REPLACING OF AN OLD FAVORITE

Every once in awhile you make a mistake! It happens to the best of people. Some mistakes are devastating and others are just plain disappointments that stick with you for a time. I have made my share of mistakes just as you have.

            One mistake I have long regretted making is the sale of a particular rifle. Back a number of years I did not have much extra cash to buy a lot of hunting rifles or much else for that matter. At a gun show I picked up an old Swedish Mauser in 6.5 x 55 caliber. Having a father and grandfather that were both gunsmiths, I naturally had to customize it. But the end results was that it turned out to be a sweet shooting and accurate little rifle. I hunted with it for about six or seven years and took over a dozen deer with that rifle.



(the replacement for my original)

            As often happens, you get to the point where you think you have outgrown a particular item or just want to upgrade to something perceived as better. I too was guilty of that. I sold my Mauser to friend who was really interested in it, so that I could pick up a proper deer rifle. Well to make a long story shorter, that rifle I traded up for has been long gone, as well as a number of other rifles as well. All during that time I always regretted the sale of the 6.5 X 55. So I began looking for the replacement of it.

            The first thing I noticed was the rise of the sticker price. One of the reasons I had originally purchased that rifle was that it was well within my budget. I paid less than seventy-five dollars for the original one. Now they can’t be touched for much less than two hundred. Their popularity has grown tremendously, partly because it has been found that they can be easily customized to smaller hunters that might be sensitive to recoil of heavier calibers. They also are a very accurate gun and are a part of history as well. Besides, they are just plain fun to shoot.  

(top view of the rifle)

 

            So the last gun show I attended, I was pleasantly surprised to find a nicely worked over little Mauser on the end cap of one table. The sticker shock was still there, however, and I knew that there was going to have to be some dickering if I was to go home with it. That is just what happened. I paid about three times what I had initially paid for my first one, but the good part is that I wouldn’t have to do a thing to the rifle because it was well worked by the previous owner.

            Hopefully I won’t be foolish enough to make that mistake again. This is a nice rifle to take out on a rainy, snowy day. It has a receiver sight that can’t get fogged up because of wet weather. It is light to carry and I have never had a problem in the cartridge doing what it should when shot. The longest trailing job I ever had in over a dozen deer was bout fifty yards. I am looking forward to getting out with this rifle a couple of times this year.

PRACTICE RIFLE SHOOTING

         I was out shooting my rifle, in anticipation of the upcoming deer season, the other day and realized just how enjoyable time spent at the range can be. This is something I have always had a hard time getting my mind around; Why hunters are reluctant or find it a drudgery to spend time shooting their hunting rifle.

(one type of deer rifle in 30-06 cal. that is a pleasure to shoot)

  Certainly, in today’s economy, the price of ammunition has risen sharply. Even if you reload, you have felt the crunch of the dollar at the bench. But I think many riflemen have found the secret that bow hunters have known for a long time. That is, it is better to shoot a few arrows each day than try shooting dozens of arrows all at one time. So it is with rifle shooting. I know that for many this means extra work, and travel to and from the range, but it is better to shoot a few shots more often than try to shoot a box or two of shells all at once. As one TV outdoor show host ends his segment with the admonition “… shoot more often!” This is excellent advice for each of us.
I believe this was brought home to me at a very early age. I grew up in the home of a gunsmith, who was also the son of a gunsmith. There was always a flurry of activity, just before deer hunting season opened, where many of the local hunters would bring their firearms to my father and want them sighted in for the upcoming season. During a particularly active year you would often hear Dad say something like, “I really don’t know why all these guys don’t shoot their own rifles! That is part of the fun of getting ready for season.” But he would pack up three or four of the rifles and we would head for the shooting range.
Once we reached the shooting range, which was a large gravel pit on our neighbors farm, where my Dad was the only one with permission to shoot and thus build a shooting bench on the property, he would set me up with one of the rifles and say, “Get that one on paper and then I’ll be over to fine tune it.” I got introduced to some very fine rifles and scopes during my teen years. Rugers, Remingtons, Winchesters, Savages, and custom made rifles, all kinds came through his shop and most were of that pre-64 vintage. I often wondered what the customer would say if he knew that, at least partially, a young teenager sighted in their expensive rifle.
Out of that I learned to enjoy the time spent at the shooting bench. There is a sense of purpose but also a sense of otherworldliness. In a reverse type of way, you are connecting with something that is 50, 100 or 200 yards distance. Shooting sports have always held a certain mystique for some. The ability to control the projectile that connects with a distant object or target has a certain headiness to it. To date, I believe my longest shot has been just over 800 yards at a two quart milk jug. I hit it, slightly off-center, on my fourth shot shooting a customized bench gun. Obviously, I would never condone the shooting at game at such distance, it is strictly for the target experience.
Even though deer season has already started here in my part of the state, I will be heading back to the shooting range during season just to check on scope alignment and my own form from time to time. Besides it is so much fun!