I have some experience with lever-action rifles in odd calibers. Grandpa Burgess hunted with a Winchester Model 94 for decades, but instead of buying one in 30-30 (one of the most popular hunting calibers of all time) he purchased one in .32 Winchester Special. Whereas a 30-30 owner can buy ammunition at any sporting goods store or Walmart, you pretty much have to order .32 Win Special online.

I thought that was about it as bad as it could get until we were given Leah’s rifle.

Leah’s rifle is a Winchester Model 71, handed down from her father. As far as I can tell, it’s Leah’s rifle because all the other rifles are still being used, or have been given to her brother, which makes perfect sense. Although her dad didn’t use it a lot, he did take a couple of elk with it, and so it has some sentimental connection.

Model 71’s were only made in .348 Winchester, and .348 Winchester was only made for Model 71’s. It was the largest commercial smokeless cartridge made for a lever-action. Much more powerful than the venerable 30-30, the cartridge was more suited for dangerous game and larger animals like elk or moose. Approximately as powerful as the 30-06, it was favored in Alaska and Canada, where a quick-handling, powerful gun might come in handy.  Leah’s 71 is a “Deluxe” from 1935, the first year of production, and although someone poorly refinished the stock, it’s in pretty nice shape. The larger problem is although approximately 50,000 M71’s were produced, no commonly available ammunition is still loaded. The one company who loads ammunition for it in small amounts charges almost $4 per round. Handloading is the only viable route if we want to shoot the rifle, although Winchester has announced that they are going to begin loading .348 again to go with another commemorative run of rifles (we’ll see).

While we only have a handful of shells left, we were given a number of old ammunition boxes that came with the gun.  The box in the front dates back to the original run of ammunition in 1935, while the other boxes date from the 50’s, 60’s and later.  I love old ammo boxes.  The large swathes of primary colors and clear branding in fonts that existed for decades harken back to a classic age for American guns.  It feels like a link back to the old west, where guns were a way of life and not a political argument.

Some guns come and go, while other ones earn permanent spot in the back of the safe.  While this one might not make it out very often, it’s certainly a keeper and a fun piece of family history.

With a sleeping puppy on my lap, and the end of the year approaching, it seems like a good time to round up my favorite pictures from this year.  Looking back at these pictures it helps me remember what a good, crazy year it has been.  I hope 2012 will be equally eventful.

February: Eddy wilds out at the dog park

April: My trip to Bangalore for work exposed me to life in India. Here a woman sweeps the sidewalk

It also featured lots of wildlife, including this alligator

…and these two one year old lions

Cows were everywhere, including on the sidewalk.

April: At Eric and Kristi’s wedding dad played George C. Scott playing Gen. Patton.

May: Sis’ senior photo session produced a few good shots, including this one

While we were at it, we stood my father in law by some of his handiwork

June: Wheat fields shimmer on the Palouse

July: On the way to Alaska a beautiful sunset near BC

One of the many great totems in Ketchikan

One of the hundred of Bald Eagles we saw in Alaska

The inside of the dome of St. Micheal’s Cathedral in Sitka

Mt. Edgecombe shrouded in fog

Brothers playing at a bear rehab center in Sitka

July: Dale and Kate share their first kiss as a married couple, while Leah looks on

Flashes create patterns on the wall while dancing

July: Morgan steals a look at Ian as they walk down the aisle

The newlyweds enjoy some time to themselves

September: Leo carries Erika out after exchanging vows

Baby V flips upside down with mom, Amy during a Christmas photo shoot

I’m tired of hearing my brother and father-in-law talking about taking all these elk out by their homes on the Olympic Peninsula, so I’ve decided that for 2012 I’m going to get serious about joining them. Since I have very little (read: none) hunting experience it’s going to take more than picking up a tag, walking out in the woods and shooting a buck. It’s going to take some gear (goody!), lots of preparation, and lots of practice. The gear and the preparation will be discussed at a later date, but the aspect I’ve concerned myself with for now is practice.

I’ve been shooting guns for most of my life, but city living makes it hard and expensive to get a lot of practice shooting.  Most of the ranges near our home are exclusively for handguns, and while they’re a lot of fun and good practice with trigger control, there isn’t much of it which transfers to rifle shooting.

Most rifle shooters go to ranges where they can set up their gun on a bench with rests and sandbags, which allows most people to put all their shots within an inch or two of the bullseye.  It’s a tremendous amount of fun, but I’m not sure it’s the best practice for the real world.  Most hunters will try and find support for their shot, whether it’s a backpack, bi-pod, tree or fence rail, but there’s no guarantee that you’ll have time or a solid object to rest your gun.  This requires the ability to shoot unsupported.

Shooting a rifle without support or aid  is called offhand shooting.  It’s very challenging, and it requires practice.  The target area for the vitals on a deer is approximately the size of a pie plate, and most of the time (depending on terrain) your shot will be more than 100 yards.  No one wants to make a poor shot, and wound an animal such that it suffers or escapes and dies later.

Unfortunately I don’t have 100 yards of property to practice on.  I do have 10 yards, though, so with my birthday money I purchased a RWS Diana 34 .177 caliber pellet gun, and a pellet trap.  I’ve been shooting at least once a week in the backyard, and slowly my accuracy is improving.  My ten shot groups hover slightly larger than an inch with a few occasional fliers thrown in, which is marginal.  Projected out to 100 yards, that’s bigger than a ten inch group, which would often be on the pie plate, but not always.  I’d like to get my backyard groups down to about half an inch, which would give me much more confidence.  To do that I’m going to have to concentrate on the fundamentals (breathing, trigger push, bone-to-bone support, shouldering the rifle well, etc) and overcoming the slight flinch I’ve always had with long guns (something about an explosion going off a few inches in front of your face).  I think it can be done, but it will take time.  At least trying is a lot of fun!

More later…