Cowboy Campfire - December 2006
Dern it pardner, a cowpoke goes and turns his back and without warning, another year slips away and a new one comes a callin’. That’s okay – 2006 was a fine year for us to play 1800’s and Lord-a-willing, 2007 will be even better! Sal and I had a great year meeting so many of you folks at the events we attend and we’re right proud how many of you have became good friends. Little did we know that first time we poked our heads out of the tent at Norco years ago, that we would be blessed with so many new acquaintances’. Some folks call Cowboy Action Shooting a great sport – which it truly is – but it is also one of the greatest social gatherings of like-minded folks to be found anywhere. With all that off my chest, welcome back to the Campfire! It’s great to see you here again and we hope you become a regular, if not already.
The first part to talk about today is one that does not see a lot of use on the shooting line, but you folks like them anyway (especially for hunting with the lever rifle) and we see them in gun carts mounted to various rifles – I’m talking about the big loop levers. We carry several of these rascals so let’s take a look at each.
The first one is for Marlins and is offered by Wild West Guns. It fits the 1895 (#981-000-002), the 1895G (#981-000-006), or the 336 (#981-000-007). These are precision machined, heat-treated, and critical stress points are thicker to hold up to those ‘lightin’ fast cycles’ you cowpokes throw at your lever guns! Due to variances in actions and components, minor fitting may be required. These levers can be especially beneficial if you use your lever guns for hunting in cold weather. The large loop design allows a gloved hand to fit nicely.
The second offering is from DRC Dave’s Custom and again is for the Marlin family of rifles. Badlands here wants you to check the application chart as there are six models of this lever and each is applicable to specific models. These levers are available in polished blue finish (made from 8620 steel) or, 17-4 stainless steel in a natural finish. Again, minor fitting of this lever may be required. These too are CNC machined, heat-treated, contoured and fully finished. As with the Wild West Guns lever above, these levers will see use in hunting scenarios during cold weather, or, just for when you want that ‘old west look’ on your rifle.
Let’s change our talk from lever guns to scatterguns for a moment. Lots of you folks are still firing the Winchester 1897 and while I talked about our new forend stock a number of Campfires back, a lot of folks still don’t know we offer this. Boyd’s stepped up to bat for us when we wanted a replacement forend to go with the buttstock wood we already offered from another supplier. These are American made and turned from dark, straight-grained walnut and cut as close to the originals as possible – right down to the correct number of grip grooves. The 3-Hole Version (#239-000-039) fits the 1893 and early 1897 guns with forearm escutcheons. The Standard Configuration (#239-000-040) fits the later 1897 redesigned forends retained with a screw cap (hardware is not included). You won’t be disappointed in these folks as the people at Boyd’s did them right – a really nice looking piece of wood for a very modest price.
The last item to talk about this Campfire is another item I discussed in the past, but with so many new folks joining us this one is worth a repeat since it involves your safety. During the winter months, lots of us take advantage of our indoor time by loading rounds for the coming season. As we know, lead can enter our bodies from the air we breath (indoor ranges, as an example) and from food we handle and ingest if our hands haven’t been completely decontaminated. And yes, lead poisoning is serious. In reloading, it is our hands that serve as the main carrier of this problem. One easy way to keep this problem at bay is by the use of D-Lead Cleaners from ESCA-TECH. I was the hombre that introduced this product a couple years back to the folks here and I just had a strong feeling it would be popular. Is it ever! We sell these items to folks like you and me, as well as in large quantities to agencies and shooting facilities all over the country.
My favorite is the D-Wipe One-Use Towels (#100-002-192). The container is just the right size for the gun cart or loading bench and I keep one at both those locations as well as in my car. When I am shooting stages and need a drink of water of electrolytes, my first job is to clean my hands prior to grabbing the cup or container – just too darn easy to get the lead residue on the rims and then in contact with my mouth. At our club, we always end our match with a nice meal and now is another great time to ‘get the lead out’. The same holds true on the loading bench. My session doesn’t end until the loading materials are secured, the press is covered, and my hands are decontaminated.
These folks also offer D-Lead Skin Cleaner (#100-002-193) in an 8 oz bottle (can be used either wet or dry), and D-Lead Equipment Cleaner (#100-002-194). The Equipment Cleaner comes in a 32 oz bottle and is a concentrate. You just mix and use to wipe down your loading bench, press, or any item that has come into contact with your lead.
We also carry their D-Lead Test Kit which is a two-step process that identifies if lead or other heavy metals are still present on skin or other surfaces. I have tried them all and find that if I use the wipes properly, they take care of skin contamination while the concentrate does the work on the loading area. Cowboy Action Shooting is a family sport and some of us learned the hard way the dangers of lead exposure. The is the perfect time to teach our ‘young-uns’ the right way to deal with this danger and make safe handling of lead a part of their routine.
Folks, the fire is burning low for this month and Badlands needs to mosey down the trail.
In the meantime, keep your aim straight and your belly full!