Now that I had my suppressor, the first order of business was to check existing loads to see if they still worked.
After that, all new loads would be developed with the suppressor on the rifle.
Continue readingSometimes during load development you can fall back on the wisdom of the ages: even allowing for improved components, you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel.
Such was the case with my 30-06, a rifle that was hugely popular decades before I was born–and still is. Lots of communal wisdom regarding pet loads out there.
I began the year with three beautiful bolt action rifles: two rebarreled Remington 700s in 270 Winchester and 30-06 Springfield, and a Tikka T3X in 6.5 Creedmoor.
They each shoot factory ammunition well and excel with handloads, and all three fit me like a glove. Between them, they could handle almost any reasonable shooting application.
My 6.5 Creedmoor and 270 Win (the latter rebarreled with a faster-twist offering) sufficed for light-to-medium hunting and target duty.
The 270 (with the 170 grain bullets made possible by the faster barrel twist) and 30-06 between them covered heavier projectile requirements.
However, there comes a time when one must abandon old ways and embrace the new.
Continue readingSetting optimum headspace on your rifle brass can be a confusing chore. But if I can do it, so can you.
Let’s start with the basics.
When I pull the trigger of a firearm, its firing pin strikes the cartridge primer, igniting it, which in turn sets off the powder charge.
I recently found a Rock Island Armory 1911 Ultra FS 10mm for sale on Gunbroker.com. It was marked down to an unbeatable price by one of my favorite sellers, so I pounced.
This after I’d said–not for the first time–“I don’t need any more guns!”
Continue readingMy heroic Johnson outboard motor took all my attempts at maintenance and repair in stride, so I decided to finish the project off with a flourish by adding a tachometer.
Tachometers serve many important functions, but my main reason for wanting to install this one was that it looked spiffy:
Having bought ANOTHER boat–a 1985 Bass Tracker–I promptly set about refurbishing it. Unlike the previous two, this one had been partially restored by a previous owner.
As I’ve mentioned, I didn’t agree with all of the decisions made along the way. The bright blue marine carpet, for example, was a bit garish for my tastes.
More importantly, the boat was underpowered: unless you’re in no hurry, a hull weighing 840 pounds needs more than 25 horsepower to push it.
Although I was tempted, the cost of a new engine far exceeded my budget. So it was that I entered the brave new world of used outboard motors.
Continue readingBy the time this spring rolled around, the 14-foot 1976 Gregor U-141 I refurbished last year was set up just the way I liked it: plenty of storage, a robust electrical system (patterned after the one on my old Mirro Craft), new paint, a reliable outboard, all mounted on a well-maintained trailer.
Whenever the subject came up, I proudly announced that “This is the last boat I’ll ever buy.”
When I noticed a partially refurbished 1985 Bass Tracker for sale on Facebook Marketplace, however, I was intrigued. “It can’t hurt just to look,” I told myself.
And so it happened that I bought my third boat in as many years, surprising no one–except myself.
Continue readingI took my recently refurbished 25-year-old Reflex Xtreme to the range to try it out: I clocked 425-grain arrows at an average of 245 fps, which equates to 56.57 ft-lbs of kinetic energy and .46 slug-fps of momentum.
In other words, it was hitting pretty hard. Not grizzly bear or Cape Buffalo hard, but certainly enough to dispatch the stoutest of zombies.
In a previous post I talked about paper tuning an old compound bow. Never one to leave well enough alone, I decided to go back and recheck the tune on my traditional bows while I was at it.
First up, my Howatt Savannah.
