| Springtime in Georgia | |
|
||
|
||
|
||
Page Four
Thursday morning and part of the afternoon was spent in Richard's hole once again, installing the standing-seam aluminum roof, carpet(!), carpeted windowsills, and corner trim. We headed back to camp, had a quick lunch, and hit the water once more. Ken wanted a couple of small catfish for his pond at home, and I got him one to match the little cat he'd caught the evening before. Then he had to say good-bye and hit the road for home.
Friday morning, Richard and I headed to town to restock on groceries, then after lunch, we actually got Dad to come fishing with us. We did fairly well again, and had a nice leisurely early supper for a change.
Saturday morning we went to the range after Richard installed his leather swiveling office chair in his stand. Man, hunting in that stand is really going to be rough (yeah, right).
I already had a Williams Firesight front sight and rear peep on my Ruger 10-22, and I needed a lower front sight. I replaced the front sight and zeroed it, then burned up some .22 LR ammo in it. If it had a better trigger it would really be a nice-shooting little rifle, and I have some parts sitting at home that will hopefully allow me to make it so. We shot a box of reloads through my Ruger P89 9mm pistol, with less-than-great accuracy but good dependability.
Dad brought out his High-Standard Model H-D Military .22 pistol, and we shot it some, quitting after it malfunctioned and fired upon release of the safety. It's badly in need of a super-cleaning, and it will get one before we try it again. Some more afternoon fishing with Richard and Dad earned us a few more fish.
Sunday morning was overcast, and Richard and I decided to try some morning fishing for a change. We didn't do very well, the water in the lake still being down more than a foot from its usual level and the fish not biting as they had been. Georgia Power regulates the water level in this lake (since they own it), and we're hoping they bring it back up soon.
After lunch, Dad and I headed to the range again. I tried several handloads in my Ruger .44 Magnum semi-auto Carbine (old model), most of them using Accurate No. 9 powder and Hornady 240-grain XTP bullets with Winchester WLP primers. Some of these show great potential, and I'll definitely be working with that powder more to see just what I can do with it.
I also tried a few Barnes 225-grain XPB bullets over 17.5 grains of 2400 (max load per my testing), and was very disappointed. Three out of five shots did land on the target, but every one of those keyholed (hit the target sideways) at fifty yards, and of course I have to wonder what happened to the other two. These long, all-copper, rear-heavy bullets are a great disappointment to me, giving top velocities well below average compared with conventional 240-grain slugs.
Next I brought the Savage '06 back out, to try some Remington and Winchester factory loads with 180-grain bullets. Pressures were high and accuracy mediocre with both loads, with the Remington having a very slight edge on the Winchester on both velocity and accuracy in this rifle. Looks like I will stick with my handloads and look for more one-hole groups, rather than rely on factory groceries for this rifle.
The stainless Colt Lightweight Commander in .45 ACP came out next, to burn through the fifty rounds of hardball ammo loaded by Chris Rhyne. Recoil was quite noticeable though certainly not unmanageable, and accuracy was certainly very good. After Richard showed up, he ran a box of reloads through his stainless Colt .45 Gold Cup, then my Sig SP 2340 in .40 S&W ended the shooting session with a mix of my reloads and Remington "Leadless" factory ammo.
My .40 S&W loads didn't match Remington's for accuracy, and the factory stuff was hotter, too. I will have to work on my loads a bit to get better accuracy, though the worst accuracy I've seen from that gun is great in my opinion, and dependability just as good or better. If I had to bet my life on one of my semi-auto handguns, it would be that one, without a doubt.
As Richard and Dad went back to camp, I took Dad's truck and headed down to the corner store for bait and bread, only to find that they'd closed 45 minutes earlier. So I headed on towards town and the next nearest store, got the goodies, called my wife to check on things on the homefront, and headed back to camp. A supper of venison tacos was awaiting, which really hit the spot.
After supper Richard and I headed down to his boat to retrieve a fishing rod that needed the line removed and replaced, found that the water was back up some, and did some fishing. We had a lot of fun catching catfish and bluegill for 30 or 45 minutes, then as we were getting ready to head home we heard a call for help from a nearby boat. Up came the anchors and we headed over to investigate.
A dead battery had stranded a couple of fellow fishermen, so we bent a line from our stern to their bow and towed them back to the public boat ramp where they'd launched. We could just barely see to find our way back home -- another five minutes and we'd have been literally feeling our way back to the dock.
- Russ Chastain
