Potential

Cowgirl

My Dad and stepmom have been getting into Cowboy Fast-Draw lately. Here's Momma Jane in her new rig.

I think it's pretty awesome.

Mossberg Model 183T

A few of us guys were helping a co-worker move last weekend, as she sold her house. As we were helping her pack her closet, one of the guys exclaimed loudly for us to come see. He had found a gun.

The girl we were helping move isn't in to guns, and honestly couldn't remember where she got it from. She told Lane, the guy who found it, that he could have it.

Last night we all went to Lane's house for a barbecue. I asked him to see his new gun. He promptly announced that he had plenty of .410's. He told me if I gave Catherine $50 bucks, since it did belong to her, he would relinquish "finder's rights" and let me take it.

Since he wasn't trying to make any money, and 50 bucks was still a bargain on a field grade, beater small bore shotgun, I agreed.

So I ended up with a Mossberg bolt-action .410. It has a blind box magazine,  and is in decent condition. The stock is rough, but it's nothing some sandpaper, stain, and boiled linseed oil can't fix. It has retained a lot of bluing, and there appear to be no pits in the barrel. A good cleaning will tell for sure. It has a fixed full choke, and it is simple to disassemble. The safety is in good working order, and snaps with authority.

I think it will be just the ticket for boy-o's first squirrel gun.

Next week, maybe.

It appears a week has passed me by without my making it to the cobbler.

I just love these boots, they're so comfortable. Time and a desire not to be parted with my favorite footwear have conspired to keep me wearing holey boots. Next week, maybe...

Confiscation

In reading many gun blogs, you often run across individuals who feel as if police are overreaching and out only for themselves. The seem to feel cops are out to deprive them of liberty.

I have seen a cop stop someone with a gun in their car, for a traffic violation. The gun owner notified the cop that there was a gun in the car, the cop shrugged, ran the driver's license, wrote the guy a warning, and said "have a good day".

I have also seen convicted felons with drugs and guns on their person get arrested. The cop issued property receipts to the felon for both the "leafy green, vegetal substance, packaged in 9 quarter-ounce baggies" and for the "Ruger, 40 caliber, handgun, obliterated serial number".

I have seen these things go to court. The cop testifies that the firearm (the one in question had an intact serial number) belonged to a relative of the individual who committed the crime, and the judge ordered that the firearm be turned back over to the relative.

I have also seen fine guns destroyed, because they belonged to someone who committed a crime with said gun.

I have heard cops lament that such a beautiful gun (a Belgian-made Browning A5) had to be destroyed.

But you know what I haven't heard? Of a cop taking a firearm from someone and not turning it over as evidence, or not logging it in properly, or "losing" it.

Oh, it used to be legal for a judge to order a gun be turned over to a police department or cop for "the furtherance of law enforcement" if a legitimate owner could not be located. I'm not talking about that. It has fallen out of practice most everywhere. I'm talking about theft of property.

I've seen many cops lament that a nice Colt, or Remington,  or Smith & Wesson had to be destroyed. But I've never caught wind that one was "saving" a nice gun from the cutting torch.

And that makes me happy. We cops are no better than criminals, if we stoop to criminal acts... even though I have lamented myself over a seeing a few guns getting torched.

Yes, in the last post I did say ORANGE uppers...

Boots

I like a good pair of cowboy boots. I bought a pair of Justins boots about a year ago from Tractor Supply. Normally a $130 pair of boots, they were on clearance for $70. I guess no one liked orange uppers. But, hell, the uppers are always covered by pants legs, unless you are one of those urban-cowboy, fashion-ista types. And a good pair of Justins for under $100 is hard to come by. I pulled the trigger and bought 'em.

Thing is, in boots, you can get leather soles or bonded soles these days. I grew up on a small-town farm, where you tried to get all the usefulness you could out of EVERYTHING. You can't replace bonded soles. The sole of the boot is literally bonded to the rest through vulcanization,  the same process that your car tires go through to bond the rubber to the steel belts in the tires. It's durable, but once you wear out the rubber sole, you can't get them re-soled.

Leather soles can be replaced by a good cobbler,  for less than $30.

It's time to get my boots re-soled. Many people, after wearing a hole in a boot would throw them away, and look for a new pair. Truth is, you can re-sole a good quality boot about 4 times before they wear out. So, in effect, you get 5 times the service, for little money.

Call me old fashioned, but I'm going to be stopping by my local cobbler next week.

Meat Pies, and a party

One of my buddies from work has been harassing me to make meat pies for several months. It's an onerous process, but this weekend, I relented, and we invited about 10 friends over to eat.

We had a great time, and the meat pies were awesome, but inevitably,  I forget to take pictures when enjoying myself. I will just have to leave you with a picture of meatpie filling cooking, about 6 pounds of meat, and 4 pounds of vegitables. It made 44 meatpies.

Nothing like hanging out with friends, good food, and good company.

Dinner

Grilled deer steak, that was on the hoof last month, home made garlic and parsley mashed potatoes,  sugar snap peas, and Sam Adams Winter Lager.

I am in food heaven!

What's in your closet?

I saw a blog post on the Gun Blog Black List by Keads (  http://keads-anotherday.blogspot.com/2014/12/whats-in-your-closet.html?m=1 ) with this title. His concerned toy trains and nostalgia,  but I immediately thought "a lot of damned guns" when I read his post title. The Mossberg and  Taurus are not loaded, as I do not use them every day (the Mossberg will likely be riding in my unit after the first of the year). The Glock is my duty gun. The 638 is my office/court/dog days of summer carry gun, and so gets worn 3 or 4 times a week. The Kahr is my daily concealed carry gun, and gets worn almost exclusively on weekends, as well as most days after getting off work. The bobbed model 60 is my wife's daily carry.

What's in your closet?