Idaho Ron
58 Cal.
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2007
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I grew up on a farm 5 miles from town. Back in the mid 1970’s the game populations around our farm were great. We had pheasants, ducks, geese, coyotes, foxes, rock chucks, and TONS of jackrabbits in the desert not far from our home.
My first gun was a Winchester single shot shotgun. Then a Stevens 22 was the first rifle.
For Christmas when I was 13 my folks gave me a CVA colonial pistol kit. Man I could not put it together fast enough. I wanted to shoot it NOW! Well hurrying that fast made for an interesting finished product. It turned out functional lets just leave it at that. Then for my 14th birthday they got me a CVA 54 cal Hawkens.
I hunted anything that moved around the farm with those black powder guns. The rifle was accurate but the pistol was hard to shoot with any accuracy at all. My rifle load was 70 gr of FF with a patched round ball. The pistol load was a PRB or I would load shot into the pistol as a short range shotgun.
At 14 all of us kids that hung out together had our drivers licenses but no cars. The other kids used .22’s and shotguns, I used the muzzleloaders to do most of my hunting. I could drive about any time I wanted but it had to be for work on the farm so most of the time I would meet up with the other kids on my horse. I didn’t have a saddle and carrying the guns was tough on horseback. My Mom helped me out by sewing a holster into a army coat I had. The rifle had to be carried in hand. I never dropped the rifle during any of those hunts. I did fall off the horse a couple of times but the rifle was never allowed to be hurt. Some of the kids had motorcycles and three wheelers. No one had a car at that time but we got by.
Well one weekend my parents made plans to spend the weekend out of town. A couple of buddies wanted to go rabbit hunting in the desert about 10 miles from our farms. The rabbits were thick and we all knew it would be good. The snow was kind of deep that winter. We had enough snow that getting around in our 2 wheel drive pickups was tough. When I was growing up we had an old Model A Ford coupe that my Dad was going to restore. Well as it turned out the old model A got around in the snow amazingly well. The skinny tires and high ground clearance made getting around pretty easy. And if we got stuck it was small enough that we could get it out easy too.
Well we decided to take the Model A rabbit hunting. There were four of us all together I drove and there was another friend up front with me. We had two more friends in the rumble seat. That was a decision that I later would regret.
I fired the old A up and headed out to pick up my hunting buddies. I had both black powder guns in the car. The A was like a snow machine. We could go anywhere with it. We never spun a tire. Well we got into rabbits, and I mean a lot of them. I used up almost all the powder I took. Well as the day went on the guys in the back were cold. So I thought I would let one drive and I would ride in the back for a while. The snow had melted enough that it was not blowing back up on us as we drove and we made sure to stay slow. Well I saw a Coyote. I tapped on the back of the cab and the driver stopped. I stood up on the seat and rested the rifle over the roof of the car. The coyote was just over 100 yards so I held for the base of his neck. I figured that if I was a little high it would be a neck or head shot. If I hit low it would hit low in the chest. Well the shot was more than 100 yards. The PRB took out both front legs of the coyote just below the chest line. Seeing that the coyote was wounded My friend guns the gas on the car and takes off to finish off the coyote. I flew off the back of the car and the 54 flew from my hands. I landed flat on my back and the rifle stabbed strait into the snow plugging the barrel.
I had never let the gun fall before I was devastated by the stupid mistake. I just knew that the rifle was going to be toast.
I finished off the coyote with my pistol and headed back to the farm.
I cleaned the gun and to my relief it was unhurt by the fall. Later I decided to show the guys how I hunted mice. I loaded the pistol with powder and put a palm full of #6 shot down the barrel. We went into the milking barn and I had a buddy turn over a 1x6 board that was in the manger. As the mice ran for cover I shot into the bunch with the pistol. The guys still talk about that when we get together.
Well it was time to get the guys home. We headed for the car and one of the guys noticed a black spot on the roof. I had scorched the roof with the 54 when I shot the coyote. I panicked! The folks would know I had done something to the car. The soft top on the car told the tale of a kid doing something stupid. We cleaned the top as well as we could. There was one spot that was burned too bad to clean up and covering it was not an option. I was toast! Then one friend said what about the tire tracks in the snow at the house. Oh man, I didn’t think about that either. I took the guys home and thought about it. I got home and had a plan. I backed the truck into a ditch down at the barn and got it stuck. That way I had an alibi for using the car when I told the folks I used the A to feed the stock cows at the other farm down the road.
When Mom and Dad got home I figured I was going to be slaughtered. Mom was the first one to say something about using the A. I told her I got the truck stuck and the tractors would not start, so I used the model A to feed the cows. Later that night Dad came to my room and was telling me about their trip. He asked me so how was the hunting? What hunting? I stayed home and watched the place. He said I found 22 shells in the car and it also smelled like my black powder rifle. I came clean with the hunting trip. I told everything and Dad listened. After I was done he said well don’t tell your Mom. She wouldn’t understand that a guy has to do what a guy has to do. By the way how did your friends like riding in the model A. I said they loved it. It is a perfect rabbit-hunting buggy. Then he said “I would have done the same thing but that don’t make it right” I was grounded but it was between us. I had to milk the cows by my self for a week. Dad told Mom that his back was acting up, and I said I would milk the cows for him he needed to rest. We took the model A and black powder guns MANY more times rabbit hunting in the winter. We just made sure to take Dad with us. By the way, the burn spot on the roof was not seen or talked about at that time. When Dad sold the old Ford the buyer DID see it. He asked what is the dark spot on the roof? Dad looked at it and said, “I never saw that before”. I said, “ I think I will be milking the cows by my self again”. At that time Dad didn’t have any cows, he knew pretty much knew what had happened, and just laughed. Ron
My first gun was a Winchester single shot shotgun. Then a Stevens 22 was the first rifle.
For Christmas when I was 13 my folks gave me a CVA colonial pistol kit. Man I could not put it together fast enough. I wanted to shoot it NOW! Well hurrying that fast made for an interesting finished product. It turned out functional lets just leave it at that. Then for my 14th birthday they got me a CVA 54 cal Hawkens.
I hunted anything that moved around the farm with those black powder guns. The rifle was accurate but the pistol was hard to shoot with any accuracy at all. My rifle load was 70 gr of FF with a patched round ball. The pistol load was a PRB or I would load shot into the pistol as a short range shotgun.
At 14 all of us kids that hung out together had our drivers licenses but no cars. The other kids used .22’s and shotguns, I used the muzzleloaders to do most of my hunting. I could drive about any time I wanted but it had to be for work on the farm so most of the time I would meet up with the other kids on my horse. I didn’t have a saddle and carrying the guns was tough on horseback. My Mom helped me out by sewing a holster into a army coat I had. The rifle had to be carried in hand. I never dropped the rifle during any of those hunts. I did fall off the horse a couple of times but the rifle was never allowed to be hurt. Some of the kids had motorcycles and three wheelers. No one had a car at that time but we got by.
Well one weekend my parents made plans to spend the weekend out of town. A couple of buddies wanted to go rabbit hunting in the desert about 10 miles from our farms. The rabbits were thick and we all knew it would be good. The snow was kind of deep that winter. We had enough snow that getting around in our 2 wheel drive pickups was tough. When I was growing up we had an old Model A Ford coupe that my Dad was going to restore. Well as it turned out the old model A got around in the snow amazingly well. The skinny tires and high ground clearance made getting around pretty easy. And if we got stuck it was small enough that we could get it out easy too.
Well we decided to take the Model A rabbit hunting. There were four of us all together I drove and there was another friend up front with me. We had two more friends in the rumble seat. That was a decision that I later would regret.
I fired the old A up and headed out to pick up my hunting buddies. I had both black powder guns in the car. The A was like a snow machine. We could go anywhere with it. We never spun a tire. Well we got into rabbits, and I mean a lot of them. I used up almost all the powder I took. Well as the day went on the guys in the back were cold. So I thought I would let one drive and I would ride in the back for a while. The snow had melted enough that it was not blowing back up on us as we drove and we made sure to stay slow. Well I saw a Coyote. I tapped on the back of the cab and the driver stopped. I stood up on the seat and rested the rifle over the roof of the car. The coyote was just over 100 yards so I held for the base of his neck. I figured that if I was a little high it would be a neck or head shot. If I hit low it would hit low in the chest. Well the shot was more than 100 yards. The PRB took out both front legs of the coyote just below the chest line. Seeing that the coyote was wounded My friend guns the gas on the car and takes off to finish off the coyote. I flew off the back of the car and the 54 flew from my hands. I landed flat on my back and the rifle stabbed strait into the snow plugging the barrel.
I had never let the gun fall before I was devastated by the stupid mistake. I just knew that the rifle was going to be toast.
I finished off the coyote with my pistol and headed back to the farm.
I cleaned the gun and to my relief it was unhurt by the fall. Later I decided to show the guys how I hunted mice. I loaded the pistol with powder and put a palm full of #6 shot down the barrel. We went into the milking barn and I had a buddy turn over a 1x6 board that was in the manger. As the mice ran for cover I shot into the bunch with the pistol. The guys still talk about that when we get together.
Well it was time to get the guys home. We headed for the car and one of the guys noticed a black spot on the roof. I had scorched the roof with the 54 when I shot the coyote. I panicked! The folks would know I had done something to the car. The soft top on the car told the tale of a kid doing something stupid. We cleaned the top as well as we could. There was one spot that was burned too bad to clean up and covering it was not an option. I was toast! Then one friend said what about the tire tracks in the snow at the house. Oh man, I didn’t think about that either. I took the guys home and thought about it. I got home and had a plan. I backed the truck into a ditch down at the barn and got it stuck. That way I had an alibi for using the car when I told the folks I used the A to feed the stock cows at the other farm down the road.
When Mom and Dad got home I figured I was going to be slaughtered. Mom was the first one to say something about using the A. I told her I got the truck stuck and the tractors would not start, so I used the model A to feed the cows. Later that night Dad came to my room and was telling me about their trip. He asked me so how was the hunting? What hunting? I stayed home and watched the place. He said I found 22 shells in the car and it also smelled like my black powder rifle. I came clean with the hunting trip. I told everything and Dad listened. After I was done he said well don’t tell your Mom. She wouldn’t understand that a guy has to do what a guy has to do. By the way how did your friends like riding in the model A. I said they loved it. It is a perfect rabbit-hunting buggy. Then he said “I would have done the same thing but that don’t make it right” I was grounded but it was between us. I had to milk the cows by my self for a week. Dad told Mom that his back was acting up, and I said I would milk the cows for him he needed to rest. We took the model A and black powder guns MANY more times rabbit hunting in the winter. We just made sure to take Dad with us. By the way, the burn spot on the roof was not seen or talked about at that time. When Dad sold the old Ford the buyer DID see it. He asked what is the dark spot on the roof? Dad looked at it and said, “I never saw that before”. I said, “ I think I will be milking the cows by my self again”. At that time Dad didn’t have any cows, he knew pretty much knew what had happened, and just laughed. Ron
