Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles THERAPY:(How Do You Get Yours?)...................

What a BEAUTIFUL day here today. Certainly the most beautiful day of the year,thus far.
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<br>I got all of my work related chores completed and am heading out,to go unwind. Shooting works best,to put a smile on my face. So today is the day,to tweak a couple rifles and loads,plus shoot a new one. Besides that shining sun,we have no wind,so I'll be able to stretch things out and dabble more with the new Leica 1200LRF. Should make for a perfect day.
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<br>I'm taking the 338Ultra,littlest 300Super,a "Tactical" 308,Heaviest 7-08,new 284,both 25-284's,the 25-06AI,two K-Hornets,three 223Ackley's,a 22-250Ackley,my favorite AR(Bushy V-Match Tactical Comp.) and my XP in 7-08. I guess I'd better throw in a 10/22,for good measure.
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<br>The plan is to shoot until I've had my fill of killin' paper and ringin' steel. Then come home and put the rifles away,grab my oldest son and take him out,to catch a Bear this evening.
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<br>So what do you boys do on your day off,to relax and take it easy?.........................
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Yesterday was my thearpy day...bought a new bushy shorty and 1- 30 round mag....shot 500 rounds before my thumbs gave out.....love that little gun. you can pull the trigger as fast as you can and still stay reasonably on target!!
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<br>Think I might have to get a longer barrel though, that 16 ince barrel rings the ears pretty good.

I personally like a 20" tube on an AR based platform. I have 24's,but find it unhandy. The 20's make good speeds,are much quicker to use and as you mention,are MUCH less abusive to the ears than the 16" pipes.
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<br>I'd better scoot,there is only 9-1/2hrs of shooting light left(grin)...............

Right on. For me a trip to the range has a three gun limit. I get mixed up with any more than that!
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<br>I always take one that will shoot well to insure that my day will be a happy one.
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<br>Right now that's my old M-70 in .300 H&H. I start right at 200 yards and then let it cool, shoot others and then shoot it again from sitting and standing.
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<br>I met a friend at the club the other day. I asked what he was shooting. He said "just the .22 today. I was here yesterday with the .416 and I have to get my trigger finger back! Not a bad idea.

Being a custom rifle builder I need a lot of therapy. I have to deal with the likes of gun writers, customers, people like Rick Bin, people who want a 375 Ultra that weighs 5 pounds with no recoil or too much noise or cost too much or folks that want some kind of odd-ball 338\07 Ackley Unimproved cut back reverse shoulder with half a rim on one side and a belt on the other and it has to feed good. Then I get the previlege of dealing with the ATF and the IRS. Joy Joy.
<br>Now I have to deal with moving. Where do all your friends go when you need them ?
<br>well I have found two ways to deal with this.
<br>1.) build myself a new rifle. Looks like I will make my third 6.5 x 55 in the next few months when things get back to normal. Yes I do need another 6.5. I will make one with a longer stock for warm weather hunting.(folks cut me some slack here, I had to think for a long time to come up with that.)
<br>2) I live not far from Houston and there are many drop dead beutiful Hispanic women in the area. Nothing like that long dark hair and a face like Cathrine Zetta Jones.
<br>Thats what I do for therapy.
<br>Charlie Sisk

I need to be repeatedly smacked by a heavy recoiling rifle while printing ridiculously small groups on the target. Nothing like my 416 Rem and 33 Ultra to work out the stress..................
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<br>Blaine

Nothing like shooting 25-30 rounds off the bench with a 338 Ultra,to "clear" the cobwebs out of your brain.
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<br>Charlie's method has a lot of potential though. Drop dead beautiful gals with a face like Catherine Zetta Jones......... Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Therapy.....
<br>The best I ever had was hunting quail over a brace of English Pointers.
<br>These days it would be one of the following at least once per week:
<br>Shooting a couple of rounds of skeet.
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<br>A range session with the handguns and metalic targets
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<br>Shooting bug holes from the bench with my favorite .222 varmint rifle.
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<br>A little fishing in one of the local lakes for bass, crappie, or catfish.
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<br>During the summer when there are no hunting seasons open I waste time... I mean get therapy by going on backpacking trips, fishing trips, and shooting little varmints. I must be a mess, I require so much "therapy"
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Stick, what type of trailer do you use to haul all your rifles out to the range?

I'm not whole unless I get at least five hours at the range every month. I usually start with .22s then other hand guns, rifles, shotgun and finish with .22. I have a number of .22's in different configurations. Though I prefer tin cans and golf balls, paper targets will fill the perscription in a pinch. If I don't use up at least a brick of .22 and 100 rounds of 357 I just haven't had much fun!

I crunched paper and steel for 4hrs,with my shirt off,laying prone. Had to quit,when I noticed I was sunburned(waaaay too late).
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<br>Now it's nap time with my baby boy,then wake up and take the oldest boy Bear Huntin'.
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<br>I've had worse days.................

When I get to the point of exploding??? I hop in the truck, drive 2000+ miles and look for bears! I'm feeling MUCH better now (grin).
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<br>Hope you and Little Stick have a fantastic evening!

For therapy this weekend I ran about 400 rounds through my new H.B. 10/22, B.C. barrel, Hogue stock, Volquartson hammer-trigger job. Best I did was 5 in 5/16 in 3-4 secs. at 30 yds.
<br> To really pull the stress out, I need to go jackrabbit hunting. (eastern Oregon around summer lake)
<br> After a days hunt, fire up the portable grill, cook up some chicken and suck up some COORS LIGHT !!!
<br> This is the best stress reliever i've found yet!
<br> good shootin, vbshootinrange
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I can't top Charlie, but this is the time of year that is most enjoyable. Can't hunt, but it is time to get the boat into the water and moved into the slip.
<br>Spent Saturday getting all the last details done and late in the afternoon she got wet. Spent today getting everything organized and we'll be fishing Lk. Michigan for Chinook next weekend.
<br>The boys are smacking 'em good only a mile from the pier head so it should be a good time.
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<br>Bill

There is long term therapy, which consists of a week or two in Montana or BC on a guided hunt with friends. No phones ringing does wonders for my state of mind.
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<br>Belive it or not, short term therapy is doing what I am doing right now. Being on the campfire gives me a few minutes break from the city and allows me to dream of new guns, great places to hunt, unknown friends, etc.. The greatest therapy possible for an outdoor guy caught in the city. Thanks to all of you for those moments of sanity in my insane world. TM

TM,
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<br>I enjoy shootin' the breeze here,myself. Lots of valuable info floating around,just ripe for the taking. I find it a most valuable resource................

Big Stick, As with most relationships, there is a lot of give and take here. The beauty is that so many like yourself are willing to give so much more than they take and never even think about how much they do contribute. Far too many of you to name but to all of you, a heart felt thanks for the many pleasureable moments, when for just a few minutes, I am not in the most densely populated city in the world but once again in the beautiful outdoors with good friends. I do not care how much you pay a therapist, you just can not buy that kind of release!
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<br>Besides, you can put the money you would spend on a shrink into another rifle and have something that lasts the rest of your life! TM

Got off work early Friday night, took the wife out to a secluded group of islands with a lagoon in the middle, built a campfire on a beach, then spent the night on the boat.
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<br>After church today, packed up the whole family on the boat again, cruised till we found a nice beach we liked (sandy, in the sun, not too much breeze, and good anchorage) and anchored up and took the raft to shore.
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<br>The youngest wanted to swim, but wading around in the cold water, about an inch higher than her lil'XtraTuffs convinced her otherwise. The wife and oldest daughter tried to get tans while I built another fire just for fun.
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<br>Winds picked up a bit, and the rocky bottom was allowing my anchor to drag. Had to pack it up somewhat early and get back to the boat, before the boat got back to us.
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Stick, I'd get tuckered out just loading all those rifles into the truck. Then I'd take a nap, unload them from the truck, and feel like I had a pretty good day!
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<br>When I can't shoot centerfire, I have a couple instant destressers. One is to get out the pair of air rifles and plink with the boy. I'll have to do a lot of this before he realizes his eyes are better than mine.
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<br>Or I can step onto the deck and launch a couple dozen arrows into my imaginary elk (bag target).
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<br>Or from the same deck I can almost cast into my little pond, which I've cultivated for several years. Any dope with a decent rig can take a few 1 - 3 pounders per hour there, and may do MUCH better. Then there's the bream fishing ... It's not fair, I know. But I feel better about it every time I remember all those fishless miles I put in as a kid.
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<br>When I don't have the energy to do anything, I just sit and watch the birdfeeder. Saw my first Indigo Bunting this month. How have I been missing them???
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<br>I have a stash of old phones, keyboards, and various computer components for the next extended centerfire therapy session.
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<br>Jeff

Mr. Sisk, you live near Houston and you need a third 6.5 for warm weather? That's a GOOD one!
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<br>Jeff