I knew there was a reason.....

[Smoke]

Every year I go to Monahans to shoot birds with a bunch of purt near crazy folks. I did it again. And every year my pickup ends up as the trash recipticle.
I never minded. Doing my part and all. And every year I drive home and throw out all the water bottles, Dr. Pepper cans, beer cans, empty shell boxes, jerky wrappers, and other assorted waste.

There are a couple of redeeming factors on being the trash bin. Usually buried under the junk are some items left behind of value. A choke, a shirt, a bird bag, etc. And over the years no-one has ever wanted the things back that got left in my truck.

The other thing of benefit is all the hulls I end up with. Been storing them in boxes, buckets and any other recipticle I can dredge up. The collection has grown quite large now.

Since I usually load up Win AA hulls with my pet load, all the other variety hulls have just accumulated. ...until today.

I finally found the reason I saved all these multiple odds and ends of shells.

Some time with the reloader, some odds and ends of components has left me with a color coded shell selection system:

Green Low Brass = rock salt loads
Gold Low Brass = mild popcorn loads
Gold High Brass = hot popcorn loads
brown low brass = mild BB loads
Brown High Brass = hot BB loads
Green High Brass = Buckshot
Red = bird/clay loads

Black = well, I don't disclose whats in the black ones....

Smoke

 

[sm]

<Old Phart to Whippersnapper voice>

Figured you come around - eventually.

Black Ones? Yeah, supposed to kept them a secret, I always have, still do myself.

</mode>

You have not collected the Lavender Fiocchi ones yet? You will...I got faith in you...just a matter of time.

Hint: My Lavender ones had Nickel Plated , high antimony shot.

Oh, you do know they "just happen to have" Nickel plated shot in 00 buck and # 7 ( not 7.5 mind you).

So when you gonna play with Bismuth?

Yeah, I wish someone would leave another leather 5 shell carrier in my truck bed I had two, fella said keep 'em. Still I could use another that fits on a belt, and one paddle style.

Still never figured out where the box of Beretta shells in 20 ga came from, the choke tube for a Mossy, or stocks for Ruger Blackhawk came from found in my truck bed.

 

[Smoke]

Lavender? All my Fiocchi hulls have been orange or brown.

Orange ones.......forgot orange ones......wonder what I can put in them......

Smoke

 

[sm]

...buys him books and sends him to skool...

http://www.fiocchiusa.com/cat_target.php

You have any cubed pellets? How are you fixed for small sized feed? I know you have to have some kind of feed around your place. Check the bed of the truck...

Chilled shot I know you have to have. How about some "smushed" pellets, you know flat lead. See if the bait shop has an old, busted box, of small lead sinkers..makes no difference if the ones you can bite to open and close or the old ones you had to pry with a knife...

I know you know about 'stacking loads" - how to get a full choke to pattern like a Cyl bore...and all that stuff.

I won't squeal on you if you steal the Malto-Meal, Grits, Flour, or Barley to use as buffer either.

When the wifey fusses about being out of one of these items mentioned ["Honey - YOUR kids are out of Malto Meal"] ...that is when you make a end run when you are supposed to be going straight to the store...head to the bait shop and get them little sinkers you needed and were held back for you.

Yeah , Yeah I know. Sure you are welcome my friend.

Might as snag the out of date Red Hots the bait shop is going to toss. Makes a real neat red "splat" and if you get them all stuck together, you gets a "red slug". Yep - sure do, kids like the one bigger hole with a "red splat" on the target. *grin*

 

[Smoke]

oh hell, now you gone and done it.

Already stole the wife's popcorn stash, and ice cream salt, and baby powd.....ummm never mind that one.

Red splats!? Now that gave me some ideas. What gauge is a paint ball?
Where'd I put those calipers..... red splats gave me a whole bunch of nasty ideas....is a primer enough uumph to push a .....no, better not mention that one either.....protect the innocent and all that jazz.....

This could get ugly.....just what can you shove down one of these hulls?

Smoke

Edited to add:

Kids, don't try this at home. Weuns is p'fessionals.

 

[sm]

...trying to recall the statute of limtations again in Texas...

*ahem*

Seems I have been trying to tell you - I used to Run 'em down Texas way...and a bunch of other places.... But NOooo, not one mention of me coming down and getting together...nope, nary an invite.

I mean I am polite to the ladies, kids adopt me, I spoil dogs...and you and I could just do what a couple guys do down in TX.

Never messed with paint balls. Too durn high- falutin and new fangled for me. Now if'n you got a tree with a forked limb, leather from a football you shot playing "skeet football" , some red rubber from an inner tube...I could shows you some stuff using a slingshot.

Where do you think I "learnt" some stuff that transitioned to shotguns?

I don't know if you are ready to learn about Primer fired shotshells only.

I know ...I can really make an impression on the wifey...we will put the old paper hulls in the oven...hide among some peanuts - "just roasting peanuts dear..."

Gotta reload some paper, just need to prep 'em first is all...

"daddy...this AA peanut - does not have any peanuts in it...".

Which reminds me, peanuts are good in a Coke. More gooder in a primer fired Hull with the petals cut off the wad...

See if the bait shop has some out of date salted peanuts while you are there - will ya?

Now am I supposed to turn after the water tower to get to your place? Or can take the shortcut thru the fence where the bull got loose just the other side of the white frame bldg that used to be a barber shop and homemade bird house place that was sold to the folks that sell a lot of mason jars with the semi clear liquid?

Kinda used to taking a hard right - kicking up dust. Blue lights do weird stuff in dust...gives me a chance to scoot thru a hole in fence and take a shortcut on dirt road you understand... Leave a light on ...gonna be aiming for it...gonna have my lights "cut".

Whatever the hell you do - do NOT use too many of the wife's high dollar, cute little soap beads to make bubble bath...

Women count them things and know exactly how many they have...

Yeah I know abou tbaby powder, I "was" married if you recall.

Well see she was in the kitchen using the flour for cooking purposes...

I was in the other end of the Big Reloading Room...I mean house. I was teaching the dog to reload some new loads...he begged me to...
So in order to keep the dog happy, and not disturb the wifey, I used the Powder in the Master Bedroom / bathroom.

Damn - Almond scented powder is some good stuff let me tell ya! Made a great buffer...and it smells good too. Not as good as the wifey smelling like almonds...damn close tho". *grin*

Professional ? I'll have you know I got an Honorary Degree in Damn Son - That was something else.

Just can't recall the Statue of Limitations is all...

 

[Preacherman]

You two are beginning to worry me...

 

[sm]

Hi. Preacherman!

<Smoke snickers Steve done got caught by the Preacher>

Oh shut up Smoke - let me explain us out of what YOU got us into...

Okay,

Here is the dealie.

Smoke, would you puh-leeze quit snickering? I am good at this , pay attention and learn something... dang whippersnappers I swear!

Back in the old days we did not have screw in chokes. Barrels were fixed choke. 26" was Skeet/ IC, 28" was Mod, and 30" were Full.

Ammo availabilty and offerings were not what they are today. So we went out and tried various loadings using the pattern board. We learned what a Barrel is "marked" does not mean it will throw "that marked pattern".

The "inexpensive" stuff had chilled shot and opened up due to pellet deformantion. The better loads, like Win Super X , had hard shot, resisted pellet deformation. Then Win also had Grex buffering in some loadings coupled with the hard shot that really aided in less pellet deformation.

So we wanted to get better performance loads for a particular gun. We reloaded. Use cubed shaped pellets for the first load in a Full Choke gun and the pattern was like Skeet, for flushing quail. Next in the mag might be the Chilled shot, for still an open pattern, but still not as tight as the hard shot loads like target loads.

We called this Stacking the loads

Malto-Meal, Farina, grits, flour...etc, worked like Grex buffering to "buffer" the pellets to resist pellet deformation.

We consulted Reloading manuals and weighed everything thrice and stayed within limits.

--

Now we had kids , tyros, and totally new to shotguns folks needing to learn.

Well, we already knew how one could use Popcorn kernals inside a barn, shed or near one to get rid of pigeons without harming the building or equipment.

These loading were very very mild in recoil. So since we wanted folks to learn and not be scared of the gun, how it operated, the recoil and such...we often used Popcorn loads...with doubled hearing protection ...new shooters had fun and learned.

These loads will break balloons, and "tump" over tin cans. For a safety lesson as to why to NOT shoot at water, we did shoot at a farm pond with newspaper on the opposing bank to show how pellets 'skip'.

Easiest way to know what load one had - use different color hulls. Know the code.

I / we did this Coding by hull color - way back for stuff like quail, doves, ducks, and clay games.

Just like shooting primer fired Speer Rubber Bullets, we came up with loads so folks could shoot in barns with hay bales in the bad weather, or really cold...places and needs and such. I stumbled onto Red Hots one day...and the little kids likes seeing a pattern and helped to better understand how all this worked.

I has used the garden hose teaching method, that was good, but kids want to shoot the guns.

Don't think Hank dunnit this-a-way...
Are you sure Hand dunnit this-a-way...

Not sure about Hank knowing about shotguns.

Bob Brister did though.

He never got called down by a Preacher on Internet Gun Board...and he had his wife use her station wagon to pull targets at 40 mph while Brister shot loads for testing.
He wrote a GREAT book with this in it - with pictures and everthing!

<Smoke rubs chin...been listening...>

So Smoke, since I bailed your butt of trouble, I figure I gets to shoot your new shotgun, I should have a dozen fried apple pies awaiting my arrival, BBQ would be good, and does your wife make coffee? I know you don't drink coffee, probably what is wrong with you. Still coffee and Fried Apple Pies go together.

I are good ain't I?



We get pulled over - shut up and listen.

"Dadburned accelarator linkage - blasted thing got stuck again, I humbly apologize Mr. Policeman..."

Psst...Steve...My truck is Fuel injected, yours is too...

Sigh...

Would you puh-leeze hush up? These young whippernappers on Patrol don't know that...
Besides, we get a seasoned LEO, I gots a back up plan

Work me with me here...sheesh...danged whippersnappers.

Dollar says I get greeted at Smoke's as I have many times in TX and other places.

"Honey, Steve is here"

"Oh my gosh...he showed up!"

*grin*

 

[wolf_from_wv]

He never got called down by a Preacher on Internet Gun Board...and he had his wife use her station wagon to pull targets at 40 mph while Brister shot loads for testing.
He wrote a GREAT book with this in it - with pictures and everthing!

I think I saw that book at the library... The guy was driving a station wagon with a trailer behind it. The trailer had a BIG patterning board on it. I was thinking how I would rather have an up-armored humvee, LAV, or anything besides a station wagon to pull it.

 

[sm]

wolf,

Bob Brister's Shotgunning: The Art and the Science, is the name of the book.

EVERY shotgunner should have read this book at least Three Times. Most us Own at least one copy , with one copy having dog-earred pages, paper clips, slips of paper , marking pages and notes scribbled in the back.

The pictures of the station wagon are accompanied by VALUABLE information about shotgun loads and how patterns are thrown upon MOVING targets. See most folks just pattern at a board - which is good. The rest of the information deals with the effects of pellet denisty, effects of pellet deformation, shot strings, shot sizes, and all sorts of MOVING targets at various yardages.

Explains why you can miss with ALL them pellets...

Most of the questions asked about Shotguns, even on Internet Gun Forums, are answered in Brister's Book. No matter if a seasoned shotgunner, or one starting out in the world of shotguns - one always learns something from this book.
I may have mentioned this book a time or two before...

-

Preacherman,

You know the Parable about the Mustard Seed being Clergy and all. A little known Parable involving the Mustard Seed and David is...this before he felled the Giant and all...is how he used Mustard Seeds loaded up in a Shot Load in his sling shot, to scatter the Sparrows. See, Sparrows would flock by the hundreds and eat up the loaves of bread 'pert near as fast as the loaf division was taking place.
Mustard Seed Loads to this day still disperse Sparrows. Now you ain't really trying to hit the Sparrows ( or any other bird) - just they get to pecking , and gotta fly off to get a drink of water.

In other parts of the country jalapeno seeds work REAL well for this. Don't use rice, this attracts them...supposed to blow up when they drink water after eating rice- though I have not personally seen this happen...

Yep, the Parable is in there, forget if before or after that Jonah fella got to water skiing so fast behind that whale that parted a Sea of Red or not....it is in there somewheres...

Smoke,

While at the bait shop ...pick up some Sunflower seeds, both kinds, in the hull and you know the ones already ptooey-ed out of the hull?

I don't know what it is <whistles> but as you know I always have Jerkey when I hunt, like a lucky rabbits foot or something for me. Munching on the hulled Sunflower seeds brings me luck...
Seems some the ptooey-d ones seems to always end up inthe shells in my shooting pouch...
Gotta shoot my way back out of the field to get to my truck...darndest thing...like a Hitchcock Movie or something...

Lousiana - got some real nice folks. In Shreveport I fed Punkin oats, from my hand. Punkin was the horse drawing the carriage thru the - whatever the district was in...
His owner/ driver/ tour guide appreciated the Popcorn loads I gave him. Don't ask me why them loads were in my pocket in this party part of town...

Gave some to the Nice Police Officer too,
Well sir, it is like this, I am running late because I had a shoot in Houston, run late, other fella just wouldn't miss, figured he would eventually - and he did, still put me off schedule....trying to get to that Hotel where Elvis Stayed in Shreveport, got a cute honey waiting and were are supposed to eat Gumbo, and other good stuff at LA Downs and watch the horses...

"You need to git on out of here Son...suggest you take this here route to avoid some road work..."

Just passin' forward is all ...passing forward... *grin*

 

[Rupestris]

EVERY shotgunner should have read this book at least Three Times.

You mean I gotta read it again?

BTW, Have you seen the latest F&S? it has 110 tips & tricks including a handfull from Brister himself like using your cowboy hat as a rest for them long shots out west.

As for paintballs, I thought they were supposed to be hot-glued or silicone caulked to a piece of thin plywood (painted white) and used as targets for .22's and BB guns.

 

[TrapperReady]

EVERY shotgunner should have read this book at least Three Times.

You left out "each year", although "each season" would do also.

 

[pauli]

What gauge is a paint ball?

what i can find online says .50, .62, .63, .68 and .72. now if some of those numbers don't jump out at you...

just be REAL careful with choke selection

 

[sm]

Field & Stream:
No, I have not seen it. Truth is - when Brister was no longer Editor, and no longer contributing, I quit subscribing. I perused an issue or two later on...not the same. I do still have some 1955 issues, and of interest the information then is as pertinent and applicable today. Also the 1955 ones have Ruark's works in them...another must read.

Paintballs:

Being as "I are old" we didn't have paintballs in my day. I wouldn't want to rush into this newfangled stuff or nothing...I mean the advice of Ruark and Brister still works and all...

So we shot marbles, and sometimes with the girls we shot not only marbles, but "ball and jacks" with .22's. Learned about golf balls, and of course Brister shared a whole new dealie with Ping Pong balls...I mean I was doing this dealie "back when" just did not know I was "Bristering".

Yes, yes , yes, you folks are correct, three times a year/ season on the reading assignment.

Why I know folks all over the world that have obtained a copy of Brister's works...seems some guy has always harped about it...then the 'puter age and 'Net came about...he has a larger audience to harp at.

I appreciate all the sharing of Brister, most appreciative of the hands on and verbal instructions...

Seems Ruark, Misseldine, and some other writers have had their works end up in some of the darndest countries...

I myself have had a writer's works from other countries like New Zealand show up in my bookshelf. Most appreciative and informative work from NZ: The Sharp Shooter Matt and Bruce Grant -

Here ya go, an excerpt from page 41:

Most good "running"shots with the rifle and practically all good shotgun shots swing from behind the target and squeeze off slightly in front. The faster the game moves the faster the barrel swings. Most importantly, as the barrel swings faster than the game while the bullet is travelling down the bore, an automatic amount of lead is given. This is the main reason why swinging is considered better than leading.

In snap shooting, practice is the keystone of success, both dry firing and also at targets. Strive for steadiness through relaxation. Rifle fit, trigger pressure, two-eyed aim, and correct stance all go to make a good snap shot--B.G.

This was a gift from a member here on THR. Signed copy dated 1976.

We first learn the correct basic fundamentals - we never stop practicing them- Mike Plaxco.

Plaxco told me this while we were shooting handguns. He said it again as we shot shotguns, he repeated whenever we shot a rifle together. Oh hell yes...Plaxco could shoot a shotgun all right...anything he picked up he could shoot. He taught me a lot...including shotgunning.

Another book(s) I gotta replace, my signed Plaxco stuff..

Point being, be it various hulls for various loads, reloading loads for specific tasks, shooting pattern boards to know what a load does out of particular bbl...

"A is A".

Smoke just brought this up in his original post is all.

 

[Spinner]

This was a gift from a member here on THR. Signed copy dated 1976.

I hear that book is quite informative Glad you're enjoying it.

Isn't it interesting to see that fit and proper form are important in snap shooting and shooting moving targets ..... seem to recall someone else saying something like that.

Spinner

 

[Smoke]

what i can find online says .50, .62, .63, .68 and .72. now if some of those numbers don't jump out at you...

So if I can buy some .72 (or 12 gauge) paint balls....would someone be willing to load up a few rounds to find what powderload I can put behind them that won't bust them and cause paint to drip out the end of my barrel? I'd do it you see.....but...ummmmm....time limitations prohibit. Yeah, thats the ticket....don't have the time....

Can I put two in a hull? 3 in a 3.5" Hull? Neighbors dog is gonna be spotted.

Oh where this could go. Never interested in paintballs before, now it sounds promissing.


Smoke

 

[sm]

Work Smarter - Not Harder

I know damn well the bait shop has bubble gum. That roundish one in the yellow wrapper...yeah that one.
Use the baby powder...don't make me 'plain this too much. All you need to know is it is very soft slug, and won't be dripping out the end of the bbl.

Calipers? Pshaw! Amatures! I used scales, a pair of dividers, reloading manual and had rope, tire and tree to aid in load testing.

Some folks I swear - Why keep it simple - when you can make it difficult?

Kinda like the old boy, about sticking a dime in the muzzle of a barrel...you only know you have a barrel and a dime.

Humm...I take a barrel in the bait shop and start fiddling with the big jaw breakers, bubble gum , cork bobbers...Hey I read about Russian , Jug, and chokes being swaged...'taint no big deal...I spend a dime and have Custom Loads.

Calipers...no wonder the boy is having problems hitting doves...he has been measuring