i get the opposite.......I offer a shot....."thats going to kick really hard...no way".......and back to their 223.....did a couple of WW1 shoots with teens......nearly every one said the old military guns kicked too hard.....of course ,thats why the army s got 223s now.
Ah yes. . . .223's. . . I was recently asked for my opinion on 55 grain vs. 62 grain. If asked this in the future, I may respond with "I think that's about what one of my gas checks weighs" . . .
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
YA same reaction with black as you guys with the rifles and shotguns shoot skeet ,trap, sporting clays with them and really think they shoot more shells than I do and end up shooting there guns to finish the round.
I get that sometimes, even with this.
I got a good chuckle one time when I told a 50 cal fan that I don't mess around with small stuff, I use a .577 Snider
Oddly enough, if I take the Ruger #1 in .357 magnum, it gets a lot of attention. I'm not sure why because it doesn't have a particularly striking appearance. But somehow, people notice and they all want to try it out.
--Wag--
"Great genius will always encounter fierce opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein.
I always get wonderers to my bench when I take my Ruger No.1 RSI 7X57. THEY TYPICALLY ASK WHAT IT IS AND I TYPICALLY RESPOND BY SAYING ITS MY ELEPHANT RIFLE. For some reason it does have a very loud report, so they sometimes say, “it sounds like it”. Or I get, “that little thing”....
Then they are pretty amazed that I have no problem hitting given the fact that it only wears NECG aperture sights. So then Im asked how far can I hit with those. I usually answer, “I feel maxed out at 300yds”, thats when they usually do flips.
I had a game warden one time that was just amazed that I was using “iron sights”. I asked him why he was so puzzled, he said it was just so different. I politely reminded him that he used iron sights pointing to his side arm. He said “yeah but thats different”......ok
I cant wait to take my newly aquired No.1 in 45-70 to the range and see what reactions I get with it.
My No.1s and my two Marlin 336 lever rifle all wear aperture sights.
"In GOD We Trust"
Personally I started avoiding the club range on days when I was likely to have company. I frequently load at the bench, and distractions are a hazard. One time failed to be rude to Bubba, and I double-charged a .25-20 SS case. Nothing blew up, but I was done for the day.
Cognitive Dissident
WWJMBD?
In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.
Around here it is usually Sunday afternoon when the silly boys show up. It's called blaster day. AR's on the bench at 25 and 50 yards. Proud of 2" groups, and they shoot hundreds of rounds. Only good thing, they fill up the range brass buckets fast--brass is sold for scrap and the cash goes back into the club. I either stay on the skeet range or go to the other, much smaller club. We only had one or two blasters at the smaller club. One had to be lectured on picking up after himself after he left 3000+ 223 and 9mm on the ground over a 6 week stretch. What a jerk.
Yeah, I know the type. To make matters worse, they're always shooting **** steel-case ammo, which is worth nothing for salvage. (But at least you can sweep it up with a magnet.)
Cognitive Dissident
Yep, I get asked that when I bring out my Falling Block Works .218 Bee.
Do the best you can, with what you've got, where you're at. -Theodore Roosevelt
My #1B in 30-06 A. I. Usually gets a "what happened to the round you just fired?" question. I'll end up giving a few pieces of brass away, and inevitably the final question is " wanna sell it?"
When I tell them what is invested in the firearm they scratch their heads and don't ask again.
Tom
μολὼν λαβέ
Did I ever mention that I hate to trim brass?
Went to my range with a friend and these, two 1902 Luger carbines and a fully engraved C96 carbine along with a 45-70 rolling block and Sharps 45-110 and not one person even gave them a second look.
Didn't mind as we had a great time shooting these fine guns. Also had a John Martz 45 Luger.
I enjoy when some curious shooter comes over and asks what the caliber is. Then I tell them what the old hyphenated caliber is, and they either look bewildered, or ask, "What's that?"
Most know the common calibers, but a .40-63 Ballard Everlasting, .40-50 Sharps Straight, or .44-77 Sharps Bottleneck, baffles the heck out of them!
You just baffled the heck outta me!
I'm not new to shooting, but I've never encountered a lot of the older rifles. Just never had the money for anything, really. Had to borrow grandma's 30-30 to go deer hunting and had to borrow one or the other of her shotguns to shoot fowl.
One of the reasons to love this forum, though. I get to hear of all of these other rounds!
--Wag--
"Great genius will always encounter fierce opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein.
When shooting these old rifles with BP and load testing at the big city range where the BPCR silhouette match is held, I rarely get a long look. Most have no clue and are much too into what there are doing (shooting as much ammo as they can in the shortest time) using a huge scope atop their semi-auto blasting away at 25y or 50 yards, to stop and ask questions.
The few that are willing to ask are almost always an older person. Often they ask 'Buffalo Rifle?" or Sharps carbine?, no mater if a 32' barreled Winchester highwall or a Remington Hepburn. That's Okay! I am happy to politely tell them about the rifle and show them the cartridges with the cast bullets in them.
My schuetzen rifles can get even fewer questions. A schuetzen rifle might be intimidating. There is a bit of a persona that men are just "suposta" be rifle experts and expert shots. If you don't even understand what you are looking at, you might not want to tip your hand by asking questions.
When at the range 150 miles west in the high country, those people are a little more into asking what you are shooting and are willing to take the time to hear about it. Often they are eager to shoot your rifle.
There are always exceptions but, I think it is the culture of the conservative urban man to keep to themselves in crowded cities and then by extension at the rifle ranges too.
Last edited by Chill Wills; 02-02-2019 at 05:42 PM.
Chill Wills
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |