Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns A great trip...

Bob, interesting, my 657 CH is unfluted, while my standard is fluted. Both great 41s.

Enjoy and safe travels.

The 657 Hunter above is a first generation -2 gun. According to the gurus over on the S&W Forums some of the early guns have been seen with fluted cylinders probably because when the gun was introduced they just put some cylinders on from the normal 657s. I looked at the serial number prior to the trip and it was the 5th one built.

Bob

How does one check S# for when built?

Sorry I have out of touch for a while...things got a little "busy" here....

65BR go over to the Smith-Wesson Forums and check the 1960-1980 and 1980-Present Boards...there are stickies there that have serial numbers dates attached to them...

Since I last wrote, Mackay and I came up to his cabin north on Mackay on Saturday. After we unpacked we went for a motorcycle ride and did some fishing. I managed to catch my first western Rainbow Trout and Mac managed to cast his pole tip down stream...

Saturday evening we started doing some long range handgun shooting...warmed up a little on a 24" gong at 75 yards than then picked a spot on the hill behind the cabin that had one small sagebrush in the middle of some sand...at a lasered 780 yards. It was pretty easy shooting with my Freedom Arms 654 .41 Mag. that has a Clements long range front sight. Fully elevated it was right on the money at 800...so it was just a matter of keeping the hold while squeezing. Mac was shooting his 4" Model 29 and had to use 1/2 the barrel to get rounds up there. I gave him the FA and he hit the bush with the second round...

Sunday was The Ride From Hell.... We were in the mountains across the street from the cabin when Mac took the wrong turn that ended in a deadend canyon... I crashed three times but fortunately neither I nor the bike was damaged.... After the last crash however the plug fowled and the bike had to be run at high RPMs or it would die. Mac is 20 yeas younger than I am and is a lot stronger...we switched bikes and he was ableto muscle it the 5 miles back to the start of uncivilization...

Just before the wrong turn...





This one is for Huntsman....




Sunday evening we shot long range rifle out to 800 yards. Mac has steel up in the hills behind the cabin and it is always fun trying to judge the wind in Idaho...

Monday morning we went riding around places in the outback that I would not take my bike...but that little STOCK Nissan truck just keeps on moving...

Did some more long range shooting out to about 450 yards. This time I used the USFA Clements .44 Special that also has a long range front sight...







At one point we found a spot that had small cave openings...and looked occupied... One had an opening about 18" wide and 3' tall... We were dropping bullets into the cave from 300 yards. No one came out..

This Mount Bora across the street from the cabin...it is the highest peak in Idaho...a pleasure to see everyday...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...14/20140804_065304_zpse7fd4aac.jpg[/img]

My battery is about to go so that is all for now...

Bob

thanks,Bob.good to see the rust bucket is still there.

Great thread, good to see y'all had a good time. I love the way the 24HCF brings good folks together to do some good stuff with guns and such.

Sorry to hear that Mac cain't cast a flyrod, though.

Doc..it was a spinning rod...he got hung and as he was pulling the line back and forth trying to free it the tip loosened and I think when the line popped the second rod section took off..he tried to catch up with it but the current was too fast... That stream dries up a little ways down stream and one afternoon I am going to see if I can find it...

Mac left Monday afternoon and after a day of work is now at a three day rifle course at Thunder Ranch. Since he left I have been doing a lot of stuff around the cabin that he just doesn't have time for..having a full time job and family...

Yesterday I took a ride up to Challis that is 28 miles north. Really nice little town that is dying due to the closing down of timering, mining and most of the elk in the area being killed off by wolves...out of staters don't bother to come back after a year or two without even seeing an elk. And now if Obamasan signs off on the newest national monument the town will really be toast. There just isn't enough tourists in the area to support the economy. I spent money there instead of waiting till I go back down to Twin Falls just to help out.

From there I went north up 93 to Salmon, the long time home of Elmer Keith. Saw the small display they have for him in the county historical building. Very interesting place. All along the road there were places to camp and fish along the river...and was no one there. I also came to realize that I have more guns than all the gunshops in Challis and Salmon combined...especially handguns...didn't see a S&W or Colt one... After talking for a while in one shop I brought in my "travel case". These guys had never even held a Freedom Arms or USFA revolver...

PO a long way from anywhere...



...right where the rivers join...





The weather here where the cabin is has been great...mostly cloudy but almost no rain. This morning it was in the 50s and warmed up to about 80 but then a storm came down the valley and cooled things off to 62....and it actually rained for 15 minutes...two miles east I watched it pour going south for an hour...

This morning there was no wind so I got out the Ruger GSR with 2-7 Burris scope...set a target up at a lazered 360 yards and calibrated where I needed to hold on the Ballistic-Drop reticel. Then on to a rock that was about 18x24 at 555 yards...no problem smacking that using the #3 holdover wire..



Wrangler who drove a heard up right behind my target stand....



Storm over Mt. Bora that cooled things down this afternoon...



...a nice place to be thanks to Mac...

Bob

I need one of those Clements sights...




Travis

If you want to try mine I may be through your area in late September/early October....

They do make hitting at long range a lot easier...

Bob

Stop on in. Plenty of places to shoot and I got a spare room.



Travis

Great...will send a PM when the time is closer....will work out well as I am supposed to meet up with P Weed in ND on the way home...

Bob

Bob, I had a visit at the ranch from another 'fire guy the other day. Rio7 stopped by on his way to see his kid before going to the Quemado get together. He had a couple nice 6 shooters that I know you would enjoy seeing. A matched pair of stag handled .45's. They was FA's I think, and the case-coloring beat anything Colt ever put out. Another guy (Toby Joe) is coming out to shoot on Saturday...

Sounds bueno.



Travis

..if blue/case then they were probably USFA not Freedom Arms that are stainless...

Bob

Well, they was one or the tuther. Dat's all I know about 'em.....

You ought to see that area in the early spring and late fall. Steelhead fisherpeople all over the place. Been going to Ellis for 15 years trying to catch those elusive fish. Be there next spring. Like to hunt in that area as well as unit 51 so recognize some of the pictures that Mac posts.

That is what I understand... One of the gunshop owners said that the trout fishing isn't that good...just "small" ones...8-15"... Those are eating size...

Bob

Left a week ago Friday to meet Mackay down in Boise to watch is daughter ride in a Mounted Cowboy Action Shoot...this was her last competition of the season....



..the kid sure can ride...she already has 3 first place belt buckles....



We then went to visit Mackay's parents north of Boise who I met last year...great people... His father is 10 years older than me and I only wish I was in the shape he is in.

After Mackay left for home Monday I hung out with his father and we took a "ride" about thirty miles into the woods...



...to a fire tower....







...that you could see fires a LONG ways away...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...14/20140818_165919_zps4112510b.jpg[/img]

spectacular country. I need to wander up that way sometime

Wednesday I headed north on Rt 55 along the west side of Idaho and connected with Rt 95. Just north a little place called Riggins I saw a sigh that said "Hell's Canyon" and having some time took a turn on Cow Creek Road and stared driving west...should have checked the map...after 10 miles of dirt road it turned into a twotrack with a sigh that said "Passenger Cars not recommended"...oh great...and after another 13 miles at 8 mph finally came to an intersection that indicated the canyon was another 15 miles in or 23 miles out by "Crooked Road"....and that it was 23 miles of switchbacks....



Did see some mule deer...one doe with twins and one with a single...




I had been in contact earlier with JJ Hack and safariman about coming to visit. JJ was in Africa but Mark and his lovely wife made me part of the family...along with the three dogs and three cats....

We had a great time going shooting twice and to a gun show on Saturday...

Mark "adjusting" the sights on a British Enfield..



...shooting Marks (in)famous RIA 10mm..that "wounded" him while I was shooting it...



Camped two nights along Rt 12/Clearwater River and toured Missoula, Mt. quickly on the way south back to Mackay's cabin.






...and when I get back to the cabin I am greeted with snow on Mt. Bora...it was 38* this morning..

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...14/20140826_184506_zps1a5191b8.jpg[/img]

Did some long range shooting on Mackay's steel at 590-700-790 yards. Then shot some with the FA97...this was five at 30 yards... I have a hard time with
this gun... Have to really concentrate or the shots pull left... The last 5 at 25 were not worth photographing...

[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/alb...14/20140827_191404_zps752c25b1.jpg[/img]

...good not to be driving for a while...Bob