​A new addition and an old story

​A new addition and an old story
                        

No, we aren’t announcing a new grandchild, at least not yet. But we do have a new addition to our house.

About the time we were getting ready to head to Kentucky to shooting school, I happen to notice one of the outdoor gear auctions at Mt. Hope. In this auction they also had a collection of guns to sell.

I know there are so many sales and auctions going on, but this one caught my eye. It was to be held while we were in Kentucky, so I knew that unless I had someone bid for me, I was safe from bidding. (Guns also are part of my addiction.)

Then I happened to notice that you could register and bid or leave a standing maximum bid on line. Oh, my.

There was one particular gun that caught my eye: a Ruger M77 Mark II in .338 Winchester Magnum with laminated stock and a stainless barrel, like new in the box, my “Corvette” in guns. Taryn, you’re still my number-one addiction. (Thought I better add that.)

Curious to see what it would go for, of course I registered and placed what I thought it might sell for. On the evening we arrived back home, there was an email congratulating me on the highest bid, at less than half of what I bid. It was destiny. Beautiful gun.

Just like a new car, I had to dress her up (Did I say her? I meant it), so off to my friend, Gerald at Custom Blue in Newcomerstown. She went for a new muzzle brake, and he lowered the trigger pull to 2.75 pounds. I sent silver scope rings and a new Nikon Prostaff 5 scope in 3.5-14X40 BDC reticle, also in silver. I tried to find a bipod in silver also, but when I checked the internet, I found someone else asking about one on a blog site, and the first answer he got was “put on the black one, you arrogant ... ” and “Walmart sells spray paint for $4.99.”

Oops! I put on the black one.

To complete the setup, I added a black de resonator on the barrel, a cheek pad for the stock and a black padded sling. I had Gerald sight it in with 185 grain Hornady Super Performance ammo, but I have the just released Hornady ELD-X ammo coming in 230 grain. Yes, I spoiled her, just like I spoiled my daughters when they were home. Welcome to the family.

Well, some of you have asked about how we got started hunting all over the place. I guess you could say it all started with a phone call. We both grew up learning to shoot and hunt in our younger years but never had been exposed to big game hunting until my “brother” David Carrick, who used to be the minister at our church and moved to Craig, Colorado, called me and said that a friend of theirs, who was a guide, had a cancellation on a combo hunt for elk and mule deer. He wanted to know if I was interested. I thought for a minute (maybe less) and said yes.

Of course, even as pumped as we get now preparing for a hunt, I read everything I could find on elk and mule deer hunting. That is when I purchased my “other baby,” my 7MM from Miller Gun and practiced, practiced, practiced.

We’ll continue with the story next time, but in the meantime enjoy your summer, take a little vacation (or a big one), and cherish your family and friends while you have them. God has not promised us tomorrow here on this earth, so celebrate this day that the Lord has blessed you with and be glad in it.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load