doubleA

Building precision rifles and photograhy are probably my favorite things to do other than shooting. I just revamped my gun/handloading room adding more machinery noteably a new mill and lathe and also recieved a new camera for Christmas!

Awesome, judging by his smile I think he is happy with it.

That question is asked and argued about alot here in forums and hunting camps. There is no "best" anything as different folks will have different wants and needs thus will have different opinions of what "best" is. With that said I covered my bases and have a little of everything.:clap:

I'll agree with the others about RCBS it's good stuff. With that said so is Lyman, Redding and Hornady. Lee also makes some good thing though alot of their smaller presses are made of aluminum and are which I consider light duty. They all make starter kits these days and you probably be happy with any of them. These kits will include the most basic tools you will need to get started. Once you learn the basic steps of handloading( which BTW isnt rocket science but can be dangerous if done wrong and can be overwhelming at first) you'll find acquiring other items that make things faster and easier. Things like digital scales, progressive loaders, primer pocket tools, case trimmer, neck turners etc can come later. Handloading can be very rewarding, it wont save you much money as you will find out you'll be shooting more for the same amount of money. I have been handloading for many years now and load for about 40 different cartridges. It's still as exciting to be able to work up a new load now as it was when I was new to it, though at times it's also just workloading for a match. Good luck with your new adventure!

That's a beautiful mount and natural finished pine of your big room. Congrats!

I shoot several different calibers with Berger Match Target VLD's and am quite pleased with their performance. You definately need the right twist to run em and in this case the Sendero should be twisted 1:9.25 which should handle the 168gr hunting vld. They are great bullets but the cost is hard to swallow at least for punching paper.

Good to hear you are enjoying the new rifle.

Figured on donating some funds at the county tax office but they are closed today so instead sitting by the pool watching the LSU Arkansas game munching on some brisket I smoked yesterday. We are enjoying some great weather here.

A 22LR bolt rifle is a firearm to bring a youth or even a older person into shooting. They make great learning/teaching/marksmanship tools. Economics play a huge part in ammo these days, 22 fodder is still cheaper than centerfire. The typical range for the diminutive .22 is often 25-50 yards but folks are learning that 100,200 300yard shots can be done with them. Valuable ballistic data can be learned such as reading wind, drop etc doing this all the while with low noise, low recoil and low cost. With that said you can sometimes shoot in your backyard depending where you reside and you can do it all year round another plus with a .22 rimfire. Savage makes a great little trainer model now, Marlin has always produced quality rimfires, CZ does their part in producing their 452/453 series. While Anschutz's can run into the $1000's, I saw a Annie 1416 in like new condition for $500 last week locally. So there are some plus's for getting into a good 22 bolt, your milage might vary.

I think that the 300 Win mag fits the bill nicely. Here's why I feel this way..... In todays world of hyper velocity rounds it's still a solid performer. Factory ammo will be easier to find and cheaper to boot than the wby and rem mags. Rifles in the 300 Win chambering are abundant, just about any manufacture makes one giving you many choices to chose from.

No I did not. I thought about putting one in and also a gas igniter but thought for as little as it will be used it wasn't worth it. The truth be told it's more for decor than anything. Again thanks for the kind words.

Thanks everyone. I have a new repsect for the guys that do masonary/rock work. It's alot of work, lots of heavy lifting, dust, dirt, the lime eats my skin etc. This is the first and last one I am doing for sure. It was fun at first but the longer it went on the more my body hurt and wanted to finish.:48:

It's been super hot here with temps over 100 degrees but I wanted to do this. Call me crazy but I have worked the 3 past weeks on building our outdoor fireplace. Just finished last night and I took a few pics. Maybe one day we'll fire it up.:cool2: It started out like this....... and ended up like this........ The Mrs went shopping awhile ago and I re-decorated it while she was gone.

Always a day late, but I smoked some pork tenderloin and ribs yesterday in honor of the 4th. My wife wanted me to take the day off including cooking today. Now back to working on my outdoor fireplace in this 100 degree South Texas heat lol

We have been running about 30 of them at my work for a couple months now. So far no problems, they do get used alot, 24hrs a day. 3 brightness settings and strobe feature makes it a very nice light in a small package.

Cant beat free........I killed my first turkey with a full choked 97 Win. Thinking I can still feel the pain from that thing.:stretcher: That's a classic for sure! Sounds as if you will be getting some nice older firearms.

Have a cousin that has a Colt 1873 Peacemaker in .41 LC. Havent shot it in many moons but if memory serves me right a refrigerator would be safe at 30 yards.:2guns::48:

Enjoy it while you're young. This past weekend I did some honey do's for the mrs. Wound up taking a couple of big oaks down and trimming up alot of others. Between running around on a manlift and running assorted chainsaws I was whooped to say the least. I have several more oak trees to fell during the week and will be mulching everything thing up next Saturday.:nurse::stretcher:

That's just wrong!!!

The rifle spilled some blood.... The rifle was christened this weekend. Took a 16yr old youth out this weekend for a little shooting. He fell in love with it and shot it well. Took 5 hogs with the 75gr Amax. Here are a couple pigs that didnt fare to well, one DRT with a ear hole shot and the other DRT with one right between the eyes.:gun1::toot:

Thanks everyone for the kind words. That's a Sinclair F class bipod, which BTW is very well thought out and about as close to a front rest as you can get. The chamber is specifically throated for the 75gr Amax at 2.500 OAL which still fits in the magazine. Yeah it's right at 18lbs with the Harris on it, a tad bit more with the Sinclair. Between the wieght and muzzle brake, it just goes POW when the trigger is pulled. Just a plinker for now at my range, probably a hog picker when it's suppressed. I got out and shot today, 100 yds 5 shot groups, one's just under 3/8" and the other is a hair over 1/4".

It's done, I finally coated the barreled action with Cerakote. Here are some pics of the completed rifle. Oh...it's a 223 Ackley Improved that's a hammer with 75 gr Amaxes.

I have a pair of these set ups and have decided to let one go. Like new, used only indoors I have this Swarovski spotter up for sale. It's a ATS angled head model with 20-60x eyepiece. The body is a 80mm High Definition. Glass is perfect as far as I can see. Rubber coating shows little to no wear. Included with this are the case,owners manual, strap, tripod adapter,tie tack and original boxes if wanted. Looking at $2600 shipped to the lower 48 states. ***At this time I am going to throw in the Manfrotto /Swarovski tripod along with a Manfrotto ball pistol grip head for additional shipping.***

Wife is planning on having several familys over for the superbowl. I hope this cold weather is gone by then because we're having it outside under the stars.Looking at sort of a tailgate type thing....hot tub, couple of open fires,the big screen etc. Keeping the menu simple this year, various wings, dips, poppers etc.

It's time to take your Christmas decorations down !!! I am awaiting what the next 24 hrs hold myself, come on spring.