Handsome Rob

I'm going to be picking up a brand new rifle tomorrow & as I've never owned a new 'un before I was wondering; Do I need to do any cleaning or de-greasing before I shoot the thing, or can I just slap on the optics & go nuts? Do new guns usually have a 'break-in' period (I've only ever dealt with black powder before & that needed more than 100 shots to get 'settled!') Also, now you're here, I need advice on ammunition. It's a .270win & I'm going to be using it solely as a deer rifle with my longest shot being possibly (although hopefully not) out to 300yds. I've read a lot of online opinions telling me that a 130gn bullet is about the ideal, but there are so many loadings for this thing (I'm used to, as I say, round balls or .303 Brit!) that I really have no clue where to start. I know the ideal would be to buy a box of each & see what groups the best, but I don't have a further $400 to buy 20 of everything! Those of you with hands-on expereince with the .270, could you please give me your opinions. It's a Weatherby Vanguard, if it's any help.

I'm going to be picking up a brand new rifle tomorrow & as I've never owned a new 'un before I was wondering; Do I need to do any cleaning or de-greasing before I shoot the thing, or can I just slap on the optics & go nuts? Do new guns usually have a 'break-in' period (I've only ever dealt with black powder before & that needed more than 100 shots to get 'settled!') Also, now you're here, I need advice on ammunition. It's a .270win & I'm going to be using it solely as a deer rifle with my longest shot being possibly (although hopefully not) out to 300yds. I've read a lot of online opinions telling me that a 130gn bullet is about the ideal, but there are so many loadings for this thing (I'm used to, as I say, round balls or .303 Brit!) that I really have no clue where to start. I know the ideal would be to buy a box of each & see what groups the best, but I don't have a further $400 to buy 20 of everything! Those of you with hands-on expereince with the .270, could you please give me your opinions. It's a Weatherby Vanguard, if it's any help.

Ooof! LOL!

Just post your comment here. You can piss me off first-hand!

Bony??? Where on earth are you finding the bones in Gar? If you fillet out the 'backstraps' for want of a better word, there are no bones at all. It takes a little practice & you need to forget everything you know about cleaning fish. You'll need a pair of tinsnips (yes, really!) & a knife. Punch a hole through the skin along the back of the fish, just behind the gills. Insert the tinsnips & cut all the way down the spine to the back of the dorsal fin. Cut down the fish behind the gill & down the back of the dorsal fin creating a 'flap' of skin, the full length of the fish. Insert your knife & skin the fish as you would a deer. You can now insert your knife into the meat along the spine & fillet out the two backstraps, just as you would a deer. You'll get a really nice, clean fillet of pure white flesh, without a single bone in it! The only further step is to clean off the light grey colored connective tissue on the outside of the flesh. There's nothing wrong with it, it just doesn't taste too nice. When you're cooking Gar, you have to make sure to NOT overcook it. It can get very rubbery if overdone. I like to use Zatarain's crab boil or Southern Fish Fry on mine.

Ah, my apologies, I've just seen that you are in the extreme west! There's not much you can do to stop 'em hitting set lines really. They're voracious predators & they'll pretty much take anything you put in front of 'em.

OS has it right. We DO have a tiny population of Alligator Gar, but only in the extreme West of the state & they're listed as a protected species. I would bet that you've got either Spotted or Longnose gar. I bowfish the hell out of 'em in the spring on the Tennessee River around South Pittsburg. And yes, they're exceptionally good table fare! Either boiled in crab-boil or breaded & fried, in my opinion it's the best eating fish in the State!

:rofl:

I have a pair of the Wally World cheapies, after wearing out some proper Crocs. To be honest, at this time of year I'd rather go barefoot. Actually, now I think about it, it's probably been 2 weeks since I wore anything on my feet.

I absolutely do and you always can

Dennis, no apology needed Sir. I understand completely. It's a very touchy subject on both sides of the coin & I meant no disrespect with my retort. Having worked so hard for so long & paid so much to have the opportunity to make a better life here, I get a little defensive at times. Please forgive me if I came across too harshly. Most Americans can't appreciate how hard it is to emigrate here legally. 5 years of petitions, paperwork, background checks (literally going back to birth) & lawyers fees kinda lace you a little jaded about being tarred with the 'immigrant' brush.

Sorry, what I meant was, you were lucky enough to be born here.

Just so you know, WE don't. Depending on our status (for example, I'm a Non Immigrant Alien):- We can't vote. We can't run for public office. We can't carry firearms. In certain cases we have no right to trial by jury. We are constantly under the threat of deportation for the SLIGHTEST infraction. We get no 3-strikes. We can be evicted from the country or detained within with no notice. We CONSTANTLY have to prove ourselves to the INS & Government. There are other things that we can't do & have to do to live here, but personally speaking, it's absolutely, totally, 100% worth the aggravation. I love this country, sorry, I LOVE THIS COUNTRY & almost everything about it. Immigrants/aliens behaving like this probably annoys me more than it does you! You HAVE to live here, we WANT to live here & any kind of disrespect shown to the Country that has ALLOWED you to live here really, really pisses me off

I've always made my char cloth from old blue jeans. Never thought of making char-twine afore! Does it hold together as well as cloth? I make mine in an old paint can (I generally make a bunch at a time)

Mexican style, slow & low, venison stew. Probably washed down with a VERY generous snort of Bird Dog (or nine)

Here you go James.......

Sorry! Should have been robtattoo580@hotmail.com........stupid cellphone computer thingys

If you like, you can email the pics to me at: robtatto580@hotmail.com & I'll happily post them for you.

The hottest day ever recorded in Tullahoma was 106º.......until today. A record high was reached at 3:35 this afternoon when it peaked at 108.6º!!!

Here's my 3.... From left to right; my Shooting pouch by October Country leather, 8"x8"x2", The first possibles bag I made (more of a weekend trekking bag/game bag really) 12"x14"x4" & my current possibles bag, 10"x13"x1½" (again home made)

Go for it Dave! I just did a quick roundup of my cleaning operation over on the Muzzleloader forum, if you're interested..... In response to garandman 1) Pop a can of beer 2) Remove barrel & cylinder (Pietta 1851 Navy) 3) Drink ½ can of beer 4) Fill sink with HOT water 5) Add dish soap 6) Finish beer 7) Immerse barrel & cylinder in sink 8) Pop further beer (take an immediate swig) 9) swish parts around in sink & run a nylon brush through the bore & all the holes in the cylinder 10) repeat 3) 11) rinse off barrel & cylinder with clean HOT water 12) turn on stove & repeat 6) 13) repeat 8) 14) Place wet parts on the stove for 3 minutes to dry 15) Give the gripframe a good wipe down with a rag 16) Spray everything with Rem Oil 17) Repeat 3) 18) Swear. 19) Wipe up all the Rem oil that you've sprayed all over your kitchen 20) Put it all back together 21) Swear. 22) Tear it all back down & put back that little screw that slipped behind the toaster. 23) Repeat 6) 24) Replace revolver in gunsafe for ANOTHER 3 years until you can be bothered to go through all this again. 25) Repeat 8), 3) & 6) But seriously.....It only takes me 10 minutes MAX to clean up after shooting my '51 all day.

Thanks buc, yes I did. It's my first attempt at a holster.

Here's a couple of my '51....... I won't have my '58 Remmy for a week or so. I usually load the '51 with 18gn of FFFG Goex, with 20gn of cornmeal on top, a lubed felt patch & .454 ball. Since I've recrowned the muzzle (I think the previous owner must've dropped it) it'll shoot 3" groups at 20yds. I'm told it should shoot better than that, but I'm not much of a pistol shot!

......have once again given me the necessary courage to pull the trigger on a gun I've been lusting after for too long. I'm now $200 lighter, but eagerly awaiting delivery of a steel framed Pietta 1858 New Model Army in .44 to compliment my 1851 Navy Colt. I dare say they'll be coming down to Florida with me later in the year for a piggy hunt, but my first job will be to switch out the crappy Pietta nipples for some Treso's & start working up a load. I am VERY giddy about this, as I've been wanting one since I was a kid & every time I've seriously thought about buying one, something silly has come up & taken my money. Drunken courage is happy courage!