Bisley Joe

Just put the stock back on.

Have experienced different preternatural situations in my life. As a kid, due to a family member's delving into some things that should be avoided, I experienced a great deal of seeing dark shapes, hearing my name called right in my ear, having my ankle grabbed while lying in bed... It got so bad that I got sick. One night, just before bed, I found my old First Communion book with a Rosary in it. I was about 15. I made a decision in that moment to trust only in Christ and His Church, and the visions etc. stopped cold that night. Years later, about 20 years later, as an adult, I stupidly got involved with an old high school crush I bumped into. She was, shall we say, very enthusiastic in certain ways, and quite the "player". In her house I started to experience things once again. I won't go into too much detail here, but I saw a figure run across the house, the soap dispenser having emptied its contents more than once, the bedroom closet door opening even when locked, movement through the underside of the door and no-one else in the house, and one time several pale blue orbs around the size of golf balls to baseballs hovering just feet away. She said something was in the closet, and she had had the light switch re-located to the outside. She was terrified of the pool at night. The worst incident was not in the house though. I convinced her to go to Mass with me, as I was realizing I had strayed from the path and wanted her to also right her life. Upon entering the church she complained of feeling ill. The closer the consecration of the Eucharist got, the worse she felt and paler she got, until, as the priest began the consecration, she rushed outside and threw up. An ambulance was called because it seemed she was on the edge of a heart attack-with chest pains etc. She spent two days in the hospital undergoing tests. Nothing was found. I spoke to a priest about the issues in the house (didn't mention the incident at Church). He gave me some Holy Water and told me to bless the house. "If it stops it was something minor. If it gets worse, call me." I proceeded to bless the house when she wasn't home. Didn't know at the time but this was not under my authority, so I opened myself up for unpleasant possibilities. When I got to the closet in the bedroom and approached the closet, the fact that this was not my home and that I did not have authority, was very clearly instilled in me. I literally felt like I was about to corner something that did not want to be cornered. I stopped there. Later that day I told the lady about what I did, hoping she would have me call the priest. Her reaction was to become extremely angry, livid, and spewing profanities, tell me "I made a deal with this house! It leaves me alone and I leave it alone! Now you come in and &*^% it all up?!" I then thought of the incident at the church. Before I got half way the priest asked "Did she throw up?" I replied that she had, and he said this was a sign of likely demonic possession or at least serious oppression. Needless to say, I skedaddled, and fast. Never spoke to her again. Have found that "ghosts" are the spirits of someone who died. They are not evil and do not cause a sense of dread. They are, however, asking for help. It is prudent to try and find who it could be: previous residents of the home, etc. and then have a mass offered for that person. This often solves the issue soon. Trying to communicate is a big no-no. All we can do is pray and offer a mass. A sense of dread, violent incidents, etc. are not a ghost. That would be something diabolical. Trying to communicate is a big no-no, even more so here. It is a good idea to do as the priest above advised me.

My 12 year old nephew is visiting this summer, so I got this little Henry .22 lever action for cheap. Someone seems to have laser etched or, more likely burned, some stuff on the stock. The feathers on the right aren't too bad, and the flourishes on the grip section can be forgiven. But the rabbit and the tree on the other side, and worst of all, the "leather" pad carving on the foregrip, I believe are beyond horrible. And to top it all off, like frosting a chocolate cake with vomit, is the horrendous varnish! I tried stripper for the varnish, but my goodness the STENCH!!! So I switched to a little knife and scraped the varnish off. Then I took some sand paper to it (80/120/300), followed by some Danish Oil. An enjoyable time while playing old cowboy songs, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard... I suppose I could spend some more time with the sand paper, but I think it's good for a little rifle that will be used. Can't wait to get home later and put the stock back on. I'll post that picture later.

I'll check it out regarding mine. Thank you.

Prairie Dawg, did you have to get the guns worked on by a gunsmith for the different caliber cylinders/barrels, or did they work fine by just popping them on?

Makes sense. What I was mainly wanting to avoid is what I've seen some people do: slathering some grease over the balls after being seated. Seems ridiculously messy and needless. But the wad makes sense, especially based on what you said.

Another thing: When I first started out I was pretty tight on cash. For boots I used a pair of modern cowboy boots. To disguise them, I used some thick paper/poster board to mock up boot tops. Only had to do one because I could use it for both sides. Once I cot that to fit OK, I went to Joanne fabrics, got some pleather, used the paper as a template, and made myself stovepipe boot-tops. I even used some extra strength hot glue as well as sewing. The way I put those on was: I slid them on like socks, rolled em up, put on the boots, and then rolled them down over the boots. With spurs on you couldn't tell they were just add-ons. But they did cause a little bit of extra sweat. Still, I felt better to be trying to look as authentic as I could. For pants, I bought some tan "jeans" at wallyworld and carefully removed the back pockets. I wore a sash to hide the belt, but could have instead removed the belt loops and used suspenders. This kind of stuff is good because it helps you take your time to develop who you want to be/look like while still being able to shoot. Personally I like how NCOWS suggests to take a black and white picture of yourself all dressed up, then compare it with pictures of that time, and tweak as you go. Then keep doing that until you get better and better. Obviously NCOWS is stricter, but I still think we should all strive to represent the best image of the Old West possible, or even a movie version.

I am getting into shooting 1851 Navies in .36. They originally did not come in .44 but that caliber is available today. I think the .36 is much more fun, and also much less pricey for cost of lead and powder. I got the ball mold here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/265563946217 There are less expensive ones but this gives you 16 vs 2 balls per casting. The 6 cavity ones have been sold out. For the cap maker, I got this: https://22lrreloader.com/collections/10-percussion-cap-maker And the priming compound: https://22lrreloader.com/products/prime-all-repriming-compound Nipples: https://www.slixprings.com/proddetail.php?prod=SliXshot-Black-Powder-Nipples You don't "need" these right away, and may not ever. I got them because they are an improvement. For paper cartridges: https://gunsoftheweststore.com/collections/complete-paper-cartridge-kits Nipple Wrench: https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/65/1/NW-140 To melt lead I will use a simple single electric burner, and an old pot and ladle from the thrift store. Of course, the lead will be melted outside and with a box fan blowing it away. For powder, there are ways other than purchasing, but not allowed to be discussed here. With a setup like above, I believe the cap and ball pistols could be run even if everything went to hell. Anyway, I hope this helps. I'm a newbie at this, so the others here can be far more help. In the meantime: this channel has invaluable information: https://www.youtube.com/user/duelist1954

Also, some will say this isn't a "reenactment" and true, it isn't. But it is still trying to recreate the Old West in a competition. Otherwise terms like "Old West", "As close as you can get to the Old West Short of a Time Machine", "Preserving the traditions of the Old West" become just lip-service. Do the best you can and work towards getting better. This applies to shooting as well as clothing. Don't let anyone discourage you for not having "authentic" clothing, and at the same time, don;t let anyone convince you to just "settle" for the basics. Welcome!

Maybe someone already said this, but you can get a pair of cap and ball revolvers, a cap maker with the priming compound, a ball mold, and cast your own lead balls. It'll be less than cartridge guns and no need to look for the ammo in this shortage. In the meantime, you can still shoot and wait until regular ammo becomes more available. I'm doing that with a pair of 1851 Navy revolvers from Pietta in .36. I can give you info and links if you like.

Forgot: Anyone know if the grips on these Open Tops will fit the Pietta 1851 Navy? I want to change the grip profile to be more accurate and maybe these are better.

I have a pair of open top revolvers from Cimarron. They are in .45 Colt. Have been thinking of getting cylinders and barrels in .38 special. At T&C I see a .38 barrel is $150. The cylinder is $110.20. That makes for being able to shoot .45 and .38 for about $260: a lot less than another gun (but then, more guns is always better). Would have to see what it would cost to have these fitted though. Anyone done this? Worth it?

LOL! We should have a stage where we drive one of these "infernal contraptions" and shoot at targets down the path. Conversely, someone else could be driving while we shoot away.

Sounds good. Thanks. Looking forward to shooting mine!

BEAUTIFUL pistols! Despite the overall superiority in design of the SAA, I find the Navy design to be an excellent pointing pistol, and the feel and balance are just very enjoyable. Do you worry about chainfires? Do you use any lube on top of the bullets? It seems to me that a well fitted ball: one that produces a nice ring skimmed off the sides, creates a more than sufficient barrier for preventing a chain fire. I cannot see how a chain fire is possible with a well fitted bullet. Am I correct? Do you find the paper cartridges worth it? I would imagine so, but I am a novice at cap and ball and appreciate any input from you all. I am also considering a .31 pocket revolver of some kind.