Notes from the gun shop...

Sales weren't all that bad or that great but there were a lot of people doing Christmas shopping and ordering.  We did get to see another interesting old shotgun.  German, 12 gauge, underlever, dolls-head, striker fired, nitro proof, barrels prominently marked Krupp steel...  Can you identify it?

Appears to read "W. Napp Plau_n" perhaps Plauen, Saxony, Germany

Clearly striker fired, double triggers, underlever

Here you can see watertable with marks and fences...

And here, the barrel marks...

And a bit better view of marks at the breech... proofed in 1910?

View of rear of the breech... "DRGM"=Patent (sort of)

A good representative view of the engraving...

More Travel...

Nana and I just returned from a trip to Strasburg, PA and New York City.  Her idea, not mine.  I've never had a desire to go to THE city as my Grandfather Flint referred to it.  He worked there for many years.  Many in my family were born, lived their lives and died there.  They are buried there.  My cousin lives in Queens and works in Manhattan.  Other first cousins once removed live in Greenwich Village and elsewhere in the city.  No thank you.  Even Staunton wears on me some days.  But, we went.

First, on Thursday we left home early and we went to Strasburg/Ronk, PA to the Millenium Theater to see "The Miracle of Christmas".  It was a pretty good show and Nana and our friends really enjoyed it.  We then went to Shady Maple Smorgasbord for dinner.  Great food, we were back there this morning for breakfast.  Oh, yeah, we ate too much.  It is always very good.  We had stayed the night at the Clarion.  Nice hotel and VERY nice staff. 

On Friday morning we met busses at the National Toy Train Museum.  It isn't far from the Rail Road Museum of Pennsylvania and next door to the Red Caboose Motel.  Boarding the bus, we were soon on our way to Patterson, New Jersey and the New Jersey Hi-Railers model railroading club to see their huge layout.  We had a light lunch there and then off to New York City.

First, we went to Macy's to see the Santaland train in a tree.  They actually made a purpose built tree to support the load of O-gauge trains running around it at different levels.  It is part of an elaborate show meant to entertain people waiting to see Santa.  Yes, two bus-loads of 50+ year olds in line to see a train...  Of course, we had to see the rest of Macy's as well and Nana had to buy something.

Nana's happy to have shopped in Macy's!

Then we got bussed down to Rockefeller Center, well it was SUPPOSED to be to Rockefeller Center but we got dropped at Broadway and 51st Street.  So, Nana and I had some food at the McDonalds, used the can and then walked down to One Times Square and back up 7th Avenue to 51st and back across to our pick-up point at the McDonalds.  So many people.  I was not amused.  Nana loved it.  We walked 21 blocks.  We wanted to go to Rockefeller Plaza but were given the wrong directions by the bus driver (not a good sign).  Just FYI, but the plaza is really on 6th Avenue, i.e. between 49th and 50th.  If we'd only gone two blocks northeast.  Oh, well.

At 7:10 we were back on the bus and on the way back to Strasburg, PA.  I was relieved.  Nana was tired.  We got back to the motel at about 10:30 and slept in until 7:45.  Then we got up and went back to the Shady Maple for breakfast and from there home.  I was very glad to pick Bailey up from the boarder's/vet's.

L. L. Bean Hunting Shoes back and resoled...

I'm sure you're wondering why I might mention this.  Life in the army taught me that a good pair of boots, appropriate to the terrain and weather, can make or break a man living and working in the outdoors.  I've found that, for hunting in Virginia, the L. L. Bean hunting "shoe" is the best.  It is comfortable, keeps my feet dry, is easy to clean to bring back in the house if you step in something and is adequately durable.  One can adapt the uninsulated boots to local weather by wearing different socks.  My dad wore them for years in his work for the U.S. Forest Service in West Virginia, Kentucky and here in Virginia.  He did have all leather boots but didn't wear them when there was rain or snow.  I think he had the soles replaced at least 4 or 5 times on his pair.

I like them so much that I bought a new pair and waited until they arrived before sending the old pair back for resoling.  It cost $39 and took L. L. Bean about 2 weeks including shipping time to and from.

Notes from the gun shop...

We had a good, busy day yesterday.  Did 4 transfers, sold a couple of guns via GunBroker.com, received payment for a couple of others, and saw some interesting guns come through the door.  However, we need prayers for Dwayne's father who was picked up by ambulance yesterday morning and transported to UVA.  He has some form of leukemia and was so severely dehydrated that his kidneys shut down.  Also, Lewis could use some prayer cover.  He left work soon after getting there.

A very nice Marlin Model 93 .30-30 rifle came in with 3/4 magazine and light, round tapered barrel was in there for transfer to a customer.  We bought a 1911 made Winchester 1894 SRC, also in .30 WCF.  Aside from the dirty bore and varnish on the stock, it was pretty nice.  Somebody had tried to remove the saddle ring, unsuccessfully, so there was a bit of a spread there.  Otherwise an interesting gun.  But that wasn't all as we'd bought 8 guns before 11:00 AM.

View of the water table...

One that I'm not fully knowledgeable on was a P. Webley & Sons, side-by-side, hammer, top-lever, damascus barreled 12 gauge shotgun.  Very nice condition.  Dating it seems to be problematic.  It must at the least pre-date 1897 as Webley merged with W & C Scott to become Webley and Scott in 1897.  It is marked P. Webley & Sons, St. James London on the rib.  I understand that the spurious St. James address went away in 1870 or so.  As you can see the water table has the Webley Scott trademark that was in use in 1922.  The SN is 24186.  I think it has the 2¼" chambers but didn't have the opportunity to measure them.  I'd like to find more information on these guns.  Prices seem to run from $250 to $3500 and I'm not sure how to decide how to price the gun.  Perhaps the question hinges on how the barrels are marked...

Barrel marks...

Now, these marks will look a bit different stamped in steel than as shown in the books but I believe we have the Birmingham definitive proofs for BP.  We also have the Webley and Scott trademark.  Now, why would that appear on a gun with supposedly pre-1870 marks (the P. Webley & Sons)?  The "choke" and "not for ball" marks would seem to date the gun post 1904.  There is so much additional info, after the "P. Webley & Sons" mark that I'm thinking this was a restoration done by Webley Scott.

P.S. A local expert in the field has determined that this gun is probably worth $3000-5000.  A similar gun listed on a website is asking $4500 but it is a 10-gauge and the condition doesn't seem to be as nice as this one. 

My own Sunday Dawg...

Dennis does a Sunday Morning Dawg thing.  Fun to see.  We tried to get Bailey to pose for a photo Aunt Deanna but all she wants is the treat...

Happy Thanksgiving

Just a very happy Thanksgiving Day today.  While we didn't get to see David or the grand-kids and their family we did get to visit with Deanna and eat too much.  We were warm and dry and have many years decades of blessings for which to express our thanks to God.

Hunting, still...

Today began with preparation for Thanksgiving.  Aunt Deanna will be visiting us for the holiday.  She's supposed to be here tonight and go home on Sunday afternoon.  We picked up some things for tomorrow's meal, got the dog groomed, picked up some around the house and then, after eating some REALLY good macaroni and cheese, I went hunting.

Didn't do so well at that.  It was very windy today.  The squirrels were out and about.  The wind doesn't bother them much.  However, the deer, not being so many were apparently either elsewhere or securely bedded down where they could see anyone who approached (or couldn't help but here them, i.e. in the REALLY thick stuff).  I toughed it out until dark but I had to admit defeat and leave when I couldn't see my sights well enough to shoot.

Fortunately, Nana is making fried catfish tonight.  I'm fine with that.

Hunting, of sorts, continues...

Where Grandpa was hunting today

Went out to Mom's to hunt today.  I thought the rain was tapering off, and it had since early morning, but as soon as I was about half way across the pasture it picked right up.  Made it nice and quite and nobody else was in the woods.  Walked right up on several squirrels which were out on the ground.  Found a new rub.  I have heard that the rut is over and the males are in their hidey holes but it seems a couple are out and moving about looking for their lady love.  Unfortunately, I didn't see a one, not even a doe today.  Just got wet.  Then...

Came home to find Nana insistent on taking a couple of dead limbs out of one of the maples by the parking area.  Sigh.  Got out the pole saw.  Moved the truck to where I could get a good angle by standing on the tailgate and still not drop the limb, about 200+ lbs total, on the truck.  Dropped it on the neighbors fence instead.  Took out two rails.  This despite trying to saw it such that it would fold down and miss the fence.  Apparently Murphy was helping today.  Cleaned that up and then started on the other one.  Got a rope on this one from the get go so that we'd have some control.  Made Nana hold the rope so that it would be clear of the saw.  It took about 25 minutes of sawing to cut through that limb.  I am not in shape to do this.  Nana was not happy about standing in the parking space holding the rope.  Got that down and in the back of the truck.  I'll take it out to Mom's tomorrow when I go out to hunt.

Notes from the gun shop...

Well, today was interesting.  I got to work and it had already started.  We had an irate customer who wanted to trade in a gun he told us didn't work.  We had a gun that had just been returned from the manufacturer which still didn't work (different manufacturer).  We had a know-it-all who tried to influence the decisions of every customer who came into the shop while he was there.  Things did improve from there.

We sold the Winchester 9422M to a fellow from North Carolina.  I also sold 4 other guns.  We helped identify an old damascus side-by-side shotgun (just a Belgian guild gun) and prevent an eager 13-year old from using 3" magnums in it.  We got to help solve some last minute regular firearms season equipment problems.  We sold a lot of ammo.

I like being busy.  The day went quickly.  Unfortunately, there were no really unusual firearms.

Concealed Carry Permit Reciprocity...

This might be a moot point some day but for now this interactive map could be a boon for CHP holders...  http://www.usacarry.com/concealed_carry_permit_reciprocity_maps.html

Third day straight of hunting...

...but not all day by any means.  I got up, ate breakfast, dressed and went out to hunt.  Nana was making some noise about snow and I didn't believe it.  Was 41° in town when I left and 36° out at Parnassus.  There was some rain in town but the roads were dry by the time I turned down Bunker Hill Road.  However, once I got out of the truck and the gun capped and ready to give fire the wind was blowing and it was spitting the occasional snowflake.  Not enough of them to get a photo but enough to let you know that it was colder than it has been.  I should have worn my wool pants.  Walked down to the woods to watch the trails and sat down.  15 minutes later and I felt blue from the cold.  Ok, so 36° isn't all that cold but darn, it was cutting through those pants and my toes always get cold quick.  Guess I should have worn the boot socks instead of wool hiking socks.  I was not happy.  Nothing was moving.  So, I packed it in and came home.  I am still warming up!  The next 3 hunting days are work days for me but I'll be out Tuesday with a cartridge rifle and we'll see. 

Another day hunting...

Leading Ridge Road with a view of the food plots

Out again today.  More rain to start and then it stopped, at least where I was, before picking up again with a vengeance.

Today I went up above Todd Lake, off Leading Ridge Road to the food plots (well, they were originally) which show as the light green fields in this satellite photo.  I didn't see much but there may have been a hunter along the ridge on the upper right corner of the photo hunting grouse.  There were only two shots, they sounded like a shotgun, and if it had been squirrels he was after he'd have found more than two.  I found quite a bit of mast, acorns, on the ground and no deer prints.  I did find a bit of scat. 

More scat, this near Leading Ridge Road...

Yep, more scat.  Does this describe my hunting?  So, what animal do you think left this?  Is that hair in that scat?  This was dropped right in the middle of the logging road at the bottom edge of that lowest field in the satellite photo.  This is what the field looked like from where the scat was...

I don't think they've planted anything, but it does appear to have been mowed. 

Ok, so I don't know quite where to go tomorrow.  The forecast is for rain showers and colder temperatures.  The deer might be moving a bit as it will be raining all night (and has been).   Bucks only, so, I guess we'll see.

Finally hunting...

Finally got out today.  Wandered out to Mom's place and moseyed around with a bit of a sit-down to watch and wait and see what was going on. 

Rifle capped and ready to go...

Then a little red-head paid me a visit...

Would they come this way?

A bit of a dreary day, it soon started to rain.  I was doing ok where I was sitting for a while as I was beneath a large white pine but as the shower continued I started to get a bit wetter and wetter.  That's not so bad in and of itself but I really didn't want to get water into my charge.  Oh, yes, battles were fought with muzzle-loaders in driving rainstorms but not many and for a reason.  So, at about 12:30 I decided to leave.

On the way out I came across a couple of things.  The first, a deer stand I didn't know about...

Deer stand at the foot of Doe Hollow

Then I came across some fresh scat on the tractor lane along Mom and Dad's pasture.  Can you tell what its from?

Fresh scat!

Notes from the gun shop...

Today was busy with lots of folks getting ready for gun season start this coming Saturday, the current muzzle-loader season and general stuff for the non-hunting shooters.  We had a bunch of guns come into the store including one notable lot that included TWO Winchester 9422s (one a LR NIB and one a Magnum with only a single small scratch but no box), a Marlin 39M Octagonal from 1973, a Henry .22 LR (scoped) and a 10 gauge L.C. Smith with hammers and Damascus barrels in wonderful condition.  I love the old guns.  Agonized over but decided to forgo all the .22s.

I almost forgot to mention that we had one fellow who came in looking for a replacement (OEM) buttpad for his TC Omega.  His had apparently fallen off while dragging his deer back to his vehicle.  I looked at the stock and one couldn't see any damage where he might have scrubbed the pad off.  The pillars inside the stock didn't seem to be damaged as they might be if the screws were pulled out (which makes me think there were no screws holding the pad on the stock.  I had never thought to examine how those buttpads are attached and we didn't have a new Omega to look at yesterday having sold them all.  

We only did 3 background checks today.  We had some friends wander in, although that's hardly news nowadays.  It was a good day.

Nessmuk

Many years ago my favorite aunt, Aunt Virginia Dawn Parslow Partridge gave me a copy of "Woodcaft" by Nessmuk and I was smitten by a severe case of wanderlust.  I can't tell you how often I read that book. 

George Washington Sears (b. December 2, 1821 – d. May 1, 1890) was a "correspondent" for Forest and Stream magazine in the 1880s and an early conservationist.Writing under the name "Nessmuk" he popularized self-guided canoe camping tours of the Adirondack lakes in open, lightweight solo canoes and what we call ultralight camping.


Typical canoe trips of the time used expert guides and heavy canoes. Sears, who was 5' 3" tall and weighed 103 pounds had a 9-foot-long, 10-1⁄2-pound solo canoe built by J. Henry Rushton of Canton, New York. He named it the Sairy Gamp used it to take a 266-mile trip through the central Adirondacks. He was 62 years old and in frail health (tuberculosis and asthma) when he did this. The Sairy Gamp is now owned by the Smithsonian Institution andon loan to the Adirondack Museum.


The eldest of ten children in South Oxford (now Webster), Massachusetts, he took his pen name from an American Indian who had befriended him in early childhood. His family had a few books about Indians and Nessmuk was fascinated and left with an abiding interest in forest life and adventure. His experience as a child working in a factory left him with a fondness for the writing of Charles Dickens. At age twelve he started working in a commercial fishing fleet based on Cape Cod and at nineteen he shipped out on a three-year whaling voyage in the South Pacific; this was 1841, the same year that Herman Melville shipped out of the same port bound for the same whaling grounds. On his return, his family moved to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania where he was to live for the rest of his life. However, he continued traveling for adventure, from the upper Midwest and Ontario to an Amazon tributary in Brazil (in 1867 and again in 1870).


Sears wrote "Woodcraft", a book on camping, in 1884, that has remained in print ever since. A book of poems, Forest Runes, appeared in 1887. He died at his home in Pennsylvania seven years later. Mount Nessmuk, in northern Pennsylvania, is named after him.

At the time I read "Woodcraft" I couldn't fully comprehend the extent of the disability Nessmuk endured. When I could understand the debilitating effects of tuberculosis I was fairly amazed by what he accomplished. I'm not the only one.

Today there are any number of cutlers offering their version of Nessmuk's knife and hatchet design. Boat/canoe builders are building modern, kevlar versions of his various canoes including Sairy Gamp. His books are still in print and in demand.  Most telling of all, there are any number of adherents who annually attempt to emulate a man who, while struggling with physical limitations, managed to live a full and adventuresome life.