Firearms - Hunting/Target thread

[Arm0r]

  @ those points.

[|iR|Focalor]

Bought me a shiny brand new revolver today. Taurus .32 mag revolver. Pretty lightweight, short, and slim profiled, so I'll start using it as my concealed carry once I get a shoulder holster for it. Plan on taking it out to the range tomorrow for a few hours of breaking it in and getting a feel for it.

[[BTF] Reflex]

You should be pleased,  Taurus makes fine revolvers. 


My .38 got stolen out of the apartment,  very solid/accurate.
Great gun.  Can stick it right up into someones gut and not have to worry about the slide d/c 

[|iR|Focalor]

I started off looking at the big long dirty harry hand cannons (raging bull) for hunting, but they had this one for $250. With a revolver, I figure you don't have the problem of cartridges getting jammed like I sometimes have with my Walther .38. I guess I can still use it as a sidearm for hunting season, I dunno. I still gotta take a hunter safety course in the next couple of weeks so I can get a license. I don't really plan on doing any hunting anywhere where I'd probably need one, but I figure it's best to make sure I'm still 100% legal even if I am on private property.

[|iR|Focalor]

SCORE MOTHERBITCHES!

Acquired a couple new rifles today. Most notably, a World War I era Mauser that belonged to my grandfather. Yeah, not WWII, WORLD WAR ONE. So this thing is damn near 100 years old. From what my dad says, it's the most beautifully accurate rifle one could ever dream of owning. I haven't fired it yet, it needs a LOT of checking, cleaning, maintenance, etc before I even think about touching it. But I'm pretty excited that my dad finally passed it on to me.

But....

My grandfather bought it off someone he was in the Navy with after the Korean War. I guess back then, it was cheaper than buying a brand new hunting rifle. Well he basically took the barrel, bolt, etc and stuck it all in a stock that he made himself... and he got rid of all the original military parts. That sucks a BUNCH. From what I can tell, WWI era Mauser's are not easy to come by anymore. Don't get me wrong, the stock he made for it himself is beautiful. Looks like it's made from a really nice piece of birds eye maple. But it sure would've been nice to have a 100% original WWI military spec Mauser. Maybe in the next few days I'll get a pic or two of it to show off.

Also got a WWI era Springfield .30-06 sniper rifle. Not very familiar with it. I think my dad said something about it being kinda rare because it's a 6 turn barrel or some shit like that, I dunno, wasn't really listening, I was too busy drooling. From what he said, it's a total bitch to fire because of the insane recoil.

Also got a pair of shotguns, dunno how old they are, I think one's a 12ga and the others a 20ga.

[QuakeDuke]

SCORE MOTHERBITCHES!

Acquired a couple new rifles today. Most notably, a World War I era Mauser that belonged to my grandfather. Yeah, not WWII, WORLD WAR ONE. So this thing is damn near 100 years old. From what my dad says, it's the most beautifully accurate rifle one could ever dream of owning. I haven't fired it yet, it needs a LOT of checking, cleaning, maintenance, etc before I even think about touching it. But I'm pretty excited that my dad finally passed it on to me.

Whoa..... 8mm?  Nice.....

Also got a WWI era Springfield .30-06 sniper rifle. Not very familiar with it. I think my dad said something about it being kinda rare because it's a 6 turn barrel or some shit like that, I dunno, wasn't really listening, I was too busy drooling. From what he said, it's a total bitch to fire because of the insane recoil.

.30-06 is nice. If it's full dress w/peep sites or you got a good scope,  if you can see it you can drop it with that baby. I used a M1C for a few years....

QD

[Whirlingdervish]

My uncle has been offering lately to take me out hunting on his property in Montana, so I'm considering pickin up a 30 cal rifle of some sort in the near future. I'm still trying to decide on the exact calibre.

Any recommendations/thoughts regarding a good modern hunting rifle and what ammo tends to be cheapest?


btw, here's a deer from last year and an elk from this'n that he sent me pics of:

[|iR|Focalor]

8mm... Maybe. I haven't looked too closely at it yet. I tried not to handle them because they haven't been cared for properly in a lot of years, don't want the oils from my hands to fuck up anything before I get a chance to work on them. I dunno, I was thinking Mausers always used the standard 7.62 NATO rounds, I guess you'd probably know more than me. All I really know about Mauser's is that they are legendary for their accuracy, and that this particular one is an antique. Looking forward to learning more about them now that I have one.

I was watching a series they had on the History Channel the other day called WWII in HD which chronicled the more important events of WWII in Europe and the Pacific. It got me thinking about my grandfather and how, like several of the people they interviewed, he refused to talk about his experiences during the war for the rest of his life with one or two rare exceptions. Even my mother really doesn't know his whole story. I'm not really sure what unit he was in, but I think pretty soon I'm gonna start doing some investigating on my own to find out which division he was a part of and what they did, where they went, etc. I'm pretty sure he was in Okinawa, and I think my mom mentioned once that he was in the Marianas Islands, but she was thinking that he wasn't necessarily involved in any fighting. From what I've learned, if he was in either one of those places, chances are he WAS involved in active combat on a few occasions.

Anyway, if anyone knows where or how I could search for someone from WW2 to find a timeline documenting where they might have been stationed, their movements, their combat experience, etc, please let me know.

[|iR|Focalor]

My uncle has been offering lately to take me out hunting on his property in Montana, so I'm considering pickin up a 30 cal rifle of some sort in the near future. I'm still trying to decide on the exact calibre.

Any recommendations/thoughts regarding a good modern hunting rifle and what ammo tends to be cheapest?


btw, here's a deer from last year and an elk from this'n that he sent me pics of:

Damn. Elk with a bow. You gotta be pro to do that shit. From what I've seen on the hunting shows, elk ain't like whitetail deer. You can't just hang out up in a tree stand all day calling them and wait for one to come to you, you gotta stalk them. And I don't care who you are, unless you're 50 meters or less from one, you can't really be 100% sure that your arrow's gonna drill them right precisely where you want to.

This'll be my first year hunting. I plan on using my .32 magnum revolver if one gets close enough and gives me a good shot. Otherwise I have an 80's model Springfield 30-06. You can't really beat a 30-06 for power. With a decent 4x12 scope and a little practice beforehand, you can knock them fuckers dicks in the dirt with headshots and forget about following blood trails. But of course, if you're looking a trophy head, a well placed shot broadside through the front of the shoulder bone and heart/lungs will probably drop them before they get out of sight.

Bow hunting looks like its more fun to me though, a lot more of a challenge to make the shot as well as to get close enough to even have an opportunity to TAKE a shot. With a decent high powered hunting rifle (anything like a 270, 300 win mag, 308, or 30-06), you can usually smack a whitetail down with one good shot anywhere in the chest cavity just because of the sheer energy of the bullet.

[QuakeDuke]

8mm... Maybe. I haven't looked too closely at it yet. I tried not to handle them because they haven't been cared for properly in a lot of years, don't want the oils from my hands to fuck up anything before I get a chance to work on them. I dunno, I was thinking Mausers always used the standard 7.62 NATO rounds

Depending on where / when they were made Mauser's are 8mm, 7.62 and a few other calibers. I can tell you the those chambered for the 7.62 kick like a * if they're the one of the so-called "short  rifles."

I was watching a series they had on the History Channel the other day called WWII in HD which chronicled the more important events of WWII in Europe and the Pacific. It got me thinking about my grandfather and how, like several of the people they interviewed, he refused to talk about his experiences during the war for the rest of his life with one or two rare exceptions.

My son-in-law recorded  that series on his Tivo   It's usually that way - the deeper the dung, the less the talk - most of the guys I know are like that.  I had an uncle at  Normandy who  got shot up pretty bad, then after recouping from that got shot up again taking out a pillbox.  I never heard him say much about it at all until I came back from Nam Dong and even then it wasn't much.

I'm pretty sure he was in Okinawa, and I think my mom mentioned once that he was in the Marianas Islands, but she was thinking that he wasn't necessarily involved in any fighting. From what I've learned, if he was in either one of those places, chances are he WAS involved in active combat on a few occasions.

More than likely he saw quite a bit of action while stationed there.

Anyway, if anyone knows where or how I could search for someone from WW2 to find a timeline documenting where they might have been stationed, their movements, their combat experience, etc, please let me know.

If you could find out his service branch/company/unit there are place you can find info.

QD

[|iR|Focalor]

Depending on where / when they were made Mauser's are 8mm, 7.62 and a few other calibers. I can tell you the those chambered for the 7.62 kick like a * if they're the one of the so-called "short  rifles."

Looked like about a 28" barrell. I don't think it's a short or a carbine or anything like that. From what my dad said about the 2 rifles, the Springfield kicks a LOT harder than the Mauser. I'm assuming a shorter barrel would probably have more turns in the riflings for increased accuracy/distance. Kinda surprising that the 30-06 would kick harder than the Mauser, I was under the impression that old Mauser's were notorious shoulder breakers.

More than likely he saw quite a bit of action while stationed there.

That's what I'm thinking. Seemed like my moms aunt, his only surviving sister, seemed to know a bit about his service last year at the Christmas time family reunion. Maybe I'll have to go again this year if they have it and ask her a bunch more questions. I remember a few years back she was showing my mom and my aunt some pictures he sent home of himself and his best friend in his squad, which was another thing that makes me think he saw a lot of shit over there that he didn't care to recall because he NEVER EVER mentioned this guy to anyone. No one else in the family recalled him corresponding with this "best friend" after the war either, which was weird and totally out of character for a guy like my grandfather. He wasn't the type to forget about "friends" or altogether not talk about them, so maybe he was KIA and thats why no one else heard of him before.

I know I still have his formal Army uniform in one of the closets around here, maybe it'll have some indication of what company he belonged to. If not, I know my mother still has the bronze gravestone plaque that the Army sent her after he died back in 95, I'm pretty sure that might list his company or division or whatever. I've always wanted her to get off her butt and have that plaque put out at his grave. Maybe if I can find some proof that he did actually get involved in some heavy combat, it'll be enough to guilt her into action finally.

[|iR|Focalor]

Here's a few pics of my old fubar'd Mauser. I also took a pic of the markings on the side of the receiver. I'm not really sure what it means. I'm pretty sure its NOT made in 1895, thats probably just when the first model of this particular gun was produced. I think the "Deutsche Waffen" part signifies it was made for German military use.

[QuakeDuke]

Here's a few pics of my old fubar'd Mauser. I also took a pic of the markings on the side of the receiver. I'm not really sure what it means. I'm pretty sure its NOT made in 1895, thats probably just when the first model of this particular gun was produced. I think the "Deutsche Waffen" part signifies it was made for German military use.

Your grandfather did a bang up job on that stock - it's nice.

The 1895 is the model number - it was preceded by the 1893.
The translation of the German is "German weapons  and amunition factories Berlin" which was where this rifle was made. 
Here's a link on a bit of that model's history if you're interested.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_8_53/ai_n19313639/?tag=content;col1

Is it really not usable? Shame.

QD

[|iR|Focalor]

Is it really not usable?

In it's current state, hell naw. It ain't been cleaned or cared for in probably 20 or 30 years. I was looking at the Springfield and it's 10 times filthier. They've been sitting inside this gun cabinet up in my dads sisters un-air conditioned attic for several years. Before that, I think they were sitting in my grandfathers old workshop which wasn't AC either, full of dirt and dust and junk and bugs. And like you mention about the job he did on the stock, yeah, he was pretty good with wood. He made the cabinet too. He made all kinds of things.

[Krlll Mule]

I looked your Mauser up on the net and talked to a buddy of mine who knows a good bit about these things. Just an opinion: It was manufactured in Chile (obviously) for Germany, probably 7 x 57mm caliber (should say it on the barrel); a good many were imported via surplus to the U.S. in the 60's - many through the Dept. of the Navy.  And it, like the 06 you inherited could be put back in service. Find a local gunsmith/enthusiast and let him check it out. You'd be surprised what can be cleaned from a barrel, and these particular guns may be old but they were built to be STRONG. One of the writers of a reloading manual I have talks about testing hot loads in a 30-06 and feeling more comfortable using an old government issue Springfield for the highest pressure loads. At any rate, it would be a shame not to at least try to get these fine old guns back in the field. My friend also suggested you find out as much as you can about the 06 Springfield - some of them are very valuable. I doubt you'd want to sell it, but you could at least know how much to raise your insurance.