The New Toys

I've just received fifty new twelve gauge cartridge cases, Magtech's new all-brass affairs. I'm waiting for my delivery of a hand powered setup to load them.

These are for black powder loading. I'm wondering if anybody out there has loaded such things or am I going to be working from a few spare and sparse things in print.

Anyone have any experience?

George's Big Adventure.

Saturday was a big day for me and George. George is our new German Shepherd. I've worked with him a little and Saturday was the grand opening of a new Pet Smart store about twenty-five miles away. I wanted to see how he worked on a lead, around people and other critters so I loaded him up in the PT Cruiser and off we went.

George is learning to ride in the backseat rather well so that worked out. He is just barely learning to sit up and look out the window. Anyhow, we got to the Pet Smart, the place was mobbed, we stood outside for a while as he got used to lots of people and then went in. In the beginning he was rather shy but he started making friends quickly. Every kid wanted to pet him and, since I wanted him to get used to people, that was fine with me. His tail was down at the beginning but, before too long, he was up and happy.

While there I filled out the little forms for all the drawings and we won the second place for the dog training so he gets half off the beginner's course. Hooray for us! I was really hoping for the free food for a year but I'll take what I can get.

I'll have to put a couple of pictures up sometime soon.

Two Light Loads For the New .30-06.

I haven't had a chance to shoot the 168 grain Hornaday A-Max Loads for the .30-06 yet, my NeuroDoc wants we to wait another week or so before shooting. While I'm waiting I'm loading up some light loads to make the rifle up into more of an all-round weapon.

Load number one is a less powerful load for light big game, deer and antelope, at closer range than the full charge 150 grain loads. This load is straight out of the Hodgdon Manual, 40 grains of H4895 behind the 130 grain Hornaday Single Shot Pistol Bullet. This load should clock about 2500 fps. This is slightly over the 7.62x39 ballistics and very close to .30-30 Winchester. The advantages of this load will be obvious to those thinking about it, lower recoil, less muzzle blast and almost no muzzle flash. The most obvious reason for this load is deer hunting for my daughter, the secondary use is to make bad guys want to leave the kids alone while they fight their way out here.

Once I have that load dialed in I've one more left to load, a cast bullet small game load. I've had some pretty good luck with Alliant's Red Dot shotgun and pistol powder behind my Lee 170 grain flat point 170 grain gas checked bullet in other '06s over the years. I got this load out of an old Handloader's Digest, maybe the late Seventies or early Eighties. Right at 13 grains is about as much powder as one wants there. This load is for small game and cheap practice. I've found that somewhere between 11.5 grains and 13, I've usually found a load that prints right at twenty-five to fifty yards or so with this light load with the sights right on two hundred for the big game loads. Once I get those four loads done I'm through with this rifle.

Anyhow, that what I'm up to, between dragging my hiney to various sawbones to get poked and prodded.

Done At The Surgeon

Had my trip to the surgeon today, the insicion is healing nicely, no ugly sounds from inside so I am released to real life. Now, I have to deal with the other Docs some more but at least this is one down and behind me.

In other news, I have a new Dog, a German Shepherd Pup, he's just over five months old. His task is getting me to exersize some. Wish us both luck. This particular dog critter is sleeping at my feet now. I'm wondering what his name is, he hasn't told me yet. This particular critter is not trained at all, yet. His one skill seems to be knocking over my piles of cartridge cases awaiting their turn in the press.

A Little Drive Past The Big Recovery Digs

I was getting tired of three cartons of my smokes layin' around so I thought that they'd go in handy down at Reunion Arena, where some of the folks that have make it out of Gnawlean's and suchlike places ended up.

I was wrong, I suspect that had I got out of the car it would have been one thing, but that was just too much. So, after wasting about a half hour there, I drove to where I should have gone, the 24 Hour Club in Dallas. It is a little shelter run by the Dallas Area AA Groups. No trouble at all giving smokes away there.

I'm not real sure how smart it is for the big charity groups to ignore suchlike (relatively) minor sins.

Back In The Day

This pic is from either 1950 or 1951, the plumage looks like early spring. I have to get some more of these photos developed, and then send this box back to my big Sis in exchange for another one.

I'm Able To Talk, Just Not As Good As I Was.

Amy Wife, Toddler Mom asked a question in comments, am I able to talk, yet. I always have been, well for fifty-six or so years now. I'm having trouble with some words, no particular order that I can find. It was really bad Sunday, then it has slowly, and gradually gotten quite a bit better. I imagine it will get much better indeed once I see the speech therapists. The only real bad thing is having Linda Lou finish my sentences. Of course, she did that before this stroke, too. Unless something goes wrong in the aftermath, I really ought to be fine.

I'm going to take at least part of tomorrow of and watch the race. I plan on seeing all the Docs and therapists on schedule. Y'all unlax.

On the good news, I am now wearing the patch for my smoking. I made it home without lighting one up, and now have some twenty-eight or so hours since. I hadn't really made that decision, but, what the Hell. I'm not gonna waste the six days already spent, either. We'll see how it works out. I've jumped trough a lot of hoops here, I'm not sure I want to sell this particular reason to quit smoking.

Well, I'm Home.

I'm home, about five hours worth or so now. I believe I have all the little shiny things off, all the little things that stuff was attached too.

The little spot on my left front is all shiny and bright. They glued it shut, no stitches or nothing. Unless something goes wrong, that place is finished. Now they going to be watching my Aorta. It seems as if it had filled up with something they don't much like in there, some kind of foam or something. Somehow they're going to going to try to make that crap go away, using Coumadin, a nicely cleaned up brand of rat poison.

That is just about all I have for now. I'll have more later. I sure hope you know that I'd rather be loading some fun stuff about shooting, or grandchildren.