telling a story about scopes......

todd

Well-Known Member
one year, way back then...lol, my dad, my youngest brother(13 or 14yo at the time) and me were out hunting for deer. i shot a doe earlier in morning and i went up to dad asked for the key to his truck so i could put my rifle in (you were only allowed to shoot deer one per day). he gave the me key and i told him you and him should go to my spot to get a deer for my brother. when i'm done, i'll push deer to you guys. they went to the spot and i left dragging the deer out.

when i got to the truck, i put the doe into the bed and then i put my rifle into the truck. then i ate a sandwich and drank my bottle of soda and then i go will back to the same spot. i was about 75 - 100 yards away from the spot, when i heard my brother's rifle go boom. so i stop and wait a couple of minutes. then i see my dad and brother get up and go to the spot where my brother shot at a deer. so i keep on walking to meet them....i walked and walked and walked because they walked. i go to myself, "what the heck are they doing? did wound the deer? dang it, i know he did." (heck and dang were NOT used, i'm remind myself that this a family forum) finally they stop and and i walk up to them. my brother is gutting a doe and my dad says and points "look over there." all i can see is is a half pattern of many, many spots of blood on the snow. i looked further at the trees and they are blood spattered. everything in 8 foot half a circle was blood spattered. jeez, i loaded up a 150gr hornady fn in '06 at about 2500fps or so. "where did shoot her?" i said. my brother goes red in the face, "in the neck, but i was aiming for the chest." i go "well you got her, but remember that the bullet could have gone into her guts and then you would see me mad."

my dad said "he must have been lucky, look at where he shot her." i look back thru the woods and i swear to God, that shot has to be 120-130 yards, thru the woods!!! that has be first time i ever heard "i shot him at 125 yards thru the woods." the only thing it needed was running thru woods would make me suspect. i can't believe he shot it, off hand at 120 some yards...some guys have all the luck.

now this is the part that the scope comes in. while me and my brother are resting on the drag, a small group of deer shows up. my dad still as tag so i whihper to my dad, "go ahead and shoot one of them." "you sure? you're the one who has to drag it out." he says. "go ahead" i say. he picked the biggest doe, which was about 25 yards or so, and bang........the deer ran off, including her. well, my dad had problems with his back and leg, so its up to me me to track her. i tell him "gimme the gun and keep on dragging while i get her." i was about 150 yards into it, when i came up to steep gully, it was 7 or 8" deep. well the tracks are there, so i follow them up and over. except the over part, i seen the doe laying there under some brush like 4 or 5 feet away, staring at me. so i quickly brought gun up to shoulder and i looked thru the scope and all i seen was brown. i looked at the scope and it was set to 9x......gosh durnit!!!(family forum) so i look for black eye, found it and boom. i drag the doe out of the brush and i began to look for where my dad shot it. well, he shot the front of the brisket. the bullet trail was on the outside of the doe. well, i said a few choice words about him and the shot and then i gutted it. i was dragging it back to the truck when i seen them, my brother was dragging the doe shot while my dad was limping on his cane. "why on earth do you have 9x?" i says. "oh" he says, "i never backed it down to 4x when i shot gun in." i said some more choice words and i dragged the doe out.

yes, i used choice words back then and i was angery and mad about everything and everybody. now it's more like calm and thoughtful, but it's once in a while some more choice words come out. my dad has passed this year, but not the stories about him.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
Respect for remembering this is a family forum. "Choice words" are far too common these days. I've managed to prune myself back quite a lot in that area, at least until I smack my hand with a hammer or bop my head against a timber. Then all the "choice words" come roaring out and I end up feeling like an idiot.

I'm more than a little jealous you got to hunt with your father. I didn't get much chance to do that. You are blessed.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
this one reaches far back into my archives.......

i was 10 or 11yo when i'd go to centre county, pa for fishing/hunting camp on the Penns Creek. my grandpap and dad didn't have "the camp" (modified A frame) even built just yet. all pap had was a trailer with the skirts made from board foam insulation. he had a box built of board foam and grandpap had a kerosine heater that he'd light up when it got cold out (heat the floor). then he got a 40 lb propane tank for heating and cooking.

my dad had a 1978 blue chevy pickup with a straight 6 cylinder and a three on tree transmission as his work truck. oh, he used a screwdriver to get it started. other than the motor and transmission, it was a piece of junk. there was bondo everywhere and holes in the cab. Dad loved that truck. anyway, my grandpap and me, with dad's truck, go down to the local hardware store to buy another propane tank. he starts the truck with a screwdriver, pops off the parking brake and then he GRINDS it into 1st. the motor is running all out and he GRINDS it into 2nd and then 3rd. and he's swearing at the truck!!! i just kept my mouth shut and i looked out the window. we go to the store, buy another tank and then he proceeds to grind and swear till we got back to camp. my dad goes up to to my grandpap and he goes "you know, they have a thing called a clutch that makes the grinding noises go away." i think i fell over and laughed while my grandpap swore and he in to the trailer.

it was in the afternoon sometime when it happened. when i was 12yo, i, my dad and late uncle were on a road in the same blue pickup, during buck season. the road was a washed out, bumpy mess of a trail thru the woods. my dad was driving, i was in the middle and my uncle was shotgun. i don't know how long we had to get the place, but my neck and head sure were loosened up!!! when all of the sudden my dad slams on the brakes, begins to open the door and says "i gotta go now!!!". the next thing i am looking at is my dad squated down and i heard wettest fart and crap ever. oh, but wait, there's more. not only did i see and hear it, a second later i smelled it. i've been about everywhere and smelled alot of things, some good, some bad. but the baddest, worst thing i ever smelled was my dad's farts and crap. i quickly tried to open the passenger door over my uncle. he looks at me a says "what in the.....oh GOD!!!!" and he tries to open the door too. now picture it, you see a guy squatting to take a crap, two people desperately trying to open the passenger door and then you see them fall out of the truck, gagging and spewing. i can picture it, because i've been there!!!!! my God the smells he put out........
 

CWLONGSHOT

Well-Known Member
I am not big a fan of fixed scopes.

BUT, I do like a few!!

The 6x was always special to me as it was my grandfathers favorite. He had a 6x Weaver on his Hornet M43 Winchester. I have outfit my own M43 Bee with a period Redfield 6x. My 450 Ruger wears a 3x Leupold M8 and A 45/70 & 375 Marlins each wear 2.5x M8 Leupolds.
I have a large Weaver TV 6x that hasnt found a permanent home. I also have a Burris 6x MINI thats a dandy and has been on a half a dozen firearms. One thats near and dear is a 2 3/4x Redfield with a post. I have one on a 30/06 and one in the cabinet with that Weaver and Burris. A couple cheap 4x I have on airguns too.
Guess I like them a lil
More than I realize...

CW
 

popper

Well-Known Member
"Choice words" hmm money shit. aka plumbers putty - from my dad when I was about 10.
Mom at 99 said some choice words, never before crossing her lips that I knew of.
'Short cut' words were not tolerated. Didn't use Palmolive but the punishment was about the same.
Yup, Kool Aid and orange juice til HS, soda fountain in town had phosphates.
Navy 'bug juice' aka, Gov Kool Aid was pretty lousy. Coffee wasn't much better. Peanut butter and fruit were precious.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
i don't know if its still good, but US Army coffee was great!!! none of that instant coffee, just good old drip coffee in a electric urn.
 

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Dangit, TODD!!

I know it's just plain wrong, but I laughed at that - and way too hard. I don't know what it is, prob'ly something wrong with me, but there it is. You made me physically hurt.



And as for the Army coffee, I learned how to make "field coffee" from a very big, very grouchy old E7 Mess Sergeant by accident one day. He used a LOT of "choice words" on me to emphasize the strict nature of confidence he was trusting me with by not killing me for having "seen." "Choice words" were then a part of a cultural lexicon, Overused, anything gets its sharp edges worn smooth and the "f-bomb" served as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction,...

Doesn't even have to be expensive coffee either - any ol' cheap grounds and it is marvelous stuff. Or maybe it's just because you're outside when drinking it?
 

BudHyett

Active Member
I have simple rules for scopes:
  1. Hunting - 2X for every hundred yards of intended use; e.g., fixed power 6X for three hundred yards (maximum).
  2. Varmint - 4X for every hundred yards of intended use; e.g., fixed power 12X for three hundred yards (maximum).
  3. Target - By the rules or whatever I can afford. A minimum of 20X and a maximum of 40X.
Prairie dog shooting; we team beyond 300 yards for a shooter and a spotter. Even beyond 300 yards, the variable scopes are often set at 12X to 15X in order to see wind and mirage effects.
 

todd

Well-Known Member
Dangit, TODD!!

I know it's just plain wrong, but I laughed at that - and way too hard. I don't know what it is, prob'ly something wrong with me, but there it is. You made me physically hurt.



And as for the Army coffee, I learned how to make "field coffee" from a very big, very grouchy old E7 Mess Sergeant by accident one day. He used a LOT of "choice words" on me to emphasize the strict nature of confidence he was trusting me with by not killing me for having "seen." "Choice words" were then a part of a cultural lexicon, Overused, anything gets its sharp edges worn smooth and the "f-bomb" served as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction,...

Doesn't even have to be expensive coffee either - any ol' cheap grounds and it is marvelous stuff. Or maybe it's just because you're outside when drinking it?


you should have been there when it happened!!!! lol!!!

but i can look back at this and laugh. when i was 32 or 33yo, my uncle as 40yo when he died(pneumonia). dad was 72yo this year when he died. my grandpap died when he 89yo. there is a 9 year and a 12 year difference from my brothers. so i am it.

i forgot until now, but it brings a smile to my face and i'm sure that someone out there has a scowl. just remember, my grandpap had a real hard time seeing what he was looking at. it was so bad that we had a bet on how long his truck will last this time!!! he bought a new truck every 2 years.

i was at camp again at 12yo during buck season. my dad and me were coming out at the truck at around sunset. my grandpap had left around 3ish to go to camp. we are driving on a dirt back road when it goes to asphalt. there is an old house and cars in driveway. when all of the sudden, in the middle of the road, we see a busted up steel runner sled that was in shape of a corkscrew. my dad says "i betcha your grandpap has sumthin to do with it." i kept my mouth shut.

when we get back to camp, my dad asks my grandpap "did you see that sled? whoever owns it, is sure crying right now." my grandpap says "they left the GD sled right in the middle of road. i didn't see GD thing till it was underneath my truck." i fell laughing at that.

there is one other story when i was 12 and it begins on doe season. i think i told you about the first black bear i seen?