Actually, they showed up yesterday morning, but we spent the rest of the day packing and shipping books to those who pre-ordered. Their books are on the way. Thanks to all!

Yeah!

Thanks for the update again,

Geno

HOT DOG!

Thanks John, looking forward to receiving and reading my copy when it arrives.

Bruce

Woohoo!

Outstanding! I ordered my copy yesterday so I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas! Thanks for the update.

Good timing! I had purchased a pile of old OL and F&S at the Glendive gun show...and just finished the last one last night.

Is this the reloading book? powdr

Yes.

Thanks for the hard work

Great news. I am sure that it will be a valuable part of many libraries.

I haven't seen it yet, but this is the second reloading book I've bought in the past 4 months. The other one is probably different from yours though. It's about reloading the English medieval crossbow.



Rapid fire at two bolts a minute. Ave John!

Thanks to you and the "shipping department"!
Ronnie

While I was picking up my special edition, I did see yours on the table ready to ship. Eileen also had a receipt about 4 feet long of books they shipped today...

Wow, it sounds like John and Eileen have been busy! More Eileen than John I'll bet.

She emailed me today needing some extra info about my order. Probably has to do with shipping. Once it crosses the border into Canada, it must go by dog sled.

Thanks for the head's up.

It may take weeks. I sold a gun stock to a guy in Canada and it took almost a month for his check to get here...

Yeah, sad to say, it's the dogs. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's not the dog's fault! It's just that Canada Post doesn't retire them. They just keep pulling the sleds until one day...

Rumours were flying around here that Canada Post was thinking about using bicycles and trained moose (meeses?) for long distance mail runs. They were doing it in Alberta. But, with the change of government up here, that's probably not going to happen.

Gun Gack......hmmmm....might have to check it out!

A whole lot of gack! Here's the contents as borrowed from the other thread:

Introduction: Two Warnings

1) Working Up a Load in the 21st Century

2) Modern Rifle Powders
3) Rifle Primers
4) Rifling Twist
5) Pre-Testing Big Game Bullets

6) Sizing Cases Straight
7) Meat Hunting Bullets
8) Why Reloading Data Varies

9) Choosing Varmint Bullets
10) The Three Factory .17’s

11) Why the .204 Ruger Works So Well
12) The .22 Hornet and K-Hornet
13) The .221 Fireball in a 700 Classic

14) The “Triple Deuce” (.222 Remington)

15) .223 Remington: The Smallest All-Around Cartridge

16) Newer Powders in the .22-250

17) The Infamous, Accurate .220 Swift

18) A Pair of Fast .22’s (.22/6mm Remington; .223 WSSM)
19) 6mm PPC, the Essence of Accuracy

20) Untangling the 6mm Lee Navy

21) .243 Winchester: Popular Imperfection

22) The Other Two .24’s: 6mm Remington and .240 Weatherby

23) A Pair of .25-20 Winchesters

24) The Accurate .25’s
25) .25-06, the Most Popular “Quarter-Bore”

26) The 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schoenauer

27) The 6.5 Creedmoor—Modern Accuracy Distilled

28) The 6.5x55 Swedish-Norwegian Mauser

29) The 6.5/.284 and 6.5-06
30) Reviving the .264 Winchester Magnum

31) 26 Nosler—The Hottest 6.5

32) The 21st-Century .270 Winchester

33) 7x57 and 7mm-08 Remington—A Perfect Pair

34) The Hard-Luck .280 Remington

35).280 Ackley Improved and 7mm SAUM

36) Remington’s Phenomenal 7mm Magnum

37) Handloading the .30-30—If You Must

38) Easy Accuracy From The .308 Winchester

39) The 7.5x55, a “Metric” .30 Caliber

40) The .30-06—Still the Finest All-Around Big Game Cartridge

41) Holland & Holland’s “Super Thirty”

42) Winchester’s Most Popular .300 Magnum

43) Roy’s Famous .300
44) Great Britain’s Great .303
45) Modern Powders in Two Old 8x57’s

46) Kinder, Gentler .338’s
47) .338 Winchester Magnum
48) The .338 Lapua Magnum, King of the Wide-Open Spaces

49) .348 Winchester—Only The Lonely

50) The Original .35 Remington

51) Colonel Whelen’s Fine .35
52) 9.3x62 Mauser, The Working Man’s Medium-Bore

53) The .375 H&H, Still The King

54) Modernizing Two Old .40’s (.450/.400 Nitro-Express 3"; .416 Rigby

55) Epilogue: 9.3 BS

The Rules (4-to-1 etc.)
Recoil Formulas
Manufacturers
Index

Another order in the queue, including the trouble shooting book.

I won't have any excuses now.

Just ordered mine.

thanks.

Bob.

Looking forward to reading it.

Received mine today, checked out my favorite calibers and found some good loads to try.

Thanks John and Eileen!

Bruce

Is that one of those dreaded 2 stage triggers?

Great news John.

Now whack my copy on the big red flying kangaroo and send it over here .

Can't wait to start at page 1 and read it right through. Though I might read the chapter with the .257 Roberts first.

Your copy's on the kangaroo.

I suspect a lot of people will read the chapters on their favorite cartridges first!

How exactly does someone from Canada order from you? I looked on your site but may have missed it somewhere. Thanks.

For orders outside the U.S. it's easiest to e-mail [email protected] or phone 406-521-0951. Eileen will figure out the extra postage required.

One problem we have with orders from Canada is that even if checks or money orders are in U.S. dollars, our bank charges $25 to process them. So we advise Canadian customers to either use a credit card (probably easiest with phone orders) or send Canadian cash. We get to Canada pretty regularly and it's easier to keep some of your money on hand than to exchange American money.

Ok thanks.

I was having some issues with the website taking my info, so I just sent the money to her PayPal account with a request for the book. Is there anything else I need to do? I'm assuming, always dangerous, that it will provide my shipping address.

PayPal won't list your mailing address unless you specifically type it in, so e-mail it to [email protected] with note on why you're sending it, so she knows where to mail your book.

Should also add that the phone number for ordering (which many people prefer) is on the home page of the site, but you have to scroll down a little to see it. It used to be immediately visible before the notice about the book was added to the home page.

And it's 406-521-0951.

Yes, and even the 2nd stage has a really long and grotty pull to it. Still, and this is where I go to ground, it is better than any stock Remington trigger.

Just ordered mine. Can't wait!

Jeff

Great!

Riflesandrecipes.com has been fixed, so the phone number is right there at the beginning of the home-page description of the new book, in case anybody has difficulty with ordering through the site.

Received my copy today.

Many Thanks!

FC

Is there any chance you will be around next week (Nov 4-6) such that I could mosey over from Helena while I am there on business and pick up a copy direct from the source?

been away from site for awhile busy.I seen the post of book and ordered right away thanks john.Your books are all good

Mine arrived today. Looks like it's all that I had anticipated it would be.

Mine came today also....can't wait to get time to peruse it...but for now, painting has priority ....oh well.....

Mine came in today's mail. I read the Intro first! Thank you John and Eileen.
k2nd

Got "Gun Gack" today, and my Rifle Looney hat! Thank you John and Eileen, great stuff!

P.S. If that "triple deuce" ever gets to taking up too much room, give me shout!

Received my copy this morning.

Thanks
John and Eileen

My 4 copies arrived today.

Three are Christmas gifts for 3 hunting buddies.

Many thanks Eileen and John.

Steve

Got mine today, 10/27/15, noticed that the 25 WSSM and 256 Newton were omitted. Sadness :-(

If you're interested, I know where you can put your hands on a pretty nice Glenfield 30A.

Thanks for the heads-up, Jeff, but after writing that chapter I bought a pretty nice Model 64 Winchester .30-30.

A Winchester 64 would balance better.

John Wootters wrote about his deer camp friend, Palmer "Peg" Melton, jump shooting east Texas deer with a 64. I was looking at a Winchester 94 NRA rifle today, a 64 close, but decided that I didn't need to spend $500+/-on another 30-30 that would never get shot.

Although I'm a Marlin 336SC guy, the 30-30 that I have shot most often over the past five years is a Savage 170 pump gun.

To hi-jack this thread. I'm about half way through the book (skipping chapters on cartridges that don't interest me,sorry John) and so far really like it. Tomorrow start the chapter on 6.5-284 and 6.5-06.

Received my copy today and placed in the most honored spot in the reloading library...the back of the toilet.

John, one thought that might not be possible, but I would love to have copies of your reloading and rifle books that are either lose leaf with three holes for a three ring binder or spiral bound. I tend to crack the spine of your books because I reference them fairly often and try to get them to hold still on the reloading bench. I would buy a version like that over an e-book version any day.

Looking forward to cracking the spine on this one too!

Scott

Mine came in today. I'm packing up for an elk hunt so I've only been able to scan through it and I like what I see.

It's going with me to Colorado so if there's some dead time I'll have some good reading material.

Jeff, I totally agree about the balance. Had a Marlin 36 (not 336) rifle for a while, with the 24" barrel and half-magazine, and for the life of me cannot remember why I sold it. Either one of those or a 64 is still pretty light but hangs a lot better than the carbines!

Did own a 94 Winchester carbine for a while, but it was a .32 Special. It also happened to leave the factory the month I was born.... Can't remember why I sold that one either!

elkhunternm,

Feel free to skip any chapters you want, but usually there's some sort of useful handloading info not specific to the cartridge in each chapter. You'll probably read them when you're really bored anyway....

True,I do get bored rather quickly.

SWJ,


Good idea! We have been publishing Eileen's latest cookbooks in spiral bound format for that very reason. Lots of people want them to lay flat on the counter. Will consider that for sure.

Not many of either her cookbooks or my technical gun books are likely to show up as e-books, because apparently the format really garbles tables and data, whether teaspoons of seasonings or grains of powder.

navlav8r,

Hopefully the "dead time" you experience will be with dead elk instead of the other kind!

I have some late 1940's and early 1950's vintage 94s in 25-35, 30-30, and 32WS, but I haven't taken any of them out of their long term storage boxes for several years.

You know that you have too much stuff when it stops being "real" and is just a list of letters and numbers in an EXCEL file.

The only 94 I have right now is a an octagon-barreled rifle made in 1898, so it's actually a Model 1894. Has been hunted some, but also has the original factory-option sights, a 3-leaf rear and a Beach flip-over with an ivory bead and a globe post. Somehow that one has stuck....

JB,
I picked up my copy from the Shop today and have gone thru the first seven chapters, including the READ THIS FIRST Introduction. Looks like another good reading and reference book. Lots of good stuff so far. I may have to skip over a few chapters to see what you've got to say about my favorites since it's getting late here in Kentucky but I assure you I'll read it all.

Got mine today to be a birthday gift for my father. Had to flip the pages carefully as to not make it obvious I've read through it before giving it to him.

I always got books from my father for birthdays and Christmas.

He had a bunch of friends who, like him, were avid readers.

And I never got a book that had not been read by 6-8 people. But you could not tell because they took very good care of it.

I found out about the book rotation when one of his friends told me that he had read the book. Not a copy, but the one I got as a present.

Steve

Thanks for the quick shipping! Received mine yesterday.

I'll get to the non-30-06 chapters eventually, but I noted your NULA gets 2885 fps with 168 Bergers and only 57 grains of H4350. Wow, that's a quick barrel!

Yeah, it is a pretty quick barrel, because it's got a minimum chamber and (probably) tighter than average bore as well. But that's one reason I used it as the example for .30-06 loads: Most barrels are "looser," the reason they're slower. The same loads won't be too hot in other rifles, though they'll probably be slower. The same rifle also gets almost 2700 fps with 200-grain Partitions and 59.0 grains of H4831.

That's the same reason I used my minimum-chamber, Lilja barreled 6.5x55 for most of the testing in that chapter.

Are there ISBN-10, ISBN-13, and/or LOC numbers associated with your new book?

I was adding it to my library spreadsheet and couldn't find them.

Got my book today. I probably won't get much done this week now. THANKS FOR THE LARGE PRINT!

Thanks for the 250 data. Just wish there was more with modern pressure loads for the rugers, coopers, etc. out there. I guess there's no wrong way to run it, but like my Roberts, my 250s seem to be more accurate with modern powders at +p type pressures. Not that I'm trying to make it something it's not, but my cooper loves 100gr bullets at 2950-3000fps.

Ordered mine this morning. Were any of the first 500 left?

tag

Jeff,

We decided to not use an ISBN # on this book. Eileen had used the last of the batch of 10 she got on our collection of the first 5 years of RIFLE LOONY NEWS, and was deciding whether to purchase another batch. Apparently the only reason is for stocking or search purposes for bookstores and other secondary retailers, and since we sell them all directly, and know exactly where they're stocked, we decided to just print the books without one.

Just a reminder that if anybody has trouble with the website, which occasionally happens, to contact Eileen at either:

[email protected]
406-521-0273

There's a bug in there somewhere that neither our web provider or Eileen can find. While it normally works fine, once in a while it doesn't, which is why we now have the alternatives listed above right at the beginning of GACK'S info.

What was the link to the website again?

Well, you know how bean counters are, we just aren't happy until we can find some data points to capture, collate, and sort. I'll just fill in those columns with "N/A".

Crowrifle,

www.riflesandrecipes.com

John,
I received my book yesterday, just in time for my birthday! Please thank Eileen for the quick shipping. I snuck out of bed at 3 AM and quietly sat in my den to read Chapter 35. I must say I qualify as a "churner" I guess ~ my father gave me a broken backed PO Ackley book in the 70's and I love reading it.

I give all the credit for being introduced and loving the 280 AI, however, to Dogzapper. I don't see or hear much of him anymore, but I miss his knowledge, writing and stories. In reading a post a few days ago on gun magazines and gun writers, I could not help but think about Steve and the great articles and knowledge he shared. Godspeed.

Thank you so much for such an enjoyable book to read, DZG

FYI, I had my copies of "Gun Gack" and "RLN The First Five Years" spiral bound at Staples yesterday for $9.59.
Well worth it IMO.

DZG,

Thanks!

It just so happens that my own hardback copy of P.O. Ackley's book (purchased in a sporting goods store in Seattle in the early 1970's) now has a duct-tape spine, with the title written in Magic Marker, due to being read so often.

You will probably notice our friend Dogzapper being memntioned in GACK once or twice.

Steveco,

Was that the price per book, or for both? Might pass that info on to readers in the cyberspace version of RLN.

MD,

That was for two 22mm spiral-bindings, $ 4.49 each plus tax. And that included slicing off the glued binding.

The RLN margins are close on some pages but no problem. I also had them insert the index for RLN in the back. Might have your other books done that way.

Steve

Very interesting! Thanks.

John,

I just got back from Staples.

The cost for one book was $5.95.

Steve

John/Mule Deer & Eileen:

I imagine that I may have the only copy of Eileen's cookbook "SLICE OF THE WILD" here in Sweden. It was worth the shipping.

A great way to improve this cookbook would be to go with a "lay flat spiral binding". Please consider this for all future cookbooks if possible.

Another improvement would be a larger font. Either my eyes can't focus close as well as they used to, or my arms are getting shorter... Yeah, that is it!

John

I got my autographed copy of "Gack" yesterday. Looking forward working through it. Thanks JB.

John,

Last year we published Eileen's latest cookbook, SAUSAGE SEASON, with spiral binding for just that reason. This year we ran out of the original hard-cover SLICE OF THE WILD copies, so reprinted it in paperback with spiral binding, so they will lie flat too. Unfortunately, we didn't make the print larger in either book, because Eileen wanted the sausage book to match the layout of SLICE.

But THE BIG BOOK OF GUN GACK does have a much larger font, for the very reason you suggest--short arms on many readers!

Ummm... John, the chapter on the .300 Wby,you have a pic of a bull elk you killed in Colorado. The caption reads "This eating-sized elk taken with a .300 Weatherby mentioned on the PREVIOUS page was a welcome addition to our freezer." There's no mention on the previous page of you getting that elk,or any page in that chapter.

Just a heads up.

Got my copy in the mail yesterday...

All I can say is WoW!

another home run John!

looking forward to a lot of enjoyable times reading a chapter here and there, during my leisure time...

Ken,

Read the caption to the close-up photo of the rifle and ammo on the previous page, and you'll find the mention of the elk.

There are some typos in this printing, including three that we decided were serious enough to include an "errata" sheet with the books shipped in the last few days. But here they are for those who didn't get the sheet:

On page 29, second line from the top. "2fps/inch rule" should read "2fps/degree rule."

At the bottom of page 421 in the last paragraph, the formula for calculating the area of a circle is described as "Pi squared times the radius" when it should read "Pi times the radius squared." But all the bore areas listed were figured correctly.

On page 427 the last line of the recoil-formula example for the .243 Winchester should read "ME 1867/174 = 10.7"

The one part of the book where there apparently aren't any typos is the loading data. That's because Eileen and I went over it several times, then gave copies to two friends who are serious handloaders and had them check it all out. Then we changed the few mistakes they found, and checked it all again several times again.

Yesterday we had to order a second printing, because in the first week we shipped about 60% of the first printing. The next one will include corrections of the above mistakes, plus a few others that weren't as important, but just puzzling. One was apparently caused by computer glitch, where the number 2/3 was somehow inserted in the middle of a word!

I can't fault you very much. You can probably believe the fun I had dealing with nagging typos when I was publishing papers about systems of differential equations and their numerical approximations which included large quantities of summations, indices, subscripts, superscripts, yadda yadda.

JB,

My two copies just arrived. I'm sure my friend will enjoy the inscription in his copy, and I do appreciate the unanticipated one in mine.

Thanks,
Dave a/k/a mathman

Gotcha.

Just picked my copy up from the mail today. Looks like I'll be staying up late tonight reading!

Thanks MD!

John: Received my copy in the mail today. I was house painting but played hooky to thumb through. Great addition to your other two books in my library. It will take all my willpower not to try to go through the book immediately, but parse it out over the cold winter nights!
thanks much!

John,
Mine arrived safe and secure. Inscriptions are great.

I saw the 2/3 thing and laughed. Also noticed a caption in a margin with no picture.

Oh the joys of publishing, eh?

Thanks to you and Eileen also.

Geno

Hi Geno,

Thanks for your sharp eye, but that's probably a sidebar, not a lonely caption. Or at least Eileen and I haven't found any like that in dozens of checks on the sidebars and captions. What page is it on?

Looking right now, had looked thru 25-20, 303 and a few others in passing. (obsessive reader, hard to stop even if I have little interest in cartridge, but loonyism rears it's ugly head!)

Yep, appears to be sidebar. My bad,, it's the one in the .303 chapter about your friend Jay. First chapter I read and was expecting picture of the "holes from the first three Sierra..."

Ooops.

Geno

PS, I thought I was wrong once but I was mistaken.

Don't feel bad,it happens to the best of us.

My copy came today, so I'll have something to do when it rains. By the way - how many calibers in the book does one have to own before being a certifiable loony? Which ones are worth more points, and which ones beside the 270 deduct points?

That 9.3 B-S looks like fun. Now, to find one of those "10 zillion short Remington 700 actions" in left-hand on something I don't care to keep intact.....

The number to qualify as a CRL would depend on the cartridges. You could own 8 rifles in .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield and .300 Winchester Magnum and just be an ORL (Ordinary Rifle Loony).

But if you own 4 rifles in .22 K-Hornet, .300 H&H, .348 WCF and .450/.400 3" you're definitely a CRL!

So, a single shot in 25-20, a lever action .256 WinMag (those two with a convertible revolver in same-same), switch bbl bolt 6x55/ 30-'06, all original mil spec 6.5, Nylon 66 & Ruger takedown .22's, 9.3x62, couple of .303's, a couple of shotguns, a M700 waiting for a decision on what to do with it (reblue, rebore, rebarrel?) and maybe some other stuff I think...

Do I get a certificate and straightjacket yet?

If not, I've got plans for new acquisitions next year.

Geno

PS, notice, no .270's.... yet.... and if one did end up in the safe, then I might change it to a .25-270 or a .30-270 or something cool.

PPS, forgot the switch bbl sidelock BP gun in .50 and .36

Lets see,4-.270's(3-Win & 1-Wby),2-.30-06's,2-.300 mag (H&H/Wby) 3-.375's (2 are H&H and 1 is a RUM) 2-35's (.358 NM & 9x57) 3-7mm (2-7x57 and 1-7mm Dakota).

Only one .25 cal and it's a .25/06.

Thanks for the info Steve. I was going to look into the same thing but hadn't made it that far.

Looks like I will need to have my well read copies bound and get some nice copies for the book shelf.

Scott

Does having an array of Savage 99s in 220 Swift, 25 Souper, 25-284, 260, 6.5-284, 338-284, and 40-55 get me a CRL or ORL badge?

Surely having 15 Winchester/USRA 70s in 25 WSSM is at least irregular loony territory.

Not enough volume for the common cartridges.

Close on the 4 rifles - vanilla 22 Hornet, 300 H&H, 35 Remington (bolt and lever) and 404 Jeffery.

Still a neophyte...gotta work on my Loony.

Jeff,

You've always qualified for the Rifle Loony Order of Merit, which is a step above Certified.

I'll let the 'expert" loony figure that one out....

but me, I'd vote no need for badges for you.....


you get the special padded room

Geno

MD best me to it!

I am awed, or is it odd?

And without even citing the 25 Rem, 25-36 Marlin, or 256 Newton!

So would a 257 Bob, a 6.5x55, a 35 Whelen and Marlin levers in 30-30, 35 Rem, 44 Mag and 45-70 count?

(yes, I like Marlins )

Getting there, but a lot would depend on which rifles the .257, 6.5x55 and .35 Whelen are chambered in.

Are all your Marlins pretty recent models?

When a LGS calls you saying they have two used Leupold's,does that qualify as SLR?

Super Rifle Looney.

I own 5 '06's
Do a 35 SLR, a 32-20 Marlin takedown, and a 32-20 Colt Bisley help put me over into CRL status?

So, since being a CRL appears to be part quantity, part oddity, and part something else that's purely subjective (as judged by someone else), I'm humbly thinking that having a Heinz 57 group like 25, 30, 32 and 35 Rem Model 14's, a 17Rem-223 LH Kimber, Savage 99's in 22 Hi Power and 303 Savage, LH 788's in 6mm and 308, the obligatory old 8mm's and 6.5 Swedes, some LH A-bolts w/ BOSS, and LH 7mm STW's in Rem 700 and Win 70 might at least let me buy a beer at the bar of the CRL fraternity. (Does buying the beer help?)

After I started using the term "rifle loony" in RIFLE magazine around the year 2000, or maybe a little earlier, some readers got upset with the term. In one of my articles was a line about "the subspecies of human being" known as rifle loonies, and that really got one guy started. He was not only offended by "loony" but "subspecies," apparently believing it meant some kind of ape.

But the magazine and I both weathered through that phase, and by 2004 the term had been accepted by RIFLE'S readership enough that when I did a column entitled "You Might Be A Rifle Loony...." the response was pretty positive. The list wasn't just mine, because examples were donated by a number of friends.
As the column suggested, if any of these apply you just might be a rifle loony:

You've seriously debated the difference between the .270 Winchester and .280 Remington--and ended up owning both.

The only thing better than the latest, newest In-Rifle is a really old rifle.

On a long airplane flight, you pass up the latest Grisham novel, taking AFRICAN RIFLE & CARTRIDGES instead.

When cleaning out your shaving kit for the same trip, you discover an ejector assembly for a 98 Mauser.

You reach in your pocket for change, and amid the dimes and quarters find the recovered bullet from a dead elk.

Somebody asks for a good 7x57 load, and you can recite every one you've ever used.

You don't recognize 80 percent of the celebrities listed as getting divorced in PEOPLE magazine, but within three minutes can locate the dog-eared copy of a gun magazine that includes a profile of your favorite cartridge.

Your rifle safe is like Heaven: There's always room for one more.

You buy a .375 H&H "just in case" you ever get to Africa.

On your vacation, you visit Gettysburg and end up looking for gun shops.

You name any of your dogs or kids Rigby, Remington, Ruger, Winchester, Keith or O'Connor.

Your UPS man comes up the walk with long box, singing, "Here's another one!"

You purchased a set of used dies at a gun show and had to build a rifle to fit them.

You've solemnly recited, "Beware the man with one rifle," knowing full well you're not that man--and none of your friends are either.

Good one's John, thanks for the Loonie examples.

My son's house dog is Nellie, short for Benelli, and their Cat is Berrett. His big Lab is Cody, but he has never been to Wyoming...

I am afraid my 2nd grandson from them will also be named after a firearm, but their first born is Wyatt so we might just get a Western Celebrity name, LOL

And I do have 3 empty cases lined up trying to decide my next rifle. One is a 243WSSM, a 270wsm and a 350 rem mag- just because I have a 350 rem mag as a possibly donor. But I added a 25-06 to the lineup last night, which was my initial choice before finding the 350 rem mag hiding in the back of the vault. I am trying to convince myself to go all stainless, which means a new gun, no blued action donor.

Allen

Folks, what we have here is a S.R.L., or Serial Rifle Looney.

Note how the subject will wander gunshows and gun sale forums for days looking for the the object that meets the Profile of his Compulsion. They tend to evolve, and the periods between purchases get shorter and shorter as they lose to ability to resist their obsession.

Look for tattoos of 87grain and 120grain on opposing sides of subjects arms.

Thanks, MD for the help, and for the books.

I just got mine and can see days of getting nothing done ahead...except for reading.

Uh-oh, was afraid of that - I have all four of those. Is there an 800 number I need to call for treatment?

Bwahahahahaha!

Treatment he asks? Right. Yep . Sure thing......

It works as good as Cermalube!

Dude, give in to the force!

Geno

PS, get another job to support your "habit" if you have to. Folks around here love self sufficiency.

p290
308 Winchester section
Lines 10-11

"... commercial Remington brass averaging 185 grains in weight."


Is this a typo? I've weighed a bunch of 308 cases over the last decade, and in my experience 165 would be a lot more typical for Remington 308's.

Will have to check my brass. Bought a bunch of Remington many years ago when some mail-order company (probably Midway) offered 500 rounds really cheap. Probably got it in the early 1990's, as brass often was pretty cheap then, especially in big lots. Bought 500-round vatches for several other big game cartridges back then, but eventually quit when I ended up with so many rifles in different chambering that just storing the damn brass got to be a problem.

When I first started handloading, most magazine writers firmly stated that Remington brass ran noticeably heavier than Winchester, and they were generally correct. But in recent years I've noticed there often isn't as much difference.

How about 2 270's, 2 22-250's 3 220 swifts, 5 222 mags, 2 243's, 4 30-06's, 8 or ten each of 38-40 and 44-40's?

I thought I might help here and point out that Pi are round, cornbread are square...

Hmmmmmmmmmm....a couple of those sound oddly familiar....

JB,

I no longer have any RP from that time frame. My father and I used RP 308's nearly exclusively in those days and a bit before, so I don't recall us ever weighing any for comparison. They very well could have been heavy.

m

I've also acquired some small batches of .308 brass from fired factory ammo in recent years, so checked them out. These rounded-off average weights include spent primers, which as I recall weigh about 5 grains:

Black Hills Match: 157 grains
Winchester: 164 grains
Remington: 173 grains
RWS: 177 grains

This confirms that brass can vary considerably in weight, and also my recent experience that the weight of Remington and Winchester brass usually isn't all the different anymore.

The other factor is many companies make brass for each other, far more often than handloaders realize. Usually this occurs when one company needs to fill a contract so doesn't have time to make, say, .243 brass. So they buy it from another company that has some on hand, or has time to make a manufacturing run. Which explains the major weight differences often seen in brass supposedly of the same brand.

I just weighed three RP's with spent primers in place and the average was 170.3 grains. These had been neck turned and trimmed, so that's a grain or two worth of brass, and we're seeing about the same thing.

This is what I would be most concerned with. For hunting loads, small changes in brass weight - and subsequently internal volume - don't really change things too much. Target loads fired from a specialty rifle will show bigger differences when changing cases.

MD - the 257 and the 35W are built (by my father) on 1909 Argentine Mauser actions, the 6.5x55 on a VZ-24. My father has a thing about Mausers, but sadly his hands have begun to shake pretty bad as he's gotten older (he's 77 now) and now he can't build rifles anymore. He built the 257 and the 6.5x55 for my two daughters, which have used them to take their first deer. I've got two 30-06's, a 220 Swift, a 270, and a 7mm-08 that he made on Mauser actions too.

The Marlins are pre-safety models with the exception of the 45-70, but it is an JM stamped early safety model with a 22" barrel.

They sound like very nice rifles! And it must be great for your family to hunt with rifles he made.

I'm a Mauser loony myself, so can appreciate his passion. Sorry to hear he can't build them anymore.

Thank you, yes it's very rewarding to know that my daughters hunt with rifles that their grandfather built. I wish I had his patience and skill, but at least I can reload for them

On another thread discussing photographing guns - I wish I had good pictures of all the guns he has made, ones that really would do them justice.

Together, we have a decent collection, but the ones he built could never be given a $$ value, as they have too many memories attached to them. I would assume you feel the same for the 257R that was your grandmother's. People ask me why I have so many rifles, but most of them have sentimental value that just can't be bought, and they would never be for sale.

Yep, and aside from my grandmother's .257 there are several others in my safe like that. As a matter of fact I sighted-in her rifle for the first time in a 2-3 years, in order to hunt with it this fall. I find myself hunting more with several of my heirlooms as I grow older.

It sounds like a rifle loony gene may run in your family. We recently encountered such a gene in a father and son, both members of the Campfire. The father sent a check for a copy of the new book, and shortly after the check arrived the son paid for one by credit card, saying he was buying it for his father for Christmas. I told the son his father had already bought, and in a few hours got a PM from the son, saying he'd talked to his dad, and they'd bought them as gifts for each other!

Good luck hunting with your family rifles this fall.

Thanks and good luck to you and Eileen this fall as well.

BTW - I ordered 2 of the new books - one for my father and one for me He won't get his till Christmas, but I'm reading mine now! Must say I have already finished it, but I continually pick it back up and re-read chapters (I do that with all your books).

Thanks! That's very nice to hear.

Hi John. My copy arrived this morning. I will start reading it later. The weather is great here for Nov. Sunny and close to 70 degrees, so I want to install a new weather station this afternoon.

I want to publicly thank you for the plug in Chapter 44 - Great Britain's Great 303, on pg. 333 and 334. I can recommend the book because it covers the world's greatest military and hunting cartridge, the 303 British. You were nice enough to include some also rans, the 30-06, the 308 and others. What a guy!



The Canadian Rangers are finally getting a replacement for the Lee Enfield rifle. It is a bolt action 308, based on Sako's CTR (compact tactical rifle). Here we are in late 2015, and they are still carrying and shooting 303s in the north. Huzzah!



Burma Shave!

That Ranger looks pretty well decked out, extra mags in the belly band and all.

"I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any."

Steve, did you ask a young salesperson for those "trousers". They probably didn't know you meant "pants"

Geno

It's funny you should mention that. Just before I retired, I talked to my students about the Americanization of Canada through the media. Specifically, the bombardment of television, musical and Internet effects on CDN youth.

I used the example, trousers, to prove my point. When we were still getting television signals from roof mounted 'aerials', the British influence on the English language in Canada was strong. Trousers were what almost everyone called men's and boy's 'pants' up here. Even the word 'antenna' was not in common use for television receptors. We used 'aerials' until the CB craze hit in the mid 1970s.



The British influence is strong in this one.

Steve,

Glad to plug your .303 book. Please let me know when the new edition of your .308/7.62x51 book is ready!

Will do. That's my winter project. I've only done the preliminary stuff. No range work, pix or playing around on the bench.

I have to take advantage of the weather. 70 degree temps are expected all week. Except for the leaves, everything is green and warm. Unlike other years where we were up to our butts in snow.



I just took this with my smellphone camera thingy. It's the side of the house looking towards the back field. Granted, the septic system is under the lawn, but everything is sunny and green.

Wow!

Our fall was like that until this past weekend. It rained all day today, with a high just above freezing. Supposed to snow tonight, which isn't a bad thing with our rifle season for deer and elk just getting serious.

So, been reading a little at each chance. Just wanted to state the obvious... It's very clear whom the real Rifle Looney is!

Very much enjoying the Gack, especially the nuances of different rifles, their twists, history and origin, why they came home or went down the road, what components worked or didn't, optics choices etc etc... It's got me wanting at least a dozen more rifles already and not even past the 22s!

Glad you're enjoying it, and thanks for the comments! We wanted to make it something more than a "here's the loads" manual.

A few of my friends call me The Bull Goose Rifle Loony, a reference to the main character in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

I think that beats elkhunternm's title of "Chief of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels".

Or even Sir Ingwe's "Poobah"

Geno

Steve, do folks up there use "aluminium" and do they still put a "u" in color?

Geno

PS, you had students? Did you let them get close enough so some of your "wisdom" would "rub off" on them? Were they capable of absorbing it if it did?

PPS it's hockey season, and I have the joy of listening to "Oh Canada" when I watch a game with a Canadian team. I always knew it was real hockey growing up when I got to hear two anthems!

Nope.


But that is my un-biased opinion.

Mine arrived. It has been to Staples and is now a two volume set. I had them put in the spiral binding.

Thanks, John.

Aluminium and colour are still in wide use here. This is changing, as most everyone under 40 is skilled with computers and uses US designed and made software - Word, Windows, etc. Auto-correct or suggestions in Word recommends you change words like "neighbour" or "valour" to 'neighbor' or 'valor'.

American English also uses "ize" for everything. recognize colorize, etc. UK English generally uses "ise" differently (or used to).

For example, practise vs. practice. When I was a kid, we were taught that 'practice' was a noun and 'practise' was a verb. For example, "We practised passing the puck at hockey practice today." The language continues to evolve. Maybe some Brits can chime in and say what they're doing in school these days.

Yes, I had students.

I taught weapons and explosives at a Canadian Forces technical school. I was, among other things, EOD qualified and used to load and explode ordnance with the air force. I was a wpns technician for 22 yrs. I taught in uniform for 6 yrs and as a civilian for 11 yrs. You can read a short bio here. http://www.303british.com/id68.html

But I'm talking on John's dime.

My copy arrived today. I asked Eileen to have John write a message for my 2 1/2 year old son. It reads: "To Patrick, who I hope turns out to be as avid a hunter as his father!"

Thank you John, I will work on that!

Glad you liked it!

Eileen's "What's Up?" column in the upcoming RIFLE LOONY NEWS will be about how to encourage kids to hunt, with a bunch of excellent examples from hunting families we know.

I got my book looks like a winner! not have had time to read yet!

I have already read the entire book. It has now earned it place in the private library.

bea175,

That's great!

Would you mind if we ran your post and photo in the next edition of RIFLE LOONY NEWS, which comes out next week?

nope run it if you like

Thanks very much!

no problem, loved the book

Found mine apon my return from 3 weeks in China. Great to be home and have something new to read. Thanks!

Mule Deer

Got my copy last Wednesday and have been enjoying it. Although I live in the middle of the country I hunt in the northern part of the country. Some of the coldest weather that I see all year can be while I am hunting. For that reason I have been paying attention to what you have been saying about temperature sensitive powders. I do not have the opportunity to test out my loads in cold temperature. When I go out I always have my 270 loaded with H4831. Thanks for all that you have shared with us here at the campfire.

Scotty

Scotty,

Glad you're enjoying the book!

Some hunters think temperature-resistance is overblown--and it isn't very important under most circumstances, especially shooting most big game at ranges under 400 yards, under most conditions. But one of the major trends of smokeless rifles powders since they were developed in the 1880’s has been decreased temperature sensitivity, because it definitely does make a difference in some shooting.

JB, I finished reading my copy a couple of days ago after returning from my elk hunt. LOTS of good info throughout the book. A very easy read; I've always liked your writing style.

I just wish there was a Capital Sports & Western Wear store nearby. I'm not so sure though, that my wife and/or credit card would. It must have an unbelievable used gun rack! Seems like you mention buying a gun there in every other chapter.

Tis true. It's nice to have a choice of powders that are less sensitive than their older cousins. They are improved propellants (ain't progress wunnerful?) that, among other things, provide some wiggle room when the sun comes out or when developing a year round load.

That said, for those that have an old favourite that they do not wish to give up, it only helps to load it down a grain or two.

Reaching maximum velocity (and pressure) shouldn't be the goal for reloaders. The objective should be to find the sweet spot: a combination of the right velocity for the bullet and acceptable groups, but not necessarily the tightest.

i got book thumbed through it and was disappointed not seeing the 300 savage in it.would like to see some loading's with new enduron powder. But I'm sure i will be pleased with rest of book

MD
I've just about finished the whole book. Can't say I've got much done in the last two weeks, so you're to blame for that.

One interesting thing I noted was the "churners" group that I am trying to recover from. I've owned so many guns in so many varied cartridges over the last 30 years it's almost embarrassing. I've sold off many rifles and have gone mostly to a 3 gun battery of 221 fireball, 250 savage, and 358STA. Yeah, I guess I'm still a rifle looney even in remission. I still have several other rifles, but they rarely see use any more and really only see one more new rifle in my future.

I do most of my hunting here on an old ranchers land who only owns two guns and is most definitely not a churner. A pre64 M70 in .270 and an old 22 hornet. Both have accounted for many deer. I supply him with hornet loads with the speer 46gr bee bullet and 'Lil gun. He claims to notice more "knock down" power with these loads over factory.

My grandfather owned one centerfire rifle, a .243, that he hunted mule deer and bighorn with from the 60s-80s. He couldn't understand the need for more than one if it worked.

Anyway, great book. Even on the cartridges I don't shoot.

Mine showed up literally 2 days after I ordered it. Awesome book, as is everything that comes from that particular location. Plz keep up the good work, both you and your better half.
Thx Ted