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Here are a few pictures of the gun cart that I finished. The gun cart is the one that I built for the Rebuild Cajon raffle winner. He wanted six long gun capacity, revolver storage in the chest and a collapsible shelf on the back of the cabinet. He also wanted the chest high enough to comfortably sit on with gun leather on. The lumber is African black limba and the leatherwork was all done by Double Diamond out of Escondido, Ca. The winner came up with the ideas and artwork that DD used to build the medallion on the crest of the cabinet and on the front of the chest. I tried using a rugged gear type revolver holder in the bottom of the chest but really didn’t like it so I came up with the holster idea. I made a couple of shelves before I got this one right. The shelf is very sturdy and will hold up to cap and ball cylinder loading and with the push of a couple of levers it folds down out of the way. I installed rare earth magnets to hold the shelf against the cabinet in the down position so that it wouldn’t swing out while being pushed, it works really well. The joinery is all through or sliding dovetails and mortise and tenon joinery where required. I installed ebony Diamond pegs in the spokes to dress it up a bit and also covered the shotgun brass, that I use in bolt mounting holes with some buffalo nickel themed antique brass buttons.

Tonight’s sunset special at Bob’s outdoor Western Wilderness Cigar Bar. A Fuente Gran Reserva and some Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Looks like a good sunset is shaping up.

She said, "Yes, the others were all nines and tens."

I also clip the shanks in half (forming a chisel point) and dip them in wood glue before using a non-metallic hammer to install.

Captain's Log, Stardate 43125.8. In preparation for the decommissioning ceremony for the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D, we have the exceptional honor of being escorted by one of the newly re-engined Federation ships...the B-52X. First flown April 15th 1952, the B-52 has been in continuous service, undergoing multiple upgrades during its lifetime. The now reengined B-52X is expected to serve up to stardate 53000.0 and beyond if no suitable replacement is available at that time. >>>Sierrahotel.net<<<

IMO. that should have been a reshoot as the TO was confused and not the shooter.

Decided to try a short on-line article. There are few things more frustrating at a match than having a hull stick or jam in your shotgun. Hopefully, here are a few ideas to help avoid that from happening. Shotgun ammo needs to be gauged before shooting it at a match. Even brand new Winchester AA feathelites (LowNoise, LowRecoil) have sporatic problems. I have found many individual shells in a case of shells that had slight bulges in the side walls and were difficult to chamber and would not shuck. You want to find these shells before a match, not during a match. I shoot doubles, 87s and just recently tried a couple of 97s I have had for over 20 years but not shot. I also shoot trap several times a week. At present I have three gauges. What is truly amazing is that ammo that fits into one of these gauges may not fit into the other gauges. I do cross checks occassionally but use a specific gauge for a specific gun type. Here is a shot of the gauges. . My favorite 97 is a late E series solid frame. At several matches I had jams and malfunctions I could not intially explain. This was with new and reloaded ammo. I finally completely disassembled the gun so I could get an inside micrometer into the chamber. Chambers have minimum and maximum dimensions. When reamers are new they are close to the maximum dimension. As they wear they get smaller and then need to be replaced. My 97 is dead on the absolute minimum chamber dimension. Must have been the last gun chambered before they threw away that reamer. So a maximum round in my minimum chamber and things got sticky or jammed when the gun was fired. For the 97 I use a case gauge that is made to measure a minimum spec chamber. Rounds that are above minimum chamber spec hang on the edge of the gauge. I use a collet style sizer on my 97 ammo to make sure the ammo head diameter is BELOW the maximum spec for factory ammo. This ensures the shell will drop freely into the gauge and, more importantly, my 97. If loaded rounds stick in the gauge and cannot be corrected by a second trip through the sizer they go into the goof around practice box. For trap loads I have a gauge that was cut with an actual chamber reamer. If the rounds drop into the gauge they will fit any of my trap guns. If they are a slightly tight fit it makes no difference as you can manually push the shell into the chamber and the ejector will kick it out when it is fired. Ammo for the double barrel needs to be the most precise. The rim has to pass the gauge test but more importantly the crimp area has to gauge properly or it might not shuck after it is fired. Most problems with shucking are not caused by the case head expanding as SASS ammo is loaded light so that is not generally an issue. Most problems are caused by the crimp unfolding when fired and not shrinking back enough to be released from the chamber mouth. The more often a shell is reloaded the more apt the case mouth is to get a slight mushroom shape. The next gauge is designed to help fix that problem. You are checking for two things with this gauge. First if the rim is sticking it won't seat in the gauge. The bigger problem on most shells is, however, the crimp area and it is the more likely culprit in keeping the round from dropping into the gauge. To fix the problem you stick the shell in the other end of the gauge and give it a couple of twists or wiggles and then try it again in the other end. IF you can drop the shell into the gauge and it drops in freely up to the rim AND drops out of the gauge when you turn it over it will most likely work fine in your double. If the rounds do not drop in and dump out freely put them in your junk box practice rounds. Trying to wring every reload out of a five cent shotgun hull is a false economy, especially if it sticks on you in a match. When the plastic gets pin holes the crimp will tend to loosen after the shell is reloaded. Even using this gauge the case mouths can open a bit if they aren't fired within a reasonable time of gauging the shell. I do a final gauge of my shotgun ammo at my cart when I am replacing shells fired during that stage.

Put the '73 back together today after 18 coats of linseed oil rubbed in over 21 days.

"A rare example where an engineer thought about the mechanic."

1. SDQ, on that stage. 2. No call 3. No call

I took him to shotgun practice after supper. My sugar had been high all day, around 250 and higher. My daughter had a stomach bug and needed a dr so we were busy most of the day. As I watched him practice I started feeling really bad. My sugar was below 100 and dropping. I drank a glucerna. My continuous monitor showed below 80 and falling. I mentioned to him and told him we have to go home. As we drove my meter showed more decline. About 2 miles from home I had him drive the rest of the way. No traffic and mostly dirt roads. He did just fine. I got home ate a nectarine and orange juice and boiled egg. I got better. He rubbed my head and back as he drove and while I ate and made sure everyone knew he saved my life. I think he's a good son.

True story. Went to a place that had a no guns allowed sign. Red circle with a line over a WW2 Luger! Lol. Since I was carrying a S&W figured it did not apply to me.

Just about eighty years ago right now in 1941 , in North Africa near a mostly useless little village called Tobruk, the Australian 9th Division spent a heroic 242 days ruining Rommel's plans to take the Suez canal. His professional tankers, artillerymen, and foot soldiers were fought to a standstill by a smaller number, in every category except courage, of these Aussie soldiers who were stubbornly determined to stop and hold the mighty Nazi Army where it stood. They did exactly that.....at great cost.....but they by God did it. They earned the title The Desert Rats long before a TV series of that name was conceived. I offer a toast to these brothers in arms (and a lot of Aussies that I met in Vietnam) for their outstanding service and I've asked bottles to put it my tab. Cheers!

The donkey told the tiger, "The grass is blue." The tiger replied, "No, the grass is green ." The discussion became heated, and the two decided to submit the issue to arbitration, so they approached the lion. As they approached the lion on his throne, the donkey started screaming: ′′Your Highness, isn't it true that the grass is blue?" The lion replied: "If you believe it is true, the grass is blue." The donkey rushed forward and continued: ′′The tiger disagrees with me, contradicts me and annoys me. Please punish him." The king then declared: ′′The tiger will be punished with 3 days of silence." The donkey jumped with joy and went on his way, content and repeating ′′The grass is blue, the grass is blue..." The tiger asked the lion, "Your Majesty, why have you punished me, after all, the grass is green?" The lion replied, ′′You've known and seen the grass is green." The tiger asked, ′′So why do you punish me?" The lion replied, "That has nothing to do with the question of whether the grass is blue or green. The punishment is because it is degrading for a brave, intelligent creature like you to waste time arguing with an ass, and on top of that, you came and bothered me with that question just to validate something you already knew was true!" The biggest waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who doesn't care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on discussions that make no sense. There are people who, for all the evidence presented to them, do not have the ability to understand. Others who are blinded by ego, hatred and resentment, and the only thing that they want is to be right even if they aren’t. When IGNORANCE SCREAMS, intelligence moves on.

Congrats to Deuce Stevens for His Top Overall finish at Gunsmoke! Stan

When I moved to California the first time in late 1982 I was told that California is a true melting pot of people, culture and ideals. Over the years I have learned that this is true. After all the heat, shaking and stirring the impurities have risen to the top. As time goes on more and more raw material has been added but there’s no one there to remove the impurities so they have now become a permanent part of the melting pot and have worked their way all through the mix and no amount of heat, shaking or stirring will remove the impurities. The entire batch is now scrap.

Not your typical pageant. Inside the Miss Navajo Nation Pageant, Where Lost Traditions Are Found Again Miss Navajo Nation is no ordinary pageant. There are no bathing suits or evening gowns, and physical beauty isn’t glorified. Instead the 69-year tradition focuses on Navajo culture, womanhood, and leadership. “It represents the beauty, the language, the tradition, and the matrilineal strength of the Navajo Nation,” says Phefelia Nez, Navajo Nation’s first lady. “These girls prepare for this from a very young age, and it takes the family, the community, to get them ready once they have the desire.”

I have an old, 1987 model I think, 2 cycle golf car that we use to bomb around the property. Well the muffler blew a big hole out of it. Sounds like an angry, large chainsaw. Really loud. You can hear it in the next county. I looked up what a new one would cost and durn near choked at how much they want for one. Near to $250 as I recall. So, I took the muffler off and examined the damage. It had a good sized hole blown out/rusted out that also had some of the sound proofing (fiberglass) sticking out. This area also had the mounting bracket welded to it which had cracked 3/4 of the way around it. The other end of the muffler had two places that were rusting out and would blow out relatively soon. I considered welding some new iron onto the muffler but there wasn't much good metal to attach it to. Hmmm, I says to myself. What would Fred Finagler do? Well with the magic of 2 coffee cans and 10 hose clamps we now have a functioning muffler. The cans were pre rolled so I wouldn't have to try to make them shape to the muffler. I cut the cans so I could wrap the muffler with them, trimmed them strategically to fit around the mounting brackets, placed the hose clamps (they were small. I had to use 2 per wrap) so they would add support to the weakened mount and would hold the can in place over the rusted/blown out areas. It runs nice and quiet now like it did when it was new. I'll keep an eye out for a replacement muffler, maybe even fabricate a custom muffler but in the meantime, I'll replace the coffee cans as needed until the muffler will no longer stay attached to the frame. Challenge accepted, challenge completed. Have a better than average day.

..... told me he has bad news and worse news ... .... the bad news: You have 24 hours to live ..... ..... the worse news: I should have told you yesterday ......

A local gun shop owner mentioned that he owned an original LeMat revolver. I immediately queried the editor to see if he wanted a piece on it. This is the result. https://gunsmagazine.com/guns/the-lemats-grapeshot-revolver/

I got my Pietta 1851 Navys back from Goons Gunworks and I have to say I'm impressed. Mike took the hammer draw from about 8 lbs down to about 4 lbs. He put in cap posts, corrected the arbors, put in a coil spring action, action stop, action shield, corrected the timing and hardened and fire blued the screws. I'm about ready to do some cap and ball shooting.

Shooter hears someone yelling about target order. Shooter finishes gets flustered, gets the order wrong due to yelled out instructions and finishes the stage with a "P". No reshoot as the yelling about target order was coming from other shooters and NOT the TO. This is not considered improper coaching as it wasn't the TO.

Welcome! Have you been to any matches to observe and possibly try out guns? If not, do that BEFORE buying anything.

I'm amazed at how much effort these people put into playing cowboy. I'm not sure what the motivation. I'm thinking trying to experience an American freedom. At our local Saturday match. Sangsik Park and family came out to watch. They are here from South Korea. He's finishing a degree at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Squash Blossom is showing Sangsik her Marlin 1894. Big guy on left is some kind of guide. Sangsik was very interested in the whole event and I talked with him a good bit. He had served 2 years in the South Korean military and was trained to use a rifle. I showed him my Marlin 1889 44WCF made in 1891. He seemed impressed and asked a lot of questions. "So heavy." I was shooting black powder so put out a lot of smoke and flame. He took pictures of me shooting. We happen to have a whole family there shooting, including a buckaroo and buckarooet, so they could see it was a family event.