Dusty Devil Dale

I've never heard of it before. But these gorgeous hawks frequent riparian areas where surface water is available. So I would suppose they could instinctively take their prey there for whatever reason. It then seems like a small logic step to discover that the prey can be drowned. ----But that is still pretty advanced intellect and learning capability.

I just saw something pretty remarkable. It is hot (107 F) here this afternoon and with flood irrigation surrounding us, the humidity is quite high. I went out to check on my wife's llamas just a few minutes ago. I watched a female Red Shouldered Hawk swoop down in the field and grab a pocket gopher. She flew directly to the nearest water trough, where she braced herself across the corner with one wing, and thrust the rodent under water, holding it there for several minutes. Use of tools is generally considered to be a pretty advanced animal behavior attributed mainly to Primates. This seems pretty close to use of a tool by this intelligent bird.

Just for reading fun, let's share some funny or interesting stories of past experiences. Everybody has a few. Here is one of mine: For over 65 years, Ive been a serious collector of insect specimens. Over that time, I've traveled over much of the world, assembling a museum quality collection that today houses 200+ museum drawers filled with about 18,000 pinned specimens, representing 11,000 worldwide insect species. In those collecting pursuits, I have spent many nights sitting out all night in remote places, either alone or with fellow collectors, listening to small generators powering UV black lights or Mercury vapor lamps hung above suspended collecting sheets. One June night back in the '90s, I went with my friend from work to collect beetles in the local Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 60 mi. north of my home. We were in the dry upper foothills of Madera County, Ca. at about the 3,000-foot elevation, within the Sierra National Forest. We drove dirt roads all afternoon looking for a good place to set up our two generator operated light traps. Finally we came upon an old dilapidated corral that was free of grass, which we thought would avoid fire hazard from our generators. We set up the two generators and lights about 100 yards apart; one in the corral and the other in a wide spot on an adjoining dirt road. While we waited for nightfall, Rod and I tramped around through the nearby semi-dry meadows looking for whatever crawled. The site was remote. We saw only one other vehicle all afternoon -- a pickup bouncing over the rough road with two men passengers. We paid little notice. In hiking around collecting we both noticed an unfamiliar red wildflower that grew abundantly amid the drying grasses of the meadow. By then it was late afternoon, so the blooms were pretty much closed. We decided it was an introduced ornamental variety and paid little attention, except to ponder, in our naivity, how a showy ornamental ended up so far from any human habitation. As darkness began to set in, we started up the generators and proceeded to walk back and forth between the lights with flashlights, looking over the ground for beetles and moths being drawn in short flights toward the lights. We continued throughout the night, alternating between resting in my pickup and stepping out every half-hour or so to check the lights for specimens. Most insect species have fairly specific flight hours; thought to be an adaptation to concentrate their numbers to enhance chances of successful mating. Some species are early-evening fliers, while others fly later, after midnight into the early morning hours. To collect the array of species present at a site, you generally need to run the lights all night and make do with very little sleep. But it's always pleasant to sit out in the woods at night listening to the sounds and watching out for nocturnal wildlife. We enjoyed this night, visiting, watching for animals and collecting, until we began to fade at about 3:30 AM., when we began packing up our gear. You just never know who or what you will encounter very late at night in remote places, so when I collect (particularly in my annual trips to the southern border areas of Arizona or New Mexico), I always have one or more of my carry guns with me; usually a S&W 686 .357 magnum revolver. But over many, many trips, I've never had occasion to draw it from its holster, even down in the risky southern U.S. border zones. The only people we've ever encountered late at night were a group of Hell's Angels who asked to park under our Mercury vapor light to repair a motorcycle, and another time in the Rio Rico area of Arizona where we had a visit from two curious U.S. Border Patrol agents. But I still feel some comfort knowing my guns are always there. This night was pretty uneventfull. We never heard anything (above the generator noise) or saw anything particularly interesting, except a couple blacktail does, a racoon, a way-too-close skunk, and a lot of insects. We had a very productive night of collecting; picking up a number of uncommon beetles and seeing a major emergence of a species of large (5") native silk moth in such abundance as to almost cover the collecting sheets. Both of us had taken leave time from work the following day. We knew we would be dragging after being up all night. So the next time I saw Rod was a day later at work. I'd been working at my desk a couple hours when he walked in smiling and carrying a newspaper, which he dutifully spread on my desk, pointing to a picture and article. There on the front page was unmistakably that remote corral that we had occupied two nights before, decorated with law enforcement vehicles and officers. The article described a major drug bust in which five Madera County Sheriff's deputies, assisted by four Forest Service Officers and several deputies from neighboring Fresno County had, the prior night, apprehended six perpetrators of a heroin growing operation at the site of the remote (pictured) corral in rural Madera County. The Forest Service Officers had earlier discovered and watched the crop of heroin poppies mature, while planning the bust operation. At the critical harvest time they staked out the site, waiting for the growers to show up to harvest sap from the big red flowers. In the bust, they took posession of about $2.8 million worth of Opium product. The article described how the frustrated deputies (and evidently the growers too) had separately sat back hiding in the rocks and brush all night, watching two "recreational butterfly collectors" who occupied the site until nearly 4:00 AM. When they (we) finally packed up and left, the growers reportedly descended on the site and began to slice the bottom of the flowers to extract the sap. The deputies waited for them to finish, and moved in at daybreak. The article quoted a Deputy as saying, "Considering the site's remoteness, the two recreationists were very lucky not to have been harmed by the six heavily armed growers." I guess we tested everybody's patience that night. Rod later had a chance to talk with two of the Forest Service LEOs who participated. They said we were lucky not to have heard the frustrated LEO's conversation as they waited for us to pick up and leave. I don't even want to think about what must have been said and contemplated by the growers. Often, things just are not as simple as they appear. But deep within this episode is buried some humor, which catches up with Rod and me at times and gives us a good laugh together.

Do more CAS shooting. Seriously, the mental exercise under stress is really a good thing for all of us aging old guys.

Rockhounds will tell you that a lot of valuable gemstones and artifacts have been found on ant, rodent, and jackrabbit or badger mounds. I've personally found nice tourmalines, garnets, topaz crystals, a couple old coins, and quite a few obsidian and chert arrow points just by walking around kicking at mounds.

Jason's parents need the local Sheriff's Dep. to bring him home. Second time, I imagine he will have a new home, at least temporarily, while his parents deal with Child Endangerment charges. That's a tough call to make and a very hard trigger to pull, knowing the disruption a little kid will experience, but it is his parents pulling that trigger, not you. And who knows what his home is really like. He deserves a chance in life. Let the Court deal with it. I don't trust courts very much any more, but it's really all that we have for something like this.

But you still would have to change the primer punch each time, wouldn't you? That's the most annoying part.

Do you use an electronic alert system in your gun safes to advise you of changes in status inside the safe? I use an Elertus brand system: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.elertus.com/&ved=2ahUKEwiZvoCwvMf4AhVqK0QIHXa6BnAQFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2JdaxT0RozaIRq4MTStI5N For about $100, It works very reliably. I've had it now for 3 - 4 years. It instantly advises me via WiFi to my Android phone if the safe is moved, opened, closed, gets hot, experiences high humidity, and other warnings. I'm just wondering if others use this or different products and how well they perform.

I bet you're going to be Red Flagged now, for sure.

At least that is what we are being told -----ad-nauseum.

Final Finishing There are nearly as many good wood finishing methods as there are woodworkers. For gunstocks, just about everything has been tried, ranging from rub-on essential plant oils, like Tung Oil, to a variety of brush-on or spray-applied finishes and many combinations. I really like the appearance and durability of the oil finishes, but I don't have the time and patience to make the numerous repeated applications and wait times needed to get a really good looking result. My own preference is a spray application of automotive-grade, catalyzed, water-based Urethane finish, otherwise known as "clear coat urethane" (see picture). It is available in a variety of gloss levels. It is pricey, at about $220/gallon, but is easy and relatively fool-proof to apply, allows sufficient work time (sets up in 45 minutes on an average 70 deg day), self-levels on the wood surface, and is unaffected by normal gun chemicals. (even laquer thinner is slow to affect it.) It is tough, reasonably easy to repair -- usually without having to remove the stock-- easily sanded to a high quality surface, and can be hand rubbed with powdered rottenstone, paste auto polish, pumice, or a number of other ultra-fine abrasives to achieve whatever luster is desired. I used it on this project, following the method below:. 1. Shape and inlet the stock 2. File the surfaces semi-smooth. 3. Sand the surface working through the grades, down to 400 grit. 4. Burnish the entire surface with a smooth stainless steel burnisher to compress grain, smooth most grain defects and reveal dents. 5. Wet the surface with a wetted towel to raise the grain. 6. Apply a steam iron through the wet towel as needed to raise any dents. 7. Dry, re-burnish, then re-sand down to 600 grit or finer, and wipe down with a tack rag. 8. Lightly spray the surface with water-based Urethane, and allow to dry. 9. Wet sand the entire surface enough to inspect for tiny defects (appear as shiny dents skipped over by the sandpaper -- see photo below) 10. spot-sand defects with a 320-grit covered block. 11. Re-spray with Urethane and dry. 12. Lightly wet sand with 400 grit. 13. Lightly re-spray two more times, separated by light sanding with 400 or 600. 14. Dry overnight 15. Lightly go over the surface with 800 grit, then rub out the entire surface with an ultra-fine abrasive made into a thick paste with a drop or two of mineral oil. I rub it on with a piece of soft cotton towel. As it dries on the rag, it brings out the eggshell finish I prefer. (I actually prefer to use Turtle brand automotive paste polish as pictured). 16. Wipe the completed project down with a soft cloth and assemble the rifle. The photo above shows the fore-end with the shine still present prior to being rubbed with fine abrasive. The buttstock has been rubbed to an eggshell finish. Note: In spraying the finish coats, don't fret about tiny dust particles. They will disappear completely in wet sanding and rub-out. The finishing process above looks a bit intimidating, but all except the last dry and rub-out steps can easily be done in a single afternoon. Finished buttstock with butt wrap.

Looks like a great way to get flattened by a runaway log. That's a lot of faith to put in a tailstock bearing!

Was that "Maine moose" hunt or "moose maine" hunt?

My ranch is named "Ibuprofen Ranch" (for good reason), so I'll go along with Advil. I would add Sudafed and Benedril.

I recall getting myself home one afternoon (pre- fuel injection) by putting the nozzle of a propane torch down into the carb intake and opening the valve. It got me about 7 miles, which was enough. The Ford Ranger actually ran pretty well, considering.

Fitting and Shaping the Buttstock As you begin working on the buttstock, this is the time to decide whether you want an exact duplicate of the pre-existing wooden stock, or alternatively, if you want to raise or lower the comb or adjust its side to side "cast" angle to suit specific shooter needs. Adjusting the cast means you will need a wide enough piece of wood for the desired side deviation. Minor elevation or lowering can be done simply, by slightly altering the front-to-back depth angle of the channels milled into the wood for the top and bottom tangs. But if the angle change will be more than a few degrees, you will want to work the shape and dimensions out on paper, adjusting the drawing that will be used for initial buttstock cut-out. The top-to-bottom dimension and angle of the grip area of the stock may need to be altered, and the change in comb height may require more or less wood to be left on the top. If you are working with a valuable piece of wood, you might want to try a prototype first, made from pine or other soft inexpensive wood. Unfortunately, that almost doubles the overall work. Once you have the outline you want to use it is a simple matter of laying it out on the wood. Pay attention to things like where to position the prettiest silk or patterns (not under the Butt wrap or obscured by checkering). Also look at the grain lines for strength and stability. Ideally, the grain lines should run nearly in parallel with the length of the stock. If it is possible, incorporate curved grain lines into the curved grip area to add strength and split resistance. The height of the buttstock grip area must end up to be almost exactly the distance between the outside of both tangs after final finishing . Because the tang surfaces are usually curved in cross section, The wood of the stock needs to make a smooth transition with the edges of the tangs. Any mismatch will be very obvious in the finished stock. In cutting out the stock profile, you will need to look carefully at what sanding will be needed on your particular wood and be sure to leave enough proud wood for finishing. (also remember the added material height when you are setting up the buttstock for milling of the tang recesses.) Milling the tang recesses Both the top and bottom tangs are tapered longitudinally. In setting up for milling, that depth differential needs to be addressed. An easy way to do that is to measure the tang thickness at the front and rear, and mark those depths at appropriate positions on the outside of the buttstock blank. (adding in the extra material thickness described above). Then clamp the workpiece lightly in the machining vise. Lift one end of the workpiece to level the marks to the top of the vise. ( I used a precision machinists parallel bar on top of the vice and adjusted the front and rear marks on the wood to match the parallel top edge), then tighten the vice securely. Now the milling cutter will cut the taper fairly accurately as the cutter passes across parallel to the top of the vise. That procedure will work for both the top and bottom tang and also for the secondary, narrower recess slot that is more deeply cut above the bottom tang recesse to accommodate the trigger assembly, hammer and mainspring. Both tang recesses can be milled with a 1/2" mill. The tangs on my subject rifle were just a bit wider, which allowed some final hand fitting with a sanding stick. The deeper, narrower secondary bottom recess can be cut with a 3/8" mill (see photo). Be sure to measure your tang width, as they could vary between manufacturers and production dates. The length of the milled recesses will need to be determined by measurements on a particular rifle. Measure the recesses on the original stock. Be sure to measure from the longest tip of the original buttstock grip and not from the r shorter edge of the rebate. Otherwise the tang recesses will not be milled long enough to allow the rebated end to fit into the recess of the receiver. The fit of wood to the tangs is very visible, so work very carefully. Once you remove the workpiece from the machine vise, your depth-indexing will be lost, and fitting after that point must be done by hand cutting. Over-cuts cannot be corrected without major piecing in of replacement wood, which is itself an artform -- at best. So measure and mill the slots very carefully. Measure and re-measure often during milling operations. Once the slots are cut, the stock should mount on the receiver. The front end of the stock must be scribed at the meet-point with the metal of the receiver, similarly to the way the marking was done for the two ends of the fore-end. During scribing, be sure not to rub through the blueing or other finish of the rear metal edge of the receiver with a hard scribing tool. A hard pencil should be adequate. A shiny wear mark on the receiver will stand out visibly on the finished gun. When the inletting is complete, the buttstock needs to be removed from the rifle and drilled for the tang connecting screw. The hole is 3/16". The hole can be set up and accurately drilled on a drill press or milling machine. Be sure that the stock is solidly held in the drilling vise and that the sides of the stock are EXACTLY aligned with the drill bit. In addition, the stock must be level in the vise lengthwise so that the drill bit is EXACTLY perpendicular to the top line of the top tang (should now be parallel alignment to the top surface of the wood in the grip area). The hole must be quite exact in order to line up with the two tangs. But more importantly, it must not wander to either side. If it does, it is likely to emerge outside of the tang slot, creating a hard-to-repair visual defect and necessitating the hole being filled and redrilled. I like to carefully measure and mark the hole position at top and bottom. I then clamp the top of the grip area of the stock flat in the vise, then pilot drill the hole with a smaller size drill to verify the alignment. Only when I am satisfied that the alignment is correct do I step up to the 3/16" bit, piloting on the smaller diameter hole. Because this boring is concealed beneath the tangs, you can make multiple tries with the small drill to get the alignment exact, then drill the larger hole using that accurate set-up. Shaping the Buttstock Once the hole is bored and the stock is fitted to the gun with the tang screw hole alignment tested, the stock can be shaped. The shaping process itself is not difficult , as long as you work carefully and compare back to the original stock often. A pin-style contour gauge and caliper are a huge help in the shaping process. I do much of the shaping work on the broad rear half of the stock on a disc sander. I then rough shape the grip on a 2" carbide drum sander chucked in the drill press. Finer shaping is done by hand with medium rasps, followed by sanding with an orbital sander. DO NOT attempt to sand the front of the stock -- the area that will interface with the receiver -- using a power sander. Instead, work slowly with flat sanding sticks, as described above for the fore-end. The final feature of the buttstock is a cap for the rear of the stock. This can be omitted, but normally it is a good idea to hard-cap the end to protect the end grain from splitting or other damage in case the gun is dropped or bumped against hard surfaces. Caps can be metal, hardwood, plastic, or a soft recoil pad. If the original (replaced) stock has an end plate, it is easy just to reuse it. The end cap is probably less necessary if you plan to use a protective butt-wrap. If you do want a cap, it needs to be installed prior to final sanding or applying finish. For my wife's rifle, I did not install a cap, but I did install a butt-wrap after final finishing. By now you will be able to see your fit quality. If you worked with care, this is a satisfying stage in the process. Only final finishing of both buttstick and fore-end remains to be done. Photos below show use of a parallel bar to align the marks for milling the tapered depth recesses. The top of the p-bar is set at the depth of cut and the cutter is aligned to the top of the bar.

I agree with Snakebite. Chamber lengths can vary slightly between individual rifles. The grooves on cast bullets cannot possibly be made to match all of them optimally. Either measure chamber length with a chamber guage, or cast the chamber, or chamber an empty case with a loosely seated bullet, then extract it, confirm that it contacted the lands of the rifling, and measure OAL for that rifle . Excessive free space is not very conducive to precision (repeatable) barrel performance.

Shaping the Fore-end Grip. Now that the fore-end hopefully will assemble onto the rifle and align properly, the exterior surface of the fore-end needs to be carved to its final contours. Close inspection and measuring of the original grip being replaced is important. Use a reliable caliper and pin-style contour gauge. Work carefully to avoid over-removing material; especially at the ends where the grip meets the receiver and end cap. The material removal cannot be done with the wooden grip in place on the rifle. Frequent, patient disassembly and reassembly will be needed. Just a side comment here: Because I happen to have some experience with, and a shop equipped with some machining tools, I am describing the material removal work here being done in that way. That should not discourage anyone from taking on a project like this using hand tools. With careful process planning, precise measurement/marking, sharp tools, and patient work, there really is nothing here that cannot be very nicely crafted without any power machinery. I used to do gunstock inletting almost entirely by hand; only doing the initial cut-out on a band saw. In many ways I found it more satisfying. Back to the project: The fitted workpiece is itself fairly fragile, due to its thin walls and "U" cross section. If it is to be held in a vise for hand shaping, it is very easy to crack the workpiece. I recommend inserting a supporting 3/4" dowel, or drill bit into the larger (receiver) end of the magazine boring or a wood block in the barrel groove to support the weak cross-sectional axis. Be sure the inserted object diameter is large enough to afford full support. If appropriate care is taken, the initial rough shaping work can quickly be done with a disc, belt, or drum sander, followed by hand filing with medium rasps or with sanding sticks of progressively finer grit. It is very easy to remove too much material using power tools, so be sure to work shallowly, stop frequently, and reassemble the parts often to visually check and recheck the contours. The marks scribed earlier onto the ends of the wood at the receiver and end cap meet-points are of importance during shaping; especially if power tools are used. (pictures (1) show location of scribed lines on the fore-end metal-wood interface and (2) use of a drum sander to remove material down to the scribed line on the buttstock--same process is used for fore-end). If you remove material too deeply and cut inside the marks, or even if you cut right up to them, the metal will be proud of the wood surfaces after the wood is final sanded. Exact fit of wood-to-metal surfaces is the hallmark of good inletting workmanship. Where metal protrudes above the wood, even slightly, it feels uncomfortable to the hand and the blueing or other metal finishing will gradually be worn away from the edges of the proud metal surfaces. Final smoothing and sanding should be done entirely by careful hand work. DO NOT try to do this sanding with an orbital or other power sander. Doing that will almost certainly guarantee that wood corners will be rounded off, creating a poor fit. (Remember, the grip is not installed on the rifle during shaping and sanding, so it is quite easy to remove too much at the ends, top, and corners.) Sand the end and top areas of the grip that will meet metal using flat sanding blocks or sticks. As is the case with filing, always do sanding strokes in only one direction, one stroke at a time (no back and forth rubbing). Stroke the abrasive carefully from the middle towards the ends of the workpiece and watch those scribed end marks very carefully. Stop short of obscuring the marks, and mount the grip onto the gun often to check the fit. Over-sanding at this stage is irreversible. The finish coating thickness will not be enough to fill visible gaps. Final finishing of the fore-end grip is an identical process to finishing of the buttstock. So I will describe the wood finishing process for both pieces later, after covering inletting of the buttstock.

Sometimes I think about projects because I can't sleep. At other times, I can't sleep because I think about projects. I can never decide which is which.

Cutting the Fore-end Barrel Channel; In closely examining the original fore-end grip, the barrel inlet groove is parallel with the initial 5/8" magazine tube boring alignment. Precise measuring of that groove is challenged both by the oversize receiver end of the magazine tube boring and by the fact that the barrel inlet groove itself is tapered to closely meet the barrel contours. (I am not providing measurements here, because they will vary with gun manufacturer and date and also by gun caliber.) The first task is a pilot channel running lengthwise along the top and center of the grip work-piece (see first photo). It needs to be slightly narrower than the width of the slot in the top of the original magazine boring, measured at the small (muzzle) end. On the subject rifle it was 3/8". Center the cutting bit on a line scribed along the top center line of the grip (The grip workpiece needs to be very slightly wider than the finished width of the grip, to leave enough for final shaping and sanding of both sides). Begin shallowly at first pass and make several passes, gradually deepening the setting to reach full depth, which will break through into the top of the magazine boring. Once that initial pilot channel is milled, it is time to set up the mill to cut the tapered barrel inletting. To accomplish the taper in the bottom of the barrel groove, the workpiece must be held in the machining vise at the appropriate angle to enable the level pass of the milling cutter to taper the depth of cut as needed along the length of the work-piece. The cut will be deeper at the muzzle end. Careful measurements will be needed of the original fore-end to determine the taper dimensions. To achieve a tight match-up with the barrel side tapers, the vise will need to be rotated a fraction of a degree clockwise to cut one side, then rotated back counter-clockwise at an identical angle to cut the other side. The taper angle is likely to vary between different guns, so it must be measured or calculated. Fortunately, the octagonal barrel cross section has equal 45-degree angles, which makes it possible to use off-the-shelf 45-degree cutting tools to cut the final contours (see second photo). I used a 45-degree router chamfer cutter, as shown. Fitting the Magazine Tube and Barrel in the Fore-end Once the barrel groove has been machined, it will usually be necessary to "clean up" any roughness of the inside contours and possibly cut additional relief in some places. Otherwise, the next step of fitting the grip to the barrel and magazine will fail. Use machinist’s ink on the barrel and magazine tube to locate any high spots that require reduction. A curved gouge of appropriate size, skew carving tool, files and sanding blocks/sticks will make the clean-up easier. Work very carefully along the top edges of the grip at the barrel meet-point. Gaps in the barrel-to-wood inletting will be very obvious after finishing. Try to insert the magazine tube into its bored hole. It should go in very easily. It is OK if the fit is loose. Both ends will be held and concealed by the receiver and the end cap. Next test fit the barrel into its groove. I like to mill the barrel groove just a tiny bit narrow, to enable hand fitting of the steel-to-wood interface, using progressively finer sanding blocks. Again, work carefully. When the assembled barrel and magazine both fit firmly (without forcing) into the grip, it is time to mark and cut the rebates into both ends of the grip. These must tightly articulate with the recesses in the receiver and end cap. The fit of those rebates will show in the finished grip, so cut them carefully by hand using sharp chisels and safe-edge files. Test fit them frequently and diligently. After the rebates are cut it is likely that a bit more grip-to-barrel fitting will be needed, as now the grip will be able to slide another ± 5/32" up the barrel taper. Mark the rebates by first scribing a line around the outside of the grip work-piece, using a caliper set at the length of the two recesses. Then mark the rebate depths by generously coating the recess edges of the receiver and end cap with machinist’s ink and temporarily assembling all of the parts in the rifle. Use a block of wood and light hammer to tap the pieces tightly together to transfer the ink to the wood. Hold the corner of the wood block against the end cap, in the angular space between the magazine tube the barrel and tap it firmly. Then carefully scribe into the grip ends the outside of the receiver and end cap. Scribe the line deeply enough to be visible during final grip shaping and finishing. Cut and file the rebates. With the rebates cut, the fore-end grip block should be able to fully assemble with the barrel, magazine, end cap dovetail and end cap in place (See photo). Do not insert the magazine lock pin into the dovetail as yet. Disassembly will be needed for final fore-end shaping, sanding and finishing.

2. Cutting the Fore-end Barrel Channel; In closely examining the original fore-end grip, the barrel inlet groove is parallel with the initial 5/8" magazine tube boring alignment. Precise measuring of that groove is challenged both by the oversize receiver end of the magazine tube boring and by the fact that the barrel inlet groove itself is tapered to closely meet the barrel contours. (I am not providing measurements here, because they will vary with gun manufacturer and date and also by gun caliber.) The first task is a pilot channel running lengthwise along the top and center of the grip work-piece (see first photo). It needs to be slightly narrower than the width of the slot in the top of the original magazine boring, measured at the small (muzzle) end. On the subject rifle it was 3/8". Center the cutting bit on a line scribed along the top center line of the grip (The grip workpiece needs to be very slightly wider than the finished width of the grip, to leave enough for final shaping and sanding of both sides). Begin shallowly at first pass and make several passes, gradually deepening the cutting tool setting to reach full depth, which will break through into the top of the magazine boring. Once that initial pilot channel is milled, it is time to set up the mill to cut the tapered barrel inletting. To accomplish the taper in the bottom of the barrel groove, the workpiece must be held in the machining vise at the appropriate angle to enable the level pass of the milling cutter to taper the depth of cut as needed along the length of the work-piece. The cut will be deeper at the muzzle end. Careful measurements will be needed of the original fore-end to determine the taper dimensions. To achieve a tight match-up with the barrel side tapers, the vise will need to be rotated a fraction of a degree clockwise to cut one side, then rotated back counter-clockwise at an identical angle to cut the other side. The taper angle is likely to vary between different guns, so it must be measured or calculated. Fortunately, the octagonal barrel cross section has equal 45-degree angles, which makes it possible to use off-the-shelf 45-degree cutting tools to cut the final contours (see photo). I used a 45-degree router chamfer cutter, as shown. 3. Fitting the Magazine Tube and Barrel in the Fore-end Once the barrel groove has been machined, it will usually be necessary to "clean up" any roughness of the inside contours and possibly cut additional relief in some places. Otherwise, the next step of fitting the grip to the barrel and magazine will fail. Use machinist’s ink on the barrel and magazine tube to locate any high spots that require reduction. A curved gouge of appropriate size, skew carving tool, files and sanding blocks/sticks will make the clean-up easier. Work very carefully along the top edges of the grip at the barrel meet-point. Gaps in the barrel-to-wood inletting will be very obvious after finishing. Try to insert the magazine tube into its bored hole. It should go in very easily. It is OK if the fit is loose. Both ends will be held and concealed by the receiver and the end cap. Next test fit the barrel into its groove. I like to mill the barrel groove just a tiny bit narrow, to enable hand fitting of the steel-to-wood interface, using progressively finer sanding blocks. Again, work carefully. When the assembled barrel and magazine both fit firmly (without forcing) into the grip, it is time to mark and cut the rebates into both ends of the grip. These must tightly articulate with the recesses in the receiver and end cap. The fit of those rebates will show in the finished grip, so cut them carefully by hand using sharp chisels and safe-edge files. Test fit them frequently and diligently. After the rebates are cut it is likely that a bit more grip-to-barrel fitting will be needed, as now the grip will be able to slide another ± 5/32" up the barrel taper. Mark the rebates by first scribing a line around the outside of the grip work-piece, using a caliper set at the length of the two recesses. Then mark the rebate depths by generously coating the recess edges of the receiver and end cap with machinist’s ink and temporarily assembling all of the parts in the rifle. Use a block of wood and light hammer to tap the pieces tightly together to transfer the ink to the wood. Hold the corner of the wood block against the end cap, in the angular space between the magazine tube the barrel and tap it firmly. Then carefully scribe into the grip ends the outside of the receiver and end cap. Scribe the line deeply enough to be visible during final grip shaping and finishing. Cut and file the rebates. With the rebates cut, the fore-end grip block should be able to fully assemble with the barrel, magazine, end cap dovetail and end cap in place (See middle photo). Be sure the two screw holes in the end cap are able to align and articulate with their mates in the sides of the dovetail piece. Do not insert the magazine lock pin into the magazine support band as yet. Disassembly will be needed for final fore-end shaping, sanding and finishing.

Depending on your shooting style-- one or two handed-- hammer replacement with lower, wider Super Blackhawk hammers can be a helpful asset.

Just found this: GlobalPetrolPrices.com as of May 19: COUNTRY PRICE PER GALLON IN U.S. DOLLARS Hong Kong $10.966 Norway $9.643 Denmark $9.323 Central African Republic $9.031 Monaco $8.938 Finland $8.894 Iceland $8.755 Greece $8.709 Netherlands $8.582 Singapore $8.399

Thank you for the feedback.

So is the "Grand Theft" the kid siphoning gas out of the tank, or the station robbing people to put it in?