Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

earlmck

Drifts out easy, left to right. I don't have a bunch of nice punches to choose from: the primer-punch from one of my loading dies worked just fine. I replaced mine and one for a buddy with Steve's peep sights but the blank should go in just the same.

earlmck

Old Savage wrote:Saw a recent one in 45-70 that looked quite good. Nice wood and good fit and finish.

Good to know, OS. I'm pulling for them to put it back together. I'm ready to acquire a shiny new 7mm Marlin Express as soon as the local Bi-Mart gets one in.

Huh? They're not making 7mm ME? Well they should!

earlmck

Thanks much for the good shootin' thoughts! Celebrating by taking the rest of the week off, heading over to the Steens Mountains in SE Oregon. Now don't you folks talk about anything real interesting for the next 4 days while I'm gone... don't want to miss out on too much!

earlmck

Do you think the barrel being a smoothbore was an important factor in it's performance through vegetation? Would a rifled slug barrel tend to deflect the slug more readily due to the spin if making contact with vegetation? I have a Winchester model 1300 XLT Featherweight 12 gauge with identical len...

earlmck

Yeah, folks have these really neat things, they read how much better something else is, and they get the desire to get rid of the good stuff cheap. And sometimes -- there we are!

Ain't it great?

earlmck

For the last 10 years or so my "favorite rifle" has been a 1950 era Marlin 336A (24" bbl, 2/3 magazine) in 30/30. Granted I don't own a model 64 Winchester which would be a better test of "favorite-ness". Went shooting yesterday with a couple of the grandkids and their famil...

earlmck

Couple of others worth having: http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com and http://www.powdervalleyinc.com

earlmck

Can't help on the pistol, but the dies should bring something. I still use several Herter's dies and they are just fine, built similar to the RCBS of the period and far as I know SAAMI specs for 25/20 and 30/30 chambers haven't changed in the last 50 years. You didn't pick up an extra "Model Pe...

earlmck

This got started because I'm researching my next lever. I like the traditional levers and am considering the 32 Special Dang, Bob, for a fellow who has been dreaming of a 32 Special you are now acting rather flexible. If you really want to check out some slick "new" options, have a look a...

earlmck

I've been rather happy with the cheapo plastic tubs you pick up at the grocery store (wish they were just a bit stouter). You can see the bullets inside them and they are nicely stackable. A good variety of sizes and the see-through is a big help with my disorganized storage "system"!

earlmck

I'm a sucker for the model 64 Winchester long barrel rifles. No disrespect to others but that is what a Winchester should look like to me. Yeah know what you mean. I was wandering around the local gun show a few months ago, one of the fellows had a couple nice Marlin 336A's (Marlin's equivalent of ...

earlmck

Yep Thanks Griff !!! 8) Now, thank Hobie, for that's who taught me. I might be a "hi-tech redneck", but even we have to learn from someone! Well holy macaroni! It works! I too was wondering how 'ya did that. Thanks for asking the question Pokey, and thanks for educating us, all you who re...

earlmck

I am sure the 45-70 would do well also No madman, I think the results of real tests (such as you did with the slug gun and the 7mm) have shown that big slow bullets from slow-twist rifles do not do even remotly well when going through brush. If you insist on a rifle the best ones tend to be fast-tw...

earlmck

Just after these two tests done,feel better with the Deerslayer! Thanks much for those tests, Madman. I don't normally walk around brushy forests having bears in them, but if the time comes I am filing away in my brainpan the results of your tests. So if we really need something to punch through so...

earlmck

If it fits you it just has to be good. A Savage 99 in 308 is a nice find and you got a heck of a price on it. I have your Savage's twin brother here but I gave closer to $500 for it and didn't think that was bad. Good goin' there, Noah.

earlmck

I've got one load that needs both the long drop tube and some vibration to get enough room to seat the bullet (I use an old electric shaver that has lots of vibration to it). Another thing that can get you is that a can of powder that has been open a long time will not be as dense as it was when fre...

earlmck

We all probably read the same articles on deflection after hitting "stuff". What I took from the article I read many years ago, and filed away in memory, is that the faster the twist the less the deflection. That's why the 45-70 would have fared rather poorly. My one experience with some i...

earlmck

Went out to visit my friend Doc today. He got the Big C diagnosis a little over 2 years ago (pancreatic). So we made a "farewell" motorcycle ride summer before last, spent 3 days riding lots of twisty roads around the town of John Day (Oregon). Had another one last summer; twisty neat road...

earlmck

After reading the posts about model numbers and SRC's without rings I had to go look at mine to see what I have. The 357 and the 454 are labelled as Puma model 92's, no mention of SRC; and the 44/40 is Interarms Rossi model 65 SRC (with no ring). And I'm happy to have all of them, no matter how they...

earlmck

Good points on how the lighting affects open sights -- I've sure seen sun from one side or the other make a noticeable difference, especially in windage and that's one of the reasons I went to peep sights as a matter of preference clear back there when I was young enough to actually see those open s...

earlmck

Made a little jaunt to my favorite gravel pit today to celebrate another perfect day. Took along the old 32 Special (1909 Win.94) that I picked up at the gun show a few months ago. Somewhere I had read of this interesting idea where you load one round each at a series of different powder levels, thi...

earlmck

One POWERFUL post, Bob. Heck with the flyboys, I'm salutin' you.

earlmck

The only downside I see to the AI is for cast bullet shooting. The short neck of the AI is not a benefit for us casty shooters: not conducive to best results to have the base and lube grooves poked down into the case below the neck as would be the case with heavy cast bullets. But for jacketed bulle...

earlmck

What nice ideas to contemplate, 6pt. I have a 6mm BR loaded up and sitting on my loading bench, reminding me I still want to get a lever gun (92 win style) to shoot it. As loaded with the bullet stuck out where it belongs it is a full 1/4" too long to work thru a normal 92-style action like my ...

earlmck

kimwcook wrote:Trees sometimes have a mind of their own where they want to finally lie down.

Especially the dead ones.

earlmck

I think it wasn't until about 1954 that Winchester started drilling/tapping the 94 for the receiver sight. I know my 1950 model is not.

earlmck

I have a couple of those old 35 remmys. The 336A is fixed up with a nice older Lyman receiver sight and small gold bead front which still works fine for my aging eyes. On a newer 336 carbine with micro-groove rifling I put on a 2-7x Burris with their "ballistic-plex" reticle. Temporarily, ...

earlmck

We call 'em "sage rats" around here, but they are really the Belding ground squirrel I've been told. Not much left after being traversed by the Speer 110 sp outa the 30wcf at about 2600fps. Or for that matter, the 60gr cast roundnose from the hornet at 2300fps tends to leave them in two pi...

earlmck

Yep, such a fine cartridge. And such nifty rifles to shoot it in. And to add a bit of spice to your 30 cal life, how 'bout the 30wcf's rimless twin, the 30 Remington? Remington Model 14 pump in 30 Rem to go with 30wcf in Marlin or Win lever and you don't need it any better than that! Which I just fi...

earlmck

It may be a 6.5mm X .257 Roberts conversion. This was the most popular "fix" back then. (I had one rechambered back in the mid-50's. Quick and easy - and effective.) Yep, odds are 99 to 1 this is what you've got there. I have one sitting in the garage just like that. Unfortunately it does...

earlmck

We tend to shy away shooting round nose bullets in tube fed Lever rifles. In the tube the round nose is sitting on a primer of the cartridge in front of each other as they are loaded in the tube. Upon recoil, or a jar or drop of the piece could set off quite a chain fire. Gee, Lefty, we've put up w...

earlmck

I agree with your assessment, Don. For packing around, especially if horseback, in a jeep, or whacking a way through the thick stuff the carbine is more handy. But when it comes time to actually do some shooting the longer barrel and nicer shaped stock helps a fellow do a better job. And now I find ...

earlmck

Thanks Peter: that's quite a nice looking rifle. Hard to believe they didn't sell bunches of those back in the day. I'd like to think I would have bought one in 25 Remington if I'd been in the rifle-shopping business in 1910. And Goodman's rifle in 35 Rem. at $1150 doesn't sound too bad for a decent...

earlmck

I can't believe it. Starting page 3 of an interesting thread and not a single picture

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Sorry, no data to contribute: I'd never even heard of a Stevens high power.

earlmck

You're onto the right idea there for a nice plinking load. Depending on how tight the neck portion of the chamber is, those bullets (which are probably .313) may or may not cause the neck of the loaded cartridge to be too tight. In which case you could size 'em down a bit and they'd be fine. Just by...

earlmck

Grandad is a pretty important position in the business of life. I remember some years ago, one of the older grandsons was 9 or 10 and I'd set him down at the loading bench doing some menial thing like depriming a bunch of brass getting it ready for a wash. I wandered off, got attention diverted and ...

earlmck

I have two Marlins in 35 Rem. The older 24" bbl has regular rifling, while the newer 20" bbl has the microgroove. I've chronographed several different loads with 180 grain and 205 grain jacketed bullets. With the same loads there is virtually no detectable difference, but if anything the 2...

earlmck

"These dies are very expensive," $100- $139? That's not, " expensive", it's immoral. Sigh, even though I agree with you, I'm still gonna buy one. Joe Redding is pretty proud of their dies: I'd own more of them if they priced 'em about 30 to 50% less. But they make some stuff tha...

earlmck

The key (I think) to good accuracy with a powder measure is the diameter of the drum. And convenience requires a good micrometer to go along with it. In the process of trying to get my Hornady progressive loader working satisfactorily I bought their "bench-rest" powder measure. Lots larger...

earlmck

Dual ring carbide die! Wow! This is an idea that was way overdue for getting into production. And with this dual-ring concept, seems to me they could extend the wonders of carbide to some more cartridges such as 44-40, 38-40, several others. 45-70 comes to mind as one that would get a lot of attenti...

earlmck

The 30wcf outshines all other 30 cal. cartridges as a cast bullet shooter. If you are thinking 30 cal. and Savage 99 and jacketed spitzer bullets and better velocity than standard 30wcf... Well at that point the 300 Savage is just the ticket. Danged fine cartridge and will be the cheapest model 99's...

earlmck

Savage 99 has the nifty rotary magazine, so no worries about staggering in the magazine. And since the action handles cartridges using closer to 50,000 cup I would feel comfortable using 30wcf loads that would be a bit hot in our levers. The thin brass will no doubt limit you to pressures lower than...

earlmck

This rifle could be a fun project. I know I was a little negative, warning about the oversized bores of the two Arisakas I own. But I don't have any idea how common it is to have an oversized bore in these rifles: could be I have the only two that slipped out of the factory that way (though I kinda'...

earlmck

If you are really curious about headspace you'd use 270 or '06 gauge. But it's a wildcat which means you control headspace when you make your first rounds. You'll probably be using 270 brass (or '06). Just ease the brass into the sizer die with it not screwed down quite all the way, and keep trying ...

earlmck

When you get to thinking about it, there are lots of very interesting possibilities for our leverguns. If I live long enough and don't continue to get my attention diverted, I may yet come up with my "ideal running bunny shooter" which is a 6mm/454 Casull :D . Rossi action, of course; Lyma...

earlmck

John, I opened up Nonte's "Home Guide to Cartridge Conversions" to see if he showed anything convenient to make the brass from. Nope, he doesn't. It's quite a lot larger diameter than .348 Win that was my first thought for a base case. Dang! Be nice if you could shoot that old babe.

earlmck

Joe, I'm not sure your tastes are really changing as much as they are "maturing". Somewhere along the line it is apt to happen that we realize we are not packing a rifle in a saddle scabbard all that much anymore and we begin to notice that other configurations, not so saddle friendly, fee...

earlmck

I have some friends who have wonderful gun collections, but haven't shot most of these in many years. And they have no one special to pass them on to and I feel bad for them. So I have come to realize how lucky I am to have grandkids who think many of my old guns are really really neat. So I take ad...

earlmck

Sounds like you have your project well thought-out. I'll be real interested in your experience: looking forward to pics and report! I picked up my octagon-barreled .357 Rossi off gunbroker last month just for this .256 project. But am afraid I'm going to get fond of it in .357 and will have to get a...

earlmck

Roy, before you go looking for a .25 cal barrel, see if the .357 barrel can just be lined to 25 cal and then chambered for the .256. I may not know what I'm talking about here, knowing virtually nothing about barrel lining. But that was a thought I had when reading about relined barrels on this foru...

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