Appleseed is a good thing. But what is lost is a boy with a .22, set loose in the woods to plink at cans or pine cones, or hunting squirrels, imagining himself on the frontier.
I have made excuses for years about how bad a rifle shot I am. I grew up hunting deer here in Michigan, but almost without fail, I used a shotgun, sometimes with slugs, but often with OO buckshot. I did kill a buck with my dad's 30-40 Krag sporterized carbine, but that is the only time I used a rifle to kill a deer. All the rest of the time, it was the shotgun. So I never really learned how to shoot a rifle well.
But that is no more. I have made up my mind that this is the year that I am going to attend an Appleseed event. There is one in Manistee, MI, this summer, and I plan on being there, God willing. I have been slowly adding to my firearms collection, not as safe queens, but just to get what I feel I need to have. I only buy when they are on sale, and I got a Mossberg 702 Plinkster for about a C-note. That is a very good price for a decent .22 caliber rifle that shoots better than I can. Although most guns made today are capable of shooting better than I can, given modern tools and such. I added a full sized 3x9 scope to it, rather than one of the normal .22 scopes. I am hoping that I can get my son to attend with me. He is 35, and lived in California for a couple of years, and upon getting back, the first thing he did when he could, was to buy an AK 47. He hated the liberal left coast. He now has many more guns than I do, including a .22 rifle that I gave him from my dad's estate.
I also have an ATI 12 ga. pump shotgun, with an 18 inch barrel, mostly as a home defense gun, but I took it out and just for grins, shot a few slugs and some 00 buck through it, and it shoots both of those loads out to fifty yards quite well, although it kicks like a rented mule, even with 2.75 inch shells. Handguns, I carry either my Taurus PT111 G2 or my 1911 commander in .45 acp. It depends upon my dress and my plans for the day.
Finally, I just bought a M1916 Spanish Mauser in .308 caliber. I am going through it and fixing it up to be my deer rifle next year. In MI, our season runs Nov. 15-30. I plan to shoot handloads, as so many have been on the fence as to whether it can handle full loaded modern ammunition, or even the old military loads. So I plan to shoot 150 grain slugs, probably of some type of a bonded bullet, loaded to around 2200-2300 fps. I figure that out to about 200-250 yards, that should be a decent load, and that is all the farther I want to shoot anyway.
I know, this is way too much information than you were expecting, but once I got started, I couldn't stop. And I wanted to let someone else know that I am excited about Appleseed, and grateful that so many are willing to take on the task of teaching people like me, who has been around guns and hunting all of my 57 years, but has never learned the right way to shoot rifles. Have a great week, and thanks for your blog. I am sure that many others stop here and find it just as useful as me.
knirr, let me know if you ever get over to the Washington DC area. I'd be happy to take you shooting.
ASM826, amen. And amen.
Pigpen51, I was the opposite - I was never much of a shottie (ASM826 can confirm my poor Trap skills). A Ruger 10/22 is the perfect Appleseed rifle - inexpensive and with a removable magazine (needed for the shooting exercises). And you can get military sights for it from after market vendors. But your Mauser sounds pretty sweet, and the .308 should be a lot less expensive than the .303 for my Enfield.
5 comments:
Looks like what I used to have is still available, though the price is looking quite high these days.
Appleseed is a good thing. But what is lost is a boy with a .22, set loose in the woods to plink at cans or pine cones, or hunting squirrels, imagining himself on the frontier.
I have made excuses for years about how bad a rifle shot I am. I grew up hunting deer here in Michigan, but almost without fail, I used a shotgun, sometimes with slugs, but often with OO buckshot. I did kill a buck with my dad's 30-40 Krag sporterized carbine, but that is the only time I used a rifle to kill a deer. All the rest of the time, it was the shotgun. So I never really learned how to shoot a rifle well.
But that is no more. I have made up my mind that this is the year that I am going to attend an Appleseed event. There is one in Manistee, MI, this summer, and I plan on being there, God willing. I have been slowly adding to my firearms collection, not as safe queens, but just to get what I feel I need to have. I only buy when they are on sale, and I got a Mossberg 702 Plinkster for about a C-note. That is a very good price for a decent .22 caliber rifle that shoots better than I can. Although most guns made today are capable of shooting better than I can, given modern tools and such. I added a full sized 3x9 scope to it, rather than one of the normal .22 scopes. I am hoping that I can get my son to attend with me. He is 35, and lived in California for a couple of years, and upon getting back, the first thing he did when he could, was to buy an AK 47. He hated the liberal left coast. He now has many more guns than I do, including a .22 rifle that I gave him from my dad's estate.
I also have an ATI 12 ga. pump shotgun, with an 18 inch barrel, mostly as a home defense gun, but I took it out and just for grins, shot a few slugs and some 00 buck through it, and it shoots both of those loads out to fifty yards quite well, although it kicks like a rented mule, even with 2.75 inch shells.
Handguns, I carry either my Taurus PT111 G2 or my 1911 commander in .45 acp. It depends upon my dress and my plans for the day.
Finally, I just bought a M1916 Spanish Mauser in .308 caliber. I am going through it and fixing it up to be my deer rifle next year. In MI, our season runs Nov. 15-30. I plan to shoot handloads, as so many have been on the fence as to whether it can handle full loaded modern ammunition, or even the old military loads. So I plan to shoot 150 grain slugs, probably of some type of a bonded bullet, loaded to around 2200-2300 fps. I figure that out to about 200-250 yards, that should be a decent load, and that is all the farther I want to shoot anyway.
I know, this is way too much information than you were expecting, but once I got started, I couldn't stop. And I wanted to let someone else know that I am excited about Appleseed, and grateful that so many are willing to take on the task of teaching people like me, who has been around guns and hunting all of my 57 years, but has never learned the right way to shoot rifles. Have a great week, and thanks for your blog. I am sure that many others stop here and find it just as useful as me.
knirr, let me know if you ever get over to the Washington DC area. I'd be happy to take you shooting.
ASM826, amen. And amen.
Pigpen51, I was the opposite - I was never much of a shottie (ASM826 can confirm my poor Trap skills). A Ruger 10/22 is the perfect Appleseed rifle - inexpensive and with a removable magazine (needed for the shooting exercises). And you can get military sights for it from after market vendors. But your Mauser sounds pretty sweet, and the .308 should be a lot less expensive than the .303 for my Enfield.
The Virginia Appleseed schedule is now up. Come join us. Shooting well is a perishable skill.
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