Back to blogging

It's been a little more than a week since my last post. For some reason I doubt my legion of rabid fans, confined by the outer darkness as the result of my inactivity, are wailing, gnashing their teeth and rending their garments.

If I'm wrong and you're toothless, teary eyed and and digging through the shrinking supply of wearable Wal-Mart plastic bags--the modern-day equivalent of sackcloth--please forgive me.

In a few more days, I'll start the process of having cataracts removed from both eyes. I'm looking forward to wearing new, non-prescription, Wiley X shooting glasses and not stumbling around outside while blinded by the sun. I'm still waiting for repairs to be finished on the sheet-metal-covered shop door, which I punctured with a bale-loader tine. The sun bounced off a cloudy lens while I was performing a tractor equivalent of a chandelle. The turn radius was a bit too wide. I don't drive a computer as well, either.

I dream of fine May days at the range with my rifles and pistols. I assembled a billet AR-15 lower receiver the past week with a Stag Arms lower parts kit, an A2 stock pulled from a Bushmaster rifle, and an ERGO SUREGRIP by Falcon Industries, Inc.

For now it is wearing a post-ban, flat-top DPMS upper assembly in .223 Remington I purchased in 2003. I've contacted John Holliger at White Oak Precision about turning a barrel from a 6mm Douglas or Shilen 1-8" blank. He has reamers for several 6mm wildcats such as the 6mm WOA, 6mm-.223, 6mm PPC, and others derived from the .22o Russian case.

Conventional wisdom has changed. There's no longer any reason to mark down black rifles in comparison to turn bolts accuracy wise. Plus one receives a better workout when retrieving ejected brass.