6/21/10

OK, so the 7mm Mauser isn't the “reach out and touch someone” gun I though it was going to be. I went to the rifle range with it yesterday to try out the new scope. It shot all over the paper. After a dozen rounds, and several attempts at adjusting the scope, I stepped aside and let the range master shoot it. He was no better. That was a relief for sure. The thing would put two within an inch of each other, high and to the left, and then the third would be six inches lower and to the right. Again, I know it wasn't all me because the range master’s shots did the same thing. Hmm, I just had a thought. I think I've fingered it out. Yes, I'll bet that’s part of it! OK, so you have rounds in the magazine right? They are pushing up on the bottom of the bolt, right? When that third round in the group is in the chamber though, there isn't a round pushing up on the bolt. I'll bet that is part of the inconsistency! Of course there is one fly in that ointment, the very last shot hit exactly where it was supposed to. I don't know what to think. I didn't buy any more ammo to replace the rounds I fired, what’s the point? Sure, it would be fine if I ever needed to shoot the broad side of a barn, from the inside, but as a hunting arm it is practically worthless. I do still have five rounds for it and at 25 yards it will put someone... er, I mean something down if need be. So, now I'm wondering if I ought to look for my lever action rifle in a hunting caliber like 30-30 or something. Ryan said he has one in that caliber. I think he said he’d sell it too. I need to have a chat with him again. In fact, since I have to go pee, I think I'll go do that. Chat with Ryan, as well as pee, that is. OK, I'm back. Ryan’s gun is a Marlin 336, we think, and he was originally thinking somewhere in the $150.00 to $200.00 range. I, like a dumb ass, told him to look into prices and see what it is worth and let me know. He called his buddy at Elk Castle and was told that a “quick sell” price would be $300.00 but the gun was probably worth more like in the $350.00 to $400.00 range. I'll have to think about that a little more. I'm beginning to think that with my eyesight, shots out to 100 yards are just about my limit. Hell, 25 yards is pushing it to tell the truth. In that close and I could probably take a deer with the Space Gun. By the way, I'm thinking that I might swap the new 3-9x40 scope over to the Space Gun for gits and shiggles. The Mauser is going to be relegated to “Conversation Piece” duty. Huh, huh, I said “doody!” I don't know, the only reason I was interested in a long-range gun was the fact that I got that one for free. Well, that isn't exactly true now that I think about it. I was thinking about a Mosin Nagant or a Druganov before my sister gave the Mauser to me. Hmm, a $99.00 Mosin Nagant with another $50.00 worth of scope mount and I could use my new scope on a really “long arm.” That’s a bit of a joke there since a Mosin Nagant is about five and a half feet long as well as a gun which can reach out to long distances. But a Druganov is so friggin’ cool. Of course a Druganov is going to come with its own scope making my reason for buying a “long arm” (to use the scope I just bought) redundant over and over again. Yes, I am just exactly that dumb. I'll go out and buy another long-range rifle just because I have a scope for it. Anyhoo, there is another thing to consider with a Mosin Nagant, they are all going to be nearly 100 years old as well. I could wind up with another gun which won't shoot two rounds within a foot of each other at 100 yards. I don't know what I'm going to do. I do think I'll go ahead with the original plan to buy the .45 Colt lever gun from the Travel Agents this weekend. If push came to shove, I could probably take a deer with that out to fifty yards. Maybe. It would sure hit harder than the Space Gun, I would think. I don't know, we’ll see. OK, I'm hungry so I think I'm going to lunch. Toodles.