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OHGC Newsletter Jan - Feb 2015

Volume 2, Issue 1

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Directors/Range Officers ........ 2

Reloading/Schedules .............. 3

Accurizing Military Rifles........ 4

Youth Activities ....................... 6

Wish I Said That ...................... 7

Sponsorships ........................... 9

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

As shooters and sportsmen, we are all too familiar with the assault on guns and the shooting sports in general. Beginning with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 the stage was set for the incremental escalation of ineffective gun control. The emotionally driven ban on mail order firearms was supposed to prevent another assassination and reduce crime. If people had only stopped to think rather than allow their knee-jerk reactions to drive the days decisions perhaps we would not be dealing with a president who is now implementing unacceptable controls by way of executive orders and federal agency rules. These measures will not reduce crime, save lives, or make for a safer America. These rules are about limit-ing the rights of individuals and nothing more. It’s about CONTROL.

We have all heard the arguments from both sides and can probably recite them by heart. The current excuse about the M855 green tip 5.56 ammuni-tion being “armor piercing”, “used in pistols”, or “killing policemen” are no more valid than the ‘mail order’ excuse of the 1960s. In fact, if you could ask Robert Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and the thousands killed in Chicago, New York and every other large city, they would probably tell you that none of the gun control measures enacted have ever made a significant im-pact in reducing gun violence by criminal elements or those intent on may-hem. In fact there are a significant number of documented instances where injury and deaths have occurred because of limitations on gun ownership.

It is incumbent upon all of us as shooters to consider ourselves activists in promoting the protection and legitimacy of the shooting sports. We must not allow ourselves to be painted into a corner by falling prey to the hype about high capacity magazines, military platforms, unnecessary fire power, hunting only, or any other incremental excuse to further restrictions on law abiding citizens. I encourage you to send an email to your elected state and federal representatives containing a strong admonition that any banning of any ammunition, firearm, or accessory is indeed a violation of your inher-ent rights as described in the Second Amendment. It is too easy to contact elected officials for there to be any excuse for not doing so. A simple Google search for “who are my elected officials” will return any number of sources to find out who and how to contact them.

A fundamental principle lost on the American people and not currently taught in schools is that our Constitution and thus the very foundation of our nation is based upon the belief that our rights are NOT granted by any document, king, prince, potentate, municipality, elected or appointed offi-cial, legislature, or any other body of men; but by a higher authority than any found here on earth.

Continued on page 10

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Firearm safety is of para-

mount importance at

OHGC. Unlike shotgun

pellets, metallic cartridge

projectiles travel long dis-

tances and without proper

attention to safety proce-

dures could leave the

property boundaries.

The range officer has ab-

solute control over the

range and the proper

handling of firearms on

the range.

Respect his authority, fol-

low posted procedures,

use common sense and

enjoy the range in a re-

sponsible and safe man-

ner.

OLD HICKORY BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2015

Old Hickory Directors 2015

Robert Cressionnie President

Jim Thompson Vice Pres.

Bud Tremblay Secretary

Phil McCumbee Treasurer

Al Bost Trap Mgr.

Kamm Bunting Skeet Mgr.

Jon Silberhorn Membership

Robert Curl R/P Range Mgr.

Rusty Daughtridge Targets

Steve Joyner House Comm.

Wayne Rhodes Youth Activities

John Parker Sponsorships

Matt Hudson Sponsorships

Charles McCoy Rifle/Pistol Activities

Standing L to R: McCumbee, Cressionnie, Silberhorn, Curl,

Bost, Rhodes, Bunting, Parker. Seated L to R: McCoy, Trem-

blay, Hudson.

Inset Left: Joyner Inset Right: Thompson

OLD HICKORY RANGE OFFICERS 2015

R. Curl - Range

Manager Walt Rauch Bob Hergott

Ralph Zampella Charles McCoy

Not Pictured

Allen Moore

David Rude Keith Edwards

Greg Kehle

Bill Cale Jim Marten Martin Traud

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As a convenience to our mem-bers, Old Hickory stocks re-loading components and am-munition. The ammunition selection is basic, but suitable for most needs; shotgun shells in the four basic gauges plus pistol ammo in most calibers. The reloading components are aimed at the shotgun shooter, skeet and trap. To date there has been no request for pistol/rifle reloading materials apart from a powder request from

time to time. Our components are bought from a large wholesale house and marked up enough to cover cost (tax and freight) plus a very modest profit for the club. Gener-ally the prices are as good or better that the mail order houses. Especially when you factor in the hazardous material handling fees they have to charge. A number of our members reload their shotgun shells. Reloading 12 and 20 gauge shells is probably not much of a cost savings unless you compare cost with the higher priced AA or STS shells. Reloading 28

gauge and .410 is much less expensive than buying new. Reloading, in this writers view, is both relaxing and rewarding. While sitting at the club listening and participating in conversation, we always discuss reloading at some point. I get concerned when I hear folks talking about what bushing to use for a certain load. As we know, MEC reloaders, and others, use a powder bushing to measure out a specific amount of powder. As the bushing number increases, so does the amount of powder “thrown” or dropped into the shell. There are charts furnished by MEC and others that will give a rough idea of how much of a particular kind of powder will be dropped using a certain bushing. These charts are a good STARTING POINT, but should not be re-lied on to be 100% ACCURATE. To confirm that the correct amount of powder is being used, you must use a reliable scale. In my view, a scale is the most im-portant tool a reloader can have and every reloading bench should have one. By all means, use only recognized recipes listed in

manufactures reloading books, and always measure

the powder using a scale. Humidity, temperature, and

lot number can alter powder weight

RELOADING CORNER BY JIM THOMPSON - OHGC VP AND COMPONENT MGR.

OHGC 2015 Events

Skeet Tournaments

Pig Pickin’ Open June 26 - 28

NC Open Aug 21 - 23

Trap tournaments

OHGC Shoots May 23

Oct 24

SASS (Cowboy)

Father Time Shoot May 1 - 3

Rifle/Pistol

Open Sight Military Rifle Mar 14

Mosin Nagant Shoot May 9

Rimfire Competition Jul 18

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The title of this article eludes me. But it was fun trying to put a label on it. At first,

I was going to title this “Three Ways to Make a Mosin Nagant Shoot Straight.”

When I ran the title by our leader, he responded with, “buy a Remington.” True,

but the Mosin Nagant rifle is our subject. I am sure we can find something to write

on a Remington later. Then I thought maybe “Charles and Steve - ‘Bubba Smith’ a

Mosin.” That works, but would I offend someone named Bubba? Then I consid-

ered, “How to make a $150 rifle shoot like a $300 rifle with $300 worth of work.

We did make a $150 rifle shoot better, just as good as an off the shelf $300 RemSa-

vWinMar. However, the point of making a Mosin Nagant (pronounced mo-SEEN

Nahgahn) shoot better is to have fun and gain a better understanding of a difficult

rifle.

First, manage your expectations. The model 91/30 Mosin Nagant basic design is

approaching 125 years of age, a military bolt action rifle intended to operate coated

in ice and frozen mud. Bore diameters vary wildly, from .310 to .318 with .312-.314

being typical. Trigger pulls are a crunchy 6 to 10 lbs. It is rare to find a rifle with its

original stock and most stocks are not well fitted to the receiver. Russian 7.62x54R

surplus ammo is cheap at about twenty cents a round, but not known for its preci-

sion. If you do a little work and get lucky, you will end up with a rifle that shoots 2-

3 MOA consistently.

Steve Joyner kindly allowed the use of his 1939 Tula manufactured Mosin Nagant

for this project. This rifle was originally selected for its clear engraving and its

beautifully mottled stock. The bore was typically dark with frost in the grooves and

strong rifling. The barrel had a lot of pressure on it from the stock. The muzzle

could not be moved in three directions and was difficult to move in the fourth. Ide-

ally you should be able to hold the stock in one hand and wiggle the barrel in all

directions with the other hand. Realize this is a thin 3--inch barrel - it will wiggle.

The first target was not impressive. At 100 yards, 7 of 10 hit the paper. A 24 inch

group! BAD. But many Mosin rifles shoot 12-18 inch groups “out of the box.”

Our plan was, 1- epoxy bed the receiver and free float the barrel, 2- smooth out the

trigger and 3- try several types of ammo. We did no machine work and no serious

gunsmithing. Anyone can do this work. To do this, you need an hour of reading on

the internet, a Mosin rifle, some J&B weld, a Dremel tool, some surplus ammo and

hand loads.

You can find lots of internet sources to learn the techniques for bedding and Mosin

trigger work. Instead of trying to reach those techniques here, let’s just show you

what we did and what happen.

Thoughts From The OHGC Rifle Range:

by Charles McCoy - Range Officer

Steve Joyner with his Mosin

Nagant

Wiggle the barrel

First Target - Russian

Lead Core 147g

7 of 10 hit the paper!

Accurizing Military Rifles - The Mosin Nagant

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Now to the shop. Bedding and free floating a Mosin or any rifle with a thin wooden upper handguard is a little more

complicated than bedding a sporter. How do you get a well bedded receiver with a free floated barrel while retaining

the upper handguard and the original military configuration of the rifle? Basically, we used the handguard as the

clamp to hold the barrel in the center of the channel while the epoxy cured under the receiver. We did not apply pres-

sure with the receiver screws while the epoxy cured. Sand the barrel channel until you have enough clearance for one

piece of paper to slide easily between the barrel and the stock.

Find and take down all the high points in the barrel channel and the handguard. Now prepare the stock for bedding

using your Dremel tool. Remove all soft wood from the area around the recoil lug and around the rear tang. This rifle

needed 1/8 inch of soft wood to be removed to get to good solid wood. To get a tight clamp between the barrel and the

stock, wrap some paper around the barrel near the muzzle and near the chamber. You want a tight fit but not enough

to crack the handguard when you force it in place. Once satisfied, lay your wet epoxy in the receiver and assemble the

rifle. Ensure the receiver screws line up and start threading them but -Do Not Tighten Them! Let cure overnight.

Once the epoxy is cured, disassemble the rifle and sand the barrel channel again. Attempt to get clearance for three

sheets of paper between the stock, handguard and the barrel. Now the barrel passes the wiggle test mentioned before.

For the trigger, we reduced the engagement of the sear and the cocking piece by reducing the height of the sear.

Reduce the height of the sear a little at a time, reassembling to check the trigger pull. Once you have about 5 lbs. of

trigger pull stop. Polish the contact surfaces at the trigger, sear spring, and engagement surfaces of the sear and

cocking piece. It is difficult to eliminate the long take up in this simple trigger design. But, after polishing, we got a

long smooth trigger take up with a consistent break at 3.5 lbs. Safety test your trigger by whacking the receiver with

a rubber hammer at the same time pushing the cocking piece away from the receiver with your thumb. Also ensure

you have neutral or negative sear engagement by observing and feeling the cocking piece while pulling the trigger.

Safety check passed, so off to the range.

Prep To Clamp Barrel Clamped Epoxy Rear Tang

Prep For Epoxy Checking “Free Float” Working The Trigger

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Old Hickory Gun Club is planning to enhance and expand its youth shooting program. We have raised $800 through raffles and Brunswick stew sales. The money will be used to help offset the costs of our junior shooters’ entry fees for sanctioned tournaments and for ammunition expenses. Hopefully, we can raise enough money in the coming months to help send some junior shooters to the Junior World Shoot Championships in San An-tonio, Texas. We will be raffling off a Remington 1100 Competition Grade (or similar) shotgun this year and will need help in selling tickets. Tickets will sell for five dollars each or five for

twenty dollars. The gun drawing will be August, 2015 at the NC Open Skeet Tournament held at OHGC. Any shooter 22 years old or younger that is a full time student may be eligible to receive available funds for tourna-ment shooting. Criteria for receiving assistance have not yet been established. If you are a junior shooter and would like to be a part of our program or a parent that would be willing to help, please send your name, e-mail, phone and address to Wayne Rhodes at wwrfatdaddy@embarqmail.com. There will be a meeting within the next two months to form a committee and establish guidelines for the program. The club is also interested in implementing junior events for the Rifle and Pistol Ranges. If you have experience in this area or would like to participate contact Charles McCoy at charleshmccoy@outlook.com.

“AT THE RANGE” - CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

This is the same Russian Lead core

147gr. surplus ammo as before. AS

you can see, the group is cut in half

- the result of bedding, floating the

barrel and some trigger work.

Here is my favorite Mosin load:

PPU Brass, WLR primer, IMR 4350 at 51.0 grains, Speer Hot Core bul-

let .311 150gr. Flat base soft point #2217, full length sized, case trim 2.110 -

2.112, COAL base to tip 2.985, COAL with Hornady 30 cal. Gauge 3.375,

run out adjusted on Hornady concentricity gauge to <0.002 prior to crimp-

ing, Lee factory at 3/4 turn per Lee instructions.

Ammo selection, final sight adjustment and a little practice is all

that stands between Steve and the next Mosin Nagant shoot.

Now lets try some better

ammo. Here is Russian

surplus factory 188

match ammo.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

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WISH I SAID THAT

Military humor for

those of us who served.

“Whoever said “the pen is

mightier than the sword”

obviously never encoun-

tered automatic weapons”

Gen. D. MacArthur

“Nothing in life is so exhil-

arating as to be shot at

without result”

Winston Churchill

General Observations

If the enemy is in range, so

are you.

Once the pin is pulled, Mr.

Grenade is no longer your

friend.

Tracer bullets work in both

directions.

Incoming fire has the right

of way.

If your attack is going real-

ly well, its an ambush.

The enemy attacks on two

occasions ,when:

1. He’s ready

2. You’re not

If at first you don’t suc-

ceed, Bomb Disposal is not

for you.

MEMBER PROFILE

Rusty Daughtridge Old Hickory Director Over twenty five years ago Rusty Daughtridge, long time member of OHGC, began carving duck de-coys. His plan back then was to make what he felt would be a mini-mum spread of two and a half doz-en mallard decoys. In his younger days he had been an avid duck hunter frequenting the wetlands of Eastern North Carolina. Unfortunately, like most of us, his attention was diverted away from the leisure pastime of decoy making to the more pressing demands of raising a family and keeping a full time job. The dekes were put aside and unattended for many a year. After retiring two years ago, Rusty’s thoughts went back to his desire to carve a complete set of decoys. His interest never completely turned away from decoy making since he continued to attend East Coast Wa-terfowl Shows. Following retire-ment he returned in earnest to his project, only now his goal has ex-tended to carving a few specimens for show as well as finishing his working spread for use in the North Carolina salt marshes. There is some unique history in the materials he uses. The heads of the mallards are made from cedar ob-tained from the cross arms of old railroad telephone poles. An inter-esting touch since Rusty spent many years as an engineer with the CSX RR. The bodies of the working decoys are made from surplus refrigeration cork. The keel boards are made from cypress salvaged from an old Mattamuskeet School House. The all wood decoys Rusty is working on for show are carved from Tupelo Gum. He does all his own painting and says the heads are the most time consuming part of the project. Whether it is a fisherman who ties his own fly's or a duck hunter who makes his own decoys there is always a little more enjoyment and satisfaction when you do it yourself.

Rusty with his chief critic and frequent

companion Alicia Morphis, his grand-

daughter

Finished Decoys

Rusty’s work in progress

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SHOTGUN TECH BOOKS

If you want to go be-

yond just pulling the

trigger of your favor-

ite shot gun and learn

more about what

makes the gun and

ammo perform, each

of these books will

provide insight not

readily available elsewhere.

Reloading for Shotgunners by Rick Sa pp

Plenty of good information on reloading presses, compo-

nents and techniques. This book has recipes for a wide

variety of loads that you will not find in the powder manu-

factures manuals.

Lyman - Shotshell Reloading Handbook - Va r i-

ous Contributors

Contains detailed information on Shotshell case identifi-

cation with “cutaway” photos. An excellent section on

techniques for MEC reloading machines.

Shotgunning - by Bob Brister

A classic. Everything about shotguns. Great info on shot-

gun ballistics, chokes, patterns, etc. - essential to under-

standing how a shotgun shell performs.

RIFLE RANGE NEWS

Iron/Open Sight Military Rifle Event

MARCH 14, 2015 1-5pm

Friendly competition, open to any military rifle in its original configura-

tion. 100 yards using B8 Target from clubhouse.

Four (4) shots prone, three (3) shots offhand,

three (3) shots sitting or kneeling. Ten (10)

shots total, no sighters.

We are looking forward to seeing Garands, M1

Carbines, Schmit-Rubins, Mosins, Enfields -

all are welcome.

!FOR SALE!

RECLAIMED

LEAD SHOT

Old Hickory has

made a bulk pur-

chase of reclaimed

lead shot. Member

price is $35 for a 25

pound bag. Non-

member price is

$40.

GOT GENERATOR?

February snow, cold weather and power out-

ages slow things down at OHGC. Meanwhile

die hard shooters tell tall tales while waiting

for power to come back on line.

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TOURNAMENT SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM - 2015

Old Hickory Board working on Tournament Sponsorship Packages

The Board of Directors will be implementing a business sponsorship program for the Skeet and Trap Tourna-

ments to be held in 2015. Proposed packages will consist of graduated levels based on contribution amount.

Sponsorships will include advertising banners to be posted in club house or on the ranges, quarter to full page

ads in the newsletter, web-site space and complementary memberships. Agreements are for one year and con-

tent is subject to OHGC Board approval.

Where appropriate sponsors may arrange to sell merchandise at specified events. Criteria listed below are

guidelines and can be customized to meet sponsor’s needs. If you are interested in promoting your business

through an OHGC event contact Matt Hudson at hdultraclassic2006@gmail.com or John Parker at jbpin-

vest@yahoo.com.

YOUR BUSINESS NAME HERE!

Sponsor NC Open Skeet Championship

GOLD - $1000

1. 3 x 5 Banner on range

2. Full page ad newsletter

3. Full screen ad - website

4. Ad space in clubhouse

5. Two complimentary mem-

berships

Bronze

1. Quarter page ad newslet-

ter

2. One eighth ad website

3. Ad space in clubhouse

Silver - $500

1. 2 x 3 Banner on range

2. Half page ad newsletter

3. Half screen ad website

4. Ad space in clubhouse

5. One complementary mem-

bership

Copper

1. One eighth ad newsletter

2. One eighth ad website

3. Sponsorship listing

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OHGC Contact Information

201 Dalewood Drive, Rocky Mount NC 27804

Club Hours:

Wed , Fri & Sun - 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Sat. 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Phone 252 977 3231

Web Site : www.oldhickorygunclub.com

OLD HICKORY GUN CLUB Newsletter Contact.

We are always looking for newsletter content. If you

would like to contribute, post a notice, write a story

( fiction is OK ) or help in any way with the quarterly

newsletter, your help will be greatly appreciated.

We especially need contributors for rifle/pistol, and

Cowboy Action news. Interesting pictures (jpeg for-

mat) of club events and suggestions for topics are wel-

come.

Send information to Bud Tremblay, Secretary and

Newsletter Editor OHGC at

bud.tremblay@gmail.com

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT cont’d from page 1

Whether you are a devout Christian, an agnostic, an atheist, or of any other religion, this principle serves ALL equally in

that no other human or group of humans have the legitimate authority to encroach on your inherent God-given rights.

I want you to read this paragraph very carefully. In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Supreme Court of the United

States ruled that, "The right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent up-

on that instrument for its existence" and fu rth er limited the applicability of the Second Am endment to

the federal government.

What the preceding paragraph means is that our right to keep and bear arms and to use them in legitimate self-defense,

national defense, sporting , or any other manner that does not impinge on the rights of others is neither granted nor de-

nied by our government or the Constitution itself – it is INHERENT and that the limitations of the Second Amendment

apply not to individuals but to the Federal Government.

Our rights in general and in this case our rights as described in the Second Amendment being inherent implies an obli-

gation for us to stand up, man-up, and if necessary to step up and defend them. If we don’t, who will?

Robert Cressionnie

President, OHGC

Work Day

Saturday April 25 - 8:30 AM

Come on out and help keep your club

looking good and well maintained