At the bench4 min read
Why a rust blue takes the passes it takes
Slow rust bluing is the slowest finish on the price list, and the one people most often ask to have hurried. It can’t be. Here is what is actually happening.
Journal
Journal.
How things work, how to look after them yourself, and some Texas history with the sources shown. Nothing here is a trade secret.
At the bench
How the work is done, and how to do some of it yourself.
At the bench5 min read
My rifle won’t group: where to start
Start with the cheap things. Loose screws and scope mounts cause more misses than bad barrels, and you can check most of them at your kitchen table.
Being written.
No dates promised. They’ll be here when they’re right.
At the bench
Bluing or a ceramic coating: an honest comparison
One is the old finish and needs a little oil now and then; the other is tougher and looks nothing like it. What each is good at, what each costs, and how to choose for the rifle you actually carry.
Texas history
Shooting in Boerne since 1864
German settlers brought the shooting club to Texas with them, and Boerne’s was formed in 1864. What a Schuetzen Verein was, and the dates that can be stood behind: New Braunfels in 1849, Boerne in 1864, Gillespie County’s first Schuetzenfest in 1887.
Texas history
Carbine No. 13,401
In December 1875 a Texas Ranger on state pay spent forty dollars of his own on a better rifle, and carried it for six years. A note on buying once and buying right, from his own memoir.
Field notes
After a wet hunt: looking after a blued rifle
Rust starts the night you come home tired and lean the rifle in the corner. Twenty minutes with a dry cloth, an oily one and a cleaning rod, in the right order.