.38-50 Hepburn

[Kurt]

It's 4º this morning and it will be the same tomorrow but on Sat. it's going to be around 30º. Even sitting on the bench out front the wiping will not do my fingers any good. Froze them brown once and they get pretty painful now.

I will just load and shoot into the snow to see what a full load of black with a bullet to fully expand the shell.

Jim,

That is pretty much the same I did with my .40-70. I used the cut down die yesterday and swage the base to the rim. This is better than polishing the chamber. I can replace the die a lot easier than the barrel.

[beltfed]

ME,To. I wait for 30 plus weather to even think about outdoor shooting.
I do use a propane bottle mounted catalytic heater nest to my hands on the bench when shooting
in cold weather. Helps those fingers a lot. Can even then feel the trigger.......
And I wear nitrile exam gloves to at least keep the wiping fluid off the skin.
I use RV antifreeze straight for wiping in this weather
Arnie

[Kurt]

Well Arnie I guess I can drag my ice chanty out and light up the heater and shoot in comfort like Jim. LOL

[Kurt]

OK, I braved the chilly air and fired two shots with out having to wipe.

The Hep ejects the case. I didn't have to pull it out of the chamber like the 74.

I had to check the shell to see if it went off the recoil is so soft.

So far all is well.

[Distant Thunder]

Kurt,

Comfort is a relative term in Illinois apparently!

I do like Arnie, I set my little propane heater right on the bench next to me, it keeps my patches from freezing and my fingers too. If I set it on the floor my feet are warm but my patches and fingers are frozen! In this kind of weather it’s only warm directly in front of my little heater.

It was 14 degrees here this morning and didn’t feel too bad, then the wind came up and now it’s just a bitter, cold, gray day.

It’s 43 degrees in my shop so I’m out there working away. Rumor is my heater will be installed next week. Then I’ll have to wait on the gas company to hook me up and I can work in real comfort, 60 degrees!

[Kurt]

Jim,

There is only one thing that is relative here in Illinois but I won't say what.

I started the heater in the garage and got it warmed up to work on the lathe. It got to 55 in a hurry with thew ceiling mounted electric heater I installed two years ago and I made a compression stem for the .38 and I made a couple bushings for sizing bullets.
It worked very good using a bridge reamer for the bushings.
It's going to get into the 30's on Saturday and I put the scope on the rifle and I have some rounds loaded to see if I can keep them on paper.

I need to get a MVA tang sight base, I hope they have a base with 1.950 hole spacing.

[Gussy]

I didn't want another base so one I did have found it's way to the mill. It now has a slot (fit all) at the bottom hole.

[Kurt]

Gussy,

I clamped a base in the vise last night to do just that but I didn't follow through doing that. I didn't want to have to change bases every time I picked up the other rifle.
Besides the screws in this tang are 10/32's and the other bases CPA and Sharps are smaller. I think the CPA screw head would fall through the slot
I called MVA this morning.

Cold out!!!! Will be making Maple Syrup soon

[ian45662]

Rifle came in yesterday. 32” 12 twist greenmountain “x” barrel. As it sits there in the picture it weighs 11 pounds 8oz. Should be a real doll baby to shoot. Now we are just waiting on a mould. ?

[Kurt]

OH MAN!!

That is one fine looking shooter. Ian!!
You know, I have three rifles that Paul and now Gail have build for me and I have never been disappointed with the wood or the way the rifle shot.
If I didn't want a Hepburn it would have been another CPA.
Before I ordered the Hep I sent Gail an E-mail requesting info on what reamer she was using and never got a reply going on three weeks till three days after I put a deposit down with Dan.

You going to let me put my finger prints on that shooter at Alma??

Kurt