Update January 2003

December, just around the corner and gone before you know it. The deer season extension this year was Thursday through Sunday right in front of Christmas. That really did not work out real well for a lot of people. Just too much going on and not enough time to get it all done.

I took of work Friday and hunted. That was a waste. The wind was blowing about 90 mph or so, all day long. Never saw a thing and Saturday was just about a repeat. By 2pm I was hitching up the trailer and heading for home.

We did have a little fun on Saturday before we left though. I had invited a friend of mine from work to go deer hunting with us at the farm this year. His guns were at his brothers house and not reachable for season. Not a problem, I have 1 or 2 useable rifles. By the December extension, he was able to get his old 303 back but was not able to find any loaded ammo. He checked the discount stores around town and on the way to the farm but no luck. My brother was kind enough to stop at a gun shop on his way to the farm that weekend and found plenty of 303 stuff. Tom had not shot the old rifle in many years so he was happier than a pig in mud when the ammo showed up. We set up a target at 30 yards or so and he went to work on throwing some lead down range. Only wanted to shoot it half a dozen times but of course that turned into a dozen times or so. The gun shot quite well especially considering his dad bought it from a surplus store in 1948. By the time he quit shooting, he was putting them right where he wanted them with the old rolling peep sights. Interesting gun with a story or two behind it I'm sure.

Played with my new .308 Ruger compact a little bit that day but it was stringing horizontal pretty good at 100 yards. I say pretty good, under 2.5 inches in almost a perfectly straight line. It would still mess up a deer's day for sure but the gun is capable of much better. I am going to work to float the barrel a shade more and that should take care of it.

The weather, at least right here in the Kansas City area and to the north has been unreal. Above average tempatures and over 45 days with no measurable precipitation. There are still cracks in the ground at the farm that are over an inch wide and the new pond has a wopping 6 or 8 inches of water in it.

Needless to say, coyote hunting has been pretty fruitless. Rabbits and mice are everywhere, no need for a coyote to run a quarter mile to a coyote call when he'll pass 3 or 4 rabbits in the open along the way. I have heard the coyotes around the farm and sign is everywhere but no luck yet.

If any of you have been following the saga with the scope on the 45 Colt, I can finally say that the situation is under control. Had all kinds of problems but finally have a mount on the Ruger that will actually stay there even when you pull the trigger. You can check out the updates on the Optics section of the 45 Colt for a complete run down on this nightmare.