Deer camp, revolvers, bullet lube and electric fences

 

Tomorrow is the last day of Michigan's 2020 Firearm deer season. Belladonna informed me that we are going hunting tomorrow. She doesn't have her buck...yet.

She still has late bow season and muzzle-loading season to get a buck. Or, if she wants meat, there is still late doe season.

.38 Special

I shot a few of the loads (158gr lead SWC, 3.3gr Titegroup) I put together for my niece's snub-nose revolver. I think it would benefit from a little bit more pressure. The outsides of the cases were sooty which suggests that there was not enough pressure to expand the case mouths and seal to the inside of the cylinder.

She will be the final judge if "The Recipe" gets any more pepper. Sooty cases are more of a cosmetic issue than a functional issue.

I shot them from a full-sized revolver and the recoil was light. There was enough velocity to cause just a bit of muzzle-flip and the bullets did not key-hole into the target. That is a darned good start.

45-45-10

I bought a bullet mold. I thought I was getting the traditional design with a single groove for lube but I was shipped "Tumble Lube" molds.

I was inclined to send them back but then I went on-line to see if I could use lubes other than Lee's Alox Liquid Lube.

According to the great, misinformation superhighway, Tumble-Lube designs are also very happy when lubed with a mixture of 45% Beeswax, 45% Crisco or Lard and 10% Lanolin to enhance the tackiness of the lube. There are countless versions of this basic recipe including some that use Murphy's Oil Soap when Lanolin is not available. 

The proportions are variable. 45-45-10 is a STARTING point. The proportions vary based on expected temperature. Lubes used in loads that will sit atop the dashboard in Texas during July will have a higher percentage of beeswax than a lube used in Iron County, Michigan in October.

The key is to pan lube with heat and use the tiniest amount of lube necessary to wet the outside of the bullets.

I kept the mold.

Last night on the deer stand

Bella and I were in the Taj. We were serenaded by Hoot Owls, aka Barred Owls. There were at least four individuals based on their voices.

We saw a doe and a fawn. The doe was small so she might have been a fawn last year. Bella declined to take the shot. She wants a buck.

Electric fences

Sprite's bull kept getting out.

Today I looked for the short.

I found two and fixed them. The cut-off switches paid for themselves today.

I left the fence around her back pasture disconnected.

My back was to the cattle when I was talking to Sprite when I heard what sounded like a .22 going off.

Turning, I saw two cows and the bull. The bull was the farthest animal from the fence and all three of them were dancing.

Sprite said "Ha, the bull just learned the fence is hot."

"But he is the farthest from the fence." I said.

"He is NOW" Sprite said. "Look at his mouth."

Indeed, the bull was frantically working over his lips with his tongue as if to massage feeling back into them.

Then, like a dummy, I demonstrated that rubber insulated tool handles are not insulated when they have dried sweat smeared on them. Don't ask for details. Please.

I suspect any virus in my body were carbonized.