#97743 - 12/12/11 09:13 AM
Torn between two loves
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guitarpicva
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Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 661
Loc: VA
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It was like something out of a Keystone Cops movie, particularly since it all happened in silence.
I was 17 feet in the air, cradling my Bisley in my cross-draw holster, with the Encore muzzleloader propped advantageously across my shooting rail. I was all set for anything!
The dogs had begun their run in the hunt club next door to the farm I hunt, so I was alert for runners. "Woof, woof, woof!" in the distance, was followed not long afterward by some bright white flags prancing at the base of the hill I sat upon.
They were coming in my general direction, so the muzzleloader came up to my shoulder in anticipation of a 50-100 yard shot. -------- Quiet followed, and no movement. They zigged when I had hoped for them to zag.
The next thing I hear is a casual loping along over my left shoulder. "Those STUPID DOGS!" I murmured to myself. Peeking over my shoulder I could see only a reddish-brown blur (courtesy of my nearsightedness and not wanting to turn too far too quickly). "That trotting has to be a dog who's lost his scent", I thought.
The next thing I knew, I had a wide-bodied great grandma doe trotting right in front of my stand and me holding a rifle with the scope set on 5x. The trees to my right are thick and lots of saplings, so no shot that direction. By the time my brain caught up with my eyes, she was over the hill and gone.
Great news is, she didn't wind me and didn't see me. Sad news is, that would have put a fair amount of meat in the freezer for the coming year.
This is the second time in a week that I had the wrong gun in my hands when it came time to act. I'm beginning to think I want to buy a lever action with a good peep sight and be done with it!
In a word, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
The Encore never ceases to amaze me, however. While adjusting my boot, I dropped the gun on it's muzzle in the wet dirt of the huge hill I climb in the morning. It had a plug of junk in it so I snapped off a twig and cleaned it out the best I could. Most of it happened to be in the QLA area which has no rifling. I was really concerned all day that I would have a poor shot with that bit of dirt in the barrel. Well, as I got down for the afternoon, I took aim at a piece of white paper I had stuck in a hole in our informal target board. The bullet went right through the hole from a kneeling stance at about 100 yds., cut the paper in two and left me with a sigh of relief. For any of you who have ever wondered about Blackhorn 209, that charge has been in the rifle since Nov. 5, 2011.
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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#97796 - 12/12/11 04:37 PM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: guitarpicva]
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TCTex.
Shootist
Registered: 09/01/07
Posts: 6246
Loc: Texas!!!
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Just give thanks to the Lord that you are in the stand hunting!
_________________________
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well armed lamb Benjamin Franklin 
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#97825 - 12/12/11 09:40 PM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: TCTex.]
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wapitirod
Distinguished Master
Registered: 01/19/05
Posts: 5703
Loc: Tillamook, Oregon
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I hear you, I love all weapons and sometimes I'd love to take out my old lever guns. The problem I have here is you only have one opportunity a year for deer and elk with exception being for some of the special anterless draw hunts but those are few and far between. If I lived in an area with liberal limits as in the east and south I'd have a different gun out for each animal. I guess it's a trade off, you guys have a lot of deer and big limits but those of us in the west have millions of acres of public land, mountains with elk, deer, sheep, goats, bears, cats and antelope.
_________________________
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.- John Wayne http://www.dixiefirearms.net
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#97842 - 12/12/11 11:15 PM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: wapitirod]
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Dave Tarbell
enthusiast
Registered: 02/11/11
Posts: 358
Loc: North Dakota
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Just take one or the other,I figured if I wanted to fill a tag with a handgun Id better not have a rifle with me.
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Dave Tarbell
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#97844 - 12/12/11 11:26 PM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: Dave Tarbell]
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wapitirod
Distinguished Master
Registered: 01/19/05
Posts: 5703
Loc: Tillamook, Oregon
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now you did it, I took my limited edition Marlin 1895 Cowboy 45-70 out of the case and started messing with it and now I've got all the tools out to go through the action on it and I'm thinking of taking it on my ag damage elk hunt. See what you started! The only modifications to the gun is a leather butt pad and a Williams Target style rear peep. I bought the sight so I could adjust windage and elevation on the fly but so far I haven't shot it past zeroing it at 100yds and it will shoot 2 to 3"groups with the peep sight no problem. I did buy a front globe for it too but I haven't messed with it yet.
_________________________
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.- John Wayne http://www.dixiefirearms.net
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#97860 - 12/13/11 09:02 AM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: wapitirod]
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wapitirod
Distinguished Master
Registered: 01/19/05
Posts: 5703
Loc: Tillamook, Oregon
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I want you to know I spent two hours honing and polishing as well as shortening the hammer spring and reshaping the sear engagement point on my hammer. I also had a Wild West Guns "happy trigger" kit which takes the play out of a Marlin trigger so I polished the sear that came with it and now I have a trigger that breaks at exactly two pounds with no creep. As soon as your finger applies two pounds of pressure it breaks.. I also forgot this particular Marlin has the 24" barrel, no recoil pad (that's the reason for the leather butt wrap) and has the half octagon barrel. She is a sweetheart and now thanks to you I'm thinking I'll leave the Encores at home and take a holstered revolver and impose a 50-75 yd limit and then over that go with the cowboy gun. The only problem is I have it set up more as a long range hammer since I wanted to eventually start doing that with it so I'm shooting lead. I'm shooting 430gr Oregon Trail Trueshots (I'm using the hardcast to reduce leading) and I'm running them 2000fps. To say the gun kicks is an understatement but it's fun. I'll eventually put a vernier sight on it but I'm having trouble swallowing the 300.00-400.00 price tag for the rear sight, then I'll put the front globe on it. It would make sense though since it's basicly a copy of what was a late model buffalo gun and this elk hunt will probably be more like a buff hunt than a typical elk hunt. I found out the way it will work is the farmer will call me when the elk are in his pasture and then I'll drive out there and sneak out along a ridge paralleling the back pasture where they come in and I'll have enough cover to stay hidden. I should have all the time in the world to pick my animal and take the shot I want. The trick is to drop it in the field so it can be retrieved with a tractor, especially since I'm less than two weeks out from a major back surgery. Too bad if I've hijacked your thread since you started this. I guess If I do use the lever gun I'll just have to post the pic either here or on shooters bench but we can still add it to the website since it's another gun I modified. Some friend you are getting me all confused at the beginning of a hunt 
_________________________
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.- John Wayne http://www.dixiefirearms.net
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#97877 - 12/13/11 11:15 AM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: wapitirod]
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guitarpicva
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Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 661
Loc: VA
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Rod, that was my evil plan. To confuse you into using OTHER than a Dixie Firearms handgun! HA!
I really miss my family's lever gun. We had a Winchester Model 94 in .32 Winchester Special. It disappeared when my dad died and I never saw it again. It was originally bought by my grandfather probably in the 1940's or 1950's and had a Williams peep sight on it. It was used for deer hunting in Pennsylvania and Canada. The .32 Win Special was a particularly good "all 'round" cartridge too. Hard to find it chambered now, but Hornady is producing Leverevolution rounds for it, so maybe I'll come upon a specimen one of these days, and take a trip down memory lane.
Edited by guitarpicva (12/13/11 11:16 AM)
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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#97880 - 12/13/11 11:27 AM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: guitarpicva]
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guitarpicva
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Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 661
Loc: VA
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Rod, if you ever happen to come across a good deal on a 32 WS lever, holler at me.
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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#97881 - 12/13/11 11:37 AM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: guitarpicva]
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guitarpicva
addict
Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 661
Loc: VA
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It'd be fun to re-chamber it as a .32 Ackley Improved.
We're getting each other in trouble now!
Edited by guitarpicva (12/13/11 11:39 AM)
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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#97882 - 12/13/11 11:38 AM
Re: Torn between two loves
[Re: Dave Tarbell]
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guitarpicva
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Registered: 12/09/09
Posts: 661
Loc: VA
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Just take one or the other,I figured if I wanted to fill a tag with a handgun Id better not have a rifle with me.
You're right of course, and when I can be confident of the .44 mag at 50 yds, I will do that. I just wouldn't take a shot on game past 30 yds right now, so...
_________________________
guitarpicva |||||| [o] VA
AC4IY
...How long will you go limping between two different opinions?
If the LORD is God, follow him; ... 1 Kings 18
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