Monday, August 30, 2010

Range time

Sighted in my Mossberg 30-06 yesterday.  First ten rounds felt fine.  Rounds 11-15 hurt a bit.  Rounds 16-20 flat out stung.  I'd forgotten just how much kick a 30-06 had.  I got the scope dialed in, so I can tag Bambi when the time comes.  But the last round I fired I flinched.  Gotta work on that.  Also, the trigger is stiff.  If finances allow, I'll take it to a gunsmith and have it lightened up a bit.  If not, well, I'm not taking any deer past 100 yards anyways, not in the Wisconsin woods.  Hell, I might not take any shots past fifty yards depending on where I hunt.

The shoulder is still a bit sore this morning.  But there's nothing like the satisfaction of watching a clay pidgeon explode at 100 yards.

Also, need a good hunting stick to shoot from.  I'll see what the wood lot here in town has for staves, and put a "V" top on it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Limbsaver recoil pad.
emdfl

Rivrdog said...

Find an old Box hedge, and look through it for a nice 5-6 foot, 1-1.5" thick stem ending in a "V". I've just made a couple walking staffs out of Box, and it's a very stout wood. Leave on the bark, and use a pad sander with 100 grit to take down the knots to smooth, then use some 160-grit to lightly sand the bark. Excellent camo (looks like wood), stout stick, and if you leave enough "V" on it (6" protrusion), it's a fine emergency splint to take traction on a broken leg. All you need then is duct tape (or, if you're a purist, battle dressings).

Ragin' Dave said...

We've got a woodlot in town where the municipality dumps all the trees they've had to cut down. Most of those trees are hardwoods that got in the way of powerlines, and so had to go. Walnut, oak, ash, and maple. I've been tempted to open up a walking stick business and fill it with staves from the woodlot.

Maybe a good walnut staff. That's got the rough bark you're talking about that I could sand down a bit, and lord knows it wouldn't bend or break for anything.