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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, we’re back.
Fun day. Lots of hanging out with friends, chatting, being goofy. I got an autographed book and a really nice little piece of art with planets and things from the convention that we hit.
Didn’t get many words in today though.
Tonight's "Saturday Night Gun Pron (tm)" look at some of the products sold by Sinclair International, a specialized supplier of esoteric goodies for "precision shooters" (target rifles).
In the world of putting holes in paper targets with centerfire rifles, the most common platforms are the Remington 700, and the M-16. The majority of accessories are geared towards these two weapons, although there are plenty of goodies that can be used with any rifle.
Serious target shooting requires serious attention to the tiniest of details. First comes cleaning. There are high-end cleaning rods (complete with their own special carrying cases), with the Dewey plastic-coated rod getting the nod for best protecting the barrel. Can't have microscopic particles of junk embedded in the rifling by the cleaning rod.
You need a bucket at the muzzle to catch all the gunk, as well as rod guides, front and rear. Nothing is too good when it comes to protecting your barrel.
The rod guides replace the bolt, and have a little port hole that lets you pour the correct amount of bore cleaner onto your high-tech patch as it is pushed towards the muzzle. We won't even discuss the dozens of cleaning preparations available for cleaning your rifle. However, a specialized cleaning cradle is often handy.
Now that your rifle is clean, you have to put some ammunition in it. "Service Rifle" events usually require the use of commercial or GI match ammo. Other competitions allow (and almost demand) custom handloaded ammo. Sinclair has various brands of reloading equipment of exquisite precision to load your ammo. Much of it works the same as regular dies, presses, scales, etc. But there's also "must have" items like a meplat trimmer.
After your meplats are uniformly trimmed, you have to trim the inside and outside of your cartridge cases for absolute uniformity. This is especially important if your barrel is chambered for non-standard subminimum chamber dimensions. First you measure, then you trim and ream.
After that comes reloading, but first you need precision micrometer dies to put everything together.
Now all you need are decent sights on your rifle. Service rifle competition use iron sights that resembled those on the issue rifle. If you're using a bolt action rifle in an "open" competition, the sky's pretty much the limit. Here are some "typical" front and rear sights with a price that's almost that of a baseline Remington 700 rifle itself:
If you are using a scope, there are similar wild and wonderful (and expensive) accessories. One "must have" is an offset scope level, so you can check for unintentional canting of your weapon.
And if you're shooting from a bench rest, a simple adjustable rest with a nice leather pad for that extra touch of luxury for you and your rifle.
Top everything off with a special shooting cap that blocks out distractions from the side.
Sinclair International has been bought by the Brownell's people, so I expect to see their next catalog printed in the unique horizontal format the Brownell's uses. But what I saw this time, and from their web site, has really gotten me geeked.
Only two things are holding me back from jumping in with both feet: time, and money.
Those paper targets never stood a chance. :)
OK, I admit to spending most of the evening crocheting rather than face the story, but I did at least make the word count goal for today.
The second chapter is tough. I’m writing from the antagonist’s point of view, and I haven’t really gotten into his head, so it’s slow going and very lousy.
‘Night all.
Welcome home!!
update fwiw
This struck me funny.
Heh.
I didn’t make my daily word count yesterday but Friday I got a good pad so it’s ok. After church I’ll have to get some series words in.
MC Claire is chopping vegetables. Cattiness will happen today. I decided to write the ricin attack yesterday.
I didnt make my word count at all on Friday...was wiped out from two weeks of family schtuff. I probably wrote all of 400 yesterday. I think Im stressing too much...
If it makes you feel better, I’m probably going to dump yesterday’s words as soon as November is over. ;-) They don’t fit and they’re all garbage. But they still count for word count!
That’s the story of my NaNo life. Today should be a little easier, I hope, since I’ve decided to leave in yesterday’s words, but redo the introductory passage for the bad guy.
Mmm...wool-blend...
I think my big problem is that I walked into a fabric / craft store the other day in search of something completely unrelated, and something in my brain said, “Ooooh, yarn! I should get my crochet stuff back out!”
I’m just doing a very simple afghan, adapted from a very simple baby blanket pattern. One color. No afghan hooks involved, no squares. But it’s not likely to be done even by Christmas, so why am I doing this to myself?
Admitting you're an addict is the first step... to coming up with better rationalizations for buying more.
Just sayin'.
Im becoming a yarn addict too...Ive been crocheting for a while, but just recently learned how to knit...and I have a HUGE pile of yarn just begging to have something done with it...I really want to start doing freestyle knit and crochet...have seen some GORGEOUS stuff out there.
WANT.
Hmm...
better
better
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