MorgansBoss

We live in a rural area so we don't get any, but I always go to my dad's who still lives in the small town where I grew up, and pass out candy with him. Town's about one square mile - had about 150 to 200 kids! Went through two Walmart bags of candy.

I just can't tolerate rude CS people. Maybe its a sign of our times? Much to my displeasure, my grown kids answer their (personal) phones pretty much the same way. Maybe its growing up watching junk like Rosanne, Married with Children and The Simpsons? I didn't like em watching such trash but unfortunately my ex-wife didn't see the problem... and SHE was the religious one!

I'm sure not claiming credit but a couple weeks ago I issued a challenge to re-fill this great site with the kind of useful info the old one had. Maybe its just everyone getting in the mood with the approach of hunting season but it sure seems to be happening. There have been some terrific threads lately and the archive is beginning to get interesting again. Let's keep it up! FC, you can hold your head high! You've not only met Bill's challenge to build your own site - you've done it TWICE!!!!!!!!

Jerry, I'll qualify my comments right up front by saying I've never SEEN an elk in the wild, let alone shot one, but no less authority than Craig Boddington sets his "minimum elk cartridge" as the 30-06 w/ 180gr. bullets. That said, along with your criteria for "30 to 35 caliber" and "The least problems as far as chambering rounds and ejecting" and my assumption that your brother isn't a handloader since he's not too big on hunting anymore, leads to two main choices 30-06 and 35Whelen. Neither one is going to be much of an over 250 yard rifle. At least with enough umph to knock a 800+ lb. bull down reliably, but within the scope of limitations either one would be a good choice. Pretty much anything else is going to take some feeding and or bolt modification or else be a handloading only proposition (8mm-06 for instance) in a standard length action. Just my humble opinion as a yet uninitiated elk hunter! More experienced voices are invited to disagree.

"I haven't had a missfire or hangfire since I went to the shotgun primer adapter.I think those things would blow damp powder and ball out on it's own." I can tell you they will. Once had a shotshell go bad, the primer was enough to lodge the wad in the choke (the shot sprinkled in the water 5 to 10 feet away) then once the barrel was plugged the powder finally started to burn! Burning gas boiling out the loading port of my pump nearly did me in! Singed my eyebrows and lashes, hair sticking out under the bill of my hat and temporarily blinded me in my right eye. Just make sure the ball gets all the way out the barrel.

"I now understand the HEAVY bench part" The benches in my work room - which is heated & cooled - are relatively "light." Made of standard 2x10 lumber covered with thin plywood tops and using wooden legs. The main shop which is usually air temperature unless I'm forced to use the space heater in winter, is equipped with a "heavy" bench made with steel legs and full 2 1/2" oak planks. The photo above was taken in the work room for demonstration purposes. I rank a good vise the number one assest to a good shop, but a good vise needs a good bench to hold it!

I keep reading what you guys say about these things. To folks like me it seems like it'd be neat to have a "new" game animal around, but then I see the destruction like you picture and realize there's a price. The National Geographic channel had a show on several times recently about "Hogzillia." In it they chronicle the history and spread of feral hogs. If they're right, they predict these things will be pretty much nation-wide in another twenty years or so.

Gee, you mean ya'll got trees in Texas? They teach us its all brown grass and cactus... probably a ploy to keep us up here! I to ate a lot of squirrels as a kid only back then we mostly hunted em by floating the creeks and river and shooting em (and the occasional duck) with shotguns. These days there are too many city people living near the creeks who don't appreciate a day sneak boating with good friends or relatives. I took up hunting squirrels with .22 rifles about 15 years ago and now look back on the days spent doing so with my boys while they grew up the same as those long ago days floating with my uncles and oldest brother. This was the first I ever used a rifle other than a .22. My hummer actually started life as a M782 Marlin in .22WMR! Bought it for the wife and she never shot it so on a whim I ordered a .17 liner and reamer from Brownells this summer. Bored her out (the rifle!) and acraglassed the liner in on a Saturday. Sunday afternoon I stared reaming it with high hopes for testing it that day. Unfortunately, about 7/8 the way through I shattered the reamer - those little devils are mighty fragile! Ordered a new reamer, finished it the next Saturday and was very pleasantly surprised at the results. In fact I had to put a different scope on to do her justice. I use CCI ammo w/ 17gr. Speer TNT bullets. Unless you count the flopping around that one head-shot grey did, nothing I've shot with it yet has moved after being hit... and that includes one big groundhog (wood chuck for you folks north of PA) that probably went 15 lbs. Here's a pic of the rifle, the ammo and an actual 100 yard group to wet your whistle... that's a 30-06 shell for comparison.

Maybe you already know this but if not, and for anyone else who may read this, the consideration isn't in the SR barrel but rather the action. Take a look at a Marlin or Winchester lever action barrel sometime - they're thin! More over, the pre-M98 actions lacked several features included on the later ("improved" may we say?) action. Not necessarily in order of importance they are the gas deflecting shroud, the third bolt lug, the heavier receiver and the gas ports in the bolt. As alluded to above and mentioned in other posts - particularly concerning Scandinavian rifles on M96 actions - high-intensity cartridges HAVE been chambered on SR actions. Many of these are perfectly safe, but when an action of uncertain origin or condition is being used... better safe than sorry. That said, I like M93's! I have one with a "new" Swedish barrel in 6.5x55 that will shoot better than I can shoot it. With properly loaded 85 gr. HP's its a deadly varmint rifle to at least 250 yards (to the detriment of at least one groundhog). There are a host of possibilities available. If you don't have one get a copy of "Cartridges of the World" and peruse the listings. The neat thing about building rifles is that you aren't stuck with the same choices as the guy buying his rifle "off the shelf!" Good Luck!

Actually there isn't a lot I can add. I picked it up in a trade and suspect it originated from GPC. Under that pretty stain and multiple coats of tung oil is a (eh gads!) hardwood stock! I can't say for sure but think it may be maple from the scant stripes. BTW, the top two rifles have the button floor plate release I referred to in the "floor plate post."

These are neat gadgets. I've used the blow-gun on my air compressor to do it before to! Keep that muzzle in a safe direction when you blow her though, sometimes that ball can come out with enough force to hurt things. Lewis and Clark had a .69 cal. "air gun" on their journey. During a send off party some fool messing with it accidentially shot AND KILLED a young woman! Compressed air (or CO2) is not to be taken lightly.

Don't get the wrong impression, I'm not questioning your reasoning but simply making the point that 7x57 is a great chambering in its own right - something you probably know considering you already have one. How about another one? Say a Manlicher-style carbine. 7x57 is a perfect choice for such a rifle. Sure the short barrel doesn't give the round it's full potential but its a classic combo and the M93 action lends itself perfectly to such a light weight rifle! Did one up as a gift for a dear friend several years ago. He's a perfectionist and I went the extra mile on the rifle. He was delighted with it... but I could see in his face something was wrong. I pressured him until he admitted he didn't care for Manlicher-style stocks. There was nothing to do but take it back to the shop and bob the fore end! Soooooo, you see personal choice is a wonderful thing. Our ideas and suggestions here are just that - OUR ideas and suggestions. Take em with a grain of salt!

Haven't been squirrel hunting yet this fall due to the warm temps and then the archery & M/L deer hunters in the woods. I enjoy early fall days hunting tree rats. The weather is beautiful, the squirrels are active feeding on the abundant nuts and acorns and since squirrel hunting isn't as popular as it used to be, I pretty much have the woods to myself. This morning was grand, cool enough for a light jacket but sunny and pleasent. Went up to the mountian and as hoped the bushy tails were everywhere. The downside (if you can call it that) is that there are still lots of leaves on the trees making it difficult to get shots. Took the .17 to see how it would fair and couldn't have been happier! Three squirrels - two grays & a fox squirrel - for six shots. Every hit was DRT (dead right there). Both the grays were head shots, the big fox squirrel was taken behind the shoulder at approximately 65 yards. I'm typically very pessimistic about the usual hype surrounding "new" guns or ammo, but this .17 is a keeper! So far its been everything I've heard about it.

"I heard the old "product of two unwed parents" wrinkled & shriveled to the point..." I've lived next door to Virginia all my life and I've never known a gentleman of the old dominion to age in such fashion.

Once again... the barrel channel gremlin strikes. Several months ago I "re-did" an M93, 7x57 for a friend's daughter. Before any work was done the rifle shot decent. After modification it shot very decent. I presented the rifle and was sorry to hear that it didn't consistently fire factory ammo (I'd test fired with reloads). Back in the shop the culprit turned out to be a too tight mainspring. That fixed, firing was consistent but accuracy was now horrendous. Since about a month had gone by between repair and testing (don't ask!), I checked the crown and cartridge OAL (reloadeds again!) suspecting either a damaged crown or long throat (common on mil-surp 7mm's). Sitting at the bench and thinking it out led me to check the fore end. Alas, it was tight as a keg bung! For some reason I'd tightened the action screws... well, TIGHT and I do mean tight, for some reason. 3/4 turn back and the front screw was still "tight" but the fore end accepted the customary dollar with little resistance! It's a synthetic stock so no damage should have been done. Can't wait to get back to the range to check it out. I'd bet a paycheck it's shooting where it points again.

"Can early action ( 93 , 95) go to 06 ?" NO. The small ring or pre-98 actions were not designed for high intensity chamberings. SAAMI limit for 7x57 is 51,000PSI, which I believe translates to around 45,000 to 47,000CUP. Here is a chart on SAAMI spec's. http://mfrc.sizzlyhosting.com/index.php?showtopic=874 That said, it has been done, but is NOT recommended! The barrel can certainly be used on a LR/sm. thread Turk action but why? If you have a decent 7x57 barrel - it's such a sweet chambering in its own right - why change?

Yes we did eat the francolin and they were delicious! While there is a chef at the lodge (actually a local young woman who produces more South African cuisine than can be eaten), Christo cooked the birds himself. They were stewed in a pressure cooker with a sweet, red wine sauce and served as appetizers with the evening's sun downers. It was a challenge to get "my share" in the rush by everyone to eat the savory meat. Sorry I don't re-call the genus but these were the more prevalent specie. Not much for wing shooting. They refused to fly if running was possible and when they did get up the flight was only as far as the next bush where they dodged behind it, lit and ran like crazy. The locals head-shoot them with .22's when they want a few for the pot. Now, the red-necked francolin (I swear - with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy - that's what they're called) are more pheasant-like in behaviour and have a much more savory white meat like our ruffed grouse. Check out the spurs on those devils. Made the mistake of picking the first one up by the leg as I usually do with birds, OUCH! The sling is from South Africa and is made from crocodile tail with buffalo leather backing. Along with being neat looking, its also VERY comfortable for long distance carry. Not much as a shooting aid though.

Sorry FC, posting my whole collection is not something I have enough time for, but here are a few ya'll might find interesting. Maybe I can add some as time goes by. Photo one is three "wall hangers" from my home. Not the typical wall hanger as they all work as intended. My wife's grandfathers, Stevens double hammer gun, a Hopkins & Allen falling block .22 and a Meridian rolling block .22 Next is our "family of Mauser hunting rifles." Top is son #1's M96 in 6.5x55, then son #2's M98 in .270 (yes, with claw mounts), my wife's M98 in .308 and finally, my M98 in 7x64

Well, I don't have all the photos on the cumputer anymore but I've uploaded a few to the host site to share. There is one of my friend Christo and I with a Blesbok I shot (the fox terrier is a tracking dog used to find wounded game. He was in training on this hunt). There is one of some francolin I shot one morning, a Giraffe we caught crossing the road one day and one of the big centipedes that came out by the millions after a thunderstorm. The last one is the Wildebeest bull I shot with my 7x64. Yes Jerry, the rifle my wife is holding is a M98 in .308Win.

Well that was a pretty hokey production, but I certainly can't argue the message. Some still don't realize that T in spite of his TV persona is a very religious (Christian) man who is very active in promoting things most of us here would be proud of. That in mind I have to wonder the origins of this clip.

Here's the simple vise I described above.

I finally took the time to set up a photo host, hope this works. Its a photo of my wife & I with her Belsbok from April 2005.

Its nasty stuff and I've never used it specifically for soot, but Muriatic Acid (sulfuric acid) is the usual cleaner for masonry. Many home centers sell it both as Muratic acid and "Masonry Cleaner." Its also great for removing plating from metal but the resulting bear steel will rust almost immediately. DON'T let it touch aluminum! (something I learned the hard way!) If there is a "stove store" (wood stoves) in your area they should be able to tell you.

Once while eating in a truck stop I overheard two waitresses talking, one telling the other about her pot-bellied pigs. I made a joke about pork chops and she got down right nasty, "informing" me that these are not "eating type hogs" but just bred for pets. She seemed totally mystified when I asked her if she really believed that Vietnamese actually keep hogs "just as pets." Seems she did and couldn't grasp my point. She insisted that they are just like dogs. I just let it go instead of breaking the news that in Nam dogs are viewed as much as a meat source as "eating type hogs" are here. Sometimes its better to just let the stupid stay that way!

I work for the county (not yours Fritz!) and as a taxpayer it is really aggravating how they view these "grants" as free money. Hey, it might come from another source (feds, state, etc...) but its STILL tax money! Tax money that I paid at least part of. Being tax money they STILL have an obligation to spend it wisely... or at least I think they do but alas the powers that be don't have the same view.