are we to ride this weekend sir?? polaris boy may or may not go...me thinks he is a *****. i'm trying to get some 30 rnd magazines for my mini 14 and a stock of ammo. damn that thing is accurate. i shot a blackbird out of a tree today and the bullet hit exactly where i aimed. anyway, i'll talk at you later.

texascat

 

It is not looking good for this coming weekend. Rain in the forcast and Michelle is taking her ExCET tests this Saturday till about 5-6 pm. I have to scout Friday night and turn it all in saturday along with analyze ing about two-three games on video(wide-tight-goalline views each game). I may not leave till 5 pm myself. Can we shoot (no pun intended) for the weekend after this one? Michelle and I were talking about driving to LaGrange to take part in the fine gun club you guys have out there then heading back to bastrop for more riding and shooting. I need to take my hunter saftey class again is there there someone there that can certify me? Michelle wants to also. Any info would be appreciated on that one. Time is running out and I'm a busy man! We take on our arch rivals this week on Wednesday. It is time for the Clint Eastwood speech, "Two kinds of people in this world...". Let me know if Duey wants to partake in the action. Tell him we'll give him a ride!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Laters gator,

 

With all due respect..... WTF are you doing shooting blackbirds out of trees with a mini-14?!!!
Havent you ever taken a hunter/gun safety course? Thats an incredibly DANGEROUS move on your part man. Thats how people get hurt or worse yet.. killed

 

So, what's so unsafe about shooting a bird out of a tree? If he was useing military ammo, I'd agree, but the best and often cheapest ammo is reloads that use a lighter weight bullet, and is a hollow point. The Mini 14 shoots that bullet fast enough that it literaly explodes on contact- with anything! I shoot muskrats in my pond- that's a big no-no! That .223 round won't ricochet because it hits the water so fast and hard that it explodes if I miss. And the 'rat won't know what hit'em- entry wound is a tiny hole that is hard to find, but the exit hole is just that- a big hole that you can put your fist in! Give TexasCat some credit for some intelligence (after all, he's a 'Cat rider!!), I'll bet that he was useing the hollow point.

 

thud,

i don't think it is possible for the 55 gr fmj bullet to penetrate the two foot diameter trunk of the tree the bird was sitting next to. after all he was on the lowest limb and there is a large earthen embankment that the bullet would have had to penetrate after breaching the tree to reach the vast uninhabited acreage behind my house. to answer your question about the hunter safety course, yes i have taken one and passed it and i never fire upon a target without knowing what is beyond that target. actually i inspected the oak tree and the bullet did not exit which i knew from the start that it would not. so before grandstanding and making me look like an idiot, go the extra mile and learn the facts before pointing your finger, buddy.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

Castr8r,

thanks for giving me the benfit of the doubt, but i was using a fmj bullet with a firm backstop. when i sight in my rifles, i use 2 stacks of railroad ties usually 4 ties high and 2 deep with about a foot of dirt between the two stacks. to this day, the rear ties have yet to be penetrated.

to thud,

contrary to popular belief, texans are not stupid.

texascat

 

Those fiesty canadian are all over you about shooting that high powered mini 14 of yours. You could empty an entire clip out there and only hit trees or varmits. I guess the guy thinks you live in a crowded urban development or something. Yikes, Texascat! No more talking about guns, you and I probably have a wire tap on our homes by now. The Canadian Secret Ministry of Defense will knock on our doors and check our permits to shoot in the miles and miles of nothing surrounding our ranches. Sorry about this weekend. I'll be ready next weekend for sure Texascat.

dakota R/T

 

i just want to clear the air about the reply i posted last night. i was feeling like crap due to one too many beers and too much fried fish i consumed at the cca meeting i attended. thud, your concern is well founded and i didn't mean to hammer you like i did. it just caught me at a bad time and i responded like a rattlesnake--what can i say i'm from texas and down here if it doesn't sting or stick ya it'll bite ya. whenever i shoot at anything, i always make sure of my backstop and what is beyond my target. i felt bad about my reply today because at a time like this we need be friendly toward one another and unite against the spineless bastards who inflict terror on the free world. we are all Americans and we stand as one.

texascat

 

Perhaps i over reacted a bit myself LOL but i stand by the fact that shooting birds out of a tree with anything but a shotgun is inherently dangerous. The danger comes if you MISs the bird. Castr8r im fully aware of the ballastics involved with shooting highpowered rifles. Ive hunted for going on 15 years now, everything from rabbits to bullmoose in northern ontario. While its true that hollowpoints are much less likely to richochet its not gauranteed that they wont. I've seen { heard) many hollowpoints richochet. About the only caliber that i can confortably say will not richochet is the .17 rem . This little bugger zips along at 4200fps+, a blade of grass is enough to explode the 25gr bullet. On the other hand ive see 180gr 30-06 bullets blow clean thru sappling trees and take down deer.So,,,, big and fast doesnt equate to no richochets. I did get a bit excited when i see the " shot a bird out of a tree" because there was a very close call in our area that almost lead to the banning of rifle hunting in our area. Seems some joker was trying to shoot a bird from a tree with a .223rem ,,,he missed.... that bullet flew well over a mile... and you guessed it.. clean thru a picture window in a house. and lodged in the opposite wall of the house about 18inces above a sofa couch !!!. So forgive me if i get a bit exited.I would rather you think im some whacho anti-hunter Canadian then for you ( or anyone)to full of remorse because the shot missed and someone miles away was killed by the stray bullet. If texascat says there was a berm behind the tree then i believe him. I just ask that everyone handles their guns safely so that we can ALL hunt for many years to come . my opologies texas .

 

thud,

apology accepted. i have a respectable battery of firearms and of them only one is 99% free of ricochet and that is the .220 swift. its 50 gr v-max bullet truckin' along at 4000 fps absolutely disintegrates upon impact. as far as ricochet on water, i have never had the desire to try to see what the potential is. when i was younger i would perform penetration tests with various calibers. the thickest metal i ever shot thru was 3/4" and that was with a .338 magnum with 250gr soft point bullets. i stopped doing that though b/c i felt my luck was running out if you know what i mean. i just like to know what a certain caliber/bullet combination is capable of penetrating so if anyone is shooting at me i know what i can hide behind and what i cannot.

anyway, is it cold up there in Canada?? it's about 75 degrees with 90% humidity right now in Texas.

texascat