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Posted on 08/07/2007 7:52:15 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!
Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
That washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is anoble thing!
O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain.
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.
O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer, if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.
O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!
Well, it’s 93% humidity right now, but it’s only 55 degrees. Raining.
Lots of "farmers shotguns" were modified over the years, even the aristocratic Model 12. A lot of them were stored in barns, which is how mine looks. But it's also an old soldier, and deserved a better retirement.
A well-made firearm is one of the few objects that can be used for centuries, as long a it gets minimal maintenance. Springs are perhaps the weakest link, but as long as someone knows how to make springs (and I think they'll be around for a long time), the gun can still function.
Ammunition is another matter. I have some original GI Krag ammo dated 1917. The National Guard still had Krags, so they were still making new ammo for it.
The ammo came in bandoliers, with ten loose rounds inside a pocket that was sewn closed with flimsy thread. I looked at some of the rounds, and each case neck was cracked, meaning air got inside the case, and oxidized the powder. If the powder ignited at all, the cracked case neck would never hold the bullet long enough for gas pressure to push it out the barrel.
I guess after 90 years that even annealed brass case necks re-harden, and then fail. Of course, drawn-brass cases were still pretty new metallurgical technology back then.
2. Would you keep ammo in a mag, or would that fatigue the spring?
I’ll put in my two cents on that one. A darn long time given reasonable storage conditions, the old .50 cal and .30 ammunition boxes are great for storage, as are the 37mm shell boxes.
I’ve shot lots of ammo of WWII-Korean vintage, more recently .22s from a collectors estate that were from the 50s and 60s half boxes or in bags.
I rotate when I can but some I occasionally find give rise to questions of the age, especially when there’s a price on it.
My swiss ammo is from the 60s, one box from the 70s. I understand the last batch that came in is from the 80s.
Going to order up another case of that. GP-11 is fine match grade ammo that was regular issue to the Swiss Army.
Like I said, my two cents, your groups may vary. :-)
Long-term storage of fully-loaded magazines is still the subject of debate. I've kept .45ACP and 5.56mm in fully-loaded magazines for three years as a test. No problems with either. But it's best to cycle both ammo and magazines to keep things fresh.
What is known is the stainless steel magazine springs in GI 30-round M-16 magazines will eventually "take a set". The result is not enough spring pressure to feed the last few rounds. The Army recognizes this, and recommends turning in the magazines for new springs when this happens. If it happens to you in a firefight when you need those last few rounds, you may have some problems.
Chrome-silicon springs are "set resistant", but will rust, so need more attention. "Extra power" springs also bring you an extra margin of spring power as the springs age. As time goes by, I've been replacing my GI springs with Wolfe extra-power chrome-silicon springs (some mags are over 30 years old), and newer anti-tilt magazine followers. I've even replaced the springs on my IBM carbine, in case I ever feel like buying some ammo and shooting it again.
Sounds like a raw kind of day.
Well, it’s looking up, sun peeking through, but it rained all night... Trail riding as planned, would be pretty muddy. I think we’ve been skunked.
Why does it always rain on weekends?
At least I got my ride in yesterday before the rain really kicked in and there was much water on the ground...you’re right, any dirt trails would be pretty sloppy today, even if the rain really stops. And it doesn’t seem to be completely sure it’s going to.
I'll be there the 8th through the 16th...peak is usually right around the middle of the third week of September, so I'll be a little too early for serious color. I may get to see a bit, though, if the weather cooperates.
This is probably the wettest summer in my memory here.
On the plus side (for me, anyhow), it’s really never been hot. We had those few days wayyyy back in...May, was it? And since then, it’s mostly been sixties and seventies.
But I keep forgetting that summer’s almost over...keep wondering when it’s going to kick in.
Country of origin is another clue on the conditions of manufacture and storage, important for a milsurp shooter of weaponry from foreign lands.
The ROP - republic of Pakistan .303 - that is currently available is a case in point. Like Winmag said, erratic performance from duds to light loads to full power, is noted by those who shoot it.
My buddy that is partial to shooting Moisons, Swiss and Swedes finds the Hungarian ammo more accurate than the Yugoslavian and Russian 7.62 R ammo. There’s a lot more consistency in eastern bloc ammo he found, must have been better manufactring and storage there.
Morning...er...afternoon.
The problem with those 1 pint tubs of ice cream is that you can eat it all in one sitting. I have just eliminated that temptation.
mmm ice cream, pray tell, what kind of ice cream is no longer available to temp you?
If you like chocolate ice cream, Breyer’s has a new flavor called Triple Chocolate. It’s like Neapolitan, in the way it’s packed, but it’s White, Dark, and Milk Chocolate. It is SO good!!
This was Blue Bell’s Chocolate Covered Cherries. It gave me plenty of energy to put a second coat of paint on the ceiling.
Chocolate...
Staying dry?
Spent my weekend puttering around the house and doing series Nano-prep. Ah feel like me brain is gonna burst.
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