Look at the window sill before you lay your arm there!

[Marc]

Went to the range yesterday to try to finish up some load development before deer season opens next Saturday. My Model 64 30-30 has demonstrated respectable accuracy at 100 yards. Yesterday I wanted to see what it would do at 200 yards. I was disappointed to find it didn't meet my expectations. It groups under 2" at 100 so I was expecting something less than 4" at 200 yards. Instead 3 shots came in at 6". The rifle wears a receiver sight and I am over 60 so I never know if the rifle failed the test or if my eyes failed the test. I haven't cleaned it in a while since it was shooting well, so maybe it needs cleaning. 6" at 200 isn't a deal breaker but it will make me hesitate to try a long shot. I am going to load a few more and try again with a better target next week.

So anyway I was leisurely loafing my way down the mountain from the range when I stuck my arm out the window and rested it on the windowsill. What the hey is that stinging? I looked at my arm and there was a strand of something laying down my arm. The road is a twisty mountain road and I am trying to get this burning stinging thing off my arm and keep the truck in the road. I finally get it brushed off and look at the window sill and there was a yellow jacket laying in the groove on top of the window. He wasn't doing well! I mashed the guts out of him and he let me have the full load of venom. I don't normally react much to yellow jacket stings. It hurts when it happens and I get a little bump and sometimes a little local swelling. This was different. My whole arm swelled up and hurt bad all afternoon. I finally broke down and iced it. It is still swelled today but doesn't hurt. That bug really nailed me!

[RKrodle]

Those yellow jackets can really put the hurt on a fellow. I usually wet some dirt, spit on it if you have no other water source, and make a mud pack to put on the sting area as soon as possible after the sting. This seems to always work for me.

[slimster]

When I read your post Marc, I remembered this one by 3leggedturtle not long ago. next time you might try it. I can't vouch for it from experience, but it might work.http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... pper+penny

[donw]

dang!!! that hadda hurt!

[Rusty]

... or you could get a wad of yer wife's chewin tobacco and put it on there.

[Ben_Rumson]

Sorry about your arm.. I hate them yellow Jackets!.. Now I wouldn't go doing ANYTHING to your rifle if it's shooting under 2" at a hunnert, especially you going hunting next Sat.. I can't remember what its called.. something or other dispersion factor...but it means a 2" group don't translate into a 4" group at 200 yds just cause the range doubled...Six inches didn't surprise when I read it... good luck ..

[AJMD429]

... or you could get a wad of yer wife's chewin tobacco and put it on there.

[jnyork]

OK, let's see here.....

You are 60 years old and you are unhappy because you can only hold a 6" group at 200 yards with a .30-30 lever gun with iron sights. Is that your problem, Buddy??

Boo hooty hoo.

[firefuzz]

I actually thought your shooting was pretty good. I'm slightly allergic to wasp and bee stings, don't go any where without Benedryl in the vehicle. Aldolf's Meat Tenderizer made into a paste with some spit and put on the sting will reduce the venom reaction locally if you get it on fairly quickly. Old Boy Scout trick.

Rob

[bsaride]

I'm with you on the shootin iron, think twice on longer shots.

My yellow jacket story is from when I was a kid and climbing the walls in the barn.
Got stung under the fingernail. I don't like 'em either.

[claybob86]

Sounds like the rifle AND you are doing pretty good!

[Marc]

... or you could get a wad of yer wife's chewin tobacco and put it on there.

Perfect! Now why didn't I think of that? I get stung 2 or 3 times a year and the stings don't bother me much so I never pay it any mind. This one is different. The arm is still swollen. My brother is allergic to them. They almost killed him when we were kids.

OK, let's see here.....

You are 60 years old and you are unhappy because you can only hold a 6" group at 200 yards with a .30-30 lever gun with iron sights. Is that your problem, Buddy??

Boo hooty hoo.

Yeh, and it really PO's me!

[fknipfer]

Got a yellow jacket sting on my index finger one year going to Alasksa stopped and brushed something off of the camper screen unfortunately it was a yellow jacket. Only got me on the one finger and not a full load but it was at least double size for about five days and then the pain starting going away. I won't do that again I will look first before I use my bare hand to swat something off of a window screen.

fknipfer

[Marc]

I got stung again yesterday! I went to our club silhouette match and it was warm so I had my shirt tail out. I felt something crawling on my back and got stung when I lifted my shirt to see what it was. I didn't see what it was. There were bees, yellow jackets and bumble bees flying about. This was just a normal sting. Not the double barrel super magnum shot so it wasn't bad.

It's the one you don't see that gets you!

I did win the match, which isn't saying much. Most of us are shaky old fanny burbs past our prime. Yesterday I was just a little less shaky than the rest!

[Old Savage]

My 3/4" 30-30 went to 8" at a certain point - then changed again back to about 2 1/2" with further vision changes but by that time it had a 4x scope.

[2X22]

Congradulations on winning your match! Your shooting seems to be very good..

Bees are something I have had to watch my entire life. A single bee sting will put me in the hospital in just a few minutes fighting for my life. I've had to carry a bee sting kit forever it seems. I always thought honey bees were the worst for me until a few years ago when I was hit by another yellow jacket and within a few minutes couldn't breathe. I don't swell up on the outside, I swell up on the inside and to feel it happen knowing organs are about to start a systematic shutdown is a bit disconcerting........

I've always been told that we become more and more allergic to bee venom as we age and have a lifetime of being stung. We've all heard of the occasional bee keeper that has been stung over his lifetime and then suddenly drops dead from a single sting. Bee stings are not something to be taken lightly.
2x22

[El Chivo]

I heard on the news about a month ago about a guy in Encinitas who died from multiple bee stings. He was landscaping with a riding mower and ran over a nest. He tried to flee but they pursued him and gave him hundreds of stings.

I have seen a lot of bees around lately. There is a big nest under our storage at the silhouette range and I passed under one in a tree in Sherman Oaks. Also at the silhouette range, lots of bees living in holes in the dirt.

One note about the long shots with your 30-30; Barnes told me the bullet won't expand under 1400 fps. My load starts to dip under 1400 at about 200 yards.

I was practicing with my .243 and my 200 yard group opened up, too. Still minute of deer I hope.

[Mike D.]

Yellow jackets live in either holes that other animals have dug and abandoned or in tree hollows. Some species also build round nests, not unlike those of other hornets. They are especially active in late summer to early fall and are VERY protective of their nests. If you find a ground nest the ONLY way to eliminate it completely is to spray it after dark when the hunting wasps are back in the nest. I lie to follow them and find the nest, then return after dark and do them in. Also, a product called "Sting Kill" really helps to soothe the sting area. It's active ingredients are 2% Lidocaine HCI and 1% Menthol as topical anesthetics. Believe me, it works.

[gundownunder]

You won the fight and the bug lost all he had to lose, nothing to whine about there.
You shot a six inch group at 200 with open sights, now you've got something to whine about.