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Gratuitous Gun Pics: Rimfire Revolvers

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

Yesterday I talked about shooting rimfire .22 ammo in my old age, and specifically the rifles with which to do so.  Well, I promised to talk about the handgun options for the same purposes, and here we are.

I wrote about the pleasures of shooting single-action revolvers some time ago (feel free to go there first to refresh the memory), and specifically, the guns I have already acquired to take care of this need.  Here they are, the Ruger Single-Six Brothers:


(Before anyone asks, I have one in stainless and the other in blue so I can remember which is loaded with which ammo:  SS .22 Mag, Bluey .22 LR.  That way I don’t have to mess with swapping out the cylinders.)  

But what if I want to eschew the hassle of ejecting and reloading the piece one round at a time?  We all know what that means:  double-action revolvers.

Here’s where I have to admit to a shortcoming, so to speak.  Also some time back, I talked about the exquisite S&W Model 48, which is chambered in .22 Mag (once again, feel free to go back in time thence to read my lament at not owning one).  In the Comments to the post, Reader Velocette had this to say:

You too have EARNED the right to make yourself happy. So DO it.

Well, it took me a while, but:

…and allow me to say that with the gun case thus almost-filled, I have had many an enjoyable, nay blissful range session since.

But now we come to the problem:  Alert Readers will notice a gaping hole in the Gun Case Of Bliss, namely, that there is a distinct lack of a .22 double-action revolver in the space provided.  Here’s what it should look like (with a .38 revolver for illustrative purposes only):

…but it leaves me with but one more job:  to pick a decent .22 DA revolver for the task.

Naturally, my first choice is a S&W Model 17 with a 6″ barrel:

…which is dreamy, but its street retail price of just over a grand (!!!!!) pretty much relegates it to “dream” status. I have no cash, in other words, to fund this little dream.

However:  if there’s a Reader out there who happens to have a Model 17 as above* in decent nick and would entertain a swap for some boomstick of equal desirability… email me and let’s talk.  (As always, north Texas Readers will get preference so the exchange can be made in the time-honored Texas fashion.)

And before anyone asks, yes I have the “.22 semi-auto” option already covered, thankee.

*The Model 63 stainless would also be perfectly acceptable.

So hie thee to thine Gunne Sayfes, and let me know.

Thoughts On Kirriemuir

Travels

There is an institution in the British Empire countries known as the “rugby song”.  Rugby songs are usually sung in the bus bringing the team home from an away game, or in the pub after the match.  Inebriation is very much a requirement, as most of the songs are inevitably bawdy not to say obscene.

One such song is entitled “The Ball Of Kirriemuir“, of which I shall post but the intro, the chorus and a sample verse or three (all from memory):

“Four and twenty virgins came down from Inverness;
When the ball was over, there were four and twenty less — singing:”

Chorus:
“Balls to your partner
Arses to the wall
If ye’ve never been shagged
On a Saturday night
Ye’ve never been shagged at all.”

Verse:
“The village doctor, he was there,
Scalpel in his hand;
And every time the music stopped
He’d circumsize the band — singing:”

Chorus

Verse:
“The vicar’s wife, O she was there
Lying on the floor;
And every time she spread her legs
The suction shut the door — singing:”

Chorus

Verse:
“There was fucking in the doorways,
There was fucking on the stairs;
You couldna’ see the carpet
For the mass of pubic hair — singing:”

Etc.

I know about a dozen verses myself… and there are another thirty, if not more.  The song is reputed to have originated in the late 19th century.

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.

Yesterday’s Landscape pic featured a very pretty little bridge over a wee burn near Kirriemuir, taken by Yours Truly when I was traveling through Scotland several years ago.

And that’s the problem.

You see, having been to Kirriemuir, I can tell you that there’s a problem with the song that made it famous.

It couldn’t have happened.

Now Kirriemuir itself is a lovely little village — quite gorgeous, in fact.


(it hasn’t changed at all since that pic was taken)

But let me tell you:  there’s not a single building in the place that would have been large enough to hold a wee bairn’s birthday party, let alone a grand ball / orgy on the scale envisioned in the song. (There are a few industrial warehouses, but they are of very recent vintage and therefore highly unlikely venues.)

There isn’t even a large manor house in the area, unless you count Balintore Castle, which is several miles distant:

…and until quite recently, has been pretty much in ruins for centuries:

You can’t even see Kirriemuir from the castle because of the hilly terrain and perpetual mist.  (#ScottishWeather)

As a friend pointed out, if the ball had been held at Balintore, the song would have been entitled:  “The Ball At Balintore” which is not only alliteratively pleasing, but also slyly suggestive of the evening’s activities.  But it wasn’t.

The only other building of any size in the area — and which is even further away — is Glamis Castle (of Macbeth  fame):

…and you can forget any plebeian shenanigans occurring there.  (#OwnedByTheRoyalFamily)

So much for the ball at Kirriemuir, then.  Wherever it took place, though, I’d love to have been there.  (#RedPubicHair #DisgustingOrgy)

One should never meet one’s heroes, lest one be disappointed.

Finishing The Job

Hunting, Science!

This is interesting:

Burmese pythons, one of the world’s largest snakes, are also one of the most problematic invasive species in South Florida. First spotted in the Florida Everglades in the 1970s, the snakes were introduced, either accidentally or intentionally, through the exotic pet trade.

Since then, pythons have become top predators in the local food ecosystem. Despite the fact that they now exist throughout much of South Florida, they remain difficult to track down. That means researchers and conservationists need to find creative ways to lure them out into the open. 

And by creative, we mean really creative—and University of Florida (UF) researchers clearly understood the assignment.

Researchers led by UF professor of wildlife ecology and conservation Robert McCleery have released 40 solar-powered, remote-controlled robot bunnies in South Florida this month. The researchers replaced the plush toy’s stuffing with motors and heaters to imitate the motions and body temperatures of one of pythons’ favorite snacks: marsh rabbits.

I’m no professor of anything, but it seems to me that these boffins are missing a trick, here.  It’s all very well to “lure” these giant worms out into the open, but it’s pretty much useless when it comes to actually killing the loathsome creatures.

My suggestion:  a small explosive charge — it doesn’t have to be greater than, say, that of a large bottle rocket — inserted into the robo-bunnies, triggered by pressure on the outer frame.  This will do one of two things:  blow the snake’s head off when/if it bites the bunny;  or else blow the snake apart when it crushes the thing prior to ingestion.  Either outcome is satisfactory.

Of course, this will never happen because reasons.

Gratuitous Gun Pic: CZ 457 Lux

Gratuitous Gun Pics

Several years ago, Mr. Free Market and I were talking about guns — yeah, no surprises there — while sitting around an open fire in the garden behind the guest house while — surprise, surprise — drinking the occasional whisky.

One of the topics was:  if you’re facing retirement and decide that your shooting life thereafter is going to be only rimfire, which rifle would you choose as your final shooting companion?

As I recall, Mr. FM’s choice was the Anschutz 1712 HB (he hates set triggers), and I can’t argue with his choice except to note that said rifle retails for nearly $3,000.  (Being one of the Landed Gentry / Filthy Rich Set, he doesn’t concern himself with silly things like price.)

All jokes aside, one could only agree with him — Anschutz make wonderful rifles, and that thing positively screams “one-hole groupings, all day and every day”.

I can’t remember what my choice was — I think it was the CZ 457, which is a far better rifle than I am a rifleman — but I was thinking about the topic on my own the other day;  not in front of a fire, but certainly with the occasional single-malt in hand, and I thought:  “Why only one rimfire rifle?”

Well, that led me down a rabbit hole (the usual one) and I came up with this idea:  not just one CZ 457, but two of the lovely things — chambered in .22 LR and .22 Win Mag:

I cannot say exactly why I love the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) cartridge so much, but I do.  And the fact that the price of the two above rifles combined is less than $1,500… well, I think you get my point.

That’s not to say that my existing .22 pair (Marlin 880 SQ and 882 SSV) is anything to sneeze at:

…and for a combined price of about $600, if memory serves correctly, they too are far more accurate than I can shoot them.

Yet there’s still a small voice inside my head that whispers evil thoughts to me…

Tomorrow I’ll talk about the .22 handguns.

Not-So-Greener Pastures

Immigration

I read the following article with interest:

More than half of young people have considered leaving Britain under Labour, a think tank has found.
Adults between 18-30 years old said they had “serious concerns” about housing, personal finances and their future in the UK, leaving them “overtaxed, underhoused and undervalued”.
According to The Adam Smith Institute poll, 28 per cent of young Britons are either actively planning (8 per cent) or have seriously considered (20 per cent) emigrating. A further 30 per cent have briefly considered it.

But:

The researchers found that Australia, the USA, Canada and Italy were the most popular destinations for young people considering emigrating.

Well, okay then.  Certainly, anyone looking for better prospects that they have in once-Great Britain might certainly consider the USA — although the current MAGA attitude of Americans might well stick in their craw, if they believe everything they’ve been told by the BBC et al.

But Strylia and Canuckistan?

I don’ thank so, Scooter.

There are good reasons to suspect that Down Under and the Great White Place provide, if anything, even worse prospects for the more youthful than their home country.  (Just wait till they try to find affordable accommodation in Sydney / Melbourne or Toronto / Vancouver.  Might as well go to Chelsea / Knightsbridge.)

As for the socio-political world… oy.  Both Strylia and Canuckistan almost define the term “woke” in terms of their attitude, and their respective national governments are on a par with Britishland’s when it comes to dismal economic prospects.

And finally:  I’m not sure that Murka really wants a bunch of young Brits transplanted Over Here, given that said demographic group is in thrall to working from home (WFH), wokeness and similar nonsense.  Now, if we were talking about their parents (e.g Mr. Free Market and his ilk) — now that’s a more acceptable prospect;  but those worthies have already made plans to move to Switzerland, Monaco and other exotic, low-tax or tax-free locales.

Try Italy, kids.  Just deal with the fact that you’ll have to learn to speak Italian because surprise, surprise:  not everyone wants to speak English, or is prepared to put up with people who refuse to speak anything but.  Also, I have a suspicion that your Italian peer group probably feels about their prospects in Italy in exactly the same way that you do yours in the UK.

Good luck with that.