Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

Wrangler John

Coffee was essential in my first job, working with show horses. First horse had to be groomed and harnessed before dawn ready for the trainer, which required two cups. Everybody made a path to the commercial percolator in the tack room, grunting acknowledgement of each other until the caffeine kicke...

Wrangler John

I can confirm that Privi brass is good. I purchased thousands of brass cases in .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, and 7.62x39 Russian, all of it compared in quality with Winchester brass (the 7.62x39 comparing favorably with an old batch of Remington I had on ha...

Wrangler John

It isn't just age alone that sneaks up on us, wear and tear also play a part. All that fun and hard work in my life, and a bit of misfortune, is coming back demanding its toll be paid. When I was a kid I rode motorcycles and horses, that cost me my left shoulder broken once in a motorcycle accident ...

Wrangler John

Back in the '80's when the Browning's were new I bought a Model 71 Carbine (and two '86's, a Model 65 and a '95 but that's another story of obsession) anyway I also picked up a box of Winchester .348 ammo that was marked ".348 Winchester for Browning Model 71 Commemorative Rifle." Still ha...

Wrangler John

Back in the day I used a Colt New Frontier in .45 Colt for IHMSA competition. Yes I know, it isn't what could be called a target revolver and it is the weakest of the modern revolvers, but I wanted a challenge. Here's what I learned, a load of W296 and the Hornady 250 XTP bullet produced the greates...

Wrangler John

Same here, I had a .45 Colt Ruger Blackhawk Convertible. I did a bit of lightening on the trigger pull, down to 3 lbs, and it would out-shoot my custom heavy slide 1911 competition pistol. With a 180 grain semi-wadcutter cast bullet and 3.0 grains of Bullseye powder that revolver would indeed cut th...

Wrangler John

Me too! I had a spinal cord tumor removed from my neck and they removed five lamina (the little bones that stick up like a dinosaur's spines) to gain access. Didn't help the arthritis a danged little bit, so I can't crouch over a bench sighting through a scope for long. Can't shoot the big bores muc...

Wrangler John

I think the Browning BLR would be the best bet as gundownunder points out, or the Winchester Model 88. Both have rotating bolt heads similar to semi-autos, although the Model 88 is handicapped by its lever mounted trigger. The Winchester 95 would be a candidate due to the box magazine. My scoped Mar...

Wrangler John

I use non-aerosol Berryman's B-12 Chemtool carburetor cleaner (California formulation), no problem on guns or welding. Wear Nytrile gloves when cleaning. When I was a welder fabricating tons of steel daily, or repairing heavy construction equipment, there was one rule - shop ventilation fan on, magn...

Wrangler John

there is something unidentifiable about the 71 that whispers of well worn gun shops, ones with creaking wooden floors, and air tinged with the aroma of cigar smoke, walnut and Hoppies that I find a comfort. I take it out and hold it occasionally, and drift off to an imaginary place along the Yellow...

Wrangler John

IMO we're missing the critical piece of information. His reloads were showing separation, not the commercial brass which actually wrecked the rifle. Given that, the commercial loads were new Jamison Brass...not likely to show full case failure even with the headspace probability. So something else ...

Wrangler John

I was at the range last Monday, when a fellow that shoots a collection of Winchester 1886's had one of his acquisitions blowup. He had been experiencing some difficulty with commercially manufactured .38-56 ammunition, and his own reloads. All loads were cast bullets with smokeless equivalent charg...

Wrangler John

I was at the range last Monday, when a fellow that shoots a collection of Winchester 1886's had one of his acquisitions blowup. He had been experiencing some difficulty with commercially manufactured .38-56 ammunition, and his own reloads. All loads were cast bullets with smokeless equivalent charge...

Wrangler John

I just use Hornady's Unique case lube for heavy forming, it's nothing more exotic than leather dressing, can be used on boots. When I want to lube quicky I use Hornady's One Shot spray. I used to make my own for jacketed bullet swaging by mixing anhydrous lanolin and mineral oil 1:1, I was ideal for...

Wrangler John

The Winchester '86/'71 are possibly two of the most attractive rifles in existence, along with the Savage 99 spool magazine rifles of course. I bought a Browning M-71 carbine when they first came out, along with two '86's. At the range the carbine liked Hornady bullets and the Barnes discontinued X ...

Wrangler John

When I contracted with a pig trapper none of the meat could be given away to charity, or the Men's Correctional Facility, for human consumption because it wasn't USDA inspected and stamped. It had to be inspected at time of slaughter to be legal. A hunter could consume his own kill personally, but i...

Wrangler John

My old truck sits for long periods. I wired a battery switch in to prevent it from running down. With the switch in a concealed location this will work well, as the truck will not turn over, the headlights won't come on, and even jumping it will not help. Get one with a lock, and you are in business...

Wrangler John

Say, isn't that the museum that the Ghost Hunters TV show visited on November 5, 2009? After dinking around for most of the show they came to the conclusion that electromagnetic fields from transmission towers surrounding the site were likely causing people to have certain experiences. http://realit...

Wrangler John

Mic? What about pin gauges? What about a telescoping gauge and Mic? How about just slugging the hole and measuring? Any good machinist can calibrate a mic with standards, even I got mic standards in my tool box. Gunsmithing ain't what it used to be. Last good guy I had do revolver work was F. Bob Ch...

Wrangler John

That entire part of the law that requires face to face sales is in violation of federal law, essentially prohibiting intestate delivery. It will wind up in federal court as soon as it becomes effective. Read here: http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=230676 There is also another suit ...

Wrangler John

How about finding a Browning M-95 in .30-06 (even .30-40 Krag)? That way you have five shots, pointed bullets - such as the Barnes or other premium bullet, and all the power you need. Those are nice handling rifles, well balanced and fast. Otherwise maybe a Winchester reproduction in .405 Winchester.

Wrangler John

Where you can run into trouble is using slower ball powders with heavy deterrent coatings, like W-296/H-110 with starting loads, standard primers and a mild crimp. I know this from experience, the powder will partially ignite, pause and then reignite producing a hangfire and higher than normal press...

Wrangler John

Starline in .44 Mag, .45 Colt, .480 Ruger, .45-70. Buy case lots of 500 for consistency and long time supply. This brass is just done right and I have yet to have a case fail, or be defective out of the box. They must have eagle-eyed inspectors. Winchester in rifle calibers .348 Winchester, .243 WSS...

Wrangler John

Ye-gods, and I used to stuff cotton in their ears just to use the Oster clippers to trim inside, leaving those little contrasting tufts on the points. That way the racket was muffled and all the hair didn't go down inside. I can't even conceive of a horse with tinnitus and hearing loss from gunfire,...

Wrangler John

Good thing Oliver Winchester and John Browning weren't lawyers, or nobody would buy anything they designed!

Wrangler John

Absolutely, positively try AA-1680 in the .357 Maximum. I used WW-680 and Sierra 180 grain Silhouette bullets for competition and nothing performed like WW-680. AA-1680 gave just as good results later on. Your post makes me want to get the old Ruger Maximum out and shoot some more - as soon as thing...

Wrangler John

The law only applies to handgun ammunition, including that fired in rifles - i.e. .357 Magnum, .45 Colt, etc. It doesn't apply to any other ammunition. It doesn't apply to any reloading components, even handgun ammo components. It doesn't prohibit bringing ammo in from out of state yourself. The pro...

Wrangler John

Yes, wool socks are nice and comfy and a shop vac is a good idea to keep the brass shavings out of them. One thing I learned early in life was never to clean stalls bedded in wood shavings while wearing oxfords and wool socks. :lol: Well, Mrs. Wrangler and I didn't exchange gifts this year. Not beca...

Wrangler John

The Super Mag cartridges were developed by Elgin Gates back in the 70's & 80's. I still have two revolvers in these, a .357 Maximum (Super Max) and the .375 Super Magnum. They are all good cartridges, even more so today with the greater assortment of powders available. If you want some advice as...

Wrangler John

I've never owned a Winchester bolt action. At the SHOT show last year they gave me a short action and a long action supergrade to test because I questioned the 1 MOA guarantee. I was given one box each of Winchester Supreme ammo. Both rifles put 3 shots into an inch at 100 yards as the guarantee st...

Wrangler John

I am a confirmed .480 Ruger fan. I own two revolvers for it, a Super Redhawk and custom 5 shot single action. However, having purchased a particular .44 Magnum rifle to go with my S&W 29 and Ruger SBH revolvers that was just painful to shoot, I caution one to try a .480 Ruger rifle before purcha...

Wrangler John

My words may seem eloquent, but each of you are a living example of God's eloquence in spirit and flesh, far more worthy of praise than anything a man may author. You are far more important to the universe than any great star, or heavenly wonder. While our lives may seem ordinary, mundane and superf...

Wrangler John

One week ago on Tuesday morning, I had taken my GMC diesel in for service. My wife had brought me back from the dealer. That afternoon she drove me back to the dealer to pick it up. On the way her restored 1986 Ford F-150 step-side began to backfire and loose power, she puled off on the freeway shou...

Wrangler John

Lever rifles appeal to the same spirit that enjoys steam locomotives. All that machinery working in concert, the clicks, ratcheting, eccentric motion and thunks leading to a result. Like the steam locomotive they represent a time when men were in control of things, not computers, when the individual...

Wrangler John

sounds like you are in dieer need of a man room... really show your wife how bad it could be and you will get your room if it dont turn out like mine and yes thoes are snap on girlie clocks and bullet bords indian prints also a few lone wolf prints... I stay out of the rest of the house she stays o...

Wrangler John

I'll bet that .44/.357 B&D works better in a rifle than it did in the Ruger Blackhawk. I had a .357 Magnum/9mm convertible Blackhawk cylinder rechambered by Bain & Davis in the '80's. Thought it might be good for IHMSA Silhouette shooting, but it never panned out. Neck was too short, shoulde...

Wrangler John

I don't know, some are fun - the .204 Ruger is so dang cute! I just love the way I can see the legs fly off a sage rat when the bullet impacts. Marlin's .308 and .338 Marlin Express cartridges make a bit of sense given the Hornady squishy tip bullets. Probably will outlast the .307 Winchester. Then ...

Wrangler John

My idea of decorating is to take the reloading Post-it Notes and load charts off the wall before painting! My wife gave up long ago, now she accepts various MTM boxes of varmint cartridges sitting on the buffet's Belgium lace doily waiting for the next bi-weekly hunting trip. She doesn't mind two gu...

Wrangler John

The new "environmentalists" are quite mad. before I retired I managed a large west coast redwood park. There is a steelhead stream running through the park, the powers that be passed a regulation that steelhead were a protected species. It was completely ridiculous. The law considered an u...

Wrangler John

Gosh, back 50 years ago I had an old 1894 saddle ring carbine in .44-40 (or was it marked .44 WCF?) that was perfectly fitted and functioned smooth as glass. Maybe it was slick from use, I'll never know, but it was about 90% condition. Then there was the early .444 Marlin that was just a bit stiff f...

Wrangler John

Try http://www.huntingtons.com call their toll free number 1-866-735-6237 for stock. http://www.midwayusa.com is accepting back orders with a due date 0f 8/29/2009 http://www.impactguns.com/store/winchester_brass.html is accepting orders. Buffalo Arms has them formed from .38-55 until they are avail...

Wrangler John

There ain't much difference between them. Except that the .30-30 with those Hornady 160 grain FTX flex-tip pointed boat tails will increase your range and velocity. In a Marlin with a scope it would be a good setup. You might get away with loading the Hornady 265 grain .430" FTX for the .444 Ma...

Wrangler John

I did the trigger conversion on my .223 back in the '80's, or was it the '90's? Just bought the Timney last month so I could shoot varmint without straining my finger. Ordered the 1.5 pound Timney - it's worth the money. That cheapo 788 is a really light walking around gun that has accounted for man...

Wrangler John

That's okay, so far there's only 14 counties or parts of counties where lead free bullets are required. Everything north of Madera and Santa Clara Counties is open to lead bullets. I shoot ground squirrels in Monterey County using Barnes Varmint Grenades and TTSX bullets, they work splendidly. The B...

Wrangler John

If'n you all are going to burn off powder, do not pile it up! The recommended way (SAMMI) is to pour it out in a trail no deeper than 3/8" and 1" to 2" wide as long as it needs to be. I wet a concrete walkway with a hose end sprayer and then make the trail, igniting it with a propane ...

Wrangler John

What about keeping the Winchester as is and picking up a new Cimarron Arms reproduction to shoot? That way you'll have modern steel and don't need worry about the collector's value. They sell for around $1,200. Then again, for $1,300 you could send the Winchester to Doug Turnbull for a new barrel or...

Wrangler John

That's when America had men that stood staring quietly into the sunset and you knew they were seeing past this world to a truth deeper than themselves.

I can hear the buckboard, the trace chains jingling, smell the horses and harness, and feel your wonder at it all. Thank you.

Wrangler John

Unique is like potato chips, the old favored snack. Yeah they're fattening, covered with too much salt and leave your fingers oily, but nothing else will satisfy the craving. What's more they're still cheap, maybe not as cheap as when the big bag cost $0.69, but cheap enough. Unique fills voluminous...

Wrangler John

Oregon is gun friendly in SOME parts; Portland ain't one of 'em. Their cops are a bunch of criminals. Lebanon, Oregon is supposed to have a nice shooting facility. I forgot about Portland! Portland is to Oregon as Berkeley or Santa Cruz is to California. Haven't been through there for many a year, ...

Wrangler John

Brookings is a small and remote seaport community. My cousin from Gold Beach had several stays in a Brookings convalescent hospital, but as the nurse said, "we are a small community and don't have major medical facilities". My cousin had to be transported to Crescent City for acute care an...

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