Irrigation System

Vineyard Update - Irrigation System

I appoligize to the readers of this blog that are interested in Shooting and Hunting. This is an update on some of the Vineyard work and my be boring to you. But I bet that there is someone on the internet that would enjoy reading about my irrigation system woes. 

It is Spring time and the vines are starting to wake up so it is time for me to get to work in the Vineyard. My irrigation for the grapes is all controlled with timers and solenoids so I can set specific watering profiles for different times of the year. 

The past few years I have had problems with the solenoids failing. I thought that it was the sun so I built this box to cover them. But they are still failing. 

When the system fails it is not apparent until the vines start changing color and at that point I have already done damage to the crop. 

 To make matters worse, something has decided to eat the wires that control the solenoids. So even if they are still good they don't turn on. 

So I decided that I would replace all the solenoids and put something on the wires to keep the varmints from chewing on them.  Here is the outcome of my efforts, new solenoids and jacketing on the wires to help deter varmint vandalism. From here on out I will replace them every few years as a matter of preventive maintenance. 

At this point I would like to mention how much I like the Polaris Ranger 570 Mid. It is a really useful tool in the Vineyard. It is small enough and maneuverable enough that I can go anywhere in the vineyard. But it also has enough carrying capacity that I can use it as a mini pick up truck. 

 So far it has proved to be a really useful tool and I am really happy that we bought it! 

Shotgun Shell Loading

Shotgun Shell Loading

I have loaded Rifle and Pistol Cartridges for over 20 years. As a matter of fact some of my Rifles have never seen a factory Cartridge. But until now I have not seen the need to load Shotgun Shells, they have always been readily available and inexpensive. 

Well, with new Legislation in California that has changed. Two pieces of legislation made me decide to load my own Shotgun Shells. First, California is going to be Lead free next year. The problem is that the commercially available lead free ammunition for upland hunting (Quail and Dove) is Steel. From the few boxes that I have been able to get my hands on they pattern very poorly. 

Second, California now makes you buy ammunition from a State Licensed Ammunition Vendor, eliminating internet sales. Due to the rural nature of where I live this makes it very difficult to find good quality ammunition and makes it almost impossible to get Bismuth or Tungsten Ammunition. 

So I got this equipment with the intent of eventually loading my own Bismuth or Tungsten upland loads. 

 I decided to get a Single Stage Press. I don't see myself loading high volumes of Cartridges so a Single Stage Press is a good option for me. I chose the MEC Sizemaster, it seemed to have all the features that I wanted (Collet Sizer & Primer Feed). 

I spent the last few weeks researching loads and buying my components. I decided to load some Lead Cartridges first to get the hang of things before I made a mess of expensive Bismuth or Tungsten. 

 After I selected my load from the reloading manual I had to select a bushing for the shot and check the powder weight with a scale. MEC provides a bushing table that will tell you what bushing you need for a particular powder weight in a specific powder. I was looking for 18.2 grains of Clays. Sure enough their powder busing recommendation was spot on.

So at this point I am all set to start loading. I decided to use some spent Federal hulls for my first go around knowing that I would screw a few up and have to do some adjusting.

 Here is my first shell in the 1 position, the sizer collet. In this position is gets sized and the old primer gets knocked out. 

 From there it goes to the 2 position, Priming. In this position a new primer is pressed in.

 Then it goes to the 3 position, where it gets Powder. 

 Then a Wad

 And finally Shot

 From there it goes to the 4 position, pre-crimp. In this position the crimp is started. 

 Then on to the 5 position, final crimp. At this point the Cartridge is complete, 

 It did not take long for me to complete 25 Cartridges. So it was time to go shoot them and see how they would do. 

 I decided to pattern them first, Here is a shot of my homemade pattern board. I put a piece of paper on it and set it at 30 yards and fire a shot. 

Here is the pattern from the first shot. 20 pellets are in the 5" center circle and 344 are in a 30" circle. The pattern has a few holes in it but in general I am very happy with the results. 

From there I went to shoot some clay pigeons. I ended up breaking 22 out of 25. Overall I am really happy with how this turned out. I may play with powders and wads a little then I will start working on some Bismuth loads. More to come in the future. 

Easter

Easter Egg Shoot

What do you do with two dozen dyed Easter eggs?  Well, if you are my family you shoot them. 

As we were dying eggs the other night my family was discussing what to do with two dozen eggs and my son came up with the idea to shoot them. Everyone thought that was a wonderful idea. So we started out new tradition of shooting Easter eggs. 

 We set some Eggs up close to shoot with 22 Rimfires, and some at 100 yards to shoot with a .223. Because nothing says Easter like a 50 grain Ballistic Tip ripping apart an egg! 

 Mom smacking a few with her 22 Rifle. 

 I brought out the .223 to shoot some at 100 Yards. 

The Kids could not resist shooting them at 100 Yards either, they shot really well and consistently disintegrated eggs at that range. 

 Mom decided that a pistol was the proper tool for the job, don't mess with this mamma she is deadly with that thing! 

 Thanks Easter Bunny! Making memories! 

Holland and Holland Royal

My Holland and Holland Royal.

When I was in my early 20's I read an article in Gun Digest about a London Gunmaker by the name of Holland and Holland. Something about the story captivated me and at that point I became a little obsessed with Holland and Holland. I read everything I could about them and decided that I needed to own a 12 Bore Royal some day.

I set out on a quest for my own Holland and Holland. I searched high and low for a nice example that was in my price range (remember I was in my 20's). Eventually I found this gun in a shop outside of London. I arranged to have it shipped to the US and did the import paperwork myself. Paying someone to import if for me was out of the question. I simply could not afford it. 

It is a 12 Bore, Holland and Holland Royal with Damascus Barrels,  built in 1892 for a Mr Butterworth of London. From the proof marks the gun was in service for many years and probably had many owners before it came to rest in my hands.

The Gun came in its original case, but after over a 100 years it was a little rough so I build this Oak and Leather case for it. 

Here is a picture of the beautiful Damascus Barrels. 

 I often wonder what ever happened to Mr Butterworth and if he would approve of me taking care of his Shotgun

All in all not a bad Shotgun for a 20 something year old to own. 

Funny story I was at a Dinner party once and an older gentleman was talking about Holland and Holland and implied that I was too young or unsophisticated to know anything about them. He was very surprised when I told him that I did know who they were and that I owned a Royal.  

I have tried to sell it a few times but my Wife wont let me. She has decided that it is hers and that I am not allowed to sell it. So instead I think that I will take it back over to England for a Driven Pheasant Shoot some day. 

Leather Strop Making

Making a Leather Strop

My Old Leather Strop was getting a little worn so I decided that it was time to make a new one. My old one was 1 inch wide by 6 inches long. It was a handy small size and worked well but for my new one I wanted to make something a little bigger. 

After scrounging around in the hardwood bin I found a nice piece of Mahogany that would work great for the strop. 

 I played around a little with the shape and eventually came up with a paddle shape that had a handle on the end. I used a paint can to make the radius transition between the wide and narrow portion of the strop. 

 Then off to the band saw to cut it to size. 

 Here is a Tip: If you are going to counter sink a hole in wood. Do the countersink first then drill the hole. This will create a clean countersink and avoid the chatter and rough edges. 

 Here is the clean countersunk hole complete. 

 I decided that I wanted one side of the strop with the rough side out and one with the flesh smooth side out. I will charge the rough side with compound and leave the flesh side bare for final stropping. 

 A little contact cement to bond the leather to the strop. 

Here is the completed strop all that needs to be done is to charge it with compound and it will be ready to sharpen, knives, chisels, plane irons, gouges, etc. 

Vineyard Update

March Vineyard Update

The vines are all pruned back and are currently dormant. They are waiting for spring to come and they will wake up and push new buds that will eventually produce lots of leaves and hopefully lots of great quality Syrah grapes.

 There is not a lot going on in the vineyard at this time of year. If we continue to get rain I will have to put some effort into weed control. But for now things are pretty quiet.

Once the buds show up the work starts. But for now it is a quiet time in the Vineyard.

Knife Sheath

Making a Knife Sheath.

After making my first knife it was time to make a knife sheath for it. I am left handed and always wanted to carry my  knife on my left hip. So I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to make that happen. 

First step was to create a pattern. I had an idea of the shape that I wanted but have never made a sheath like this before. So I decided to leave the material long on one side and trim it to size once I bonded and stitched the two pieces together. 

Here you can see the pattern that I made out of thin cardboard sitting on the leather prior to cutting. 

 Here is the pattern of the sheath and the rand that will protect the stitching prior to the first bonding step. 

 Here I am bonding the rand in place prior to wet forming. I use Boston Clips to hold the leather in place during the bonding.

 In preparation for wet forming I cover the blade with tape and cover the whole knife in plastic wrap to protect the wood finish from the moisture. 

 After I wet formed and bonded the leather. I punched holes for the stitching. 

 Here I am starting the stitching. I prefer to use a double needle "saddle stitch" because it makes a stronger and more reliable joint. 

 Once it was all formed and stitched I added a little embellishment, nothing too fancy just some subtle lines and a stamp. 

 Here is the finished sheath. It still needs to be oiled and treated. 

 I am quite happy with how it turned out.