New Rear Sight for my Hawken

Several years ago I bought a Cabela's Traditional Hawken rifle in .50 caliber. It isn't a faithful copy of the real Hawken rifles of the 19th Century, but nevertheless, it's a well made and nice shooting gun. It's more or less a variant of the Lyman Trade Rifle, but fitted with a cap box on the stock and double set trigger. Also, unlike the Lyman, it was available with a left handed stock and lock. Both the Lyman and Cabela's rifles were made by Investarms in Italy.

One thing I did not like about the rifle was the sights. The rear sight, in particular, was a poor design. The adjustable rear notch was a wide open "V". IIRC, the Lymans's have rear sights that are dovetailed in, which makes replacement with a fixed but better sight easy. Unfortunately, the Cabela's rear sight was held on with two screws and nobody made a good replacement.

So, I decided to install a Lyman Model 66SML aperture sight, made for the Lyman Great Plains Rifle, Trade Rifle, sidelock Thompson-Centers, and similar rifles.

The Model 66SML is mounted on the tang with two screws. It uses the rear wood screw which goes through the tang into the stock, plus an 8-32 screw into the metal of the tang. The tang on my rifle wasn't drilled and tapped so I did that today.

Using a #29 drill on the tang:

Before drilling the hole, I located it by mounting the sight on the tang and marking the spot with a transfer punch. I then dismounted the tang from the rifle and used a pilot drill to ensure the #29 drill wouldn't skip. Only then did I put the twist bit in the chuck.

I then tapped the hole with 8-32 threads. I used #3 Morse taper lathe center held in the mill's head to guide the tap so it started off straight:

I used a little Tap Magic on the tap, but I could probably have done it dry with no problems. OTH, there's no reason not to use a lube and save a little wear on the tap.

A closeup of the newly mounted sight:

And finally, the whole rifle:

This rifle has a 1:48 twist, so it can shoot either patched round balls or conicals like a Hornady Great Plains Bullet or T/C Maxi balls. So far, I've just shot it with PRB and it did well.

Simple work like this is a main reason I bought a small lathe and mill back in 2013. It took me about 45 minutes to do this, which included digging out the rifle and rear sight, schlepping them out to my shop, and doing the work. In contrast, to have a gunsmith mount the sight it would require locating a 'smith locally or shipping the rifle, getting onto his wait list, and probably paying about $75 to $100. Since shooting is my hobby, I will eventually do enough jobs like this to largely offset the cost of the tools.

Of course, that doesn't even account for the satisfaction of doing it myself.

Some Great Muzzleloader Videos on YouTube

I ran across Denny Ducet's YouTube Channel a few days ago. He's got a bunch of muzzleloader shooting videos that are really well done. These boys look like they are having a great time up near Kalispell, MT.

A sample: Flintlocks & Capotes Winter Shoot:

H&B Forge Medium Camp Hawk and a Neck Knife

Today I took a spin up to Dixon's Muzzleloading Shop and came home with these:

The tomahawk is an H&B Forge Medium Camp Hawk while the knife one made by a local 'smith from an old trap spring. There are usually several of them on the shelf at Dixon's.

The Medium Camp Hawk's head weighs about a pound and has a hardened hammer poll, which should be useful for hammering in tent stakes. The edge is about 3.5" wide and the handled measures 19" long. The handle is stained but doesn't appear to be sealed so I'll give it a coat or two of some oil.

It came with a usable edge but I'm going to sharpen it some more. I'm also planning to make a mask for it since it came without any cover.

The knife blade is about 3.75" long and measured 0.055" or 1.4mm thick with my calipers. It's stamped with the maker's initials, "JBG." The scales are curly maple, secured with four brass pins. Wood to metal fit is excellent.

The leather neck sheath reminds me a bit of a center seam moccasin and is nicely stitched. The thong doesn't have a quick release but if it got snagged on something I'd expect it to let go. The knife and sheath together weigh only a few ounces and hang comfortably.

They should make nice additions to my bushcraft kit.

Burned Some Charcoal Today

I'm off this week and made it to the range today with my GL Dech longrifle and my Cimarron 1860 Henry.

I've probably posted this picture before but what the heck.

The rifle started out as a left handed Dixie Gun Works Tennessee Mountain Rifle and then was redone as a Lancaster, Pennsylvania style rifle by George Dech. I bought it off the shelf at Dixon's about 10-1/2 years ago. Aside from the new wood and fittings, the barrel was turned to a half-round configuration, which makes it balance a lot better than a stock TMR.

My load today was 70 grains of Swiss 3Fg propelling a Hornady .480 roundball patched with pillow ticking, and lubed with mink oil tallow from Track of the Wolf. The .480 balls seat much easier than the more typical .490s and still provide minute-of-deer accuracy at 50 yards. AAMOF, I was able to shoot 10 shots without wiping and the smaller balls can be thumb seated. This will make reloading in the field much easier.

My flint broke on the first shot. My first inclination was to replace it but then it occurred to me that it would be interesting to see how it would work as-is. It turned out that I was able to fire nine more shots. All 10 shots went off quickly with no misfires or hangfires.

Now, generally speaking, I do not recommend shooting more than a few shots with a flint missing about 1/3 of it striking edge because it will lead to uneven frizzen wear. But I was curious to see how it would work and the experience reinforced my impression that the Miroku lock is really good.

I'll be replacing the flint tomorrow morning. I'm planning to go out for PA's late flintlock deer season in the afternoon with my brother.

After I cleaned up the smokepole, I put 50 rounds through my Cimarron Firearms 1860 Henry Rifle. They were my .44 Henry Flat-equivalent handholds of a cast 219 grain bullet, 28 grains of Goex 3Fg black powder, with 0.5cc of cornmeal as a spacer. Recoil in the nine pound Henry is about like a .22. (Full power loads with 35 grains recoil more but it's still pretty mild.)

I forgot to bring a .44 caliber cleaning jag with me to the range so I ran a couple wet patches through the bore using a slotted jag, to let it soak on my drive home. After getting home, only another 3 or 4 wet patches were required before they started coming out clean. Cleaning up after shooting black powder .44-40s in a rifle really is no big deal.

A Few Cool 1860 Henry Rifle Videos

These videos were posted by InRange TV last year but I only saw them tonight. I thought they were worth sharing.

The first one is an operator's guide. The one thing I would have added is mentioning the use of a glove on your support hand. In my experience with my Cimarron Firearms 1860 Henry Rifle in cool weather, it doesn't get too hot, even with black powder loads that generate more heat than smokeless powder. On the other hand, if the weather is warm, the rifle can get uncomfortably warm to hold in extended shooting.

I especially like his PVC speed loader. It's a modern equivalent to the Blakeslee Cartridge Box produced in limited number for use with the Spencer Rifle. (Link to replica.) With such a speed loader, reloading is faster than an 1866 Yellow Boy or 1873 Winchester.

The next video shows Karl running his Uberti Henry in a 2-gun match. (tactical lever guns, anyone?)

This video is valuable for a couple reasons. First, it demonstrates why lever actions are difficult to operate from prone. Second, it shows that you can deliver quite a lot of accurate lead on target with a manually operated rifle in a short time, and that they can still be a viable weapon 158 years after the debut of the Henry Rifle.

I'd be lying if I said the final video didn't make me cringe. In this one, Karl and Ian subject the Henry to a mud test.

Given the open slot on the bottom of the magazine and the lack of an ejection port cover, it did surprisingly well. The 1866 Yellow Boy and later Winchesters with wood forearms, ejection port dust covers, and fully enclosed magazines were definitely a step up, even without King's Patent Improvement loading gate, but it appears that the Henry's magazine with a full length slot for the magazine follower tab isn't quite the weakness that it's historically been made out to be.

My Cimarron 1873 Sporting Rifle is my favorite rifle and I would feel well armed with it should I ever need to rely on a rifle for self defense. It's about a pound lighter than the Henry, has a wood forearm, a loading gate, and less drop in the stock, thus fitting me better. I've put both the 1873 and the Henry through lever action rifle matches and find that I'm faster with the '73 because of the stock design.

That said, the 1860 Henry Rifle remains a formidable weapon in the right hands. The modern replicas hold up to 14 shots of either .44-40 WCF or .45 Colt ammunition in a reliable, easy to shoot package.

Inside My 1860 Henry Rifle

I removed the right side plate from my Cimarron Firearms Henry tonight. This was the first time I’ve done so after buying it back in March.

Side plate removal required loosening the screw which acts as the pivot for the lever, then tapping the plate out with a mallet, toward the top of the receiver. It was snug, but I was able to remove it pretty easily, unlike when I tried to get into my 1873 Sporting Rifle for the first time. (That required the use of my mill and a broken screw extractor.) Likewise, putting it back on also required the mallet to tap it back down into the dovetail. The machining is very precise.

The side plates and matching receiver recesses on Uberti Henry rifles are known to be razor sharp. Despite being careful, I still sliced my left thumb on the receiver recess. Managed to NOT bleed all over the rifle, though.

I have put a few hundred black powder handloads through the gun, both full power .44-40 WCF and reduced, .44 Henry rimfire-equivalent loads. There was zero BP fouling inside. .44-40 cases seal the chamber really well, especially with full charges.

It was dry inside so before reassembly I lubed it with FP-10 and put Kroil on the ends of the lifter spring screws, which don’t want to turn. They can be adjusted to reduce the amount of effort required to work the action but it’s already easy so I’m not going to worry about them.

Seeing how clean it was inside I don’t plan to remove the side plate more than once every several years.

Several New Posts at Survival Preps

I put up a couple new posts over on my Survival & Emergency Preparedness blog:

• Jämä Blanket Shirt from Varusteleka
• Cold Weather Camping and Equipment Failure

Check 'em out.

October 2018 Overnight Camping Trip

Polymer 80 Range Report

I shot the Polymer 80 "Glock 19" last night. My dad and I put about 150 rounds through it, mostly Herter's 115 grain ball (made by Sellier & Bellot), along with around 25 rounds of my handloads. They were 115 grain Berry's plated bullets on top of 4.5 grains of Universal Clays in mixed brass.

The gun had one malfunction, a failure to fully go into battery with one of the handloads. Previously, I had some issues with this batch in my CZ P-09. AFAIC it was an ammo issue, not a gun issue.

Accuracy was OK, nothing to crow about. Most of the rounds went into a palm-sized group at 7 yards. The limiting factor for me was the trigger. Even with my fluff and buff job it is still pretty bad -- heavy and creepy. I'll see what it feels like after 500 rounds but if there isn't a marked improvement I'll look into getting something like an Apex trigger.

The other mod I have tentatively planned is a set of Heinie Straight Eight night sights.

After I finished shooting I field stripped it and saw no signs of unusual wear.

So far I'm very pleased with the gun.

Polymer 80 Build Complete

I finished up the Polymer 80 "Glock 19" today. Impressions:

1. "Milling" the frame is easy. I used end nippers to remove most of the excess rail material, then filed and sanded them smooth.
2. Assembly gave me some issues but mainly because this is my first "Glock." In particular, I had issues getting the slide stop in correctly so that it would either turn the gun into a single shot, or fail to raise at all. But I got it squared away.
3. The "$0.25 Glock trigger job" is worth it. Before I polished several parts in the mechanism, the trigger pull was really heavy and gritty. Now it's a lot better and should smooth up with use.
4. The Polymer 80 grip is an improvement for me over the stock Glock 19 grip.

I am left handed and found that the magazine catch rubbed on my middle finger uncomfortable, so I beveled the offending corner.

Not being a fan of the hole in the bottom of the grip behind the magazine well, I added a Strike Industries grip plug, which holds a combo flat head screw driver/punch, and a small oil vial. It had to be sanded a bit to allow magazines to drop free. Speaking of which, I bought four MagPul P-Mags from MidwayUSA to go with the gun.

I'm hoping to shoot it tonight on an indoor range. Range report to follow.

Rehydrating Dried Out Pipe Tobacco

I am an occasional pipe smoker, which means that sometimes my tobacco dries out before I use it. Hence this video from a friend:

I had a couple tins of tobacco that were several years old and rather crunchy. One tin was about half full, and after adding 6 to 10 drops of whiskey to it and letting it sit overnight, it was smokeable. It could have been a little moister, so I added a few more today.

The second tin was almost full and 6 to 10 drops wasn't enough to revive it, although I could tell the difference. I added another 10 drops today and will check on it tomorrow.

80% Glock Build

We've done 80% AR15s, so now it's time to build a Glock 19 from an 80% lower. Like with AR15s, this isn't about saving any money, it's more about flipping the bird to the man. You can pick up a perfectly serviceable used Glock for the same or less money.

I'm on a zillion lists already so blogging about this isn't going to make a difference for me.

Aside from that, it will be a great learning process so I know how Glocks work from the inside out. Glocks are among the most common handguns available so that's a good thing.

What's really neat about this is that because the receiver is plastic, it can be done entirely with hand tools. I've read of guys completing one of these in a half hour. That said, I plan to take my time and get it right.

Another nice thing from my perspective is that the Polymer 80 frames fix the uncomfortable-to-me Glock grip angle (the main reason I don't own a Glock).

The frames are compatible with OEM Gen 3 Glock parts, or aftermarket Gen 3 Glock parts. Gen 4 or 5 parts do not fit. Gen 1 or 2 may fit but Gen 3 is specified for these frames.

Links:

• Polymer 80, maker of the 80% lowers (also has polymer AR15 lowers).
• Nice article on Pew Pew Tactical detailing the build process with lots o' pictures.
• Massive thread on Arfcom with tips, notes about pitfalls, and pics of a bunch of builds.
• Another useful Arfcom thread.

The Polymer 80 kits and assorted parts are available from various online vendors including MidwayUSA and Brownells. However, I didn't want to have to source all the parts to complete the build separately, so I went to 80P Builder and ordered a "Ruiz Package" which includes the 80% frame, lower parts kit, and an assembled barrel/slide assembly. This package was a special and is now out of stock. (Fred Ruiz is a pro shooter/ex-SEAL sponsored by 80P Builder.)

Pic of the kit I ordered:

(Picture borrowed from 80P Builder.)

The kit does not include a magazine and 80P Builder only has ETS mags in stock, so I ordered 4 MagPul Glock 19 P-Mags from MidwayUSA. (I don't know how good the ETS mags are. They may be just fine.)

Note: The frame has a metal plate molded in so that if you want or need to add a serial number, you can do so. E.g., California builders can request a serial number from the CA DOJ for their gun to stay within the bounds of state law. This is not required on a Federal level. In my opinion, putting some kind of serial number on the gun is a good idea if for no other reason than identification if you need to file a police report for a stolen gun.

Polymer 80 also sells frame kits for Glock 17 and 26 size guns. While mine will be in 9mm, AFAIK you could build one in .40 S&W or .357 SIG as long as you get the correct parts. They also work with Advantage Arms .22LR conversion kits. Polymer 80 is supposed to be introducting G20 / G21 sized frames later this year, for those interested in a 10mm or .45 ACP build.

I got a shipping notice from 80P Builder this morning. They are located in Charlotte, NC, so I expect to have it by the end of the week.

Updates to follow.

How to Make and Use a Stropping Block

Shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 2

In this video, I shoot a Smith & Wesson Model 2 revolver, made in the 1870s. It is chambered for the .38 S&W round, not to be confused with .38 S&W Special. The ammo was from Buffalo Arms and was loaded with black powder.

Shooting it well was very difficult, because the sights are terrible. Still, it was really fun to play with this bit of history.

The revolver belongs to my father, who got it from Simpson, Ltd.

Work Sharp Guided Field Sharpener Review Video

CAD Files for 3D Printing and Machining Guns

https://www.codeisfreespeech.com/

Chaga Tea

As I write this I'm on my second cup of chaga tea, made from the stuff I got from russianfoodusa.com. I had to do some googling to see how to brew it, since the packaging was entirely in Russian, which I don't speak.

To brew the tea, I put about a tablespoon in a tea infuser, put it in my mug, then poured boiling water over it and let it steep for about 10 minutes.

The taste is very mild, maybe a little earthy. It would be pleasant on a cold day out in the woods.

Here's an article on potential health benefits of chaga.

There's Russian collusion in my kitchen!

On July 26th I placed an order with russianfoodusa.com (located in Brooklyn) for a few items:

• Bulgarian Brand "Filet Yelina" dry-cured pork tenderloin.
• Jewish Brand salami.
• Kharcho or Harcho soup mix.
• Hungarian style smoked pork fat back AKA salo.
• Chaga tea.

The order arrived on July 31st.

The dry-cured pork tenderloin is reminiscent of prosciutto. It would go really well with some cheese and crackers. My wife already told me that I should order more when it's gone.

The salami is excellent. I don't think it'll last long, either.

I tried the kharcho soup mix for dinner with some rye bread. It's quite good and spicy. It reminds me a bit of the broth in my wife's crab soup which uses a lot of Old Bay seasoning. I'm going to have to try it mixed in with buckwheat, a la Lars.

This morning (Saturday, 8/4) I tried the salo/fatback. As I understand it, because it is cured, in Eastern Europe salo is frequently consumed without cooking it first. However, the packaging warns to thoroughly cook it, so I sliced off four pieces and fried them up like bacon until the edges were browned and crispy.

Damn it was good. The inner, unbrowned parts just melted in my mouth, while the browned edges were crunchy. The paprika seasoning was mild, while the pork taste was subtle. I can see why Ukrainians love this stuff.

I still need to try the chaga tea, which I'll write up in a separate post.

Some Facts About 3D Printed Guns

My G-d there is a lot of utter rubbish being spewed about 3D printed guns in the media over the past couple of days. Some facts:

1. You cannot "download a gun."

1a. On a related note, you cannot legally buy a gun off the Internet and avoid a background check. You can buy a gun over the Internet but it has to be shipped to a local, Federally-licensed firearms dealer, and you need to pass a background check before you take delivery. There is no "Internet loophole."

2. You can download plans, including 3D CAD files for various guns. Think of these as blueprints that can be turned into code for use by a 3D printer or CNC milling machine, which can be used to make a gun.

3. Speaking of which, it has always been legal under Federal law to make a gun for your own personal use. If you want to manufacture them for sale, that has been regulated for decades.

4. Some states do make it illegal to make a gun for your own use.

5. Most 3D printed guns are not undetectable. For example, if you 3D print the receiver for an AR-15 (the part that in the USA is legally the gun), you still need a lot of metal parts to have a functioning firearm. E.g., the barrel, bolt, firing pin, springs, etc.

5a. The exception to #5 appears to be the Defense Distributed Liberator, which is a single shot .22 pistol. Do you really think that a criminal is going to spend a shitload of money on a 3D printer so he can make an untraceable single shot .22 pistol? It's cheaper, easier, and faster to buy a stolen pistol like a Hi Point 9mm or even a Glock on the street.

6. For the most part, this hysteria about undetectable plastic guns is reminiscent of the BS spewed about Glocks in the 1980s. Despite what you heard in "Die Hard," Glocks are made largely of metal and stick out like a sore thumb if you try to pass one through a metal detector.

7. Even after Defense Distributed pulled their CAD files from the Internet in 2013, the cat was out of the bag. If you had a clue, they were not difficult to find. As per John Gilmore, the Internet interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

Finally, gun controllers lie. That's what they do. They cannot make arguments based on facts, so they lie. For example, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) recently gave a speech about undetectable firearms with a picture of an AR-15 next to him. A rifle with a few pounds of steel and aluminum in it is going to be undetectable? Not hardly.

Think about any topic in which you have in depth knowledge. Then consider how the mainstream media covers said topic, and how inaccurate they usually are.

This is just the latest in the American left finding something to be outraged about and stir up shit.

Old Gun Day at the Range

Today was old gun day at the range.

First up was my Wartime Commercial Mauser C96 Broomhandle, in 7.63x25 (.30 Mauser). I wanted to see how it would do at 50 yards when shot with the stock attached.

(The empty clip is in the pistol in lieu of a chamber flag.)

As you can see from the target, it's nothing to shout about. The short sight radius coupled with a front sight that's hard to see hinders accuracy. I fired this 20 shot group with my elbows rested on the shooting bench. (The hole on the right side of the target is from when my kid accidentally shot at my target instead of hers.)

It's nothing to write home about but if I needed to use this gun for defense (which has a probability approaching zero) it would work out to 50 yards.

Next up was my Winchester 1892 sporting rifle made in 1895. It's chambered for .38-40 WCF, which is a nice mild-recoiling round that will work for short-range deer hunting. Ballistics from a rifle are similar to a 10mm handgun.

Anyway, I am seriously considering having the barrel relined. The bore has quite a bit of pitting, and worse, the crown has a lot of cleaning rod wear. No pics of the target, but it was a 10-shot group of about 8". If I have it relined, I'd expect it to shoot as well as my Cimarron 1873, being able to hold the 10-ring at 50 yards.