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Church Question.

frenchy — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:16:40 GMT

Originally poster by Anon:
I drive by a church everyday 2 or 3 times.It is being remodeled,they have 4x8 signs up saying Pardon our dust ,we are growing for God!Does God ,in your opinion,care how big your church is.I've seen thousand year old churches in Europe that are impressive,awe inspiring.A little feedback please,I'm not a church type but believe in a higher power.

Hi Anon,
I am compelled to humbly add just a little to the wisdom of the born again followers of Jesus ( The Church ) above. Man CANNOT put God in a box, the Creator of everything is so....other...,GOD IS GOD! He can do anything ( except sin or be wrong ), save 1 Ethiopian eunuch riding in his chariot (Acts 8:27) or 3000 from a crowd staying in Jerusalem in one day!! ( Acts 2:41 ) New International Version (NIV).
My friend the "higher power" you believe in left us The Holy Bible written by men, inspired by God, to tell his creation how much He loves us and how He wants us to live......Jeff, you will find the answer to your question in His Word and talking and listening (prayer) with him.

Jeff please forgive my long windedness, I only know what he has done for me and my gift isn't writing,
Dale

G&G Update

Chris — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 21:53:35 GMT

Updated the blogs to work with the server software. Since the company that originally made it no longer supports it, I had to do a bit of programming, but it was fun.

Working on a gun wiki for G&G. It's a work in progress to say the least.

Also working on a "Tagging" feature, and a who quoted you module. So if someone quotes you it informs you.

New .22 Long Rifle

bobvonb — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:04:15 GMT

Well, I also bought a .22, finally. Since my wife was brought up in rural Texas she agreed that this is really a necessity so she had no objections when I wanted to use some part of a small windfall (if $500 is a windfall) for a .22 long rifle. The choices were either a Savage package gun or a Ruger 10/22, both from Big 5. Because what I like about guns is the doing and modifying and assembly and dis-assembly more than the actually shooting, this made it easy to decide on the 10/22. Then I had the fun of researching all the options and upgrades. I didn't like the hardwood stock so I painted it matte black, added the quick release for the bolt (an easy Dremel tool task), polished up the trigger and bolt and in general had fun fixing it up to what I wanted. There's a thread in Rimfire Rifles with pictures. Some day I'll go to a .920 barrel and possibly a Hogue overmolded stock (love those!) but I'm happy with it now and think it was the right decision (can you say cognitive dissonance?)

With options, new parts, bipod, etc. I probably wound up spending the same as if I had gone the black rifle .22 route. I'm not a real fan of the 'black rifle' (AR) look, but do like black rifles, so I'm a happy camper now.

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2012 deer season prep

bobvonb — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:11:21 GMT

I think I'd blog more if I had some comments.

The latest news is I bought a truck at wrecking yard price to fix up for this next hunting season. It's a 1986 Ford F-250 Lariat. It has 4 problems, from easiest to hardest: 1) tailgate release is broken, 2) master cylinder leak, 3) air blender door stuck in defrost position, and 4) needs a new carburetor. But otherwise it�s in pretty good shape: body and frame straight, engine rebuilt 40K miles ago, decent paint. It�s just that money is so tight these days so it will take a while to get it done.

I did fix the tailgate, a fun project. I have no idea how they could possibly assemble the darn thing in the first place. There is virtually no access to the release handle and the connecting rods that open the tailgate. I wound up cutting an access hole on the inside of the tailgate behind the release handle and that made it a trivial job. I�ll screw in a patch plate and next time (if ever) this happens it will be easy to fix. The following model year Ford did introduce an access panel. Duh.

I�ll probably do the master cylinder next while I accumulate funds for the new carb. The air blender door apparently has a broken hinge so it�s not a vacuum problem that could be difficult to trace, so besides being in an awkward spot, that will be straightforward.

The other thing is that I decided to lighten the load I�ll be carrying up and down the mountains. I think I can shave about 30 or more pounds off compared to what I was hauling up and down last year. I can save a couple ounces with better and lighter gear but the real weight loss will be me! I�ve already lost 20+ in the last 9 weeks and hope to get to 30 lbs down by the end of July. That weight loss coupled with good cardio shape will make it easier all around.

My tag for D14 (San Bernardino mountains) came in the mail over the weekend so I�m all set.

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Vanguard II

Shrpnl — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:53:29 GMT

Ok, it's been a while since I did my blog. My bad. :-)

I've finally found the sweet load for my rifle. It's 65 grain of RX22 powder. I loaded a batch and took it out to the range. At 200 yards I was able to get 1/2 to 1" groups with a couple of flyers. I chock that up to wind and shooter error. All in all I cannot wait to walk this bad boy out passed 200 yards and really open her up to see what she can do.

Previously in my blog I had mentioned that the bolt was kind of "sticky". Well, that is pretty much a thing of the passed and the bolt now slides very well with little friction.

I have to say that this is probably the best 450 bucks I've ever spent. I cannot see myself shooting anything else (well, maybe not go that far. :-) )

Weatherby Vanguard Series II Review

Shrpnl — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 18:18:40 GMT

Ok, so this is the first time I've ever blogged so forgive me any faux pas that may occur. :-)

Recently there have been a few "firsts" for me. Valentines day I bought my first bolt action rifle, the Weatherby Vanguard Series II in 7mm Rem Mag. I also started reloading. I'm hoping to start a blog reviewing the rifle and loads for said rifle.

I want to start out with my first impression of the rifle when I got it. I was impressed by the weight of the rifle. It was fairly light but felt very sturdy and solid in my hands. I previously had been using an wood stock M1A1 as my deer rifle, so I guess a Buick seems light compared to that.

Anyway, the rifle automatically went into the "sweet" spot on my shoulder and the butt stock seemed to comform with my shooting stance nicely. Once I put a scope on it I had to do very little adjusting to get the eye relief to match my head position.

I took the rifle out a couple of weeks later to sight it in. 20 rounds later I was zeroed in at 100 yards and doing 1/2" groupings on or very near the bullseye. I'm quite impressed with everything as this is a 430 dollar gun. I don't think I could have asked for more. The only thing I noticed is the bolt is kind of tight.(not sure if this is normal for a new bolt action rifle or not). I put some carbon pasted on the parts of the bolt that makes contact with the reciever and that seemed to loosen it up. Once I cleaned the rifle and the paste came off it tightened back up again, only not as bad. it seems to slowly loosen up the more I use the rifle so I'm not too concerned.

I reloaded my first batch of ammunition this past weekend and shot them the next day. I used Sierra matchking SPBT 160 bullets with RX22 powder (57 grains), CCI magnum primers and Federal brass. The groupings were pretty nice for my first time reloading so I just need to find that "sweet load". Hopefully I'll find that this weekend.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'll let you all know how next week goes with the second batch of reloads. I just got notification that my brass just arrived via UPS so I'm stoked. :-)

Opening day come and gone, trying again.

bobvonb — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:33:34 GMT

Had a good weekend in the Mountains. It did get cold at night but a good sleeping bag is worth its weight in gold. The days were cloudless, unlimited visibility, and in the 60s. Very nice. Tent camping is fine but it made me wish for a pop-up camper. Oh well, always have goals.

Camp filled up just a few hours after we got there, just in time to get spot #2, the one we wanted.

On Saturday I was sitting on a saddle looking down toward a spring with my back to a downed log when I heard what I though was a hunter coming from behind me to my left. It turned out to be a doe running hard up the saddle from a deep ravine. She got to the end of the log, stopped momentarily, and looked directly my direction but because of the background and assorted limbs didn't see me. She ran behind the log so was just about 4' from me when she went past. It was a nice experience.

Later that afternoon on the way back to camp I spooked a small buck from the sagebrush about 100 yds across a draw from me that I was about to enter. It sproinged away up and over the other side pretty as you please. I followed its tracks for 100 yds or so but didn't see it again.

These mule deer don't behave anything like whitetails, that's for sure! You practically have to step on them before they jump up.

As scarce as these mule deer are it's big news when 1 4x4 is taken during the whole season and the news spreads like wildfire across the mountain. A 4x3 or 3x3 is cause for serious celebration. So it's a different kind of hunting for sure.

Sunday it warmed up a little and I heard very few shots and saw absolutely no deer. I think that in the campground only one fork horn deer was taken on Saturday and nothing on Sunday. Tough hunting for sure.

We are going to try again this weekend, camping Fri and Sat nites. A mini heat wave here today (Wed) but it will drop again on the weekend so I expect perfect conditions again, cold nights and mornings and days in the mid to low 60s without a cloud in the sky.

As I said before, there is tremendous visibility from up there. I can see Telescope peak on the west side of Death Valley a good hundred miles north and off in the far distance, a bit hazy, Mt Whitney itself and that's got to be 200 miles.

Deer Season is Here!

bobvonb — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:58:25 GMT

Saturday is opening day and it finally cooled off. They might even have a little snow on the ground up on the San Bernardino National Forest although the prediction is for clear skies, low 34, high 68. Perfect.

My #2 son, Joe, and I are heading up a day early to set up camp and do one last scouting trip to a secret canyon we found on Google Earth that looks interesting.

Got my Senior Pass ready (if you're 62+ you should get one, one time fee, good for life at all National Parks), my tags squared away and my pack all packed.

I met my fitness goals. Actually I exceeded them. I've been on the road bike and set a new Personal Best of 28 miles last weekend. I feel ready to hike the hills and valleys up at 6000' to 7000'. Goal for next year is a 'metric century', 100 km.

Gun and ammo ready. I'm ready.

Scouting, countdown continues

bobvonb — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 23:12:55 GMT

Well, I called up my #2 son, Joe, and we went up the mountain last Saturday and found a couple good sites to set up ground blinds during the season. It was hot, probably in the 90s, but it was incredibly clear, with only some small clouds far off in the distance over Mts Baden-Powell and Baldy 40 or 50 miles west of us. We started off at Coxey Meadows and each went our own way to where we think might be good spots. Joe went toward Shay Mtn and I went down a ridge paralleling Coxey Creek. We both saw good sign and each found a good place to sit. We met back at the truck at noon and went to a nice shady spot at Little Pine to eat lunch. Then we checked out the Big Pine camping ground and refilled our water bottles. Nice campground, but maybe too popular for opening day.

We had noticed a really remote area that we think is not hunted much because of the difficulty of getting in and out. Joe took the ForeRunner down a jeep trail and we followed a long ridge a mile or so out. Very rugged area. It was midday and there was a great view in all directions from our spot. We could see Frazier mountain maybe 100 miles off in the west and Telescope peak (overlooks Death Valley from the west) at least that far off to the north. We sat and talked, glassed, and managed to get a good sunburn, as we found out that evening.

Later in the afternoon we went to Horse Springs campground, a little more primitive than Big Pine (read: no running water) but also more in the area we want to center our hunts on. We picked out which spots we want and hope to get there early enough to get one of them.

We had a nice dinner waiting at home that evening, but continued our research with Google Earth and noticed a nice draw we couldn't see on our wanderings that also looks like it might not be regularly hunted. We hope to get back up and check that one out soon. I'm big on hunting draws early in the morning. I have had my best success sneaking up to the edge of a draw and looking down to find bucks in the bottom. I'll reserve the name and location of this draw just so one of you don't sneak in there ahead of me.

Joe will be carrying his Marlin 30-06 and I have my VZ-24 based 7x57 that shoots like a dream. Next year I might have my 7.62x54R .308 Steyr straight pull M95 conversion ready. I want to use some 130 gr. lead free Barnes bullets and should get over 3000 fps with them using either Varget or H4895. That should really be super deer slayer!

OK, now back to 'getting in shape'. I've upped the cycling mileage to a regular 15 mile route and celebrated my 65th b-day with a 20 mile ride. The goal is a 25 mile ride this month (Sept), then reserve Oct for hunting. I found out after the scouting day that it has worked! I felt better at the end of the day than my son did. Last year he was able to out walk me, but no more! Woo hoo! Next year I'll up the mileage and have a goal of a metric century on my next birthday, if not sooner.

Countdown to hunting season begins, hiking and Mulholland Drive.

bobvonb — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:53:24 GMT

It's only 9 weeks until deer season opens here in California. It's kind of hard to believe it will be cool enough in October, but it will be at or near freezing up in the mountains by then even though it's 100+ daily here in the high desert, the Mojave. I've already got my bag packed so all I will need to do is be sure I have food and water and I can jump in the truck and head up old Coxey Road and look for mule deer. October here in the high desert is absolutely the best month of the year. Temperate/warm temps, no wind, cool evenings, beautiful sunsets, clear blue skies. Traditionally we pull out the first jacket of the year on the Sunday before Halloween. But up in the San Bernardino mountains at 7,000' to 8000' it will be cool enough earlier in the month when the season opens. I'm really looking forward to hiking back in a mile or two in the pre-dawn, shivering a little til the sun pops up and then having the whole day to enjoy in the field. I just have to remind my wife to have something hearty ready when we get back. I think I'll carry my camera this year and take a few videos to post so I can share what the hunting experience is like here. It's quite different from my previous Texas whitetail hunting, that's for sure.

I'm just about there as far as the shape I want to be in. Between walking, hiking, and cycling my endurance is pretty good. My wife and I went and visited my younger (by 10 years) brother and sister-in-law and did a hike in the Santa Monica mountains (off Malibu canyon road, back in near the M.A.S.H. site) last weekend. It was pretty warm and had some good steep climbs in a few places. They generally were ahead of us, but they got a little 'confident' on the way back and jogged a bit ahead of us. I turned to my wife and told her I was going to run them down. I went into a jog myself and did exactly that, much to their surprise. Priceless.

After the hike we explored the Mulholland highway in that area... The Rock Store, Malibou Lake (yeah, that's how they spell it), and The Old Place, a really neat wine and art store next to a really rustic little restaurant that we'll have to go back and visit. Man, there were a ton of bicyclists all over Mulholland in the morning, along with a goodly number of motorcycles taking advantage of the winding road. That also meant there was a huge number of CHP and Sheriff vehicles at the intersections to be sure full stops were made at the stops signs. I could see how that could be a problem there as popular as it was on a Saturday morning. In the evening my brother and I went to "Ladyface" saloon and had a brew and a good chat while the gals did one of those home parties.

I know it's no big shakes to a regular cyclist, but I did up my mileage on my Trek road bike to 15 miles and will bump that to 20 soon. Maybe I can get to 30 by September, an increase in my goal. The flat part of the ride is really not an issue and I'm sure I could easily go 30 on that part, but to get there I have to climb a decent hill and then climb it again to get home and that is the hard part. That's also the part that really increases my heart rate and sweat output and has helped most with my endurance.

Financially things are really tight, as they are for many people. But I have my gun, bullets, and sufficient duds and equipment. I'd dearly love to get some name brand camo's but my jeans and hunter green Cabela's jacket do just fine, thank you very much. I just layer up. I could easily spend $1,000 or more at Bass Pro Shops given the chance. What I might do is chop up some old take-down fishing poles and get a few yards of camo cloth/netting and make myself a little blind fence/wind break that weights only a pound or two at most.

Anyway, today it's pool weather, but only 9 short weeks to go to Mule deer season. I am getting excited.

Forum comparison, Tour de France

bobvonb — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 20:24:24 GMT

As you know I'm trying to get in shape for hunting this fall, and for doing the mountain trails with my wife, all up around 7,000'. I've taken to riding my Trek road bike and am up to 15 miles/day without too much distress. I've noticed a significant improvement in leg strength and endurance. I think this is working as planned!

So, getting back on the bike has caused me to get a little involved in cycling, both personally [how to set up my bike, what to wear (strangely important), what routes to take, and what times to try and achieve] and generally by watching the Tour de California and the Tour de France on Versus and researching bike topics on the web trying to understand the sport. One of the bunny holes this has led me down is to join a bike forum. This leads me to the obvious comparisons of the two forums.

The bike (cycling) forum is very well established and has many more members and contributers than G&G. Threads move along at warp speed. The bike people are just as passionate about cycling as we are about guns. They are equally knowledgeable about their machines. They collect bikes like we collect guns. Well maybe not as many per person, but I'd bet the dollar total values would just about match up. The forum is very nicely organized and it's easy to find the proper forum for what you might want to discuss.

G&G has better 'control', for want of a better word. Moderators here do tend to keep and even keel. Moderators are conspicuously missing on the bike forum. Members of both forums are equally willing to help with technical issues.

I'm aware that things sometimes get a bit testy on G&G, but it's usually reined in, both by self moderation and by the moderators. Even with fairly major disagreements the members still respect each other (with one or two exceptions that come to mind). Where we seem to lose it is with anything religious or political, often not gun related. The bike forum seems to avoid all non-bike/cycling topics. After all why are we discussing California politics or gay issues anyway? I appreciate we have opinions on these issues, but G&G is a GUN forum!

But, that being said, the bike guys are quite a bit more opinionated and harsh with each other, and don't hesitate to tell each other that they don't know S*&U from Shinola and must have just fallen off the hay wagon. But at least they stick with cycling issues, at least as far down the bunny hole as I've fallen so far.

G&G is clearly a 'friendlier' forum on the whole. Pardon me while I give us all a pat on the back and thank Chris and the Moderators. Frankly, IMHO if we could truly eliminate the political and religious this would just about be the best thing since smokeless powder.

The bike guys and gals can be extremely snobby. For example, the road bike types can really look down their noses at people who buy mountain bikes. Those that have raced, or do race, can be quite condescending to those that haven't to the point of not allowing non-racers to have an opinion on the Tours or racing in general.

I don't see G&Gers with $20,000 over-and-under shotguns belittling Rem 870s but somehow if you have a $6,000 road bike your opinion is to be taken as truth from heaven.

But I can see how cycling can take over one's life. The good part about that is that it promotes health, something our more sedentary (mostly) guns do not directly do. It's easy to take a ride and see and meet other cyclists any time or day. It's not so easy to seek out gun owners, shooters, or hunters. Also, I can ride any day or time I want and it' basically free. Trips to the range are 'special' treats, at least for me, and have the associated costs for ammo, which can be non-trivial.

So, in summary, good on ya G&G! and good on ya bike forum too.

See you at the range, in the field, on the mountain trail, or on the road! Cheers!

a Happy Wanderer

bobvonb — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 04:02:02 GMT

Just a brief note today. My 'get in shape for hunting season' is progressing nicely. I either cycle 5 to 10 miles each day or walk 3 to 5 with my wife. I can definitely tell my stamina has improved. The cycling is particularly good for that methinks.

As an aside, I'm enjoying watching the Tour de France each morning on Versus after I get in from whatever workout. So far American teams are really kicking butt.

Last weekend my wife and I went up to Big Bear to do one of the trails and I put together a video. It's not well edited, it was my first attempt at doing that but you get the idea. Somehow when I added the audio the software got the idea the clip should be 14 minutes long or something but really its only 2:15 or so. I've since redone it but not sure I can replace a youTube video once uploaded.

Pine Knot trail starts at about 6,700' and is about 3.5 miles long and has an elevation gain of 1000' or so I think. There is a beautiful overlook at the top fittingly called Grandview Point. Unfortunately part way up my wife slipped and tore up her leg a little and we didn't get all the way up, but it was still a good day. We got that treated and then had a mountain picnic.

We did the whole trail a year ago and really enjoyed it. We'll try again later this year.

YouTube - ‪PineKnotJuly2011_0003.wmv‬‏

Tomorrow maybe some more gun talk.

a little gun talk

bobvonb — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:05:01 GMT

A few years ago I came down with the mil-surplus bug. I was at Big 5 and they had a Mauser, a Mosin, and a Steyr M95 on display. The Mauser looked big and heavy, the Mosin like something only a mother could love, but the Steyr was just so darn cute. I just wanted to have a gun to clean up and the price was right, under $100 so I got the M95. I also liked it because it was different, having a straight pull action. I really didn't care if they didn't sell ammo for it, I knew I probably could find some on-line, but really I didn't buy it to be a shooter. Anyway the bore was just so-so.

Then an on-line friend had a line on a much better quality M95, with a shiny bore and excellent wood. Of course I had to have it! It was only $130 too! I still have that one as my collection/display gun. I added the ammo pouches and bayonet.

Then one day I was bumming around the gun store and saw something that I thought might be a Mannlicher, but it turned out to be a Carcano. An Italian gun collector had me get the particulars and it turned out to be one he needed to fill in his collection. He offered me 2 M95s and 2 M95M barreled receivers for it. Suddenly I had 4 M95s!

What to do, what to do? I took one that is a good shooter and fashioned a sporter stock from a M95 long rifle stock from Numrich. I found someone to convert it to bottom load and had an over the bore scope added. Now I have a cute 8x56R sporter, maybe suitable for 200 yard shots on deer or elk (yeah! elk! that's the ticket!) I made up some hand loads with brass from Grafs. One project finished.

Then I got an offer I couldn't refuse. I traded my 2nd best rifle for a Mosin M38 in very fine condition. OK, now I could join the 'everyone should have a Mosin' club.

Now I still had one more to play with. Hmmm. After much deliberation and back and forth with a gunsmith, I'm having it converted to a sporter too, but in 7.62x54R. Turns out that's not an uncommon conversion. That cartridge is just the right size to feed well thru the action. What is uncommon is that it will also be bottom load and over the bore scope. I'm having a .308 barrel fitted (as opposed to a .311ish Mosin standard). The Lee 7.62.x54R dies are .308 it turns out so this should be a fine deer rifle, fitting between a .308 and a 30-06 in power. I've loaded up a bunch of 150 Speers that should work just fine. I'm also looking at some 130gr non-lead bullets that might give me over 3000 fps in the gun! Oh that would be very cool. I'm waiting, patiently, for that project. I also made a sporter stock from a M95 long rifle stock for that gun.

All well and good. I have 1, 2, and 3 now and #4 soon:

1) display quality M95
2) 8x56R sporter. I really think I'd use it for elk if I get the chance. 8mm 205 gr. SP should do the job to 200 yards.
3) a very nice Mosin M38
4) a 7.62x54R, .308, 600mm barrel (23.6") straight pull rifle that should be a fine field piece.

In the mean time I picked up a VZ24 in 7x57 and after due consideration had it made into a custom gun for my deer hunting. Hogue stock, Bold trigger, new bolt shroud, new barrel, turned bolt, 2x7 var. scope. It turned out to be very accurate and a joy to shoot.

So I still have the 2 M95M (i.e., WW II era 8x57 conversions of M95) barreled receivers to do something with. I'll go into the plans for those on a subsequent post.

morning report

bobvonb — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:58:07 GMT

today was my 'competition' day on the bike. Really it was the first time this season I even cared about how fast. I just felt good so I checked my watch on start, thinking go go go. 1/2 mile flat, 1/2 mile uphill. That uphill went faster than usual so I said hammer down. High gear and the next 2mi at high speed, no rest on the downhill. The final 2mi uphill was a push, work work work. sucking air but I wouldn't slow down. When I first checked my watch at finish I though "OH NO, same as last time!" But after a few minutes of recovery I realized it was 5 minutes faster!

We're still talking rookie times so I'm not submitting my application for the HTC High Road cycle team, but for a 64 year old, not bad!

As I have already said, Saturday is Pine Knot Trail at Big Bear. Here's a snippet.

YouTube - ‪Hiking up Pine Knot Trail‬‏

uping the ante, deer tag arrived

bobvonb — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:29:28 GMT

I've taken a few days off the blog, but not the training. I upped the mileage to 8.5mi. on the bike and my wife and I are back into 3 to 5 mile walks in the mornings. It's feeling good! There's actually quite a bit of wildlife on the morning walks: cottontails, jackrabbits, quail, doves, robins, all manner of lizards and bugs, and the occasional coyote. We haven't seen a snake yet, but we keep a good watch for them.

It's sure not quiet in the desert, the birds make quite a racket!

I'll try to get in a 10 mile ride on Friday, and then on Saturday it's the Pine Knot Trail up at Big Bear. It's only about 3.25 miles each way with a 1000' elevation gain. The reward is an awesome overlook at the top. It starts around 6,700' and up from there.

I'm also looking forward to watching the Tour de France starting on Saturday.

Mostly this past week I been monitoring Seabee Scotty's progress after his back surgery. So far so good! I'm happy to see his progress.

My D14 buck deer tag arrived in the mail today and I'm starting to plan out exactly where I want to be on opening day.