A true slice of Heaven..

[PatMarlin]

Took a neighborhood kid shooting Sunday to my private range... We'll it's not mine, but it's on National Forest property about 5 minutes from the house.

I say private as nobody shoots here but me, and there's never anyone around.. :)

What's awesome about this place is it's a natural meadow, and a creek runs down the right side. This is mountain country, and finding a 100 yd clear shot is a near impossibility, let alone 200 flat yards!

Set up is under this big shady Oak tree, with the sun rising behind the targets, and goes down at your back. All day shady perfect conditions.

To the left is 100, center is 50, then off at the right is 200, so you've got every shot without moving.

The lineup was:

1970 Marlin 336 in 30-30 (1870-1970 centennial)
1970 Marlin 39a Century LTD (1870-1970 centennial)
Winchester 94 (1894-1994 centennial) in 45 colt
Howa .223
Ruger BlackHawk 45 colt
Raging Bull 454 casull

This was the kids first time out and he did real good. Shot all the firearms and put bout' 400 rounds through my 39a. He's hooked BAD! I created another gun nut.. :mrgreen:

This is the same (kind) Marlin 39a pictured in my avatar. I bought it when I was 10 years old with money from mowing lawns. I don't know how, but I managed to keep this .22 almost like new for all these years. Only a few scratches in the wood lacquer.

I bought the 336 in 30-30 2 years ago, and you can tell the stock had to come from the exact same tree. It's shooting the Fat-30 with 24grs of Mil Surp 4895 in bout' 1.5" at 50, but it's opening up to 6" at 100. There was a gust of wind come up from time to time, so I need to keep working at it. Kid did real good with this one also.

Shot my 6" Blackhawk 45 colt with 320gr LBT WFN and 22 grs of IMR 4227 long range for the first time and I'll be danged if I didn't put 3- in a 3" group, and 3- about 6"- 8" away at 100yrds on an 8 x 11 piece of paper? Holy cow! I'm stoked! Hit a small gas cylinder hangin' from a tree out at 200 after about 10 or so tries. My 454 Raging Bull doesn't shoot this good, but I'm still breaking it in. Am I just lucky or do you guys do this like regular with these type shooters?

The Howa sucked with cast this day, but I think it was all a wind problem with 24grs of reloader 15 and 60gr loverin boolit.

The 454 Bull grouped nicely at 50 with 230gr copper bullets, but sucked at 100. I think this bullet didn't want to fly well. They were 45 ACP wad cutters that I bought just to smooth up the barrel with.

The Winchester has potential. I was shooting the same LBT loads, and groups pretty decent at 50, but the darn trigger pull has to be at 11 pounds it feels like. I need a trigger job bad. I think with trigger control, the baby will shoot the heek out of cast bootlits. I need to find a smith experienced with this rifle. None I know of.

All and all I feel truly blessed to be able to live in these mountains, and shoot in such awesome beauty, and I thank God daily, and hope I made a good impression on the youngster... :drinks:

[obssd1958]

Well obviously Pat, great minds must think alike! I also shared a day shooting, but with a few more people. I took my wife, my 19 year old daughter, and 3 of my grandkids (my oldest son's children) - ages 5, 10, and 12. We had a blast! Our setting was not quite as idyllic, but it is in the mountains (more sage brush than trees down here), it is public land, and we did have it to ourselves.

Our arsenal for the day was:
Winchester Model 70 .243
Mosin Nagant M44 7.62 x 54R
Chinese SKS 7.62 x 39
Ruger 10/22 Carbine .22LR
Ruger MKII .22LR

We shot balloons and clay pigeons that we arranged on the hillside from 40 to 75 yards away.

My 5 year old granddaughter put about 80 rounds through the 2 Rugers. I held her in my lap and pointed the guns and she pulled the trigger. She even managed to pop a couple of the balloons! What a deal!!:-D

My 10 year old grandson also shot both of the .22s ( he really likes shooting the pistol best!) and managed to outshoot all of the rest of us when it came to popping balloons. We had to limit him to just 2 balloons per magazine or he would have left no targets for anyone else!!:cool:

My 12 year old grandson will be going big game hunting for whitetails this fall for the first time. While he shot both of the .22s, he also shot the Mosin Nagant. I bought it 4 months ago for him to use this fall. I put a 4x scope on it and we sighted it in a couple of weeks ago. At 100 yards, he keeps all of the rounds in a 4 inch circle. I can't wait 'til this fall!!!!!![smilie=w:

My daughter shot both .22s and the SKS. There are not many things that she likes to do better, than empty a 25 round magazine out of that rifle as fast as she can get back on target.:Fire: Made for lots of clay target pieces flying in the dust she was raising!!

And finally, my wife shot the .22 rifle and the .243. She just decided last year to actually hunt with me, and shoot a deer, and the .243 is her weapon of choice. :drinks: Prior to that, she was happy to stay in camp, relax, read, and just enjoy being up in the mountains. Well, she passed up several easy shots on does because she wanted to get a buck - and as I could have predicted - didn't shoot at anything last year. That's okay though, just made her want to try harder this year!

Like you Pat, I feel truly blessed, and thank God that my family let's me share my passions with them - and maybe pass it on!!

[Bass Ackward]

The lineup was:

1970 Marlin 336 in 30-30 (1870-1970 centennial)
1970 Marlin 39a Century LTD (1870-1970 centennial)
Winchester 94 (1894-1994 centennial) in 45 colt
Howa .223
Ruger BlackHawk 45 colt
Raging Bull 454 casull

The Howa sucked with cast this day, but I think it was all a wind problem with 24grs of reloader 15 and 60gr loverin boolit.


Pat,

Good job. Glad you took a break. Somehow stuff will still get done.

Ahh Pat? I am looking at the list and realize that the M70 is absent. It's probably rusted by now huh?

Start about 20 grains with that bullet and go up in .5 grain increments in the 223. You will probably dump before 22 grains.

[Wayne Smith]

Pat, I have no idea where you are, but public land that looks like that, you can drive to it, and nobody else uses it!! Around here there would be people everywhere unless it's a hike.

[RugerFan]

Shot my 6" Blackhawk 45 colt with 320gr LBT WFN and 22 grs of IMR 4227 long range for the first time and I'll be danged if I didn't put 3- in a 3" group, and 3- about 6"- 8" away at 100yrds on an 8 x 11 piece of paper? Holy cow! I'm stoked! Hit a small gas cylinder hangin' from a tree out at 200 after about 10 or so tries. My 454 Raging Bull doesn't shoot this good, but I'm still breaking it in. Am I just lucky or do you guys do this like regular with these type shooters?
:

Like regular? Nope, not without a scope. I'd say thats pretty darn good!

[PatMarlin]

obssd1958-

That's great! What an awesome thing to see your family enjoy that as much as they do. Unfortunately, we don't have any kids, so I've got to barrow one.. :mrgreen:

It's hard to deny... this is fun stuff, and very cool when you think about it. Those poor anti gunners really miss out on a historical American tradition.

John-

I started with 22gr, then worked up to 25 but not in 10 increments. 24 seemed the best at 50 behind the house, but will start at 20 like you suggest. I was doing pretty good last fall with RL-7. I want to try some differnent boolit designs. I wish they'd get the group by up and going on this one. Nothing wrong with the Howa for sure, I just need some more one on one with her.. :mrgreen:

The Model 70 sat at home because all I had cast up was some 311284's and I wanted to try some other molds. THis time I loaded everthing I had on hand the day before. I've got to get in there and start flingin' lead so I have a supply of boolits. Should have got it done this past winter.. :roll:

Wayne- there's lots of vacant land in N. California. Beautiful country too. Just bring your Birkenstocks.. [smilie=1: :Fire:

I'm gonna have to scan that target RF. I was surprised I even hit paper. That's a 70's vintage Ruger I picked up last fall (pretty darn cheap too), and I'm glad I waited for a nice old one. It has a real nice trigger, and the action is very smooth. I'll be hunting with this baby.

[Bucks Owin]

Nice spot! Gee, I'll have to come and visit and bring my lil' guy! (With his fearsome M-60 Winnie! :-D ) See many ground squirrels?

Know what you mean about the long range handgunning, it's addicting! Just managing to land every round on a sheet of paper at 150 yds with the ol' 10" .44 Flattop sure made me happy! (Even if only 2.5 PDs would have been hit...[smilie=1: )

Best,

Dennis

You should come out to Hat Creek and shoot some sillywet with your Blackhawk and lever guns. Talk about addicting!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a356/BucksOwin/12db6a09.jpg

[PatMarlin]

There's got to be some g-squirells out there Dennis, cause you can see mounds all over, but never saw one surface. Maybe just moles.

That is a deer freeway back there though. They come right through behind the targets. Many times I have finished up, and here comes a dumb deer wandering through.. :mrgreen:

Another one of my secretes. Geez I hope no one from up here see this thread.. :mrgreen:

You're welcome anytime to come up Dennis. Hat Creek. That really rings a bell. Wasn't that a pretty good gold producer? Love to come up.

[Bucks Owin]

There's got to be some g-squirells out there Dennis, cause you can see mounds all over, but never saw one surface. Maybe just moles.

That is a deer freeway back there though. They come right through behind the targets. Many times I have finished up, and here comes a dumb deer wandering through.. :mrgreen:

Another one of my secretes. Geez I hope no one from up here see this thread.. :mrgreen:

You're welcome anytime to come up Dennis. Hat Creek. That really rings a bell. Wasn't that a pretty good gold producer? Love to come up.

Pat, (or anyone else in NORTH Kalifornia) you can have a look at the club here:

www.hcrpclub.org

Jump in! The water is fine!

Dennis

[Buckshot]

..............Dennis, nice range looks like. Pat, you sure live in a beautiful spot and that's great that you took the kid shooting. Maybe you can show him some boolit casting and reloading. Sometimes guys can get hooked on that 'fiddleing, making, and creating stuff'. Especially if there's tools involved. Then ya get to go shoot it all up so you can do it again.

.................Buckshot

[D.Mack]

I was going to ask some day if you ever shot at Hat Creek. I'm sorry they had to cancel the State Hunter pistol and S.B. Hunter Pistol matches this Year. I always look forward to it when they host it. One of my favorite pictures is of Ken Sjorborg walking around with his Viking helmet and battle axe. ( he was available to settle protests and rules committe disputes.) DM

[Bucks Owin]

I was going to ask some day if you ever shot at Hat Creek. I'm sorry they had to cancel the State Hunter pistol and S.B. Hunter Pistol matches this Year. I always look forward to it when they host it. One of my favorite pictures is of Ken Sjorborg walking around with his Viking helmet and battle axe. ( he was available to settle protests and rules committe disputes.) DM

I just joined up recently at Hat Creek. Hope to see you out there soon!

You may or may not know but Dave Pitt who was the IMHSA match director is in the hospital and could use a prayer from what I hear. I kinda "backed into" his job as a volunteer to run the IMSHA shoots...

Wish me luck, I've never run a silhouette match before!

Dennis

BTW, they were shooting Hunter pistol out there last weekend so I'm not sure what's up with that although I didn't see any small bore shooters....
IMHSA match next weekend, Small Bore and Field Pistol on Sat and Big Bore on Sunday.

[PatMarlin]

Never did any kind of competition shoots Dennnis. Good luck on you new venture.

I would love to get in on that sometime. Sounds like a fun weekend. Looks like I'll have to set some time aside for a weekend trip east.. :drinks:

[Bucks Owin]

Never did any kind of competition shoots Dennnis. Good luck on you new venture.

I would love to get in on that sometime. Sounds like a fun weekend. Looks like I'll have to set some time aside for a weekend trip east.. :drinks:

Thanks Pat,

You'd love it I'll bet. There's nothing like the "clang" of a good hit and seeing that silhouette blown off it's base! There seem to be lots more levergun shooters than pistoleros out there having a blast. You'd be in good company!

See you there

Dennis

PS: Some time when you come to Redding with some time on your hands, I could take you out there in the middle of the week to shoot and we'd likely have the place to ourselves. You can sight in off concrete BRs, shoot some steel out to 500 yds or whatever....
It's a 1 hr drive from Shingletown....

[PatMarlin]

You've got a new PM Dennis............:Fire: