Nothing's ever straightforward

[unixronin]

Good news:  The house repairs are almost finished.  On a smaller scale, I finally found a source of affordable cartridge brass for my 1889 Martini-Henry rifle.  (For those interested in such things, Gad Custom Cartridges, $30 for 20 unprimed cases, $45 for 20 rounds of loaded ammunition.)  I also got a pointer from lwj2 for 5-round magazines for my M14.  Either of those would give me a shot (literally) at putting a deer or two in the freezer to help with the food bills.  (Though my gradually deteriorating vision would be a handicap.  I can't see iron rifle sights clearly any more, and I don't have a working 'scope mount for the M14.)

Bad news:  I can’t afford to actually buy any, because New Hampshire unemployment is now eight weeks behind on cymrullewes' unemployment benefits.  That's about $3600 owing to us, without which we don't have enough in the bank to cover the mortgage, the car payment, and the electric bill¹ this month — let alone fill the kerosene tank² or buy propane for winter heat.³  We can't get any clear answers out of them as to what's going on; just "We'll get back to you".

Supposedly, they're switching over to a different system that uses direct deposit instead of mailing checks.  But come ON, people!  When you're changing a system that's vital to many people to keep a roof over their heads, you test it BEFORE you switch over to it!

[1]  On which, I discovered when I went to pay it this morning, we're a month behind.  The combination of "where the hell are the unemployment benefits" and the chaos of emergency house repairs has really disrupted our routines.

[2]  Granted, the kerosene tank only supplies our demand water heater and the emergency-backup monitor heater in the dining room.  The quarter-tank that's in it now will take us most of the way through the winter — basically we use about three quarters of a tank of kerosene per year — and we only used 50 gallons of propane (for cooking) since about April when we turned the heat off for the summer.  But with the totally inadequate insulation in our roof, we go through a LOT of propane for winter heat.  (It's insulated to maybe R-10, whereas the roof insulation recommendations for this climate zone now call for R-60.)  We didn't know the roof was this poorly insulated when we bought the house, and fixing it requires rebuilding the roof.

[3]  We applied for energy assistance, because we didn't know how we were going to cover winter heat bills on just cymrullewes' unemployment and my disability, but we were notified yesterday that we got denied because we're apparently over the income limit by a couple of hundred dollars a month.  We don't know yet whether this means we're also not getting the winterization they promised us in return for letting them use our house as a test house for energy-auditing students.

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

You have reloading tools for the Martini?

(Not sure I'd choose that for hunting. The ones I've fired had gawd-awful triggers. And then there's the rainbow trajectory . . .)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I do. Actually, I have case-forming dies as well, if I could get my hands on some BELL .600NE 3" basic brass ... but BELL got bought out and only makes mil-spec brass now, and the Kangaroo .577-.450 brass Gad uses is half the price of the BELL .600 3" basic anyway.

I wouldn't make the Martini my first choice for deer, anyway. Boar, maybe. That said, relatively-light-bullet smokeless loads (405gr cast lead over 40gr of IMR4320 and a cotton-ball filler) help with the trajectory problem, enough that I actually need to re-regulate the sights because it shoots high. The M14 with a five-round mag would be much better for deer, and I have suitable ammunition already loaded for it, but until I can afford LASIK, I'd need a working 'scope mount to be able to hit anything with it; and while I did find a source for an M14 'scope mount that actually works (assuming I can ever find my link again), it's something like $300, and the scope I have isn't really the best suited for a deer scope, though it would work. (It's an 8-32x56 with target turrets.)

(This Martini does actually have a pretty decent trigger, though.)

The biggest hunting obstacle is probably one of mobility. I don't know how much of a hike into the woods after deer my left foot will tolerate, let alone back out with a deer carcase. The past few days, it's been so painful at times I've been having trouble just moving around the house and haven't been able to keep a shoe on.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Working on memory over 40 years old (back when surplus dealers were unloading Martinis for $20 or thereabouts), the ones I fired had *really* stiff triggers with a lot of creep -- neither condition good for accuracy. I never owned one or fired one enough to get really comfortable with it.

Given my reading of Kipling stories, I'm willing to accept that some prize specimens could drop an Afghan at 1000 yards.

I've fired a trap-door Springfield with smokeless loads like you describe, with good results.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Working on memory over 40 years old (back when surplus dealers were unloading Martinis for $20 or thereabouts), the ones I fired had *really* stiff triggers with a lot of creep -- neither condition good for accuracy.

True. But, you know, that's fixable with careful application of the right tools. :)

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Well, I wasna' about applying tools to another man's rifle . . .

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Ah, yeah. Not without invitation.

[pdbonlj.livejournal.com]

Any interest in a Leatherwood steel mount (http://www.opticsplanet.net/leatherwood-m14-m1a-all-steel-mount-w-windage-adj.html)? It's new in the baggie and is supposedly adjustable to fit any M1A receiver.

Crazy pdb's discount scope mounts not only takes payments but can also offer you a screaming deal on a Springfield Armory 4.5-16x scope with 7.62 bullet drop reticule!

Email me at pdb@papadeltabravo.com if you're interested.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with the Leatherwood. If it's steel, that alone is probably a big improvement over any of the aluminum ones. The one I had in mind is the Sadlak steel mount (http://www.sadlak.com/si_rifle_parts_sm.html). The Leatherwood mount looks pretty similar, conceptually, and is a lot less expensive.

How does the clip-guide-slot adapter on the Leatherwood mount to the receiver? The Sadlak clamps the clip-guide replacement in place with set-screws, but the Springfield Armory mount I tried first had to have it's clip-guide block roll-pinned in place.

It's all probably a bit moot at the moment, though. Unless either I or cymrullewes finds a job or the NH Unemployment Security Department gets its finger out in pretty short order, I don't know what we're buying food with this month.

[pdbonlj.livejournal.com]

Here's a pdf of the install instructions: http://www.hi-luxoptics.com/images/instructions/new%20m14mt%20installation.pdf

I think it's a pretty well thought out system, but I decided to keep my M1A as an irons only match rifle for now.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that looks like a pretty well thought out design. Omission of the vertical lug should also mean it's unaffected by spec variations between GI and Springfield receivers.

I'm distinctly interested, assuming we can somehow get the logjam in NHUSD cleared.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

is that and/or what's a good scope for a FAL assuming it has the P-rails installed?

#

alternative to lasik . . .

[lebo-superman.livejournal.com]

I'd suggest trying this first. It was developed by a guy who was born legally blind, but without corrective surgery managed to use exercises to improve his eyesight enough that he now has a driver's license without glasses or contacts.

http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Your-Eyes-Meir-Schneider/dp/B0000AGQ6C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1254589289&sr=1-2

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

there are apparently places you can apply for a "food deer", from various culls, accidents, or people who like to shoot but not eat te deers, etc. or so i've read.

sucks on the roof, and the rest of the frustrations.

good news on the rifle part (mostly?).

can you get away with eyeglasses/contacts instead of lasik? that said, i'll betcha a $30 red dot scope would work dandy on a deer. if you can see the deer, you can probably hit it.

#

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

A red dot scope would probably work OK, if it was on a mount that would hold zero. That's the problem — I have two different M14 scope mounts already, and neither one will hold zero from one shot to the next.

Glasses/contacts might well be a help. Part of the problem, though, is that my right eye has not only lost more close focusing ability than the left, but has developed fairly bad astigmatism — and it wasn't as sharp as the left eye to start with. Right now, even with my reading glasses on, the text on my monitor is a blur through my right eye. (That said, these glasses are ... well ... too many years old.) I don't know whether external vision correction alone can get my right eye good enough again.

I've seriously considered, given a decent local outdoor rifle range, teaching myself to shoot rifle left-handed, though neither my M1 nor my M14 is a particularly good choice for that. Both are likely to throw hot brass in my face. (Yet another reason for my interest in the forward-ejecting Kel-Tec RFB.)



(Afterthought: I've never really seen the point of going out hunting perfectly good food and then not eating it. Unless you can afford to just donate the food.)

[unix-jedi.livejournal.com]

Do you have a shotgun?

Buckshot works to 75 yards.

I don't know why you're having problems with the scope - are you sure it's moving zero, or is is lack of consistant cheek-weld?

I got a Karsten Cheekpiece and with the cheapy scope mount and a Leopold mine holds zero great.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I do, and it has a ghost-ring rear. Cylinder barrel though.

It's definitely a mount-not-holding-zero problem, though a cheekpiece would help too. Tighten everything up, fire three or four rounds, and the screws are loose again because the mount is soft extruded aluminum.

[unix-jedi.livejournal.com]

pdb's got a good mount that's been sitting idle for a long time. My mount is heavy steel and holds well - it's the Sportsman's guide? I think I paid $50?

Anybody around who's got a .30-30 you can borrow? Or needs some deer thinned?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

pdb's got a good mount that's been sitting idle for a long time.

So I see. :)
I think the underlying problem is that all the mounts I've tried so far have been aluminum ones — and, whether extruded, cast or forged, the truth is every one of them has been worthless. But at the time, aluminum mounts were all I could find.

I've yet to find out good hunting locations in the area. We have friends in Deerfield who have 20 acres, but they got pretty much clearcut last year by a freak tornado.

[unix-jedi.livejournal.com]

That actually should be *really good* for deer. *

Deer eat shoots and such, not usually grass, so clearcut areas are usually great places to find them eating on the new growth.

No other choices for guns?

Actually, ever tried slugs in the shotgun?

* - At least down here that's a great rule of thumb.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Huh. I thought they liked to stay among the trees. :)
Well, I can ask DJ whether he gets deer and how he feels about hunting on his land.

I've tried slugs in the shotgun, but never tried using it for deer. Basically, given ammunition supplies on hand, my practical options are shotgun (Rem 870), M14, or Ruger Super Blackhawk.

[unix-jedi.livejournal.com]

Deer are browsers. They eat buds and sprouts mainly (barring nice farmed corn or wheat or whatnot). Acorns, nuts, that sort of thing, sure, but when those are scarce, they'll go eat the new sprouts and buds in a cutdown.

Also depends what kind of trees and other habitat is around. If there are a lot of hardwoods dropping edible nuts, they won't be in the cutdown as much, if they're pines (or things like walnuts and pecans, never seen deer eat them), they'll be hitting it a lot harder.

Buck out of the 870 should be usable to 40-50 yards. Ever patterned it to check it out? That's not an impossibility, and there have been several deer I've shot within that range.

Check around for a new full-choke barrel for the 870, and then it's usable to 75-100 yards with buckshot, and possibly cheap upgrade.

Or get some sabot slugs and try them. My 590 with a ghost ring is accurate enough to 100 easily with them. That's the lowest-cost option. I've tried the "rifled" slugs, but the sabots kick their asses.

And there's nothing wrong with the super blackhawk. I think you can easily get to 50 yards now with the 870 or Blackhawk, depending how well you shoot it, and maybe 100 if you go slug... A good choice of stands and scouting should be able to work that into some meat, hopefully.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

and esp if you have a nice fixed place, any problems with setting up a deer feeder to encourage them to loiter? build a nice perma-blind... hangout. wait.

gotta get me some spare quatloos (or that new job i'm gunning for, but a 12 gauge is in my future, at least ghost sights, maybe more).

#

[unix-jedi.livejournal.com]

Jay from MArooned (http://stuckinmassachusetts.blogspot.com/) said to pass this along:

http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=27

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Good pointer. I'd been collecting information already, but that one has some new stuff I hadn't found yet.

[cipherpunk.livejournal.com]

If you need help, say the word and let your friends do you a solid.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I hear you. cymrullewes and I both tend to be a bit ... pathologically independent when it comes to asking for help. We both have this ridiculous idea that if at all possible, we should be standing on our own feet, not relying on other people.

'Tis appreciated, though.

cymrullewes found and applied for three jobs today, one of which we have high hopes for. We have our fingers crossed. And I still have a little consulting on the side. But I'll freely admit I've reached the sweating-BBs stage.

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

here's to hopign the mess clears up... soon.