From TacticalGearReview.com, June 2009
Meet Buckshot of “Buckshot’s Place” – Part 1
Wow!
Buckshot’s Place.
Something
I am going to have to live up to and keep some relatively fresh
output on to keep people attracted (if I can manage that at all?) and
keep it fresh.
I
guess I will start with a little background.
Life
long Ohio resident.
First
gun, a .22 rifle from Wards, in 1971.
First
centerfire rifle was a Schmidt-Rubin M1911 7.5 X 55 Swiss rifle for
the magnificent sum of $19.95 plus sales tax for a rifle in VG –
Exc. condition with an issue cleaning kit and 10 rounds of reloadable
ammo. Got me into surplus military rifles, got me into reloading, got
me into collecting infantry rifles all in one easy, cheap and simple
purchase. BTW, I got it from the F. W. Woolworth store in the Lima
Mall!
Got
into shooting both of those, and shooting Dad’s S&W M-10 light
barrel 5” nickel .38 Spec. Shot that revolver so much I actually
“shot the nickel off of it”. More correctly, I shot and cleaned
it till the nickel started to come off, especially on the ejector
rod, from the Hoppe’s penetrating through cracks in the nickel and
dissolving out the copper base coat that the nickel sticks to!
Got
into High Power in 1973 via the immersion method. Having shot at 100
yards and occasionally 200 yards, I was invited to go to a National
Match Course Match at Camp Perry, OH (about 1 1/4 hours drive time)
and entered the Sunday Match of the old ORPA/DCM Clinic and match.
Shot a 7.62 X 51 NATO M1 Garand that I had never seen till that day.
I WAS familiar with Garands, just not that one.
Worked
the pits for the first third of the day, then fired 200 yd. Offhand,
200 yd. Sitting from Standing Rapid Fire, 300 yd. Prone from Standing
Rapid Fire and then 600 yd. Prone slow fire, then back to the pits
for the rest of the other groups shots. They shot 200 and 300 yd.
then went to the pits and we shot straight through, then we had to
return to the pits for their 600 yd. stage.
First
introduction to Camp Perry. One linear mile of firing points on 4
ranges, all named after WW II 37th Infantry Div. Medal of Honor
recipients. A big red Baker Rag (Large red swallowtail pennant) on
each end of each of the 4 ranges, and every one of those flags
pointing a different direction! That place is WINDY! Also had a range
alibi during one of my rapid fire strings, had to stop the rapid fire
string for a BOAT IN THE IMPACT AREA! Bullets land in Lake Erie at
Camp Perry. In previous years machine gun, AA artillery and regular
artillery also landed in the lake. Almost every US gun above .50 Cal.
was proof fired at Erie Proving Grounds (right next to Camp Perry)
with all of their shot falling into the lake also. ALL of the lake
charts are marked as to the restricted impact area, but fishermen
don’t pay that much attention and sail right into the impact area,
thinking the bullet strikes are fish feeding rather than the
dangerous bullet strikes they really are.
Spent
two full weeks living in an ex-POW hut at Camp Perry during the
Smallbore phase of the National Matches in 1976. Attended the
National Rifle Instructor’s School and the National Rifle Coach’s
School there to learn to help with our club’s Jr. Smallbore
Program. Still working that program, with some off time in down
years, as of this year, 2009.
Along
with the rifle shooting, I was also into pistol shooting. Shot some
Cooper Style Combat back in the bad old days, WAY before IPSC, UPSPA
or IDPA. Get together with some guys, set up some stages out of
Cooper’s first book (now out of print as far as I know) and have at
it. Almost every match had El Presidente as one of the stages. This
was back in the days when Cooper, Thel Reed and Jack Weaver (of
Weaver stance fame) were still shooting their “LeatherSlap”
matches out in California, with some occasional mention in Coopers
column in Guns and Ammo.
Desperately
wanted a Colt 1917 revolver, and bought one at the gun show. This
started a long love/hate relationship. The New Service (M1917) fit me
great. 5 of the 6 chambers worked just fine. But the sixth one would
not “carry up” on double action firing. Not something you want to
happen in a combat match or in combat.
I
bought parts, I tried to find competent gunsmiths and I learned to do
a lot of work myself, but I never did get that revolver past about
97%, just could not make it right. There were some people, Python
smiths, who could have worked on it, but they would not touch it
since there were NO NEW PARTS, everything had to be done with USED
PARTS, and they could not make any money or guarantee work using used
parts.
Finally
traded it off to a friend, who was fully informed of it’s problems
and still wanted it. Long, expensive and sometimes painful lesson
that “you can’t always get what you want”!
Having
moved in the middle of my sophomore year of high school, I was not
all that involved with high school. Good grades, but few friends, no
romances and no after school activities.
So
I took up reloading. Used to go through batches of 1,000 148 gr. cast
lead wadcutters at a time. Load them up, go shoot them, get some more
and start over again. Got me so grooved on the S&W K-frame that I
can lay off of one for a year and have the muscle memory back and
working within three cylinders full.
End
Intro part 1.
Buckshot’s Intro, Part 2
Buckshot’s
Place Part 2
Back
at it, hopefully moving a little faster this time.
I
mentioned reloading in Part 1. My real start in reloading was the
M1911 Swiss and those 10 rounds of reloadable 7.5 X 55. There was no
other 7.5 X 55 available then from Interarms, they were between
batches. You could order cases or loaded ammo from Norma. Cases were
not nearly as expensive then as now, but loaded ammo was nearly as
bad then (adjusted between dollars then and now) as current Norma
ammo is.
Lee
had the Lee Loader kit available in 7.5 X 55 then. A little crude,
but it worked, as long as you only had ONE rifle in that caliber, or
you kept your cases segregated for each rifle. Built good shooting
ammo and was CHEAP. But driving those primers in with a punch and a
plastic faced mallet is a little crude! Wish them made them now in
half the calibers they had them for then.
Went
from there to the more normal reloading setup. Herters 6 station
turret press, Herters dies, Herters scale and Herters powder measure.
Some of the best and cheapest (relatively) loading gear we ever
bought. GCA ’68 killed their mail order guns and they went belly up
before 1980. They are back around now, but only a poor imitation of
their former existance.
Work
experience and training:
Gas
Station attendant and Airport Line Boy (fueler) during high school.
1 year driving a taxi cab (Checker) as soon as I could get into town and get a license
after the Blizzard of 1978.
Took Modern Gun Repair School, correspondence gunsmithing course. Not great,
but not bad either.
6 years as a gunsmith in our family shop before we closed down. People would
charge us $15.00 per hour but would not pay us that for gun work.
Three years as a Psychiatric Attendant at the State’s only Hospital for the
Criminally Insane. Funky and depressing job, working for three masters,
The State, an Independent Oversight Committee and a Federal District
Court. That can get confusing, annoying and drive you to drink quickly.
We worked with NO metal cuffs, mace or pepper spray or night sticks. Just
5 of us per shift dealing with 18 patients on the “strong” ward and acting as a
crash crew for the rest of the wards during our shift.
Two and a half years for a Associate of Applied Science Degree in Electronics
Engineering Technology. Great training with a 20 year Navy Chief running
the program, but the last employer in the area using this skill closed about
the same time I graduated.
Classified Documents Courier, college work study job. Drove documents between
the branch campus I attended and the main campus three days a week for some money for books and gasoline.
Spent a summer as a gas station attendant at a station on I-75 on weekend nights.
No one wanted that job due it being in a prime robbery time and location so it
paid well for only 16 hours a week. Quit the first day there was ice on the
ground to deal with, I HATE ICE!
Used all transferable credits from my last Degree and signed up for an Associate of
Applied Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Flexible Manufacturing
Option. Got that in one year, but the one company that was using that skill
changed their setup and the others that were going to locate here never did!
Spent that same whole year working 12 hours each Saturday and Sunday as
Campus Security on a work study job. 24 hours a week, didn’t pay too badly,
but I was at school 7 days a week for a year.
Spent a year as a CWEP Records Clerk at the local PD. Did that to get medical as I
had been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic and had NO insurance after I
graduated the second time. A better diet and a little money as well as the
medical coverage helped a lot.
Got hired as a contractor at the local telephone company. Answering repair calls for
broken and out of service phones.
Got hired from the contractor to the phone company. This was great, it let me use
my electronic training. Thought I had it made. My Dad had retired at 42
years of service from that company. Thought I had a job for life”. Got laid off
after 7 ½ years there, they consolidated all of the regional phone companies
and moved my one of my jobs to Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg, NC. Bumped back to
repair answer, got a hip fixed and after I returned to work I got laid off for
good July 30, 1999. That job went to Kileen, TX near Ft. Hood, if I have the
town right.
Been working temporary jobs, part time jobs, under the table jobs or whatever I can
find for the last 10 years, making it (barely) but that’s about all. Been
working part time (10 – 12 classes a year) with a CCW and firearms training
team for about the last 5 years. Helps a little more, a little more dependable
and meet a nicer grade of people.
1 year driving a taxi cab (Checker) as soon as I could get into town and get a license
after the Blizzard of 1978.
Took Modern Gun Repair School, correspondence gunsmithing course. Not great,
but not bad either.
6 years as a gunsmith in our family shop before we closed down. People would
charge us $15.00 per hour but would not pay us that for gun work.
Three years as a Psychiatric Attendant at the State’s only Hospital for the
Criminally Insane. Funky and depressing job, working for three masters,
The State, an Independent Oversight Committee and a Federal District
Court. That can get confusing, annoying and drive you to drink quickly.
We worked with NO metal cuffs, mace or pepper spray or night sticks. Just
5 of us per shift dealing with 18 patients on the “strong” ward and acting as a
crash crew for the rest of the wards during our shift.
Two and a half years for a Associate of Applied Science Degree in Electronics
Engineering Technology. Great training with a 20 year Navy Chief running
the program, but the last employer in the area using this skill closed about
the same time I graduated.
Classified Documents Courier, college work study job. Drove documents between
the branch campus I attended and the main campus three days a week for some money for books and gasoline.
Spent a summer as a gas station attendant at a station on I-75 on weekend nights.
No one wanted that job due it being in a prime robbery time and location so it
paid well for only 16 hours a week. Quit the first day there was ice on the
ground to deal with, I HATE ICE!
Used all transferable credits from my last Degree and signed up for an Associate of
Applied Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Flexible Manufacturing
Option. Got that in one year, but the one company that was using that skill
changed their setup and the others that were going to locate here never did!
Spent that same whole year working 12 hours each Saturday and Sunday as
Campus Security on a work study job. 24 hours a week, didn’t pay too badly,
but I was at school 7 days a week for a year.
Spent a year as a CWEP Records Clerk at the local PD. Did that to get medical as I
had been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic and had NO insurance after I
graduated the second time. A better diet and a little money as well as the
medical coverage helped a lot.
Got hired as a contractor at the local telephone company. Answering repair calls for
broken and out of service phones.
Got hired from the contractor to the phone company. This was great, it let me use
my electronic training. Thought I had it made. My Dad had retired at 42
years of service from that company. Thought I had a job for life”. Got laid off
after 7 ½ years there, they consolidated all of the regional phone companies
and moved my one of my jobs to Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg, NC. Bumped back to
repair answer, got a hip fixed and after I returned to work I got laid off for
good July 30, 1999. That job went to Kileen, TX near Ft. Hood, if I have the
town right.
Been working temporary jobs, part time jobs, under the table jobs or whatever I can
find for the last 10 years, making it (barely) but that’s about all. Been
working part time (10 – 12 classes a year) with a CCW and firearms training
team for about the last 5 years. Helps a little more, a little more dependable
and meet a nicer grade of people.
I
hold an 03 (C&R or Curio and Relic) FFL to facilitate my
collecting of Infantry Rifles. Not so much an more, as not much is
showing up, not much is left out there to import any longer, most of
the stuff after WW II is full auto and the BATFE says “once a
machine gun, always a machine gun” so they have to destroy the
receiver and build a new gun using the good parts on a semi-auto
receiver, such as they do with the Aks. This means they will NEVER be
C&R as they are not in original condition, and ALL military
firearms must be in original issue condition to be C&R.
That’s
enough about me, I will keep writing at regular intervals and
HOPEFULLY some of you will give me some input to get discussions
going about.
End
Intro.
