Fort Downing Trading Company

I just had a delightful experience ordering clothing. I have been getting together money to buy some 18th century clothing for my reenacting hobby, and I placed an order today with Fort Downing Trading Company.

Frances Sanders spoke with me, and was wonderful. I explained to her what I wanted, and gave her my measurements. She asked what types of buttons and colors I wanted, and asked if sleeves on shirts off the rack were usually long enough. I told her that they usually were not, and she said she'd add a bit of fabric to make sure they were long enough. She asked questions about what time (1740-1750) and type (French Marine) of reenacting I do, and she knew the type of collar and cuffs to put on the shirt. She was a very sweet lady, and very thorough.

She enquired how I heard about her, being that I live in Louisiana, and she's based in Florida, and I told her that I had seen her garments while working at the Colonial Spanish Quarter in St. Augustine, FL.

She does great work, and I can't wait to get my clothing! She said she will probably be shipping my order within 2 weeks, and will give me an email confirmation when it ships. Further, it cost about $30 less than I expected, and about $100 dollars less than the same order would have cost through Jas. Townsend.

If you are a reenactor, and are looking for quality clothing at an affordable price, check them out!

www.fortdowning.com

Yesterday, I continued a tradition in my family's line that goes a long, long way back. You see, my father has been putting together a turkey shoot for his church, and it's been a few months in the making, but next weekend is the turkey shoot.

My son has been chattering non-stop about the turkey shoot, and every day, he tells me a story of what he will do "one day, when I'm your age, and I go to a turkey shoot..."

I have been thinking that maybe he is a bit too young to shoot yet, but he knows not to touch guns unless mommy or daddy say it's okay, and he has been talking about the turkey shoot constantly. I realized that I wasn't much older than him when I shot a gun for the first time, so I asked him.

"Son, do you want to learn to shoot?"

" yes, daddy."

We went out back and posted targets. We went over the 4 rules. I showed him how to hold the gun (a .410 H&R) and told him how to look down the barrel and place the bead on the target.

He dry fired twice, so I could make sure he was being safe, and I had to help him hold it because even a youth model H&R is still a little long for him, then we loaded a round. I only had 2 .410 rounds in my ammo can, and they were both buckshot.

The target was a standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper with a one inch green dot sticker in the middle. His first shot, he hit the paper.

The second shot went high, but hey, that's how it goes sometimes.

I made a deal with him. If he can repeat the 4 rules by Saturday, and Paw-Paw will let him, he can take a shot at the turkey shoot, but he HAS to know the 4 rules.

He agreed. You should have seen the happiness on his face upon seeing his target. I'll never forget that look, and the high pitched voice filled with excitement. "I did it! I did it dad, I shot the gun!"

I took my son shooting yesterday.

I took my son shooting yesterday, and made memories not to be forgotten by me. And probably not by him.

Leverguns

The 30-30 I have been shooting lately just hasn't been preforming as well as I would like. I just figured that I needed more tome behind the iron sights, but yesterday, my dad brought another lever gun by the house. He said that the crown on the 30-30 may not be in the best of shape, so he suggested i try another gun.

Enter the Marlin 1894c. It's chambered in .357 magnum/.38 special, so it makes a truly great BUG out gun, as my woods revolver is also chambered in .357 Mag. It still has plenty of power to take deer at 100 yards and closer, and it's LIGHT!

Does it shoot?

The first picture is a 10 shot group from 50 yards. The group measures 3 and 3/8, and is about 3 inches above point of aim. At 100 yards, it would be almost dead on.

The second pic is 7 shots, standing, as fast as I could work the lever, at about 20 yards.

Not bad for a BUG out gun!

BEER!

We brewed beer today. Melissa's grandmother sent us a beer kit for a cream ale, and my grandmother gave us some carboys, racking canes, stoppers, etc, from when she used to brew wine.

Next week we order a capper. The week after that, we bottle!

Yay, beer!

Do You Know What This Means?

Yep. My wife got her CCW. Good times.

Leatherworking and Re-enactments

I am gearing up for the upcoming December encampment at Fort St. Jean Baptiste, and I'm starting to get excited. For years, I have either worked in historic interpretation or have borrowed clothing to participate in living history. No more! I have the money set aside, and will soon be purchasing a waistcoat, knee breeches, and a shirt! I plan on ordering from Fort Downing, as I have seen their work, they make a good product, and they have good prices. Yay for my own gear! ( I already have shoes and gaiters, as well as other accoutrements, so this should set me up reasonably well.

I have been working on a few projects as well for this encampment, most notably, my first piece of leatherwork that I plan on trying to sell. It is a medium-sized shoulder bag with a seamed, beaver-tail style flap. I am making a batch of Iron-dye to dye the bag black, and I still have to add a shoulder strap, but in a week or so, when it's all finished, I will post a picture.

I am also working on a pair of shoes for my son. I am hoping they will turn out well. They have started out good, but it is the first pair of shoes I have attempted to make, so we'll see....

Anyway, that's what's new in my re-enacting life!

Can't wait till December!

Louisville Leather

I know I've blogged about these guys before, but they really, really make a great product. If you are in the market for an IWB, OWB, or pocket holster, check these guys out. They have a gun list for what they make holsters for, they do custom tooling or stitching, they make gunbelts, and they try to keep everything in stock, so you don't have long turn-around times, unless you order something custom.

These guys make a fine product. Any time i carry my Glock 19 concealed, it goes in one of their holsters ( did I mention that they also stock their products in left-hand configuration?!).

Their prices are good, too.

Check 'em out. Just sayin'.

www.louisvilleleather.com

Reloading

My father has reloaded for as long as i can remember. Being a poor working man employed by the state, the only way he could afford to shoot regularly was to reload. Over the years, he has reloaded everything from shotshells to small pistol to magnum rifles, and he has built a lot of knowledge in the reloading arena.

For years, I have been content shooting the bullets my father has reloaded. Recently, though, I have become interested in the process, and with the addition of the 30-30 to my gun cabinet, i have decided to learn the process. Last week, under the guidance of my father, I loaded 20 rounds of 30-30. Today, while riding out the storm at my father's, I loaded 50 more, going through all the steps on my own, starting with consulting the Lee reloading manual, and finishing with crimping the bullets.

It is satisfying having the knowledge to make my own ammunition (even though I used my father's tools, manuals, brass, powder, and bullets). I think I may need to slowly start investing in all the tools and supplies, so that I can eventually reload on my own.

I am a poor working man employed by the state, after all.

Tidbits of my day

Well, we are hunkering down for the storm. Being that I'm in central -not south- Louisiana, we are just now seeing rain and wind here. It's a foregone conclusion that we will lose power, but we are prepared, in every sense of the word.

I have today and tomorrow off due to Issac, and I'm 2 drinks deep in the whiskey. I feel a bit maudlin, but am enjoying myself.

We will start a pot of chili soon, and enjoy the rain coming in.

More than anything, I pray for the local farmers, whose crops aren't ready.

Gun safe

I have been wanting one of those bedside safes for a long time. In my single days, and after getting married, but before we had a child, I kept a handgun on my nightstand. Along came my son, and I had to rethink my game plan. First, when he was an infant, the gun just got moved up higher, but still by the bed. When he took his first wobbly steps, it went on a shelf in the closet. Then it got put in a handgun case in the closet, which is how I have been keeping it for the past few years. Yes, I still have a gun close, but it is not as secure from small hands as I would like, nor is it as accessible to me as I would like.

Well, I got a $50 gift card to bass pro shop for my birthday from my wife's grandparents, and I knew what i needed to get with it- a bedside touch pad gunsafe. I found one that was roughly $50, and brought it home. Now, let's be serious... a $50 gun safe is not the highest quality. It will not stop a determined thief from making off with my gun. But it will stop my 4 year old from getting it, which is what i really want it for anyway.

Now, the factory spring on the safe didn't pop the lid with authority. Hell, it didn't pop it open with a heaving gasp. In fact, about 1 out of 5 times, the factory spring didn't give enough 'oomph' to pop it open at all. But hey, i knew what I bought, and I figured i might have to do some modifications before i even opened the box.

I scrounged around in my dad's garage with my brother, and we found an old spray bottle-like the kind that Formula 409 comes in. We ripped the spray mechanism apart, and removed the spring. It fit perfectly over the housing of the factory spring in my gun safe, but was TOO strong. It was so stiff that the lock mechanism had too much tension on it and wouldn't release. We cut about one twist off the spring, and viola! It works perfectly!

I can now safely keep a firearm by my bedside again, and still keep small fingers away from it!

Success is a great thing.