New member

[big-ugly]

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Brandon and I am a bit of a gun addict. People tell me I "have a problem" when it comes to guns.. My response is that the only problem I have is that I can't afford to buy more..
I'm from Nebraska and enjoy hunting, fishing, and camping. I'm also into building cars and pickups, and right now my father and uncle are building a new drag car (coming out of retirement, used to race back in the 70's and 80's). I will turn 25 this year, and recently took on another job so that I could go back to school (finishing my bachelor's degree).
Back to the fun stuff - I enjoy shooting everything from pistols/revolvers to shotguns and rifles. Black powder is one of my favorites to shoot, even though it's near impossible to source real black around here (that's right all you purists, I shoot pyrodex). Reloading ammunition is also a hobby of mine, which fuels my shooting hobby and vice/versa.
I am considering taking up gunsmithing as a hobby, as that is where my passion truly lies. I recently just finished an ar-15 build from an 80% receiver, and last year built a Lyman great plains rifle kit. I'm having way too much fun doing this stuff.
Anyways, that's just a bit about me and my hobbies. Been lurking here for a long time, decided it was time to join up.

 

[rodwha]

Welcome!

Out of curiousity do you hunt with BP guns? And if so what do you use?

Though I am not a purist I do enjoy the history, which I didn't so much prior. I intend to hunt with mine (.50 cal Lyman Deerstalker, Ruger Old Army, and Remington New Model Army so far) and with my pistols being the weak point if you will an energetic powder is necessary for me to feel comfortable with them. I began by buying 3F Triple 7 at BassPro, but for months on end it was nowhere to be found which pushed me to look online. What I found was that if I bought 3 lbs of T7 from Grafs it about evened out. However I didn't have to drive an hour to be disappointed which was a big win, especially then.

I was interested in trying real BP though, especially because the purists seemed to make such a big deal. At that time the only powder I was aware of that was also energetic was Swiss. But it wasn't available locally. At some point I was introduced to Goex Olde Eynsford which was created to compete with Swiss and Grafs sells it. So I had to try it. And I liked it. It gave me the same POI with the same charge as T7 but it is much cheaper, which is a big part of why I purchase more of it. Also the lack of shelf life or potential wonky pressures (which I can't say I've noticed and I compress it rather heavily as I see no other way to be consistent).

I don't know what you pay for Pyrodex but it likely is cheaper to order online if you will purchase several pounds at a time.

 

[Armored farmer]

Welcome.

 

[Crawdad1]

Welcome Big Ugly and glad you joined us. I'm not a purist either as I know getting black powder can be a real hassle for different parts of the country. Now go out and shoot that Lyman GPR, great rifle.

 

[daboyleroy]

Welcome....there is no known cure for this habit/affliction

 

[Fingers McGee]

Welcome Big Ugly.

 

[big-ugly]

Thank you all for welcoming me to the site. To answer Rodwha, yes I do indeed hunt with my black powder guns, as well as all of my smokeless bang-sticks. With the Lyman I shoot round balls and pyrodex rs, It has the 1 in 66 twist and I really enjoy shooting the round balls. I don't own a gun that I do not shoot. That's like buying underwear and leaving it in the package while you go commando - just doesn't make sense. I hunted whitetail with my Lyman last year, although I didn't get a chance to shoot a deer. My girlfriend had my inline .50 cal so I let her take the shots, because she had never killed a deer before. I have however killed many paper targets and milk jugs with it, sighted in POA/POI at 50 yards (my eyesight is poor, so I can't shoot any farther than that with iron sights ethically). If I can figure out how on this site, I will post a picture of the Lyman. Work with me here guys, even though I'm young I'm not very good with computers.

ETA - You can all call me Brandon if you wish, or "B" for short. I've been known to answer to much worse

 

[big-ugly]

Please ignore the mess in the background.. It's an old picture from when I just got the last layer of oil rubbed on the stock. I raided the kitchen and used the space while the girlfriend was away, as you can see It is far from perfect, but for a first try I am pretty happy with it, and it shoots better than I can hold it. - 1 coat of rust-oleum American walnut stain, 6 or 7 coats of hand rubbed birchwood casey tru-oil, and laurel mountain forge browning on the metal bits. Birchwood casey super blue on the forend cap and ramrod thimbles.

I apologize for the terrible quality - Chelsea says I can get the camera on my phone to focus, but I still haven't figured out how yet

 

[792mauser]

Welcome.

 

[Crawdad1]

Looks good to me from that pic, and that hand rubbed Tru-oil finish is the way to go and really sets off that stock on those GPRs!!!

 

[kBob]

Howdy.

-kBob

 

[whughett]

Interesting handle, sure not the truck.................................

 

[big-ugly]

Hehehe, That is a '74 F250 that I swapped in a '68 429 thunderjet out of a T-bird. Overhauled of course, and mated to the factory 4 speed. I've got pictures somewhere of it with 37" humvee tires under it, and it is a factory height pickup. I stand just a shade under 6', for comparison.

 

[bannockburn]

Welcome aboard Brandon!

Like your Lyman GPR that you built; I have found building black powder guns from kits to be a very fun and rewarding thing to do, especially in the winter months!

 

[big-ugly]

well thank you, sir. I appreciate the warm welcome and kind words on my rifle. I built it last year, about a week before black powder season opened up. To say I was rushed for time would be a bit of an understatement. Some day I may strip it down and really do a nice job, but for a working rifle it fits the bill.

 

[big-ugly]

Look out world, I'm getting smarter I figured out the focus on my phone's camera Here is a picture of how the rifle looks as of this morning. Like I said It's not perfect, but it's mine and I built it and no one can take that away from me.

You can see the ramrod is a bit lighter now, from use I suppose. I really need to invest in a decent range rod... some day

 

[LoneGoose]

b-u, welcome. Don't worry about not being able to afford more guns. You're only 25. I couldn't afford more than one rifle, one pistol, and one shotgun until I was in my 50s. Now I have a wonderful collection of guns and I shoot every one. In fact, I've bought and sold as many as I have in the house right now. I believe that appreciate these guns more than I would have if I could have had them on a whim when I was younger. Enjoy, shoot, and look forward to a long and fruitful life.

 

[Plastikosmd]

79 ford here with a 557 ci motor

Also big bp fan, welcome

 

[JeffG]

Welcome!

 

[bannockburn]

Brandon

This is my Traditions Hawken rifle that I built many moons ago. It was a fun job though I have to say trying to get a proper fit with the irregularly shaped brass crescent buttplate was quite a chore!

 

[whughett]

Hehehe, That is a '74 F250 that I swapped in a '68 429 thunderjet out of a T-bird. Overhauled of course, and mated to the factory 4 speed. I've got pictures somewhere of it with 37" humvee tires under it, and it is a factory height pickup. I stand just a shade under 6', for comparison.

One of the stupidest things I ever done was sell off a 1996 Ford F150 that my oldest son had given me. Put 1500 in it, was told by a nephew mec that the truck would need a new oil pan, among other things, sold it for 1800. Dumb Dumb Dumb. Oh and traded away a Paterson for a 1846 Pocket, nother dumb move.

 

[DD4lifeusmc]

big ugly welcome
most cellphone will auto focus, hold still even after you trip the shutter, it will go into a better focus

 

[4v50 Gary]

Consider attending the NRA summer classes at Trinidad State or the NMLRA at WKU (Bowling Green, KY). The amount of instruction and camaraderie at the latter is overwhelming. The smoke poles of today exceed that of the masters of the 18-19th Century.

 

[big-ugly]

Well everyone I just got done cleaning the GPR. Chels and I took it to the farm for a few hours of fun. It's the first time she has shot it since I've built it, and she had an absolute ball. I started her off with 30 grains (volume) of pyrodex rs, and we worked up to 80 grains. She was grinning the whole time, and even did very well in the accuracy department I might add. I hung a few milk jugs and pop bottles in a tree for targets at 25 yards, so it was very informal. We had a lot of fun and the gun performed flawlessly, after the stubborn first shot because I forgot to snap a few caps before loading. Took 3 caps to get the first load to go off, but after that it ran like a champion. Can't ask any more of such old technology.

 

[daboyleroy]

Here's Johnny..........smoke