This past year I really got involved in Cowboy Action Shooting and this lead me to any type of rifle or pistol from the period 1850 to 1897. Mostly Black Powder firearms. Everything I’ve acquired thus far have been reproductions as the “real thing” was too expensive or un-shootable. This changed yesterday……On the Kittery Trading
Gotta love these old rifles! A few weeks ago a couple friends and I went on a “Road Trip” visiting various gun shops in the area. I’d been on the lookout for a nice vintage Winchester 1892 in my favorite cartridge, the 38 WCF (38-40 Winchester). I have an 1866 (Uberti) and and 1892 Take
A few weeks ago I received a call from my local gun shop. They know I’m a nut about any firearms that were manufactured before 1899. They called to tell me they had a S&W Schofield and if I was interested. It took me all of 15 minutes to jump in the truck and go
I just love these old rifles! Â A few weeks ago a fellow on one of the Cowboy Action forums offered up a real “project” Winchester 1873 rifle for a ridiculous low price. The last thing I needed was another project, but I simply couldn’t resist. My 12 step firearms purchasing program is not working to
Last week I was on business in Minneapolis. When anywhere near a Cabelas I simply must visit the gun library! I’ve been to every Cabelas in the USA…..Some a number of times. While there I saw this 1894 Winchester take-down, 32Win Special, Octagon to round, pistol grip, Marbles tang sight…….I fell in love! But it
I have a Grizzly milling machine that I’ve wanted to power the Z axis knee for some time. I decided that rather than trying to fabricate something I’d just bite the bullet and buy a power drive kit for the Z axis. My research, and pocketbook, led me to Shars  Tool Company and the Model
A while back I converted my Jet 12 X 36 metal lathe to DC variable speed drive. Since then I’ve wanted to add some type of tachometer so I could see the actual speed the main spindle was rotating. I tried using a bicycle speedometer with a magnetic pickup with reasonable results. But calibrating it
This isn’t quite an expedition trailer project….But I guess it depends on one definition of “Expedition”…. I shoot a sport call “Cowboy Action Shooting”…..Grown folks dress up in 1800 period correct clothing and using 1800 firearms or reproductions compete in timed matches for speed and accuracy. There are matches all over the country and this
Bottom pour casting pots are fine for casting bullets for handguns and for rifle bullets under 250g. A bit of inconsistent weight isn’t going to matter much with these lighter bullets that are usually fired at shorter distances. But once you get into the 500+ grain bullets, the difference in weight that a bottom pour
an·neal əˈnēl/ verb  heat (metal or glass) and allow it to cool slowly, in order to remove internal stresses. Go Straight To The Video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G651TiaThJo or here: http://public.fotki.com/Rbertalotto/gunsmithing-reloading/annealing-machine/annealing-img-0852.html Brass is an interesting alloy. It is perfect for use in firearms cartridges because it expands easily upon firing to seal the breach of the firearm
