We sometimes talk about stuff not involving Mustangs around here; so I thought I'd tell you about my latest "distraction".
Since around Christmas, I've been looking at a blackpowder pistol, but I was waiting until my Rodeo was over. Well, the gun went on sale at Cabela's through March second, so around Feb 26th I finally "pulled the trigger" (pun fully intended) and ordered up a "Remington 1858 New Army". Got to play with it yesterday.
Let me tell you, after years of dumping speedloaders and shoving mags into various rifles/pistols and blazing away; it was "different" (to say the least) to be measuring out 30 grains of Pyrodex, dumping it into a chamber, stuffing a wad in, (do that 5 more times); set a ball on top of the chamber and ram it home (do that 5 more times, too). When you shoot; pull back that big ol' hammer, center the target and the front sight in the 'v' in the top strap, squeeze the trigger, wait for the smoke to clear, and see how close you were on target. Think about your next sight picture. Do it again.
Why? Well, I like to shoot; and it's something I can put down and get back to something else - like get the Mercury running. Once I clean it, I can put it back in the safe and it will be there when I get back to it - I'm not having to constantly mind it, worry about paying for it, worry about somebody else doing something stupid to $crew it up....... just me and the pistol and the steel plate swinging on the frame. I loved it.
Why? Well I'll tell you:
1) It's slow. No high pressure, no struggling to keep ahead of a million things, no phones ringing with another fire to pi$$ on; just me, the pistol, and the target.
2) Everything involved, involves just me. No delegating to somebody else and waiting for that somebody else to report back or be reported as having irritated some multi-thousand-dollar sponsor.
3) It's "old". Even if it's a reproduction from Italy; it's considered an "antique firearm", 'cause cap-and-ball pistols are waaaay more obsolete than even Model T parts.
4) Since blackpowder firearms build up their pressures much more slowly than "smokeless" cartridge firearms, the recoil/muzzle flip is much more gradual (Think: "N.A. -vs- Blown/Bottled"); which will help me get over the flinch I've given myself while shooting .44 MAG rounds out of my 4" barrelled S&W Mountain Revolver.
5) Because it's "an antique", it doesn't fall under "Modern Gun Laws". If it weren't for my credit card record and the UPS shipping logs -Yes, they'll ship it right to your house instead of a gun shop! - there's no "official record" (like a Federal Firearms Transfer form) of it entering into my ownership.
I know it's not much, but it's mine; and BATF doesn't have a record of that.
I fear that we may suffer "gun-grabbing" in the next 3-3/4 years; but in "the 21st Century", whose gonna worry about some old fart with a re-popped 151-year-old pistol that takes 10 minutes (when I get better -but not still really good- at it) to reload?
Meanwhile, some thug beating down my door will still be facing 300 grains of lead along with a h*ll of a lot of noise!
6) Mastering the art is not a lot different from tuning a Holley 4160 series; once you find the sweet spot, it's allllll good!
Just thought I'd share.
Since around Christmas, I've been looking at a blackpowder pistol, but I was waiting until my Rodeo was over. Well, the gun went on sale at Cabela's through March second, so around Feb 26th I finally "pulled the trigger" (pun fully intended) and ordered up a "Remington 1858 New Army". Got to play with it yesterday.
Let me tell you, after years of dumping speedloaders and shoving mags into various rifles/pistols and blazing away; it was "different" (to say the least) to be measuring out 30 grains of Pyrodex, dumping it into a chamber, stuffing a wad in, (do that 5 more times); set a ball on top of the chamber and ram it home (do that 5 more times, too). When you shoot; pull back that big ol' hammer, center the target and the front sight in the 'v' in the top strap, squeeze the trigger, wait for the smoke to clear, and see how close you were on target. Think about your next sight picture. Do it again.
Why? Well, I like to shoot; and it's something I can put down and get back to something else - like get the Mercury running. Once I clean it, I can put it back in the safe and it will be there when I get back to it - I'm not having to constantly mind it, worry about paying for it, worry about somebody else doing something stupid to $crew it up....... just me and the pistol and the steel plate swinging on the frame. I loved it.
Why? Well I'll tell you:
1) It's slow. No high pressure, no struggling to keep ahead of a million things, no phones ringing with another fire to pi$$ on; just me, the pistol, and the target.
2) Everything involved, involves just me. No delegating to somebody else and waiting for that somebody else to report back or be reported as having irritated some multi-thousand-dollar sponsor.
3) It's "old". Even if it's a reproduction from Italy; it's considered an "antique firearm", 'cause cap-and-ball pistols are waaaay more obsolete than even Model T parts.
4) Since blackpowder firearms build up their pressures much more slowly than "smokeless" cartridge firearms, the recoil/muzzle flip is much more gradual (Think: "N.A. -vs- Blown/Bottled"); which will help me get over the flinch I've given myself while shooting .44 MAG rounds out of my 4" barrelled S&W Mountain Revolver.
5) Because it's "an antique", it doesn't fall under "Modern Gun Laws". If it weren't for my credit card record and the UPS shipping logs -Yes, they'll ship it right to your house instead of a gun shop! - there's no "official record" (like a Federal Firearms Transfer form) of it entering into my ownership.
I know it's not much, but it's mine; and BATF doesn't have a record of that.
I fear that we may suffer "gun-grabbing" in the next 3-3/4 years; but in "the 21st Century", whose gonna worry about some old fart with a re-popped 151-year-old pistol that takes 10 minutes (when I get better -but not still really good- at it) to reload?
Meanwhile, some thug beating down my door will still be facing 300 grains of lead along with a h*ll of a lot of noise!
6) Mastering the art is not a lot different from tuning a Holley 4160 series; once you find the sweet spot, it's allllll good!
Just thought I'd share.
I could be flippant and say "Oh, about 250 miles". 
