"MARLIN 1894CSS"

This Marlin 1894CSS caliber 357 mag/spl is stainless steel with American black walnut stock and rubber butt pad. It has an 18 1/2 inch barrel with Ballard rifling and a 1.16 r.h. twist.

I then took the action apart for a good cleaning and lube with tetra grease. After a good barrel cleaning I resembled. I then installed a Sightron 3x9 scope using Weaver rings. This Marlin is now range ready, I'm off to the Illinois Rifle Assoc. I had seven boxes of 357 mag ammo, Fiocchi 142gr. fmjtc, American Eagle 158gr. jsp, Eldorado Starfire 150gr. jhp, Speer Golddot 158gr. gdnp, Federal 130 Hydra Shok, Hornady 158gr. xtp, and Federal 180gr. Castcore. After zeroing at 50 meters, I'de shoot two and clean ten times. All ammo shot good at 50 meters. The 180gr. Federal Castcore was the best with three shots touching.

I cleaned the Marlin and relubed, then set a target at 100 meters with six 2 inch red dots set on the target. The Hornady shot the smallest group of all the ammo. I did not have enough Federal 180gr. Castcore to shoot at 100 meters, so next week I'll bring more Federal Castcore and also bring some other 357 ammo.

A week has past and we are back at the range(it was a cold and windy day). Targets are set at 100 meters. I brought three boxes of 357 ammo with me, a new box of American Eagle 158gr. jsp, a new box of Hornady 158gr. xtp, and an old box of Federal 130gr. Hydra Shok personal defense. After testing each brand of ammo, the barrel was cleaned. First I used the Hornady, out of twelve shots all but four were inside the 2 inch red dots. Next up was the American Eagle, only one shot outside the dot and had more shots touching than with the Hornady. Now came the Federal 130gr., after twelve shots, I had one big hole 4 1/2 inches above point of aim. I did not rezero for the lighter ammo. The Marlin loved that Federal 130gr.

Everybody says Marlins are accurate and now I'll say the same. I will write more on this Marlin after more break in.

Always be safe. Know whats behind your target.

"RUGER SINGLE SIX CONVERTIBLE"

This is a single-action revolver that shoots 22 Lr and 22 mag ammo. It has a satin stainless finish with rosewood grips and adjustable rear sights. It was a special run revolver with a 4 1/2" barrel (I called Ruger to verify this).

Well, off to the range with four boxes of ammo in 22 Lr, Sk jagd standard plus and pistol match, 22 mag CCI maxi-mag hp 30gr and Remington 30gr Accutip-v. With a target at 15 yards, I started with the 22 Lr cylinder. The adjustable sights were dead on. After 18 shots of each 22 Lr ammo, the pistol match worked best. Now I switched cylinders to 22 mag. It took some sight adjustment to rezero, again after 18 shots of 22 mag the Remington Accutip shot best. All of the above shooting was done off hand. Next I shot at 25 yards off a dog-gone-good-bag rest using the 2 ammos that shot best while standing. I shot 12 shots with each. Groups were great. The only thing I would have changed is the sights. My old eyes need a brighter sight picture. A fun gun to shoot and great for new shooters. No recoil, easy to load and single action. You just can't pull the trigger.

Always be safe. Know whats behind your target.

"CLARK CUSTOM 10/22"

I've written about Clark Custom before, the 77/22 I got from Clark. Also awhile back, I purchased a Walther barrel and trigger parts for an old 10/22 that I installed myself. It shoots great.

This new Ruger 10/22 that Clark Custom built is everything you could ever want in a 22Lr. Premium Walther barrel with a Clark match chamber, and recessed match crown. The trigger job includes honing of the hammer and sear, installing new trigger springs which give you a crisp 2 1/2 pound trigger pull, and also includes a over travel adjustment screw. Other features are Clarks own edm extractor, plus a modified bolt release, a weaver style scope base and a Clark custom laminated thumbhole stock. I also had a hole put in the receiver for ease of cleaning, and a new magazine release.

I did a good cleaning and installed a Sightron 3x9 scope with weaver rings. Clark sent along a test target with 1/2 inch 5 shot group fired at 50 yards using SK Jagd standard plus ammo.

Now I'm off to to the Illinois Rifle Assoc to see what I can do with this great looking 10/22. My first Friday at the range was wet with a 20mph cross wind. All I was able to accomplish that day was a good reliability check. Its a week later and we are back at the range. We all meet at 7:00 am. The weather today, 30 degrees, no wind and going to be sunny. We can't start shooting till 8:00 am so we set up targets and have coffee. I brought with 4 boxes of 22 ammo, three are made by SK Jagd, standard plus, high velocity, match rifle and the fourth is Federal. After a few shots I was dead on at 50 meters. All the ammo's shot great. The SK Jagd match rifle ammo put 7 shots in a 1/2 inch group. I then started to shoot at 100 meters. It took a few shots to re zero. At days end I had shot a total of 90 rounds. The match rifle ammo would shoot 1 inch groups at 100 meters. The few flyer's were me not the rifle or ammo. It was the perfect day to checkout a new rifle. What little wind that came up was straight at our backs.

This being my second Clark Custom rifle, all I can say is Clark's rifles fit, finish, reliability and accuracy are the best. If you want the best 22Lr call Clark. Can't wait to go jack hunting in Wyoming.

Always be safe. Know whats behind your target.

Summers over so there is more to come.

MORE SAVAGE #12 LRPV 223

As I said in my last writing, we were going out west to our property with my new Savage model #12 LRPV 223. We also brought along a Savage #12 in 22-250, a Ruger 10/22 with a Walther barrel and a Clark custom trigger. I did get 50 more break in rounds through the new 223 before we headed west.

Before I tell you about the Savage, let me tell you about Jack rabbits in Wyoming. My best friend John said get your Ruger 10/22 and a lot of ammo we are going on a short road trip. We drove for ninety minutes to get to his cousins ranch where we parked. We then started walking. You just scare up the Jack's and shoot. For the first hour, I had mostly misses. They are good size, but I didn't know they were that fast. Can't wait to do this again.

The wife and I had many things to do this trip, so I only had a day and a half to try out this new Savage on some prairie rats. After re zeroing, John and I were in the field set up and ready to shoot. After a few minor scope adjustments, I had 10 hits in a row at around 150 yards. I then let the new Savage cool down and cleaned the barrel. In the meantime I switched to the Savage 22-250.

My buddy John had two rifles an older Savage in 223 and a 220 Ruger which is on its second or third barrel. Now back to the new 223 Savage. As we kept shooting farther out, I still let it cool down and cleaned after 10 shots. The new rifle was flawless. My two longest hits were 380 yards and 420 yards using Federal 69 gram match ammo. Going back the first week of September and try some longer shots.

More to come.

Always be safe and know whats behind your target.

"MODEL 12 LRPV SAVAGE"

I was looking for a 223 caliber rifle that would handle heavy bullets and Savage makes the rifle I wanted a #12 LRPV with a 1-7 twist. So into my favorite Gun Store (Blythe's in Griffith,IN). After a week of haggling and trading with Roger the owner and Ed his GM the rifle came in. What a looker. Black H.S./precision Varmint synthetic stock with aluminum v-block system, an extra heavy one-inch diameter stainless 26" barrel, target accu trigger, right hand bolt and left ejection port and the 1-7 twist rate.

At home I removed the stock and cleaned the action. Then I gave the barrel a good cleaning with J.B. compound and Hollands Witches Brew. I finished with Tetra gun lubricant. Now I mounted a Leupold III XV3 long range 4.5-14x40 with a Varmint Hunters reticle with side focus and parallax adjustment.

Off to the range with four boxes of 223 ammo, two boxes were Federal pre gold match 69 gr matchking and 77 grain matchking. The other two boxes were Fiocchi 77 gr exacta and American Eagle 55 gr fmj. I used the American Eagle to shoot 1 and clean for a total of 10 shots Then I used Witches brew to clean. At the end of the day this Savage LRPV preferred the 69gr Federal match with the 77 gr Federal next. This Savage shot a 3 shot 1 hole group at 100 meters.

In ten days my wife and I were going up to our property in South Dakota close to the Wyoming state line. I want to take this rifle with and try it at longer ranges but I need to get more break in shots in before we leave.

More to come on this Savage when we get back.

Always be safe.

"WINCHESTER 70HV 223"

This Winchester Model 70-Heavy Varmint in 223 Remington has been in our family for 15 to 20 years. The rifle is all black with a synthetic stock, wide forend and heavy 26" Varmint barrel.

I gave it to my friend Fuzzy Anderson (wish he was still with us). Fuzzy gave the Winchester a trigger job, trued the action, bedded and free floated the barrel. After thousands of rounds, it still looks like new. It's not the tack driver it use to be, but it will hold a pretty good group with just about any good ammo. The old rifle is due for a new barrel, but when I'm shooting it, it brings back memories of a great friend, so I'll just keep it the same.

I've heard pros and cons on how long a barrel will last, but doesn't that depend on how good the barrel was new and how you take care of it? Maybe I can get 15 more years out of this one.

Always be safe.

"CLARK CUSTOM RUGER"

Back on 17th May 2009 I wrote about this 22 L.R. built by Clark Custom in Princeton, Louisiana. It originally was a Ruger 22/77, then Clark Custom installed a 16 1/4" Walther bull barrel and all the great work Clark does to this rifle. Fit, finish, reliability and accuracy are perfect. Its so compact and eye catching, everyone at the range asks what it is and asks to pick it up and look at it. I've had guys look through my spotting scope and then saw them turn there's to look at at my 100 meter target where groups are nickel size(if I do my job).

Clark Custom said they use SK-Jagd standard plus 40gr solid for there accuracy test. Since May I have tried seven different brands of 22 ammo. All shot good. In hot weather or in sub-zero the SK standard plus or SK high velocity are the best and most accurate. I do have a few boxes of Federal Gold Medal Ultra Match 40gr solid (with the dimple in the back) that will edge out the SK, but Federal doesn't make that anymore.

So Clark Custom thank you again for one fine rifle. I have got to get one more soon. Anyone wanting a great 22 rifle go to Clark Custom website.

Always be safe and know whats behind your target.

"DEB'S GUN RANGE WINTER LEAGUE"

I, like many others look forward to the first Sunday of the new year when the Winter League, big bore and small bore starts. This year from January 3rd through March 21st with awards presentation day on April 11th usually at the VFW Hall next door.

Deb's Gun Range is located in Hammond, Indiana. Deb is a certified NRA instructor and one of the finest people to know. Safety is first and foremost at Debs or you'll learn her words (my rules or the highway). There are shooters as young as eleven (must be with a parent) and as old as dirt. Every week you'll need a total of 48 rounds with a possible top score of 480. Every other week the shooting positions change and all shooting is timed. We shoot strong hand, weak hand, around barricades, standing, kneeling, and sitting. Deb puts every ones name in a hat, pulls 3 names at a time to make teams. I've shot with young shooters, ladies and old guys. Its just a lot of fun and you'll meet great people.

This year one of the instructors, Chet, has his daughter and son shooting. All young shooters always shoot with a two hand hold.

There is always coffee, snacks and a TV for you football fans up in the training room. We see new people every year, so if you are a new shooter, first timer, or old timer you'll have fun and shoot better in Debs Winter League.