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[that's]

I figured I might as well get this started now as I have some stuff to report before we even leave.



My youngest daughter and I are traveling to sakorick's to hunt whitetail deer. It'll be a first for her. In prep for that hunt, we had to pick a rifle for her to take, and get it, and her, ready. Turns out, her husband has a Bergara chambered in 6.5 Creedmore. I think many of you know how I feel about that cartridge, BUT... this rifle ticked an important box: 'friendly' recoil. Also, my son-in-law said it shot very straight.

It's kind of a 'bench' gun, weighing in, with the Vortex scope, at about 11.5 pounds. However, we'll be shooting from a blind, so she won't have to carry it far, and it will be on a rest when/if she shoots. The weight of course helps mitigate recoil, and the recoil from this cartridge is very mild anyway.

But there's always some hang-up, and this time is no exception. The only ammo my son-in-law had was Hornady "match" in 140-grain. Not being personally familiar with the cartridge, and not familiar with Hornady's match ammo, I wasn't comfortable with using it for hunting. (That said, I was pretty sure it would be 'fine'; most "match" ammo IS fine for hunting, but...) I bought some reloading dies so I could load some "hunting" ammo. Trouble was, I couldn't find any bullets. I wanted Accubond 140s. (There's a saga associated with getting those bullets, more lying bullet sellers. :frown) I called Rick and he said he had some, so I tentatively planned to take the dies to Missouri and reload some there. However, my son-in-law works in a knife store, and someone came in with some 6.5 Creedmore Nosler factory 140s. He bought two boxes.

In the mean time, I found a video on YouTube comparing the match 140s to the hunting 140s, complete with ballistic gel penetration tests. (It's a good watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm8wAXkVaxU) As I figured, there was no material difference between the match and hunting versions. Turned out, there was no difference at the range either. :D



Yesterday, the three of us went to the range to 1) make sure the rifle was sighted in for Caitlin, 2) get her at least somewhat familiar with shooting it, and 3) compare the point-of-impact differences between the Hornady match ammo and the Nosler hunting (Ballistic Tip) ammo. It was a successful day at the range, on several levels.

I had decided that we would use the match ammo to get on paper and get the scope dialed in for Caitlin. Once that was accomplished, we'd shoot the precious, (because of scarcity, and no ability to get any more before the hunt), hunting ammo to see if they shot to the same point of impact with the same point of aim. They did. And then some!

Sean thought the rifle was sighted in, so we started at 100 yard's, but it wasn't. After wasting a few rounds, I had them bring the target into 35 yards, and I bore-sighted it. When it was on paper, we moved back out to 100 yd. Caitlin shot three rounds for group and sight-in.


That's a nice group for 1) factory ammo, and 2) "unknown" rifle with 'new' ammo! Max spread is 0.85", windage max spread is 0.54" and elevation max spread is 0.84". That's good!

As you can see, the center of the group is a little left of point-of-aim (PoA), so I adjusted the scope and Caitlin shot three more.

Again, that's GOOD! Check out 'the numbers'. They're almost identical to the first three shots. Max spread - 0.84"; max windage spread - 0.50"; max elevation spread - 0.77". That's 6 shots at much less than MoA WITH FACTORY AMMO from a 'strange' rifle. Gotta tell ya... I'm impressed with both the rifle and the ammo! There are more pleasant surprises to come.

Sean shoots next. The last four match rounds.

Check out the numbers! Max spread - 0.87"; max windage - 0.64"; max elevation spread - 0.77. Darn near identical to Caitlin's groups! Now that's surprising!

At that point, I wanted Caitlin to try the Nosler Ballistic Tips to see where they shot relative to the Hornady match bullets. Look at this!

The one high and right was called by Caitlin; she said she 'pulled it'. Also, including the flier, that's FIVE shots. The lowest hole is actually for two bullets. Look at the numbers (without the flier): Max spread - 0.79": max windage spread - 0.45"; max elevation spread - 0.65". AND, STILL CENTERED! Honestly, I'm slack-jawed. I've never seen anything like this. Two different manufactures of ammo, one "hunting", one "match". Both hit to the same PoI AND have the SAME GROUP SIZES.

I'm impressed! First with the Bergara, and second with the ammo! It's enough to make me give up reloading! (Not really. ) MAN!

The extra good news is that Caitlin is fully confident in her ability to hit what she aims at with that rifle. And... we still have a full box plus 15 of the Nosler Ballistic Tips. :grin:

Of course I had to combine all the shots into one 'digital' target, and especially since the groups between Caitlin and Sean were so similar. Here's the digital target of all of the shots except the one flier.
 

Nice, huh! Here are the numbers: Max spread - 1.07"; max windage spread - 0.68"; max elevation spread - 0.99". Even with combining two shooters, two manufacturers of the ammo, and two types of ammo, It's STILL MoA over 14 rounds! That, to me, is impressive!

Sean shooting, me spotting.


The whole target.




Paul

AKA Highbush cranberry. A very important winter food source for gallinaceous birds (pheasants, grouse, etc.), and something I find very pretty in the gray of winter.












Paul

PS - Of course, the taxonomists, ever hungry for "recognition", have had their way with this organism too, so you will find it under various scientific names. Just another example of the corruption of Science. Binomial nomenclature was created to make naming organism UNIFORM. To CLARIFY; to facilitate communication; to eliminate the confusion caused by having to use common, colloquial names. Where are we now? Back where we were before Carl Linnaeus. Due primarily to the egos of scientists, back in the age of voodoo, where "science" is the new religion, and evolution is the canon of the church.

Paul

I saw a Browning A5 16ga on a local auction and I have an aquaintence that is looking for such, so I had to go through the 'evaluation' process on the piece. In doing so, it got me to thinking about the ones I have, so I got mine out and 'looked them over'.

One is a 1941 Belgian-made Browning. It is of course a sweetheart. Such a well-crafted firearm!

The other is a Remington Model 11 Sportsman, made in 1923. It has the "Polychoke".

I'm on my phone as I type this, so when I get to my computer, I'll post some pictures.


Paul

[230]

The World Series is on, and I'm watching the pitchers throw the fastball at 93 to 98 miles per hour, and I got to thinkin': Just how much energy does that thing have when it hits a batter? So...:D

A regulation baseball weighs between 5 and 5.25 ounces. There are 437.5 grains in an ounce, so an official baseball weighs 5.25 * 437.5 grains. (2296.875 grains) Let's round that to 2295 grains.

Taking an average value between 93 and 98 miles per hour - say 95 - and converting that to feet per second, we have (95 m/h * 5280 feet/mile) / (60 seconds/minute * 60 minutes/hour) = 1393 feet per second.

Now think about that.

The average MV of a standard .45 ACP bullet weighing 230 grains, out of a 1911 pistol, is about 830 feet per second!

That 230-grain bullet doing 830 f/s has 288 ft-lb of energy at the muzzle. That 2295-grain baseball doing 1393 f/s, has EIGHT THOUSAND NINETY-THREE (8093) FOOT POUNDS of energy!

All of a sudden, I have greater respect for those guys that get hit with Major League pitches!

However, it does illustrate the significance of sectional density and frontal area.

Paul

Gunsmoke dual pistols and holsters.


Paul

Finally!

Grandsons with their new coonskin - "Dan'l Boone" - caps.


And the granddaughter with her mink hat.


Paul

Not the kind you might think on this site or by me.

I'm 70, and I have NEVER witnessed a baseball grand slam in real time... until today.

I saw Devers, of the Boston Red Sox, hit a two-out grand slam against the Houston Astros in the top of the first inning of game two of the 2021 ALCS.

Just goes to show, live long enough and you'll see just about 'everything'.

Paul

Cooking along smartly this morning. One of the things this recipe doesn't specify is the Original Gravity (OG). I set this batch to 1.060, and I expect it to finish (FG) at about 1.015-ish, making the ABV (alcohol by volume) about 6%-ish. However, this is supposed to make "5 gal". I have made several of these, both 'kit' and 'a la carte', and NONE of them have made 5 gallons! NONE. This one is barely 4. That's a TWENTY percent 'error'. How about going to the gas station and paying for 5 gallons of gas, and getting 4... I could make the volume 5 gallons, but I would have to add water. (In this case, almost a gallon.) Doing so, lowers the OG significantly, and therefore, also the ABV. It's unlikely I could get 4% ABV if I had added the necessary water to make 5 gallons. :frown



I haven't made this recipe before, so I'm hoping it turns out tasty. I'm sure it will be "ok", but I'd like it to be GREAT! We'll see.

News at ll.

 Paul

I'm going Missouri this November, as usual, to visit and hunt with sakorick. The differences this year will include the fact that my youngest daughter will be coming along to see if she can get a whitetail. To that end, we've been thinking about what rifle to bring for her. Looks like it's going to be her husband's Bergara, chambered in 6.5 Creedmore. Since the only ammo he has is Hornady "match" stuff, I'm going to have to load some "hunting" ammo for her. Since I am currently enamored with Accubonds, I have purchased 100 of them ($1.33 EACH :cens:), in 140 grain weight. QuickLOAD says Reloader 26 gives the highest velocity at the lowest pressure.

Of course I had to get a set of dies too. Not a lot of time to work up a load, but I've got a feeling it won't take a lot of fiddling to get 'close'. If the Creedmore 'comes in' quickly, I MIGHT also work on a load for one of my Carl Gustaf 6.5x55s. Because of the CG's 29" bbl, I can squeeze about 100 f/s more muzzle velocity out of it. However, no time to get a scope mounted, so...

I started this thread to document the load workup. I won't get the dies and bullets til this weekend, and I don't have any Reloader 26 in hand. I DO have 40 Creedmore cases. I'm HOPING I can find some Rel26 in Alaska.

Paul

My wife and I recently took a long overdue drive from Wasilla to West Point, Utah. The reasons for the trip were:
1) Deliver car to West Point so we have transportation when we visit the grandkids;
2) Take a vacation through the Canadian Rockies for our 32nd anniversary; and,
3) Visit the grandkids.


Y'all know my penchant for photography, and recently, I purchased a "new to me" Canon 70D camera body, AND a "new to me" Sigma 150-600mm lens. The primary intent of those purchases was to 'up my game' with wildlife photography. It worked - !

I took some 1500+ pictures on this trip. (Don't worry, I won't post all of them here!) Here are the first of those pictures I will post here at THL. These are elk in Jasper national park, Canada.







































Notice how fat and sleek the cows are!



Paul

Here's a time-lapse video of some poppies on my deck. I was trying to get a 'film' of one or more of them opening. I set the remote control for a picture every 3 minutes and to take 200 pictures. Unfortunately, the battery on the camera gave out after only 2.5 hours. Next one, I have shortened the interval to every 2 minutes, and I have ordered an auxiliary power source. Of course, by the time the auxiliary power source gets in my hands, all of the blossoms will have bloomed. Oh well. Learning is painful. Anyway, here's the video:


https://youtu.be/lMcyL7cl1sM
 

Paul

I have adjusted the allowable max size of images that the THL server will store. If you upload using the "Manage Attachments" tab at the bottom of the "New Thread" page, the images will still be at appended at the end of the post, NOT within the text. If you insert an image URL from an image hosting site like PostImage, there is no size limit and the image will be inserted in the text where you put the URL.

Paul

Since the project has progressed from the planning stage to the doing stage, I decided to start a thread specific to the build.

I finally, today, July 13th, got the reamer to cut the reloading dies from Pacific Tool and Gauge. I have the die blanks, so now it's just a matter of  cutting the dies. J0e_bl0ggs suggested that I get the expander ball/button in carbide, and I think that's a good idea. Checking with Redding, they make decapping spindles for sale, but they don't sell them 'direct'. I have to go through a retailer. Ditto for the carbide button. Total cost $62.30. So considering the $180 for the reamer, the $50 for two die blanks ($25 each), and the $62 for the spindle with carbide button, I have "only" $292.30 invested in this die set. I think I could have gotten a die set from CH4D for less.

I'll post some pictures when I start making chips.


Paul

:cry:

Paul

11-week-old Jack Russell terrier: Henry.








Paul

I was 49 when I joined THL.

PAUL

Over the Memorial Day weekend, my wife, and my daughter's husband were out of state. I thought it would be a good opportunity for she and I to take a road trip, (that quintessential American "thing"), and visit some place she hadn't been in the state. Turned out, we ended up going to one of the very few places EYE hadn't been in the state. Here is a bit of a travelogue of our trip. Most of the pictures were taken by Caitlin, and there were pictures taken with four different cameras, (our cell phone cameras, and each of of our own DSLRs), so they're not necessarily in chronological order.  We went on one of the "loops" I like to take people on that visit the state - if they have the time: Wasilla to Glennallen, Glennallen to Tok, Tok to Delta Junction, (where Rick and I hunted buffalo), Delta Junction back to Glennallen, and Glennallen back to Wasilla. Total distance was a bit over 800 miles, and we only took about 36 hours because she had to be back home to teach, so there was a lot of driving. Nevertheless, "it isn't the destination, it's the journey". Also, we stopped frequently, and camped overnight, so there are plenty of good pictures. I have attached links to videos on YoutTube. Your computer's firewall MAY prevent you from viewing those videos FROM WITHIN THL. If so, COPY THE LINK and paste it in a new window in your browser. I think you'll like the pictures and videos.

We can start with a video of me catching some small grayling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNCMZ2DOBug

Here's one after release:


Here's where we started, (on the way to Glennallen), but the picture was taken at the end of the trip.


And some more on that leg of the trip:




The traffic was pretty bad once we turned north,






This is actually a place I hadn't been in Alaska. One of the very few: Nabesna. It's eastern Interior Alaska. Pretty desolate country. However, when that rat son of a bachelor Jimmy Carter was on his LAST DAY IN OFFICE, he "made" the Wrngle St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It's bigger than THIRTEEN STATES! Being a Park and Preserve, as a white man, I can't even pick up a rock without technically committing an arrestable offense! Of course if I were a native, I could hunt, fish, and trap, year round, with impunity. Makes me want to spit every time I hear the name. Nevertheless, we took the Nabesna road in about 30 miles.

Grr....

This is the road with the lowland tundra and taiga along side.


That's the Alaska range in the background (to the south),




The following pictures are where we camped for the night.




A found lure and a fisherman (me):






This is a red squirrel midden. They live underground in between the roots of spruce trees, the source of their food - spruce seeds. This is actually a small midden. Some of them have spruce cone scales a foot deep.






I fished, Caitlin took pictures.






Sap running down a spruce tree likely struck by lightening:










Dinner at about 11 PM. Hotdogs and brie cheese.


That's about it for the first day. Day two tomorrow. More videos.


Paul

Unlike many people that feed birds, I don't mind feeding the squirrels that also eat the bird's food. However, now and then, the squirrels will, 1) start burying sunflower seeds, or 2) start digging up my plants. That's a 'capital crime'. No reprieves.



Not 'through and through', I assure you! Once in the armpit from 16 feet, and he ran 8 feet before expiring!


How would you like to have ticks on you that RELATIVE size?

The cartridge. No powder, just primer. Not even as strong as a pellet gun, BUT... Quiet, and non-dangerous for downrange things or to be shooting 'upwards'.


The rifle.

Some of you may remember this "Teutonic .22".

Almost 'perfect' for this task - deck rodent felon execution - but barely adequate. Probably more effective with BRAIN shots, but outside the cranium probably only 'wounded', to die of starvation.

Anyway, fun to shoot without concern for "downrange" from my deck. Two or three more 'felons' to execute.

Paul

[FURIOUS]

Were I the kind that embarrassed easily, I'd be embarrassed to be a professional Fisheries Scientist having matriculated :grin: at the University of Kansas, and had never caught a paddlefish (Polyodon spathula). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddlefish) However, that 'condition' has been remedied. In spades!

The last couple of times I have been in Missouri visiting Sakorick and friends, the conversation has eventually gotten around to paddlefishing. After finding out that "John" was quite the paddlefisherman and seeing the amazing fish in his photo albums, I talked him into going "one more time" just to take this ol' sinner fishin' for a fish he'd never caught. Last January, we put together a plan to head down to John's old paddlefishing grounds, Lake of the Ozarks, and try to catch some paddlefish.

Relying entirely on John's organization, we made arrangements to rent some cabins at a fishing resort on the banks of the Lake of the Ozarks for the last week of the paddlefishing season. John recommended we go in the middle of the week to avoid the crowds that are getting to be "legendary". John was supplying the boat and the gear, and all "we" had to do was show up and catch fish. :D

I will digress briefly to relate two ancillary issues. First, is my attempt to drive through Canada down to Sakorick's house for this fishing trip. Afterward, I was going to leave my car at my house in Utah and fly back to Alaska. I'm not going to spend too much time on this because it still makes me FURIOUS just to think about it, and I would caution "you" not to try to defend the !@#$%^&ing rat sons of bachelors. In short, I was, according to THEIR webpage, completely compliant and qualified to drive through Canada. However, there was a caveat on the webpage: "Final decisions are up to the Guards at the border." I drove 8 hours from my house to the Canadian border where I ran into a little fascist with a gun. Skipping the interim elements, I was 'turned back', and told that if I attempted to try to enter again before the the border was "open", I would be arrested. I was thinking very evil, non-Christian thoughts, on the 8-hour drive back home.



Heading out on the fourth of April intending to be in Linneus, MO no later than the 17th as we were to be fishing on the 19th. I was running ahead of a storm I wanted to stay ahead of.






Some of the road hazards. Look closely.









The rest of the pics are just scenery in April in Alaska.





















Until here. According to the weather guessers, the wind was a steady 70 MPH with gusts to 90.




The second issue is associated with the facts that 1) I love most, (but not all), caviar, and 2) paddlefish, (AKA "spoonbill"), caviar is "to die for". Commercially, it goes for $35/oz.


8 hours out, and hours being 'detained' by the fascists at the border, and 8 hours back. Not a happy camper. Then I had to make a plane reservation to Kansas City. Grr.... I was not 'good company' for a couple of days.


Nevertheless, I flew down, (with an overnight in Seattle - :cens:) and Rick picked me up in KC on Saturday the 17th. There were four of us going: Rick, John, Jim, and I. We made final 'coordinations' and started leaning forward in the foxhole.

Monday was a travel day, and we weren't in any particular hurry to get to our destination. Rick dropped his dogs off in dog jail, and he and I met John and Jim there. From there we topped off our gas tanks and headed south for about a 2.5 hour drive. Since this was John's old fishing grounds, we drove right to the place. We checked in, asked all the usual questions one asks when on is on a fishing safari to 'distant lands', and checked out our cabins. They were rustic and small, but adequate for our needs. We wouldn't be in them much anyway.

Since we had arrived "early" with respect to when we planned to get 'serious' about fishing, we had the afternoon of Monday to make sure we and our gear were ready. We decided to go out for a shake-down cruise, (naval parlance). This would allow us to check out the boat's seaworthiness, the fishing gear, and get Rick and I, (the newbies), instructed on proper snagging procedures. We had a minor issue with the fuel line on the boat that was remedied with a little 'road-side repair', and we fished for a few hours, without success. Even so, we were not discouraged. That evening we ate at the Oar House, and John reconnected with several old acquaintances.


There was rumor of a storm coming, and we were watching the weather closely. Sure enough, a SERIOUS storm arrived that night, and we awoke to about and inch of SNOW on the ground IN SOUTHERN MISSOURI ON APRIL 20! We waited for a little while to see how things were going weather-wise, but we were there to FISH, so fishing we went!

You can see the boat we were using and the slip provided by the resort, in Rick's post below. As with all reservoirs, Lake of the Ozarks is a dammed river - the Ozark. In fact, it's dammed both upstream of where we were, and downstream. "They" were "releasing water" from the upstream dam, and there was actually a significant current in the water. It was much more like a river, than a lake. It was the warming flow of water that triggered the paddlefish to migrate upstream to spawn, and facilitate the fishery. The current also facilitated our method of fishing. The motor was running at idle, but we were fishing downstream with the current, snagging 'downstream' as the fish traveled upstream.

Our gear was heavy rods with large, open faced, level-wind reels. Much like you would see on ocean-going fishing rods. We used braided line that was at least 150-lb test. The rig went as follows:
A weight of 14 to 18 ounces was tied to the end of the line. 18" up the line was tied the first of three large (5/0) treble hooks. Three feet above that was the second, and another 3 feet above that was the last. The procedure was to let line out until the weight hit the bottom. (We were usually in about 30' of water.) Then allow the line to drift back until it made about a 45-degree angle with the water. At that point you set the reel to retrieve, and began large sweeps toward the bow of the boat, (downstream). When your sweep was complete, you let the line and rod drift back to the starting point, and do it again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And... well, you get the idea. It actually takes a bit of effort, and after a while, it's tiring.


We fished for a couple of hours without so much as a 'bite'. Snags are not infrequent, but we saved our gear most of the time. Finally, after a couple of hours, my line went ZZZZT, ZZZZT, ZZZZZT! FISH ON! Since it was my first ever paddlefish, and we were snagging, I didn't really have a clue about its size relative to other paddlefish. I knew it was bigger than a 5lb rainbow, or even maybe a 20lb coho, but beyond that, it was a mystery until it got close to the boat. Once John and Jim got a look at it, they were sure it was a 'big one'. YeeHaa! Finally - maybe 10 minutes, but not longer - John gaffed it, but it was so big, the gaff tore through its jaw! John said he had never in all his years had that happen before. John and Jim agreed that it was a "big" fish, but we didn't have a scale on board, so we'd have to wait until we got back to the dock to get an "official" weight. In the mean time, the sun had come out, and we were newly invigorated!

The daily bag limit is two per person, so my gear was back in the water PDQ. John, a bit jaded from catching so many over the years, was interested in fishing 'all of a sudden'. :D Life was good!

We fished for about 4 more hours, and among us, we caught 4 fish. All of them in the 40 to 50 pound class according to John and Jim. We only weighed the 'big' one, which, in the end, tipped the scales at SEVENTY POUNDS! THAT's a BIG paddlefish. If I remember correctly, John said that he had only caught a few 70 pounders, and it took him "a long time". I was VERY fortunate to have caught that big a fish as my first fish!



Here's a picture of Rick, Jim, and John with that fish.



That night we did about the same: Ate at the Oar House and got up NOT at the crack of dawn, and went fishing. The third day wasn't much different. I think we might have fished a little longer, but we caught another 4 fish, and I caught a 60-pounder, and the smallest of all the paddlefish we caught, a 27-pounder.

John snagged a nice walleye that we subsequently released. (Can't keep snagged fish except paddlefish.)


Here is the four of us with the 60-pounder.


Here are a few pictures of  'goings on'.
"In the boat" after the first day of "real" fishing.



And "in the boat" after the second day of fishing.



Me wrestling the 60-pounder:



And a 50-pounder.


I was fascinated by these fish. I found them very striking. The following pictures may explain that to some degree.
This is the top of one of their heads. Note that the spots are actually 1) a cluster of smaller spots, and 2) they're actually "indented". I don't think they're actually JUST "spots" after all.




Here's a close-up of the operculum (gill cover). Fascinating! Look closely.


Moving out a bit.


And a bit more.




Here are a couple of pictures of the rostrum - AKA "paddle" - from whence their name derives. I strongly suspect there are sensory organs in that schnoz, and that the 'spots' are part of that sensory system.




There's more. Rick and I had a little "adventure" on the way back, and the 60-pounder was taken WHOLE back to Rick's place, where it was butchered and we made caviar. I'll get to that tomorrow.



Paul

That somebody besides me has taken Barnes to task for their outright BS. I encourage you to read the following:
https://bergerbullets.com/barnes-tests-proves-why-berger-hunting-vlds-are-so-successful/

I don't happen to think that Berger is the "Be all, to end all" in bullets, but I do think they are a fairly honest company. (I think most of their errors are 'honest' ones.)

Paul