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Snider reloading tutorial
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- Created on Saturday, 21 July 2012 20:55
Nice video from Duelist1954's channel on reloading for the .577 Snider. He starts off making cartridges out of 24 gauge shot shells with round ball, which makes a dandy plinking load. He moves on to brass cartridges, which is pretty pricey for the huge brass shells. He gets his supplies from Graf and Sons. If you really want to shoot it cheap, you can even use the primed brass bottom of a shotguns shell, and just muzzle load the old Snider. Enjoyable video from a guy who likes shooting old guns, and he has many more.
Tough guys... Ranald Mackenzie
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- Created on Thursday, 12 July 2012 15:38
Ranald Mackenzie only lived to be 48 years old, and was insane at the end, but he was wounded so many times during his career it's a wonder he lasted that long. Not only was he a tough guy, he was also a smart guy. He graduated from West Point at the top of his class, whereas his contemporary, Armstrong Custer graduated at the bottom of his class a year earlier. Mackenzie and Custer had similar careers, however, Mackenzie didn't get himself surrounded and wiped out.
Ranald went straight from West Point to war. He started out as a 2nd lieutenant, fought in battle after battle, being wounded at least six times. He ended the war as a brevet Major General of Volunteers, which was Congress' way of saying "good job pal, but you're not getting any more money!"
After the Civil War, he stayed in the service and was involved immediately in the Indian Wars, commanding a Buffalo soldier regiment in 1867, and finally taking over the 4th US Cavalry, where he got down to some serious Indian fighting. He was wounded again with an arrow to the leg, and his nickname among the Indians was "Bad Hand", from a wound in the Civil War where he lost a couple of fingers from his right hand. He took the battle to the Comanche's own heartland, defeating them in the Battle of the North Fork along the Red River. Mackenzie's scouts were reportedly cannibals, which caused the surviving Comanches to hide their dead.
Mackenzie led his troops after the Cheyenne in Wyoming Territory and engaged them in a savage battle know as the Dull Knife fight (Dull Knife was a Cheyenne leader). He was a tough guy among tough guys, and on this day again he came out on top, ending the Cheyenne as a fighting force.
By 1884, he was drummed out of the army, his mind already losing it's grip with reality. Some say the cause was a fall from a wagon, but an entire lifetime of combat must take it's toll somewhere. By 1889 he was dead and now resides at Arlington. There are several places in Texas that have his name, and there was even a forward operating base in Iraq named for him. To appreciate what he went through, you can get a taste of it by watching the 1950 John Wayne film, Rio Grande, which is loosely based on Mackenzie's exploits.
The following video is from Rock Island auctioneers who sold a 4th Cavalry Colt
from Mackenzie's outfit
Top Gun...WW1
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- Created on Wednesday, 11 July 2012 20:56
During WW1 aircraft went from barely a novelty to a deadly killing machine. The machines advanced rapidly, going from unarmed and obeying a code of honor (which included not shooting at each other) to both sides being turned into deadly killers. At first, the Lee Enfield rifle was used to take pot shots at the enemy airmen, which failed miserably. Machine guns were soon to be the norm, at first mounted on swing mounts, which endangered parts of the shooters airplane, to being mounted and fired through the propeller. This innovation went to Anthony Fokker, who at first offered his services to the British, who turned him down. He found his stride in the service of the German war machine, the the chagrin of the British fliers.
The planes and fliers from the Vintage Aviator in New Zealand lend a realistic view of the war and it's developement of the fighter aircraft. This video really looks good in full screen, and puts you in the pilot's seat, but luckily you won't be shot down.
Machine gun shoots.. American as apple pie
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- Created on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 17:26
There is nothing as enjoyable as the All American machine gun shoot... The following is the latest video from AZFUN4ALL's channel, a man who truly enjoys his hobby. In it you'll see about every machine gun made going through it's paces, and some that you'll never see again. Machine gun shoots usually run into the night hours, and is something to experience. You'll do that at the end of the video. Enjoy!
P-40 crash update Batavia, Ohio 7-7-2012
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- Created on Saturday, 07 July 2012 18:39
Back in December, a recently restored P-40 suffered engine failure and crashed through a fence at the end of Sporty's airfield runway. That fence probably saved the pilot's life, according to the volunteers at the Warbird Museum.
The plane had been recently restored from a hulk rescued from a junkyard in New Zealand, the owner selling off one old plane at a time when he ran out of cash. Most of the plane's parts were made in house at the Warbird Museum, sitting adjacent to Sporty's field. On a test flight, the fighter was using a borrowed oil cooler, as their's was being rebuilt. The oil cooler ruptured when they were five miles out, losing all the hydraulics which included the brakes. The 1400 horsepower Allison exploded soon after, and the pilot made for the field with no engine and no brakes. Coming in hot, the fence finally brought the plane to a halt on the road at the end of the landing strip.
The landing gear was ripped from one wing, and included other damage to the wings and fuselage. A new motor is being sent from Florida, and the wings are being rebuilt at the Warbird Musem, since they have a forty foot long wing jig sitting in the corner, and the people to do it. Being a time and labor intensive job, the aircraft will be a while before being back in the sky.
The following video from Sporty's channel is a test flight of this plane