Of Shotgunners and Pitchmen..

I was surprised to see an old Shotgunner pitching investments in pure silver on TV the other night..
Who was it? None other than International Trapshooter from the U.K., Derek Partridge!
Mr. Partridge is quite the salesman, not to mention a highly skilled bunker shooter for the U.K., having been involved in bring the Perazzi knockoff, Kemen from Spain many years ago. The Kemen was a dead ringer for the bulletproof Italian target gun... dropout trigger and all, and Mr. Partridge pushed them heavily!
He used to call me at work trying to put a Kemen in my hands. I'll never know where he got my number or how, but he was offering an attractive price. But, it was a Spanish shotgun, and an unknown quantity, so i passed, but derek was very persistent and not easily dissuaded!
And now, trying to get folks to buy silver as an investment on TV. He's not involved with Kemen anymore, and I haven't heard his name mentioned in shotgunning circles in some time, but he's still a relentless salesman.
He sounds oh so British, and oh so convincing in his pitch...

But, just ass I was not looking for a Kemen shotgun years ago, I'm not looking for silver now, but all the same, I wish derek Partridge the best of luck in his endeavors... Obviously, P.T. Barnum knew something that the rest of us don't!
As an aside, I've yet to see a Kemen to this day!

Some days 'ya shouldn't get outta' bed!

Went out to the gun club yesterday, as is my habit, for a few rounds of clay targets and to try out a new Green Dot load for the Sixteen. I was immediately made conscious of yet another "new rule." You know, the ones that pop up with sickening regularity that no one ever pays any attention to (and often with good reason).
We always hung the release cord over the gun racks... Been that way for eons. Never been a rule... just what everyone did.
Yesterday, I went to hang the release over the gunrack.. As I've done a thousand times in the past... "We don't do that anymore," I was informed, "New rule. You have to hang the button in the garbage can from now on." Possessing the inquisitive mind that I do, always seeking knowledge, I had the audacity to question why this new edict was passed down to us by the ruling class. After all, we had been doing things the same way for decades. Seemed like it made sense. The cord was out of the way where people couldn't trip over it. Putting it in the garbage can meant laying the wire across the entrance to the field. Seemed counterintuitive to me, but I admit I often am closed minded, and don't see the "big picture" that those with much more intelligence than I seem to see with regularity!
Well, it seems that while grabbing the pull cord to shoot another round, a member of the club's "intelligencia" tore a fella's K-80 off the rack onto the concrete. A bad day I'm sure for the K gun's owner, and the cord puller himself in a mad rush to shoot another round.
Sounds like a new rule is in order to me! A rule to make idiots less able to foist their idiocy amongst those unable to defend themselves from said idiocy...
What a stroke of genius! From now on we'll hang the release cord in the garbage can! Problem solved! Careless individuals will no longer be able to pull fine target guns off the rack... A vision from on high!

But, what happens when a guy yanks the cord and dumps the garbage??? Sounds like me might have another "new rule" in store..
In the meantime, in the immortal words of Ebenezer Scrooge, and in keeping with the season... I'll retire to bedlam!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving... And watch your K-80!!

Shotguns and Adjustments.. Too much of a good thing?

The fit of a firearm with a front bead only.. Where the eye is the rear sight, creates a conundrum, and no end to problems for target shooters and hunters alike..
The ideal situation is for the shotgun to fit properly to begin with, but this can be as elusive as the search for the Holy Grail..
Hence, the advent of adjustable combs, adjustable rigs, devices to adjust length of pull, pitch, cant and even sliding triggers. Complete buttstocks made up of aluminum tubing, springs, rods and enough Allen setscrews to make the fitter resort to a 20 page manual.
For dedicated clay target guns, a case could be made for the usefulness, weight and complexity of these add-ons, although a properly fitted gun should negate the plusses. In the field however, I just see it all as so much nonsense.
Once a shooter finds the "sweet spot" on his adjustable stock, the settings should be left alone.. And here enters the rub, and where too many variables are just too much!
The shooter is going along fine with his whiz-bang adjustable stock.. He's found the dimensions that suit him, and is breaking his targets with authority! Everything is well... Or is it?? What about the day that shooter misses a target he always kills?? He starts to think, ride birds, and measure.. The wheels are falling off rapidly! Perhaps that stock the he thought was right, is NOT right after all! Maybe a little tweak is in order to put things right again?? Maybe an extra 1/8 inch of LOP will save the day?? Maybe a little off the comb?? The problems start, and start to compound!
I witnessed this very scenario recently, as a well intentioned shooter attempted to help a fellow club member regain his usual target killing ability.. Out came the rusty pliers and Allen wrenches to alter the metallic maze of a buttstock that probably cost more that some of the guns in my cabinet.. Making minute changes that don't mean a hill o' beans in the first place! All I could do is look on in amazement.. and horror at the rusty pliers!
When it comes to field guns, the adjustments might be fewer, but in my opinion, the end result is worse. What field gun needs more weight in the butt? In my experience, it's quite the opposite. But I see adjustable combs and LOP systems showing up in the field. Wouldn't a classic stock that actually fit in the first place be so much better?? Wouldn't 95% of shooters in general be better served by a gun fitting than a myriad of screws and sliding combs?

When will we ever learn that we're human and not machines? When will we learn that a missed target is due more to the loss of concentration, rather than mechanical failure?

Maybe I'm getting older and more accepting of my shortcomings.. Or maybe I've just gotten wise enough to know that a change of 1/8 inch in any dimension just doesn't amount to the proverbial hill of beans, and is not going to change us from an also-ran to a champion... On the range, or in the field..

Enjoy the weekend!

If I were King...

and the changes I'd make!

Not in how I'd rule the serfs, but in how I'd produce the RBL-16 I've come to like pretty well..

There's not much I would change. The gun has been about as reliable as a Swiss watch with reloads and factories.. Now, where is that block of wood?? But there are some improvements I would make to make an already nice shotgun just a little bit nicer.
First and formost, I'd add a touch of scallop to the rear of the receiver where it meets the cheeks of the stock.. SKB did a nice job of this, but I'd reverse the pattern so as not to create a stock splitting steel wedge as SKB did.. Other makers have carried this off well also, such as the Upland Extra from Poli, pictured here, that I've always admired.. A little bit of enhancement in this area would have made an already pretty gun much more attractive.. but obviously, at a cost!
The fixed choke, 29 inch platform lump barrels are just perfect as-is.. Except, I would substitute a nickle silver or ivory front bead, and add a matching mid bead. Now, beads in an of themselves are completely superfluous on a shotgun, and completely unneccessary for a tool that fits, but tradition demands them, and they do look good..
Next, I would ditch some of the laser engraving.. A small amount of tasteful scroll is far preferable, in my humble opinion, to poorly rendered dogs or game scenes.. A Setter on point that looks like a dreaded "Pointing Lab" is the height of poor taste!

I guess it's no secret why these changes are not part of the RBL package. It's a production gun made to a price, and every little nicety adds to the cost. When you're trying to buld a gun for everyman, sometimes we need to cut corners.. But, not in my kingdom!

Enjoy the weekend!

RBL's are TOUGH!

Had the RBL-16 out at a local range this past week. Met, and enjoyed the pleasure of shooting with a gentleman I've gotten to know fairly well over the past couple of years. Obviously a very experienced guy around guns and clay targets in general, and as we discussed on numerous previous outings, the proud owner of an early RBL Launch Edition.
He was shooting reloads, as was I... I don't have a gun in the cabinet that has not been fed a steady diet of reloads.. Shooting "factories" only to obtain usable hulls when none are available for scrounging!
Well, this gent had a round that wouldn't fully chamber, and consequently the RBL wouldn't close. No amount of opening and slamming shut would cause the gun to go into battery and latch shut! And numerous attempts were made! All I could do was stand behind and cringe at every attempt..
The gun was taken down with thoughts of a return trip to CSMC for repairs. I looked at the receiver and all appeared normal.. What else could cause the gun to keep from closing completely?? I picked up the barrels, looked under the ejectors and sure enough, a sliver of brass from a broken head on a AA-20, probably from a previous trip through an autoloader... Doubled over onto itself, no less as if a single thickness would not have been bad enough.. Upon removal and closer inspection, the two plies of brass looked as if they had been squeezed in a vise, obviously hammered with some force.
The gun was re-assembled and finished the round flawlessly!
I don't know how many other guns would have taken that abuse without damaging an ejector.. A testament to the toughness that Connecticut Shotgun has engineered into the design of the RBL..

The RBL design, in spite of all the polarizing reports by the all-knowing on the ubiquitous "innanet," earned my respect that day...

A 16 gauge score...

The guys around the gun club are getting to know me as the guy who shoots the Sixteen gauge.. Probably the only guy around amongst all the Perazzi and K-80 12 ga. clay target shooters.
It's good in a way, because it makes me different from the crowd, which I always enjoy.. It's not so good in another, because there are no 16 ga. hulls around any of the club ramges to pick up for free.
Now that all the guys are aware of my affair with the Sixteen, whomever wants to clear out their basement of oddball shells they'll never shoot again, seeks me out. My wife calls it junk! I call it treasure!
The top picture, of some old 16 ga. ACTIV's just might make the cut as hunting loads this season. They're quality loads, and shoot reasonably softly at 1165 feet per second. In my favored #8 shot, they'll work out well for me on grouse and woodcock.
I never thought much of ACTIV when they were in production, and never bought a single box of them. I might have shot a few from a squadmates pocket if I was in a stand and needed a shell or two to finish my targets, but that would be about it! Now, realizing the dearth of quality 16 ga. loads, these shells are much coveted, and much appreciated from their donor.
The lower image shows another load of castoffs. Kind of a mixed bag of shells from yesteryear. Some papers, some early heat sealed plastics, some roll crimps... All valued by myself, in spite of the fact that some of the #4's may never be shot at a winged target. The 6's will probably get used eventually, but some will be saved just for the sake of nostalgia... and much to my wife's dismay..

So, once again I lucked out by swinning against the tide, by marching to the beat of a different drummer.. by just being an oddball!

Diversity seems to be my only saving grace, but not in it's politically correct meaning!

The Maiden Voyage

of the good ship RBL.. And I have to say that it was a complete success!
I don't know if I've ever shot a gun straight out of the box as well. I only dropped a pair of targets out of a couple rounds of low gun skeet.. That's pretty good for me!
The ammo was an ounce of 7 1/2's in Remington Game Loads... This junk promo load provides one of the premier junk hulls for sixteen gauge reloading. A couple of rounds shooting these loads left me longing for my light reloads, but that will come soon enough.
I must say that the RBL-16 is very impressive. It comes to my shoulder beautifully, and swings and points naturally. I looks good, and functioned flawlessly! It also can draw a crowd for the Kreighoff and Perazzi shooters who have never heard of Antony Galazan or CSMC..
Now, this is not my first rodeo, and I'm not naive enough to believe that this blissful Niagara Falls honeymoon will automatically turn into a lifelong happy marriage with no effort on my part, but it does bode well for the future...
I did cheat a little, in calling for a Low 1 for my first target out to assure a dead bird on the grand opening, especially since High 1 has been giving me fits lately from a low gun hold... Other than that, we went by the book..

So, all in all, at this point in time, I'm still enjoying the afterglow. But, success can be fleeting..

Check back next week!

An odd turn

Due to the dearth of 16 gauge reloading supplies, I've taken a direction that I never thought I would take, and one that flies in the face of everything I thought I once knew about reloading shotshells. But, part of the mystique of the "Queen of the Uplands" is finding new solutions and exploring new avenues. The Sixteen makes it a near necessity.
Upon the recommendation of a couple of savvy reloaders who's opinions I trust without question, I picked up some Gualandi 2025 20 ga. wads from Precision Reloading for use in the Remington Game Load hulls that I've yet to empty.
I have heard about using 20 ga wads in 16 ga hulls for some time, and there is data to support it's use on the Low Pressure Reloading Group's site, but it just never sounded right to me.
But, I've since learned that the black RGL hull has a small internal diameter, and the Italian wads seem to have a relatively large skirt diameter.. Hence, not a bad fit in 16 ga. hulls like the black Remmie..
So, it's yet another 16 gauge adventure to explore while awaiting the somewhat tardy, and let me add maddening, arrival of the RBL-16..

BTW, stay tuned in the next couple of days for a little story that I think many will find amusing, and well worth the wait..

And, for some cool little video of some Red Dawgs workin' birds on the North Dakota prairies, pay a visit to our friends at A Piece of the Purest Challenge. Click the links and watch some stylish broke Red Setters in action.. Great stuff!

Enjoy the day!

Fancy wood, and its appropriate use

I'll be the first to admit it.. I'm a sucker for a fancy piece of walnut!
That said, pretty wood never grassed a bird, but I've yet to meet anyone that doesn't drool when they see it..
But, should wood be commensurate with the relative value of the gun it's applied to?
I think it should! In my opinion, a shotgun marketed to the serfs, like myself, looks a bit out of place wearing the highest grades of walnut. I often prefer a more subdued stick.. Something that looks like a working gun instead of a showpiece.
Can wood be too fancy? I think it can! A friend once had a Beretta ASE with fantastic wood. I shot that gun well the first, and only, time I picked up, and marveled at the figure in the buttstock. The figure was so pronounced and beautiful, that it almost did not look real... Like a piece of plastic!
Some of the wood that is today marketed as "high grade" also shows flaws that would have never passed muster in years past. Knots, and areas that were obviously the remnants of the start of branches. But, as full figured walnut becomes more and more scarce, and more in demand, second quality pieces will also get the nod on the guns of some folks.

So, I like nice wood. But I also like wood with pleasing figure, but an understated elegance..

We'll soon see what shows up on a new gun!

Boredom... And the clay target shooter

There's no question in my mind that clay target games, as with most games in general, are infinitely more fun when one is shooting well. If a person is not breaking many targets, interest can be lost pretty quickly... But, can interest and committment also be lost when one is breaking virtually every target?
Now, I'm certainly the last guy that can lay claim to breaking every target that's been thrown for me, or even close to it, but when I used to shoot lot's of skeet, I could run hundreds with sub-guage tube sets. I don't consider that feat enough to consider myself a gifted shotgunner, since I always opined that I could have a chimp shooting straights before a human given a goodly supply of bananas! Why?? The chimp wouldn't overthink his targets, and he'd be unafraid to miss. Hence, none of the "between the ears" foibles that we humans are often prone to.
So, is an easy game like Skeet still fun when you're breaking all your targets? Where is the incentive to improve? What is the next goal?
I've often marveled at dedicated Skeet shooters for their committment and dedication... pounding away at the same targets day after week, after agonizing year! I've pretty well documented how I suffered from "Skeet burnout," and how many years it took me to be able to shoot the occasional game again and get a little bit of satisfaction from it.
Maybe I'm easily bored, but I guess the answer for me is the ability to break enough targets to remain interested, and not too many to get bored. Thus far, Sporting has allowed me that, although even there, there is nothing new under the sun. But at least the presentations can be broken up a little..

My point?? Maybe I don't really have one, and I'm just offering food for thought on yet another rainy Wednesday....

"To choke or not to choke.....

.... that is the question"

I guess it's safe to say that my one-time love affair with the now ubiquitous choke tube is over... and has been for some time.
I much prefer fixed chokes... for aesthetic reasons and due to the fact that fixed chokes can, and do deliver better patterns on target. While I have no empirical evidence to support my contention, it exists between the ears, and the key to successful shotgunning resides between the ears. So, if I believe it to be so, for me it is so!
I'm also of the opinion that modern ammunition does not require the degree of choke that was once necessary. I've proven to myself how far .008 of choke in the twelve ga. can reliably break a target, and it's much farther than most people would think..

Changing choke tubes is, to me at least, like changing dimensions on a adjustable stock... We can just get into too much trouble by doing it. It takes one's concentration off of the situation at hand, and becomes a distraction unto itself..

Sometimes when we're not shooting as well as we believe we should, we seek to make a change... and I guess that's OK. But, chokes and stock dimensions that worked before are, IMO not the place to go looking for answers..

Perhaps one of the motivational tapes placed under one's pillow at night... "You are great... You are great... You are great... You ar.....

Enjoy the weekend... and pray for some sun!

Interesting news from "New Britsky"

Connecticut Shotgun is based in New Britain, Connecticut. My daughter presently lives in New Britain, Connecticut. New Britain was a manufacturing town, think the Stanley works where CSMC is currently housed, with many immigrants of Eastern European descent, hence the "New Britsky" moniker.
The news?? It seems that there have been "leaks" to the effect that CSMC will pull the plug of the highly successful and popular RBL series of SxS's.
Longtime readers here will recognize the fact that I'm currently waiting for an RBL-16... the 16 ga. iteration of the series, and the ga. that will undoubtedly see the fewest numbers.
So, I guess it would be disingenuous for me to act the spoiled child and be upset at the news. Quite frankly, if this rumour became fact I'd be quite ecstatic. I'd be in possession of another gun with low numbers that would hopefully be in demand...

We'll see how this all plays out, but it will be interesting, for myself and our friends at Cold Duck, to watch the rumour mill from the sidelines..

New kid on the block

And you thought the internet contained all the information you never wanted to know before?
Along with the 16 ga. Society website, there is now a 28 ga. Society for aficianados of the impressive little 28's.

It seems there is a niche site for every nuance in the world of the Internet..

Spend some time perusing the sites, and if you find they have any value for you, join up and participate.

Isn't that what we're all here for??

Enjoy the weekend...

Will wonders never cease??

It seems that the National Skeet Shooting Association, the governing body of Skeet shooting in the U.S.A., has finally acknowledged that the 16 ga. shotgun still exists! Certainly with no help from the N.S.S.A.!!
While it's true that there is nothing to prevent a Sixteen from being used in the Twelve ga. events, I'm unaware of anyone that has ever actually done it, although Hal Hare may do it on a limited basis..
Anyway, it's good to see the "red headed stepchild" of the N.S.S.A. finally get some recognition from them..

Read all about it here....

Roll crimps

What is more classic in the world of shotshells than a shell that's been roll crimped?? The only item that I could think of would be a paper hull that's been roll crimped.
I've been attempting to get into the world of the roll crimp for some time, and now that there is buzz that Lyman will be once again offering their superior roll crimp heads, there appears to be one less obstacle standing in my way.
To further add to the appeal, there are folks that are using the PAINT program that comes along with Microsoft products to create unique covers for the overshot card as pictured here... Will this extra touch make one's ammo more lethal?? I doubt it, but it would sure give the guys at camp something to talk about while sitting around the fire watching wet steaming dogs dry off at the end of the day..
I'm always attracted to things that are unique and different, and I'm exploring the PAINT program myself to see if there's a way I can personalize my ammo.

Don't forget to click the pic to see the beautifully formed roll crimps and the folk art covers..

My... How times change

The club is putting together a component order.. a semi pulls in with a full load, and everyone pitches in to get it off-loaded and put away.
The prices are good from a large Pennsylvania distributor, and no shipping to pay and no ridiculous "hazmat" fees..
Now, to the point. I bought some West Coast hard shot to prevent my continual depletion of the shot I've got stashed.. 24 bucks and change a bag, and I consider it a bargain! Also got a few flats of Remington 16 ga. game loads for the hulls, at over 80 clams a flat...
Years ago I would have been horrified at these prices, and I must admit that even now, it doesn't go down easily, but it just goes to show how far we've come, and how sky-high prices can enure one to the fact...
Maybe my age is telling... or maybe I've just given up...

Anticipation..

Just like the great old Carly Simon tune..
My Downrange DR-16 wads, 5K worth, showed up on the doorstep night before last. These are in anticipation of the arrival of the 16 ga. RBL, and failing that in a timely manner, will see duty in the B. Rizzini Aurum Teutonic.
These wads are pretty pricey as wads go. Thirty one dollars per thousand, or about 50% more than any other commonly produced wad.
Some of the design elements are also a bit puzzling. The wad petals measure.031, or about twice the thickness of all other wads I have around here. The gas seal is also quite thick. There is a noticable flare for a seal, but again, different than production wads I'm used to..
In any case, the wad is very high and will save the step of dropping a filler into the shotcup, even for a 3/4 ounce load. Something less than 3/4 ounce may even be possible, but that venture is for some future experimentation...

Will report back after I've pushed some of these wads through the gun at clay targets...

Enjoy the weekend, and some warm weather.

Reloading supplies on Supermarket shelves

As reloading costs rise, and the price of lead shot in particular, the trend toward lighter loads in all gauges is getting some traction.
I've been a proponent of the trend for a long time, prompted by my inherent cheap... let's call it frugality. I've been shooting the mighty 1 oz. 12 ga. load since the early 1980's when they first came to light for Trapshooters in search of less recoil for longer and longer events.
After the shoulder fracture and dislocation two years ago, I was inspired to also seek out reduced loadings for the 20 ga. birdgun I had been shooting. I was punching out foam discs with an arch punch to add to the bottom of the shotcup for a low velocity 3/4 ounce load.. That became pretty tedious, and I'd often put off reloading the days shells until the very morning I needed them.
Now, using cereal fillers to take up space for reduced shot charges is not a new idea, and I cannot lay claim to developing it. But, I've found that one Cheerio in the 20 ga. shotcup provides a perfect crimp!
It's got an added benefit of providing a snack close at hand if I get hungry while reloading..
Add to that a little treat for the birds that inhabit the range grounds and we have a winner.
So, choose the flavor that you and the birds enjoy most, the lead shot doesn't care which.. And, next time the wife does a week's food shopping, don't forget to tell her to look in the "reloading" aisle and stock up on supplies...

Overshot cards

Do they blow patterns?

A question I've been considering for some time, and there's obviously no answer without a visit to the dreaded and much despised pattern board for some hands on tests.
But, is it really necessary, or can some "down home" common sense enter the picture? There's no question that modern shotshells outperform their counterparts from yesteryear by a fairly large degree. Plasic wads that contain and protect the shot, as well as form a better gas seal for the propellant to do it's job are obvious advantages, but what about the star crimp? No overshot card to catch air upon leaving the muzzle and forcing the shot charge around? Or, is the cardboard card just shredded to pieces. Old roll crimped shotshells had to deal with this problem.
But, I'm dealing with it again today in my search for lighter loads. Fillers of various kinds added to the bottom of the shotcup are a major pain in the butt! A thin overshot card under the star crimp works well and is far easier to boot, but for other than close range work, is my pattern suffering?
A question that has had my head spinning of late... I'm interested in hearing from folks that have bitten the bullet, spent time at the pattern board and found out for themselves..
I've said many times that I'd rather watch paint dry than pattern shotshells ever again, but I may be forced to that dreaded end.. Seeing is , unfortunately believing!