First Range Trip with the Interarms 65

Yesterday I got the Interarms 65 to my club for the first time  and tried a few different loads at 50 yards from the bench.

The first was a 200 grain RNFP from Desperado Cowboy Bullets on top of 8.5 grains of Unique. Accuracy was poor. I'll have to try both lighter and heavier charges to see if I can get them to group. Or, it might be that the rifle simply doesn't like the DCB bullet.

I ran a couple patches wet with Ballistol followed by a couple dry patches through the bore before proceeding.

Next up was my .44 Henry rimfire-equivalent load. This is 1.9cc of 3Fg black powder, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast from an Accurate Molds 43-15C mold. This gave pretty good accuracy. The flier was my fault.

Finally, I shot some of my full power .44 WCF: 2.2cc of 3Fg Swiss BP, no wad or card, and the same 43-215C bullet. Accuracy was on par with the Henry-equivalent load, with noticeably more smoke, noise, and recoil.

I put 30 rounds loaded with black powder through the rifle. I cleaned it before leaving the range using patches wet with a Ballistol/water mix (mostly water). The 5th patch came out clean. Because .44 WCF brass seals the chamber so well, no fouling got back into the action.

Between working the action at home and shooting it, plus the internal work we did, the action is slicking up nicely.

I might have to take this into the woods this Fall.

D4 Guns Lever Wrap Kit

Lever action rifles function best when you work the action authoritatively. Some more so than others, for example my Interarms 65 (a rebadged Rossi 92) really needs to be worked like it owes you money. That can be hard on your fingers, so something that cowboy actions shooters have created is a lever wrap made from leather (or paracord if you want a more tacticool look).

So, the other day I ordered a D4 Guns Lever Wrap Kit. it includes materials for doing two levers, so I wound up putting one on the Interarms and the second on my Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle.

The included instructions are OK but D4 Guns has an excellent video on how to do the stitching, which I recommend. Click here.

Here are a couple views of the Interarms Rossi:

And the 1873:

One downside is that they aren't easily removed in case they get wet. You'd have to cut the stitching and redo it. The thread is artificial sinew, like this stuff.

Interarms Model 65 (AKA Rossi 92) .44-40 Carbine

Back in May I picked up an Interarms Model 65 carbine in .44-40. It's simply a rebadged Rossi 92, which is a replica of the Winchester 1892.

The blueing is nicely done and a deep, blue-black. The wood has a dark stain that I like better than the light color of more recently produced Rossis. Wood-metal fit is acceptable.

The exterior condition and the bore are excellent, however the action was rough. This rifle was probably made in the early 1990s, long before Rossi bought new CNC machinery. Not much of attention was paid to the internal fit.

One nice touch is that a prior owner installed studs for quick detach sling swivels. They will come in handy. I ordered a Hunter Company #220-1 1" carrying strap for it. I have one on my Cabela's Hawken and like the simple design.

As typical of Rossi 92s it was oversprung. I installed reduced power springs for the hammer and ejector from Steve's Gunz.

Disassembly wasn't difficult with the assistance of documents found online and a couple YouTube videos. Reassembly, on the other hand, was a BITCH. This past weekend I enlisted the assistance of my friend N. who aside from being a shooter, is a mechanical engineer by training and generally the handiest guy I know.

Aside from fiddling to get it reassembled, we also had to debur the ejector and ejector collar. The action is much smoother than it was when I got it but to feed properly you need to work it like it owes you money. I think as it gets shot more it'll get even smoother. Since I work from home I've been leaving it out and cycling the action several times when I take breaks during the day. I've already noticed that the carrier is working better. (The action is well lubricated with oil and white lithium grease in spots.)

After we got it back together we ran 31 rounds of my black powder, .44 Henry-equivalent handloads through it shooting at a gong. That load is 1.9cc or ~28 grains of 3Fg BP, a 1/8" thick nitro card to take up air space, and a 219 grain bullet cast in an Accurate Molds 43-215C, all in a Starline case. Primers were CCI.

With the reduced power ejector spring the cases cleared the rifle easily but landed near my feet, instead of being launched several yards. The reduced power spring also make fully closing the action easier.

I'd forgotten to bring a bottle of moose milk with me so I just ran a patch with some Ballistol on it through the bore while still at N.'s, then finished cleaning it at home. I first wet brushed the bore and then after about 8 patches they came out clean. There was zero black powder fouling in the action because the thin .44-40 brass seals the chamber so well.

I'm planning to bench the rifle and see how it does at 50 and 100 yards. Because the 1892 and replicas have very strong actions, I might load up some +P loads (taking care to keep them out of my other rifles). I'm not going to get too crazy because at about 5.5 lbs. with a steel buttplate, anything much hotter than a standard .44-40 load is going to suck to shoot. (I did not particularly enjoy shooting my Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum with full power loads, and eventually sold it off.)

Rossi currently sells the 92 chambered for .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. You can sometimes find them in .44-40; I found this one on Gunbroker and had it shipped to a local FFL for transfer.

Due to the simpler and easier to maintain design, if I was limited to one I might prefer a Winchester 1873 over the 1892 for a long-term survival rifle. But there's nothing handier than an 1892 carbine and it's a still very viable choice especially since the Rossis are much less expensive than the Uberti or Winchester 1873s.

Biden's Speech Today

 Key points from President Potato Head's speech this afternoon:

-We were never there for nation building. (Bullshit. That was a clear aim from the get go. IMO that was always a mistake but let's not deny history.)

-"I opposed The Surge."

-Trump's Fault!!!!111!!!

-Threw allies under the bus.

-Threw Obama under the bus.

-Terrorism world-wide, so if we leave Afghanistan it's no biggie. (Hey fuckstick, how about that WIDE OPEN southern border?)

-Human rights must be the center of US foreign policy (but our policy will be toothless).

-The Taliban doesn't have an air force. (Yo dumbass, you just gave them one!)

-Failed to address all the equipment we left behind, from M4 Carbines to Hummers and drones, which now are in the Taliban's hands.

-This is not in our national interest. On this point I mostly agree, Afghanistan is an uncivilized shithole. That said, there was no planning for an orderly withdrawal that secured our assets and allies.

-"The buck stops with me." (But the current situation is everyone else's fault.)

-No questions, not even anything vetted ahead time.

Now he's going back to Camp David.

~~~~~~~~~

We did the same thing in Afghanistan that we did in Vietnam in the 1970s: We pulled our air support for indigenous ground forces, after which they shortly collapsed.

I'd be nervous if I was in Taiwan now.

What a disgrace.

1975 vs. 2021

1975 - US evacuates its embassy in Saigon.

2021 - US evacuates its embassy in Kabul.

1975 - We are at the mercy of OPEC.

2021 - We are at the mercy of OPEC.

1975 - Inflation.

2021 - Inflation.

1975 - The Bee Gees are popular.

2021 - The Foo Fighters (!?!?) release a Bee Gees cover album.

1975 - A year before a peanut farmer wins the White House.

2021 - The resident of the White House has the mental acuity of a peanut.

1975 - Communists fought the establishment.

2021 - Communists are the establishment.

Fuck.