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unixronin: Galen the technomage, from Babylon 5: Crusade (Default)
Unixronin

December 2012

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Friday, October 2nd, 2009 10:49 am

Good news:  The house repairs are almost finished.  On a smaller scale, I finally found a source of affordable cartridge brass for my 1889 Martini-Henry rifle.  (For those interested in such things, Gad Custom Cartridges, $30 for 20 unprimed cases, $45 for 20 rounds of loaded ammunition.)  I also got a pointer from [livejournal.com profile] lwj2 for 5-round magazines for my M14.  Either of those would give me a shot (literally) at putting a deer or two in the freezer to help with the food bills.  (Though my gradually deteriorating vision would be a handicap.  I can't see iron rifle sights clearly any more, and I don't have a working 'scope mount for the M14.)

Bad news:  I can’t afford to actually buy any, because New Hampshire unemployment is now eight weeks behind on [livejournal.com profile] cymrullewes' unemployment benefits.  That's about $3600 owing to us, without which we don't have enough in the bank to cover the mortgage, the car payment, and the electric bill¹ this month — let alone fill the kerosene tank² or buy propane for winter heat.³  We can't get any clear answers out of them as to what's going on; just "We'll get back to you".

Supposedly, they're switching over to a different system that uses direct deposit instead of mailing checks.  But come ON, people!  When you're changing a system that's vital to many people to keep a roof over their heads, you test it BEFORE you switch over to it!

[1]  On which, I discovered when I went to pay it this morning, we're a month behind.  The combination of "where the hell are the unemployment benefits" and the chaos of emergency house repairs has really disrupted our routines.

[2]  Granted, the kerosene tank only supplies our demand water heater and the emergency-backup monitor heater in the dining room.  The quarter-tank that's in it now will take us most of the way through the winter — basically we use about three quarters of a tank of kerosene per year — and we only used 50 gallons of propane (for cooking) since about April when we turned the heat off for the summer.  But with the totally inadequate insulation in our roof, we go through a LOT of propane for winter heat.  (It's insulated to maybe R-10, whereas the roof insulation recommendations for this climate zone now call for R-60.)  We didn't know the roof was this poorly insulated when we bought the house, and fixing it requires rebuilding the roof.

[3]  We applied for energy assistance, because we didn't know how we were going to cover winter heat bills on just [livejournal.com profile] cymrullewes' unemployment and my disability, but we were notified yesterday that we got denied because we're apparently over the income limit by a couple of hundred dollars a month.  We don't know yet whether this means we're also not getting the winterization they promised us in return for letting them use our house as a test house for energy-auditing students.

Friday, October 2nd, 2009 03:02 pm (UTC)
You have reloading tools for the Martini?

(Not sure I'd choose that for hunting. The ones I've fired had gawd-awful triggers. And then there's the rainbow trajectory . . .)
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 03:36 pm (UTC)
I do. Actually, I have case-forming dies as well, if I could get my hands on some BELL .600NE 3" basic brass ... but BELL got bought out and only makes mil-spec brass now, and the Kangaroo .577-.450 brass Gad uses is half the price of the BELL .600 3" basic anyway.

I wouldn't make the Martini my first choice for deer, anyway. Boar, maybe. That said, relatively-light-bullet smokeless loads (405gr cast lead over 40gr of IMR4320 and a cotton-ball filler) help with the trajectory problem, enough that I actually need to re-regulate the sights because it shoots high. The M14 with a five-round mag would be much better for deer, and I have suitable ammunition already loaded for it, but until I can afford LASIK, I'd need a working 'scope mount to be able to hit anything with it; and while I did find a source for an M14 'scope mount that actually works (assuming I can ever find my link again), it's something like $300, and the scope I have isn't really the best suited for a deer scope, though it would work. (It's an 8-32x56 with target turrets.)

(This Martini does actually have a pretty decent trigger, though.)

The biggest hunting obstacle is probably one of mobility. I don't know how much of a hike into the woods after deer my left foot will tolerate, let alone back out with a deer carcase. The past few days, it's been so painful at times I've been having trouble just moving around the house and haven't been able to keep a shoe on.
Edited 2009-10-02 03:55 pm (UTC)
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 04:34 pm (UTC)
Working on memory over 40 years old (back when surplus dealers were unloading Martinis for $20 or thereabouts), the ones I fired had *really* stiff triggers with a lot of creep -- neither condition good for accuracy. I never owned one or fired one enough to get really comfortable with it.

Given my reading of Kipling stories, I'm willing to accept that some prize specimens could drop an Afghan at 1000 yards.

I've fired a trap-door Springfield with smokeless loads like you describe, with good results.
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 05:06 pm (UTC)
Working on memory over 40 years old (back when surplus dealers were unloading Martinis for $20 or thereabouts), the ones I fired had *really* stiff triggers with a lot of creep -- neither condition good for accuracy.
True. But, you know, that's fixable with careful application of the right tools. :)
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 05:48 pm (UTC)
Well, I wasna' about applying tools to another man's rifle . . .
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 06:02 pm (UTC)
Ah, yeah. Not without invitation.
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 06:12 pm (UTC)
Any interest in a Leatherwood steel mount (http://www.opticsplanet.net/leatherwood-m14-m1a-all-steel-mount-w-windage-adj.html)? It's new in the baggie and is supposedly adjustable to fit any M1A receiver.

Crazy pdb's discount scope mounts not only takes payments but can also offer you a screaming deal on a Springfield Armory 4.5-16x scope with 7.62 bullet drop reticule!

Email me at pdb@papadeltabravo.com if you're interested.
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 06:38 pm (UTC)
I'm not familiar with the Leatherwood. If it's steel, that alone is probably a big improvement over any of the aluminum ones. The one I had in mind is the Sadlak steel mount (http://www.sadlak.com/si_rifle_parts_sm.html). The Leatherwood mount looks pretty similar, conceptually, and is a lot less expensive.

How does the clip-guide-slot adapter on the Leatherwood mount to the receiver? The Sadlak clamps the clip-guide replacement in place with set-screws, but the Springfield Armory mount I tried first had to have it's clip-guide block roll-pinned in place.

It's all probably a bit moot at the moment, though. Unless either I or [livejournal.com profile] cymrullewes finds a job or the NH Unemployment Security Department gets its finger out in pretty short order, I don't know what we're buying food with this month.
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 06:45 pm (UTC)
Here's a pdf of the install instructions: http://www.hi-luxoptics.com/images/instructions/new%20m14mt%20installation.pdf

I think it's a pretty well thought out system, but I decided to keep my M1A as an irons only match rifle for now.
Friday, October 2nd, 2009 06:56 pm (UTC)
Yeah, that looks like a pretty well thought out design. Omission of the vertical lug should also mean it's unaffected by spec variations between GI and Springfield receivers.

I'm distinctly interested, assuming we can somehow get the logjam in NHUSD cleared.
Monday, October 5th, 2009 06:38 am (UTC)
is that and/or what's a good scope for a FAL assuming it has the P-rails installed?

#
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 05:03 pm (UTC)
I'd suggest trying this first. It was developed by a guy who was born legally blind, but without corrective surgery managed to use exercises to improve his eyesight enough that he now has a driver's license without glasses or contacts.

http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Your-Eyes-Meir-Schneider/dp/B0000AGQ6C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1254589289&sr=1-2