investigation in the history of Liberty County, Texas: an informant said that dozens of bodies, some of them children, were buried in a mass grave outside a rural home. As law enforcement officials -- from local police to federal agents -- swarmed on the home, their every move followed closely by eager reporters, a small problem emerged. The tip had been called in by someone claiming to be a psychic and it turned out to be completely wrong.

Well, damn! That's got to be embarrassing.

The cops couldn't not act on a tip of thirty bodies, including children, buried in a mass grave, but the psychic didn't get it right.

"No bodies were found [and] there is nothing to indicate a homicide occurred here," Capt. Rex Evans of the Liberty County Sheriff's Office told the assembled group of reporters outside the home Tuesday night, after hours of waiting and speculation.

I bet that they're looking into their psychic.

Hurricane season

I see that there's a named hurricane in the Pacific, off the coast of Mexico. Named Adrian, it's predicted to remain offshore, traveling in a westerly direction as they normally do.

As of yet, there is no cyclonic activity in the Atlantic ocean. In the Atlantic basin, the first named hurricane for 2011 will be known as Arlene.