[winds-of-change]

I met my daughter's boyfriend for the first time today.....at the gun range. LOL He enjoys shooting but doesn't own a gun of his own. He goes to the range and rents them. So I offered to let him shoot my guns.

We went to GAT Guns in Dundee, Illinois. I had never been there but it was a very good place to go shooting. Indoor range and HUGE gun store. After we shot, we shopped. I picked up a Lead Away cloth, a silicone cloth and some patches and a jag for the .22 pistol. I looked at an LCR and a Ruger SR1911. He looked at a Bushmaster and a Bullpup. I saw lots of guns you guys talk about but I've never seen, like a Vaquero, a Single Six, guns with extremely long barrels (making my 6" revolver look small), a Ruger Alaskan in .44 (that I soooo wanted along with the LCR and LCP). They had miles and miles of rifles on the walls and dozens of display cases packed with handguns. Here's the link. Gat Guns

We shot for an hour and put about 150 rounds of .38 sp, 100 rounds of .357 magnum through my revolver and about 200 rounds through the .22 pistol. He wasn't a bad shot......but I was better. Though he did improve a lot by the end of the hour. We had a lot of fun.

Then I went home and cleaned my guns. I used the Lead Away cloth on my revolver and it took me a loooong time but I finally got all the carbon rings off the cylinder. She's looking beeauuutiful!! And then I rubbed them with the silicone cloth, sniffed them, loaded them and put them back in the safe next to my bed. *sigh* I think I'm in love.

[Josh1158]

I love good day of shooting. A few weeks ago I went to a friends house with my ruger 357mag, 870, sks, and a marlin 22mag bolt action. When I got there he came out with 22 pistol, a old 38 short colt revolver, a 45-70 trapdoor gun, and a lever action marlin 30-30. We got about 10 mins of shooting in and his neighbor came over with a 270, a 9 mm pistol, and a 380 pistol. After 3 hours of swapping guns around and shooting every empty can and old box he had we ran outa ammo. I dont think I've ever had more fun. The only thing that sucked was the 6 inches of snow on the ground. On a side note I dont recommend playing with guns when it's below freezing out. I had to clean the condensation off my guns twice. It really freaked me out.

[winds-of-change]

Originally Posted by Josh1158

a 45-70 trapdoor gun

What the heck is THAT?

[Josh1158]

It was kinda strange. Not sure if it's from ww1 or ww2 but it's a single shot rifle that has a trapdoor thing on top that you had to open to put in a round. It shot a 45-70govt I just didn't know what else to call it

[Josh1158]

If you google springfield trapdoor gun you'll get more pics. Hes in to antique guns and such. This was his "newest" toy. He got it at a auction in the fall.

[orangello]

Sweet! I'm glad you had fun and i am also glad you outshot her BF.

[vincent]

So your daughter's BF lived to tell the tale...was wondering how that might work out... Did you pepper him with spent brass?

That Ruger Alaskan is pretty sweet, I know how you feel, and the lead cloth does wonders on stainless huh!

Nothin' like some quality trigger time, sounds like a good day!! Thanks for sharing...

[AleksiR]

Sounds like you guys had a blast! It's always fun to shop for gun stuff, even if it's just cleaning supplies

[winds-of-change]

Originally Posted by AleksiR

Sounds like you guys had a blast! It's always fun to shop for gun stuff, even if it's just cleaning supplies

Yes, it was. There's so much I don't know and to see all the different items makes helps me to learn a few things.

[Tackleberry1]

Originally Posted by Josh1158

It was kinda strange. Not sure if it's from ww1 or ww2 but it's a single shot rifle that has a trapdoor thing on top that you had to open to put in a round. It shot a 45-70govt I just didn't know what else to call it

Much earlier then WWI. The trap door was the first widely used breech loading long arm. The US Military converted civil war muzzled loaders at the Springfield factory to use the new breech loading mechanism in conjunction with the .45/70 Government cartridge.

It was a quantum leap forward in firepower and contributed to a change in Infantry tactics. The carnage of the Civil war was unprecedented due to two main factors. First, both sides were still using Napolionic tactics...IE...columns of opposing forces standing 50 to 75 yards apart and firing volleys into each other and second, the widespread use if the expanding mini ball, the first conical bullet. This round was made smaller than the rifles bore so it could be loaded just az quickly as a smooth bore musket but the bullet had a hollow base so the hot expanding gasses would expand the bullets width forcing it into the rifleing and imparting spin for greater accuracy.

Hit ratios and casualties jumped alarmingly and spelled the end of Napolionic warfare. The trap door was the solution to this problem. It's extremely difficult to load a 4' + muzzle loader unless your standing but a breach loader can be loaded and fired repeatedly from the prone position.

The Trapdoor however was soon eclipsed by repeating long arms such as the Henry Lever Action and subsequently the Springfield 1903 Bolt action, "which is more or less of copy of the famous German Mauser. The Trapdoor was the shortest serving US Infantry long arm because its technology was so quickly overtaken by repeaters. The most historically example of this would be the Battle of Little Big Horn where Custers 7th Cavalry was wiped out to the last man by a confederation of Sioux Indian tribes armed with Henry/Winchester lever actions.

Tack