First snow and a visit from Mom and Dad

Well the visit started first..they arrived late on Wednesday. On Thursday My dad and I went out for a bit of shooting. He came bearing gifts…no gifted guns on this visit but he brought 300 rounds of .45 colt ammo…what a cool dad eh?.

We started out with the .22 Double Nine on the 6″ steel…we set up a paper target off to the right for the “extra” rounds as this revolver holds 9.  After a few sessions with that dad brought out his CZ 85 ( Czechoslovakian 9mm automatic) I shot one of my buddies Beretta’s a few weeks ago so this was only my second real session with an auto.  It was a smooth straight shooting piece. ( there may an Auto in my future)  I was pretty much hitting 4 to 6 of the targets each round.

Me with the CZ holstered in my 1851 leather...not the best fit

After a bit of the CZ we pulled out his S & W  9mm auto…this was a striker fire weapon with a much heavier trigger pull.  The first few loads I was not hitting at all.  Slowing way down and concentrating on a slow steady pull had me hitting steel after about 25 rounds or so.

After plunking through about 100  9 mm’s we whipped out my Vaqueros…We traded back and forth a bit and put close to a hundred rounds down range.  Before we put the Vaqueros away I pulled out some Goex Black Powder Cartridges.  These have a bit more punch than the “cowboy” loads we had been shooting.   I was feeling a bit  “Butch and Sundance” and loaded up both for a taste of  “dual Duelist”.   This is one gun in each hand cocking with the same shooting side thumb.  I only hit one steel plate…One handed is a lot different with these bigger loads and seeing through all of that smoke does add to the challenge.  I’m really looking forward to more one hand shooting…I think I’ll start with just the right and work my way back up to dual duelist.  I’m pretty good with two hands but that single work will take a bit of practice.

In the two plate videos I can get 6 shots off in about 10 sec with 4 to 5 hits…dad was bit slower at about 18-20 sec  but with 5-6 on most runs.  Not bad for a guy who hits 75 this month. I’ll get the plate vids up later…these are uploading slow tonight.

This first plate video was some warm up work with the double 9 .22 revolver.  9 shots for 6 plates…a couple of misses and some put into the paper target off screen.

This plate video was with the Vaquero…notice how the plate get knocked a bit further back…in both of these were were shooting at 25 to 30 feet.  The plates are 6″ dia.

We finished up the day with the Winchester 1873 lever-action on the steel…but moved out to 30 yards or so instead of the 25 to 30 feet we were using for the pistols.  Here dad had a little more trouble with the Winchesters weight. After all 24″ of octagonal barrel is up over 8 pounds.

First Snow at the house...

Saturday morning we woke to some snow…the first of the season ( at the house) the divide got hit a couple of weeks ago.  Home made scones for breakfast and a nice pot roast for dinner..yum yum

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Cowboy Up!

 

Ruger Vaquero In .45 Colt

 

I took the plunge yesterday and picked up my first cartridge gun. Those that have been following along here know I started shooting black powder earlier this year with my Colt 1851 in .44  and my Remington 1858 also in .44, both by Pietta.  This Ruger is my first step further in to the world of cowboy shooting. I must admit I miss the smoke and smell of the black powder, but  BOY HOWDY are these cartridge guns quick and easy to load.  No wonder the wild wild west was won with these guys forefathers’.  This Ruger is based on the original Colt peacemaker, Colt re-introduced the SAA (Singl Action Army) a while back with the popularity of Cowboy action shooting and a number of other manufacturers have jumped in.  The new Colts list in the $1200 range…a bunch of the others are way more reasonable.

At first I was thinking about an Uberti 1873 cattleman with case hardened frame, blued barrel,  brass backstrap and trigger guard. I have to say it is still one of the most attractive looking single actions out there.  I also was thinking about getting it in .44-40 as this was the orginal caliber of the Winchester 1873 rifle. Which, hands down, is still the coolest rifle ever.  The Uberti version of the Winchester 1873, in their sporting model with the 24″ octagonal  barrel is what is at the top of my wish list (in case there are any philanthropic persons out there looking to buy one for me).  I picked up my Vaquero at a shop in Boulder and they have a few of the Uberti 1873 rifles in .45 colt in both the 20″ and 24″ models. I can provide details if you need them.

Research into the robustness of the Uberti pistols and the all arround shortage of ammo in .44-40.  Led me to decide to go with the Vaquero in .45 Colt, its still VERY cowboy, and I got a good deal on this used one in Stainless steel. So today, less than 24 hours after I took it home, I got out to test fire it.  Granted, the weather was for shit with cold wind and blowing snow but with the speed of reloads (compared to the cap and  ball muzzle loaders) it was not too bad really.  The “sight picture” is a little different than the others but I think it is something I could get used to.  After about 3 rounds of reloading I was into the “black” at about 30 feet or so.  The kick of the .45 cowboy loads was bigger than I had anticipated so I think it will continue to be as much fun as the black powder. Down the road a bit, with its stainless construction when I start shooting black powder cartridges now and then it should clean up easily.

 

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