Berry's

I like their bullets, and they come in a dandy little plastic box that is great for storing completed cartridges... the problem is the boxes come with 250 bullets, but only hold 200 finished cartridges.

Ah, well!

Single Stacks

Aside from my affinity for the S&W j-frame, have I mentioned that I like single stacks?

The Ruby and the Colt

Last weeked, while at my Dad's, he passed on a Legacy firearm to me with an interesting history.

It's a Ruby handgun, which was made by the Spanish under multiple contracts for the French army during WWI. There is almost no parts standardization to speak of, to the point that buying an extra magazine for one of these guns is a craps-shoot. It may not work in a given Ruby.

The one give to me was likely a surplus purchase after the Great War by my father's great uncle, Roy.

Roy was a cop, and a colorful character, and dad says he never remembered seeing Uncle Roy without the Ruby tucked into his waistline. Roy had some interesting adventures with this little pistol, that still survive in family lore. I will keep the Ruby happily as a legacy gun, and a testament to just how basic a firearm can be, and still provide service through a century.

The Ruby was a cribbed copy of a wildly-successful-at-the-time design, the Colt Pocket Hammerless.

As I recently posted, I put one of these on Lay-away. The finish is about gone, but the counter-guy let me field-strip it, and the internals are in great shape. Someone used the hell out of it, but took good care of it, too. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, other than carry it; the Pocket Hammerless is a Grail Gun for me. Once I have it home, I'm going to get to a range and shoot the hell out of it. Once I determine that it is reliable, I plan to carry it regularly. This gun, in its condition has little collector value, and I want a shooter, anyway. It may become a  candidate for a re-finish. Possibly in Nickel. I will pick up an extra magazine if I can find one, and depending on how it shoots, I may order a set of Wolff springs for it. I may end up replacing the sights, but I want to shoot it first, to see if I can acquire them okay. I have heard that the rear sight dovetail and front sight stake-hole are the exact same as on 1911's, so finding a set of sights may not be too hard.

Whatever I do to it, I'm looking forward to giving the old pony a good home, where it will have a purpose again.

More Leather

I had a guitar strap and a set of coozies commissioned this week.

The musician is also a sailor,  hence the nautical theme.

I have been experimenting with  Hi-Liter dye that darkens the leather in any creases or cuts, and I'm really liking the way it makes a piece pop!

Got his Wolf

This past week, my son completed his last requirements to earn his Wolf badge, and advance to Bear scout next year.

We planted trees at a local park as a community service project. To say I'm proud is an understatement. Both sides of my family -and my wife's family- have a long history in scouting. He was proud of his accomplishment, and I was sure to make certain he knew I was proud of him, too.

Hopefully one day he will be the next Eagle Scout in a long line of Eagle Scouts.

He's the one in the hat, to the right of the picture.

Pocket Rocket Redux

I decided to make a back pocket holster for my LC-9. See, the LC-9 has a manual thumb safety on the left side of the frame. So naturally, it is a backup gun for me, as I am left handed.

I made a back pocket holster so that I can carry it in my right back pocket.

It's super GAUDY but, like kinda like it, style-wise. I don't like carrying it, however. Sitting on a gun just ain't comfortable!

I may try carrying it in my right cargo pocket while on duty... I guess we'll see.

Layaway

When we were younger, we owned horses. We had a Shetland pony at one point, several quarterhorses, and even a Mustang at one point...

But this will be my first Colt. Can't wait to pay it off!

Annnnddd... reloading stuff!

I went to Cabellas... and spent more than I should have... but...

I got some more reloading stuff, and a buddy gave me some lead! Not a bad day!

Fixing a Glove

This was a new one on me, but it was an interesting challenge. I will say I'm happy with it turned out.

Before:

After:

What's Fer Supper?

Glad you asked! Red Beans and Rice, or as I call this recipe, Cheatin' Beans.

See, to make the traditional Red Beans and rice of South Louisiana, you start the night before, soaking beans. But sometimes you don't have the time to do all that, hence Cheatin' Beans.

Brown a pound of chopped sausage, whatever the store has on sale. Add a chopped onion, and about 5 cloves of minced garlic. Once it's all browned, and the onions are clear, pull them out. Make a roux, and once it's a peanut color, add water, the sausage and onion mix, 3 or 4 cans of kidney beans (I always use 1 can of Blue Runner brand red beans... they add a certain something.) Let it simmer on low for a half hour. Make a pot of rice, and enjoy some Cheatin' Beans! They're almost as good as Traditional Red Beans and Rice, but the time investment is much, much less!