David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. 106

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Lee Martin

Hunter
Joined
Dec 18, 2002
Messages
2,313
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Christmas morning 2018, bullets follow a breakfast of home grown bacon, sausage & eggs. Bright sun, temp mercifully above ZERO. White birch, permanently bent from ice, blocks line of sight to steel swingers. Ruger 03 .45 Colt has the job to cut it down. Six shots of cast 280 grain Volcano, deep seated over a light charge----7 grains HP-38——does enough damage to open open range.



Bullet from failed attempt to balance .452 hard cast 300 WFN GC——hollow-point wide-V. Deep seated to COL=1.442" over 7/HP-38. Low velocity, perhaps 800 fps yields low penetration, especially in a sinewy fiber like birch



S&W Model 34 Kit Gun .22 Long Rifle, J-frame, 4-inch, with .100-inch ramp integral to barrel forging, a true Smith & Wesson classic sixshooter. Accuracy approaching its big brother K-22. On this day when bright sun killed visibility of red dots and cold challenged an electronic reticle, the old fashioned irons held their own. First round hit @ 20 yards.



S&W M-34. All revolvers with an exposed hammer, specifically to include the double action----become single actions in the North Country. The gloved finger has better control in single action; trigger reset is more positive; accuracy is superior; speed is equal, and faster on follow-up shots.





Tyrel unlimbers Colt Match Target (this one made in 1935), one of the numerous designs by John Moses Browning which Colt manufactured. Don't let the shaved hair and bare hands fool you, it's cold! Tyrel is rugged.



In the old days, "Standard V"——standard velocity .22 LR was everywhere, far and away the common Long Rifle loading. This Colt Match Target should not be fired with "Hi-V." Magazine release is a thumb button above the trigger. Slide does not lock back via empty magazine. Very smooth thumb safety doubles as manually operated slide latch.





Perfectly flat polish of slab-side Colt Match Target exemplifies finish on pre-War Colts. David's insulated deerskin gloves are treated with his hot-mix mineral oil & beeswax.



Believe it or not, by virtue of knife-edge butt, this AR-15 with 7.5" barrel is called a pistol. Chambered for 6.5mm Grendel, which should have a dedicated follower to feed properly. Reflex sight crapped the sack, difficult to see in sun-brightened snow, then fading to invisibility at the shot. Muzzle attachment is a forward-facing cone, which does wonders to push nasty concussion away from shooter. David prefers his antiquated, never-fail sixguns.



….. or a Freedom Arms five-shooter. This Casull .454 spends most of its time with .45 Colt cylinder. Model 83 has 4-3/4" barrel. Leupold 4x28mm Long Eye Relief scope with Duplex reticle has top-grade Leupold 1/2" micrometer elevation & windage target knobs. Leupold Dual Dovetail mount & rings are plenty strong, visually clean. Revolver has Freedom Arms spanner-bushed firing pin. Factory trigger stop compliments Bradshaw trigger tune.



Christmas Day 2018, a good day to become snow-blind, bad day for photos. Against a flaring sun in single digit cold, conventional scope reticle and open handgun sights laid down consistency unmatched by electronic reticle. Only the aperture rear and front sights on a smooth Savage .22 bolt rifle (not pictured) were as difficult to register as the red dot. Leupold scope did not flare at all with sun from the side——which pushed and pulled POI of open sights. (Windage offset with open sights depends on whether sun flares from blade or rear window.)



Tyrel hones trigger on Abrasion Resistant 500 plate with FA M83, sporting .45 Colt cylinder stuffed with cast bullets.



Tyrel with all-important follow through, M83 4-3/4-inch



Merry Christmas, with Health in the New Year, from the North Country

 

BDM1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 11, 2016
Messages
498
Great pictures, thanks for posting them. No snow here, but i got a chill just looking at those!
 

David Bradshaw

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
933
BDM1, WendyZXZ, Runrunner..... thank you. After a respite, we're back to sub-zero, which shortens the lead-slinging, but doesn't stop it. This is sixgun time and not a time for digging brass out of the snowbank.
David Bradshaw
 

coach

Hunter
Joined
Aug 28, 2007
Messages
3,767
Location
Jacksonville, Maryland
I don't usually think of Virginia as the cold north, but your pictures prove me wrong. We didn't get nailed by that storm. Looks like a nice chilly shooting day.
 

David Bradshaw

Blackhawk
Joined
Sep 11, 2012
Messages
933
coach said:
I don't usually think of Virginia as the cold north, but your pictures prove me wrong. We didn't get nailed by that storm. Looks like a nice chilly shooting day.

*****

This shooting took place Christmas day in northern Vermont. Today, as on Christmas, tar roads are white, skiing is excellent and so is the shooting.
David Bradshaw
 

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