More and more stuff

[Sean Gadhar]

When I was a kid the only things for shooting I didn't have were the ones I couldn't afford :haha:

Then I spent my 30s minimalizing until my hunting gear was slicked down to essentials. Then I met You guys got into black powder and now loading my truck for an afternoon at the range looks like my wife packing for a week at her sisters!

.54
20 ga.
######

 

[cynthialee]

takes me 3 trips to get everything I want from the house to the yard when I target shoot

Now hunting I have it down to the bare essentials. A rifle, enough powder and roundballs for 2 reloads and a field dressing kit I put together. Pair of rubber gloves, a small piece of rope, and a few razors from a box cutter. (those box cutter razors make the field dressing easy peasy. Like a scalpel and no need for a knife. They even cut through thick cartilage with ease.)

 

[Sean Gadhar]

About the 3rd trip out to the truck I always imagine some neighbor looking out the window and thinking "Well she finally sent the bum packing! :rotf:

All loaded up time to shoot two guns for the fist time. A new to me Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken, and an old, but new to me 20 ga. side by. And that .17 cal. unmentionable with the new stock. :grin:

 

[mooman76]

I always take extra when I go. It all may not be needed or gotten out of my vehicle but nothing is worse than planning a day of shooting only to find that you forgot something needed or some unforeseen thing happens and now your day has ended early or not at all.

 

[BrownBear]

I got pretty tired of it and went to thinning and organizing. But the temptation to let it grow is always lurking.

These days I have a good sized tool box for tools and spare supplies. That goes along, but mostly stays in the truck. Then there's my gun of choice and its shooting bag. When I deplete something in the bag I walk back to the truck for a refill, but otherwise everything stays on my body. Pretty good practice for field shooting, and in fact I never sit down at a benchrest again once the gun is sighted in. All rested shooting (darned little of it) is from field positions.

 

[cynthialee]

I always take extra when I go. It all may not be needed or gotten out of my vehicle but nothing is worse than planning a day of shooting only to find that you forgot something needed or some unforeseen thing happens and now your day has ended early or not at all.

If I leave any of my bags or tool boxes inside, invariably the one thing I need is in the one box or bag I left inside.

 

[Louisk]

I'm having to change my ways. Shooting gear used to consist (other than the guns)of a shooting bag, range box, folding table, folding chair and a plywood target board. I no longer have a shooting spot with drive in access and have to walk in a quarter mile to shoot. The table was handy but easy to get along without as I also do most of my shooting offhand, still working on thinning down the rest. Won't be a problem if I'm able to bring my crew along, going solo will take some planning.

 

[trent/OH]

Our club president used to use a wagon to tote the stuff from the parking lot to the firing line. It was spiffed up to hold 2 rifles as well as his shooting box too. He had to fetch it up into the back of the pick-up truck afterwards, and bungee it down, but it was a good solution.
Cowboy action shooters (and some muzzleloader shooters too) use those 2 wheeled carts to carry everything around.

 

[will5a1]

After making way too many trips to the range and forgetting something essential or useful (one time I actually left the right caliber balls at home) I've started using a checklist, and I try to organize everything the evening before - makes it easier on my old addled brain.

A good bit of the loggistics problem for me is individual rifles, even in the same caliber, require different things. Sometimes mink oil for lube, sometimes bear oil, sometimes GOEX, sometimes OE, different patch thickness - our rifles, or at least mine, seem so darn fickle, but that is part of the fun also.

 

[hanshi]

"Stuff" is good. The only thing better than "stuff" is more "stuff". I have a Sears tackle box, a large Samsonite bag and a smaller, but similar, bag. Then there are the targets of which there are several and of different types and sizes.
That and the firearm/range rod are all I generally have to load in my car each range trip.

But I have more stuff. Spotting scope, extra stapler and ear muffs, etc. I keep this in a bag in my trunk along with lighting stands, a wire frame target frame, a rubber mat to stand my rifle's butt plate on, sand bags and some odds and ends. All this is permanently kept in the trunk.

In the bush is where I carry the minimal. Remember, "stuff" is good; crap, which is the "stuff" of others, isn't good and shouldn't disturb your "stuff".

 

[John V.]

After making way too many trips to the range and forgetting something essential or useful (one time I actually left the right caliber balls at home) I've started using a checklist, and I try to organize everything the evening before - makes it easier on my old addled brain.

A good bit of the loggistics problem for me is individual rifles, even in the same caliber, require different things. Sometimes mink oil for lube, sometimes bear oil, sometimes GOEX, sometimes OE, different patch thickness - our rifles, or at least mine, seem so darn fickle, but that is part of the fun also.

I use a plastic tote w/ lid that has wheels on it to take all my M/L stuff to the range. I keep all my M/L necessitate in said tote all the time, so aside from grabbing my rifle that is it. Everything else always stays in my M/L range wheeled tote.Bought my wheeled tote at Home Dept, but Lowes or Menard's has them as well.This has worked for me for years.

 

[Black Hand]

After making way too many trips to the range and forgetting something essential or useful (one time I actually left the right caliber balls at home) I've started using a checklist, and I try to organize everything the evening before - makes it easier on my old addled brain.

A good bit of the loggistics problem for me is individual rifles, even in the same caliber, require different things. Sometimes mink oil for lube, sometimes bear oil, sometimes GOEX, sometimes OE, different patch thickness - our rifles, or at least mine, seem so darn fickle, but that is part of the fun also.

I grab my gun, bag and horn - nothing else to forget or bring....

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Sunny, a bit hot 90s and breezy 8 to 14 MPH and moved over the day. South, then S,SE then S.SW

I shot that new to me Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken .54 1st load was 80 grains FFg .535 hornady ball & a .010 patch using a slight variant on Dutch's lube.

Just under at 25 yards, ok group at 50 yards. I changed only the patch .010 changed to .015 group got smaller for 2 three shot strings at 50 yards. The wind was too active for fine tuning so I set my Gong at 80 yards. 3 shots sitting on the ground arm on my knee, 3 hits in the black 6"Hx8"W. Moved it to 90 yards 3 shots of 3 in the black again. Moved it to 102 yards 1st shot was my first miss Some fool yelled cold range right as I shot so I called that a pull, in the next 5 shots I missed one, As you will see there was a pretty good drop between 90 and the move to 102. I think that miss just slipped under the whole gong, I aimed center every shot for consistency , even after I realized I had some low hits.





The 3 hits down in the white were all after I moved out to 102 yards, up in till then all hits & all in the black.

I am hoping this Rifle will work out for Antelope season. I may just take one step on the long Hawken rear sight and see where that puts me. I would like to be getting 3 out of 3 at 120 yards, But I can't complain about such a good 90 yard load showing up so quickly.

 

[faste350]

last year I finally got my gun room in the garage sealed up and heated and now have a shooting bench at the window with steel targets out to 140 yards. a loading table sits right by the bench. heat, a radio and cold mt. dew in the fridg, life is good! it only took 40 years to get :grin:

 

[Cowboy]

Glad to see that your Pedersoli RMH is getting put to good use. Excellent shooting my friend!

Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:

 

[Col. Batguano]

Have you heard of wheels before? Serious competitors seem to use little range carts that have all their stuff in it, and include a hangar on one side for their jacket, and a place on the handle to lean their guns against.

 

[Dr5x]

Mr. Black Powder.
I think you have just made a whole bunch of us jealous


[had to drive about 20 miles to the range, just across the river from St. Charles.
that range was swept away in the flood of '93/
Now, I understand the more convenient range requires your packing a lunch

Steel targets makes me worry about ricochets.

Dutch Schoultz

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Steel targets makes me worry about ricochets.

Dutch Schoultz

I only use them out past 50 yards with my .54 combine that with watching a few cowboy action shoots where you see thousands of pistol rounds fired at steel targets 12 or 15 yards away, and I feel reasonably safe at 60, 80 100 yards shooting steel :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Sean, I used to both manufacture and competively shoot steel targets. There are a lot of variable factors that will determine if it is 'safe' to shoot at close ranges. #1, the target must be able to move easily. If it doesn't the projectile can be thrown back at you. Never shoot a small gun at a target designed for big guns. :nono:

 

[Dr5x]

I saw a steel set up where the steel plate was tilted toward the shooter so that ricochets were directed down to a steel box below the target. I assumed it worked
Don't underestimate the power of your rifle.

Dutch