Now I remember why I don't shoot this one more often.....

With limited time to shoot lately, I more often grab a handgun for some range relaxation. Poking about in the safe today, I noticed a long-ignored Brazilian M1937. As I had a recently made box of 230 grain LRN handy, that was the choice of the day. Although I'm not a Smith & Wesson collector, I do think highly of their revolvers. And the .45 ACP is my favorite handgun cartridge. That said, today's range session reminded me that the original grips on this model are not conducive to extended shooting sessions. As in, each shot is like catching a strongly thrown baseball without a glove. The cylinder release plowing a groove into my thumb isn't the enjoyable either. That said, I doubt I'd notice either of these were I to actually need the revolver instead of shooting it for fun, a sentiment I'm sure Brazilian soldiers carrying these in the Italian campaign of 1944 shared.

Blowback

Apparently I need to up the pressure in my cast bullet loads for my Type 99. I'm using reformed Remington 8mm Mauser brass, as 7.7 brass was rare when I wanted to load these. There were a number of shots where there was a fair bit of a smokey breeze coming out of the wrong end of the rifle, and a good inch of soot down some of the cartridge case. Think I'll switch the load from IMR 4227 over to Winchester 748; Win 748 runs higher pressures for cast loads at similar velocities, which should form that case to the chamber nicely. Or blow smoke into my face at even higher pressure.

Frustrated

I was given a Dillon 550 frame by The Wife to upgrade my 450. I've managed to strip it down, except for the pins holding the swing arms to the frame. I've actually managed to destroy a steel punch trying to get these out. At this point, I'm seriously considering taking my impact drill and a length of steel rod, and essentially jackhammering the solid pin to see if I can get it to move with rapid small impacts instead of smacking it with a hammer. But, if anyone has any experience in converting one of these, or a suggestion on moving tight pins, I'm all ears.

Cast Bullets and Enfields

A Savage No.4 Mk I, being fed 190 grain cast bullets, with gas checks and a diameter of .314. Powder charge was 30.9 grains of Winchester 760. At 100 yards, with five shot groups I had a frequent pattern of 3 round inside 3 inches, and two round within 3 inches, with a gap of about 6-8 inches between the two. I have a feeling I'll need to look at the bedding on this rifle. Perhaps a touch of Brownell's Acraglas.......

Swedish Saturday

Good day to head to the range with a Swedish M96 rifle built in 1900, last fired in the '90s, with ammunition assembled from components purchased and put away about about the same time. Nice change from living in an area where I'd probably be throwing on a set of Carhartts to stay warm while shooting now.

Shooting the S**t

 Got an invitation from a neighbor to try out his new .44 lever action and reloads, as well as his father's Winchester Model 94 that he'd found when his father passed, and just got around to loading up cast rounds for.

Shooting other people's guns? Hell yes, I'm up for that.

Of course, courtesy demands I bring toys to share, so an AR and S&W Highway Patrolman went into the truck for the trip to the family acreage. Shooting is informal compared to my local range. The backstop is the far bank of the creek, 150 yards from the well pump house, which also serves as the shooting rest. Which leads to less than ideal sighting in with a new never-rifle using an 8-inch shoot-n-see target on a piece of 2x2 cardboard with a couple hundred bullet holes in it.

So what does one do when tired of shooting a small target with poor feedback? Horse shit. Stands out great against yellow and green grass, misses are easily seen by the chunks of dirt flying in the air, and hits are, well, very easily seen as the material flies better than the dirt does. Revolvers at 100+ yards keep it interesting.But there are things more engaging blasting horse apples at long distances. Like having a copperhead pop up while crossing the creek recovering targets at the end of the day.

 Two men emptying revolvers into water a couple feet away, without prior planning or coordination, is very interesting indeed.

Ugly Gun Sunday