Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[pacerron]

The only problem with him enjoying it so much (like fishing) is he asks me every day (sometimes 8 or 10 times) if we can go shoot again. Now, he's asking me about the 12 ga shotgun. I have clay targets and a target thrower, but I'm not sure at just over 100 lb whether he'll be able to take the 12 ga kick. I may start him off with the 20 ga or see about getting a .410. I think .410s are great starter shotguns. I also see a gun safe in my future. $$$

I got my wife a 20 gauge thinking the kick would be lighter than a 12 gauge but it doesn't seem to be for her. The 20 gauge is a little lighter in weight but that makes the kick worse.
There are not near as many varieties of shot for the 20 gauge available as the 12 either and the price is about the same per shot for less material.
I had a .410 from Monkey Wards when I was a kid. Great gun for young shooters.
For your grandson a shorter stock might be important depending on how big he is.
Ron

 

[Bird]

Jim, I guess I was either 10 or 11 years old when I got my great grandfather's double barrelled (side hammer) .12 gauge shotgun. It's a pretty good recoil for a little fellow, but won't hurt him as long as he holds it firm against his shoulder.

At one time when I was 11 years old, there was a stock tank at the bottom of the hill we lived on that frequently had ducks on it, so one evening I walked down there and sneaked up the dam to peek over, and yep, there were ducks there, so I stepped up and got one with that 12 gauge; had to run all the way around that tank to pick it up where it hit the ground on the other side. And when I got back to the house, Dad was still laughing. I asked him what he was laughing about and he said it was watching me stagger all the way back down that tank dam when that .12 gauge kicked me.

 

[Western]

Thompson Center makes some fine weapons. Might want to look at them too. The interchangeable barrels gives you allot of options in the same weapon.
Here is a rifle version.
G2 Contender Centerfire Rifles - Thompson/Center

 

[Bird]

Dennis, I believe it was about 1965 that I bought an H&R Topper; single shot with the interchangeable barrels. Some referred to them as a "boys" gun because it was shorter. I got the .20 gauge shotgun barrel and the 30-30 rifle barrel. In those days they also made a .22 jet and a .12 gauge barrel for it. I probably made a mistake when I sold that gun in a garage sale 10 years ago. It was a nice little inexpensive gun.

 

[Western]

Bird, I also bought an H&R break open for one of my sons, 20 gauge. They are a nice "cheap" one to learn on. I paid some where like $60 for it new. Nothing like the one you had though, that would be a nice "show and tell" piece.

 

[NativeSon]

I still have my Stevens .22/.410 over & under that I got for Christmas when I was about 11 yo. Sure had a lot of fun with that gun and in about 6-7 years I'll give it to the Grand sons. I sure burned up a lot of cheap .22 ammo with that gun.

Charlie

 

[two_bit_score]

The only problem with him enjoying it so much (like fishing) is he asks me every day (sometimes 8 or 10 times) if we can go shoot again. Now, he's asking me about the 12 ga shotgun. I have clay targets and a target thrower, but I'm not sure at just over 100 lb whether he'll be able to take the 12 ga kick. I may start him off with the 20 ga or see about getting a .410. I think .410s are great starter shotguns. I also see a gun safe in my future. $$$

I've seen some nice .410's lately. Some over and under, some side by sides, even a pump.

Good choices out there. I grew up with a .410 single shot.

I really get a kick out of taking my grandson shooting.



.

 

[Bird]

I've seen some nice .410's lately. Some over and under, some side by sides, even a pump.

Good choices out there. I grew up with a .410 single shot.

I really get a kick out of taking my grandson shooting.

When I was a kid, I had a single shot break open Iver Johnson .410. It was a good little gun, but I sure would have liked to have had a double barrelled .410 like a friend of mine had.

 

[bindian]

I got a Stevens Savage single shot 410 for Christmas when I was 11. It had a kids length stock and thick kick pad on it. I really enjoyed the fact it could be taken apart with no tools in about 4 seconds. It had a long full choke barrel that allowed it great distance, better than my brother's 20 guage. Don't remember if I ever shot a dove or quail in flight, but I learned alot carrying that gun, alongside Dad. But birds on the fence didn't have a chance!
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

I got a Stevens Savage single shot 410 for Christmas when I was 11. It had a kids length stock and thick kick pad on it. I really enjoyed the fact it could be taken apart with no tools in about 4 seconds. It had a long full choke barrel that allowed it great distance, better than my brother's 20 guage. Don't remember if I ever shot a dove or quail in flight, but I learned alot carrying that gun, alongside Dad. But birds on the fence didn't have a chance!
hugs, Brandi

When I was a kid, with my .410 Western Fields, we still had quail in Ohio.
Haven't seen one for many years up here. They claim the farm chemicals
wiped them out. We still have some dove.
Is anybody but me having problems with the reply box? It spins and spins, opens a blank box w/o the original quote,
and other crazy things. If I wait long enough something appears.
I just usually quit and go outside to do a "rain dance" That hasn't worked either.

 

[Western]

Ron everything you doing for free isn't working:laughing: TBN, rain dance. I can only reply in "quick reply" soooo

 

[bindian]

I have not had any problems. Guess it is a browser/TBN interface thing.
hugs, Brandi

 

[ronjhall]

Ron everything you doing for free isn't working:laughing: TBN, rain dance. I can only reply in "quick reply" soooo

Double click "+reply to thread" or Click on "Go Advanced" should get you to full access to reply window. That is if you are using IE or Firefox.

 

[Western]

Thanks Ron, the "double click" works. I am using "Nightly" the 64 bit upgrade beta from Mozilla. Have been using it since it came out (maybe 2 months) and it has been problem free and seems to operate better with my Windows 64 bit OS.

 

[pacerron]

Dennis,
My last rain dance finally worked. Day before yesterday we got 3/10 ths of an inch. First shower since May 13th.

As a result the garden isn't doing well at all. My wife water soaks the rows every other evening but everything should be
twice as big by now.
The little black sunfolwer seeds from the bird seed bag are hanging in there and look to be just forming a bud in the centers.

This reply thing is still a mess, sometimes it will include the quote and sometimes not. I notice the blank white page crap is back too if
you go back from the present page to the previous.
Been in the woods the past few days. It is way too dry in there. I hope some idiot doesn't start a campfire.

 

[jinman]

My best browser for TBN since the changeover is Google Chrome. It seems to work perfectly. An old copy of IE8 is less than acceptable. Most times when I see the lists of posts in a forum, they are shifted right with a big white space on the left and lots of overwriting on member's profiles. None of that is visible in Chrome. My version of Chrome is 19.0.1084.56 m and it reports being up-to-date. I haven't really checked FireFox, but I believe it works well on my laptop.

 

[jinman]

My last rain dance finally worked. Day before yesterday we got 3/10 ths of an inch. First shower since May 13th.

That's good news, Ron. Your garden looks pretty darn nice. Mine is much more weedy. My vein problems in my legs have really limited my garden time this year.

I think you are finding out what we know here. When the temperatures get up in the high 90s, gardening becomes a real challenge. You may have to shade some of your more sensitive plants if this heat wave continues. No amount of water will save them. Squash, cucumbers, and melons seem to be able to handle the heat, but tomatoes stop setting fruit when it gets too hot.

 

[pacerron]

That's good news, Ron. Your garden looks pretty darn nice. Mine is much more weedy. My vein problems in my legs have really limited my garden time this year.

I think you are finding out what we know here. When the temperatures get up in the high 90s, gardening becomes a real challenge. You may have to shade some of your more sensitive plants if this heat wave continues. No amount of water will save them. Squash, cucumbers, and melons seem to be able to handle the heat, but tomatoes stop setting fruit when it gets too hot.

That's for sure.. 6 dozen tomato plants ( Super Fantastic VFN ) are normally loaded with tomatoes by now. We have a few the size of a baseball, still gree and hard as a rock. The plum tomatoes aren't even doing well.

Your fence is the greatest thing of the garden year. The deer are so PO'd they frown at us in dismay. Normally by now they would have eaten the green beans to the ground.:thumbsup:

 

[Western]

Only things I'm growing this year is a few watermelon (jury's out on that) and mosquitoes, doing darn good in that department.

Wife said the yard is beginning to struggle so she has been watering, then complains she has to mow:confused3: I gave up on tomatoes last year since I found them growing good at the grocery store. Last summer was a gardening night mare for me.

 

[jinman]

I gave up on tomatoes last year since I found them growing good at the grocery store. Last summer was a gardening night mare for me.

:laughing: If truth is known, your tomatoes (even home grown) at the grocery store or produce market are probably much cheaper than the ones we grow in the garden. Our local produce stand is not cheap, but like you, I never have to pick off worms or spray their veggies with Sevin.