The Hobbit Hole XXXVIII - There and Back Again!

[300winmag]

Well, I finally found a good chunk of blue background to try experiments with highly-figured wood. It's a light blue (best shade I could find) yoga mat, so it stays put, and is plenty long enough. I must say it helps do justice to my new CZ, although I had to tweak with Photoshop even with the photo I took.

I had to "step on" the image a couple of times to get it to come out this good. The wood is so dark, I overlooked all the fancy grain the first time. It's still very understated, but it's there. This is the AAA side of the stock. The AAAA wood is on the other side.

I also had the smaller (smaller?, the tree guy they hauled away 30,000 pounds of it) taken down to the ground. I have a few slabs that will spend a couple of years in the garden shed, just so I can study more of the tree. One thing I already noticed is the tree lived a very lush and well-fed life. Lots of sapwood, and it's very thick and uniform, year-to-year. The biggest piece of heartwood, aside fromm whatever may be in the stump, would be big enough to carve an ashtray out of.

But what do you expect from a sapling thinner than a broomhandle when I planted it about 40 years ago?

The tree was starting to scare me, because the growth was accelerating, and posed a lot of threats to all the cables that ran through it. It was beyond my ability to keep trimmed, and the tree guys really had to bust their butts to take it down a piece at a time, since there were so many wires in the way, and no way they could get their cherrypicker back there.

They earned their pay, and the big pieces of trunk and branches, which will bring good money as premium firewood, since walnut burns hotter than pine, but doesn't leave any creosote behind.

[300winmag]

Back on the topic of walnut, here's the fancier side of the rifle. It didn't even need much tweaking to come out real nice.

Understated elegance in a little rifle. This would be a "barn gun" for some attendant at some noble's country estate.

Once I solve the problem of the sub-microscopic iron sights, I'll take it to the range for a test drive. It also has a single-set trigger, something I'm finding more redundant, and more bother in setting it, and then getting back to a good sight picture.

In other matters wal-nutty, this is a picture of where the tree stood for the last 40 or so years, up until a few days ago. The other, even bigger, tree can just about shade the whole yard all by itself.

Delightful, cooling shade, but there's mostly dirt where there used to be grass. I hope the areas of lawn not touched by the shadows will recolonize the new land, and the leaf canopy won't be so dense now.

The stump of the tree, showing lots of sapwood, and heartwood about the size of a dinner plate.

All of this shows why you need a walnut tree a couple hundred years old to get enough quality wood for several full-length rifle blanks.

And to close on a CZ note, as we opened, two more uncommon CZ pistols that drifted in over the past two weeks. They finally admitted that the store has over 300 CZ weapons of all kinds on backorder for the last two years. If this is the best Michigan's biggest CZ dealer can do, it means I jump when something unexpected comes in. In this case, the first shots from my CZ 2075 RAMI, and CZ 85, both in 9mm.

The RAMI is CZ's sub-compact (as opposed to all the micro-compacts) handgun. The tiny grip makes the gun just big enough for me to fire about 50 rounds through it before my hand starts telling me it's quitting time. The CZ 85 is a "modernized" version of the full-size CZ 75B, with features like ambidextrous everything, and some subtle reshaping of parts of the frame and trigger.

I learned that almost all internal parts on the 75/85 families are identical internally. The CZ 85 trigger is more curved, but thinner. With a custom trigger linkage, the trigger comes further back in the trigger guard, reducing finger-reach, and taking out most of the pre-sear-contact slack. I've already gotten several more trigger/link sets for the other CZs, and they will get this tune-up.

I know this "destroys collector value", but these are all "working" guns, and I want them to work the best they can for me so I can concentrate on my end of the transaction. Even the original "war horse" CZ 75 will get a surplus round hammer, which is much less intimidating to me than the traditional "spur" hammer that always threatens to bite me, or at least that's how it looks from my end. Grip upgrades for a few, and a lot of hand-me-down parts for everyone as I configure things the way I like them. Screw the collector.

However, while going through my growing hoard/cache/mong of CZs, I noted that, by chance, every one is in 9mm, because that's all that was available for the last nine months. The CZ P09 is in .40S&W by choice, and the CZ 97 is .45ACP because that's the only caliber it comes in. So I will pick up only a couple more CZs when I can find them in .40S&W.

But with 300 more items still on back order, who knows what surprises will trickle in? :)

[Rebelbase]

Thanks for the photo of the walnut stump. I had no idea about the age of tree needed for the dark color wood.

[osagebowman]

Morning Win-Mag - nice job on the photography..the wood is a lot nicer than I originally thought. fascinating shades of light and dark. You picked a sleeper there, most folks would have overlooked it. Will you be scoping it? Me thinks a classic 2 or 3 power scope like an old Weaver would look great.

Yep, the walnut does take some serious time to mature, so you did get a few pieces of wood for further experimentation. You could try mixing the heartwood and sapwood It could make an interesting pair of grips. I can see you getting several grip sets for your CZs and/or Ruger semi autos.

Club had our three day blackpowder shoot. Good turn out, some really good scores shot. I’m at second in pistol as of yesterday standings, the first place pistol shooter is national class so I’m content with where I am (tied my personal best so these are my best competition pistol matches) There’s room for someone else to scoot ahead of me today. Black powder always smells better in the fall.

And today back to plaster and lathe removal, remodeling time again. Guess when you live in a house for over 35 years, you do need to fix up what you did the last time around - say in the late 1970s. :-)

[osagebowman]

and further newz; there’s a big football game at Chief’s Stadium. Flyover going for a record, 49 plane flyover. Cool. They are flying over our house. Flying clubs from all over. We saw them in chevrons and diamonds as they form up for the Arrowhead formation as they go over the Stadium. Way Cool.

[B4Ranch]

>>and breecher tube are now considered standard equipment on defensive shotguns.<<

Defensive or tactical shotguns? Most defensive uses do not include breeching. That’s more for SWAT Teams, isn’t it? I’ve always considered a 12 gauge shotgun to be a door breecher without any additional add-ons.

[B4Ranch]

Can you explain in terms a common fella can comprehend just how a flash hider manages to hide the flash? If not, just skip right over this question as if it never existed and I won’t notice.

[300winmag]

Can you explain in terms a common fella can comprehend just how a flash hider manages to hide the flash?

In simplest terms, there is a cloud of hot, glowing gas right behind the bullet as it travels down the barrel. The instant the base of the bullet goes past the last of the rifling, that gas becomes a glowing storm going everywhere, but especially slamming the base of the bullet, which is responsible for the greatest part of accuracy. You also get a fireball, and a lot of noise.

That blast of hot gas is much faster than the bullet, and while it is expanding, cooling, and getting weaker, the bullet is still flying through it for a while. The bullet has enough trouble getting an accurate flight without having to contend with the buffeting of its own high-speed hurricane.

A flash hider tries to divert as much of the gas away from the muzzle, and the bullet, as fast as possible. Since the gas is faster than the bullet (not counting the column of cool air in the barrel ahead of the bullet, it can get to work quickly. There can be a series of vents, slots, holes, and small expansion chambers, all to get the gas to just plain go away. Add more holes on the top than elsewhere, and you get a bit (or a lot) of force pushing the barrel down, counteracting muzzle flip. Then it is also a muzzle BRAKE (not BREAK). Include a metal can big enough to hold a lot of hot gas for a fraction of a second, and you also have a sound suppressor.

But the principle is still to breaking up that storm of glowing gas quickly, and divert it into directions away from the bullet path. The better you can break down the stream of gas, the quicker it will cool down below the point of luminance, so you don't temporarily blind yourself or give your position away. It also increases accuracy potential, and sometimes irks the feds.

[300winmag]

You could try mixing the heartwood and sapwood It could make an interesting pair of grips. I can see you getting several grip sets for your CZs and/or Ruger semi autos.

I have three disks, each about 3 inches thick. Even with kiln-drying (I'm a bit short on kilns right now), it would take several years to let the wood stabilize by slowly getting its moisture content in sync with the atmosphere. There are also internal stresses in the wood that have to sort themselves out over time because once you start cutting, you could release the stresses that you can't see in a direction you don't want.

The stump, and the wood, are still oozing water. The tree is like a stiff sponge that can stores a lot of water for its own needs. I don't have one of those fancy electronic moisture meters, but my guess is the 30,000 pounds of tree was 20% water. That was one healthy tree.

I'll ponder about a proper scope for the rifle after I fix my fixed sight problem. This is one of those super-short actions that doesn't leave much room between the rings for the turret. But it will have a retro-looking gloss finish, without a lot of other bling associated with it.

They had a used Remington 760 with a Weaver scope on tip-off mounts there recently. Aside from being a blast from the past, I could not believe how crude scopes were in those days. I had to explain to one of the salesman, about my age, how the cross hairs were real pieces of spiderweb, and you moved them with those tiny adjustment turrets. Today, quality crosshairs are laser-etched into a solid piece of glass, which is permanently fixed inside the scope tube. Then adjustments are made by a series of prisms to bring the image of your aiming point under the cross hairs, rather than steering the spider silk over the target.

I guess even some gun nuts can benefit from continuing education. I just try to keep mine self-directed.

[B4Ranch]

Does the hot gas actually get in front of the bullet when it breeches the tip of the barrel or does the cool air stay on the tip of the bullet.?

Your explanation makes the most sense of any that I have ever read because it explain using the fingers as directional shields for the hot gasses, correct?

[300winmag]

Compared to the supersonic speed of the combustion gases, and the bullet, there's always slower air ahead. That's why a shock wave forms off the nose and tail of the bullet. The gases cool off and slow down, and air resistance is constantly slowing the bullet. The idea is to get the bullet to the target before all the energy of the propellant is used up.

And anything in the path of the expanding combustion gas will deflect part of it somewhere, hopefully to your advantage. A lot of modern sporting rifles have complex designs that reduce flash and muzzle blast both for the shooter and those around him. Plus reducing muzzle rise and serving as an attachment point for an optional suppressor. That's a lot to ask of something that started life as a simple cone that was wide enough to hide the muzzle flash from the shooter, thus helping to protect his night vision. Never a good idea to give yourself temporary night blindness from your own weapon. :)

[300winmag]

Tonight's Saturday Night Gun Pron finds me falling off the wagon again in the last week. This time it was an unexpected, and vey nice-looking Colt Python in their deluxe "Royal Blue", with 6" barrel. In other words, the iconic Python most people picture.

While in the photo it appears as pristine as my dad's unfired stainless steel Python, the blued one has a tiny bit of holster wear, reducing the rating, and the price, to about 95%. There are tiny bare spots in the usual areas subject to holster wear. And for some strange reason, the walnut grips show considerably more wear than the rest of the gun.

Surprisingly, this less-than-perfect, but still darn nice, condition sealed the deal for me. Not only was the price considerably less than "pristine unfired", but I could also shoot it without a guilty conscience. Still, it must have been barely shot, even in its prime, because everything was nice and tight, with a nicely-broken-in smoothness that is a credit that went into all the handwork put in at the factory.

This being the first time I've shot a centerfire revolver in ages, the first shots went low. I did a bit better with the next six rounds, showing I have potential for further improvement. The revolver itself has nothing to prove.

Despite the substantial weight, which would hold down recoil, I was just shooting 125gr range ammo, and let the sales guys use up the other 38 rounds, because most of them had never seen a Python before, much less shot one. Again, benefits accrue to both parties, because it was not on the shelf, but they brought it out from the stash of "the good stuff" when I walked in.

I can honestly say I've probably never given a thought to a Colt Python in 25 years, but when I saw this near-perfect example of a "user", rather than a safe queen, I knew I had to provide it with a good home. If the S&W Model 29 6" .44 was Dirty Harry's signature weapon in those days, a Python like this was what hotshot detectives east of the Mississippi longed for when a snubbie wasn't enough. At least in the movies of those days. :)

[Squantos]

I have a user Python in 4 and 6 inch as well as a smolt and a smython !

My favorite javelina rig is a smython built for me by a gunsmith buddy. As one knows the threads used by SW and Colt do not match so a bushing was usually made. The bushings would over time flame cut so my buddy took my well worn Model 19 and turned down a 8 inch python barrel to a SW thread making me a beautiful 6 inch “Smython” with perfect lines. Action was tuned and a 2X Leupold LER scope was mounted.

A tanker style holster that held 3 spare speed loaders as well topped off my “Javelina Smython “. Took many many pigs in the SW corner of New Mexico when I was stationed there. Right below the road forks area where Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico meet.

Now they draw for javelina hunts versus generic season with a hunting license...... Guess I took too many...:o). But the sausage was great !

I’ve found on my “user” Python, the four inch.....that it’s pretty weak as to staying tuned, taking abuse etc ... The six inch safe queen is still NIB ....:o)

Beautiful wheel guns indeed......

Stay safe !!

[B4Ranch]

I love wheel guns. The one gun I most regret selling was a S&W Model 28 6” .357. It was an absolute doll. Easy to shoot and accurate, but I needed money to pay the mortgage and she’s gone.

There was lots of opportunities to buy S&W Model 27 6” .357’s, the icon of the California Highway Patrol but they just don’t stand out as the Model 28’s do.

[osagebowman]

Nice pair of Pythons, Colt’s finest effort, those were that marque’s halcyon days. Kudos on a fine snag; you don’t just see those but once in a blue moon.

I’ve had a few colts over the years, all good solid service guns, but nothing like the Python or its little brother in .38 special. (senior moment, I’ve forgotten what it was called..sigh)

Good shooting to you, time to get more .38 Specials and .357 magnums for you belt and box.

[Squantos]

Hint ...snake name maybe ?....:o)

Anaconda , Cobra, ....... Same moments here to Osage ...LOL !

Stay safe

[300winmag]

Anaconda , Cobra, ....... Same moments here to Osage ...LOL !

Diamondback, like my dad's 4" model. He picked it because it looked classier than the other Colts in the store, waaaay back in the days when Colt had a wide range of revolvers to choose from.

It seems like some of the best stuff in the store came in wrapped in a rag. They'd inventory it, wrap it up in a slightly-newer shop rag, and put it on the "rag shelf" in back. That was the presentation method for this Python. :)

For grins, they brought out another revolver wrapped in a rag. It was a classic, but common-as-dirt, S&W Model 13 heavy barrel. Mechanically perfect, in decent cosmetic condition, except for the top of the frame and barrel, which was totally bare with various discolorations on it. Except for the front sight, which was pretty rusty.

We speculated as to what would cause that kind of wear, but were stumped. But the fact remained that a good cleaning, and a check on the tiny internal springs, was all that was needed to verify that it remained a perfectly functional weapon. I would not hesitate to use it to protect myself and those around me, or recommend it to someone who was strapped for cash. Quality weapons, even if they look rather beat up, can serve for generations, and even centuries, with common care that should always be applied to something you depend on for survival. It's hard for people to comprehend how something so simple could have such a long lifetime of service.

Except for springs, the weak link in the chain. For peace of mind, have a weapon checked by a pro every 10 years for obscure early warnings of a trivial part that won't be so trivial if it fails when you need it most. Personally, I don't trust magazine springs older than ten years. It's safer to just replace, and keep a few of the older ones as emergency spare parts.

Another almost-complete project, the rebuild of a well-preserved S&W 645 (subject of a future article) started by ordering replacement springs for the two early-version magazines that came with the later-in-model-life handgun. Sure enough, compared to a new magazine, the spring was two inches shorter than the old ones, even though both had the same number of coils.

For defense, give me a cheap, but well-maintained, well-used quality weapon over some of the third-world cheap new stuff out there any day. Then I tear it down, study it, replace what's needed, and become an expert in its functioning. This is not the place to treat your physical instrument of salvation as a mysterious black box.

[Squantos]

We said .... Freepmail enroute !

[osagebowman]

Diamond Back, yep, that’s it. Thanks.

The ‘backroom’ of your lgs must be a treasure trove.

OB

[osagebowman]

The N-frame S&W Revolvers were very easy to shoot with target loads and tamed the full bore .357s. Those were great revolvers.