The Blessing of a Long Weekend...

This past weekend included the Memorial Day holiday. Amidst the pleasures of an extra day off from work I'd like to thank all who have sacrificed for our freedom.

Our family went to Pittsburg, NH for the weekend as we have for the past five or six Memorial Day weekends. We spent the time up there taking in the peace of northern New Hampshire and doing some fishing. Good friends met us there and our kids all played together and had a great time. We got to do some fishing, and a great hike up Mt. Magalloway, a small, remote peak with a fire tower on top. It was a much needed break for all of us.

On the way home we stopped for a few moments at the Our Lady of Grace Shrine in Columbia, NH. It's a beautiful spot with many religious statues and a walking path.

If you haven't made the trek to northern New Hampshire, I highly recommend it. There are still big woods, fantastic fishing and nature watching spots, and old-timey cabins and sportsmens lodges. It's a great place to relax.

Jethro Tull "Original Masters"

Today on the ride I listened to Jethro Tull's "Original Masters" - a greatest hits album released in 1985. I first bought this on cassette when I was around 16 or 17, and after all these years it still rocks. It's an album that I keep going back to.

What's cool about Jethro Tull is that they are a classic rock band that interweaves all kinds of acoustic and orchestral sounds in with the overdriven power chords. And the lyrics, we can't forget the lyrics. All kinds of songs about living life and what it all means. However, the philosophy is subtle, and it won't hit you over the head for the most part.

I love almost all of the songs on this one. However, "Too Old To Rock 'n Roll, Too Young To Die" has become my anthem recently. I won't analyze it here, because I don't have the time or space to do it justice, however, I highly recommend that you give it a listen, especially if you're feeling the affects of time.

Another favorite is, "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day". There's a line in there that I really love, "Do you ever get the feeling that the story's too damn real and in the present tense?"

No post on Jethro Tull would be complete without talking about Ian Anderson's flute playing. Ian is the lead singer and a madman on the flute. You normally wouldn't think of the flute as a hard rocking instrument, but in hands it runs the gamut from soft and soothing to hard-rocking.

So I highly recommend that you get "Original Masters" and get to know it. Fantastic '70s rock that still plays great today.

Francis Dunnery - "Tall Blonde Helicopter"

When I threw this cd into for the ride this morning I didn't realize that it was 15 years old - where does the time go? I was actually kind of dreading it, thinking it would be some long-forgotten pop and a waste of time. I was wrong.

"Tall Blonde Helicopter" by Francis Dunnery is still relevant, and actually a lot of fun to listen to. Dunnery uses the album as sort of a self-help session - I'm guessing that he's been through at least one rehab program. Each song deals with his failings as a man and his efforts to be a better human being. I think that every song is written from a first-person perspective and each contains the word "Me" or "I" repeated over and over.

The best song is, "Too Much Saturn" which received quite a bit of airplay back in the day. However, there are a lot of good songs on the cd, from the opening "48 Hours Ago" to "I believe I Can Change My World". I actually only made it to song 12 before I got to work, "Only New York Going On" but I will listen to the last three on the way home this evening.

I wouldn't want to listen to this everyday, but it is well worth throwing into the player every now and then. The whole introspective thing can get tiresome, but taken in small doses it can be beneficial.

Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic

Today's drive-time music was Steely Dan's "Pretzel Logic". I had forgotten how enjoyable this cd was. Great songs like "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" and "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" combine Steely Dan's twisted lyrics with a jazzy, funky, hip sound.

I was especially happy to hear the last song, "Monkey In Your Soul" - great horns and lyrics that you have to look up when you get to work. "I fear the monkey in you soul"!

An Ugly Rifle

If I had known I was going to like it so much I would have bought something nicer!

Back in 2004 I was chosen for a moose hunting permit in the New Hampshire moose lottery. I needed a rifle. Up until then, I had primarily been a shotgunner. I could have used a shotgun and slugs for my hunt, and I did have a Winchester 94 30-30 and I could have used that, but the hunt of a lifetime sort of demands a new gun.

For whatever reason, I had my heart set on a 30-06 or a .308. I contemplated a Browning BAR semi-auto, but in the end I decided that a bolt-action would be the ticket. After perusing several gun stores I showed up at a new gun store with items for possible trade: a Ruger Mini-14 and a Smith & Wesson 5906 pistol. The offer that they made me on the Mini was ridiculously low, but I was so anxious to get rid of the pistol that I took their offer of 50% of its value.

On the rack behind the counter he had a group of bolt-action rifles. I remember there was an older Weatherby that he showed me - it had a big, gaudy stock and it just seemed like a big gun. I passed. Then he tried to sell me on the virtues of a 7mm-08. This would probably have been perfect, but I wanted the .308 or 30-06.

That's when he pulled down a new Remington 700 ADL in 30-06. It had an ugly black plastic stock. It wasn't blued, but was instead coated with some sort of textured black enamel. It didn't have a magazine drop plate to unload the gun. I did the math in my head, the gun wasn't a lot of money, and with what I was getting on the trade it wouldn't cost me much out of pocket. It was a perfect moose gun and I kind of figured that I wouldn't use it much after the moose hunt. Sold! I left with it.

I put a decent Burris 3-9 scope on it with some Leupold QR detachable rings. These rings allowed me to remove the scope and it would always return within an inch of zero when reattached. I also began handloading so I'd have plenty of ammo to practice with. That summer I did a lot of shooting, and I was always very impressed with how accurate that inexpensive rifle was. I settled on a moose hunting handload - a 180 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullet and I think I used 4064 powder. It kicked pretty hard, but it wasn't unbearable.

The week of the moose hunt finally came, and on the second day I bagged a three year old bull that dressed out at six hundred pounds. I hit him in the shoulder with the ought-six and he dropped on the spot. My ugly rifle had done what it was supposed to do.

But contrary to my initial ideas for the rifle I didn't trade it out after that, or put it in the closet and forget about it. The following year I was invited for a week of deer hunting in Maine. I resighted in the rifle with 150 grain Hornady SST handloads and off we went. Now, I had never shot a deer before, but towards the end of the week a spikehorn began coming in behind where I was perched in a treestand. I kept losing him in the scope as he ducked behind small hemlocks, and I was shaking so badly at one point that the stand started to vibrate against the tree. I finally put the crosshairs on his shoulder when he stepped into a clearing about 40 yards away. The rifle boomed and then I lost sight of the deer.

I worked my way down the tree and I planned for some tracking. I couldn't see the deer and I was hoping for a good blood trail. However, when I got to where he had been standing the spike was about 3 yards away, having taken one leap and before piling up dead. When I dressed him I found that the lungs were pulp, the top of the heart was gone, and both legs were broken at the shoulder. The deer never knew what hit him and the ugly rifle had done the job once again.

Now when I've got serious hunting to do I usually grab for my Remington 700. I do have other guns and I sometimes use them, but the Remington has become the 'go to' gun. Lately I've been thinking how a smaller caliber might be nice for deer hunting. Something in 250 Savage or 260 Remington. Something light and elegant that won't kick like a mule. However, when I compare these rifles, feature-to-feature with what I have, they never quite add up.

My ugly rifle has a lot of features that add up to a perfect package:

1) It has iron sights on it. Coupled with the quick-detach scope rings I could always remove the scope if it became damaged and shoot the irons. This is especially important on an out-of-state hunt where a broken scope could cause a lot of downtime.

2) It's got a great trigger. I'm surprised that Remington could put an almost perfect trigger on a gun in this price range.

3) It's durable. I once accidently dropped it out of a treestand (unloaded) - and it was no worse for the wear. The ugly enamel finish is tough and the plastic stock doesn't scratch.

4) It's accurate. I have no interest in measuring groups with calipers, but I know that the gun is more accurate than I need it to be.

5) The 30-06 is still a heck of a cartridge even though it is over 100 years old.

So it looks like I'm stuck with this ugly rifle, I haven't seen anything to replace it that would be better; maybe as good, but not better. Perhaps one day one of my kids will want it, and then I can treat myself to some fancy quarterbore that looks like a million bucks. But for now I grab the ugly gun when works needs to be done...

-Leave comments about your ugly rifle.

Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits

The temptation was great to revert to my old habits and just turn on NPR for the ride to work this morning. However, I reached into the cd case and pulled out "Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits". The first song, "Let's get it on" made me realize that I had made the right choice. Other great classics such as "How sweet it is" and "Heard it through the grapevine" cemented the deal.

However, I was especially struck by "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" and "What's going on?" These songs from the '70's are as relevant today as they were back then. With my news-junkie days still in my head I contrasted the songs against the current state of affairs: oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, wars, stagnant economy, and racial tensions. These songs definitely hit the mark all these years later.

The last songs on the disk, including "Distant Lover" are really slower love songs seemingly meant to showcase Marvin's range and performance talents. They are alright, but I don't think that they stand up like the fantastic first half of the CD.

Appleseed Shoot After Action Report

The picture above shows Shannon and Simon 'on the line' shooting an Army Qualification Test (AQT)

Synopsis: The entry below pertains to the Appleseed Project shoot that I recently attended. It is probably only of interest to people who like to shoot or who want to attend an Appleseed. The short version is: I attended an Appleseed, passed the test, got my Rifleman patch, and had a blast! If you aren't interested in the long, drawn-out details, stop reading here.

A little over a month ago I attended my first Appleseed shoot. See my pre-shoot blog post from April 14. To re-cap, the Appleseed is a two day shooting clinic that also teaches Revolutionary War history. The goal is to be able to shoot a passing score on the Army Qualification Test (AQT) which simulates shooting human-sized target out to four hundred yards. The actual shooting is done at 25 meters, but the targets are shrunk down proportionally so that they are very small.

Shoot Day

I arrived with Shannon and Simon at the range and it was drizzling and raw. We weren't really sure where to set up and by the time we were told the only spot left was a depression on the firing line that had filled with water. I thought that the instructor would rearrange the line to get us out of the puddle, but his indifferent look made me realize that this was our spot. We put down a tarp and our ground pads, but I could instantly tell that we were going to get wet. I tried to take the center of the puddle for myself, hoping to keep Simon a little dry, but once we were all settled in we were instructed to turn our shooting mats at a 45 degree angle to the targets, and this put Simon squarely in the puddle. I guess that a little water wouldn't have stopped the Revolutionary War patriots, so we should just suck it up as well.

We began with some basic safety instruction, and then began shooting to get a baseline for our skills. I was still unhappy about being in a puddle, until the instructor demonstrated the prone shooting posistion by flopping down in the mud on his belly. He got up covered in mud and I realized that this guy was for real and I should be thankful that I had a tarp and a mat in between me and the mud.

Shooting

The shooting consisted of various practice drills. Then we switched to AQT targets and we had timed shoots to try to qualify. The AQT target requires 40 shots: 10 standing, 10 sitting, and 20 prone. You only get four minutes to do it. The means that you have an average of six seconds per shot. Subract from that time for position changes and swapping out magazines, and you've got quite a bit less than 6 seconds per shot.

I had read up on the shooting protocol beforehand, I had practiced, sighted in my rifle, adjusted my sling, and worked the bugs out of everything. I had showed up with the intention of shooting a passing score and getting my Rifleman patch. Then tension grew as we shot AQTs and I didn't qualify. Overall my shooting was decent, but there would always be enough 'flyers' that would knock my score down. The tiny 400 meter prone targets were worth double score, so it was especially important to do well in this section. After peering at them for too long they would start to blur and I'd miss a lot.

The instructors suggested that we mix it up and start from the prone position instead of standing. The theory was that since these targets were worth more, it might be helpful to do them first. That advice, coupled with working out my aiming points and really staying focused allowed me to finally shoot a passing AQT score. I can't begin to telling you how elated I was! People who might not be into this sort of thing might dismiss it saying, 'So what, it's just a silly shooting contest.' But for people who are there, the pressure and the desire to shoot a passing score is huge.

Other Aspects

Shannon and Simon both had scoped bolt-action rifles. For people with decent eyesight the scope is probably a break-even proposition. It does make the targets clearer, but it doesn't offer the fast target acquisition of peep sights. The real disadvantage came from having to work the bolt. With my semi-auto all I had to think about was making the shot. Shannon and Simon had to work the bolt on their rifles in between shots, all the while trying to keep the scope on target. Remember, there are less than 6 seconds per shot so you have to be fast. Shannon also had the handicap of only having three magazines for his rifle. After I passed the AQT I ended up loading magazines for him during his shoots.

During breaks the instructors - who were excellent, recounted for us the story of the Battle of Concord and Lexington. How the Patriots struck a decisive blow against the Redcoats and lit the match that would become The Revolution. Their telling of it was heartfelt and descriptive, and really kept everyone's attention. There was no overt political message, but my take-away was, 'You've got these rifles, now learn how to shoot them in case you are ever called to defend the country like our founding fathers.' Good stuff.

The Rifle

I had bought a Marlin 795 .22 specifically for this shoot. It was onsale and came with a rebate, so the price worked out to $95 - unbelievably inexpensive! I added some 'Tech-Sights' which are adjustable, military-style peep sights. I also added a military sling (a must-have), and I bought an additional three magazines (you need four 10-round mags). The rifle had one of the worst trigger pulls I'd ever experienced, so I looked online and found some directions for home-gunsmithing to clean it up. After the work I did it was still a bad trigger, but useable. I was careful not to change the trigger in any way that would affect the safety of the rifle. All in I had less than $250 in the rifle. I bought a bunch of ammo - I like to use Federal Lightning (which is the Wal-Mart version of Federal Champion). My main concern was making sure that the ammo would reliably work the semi-auto action of the gun, and also be accurate enough. The Federal Lightning was a winner. Luckily I brought plenty of ammo because we averaged around 400 rounds per day!

Conclusion

If you have any interest at all in shooting an Appleseed, check out http://appleseedinfo.org/. I highly recommend it. It was exhausting, both physically and mentally, but it was a whole lot of fun. It has also greatly improved my shooting and changed my ideas on acceptable accuracy. I used to think that 'pie plate' accuracy was OK - the ability to hit a pie plate. Now I'm striving for silver dollar accuracy. The volunteers who put these events together are Patriots and are to be commended on their hard work and dedication.