“Tag: View From the Ridgetop”

Training can be boring—and often is. Whether you are a TO responsible for getting a group to a certain level of expertise, or you are an individual working toward sharpening your skills, if the training bores you, it isn’t going to be effective. Training for professional operators and enthusiasts now often includes integrating physical fitness training with shooting.

Ammo is in short supply. A brick of .22 LR cartridges commands as much as $40 now. If you can find it, budget center-fire pistol ammo is going for a buck a round.

A couple of years ago, the Louisiana-based firearms distributor Lipsey’s put together a contract with Ruger to produce a Blackhawk Flattop .44 Special revolver. Seems they took notice that quite a few original Flattops in .357 Mag. were making their way to custom revolversmiths to be converted into the better caliber.

Spring has arrived, and, of course, we’ve got a forecast calling for snow. It won’t last, and soon temps will climb back into the 60s and perhaps the low 70s. A lot of guys are getting worked up in anticipation of turkey season. I’ve killed three turkeys, and while turkey hunting is OK by me, I confess that I am not struck with the turkey bug. What trips my springtime trigger is shooting picket pins (ground squirrels) and prairie dogs.

I was at the range the other day working with some new handloads. Normally, I have the place all to myself during weekdays but not this day. There was a young man there wringing out his rifle. He was, shall we say, rather proud of the fact that his rifle was guaranteed to be sub-minute-of-angle (moa). Unfortunately, on this particular day, his rifle was printing groups of about 1 1/4 inches—not bad, but not sub-moa. He was crestfallen.

Recently I was reminded that I am a dinosaur. We had one of our little 3-gun shoots at our local gun club. Aside from the fact that I was the oldest guy there—by a big margin—I noticed that I was the only one there with a leather holster.

I see that my birth state—California—has not relinquished its stranglehold on the notion that the only proper way to manage its wildlife is through emotion. California has become the laughingstock of the nation for its polices, ranging from cultural to fiscal to wildlife management, and continues down that road with absolutely no remorse.

Even up here in Wyoming the weather is beginning to warm. Ol’ Punxsutawney Phil missed seeing his shadow last week, so we’re supposed to get an early spring.

On April 26, 1877 a Single Action Army revolver, serial number 36xxx was shipped from the Colt factory in Hartford, Conn. to the Colt Patent Fire-Arms Mfg. Co., London Agency, London, England.