This week I shot the Mossberg 715T (T for Tactical) 22 Long Rifle at 75 yards with two manufacturers of ammo. Weather was cold at 23 degrees, wind 5 to 10 mph. I first shot the new Blazer ammo which is said to be around 1235 fps at the muzzle. Loading the ammo in the clip gets easier as you learn to load it. Ten rounds loaded in the clip in the first minute and two more minutes to load the next 10 rounds. More than that and I was denting the brass and bending the lead a bit by forcing more in the clip that is supposed to hold 25 rounds. I had two shots where the action did not close so I to removed the clip and reset/closed the action. The bullet fired fine.

Groups at 75 yards were being pushed left by the wind as you can see with the lateral dispersion. Vertical dispersion was very tight with the majority striking in two inch groups. I reset the scope to pull the groups more left.

The Norma T 22 ammo shots below at 1100 fps spread more in a vertical dispersion at 75 yards and the group spread nearly four inches. I did have a single round that did not fire due to the bolt not fully locking down. Cold weather and lack of lubrication likely contributed.

Warmer weather is coming so I will at some point chronograph bullet speeds. So far I have put nearly 100 rounds through this rifle. The more I handle and shoot it the better it shoots, so it is perhaps more me than the rifle. More to come…

The sheer beauty of this rifle, made with forged steel and curly Tiger maple was unsurpassed in the 1700’s and hard to own, often costing a half years salary. During my research I learned much about the Long Rifle and its many names.

Below is the same rifle built by Davide Pedersoli see the website:

http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/scheda-prodotto.asp/l_en/idpr_99/rifles-pennsylvania-pennsylvania-dixie-percussion-model.html

The Long Rifle was first made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania around 1705 to 1710 by a man named Martin Mylin who was of Swiss – German descent. A collegiate report below documents the stone built gunshop and the confusion over Martin’s father of the same name.

http://www.millersville.edu/archaeology/files/mylin-gunshop-site-report.pdf

The Dickert or Deckard Rifle made by Jacob Dickert of Lancaster Pennsylvania some similar rifles appeared in the 1730’s and much later with Dickert who had a contract with the Continental Army for the quality Long Rifles during the Revolution. This rifle had other names too such as the Kentucky Rifle when Pennsylvanians made the rifle for those exploring and settling Kentucky such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett.

The rifle is more correctly known as the Pennsylvania Rifle. Other craftsmen such as the Swiss, and Germans, some were Mennonites and French Huguenots, who created similar rifles over the mid to late 1700’s. This was the first one that utilized rifling such as “lands and grooves” in the barrel to impart spin to the round ball thus providing bullet stability essential for long distance accuracy. Rifling did not catch on until much later for military use but was used for long range hunting with great success.  The barrel was inordinately long at 40 inches or so and used a round ball from .32 to .45 caliber in most cases for Squirrels to Big Game.

It was later used in the American Revolution by General Washington who instructed Colonel Danial Morgan who’s men already earned the title “Morgan’s Sharpshooters with the Long Rifle, to form a Provisional Rifle Corps with the Long Rifle. Other units contributed sharpshooters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%27s_Riflemen

Morgans first task from General Washington was to pick off leadership and harass the troops of Colonel William Howe’s retreat through New Jersey. This was a new tactic of sniping the enemy. Morgan assigned 500 of his Provisional Rifle Corps to the task and did it safely from long range.

Here is the surrender (courtesy of Wikipedia) of General Burgoyne. Morgan is in White.

Below is a paragraph from website:

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2009/09/history-long-range-shooting.html

“The most celebrated of Morgan’s riflemen was Pennsylvania rifleman Tim Murphy. Tradition has it that Murphy was ordered to kill a British officer astride a gray horse. Perched in a tree and steadying his aim on a strong limb he missed with his first shot. With his second he mortally wounded General Burgoyne’s Aide de Camp, Captain Sir Francis Clerke, at a range of some 300 yards. Reloading, he next drew a bead and downed General Simon Fraser. Clerke and Fraser lingered for hours in agony before succumbing and were buried on the battlefield. In the end the British losses were twice that of the Colonial forces with rifle fire contributing greatly to the American dominance of the battlefield.” End Quote

As a hunting rifle in Kentucky it was unsurpassed in bringing home game for whole villages or families that created a homestead.

There is a Long Rifle Museum in PA below that you can visit.

http://jacobsburg.s481.sureserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PA-LR-Museum-1.pdf

If you are interested in building your own Long Rifle you can go the website below to get started.

http://www.americanlongrifles.com/Books_frame.htm

The most celebrated book is The Gunsmith of Grenville County below that you can purchase on Amazon.com for $44 dollars.

For a Long Rifle weapons rundown by the History Channel go to:

http://www.history.com/shows/top-shot/videos/weapons-rundown-kentucky-long-rifle

Have Fun and Be Safe!

In this test group, I attempted to load 25 rounds of Norma Tac-22 Long Rifle in the Clip. I could only load 24 rounds as the pressure placed on the rounds in the clip were showing signs of denting the brass at 24 rounds.

It took a short 2 minutes to load the first 10 rounds and 10 minutes to load the remaining 14 rounds. Honestly, the remaining 14 rounds were a pain in the you-know-what to load. If you need more than 10 rounds loaded immediately then your target will be waiting.

Next was to shoot the 24 rounds without a jam. This it did very well and grouped very well at 25 yards too. The outside temp was about 20 degrees F, wind 5 10 mph and sunny and the scope was a Nikon ProStaff 3×9 . The time between shots was about 2 seconds or so. The group was near an inch to 1.5 inches given the repeat 2 second fire I liked that group very much.

Group 1 Norma Tac-22 – 24 rounds at 25 yds. 3-5 sec/shot

Group 1A with Norma Tac-22 at 50 yards

Group 2 at 50 yards (scope adjusted)

All in all the Mossberg 715 T shoots as a semi-auto very well for its very low cost of under 300 dollars and shoots as fast as you can pull the trigger. It does take time to fully load the magazine as a drawback.

Slow fire at 50 yards w Norma Tac-22

In upcoming tests we will shoot 75 and 100 yards.

This Tactical looking semi-auto has passed my test for expected accuracy and reliability with the Norma Tac-22 Ammo at 25 and 50 yards. I don’t know what true muzzle velocities are for this so a later test will determine that for brands tested. The fact that this rifle is capable of shooting high velocity rounds make this a great varmint rifle out to 100 yards and a great AR practice rifle with low cost ammo. I was able to purchase the Norma ammo at less than 6 bucks for 50 rounds.© 2014

Here is the Mossberg 715T fitted with a Nikon Prostaff 3×9 that I tested today. The rifle retails for around $300.00, I got mine new for much less. This was an initial test for High Velocity 22LR Ammo to see if the action can handle a heavy load and tested this ammo for accuracy at 25 yards. Five shots of each High Velocity Brand were shot in slow fire. Temperature was in the 20’s, Sunny, Wind 5 -10mph

Brand                                                 Group                  Est. Muz. Vel.

Norma TAC-22 LR (New) 40g             3/4    inch group       1100FPS

Remington High Vel.    40g                  1 3/4  inch group      1200FPS

CCI Velocitor (New) 40g HP                7/8   inch group         1400FPS+

CCI Mini-Mag    40g                              1 1/4 inch group        1200FPS+

CCI Stinger 36g                                    1    inch group           1600FPS

Winchester Target                               1 3/4 inch group         1000FPS –

Best Accuracy was obtained by Norma TAC-22 at 3/4 inch followed by CCI Velocitor with a 7/8 inch group.  More cycle tests are coming with 25 rounds loaded. The only thing that I had difficulty with initially was to load more than 10 rounds in the Clip, (25 in clip) it was difficult. Others reported the same issue. A second clip costs 34 dollars. Below is the ammo I tested with it. Some of the ammo has been on my shelf for years but this past summer I found it to be fine. I did have an older CCI Stinger today that fired but the powder only partially ignited and the bullet had to be pushed out of the barrel. During the summer I had no issues with this older ammo, perhaps the colder air affected the ignition? All in all, this high velocity ammo fed well and grouped well. More tests to come…© 2014

Yesterday, I took my Kimber 1911 for a walk. It needed some fresh air and loud noises at the range. Being cooped up in cold weather creates Cabin Fever. I know a lot about cabin fever back in my Navy submarine days where my sub was submerged for 70 days on Patrol babysitting 160 nuclear warheads. Ok back to shooting.

It was actually Jerry Miculek’s video’s that inspired me. I have always considered myself a good shot. Fast and Accurate? Accurate yes but fast is something that takes practice. When I say fast, at 10 yards it takes me a whole 2 seconds between shots. Yes it sounds fast and in fact it is, sort’a, but when you see a fast shooter take 2 seconds to shoot all 6 targets, then you know what fast is. My first shot is usually slower because I am not on target. But if I were on target then speed would likely be the same on the first shot.

If I were practicing for that first shot at a menacing intruder intending to do my family harm, all is different, the safety is off but my grip safety is on till I paint the Crimson Trace laser on the intruder. So I practice for that too in a different way holding my pistol pointed forward near my right chest to protect it, then extend for the shot if I need to.

Previously I competed with a Hi Standard 22LR pistol at indoor leagues and have won an occasional award. At my only 100 yard Silhouette Match with a Ruger 22LR Pistol, I came in second place, not bad for a novice. In the military I carried the 1911 when on Topside watch. Not a lot of fire power if you wanted to get by me. But I did practice removing the clip and placing a new one at the ready. I love my Kimber and broke it in with ball ammo like the military uses. I have had the Kimber for 5 years and I am not giving it up any time soon. Yes it is expensive but my life and that of my family is more so.

Never had a problem with my Kimber, ever! It is smooth…Go to

http://www.kimberamerica.com/1911/crimson-carry-ii

On carrying this pistol, I am licensed/permit to carry.

At home I have my pistol where it is clean, oiled  and safe and I can get to it in a hurry. You too! That’s great! Be safe out there. © 2014

Of all the websites and you tubes I have seen I am very impressed with the site http://miculek.com/welcome-reddit/ or http://www.bang-inc.com/

It is not only fun to watch Jerry Miculek shoot he takes the time in his video utubes to give pointers to the shooter about stance kind of weapon and purpose for rifles and he does demonstrate he has the fastest finger in the world. There are plenty of video’s to watch like speed shooting a Desert Eagle 50 cal or the 50 cal semi-auto Barrett he shoots 6 rounds in 1 second. He has an instructional video that looks to be fantastic. He is listed in Wikipedia below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Miculek

His products are for sale on Amazon.com like his Practical Rifles Video for AR Platforms. There are training classes that you can take as well with Jerry.

You will spend hours watching all he has to offer.

I like his videos for we novices so that when defense time at home at or on the go comes. You will be ready!! This is not about hunting this is about knowing you and your weapon and what you can do with a semi- automatic or just a plain revolver. Be Safe!!! Shoot often! More to come…

If you don’t have an emergency kit/ duffle -bag in your vehicle and you get caught way out in the winter wilderness unprepared, you life is on the line. Your kit should include:

An Adventure First aid kit which has a compass and matches and fire starter such as Vaseline and cotton balls or lip balm and cotton balls, Aspirin and Tylenol besides bandages and mole skin. Emergency whistle.

Flashlight with extra batteries. A head mounted flashlight is better.

Emergency Water filter that you can use in the nearby creek like a LifeStraw or Filter mechanism to keep out bacteria.

Extra gloves blankets/clothing/hats gloves.

Charcoal disposable Hand warmers and foot warmers.

A hatchet or small axe to cut firewood.

a few 50 gallon plastic bags for either shelter or coat.

Meals ready to eat. MRE’s

Sanitary hand cleaner and a roll of toilet paper.

Dish Soap and new sponge and small sealable plastic basin.

A sharp knife.

Propane cook stove and propane.

Cooking pot and potholder.

A flare gun if in winter.

A gun with extra ammo where legal.

A GPS locator beacon or E-PIRB is expensive, but not as expensive as your life.

If you are concerned for the risk then get one! © 2014

I bet you would be thinking that I would be suggesting a rifle. Nope!

One of the best defense guns on the market is the ubiquitous Remington Model 870 12 Gage Pump, fitted with a smooth slug barrel and it serves a dual investment.

You can hunt deer with it too. It is not just sitting locked up in the corner of the bedroom gathering dust. Just remember store it safely so it will be ready for home protection after you are done.

I have had an 870 pump for most of my adult life. It has served me very well for deer, turkey and ducks and makes a statement if pointed at an intruder or it is cocked with that characteristic kachunk-kachunk movement of the slide down and back up.  On the wrong end, hearing that will certainly suggest that you are in deep do-doo as an intruder.

If loaded with a round of 00 buckshot, it meets the FBI minimum penetration criteria. Slugs will penetrate much further and injure others in far off rooms. Shoot a 00 buck load and you have unleashed 8 .33 caliber pellets at the target in just one shot and will penetrate a wall or door to do it.

I like the 45ACP Pistol but if I were really concerned over local break-ins you can bet both would be ready. © 2013

I am no expert on Mountain Survival Gear however I have been in many situations that have caused me to be more prepared.

Today there is more survival gear than ever. Technology is terrific. One of the items in my hiking a hunting back pack that has always been a given is a first aid kit with basic bandages, tape, antibiotic creams etc. A good start. I like the Adventure Medical Kit at Midway USA.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/497125/adventure-medical-kits-adventure-10-first-aid-kit?cm_vc=sugv1652944

Cost: $10.00

or the Adventure First Aid Kit

at http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/medical-kits/adventure-first-aid/adventure-first-aid-1-0.html

Cost $12.00

My son bought me an Easy Care First Aid System for my birthday for the home. It covers 1-8 people for 14 days.

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/medical-kits/mountain/mountain-series-fundamentals.html

Cost: $110

HYDRATION and ELECTROLYTES

Equally, I have been in the woods and mountains without enough water as well. That is very bad indeed. I drank from the local stream and ended up with a mild case of giardia. So lesson learned I carry a water filter, mine is a Kathadin Pro Hiker filter with a pump and will filter out giardia. It is great for creating lots of water.

http://shop.katadyn.com/product/8018273?catalog_id=1&language_id=1

Cost $84

***************************

LIFESTRAW

Today there are water filter pens and straws that are smaller and will easily fit in a backpack. Get one today so you won’t be caught without good hydration.

Example: LifeStraw

(quote from Wikipedia)

“The LifeStraw is a plastic tube 310 mm long and 30 mm in diameter.^[4] Water that is drawn up through the straw first passes through hollow fibres that filter water particles down to 0.2 µm across, using only physical filtration methods and no chemicals.^[5] The entire process is powered by suction, similar to using a conventional drinking straw, and filters up to 1000 litres of water.^[6] While the initial model of the filter did not remove Giardia lamblia,^[7] LifeStraw removes a minimum of 99.9% of waterborne protozoan parasites including giardia and cryptosporidium.^[8]”

Cost: $20.00

It has been used successfully around the world in humanitarian crisis. I will purchase this soon and if I like it, I will buy one for each member of my family.

Using Chlorine Bleach you can purify water accordingly at the website and table below.

Click to access drinkingwater.pdf

ELECTROLYTES

Second Item I will purchase is Electrolyte tablets that you can add to water to balance your body electrolytes like flavored “Elixer” tablets that contain vitamins and minerals that you can plop into your canteen. Or drink at home or work to give you Energy and Stamina.

http://www.brownells.com/emergency-survival-gear/water-amp-hydration/water-accessories/elixir-tablets-prod58828.aspx

Cost: $5.99 to $7.99 for 12 tablets. I have not tried them yet but they are cheap enough that if they prove out. I will surely purchase more.

Don’t forget disposable Heat Packs/Hand warmers/Foot warmers for Staying warm. You can buy them in bulk too at local retailers too.

SURVIVAL KNIVES and HATCHET

There are hundreds. I only carry a smaller knife for skinning and gutting. I like Buck Knives because they are hollow ground and maintain their edge and don’t rust However In the deep woods, or unknown forests I like to carry a hatchet too.

This is a real survival tool that can aid in making a temporary shelter. One of the best out there is the Gerber Back Paxe II – Clam for around 34 dollars. I am cheap and have a wood handled one but it did get me out of a jam when I got turned around on a Canadian Hunt. I was able to cut birch bark and make a very nice winter fire in short order. Making a survival fire can be difficult see the website below.

http://www.wildbackpacker.com/survival/tips/tipsindex.html

and

http://survivalcache.com/how-to-build-a-fire/

LOCATOR BEACONS

If you can afford one a personal satellite locator beacon can be helpful.

Cost in the $300 range

Well that is a good start but not the end. More to come..

It was supposed to snow at least 6 inches or more overnight so I pulled my tom turkey from the frozen bowels of my chest freezer for a Snow storm treat. Yes the one I shot in May of 2013, the story is in the Archives here. I skinned that bird because I did not want to be bothered plucking. The problem is to cook it without the skin takes an inventive nature. I solve this years ago by layering Bacon on the bird like a new skin with plenty of fat to drip and protect the breast and leg meat.  You can see the toothpicks I used to hold the bacon in place. If you want a more smokey flavor just use hickory smoked bacon. Another trick I have used in the past is to layer thin slices of granny smith apples over the bird for moisture and then use the bacon as I have done here.

A neat way to dress up this wild bird

So I baked him in the oven at 350 F till the internals were 165 degrees. Actually the breast was closer to 180 F And then I broiled the bacon a bit. The width of the bird wasn’t enough to stand up alone so I used the aluminum foil from his sleep in the freezer to keep him breast up.

Here is how he came out of the Oven.

Wild Turkey with Crispy Bacon skin

The turkey rested till the Mrs. came home and then we feasted. The salt from the Bacon did not overdrive the Turkey. I will use an Aluminum Foil Tent to try and keep the breast meat more moist at the end. I was able to make a fine gravy from the pan drippings.

We served buttered mashed potato and yellow squash with cranberry sauce. The leg thighs were a bit undone so I cooked them a bit more. I would say that we have leftovers for maybe 6 more servings. What a feast!