Misc data and adventures of a Tayopa treasure hunter

[audigger53]

When we visited relatives in Minn. when I was 18, I borrowed one Uncle's bolt action .22 to go squirrel hunting. Saw one not 25 feet away on a branch and took aim. Shot and missed! Single shot, reloaded and shot again and again. After about 6 shots the squirrel took off. Went back to the farm house and told my Uncle that the gun didn't shoot right. "Oh, I forgot to tell you the front bead broke off. You have to shoot under them to hit them." If I had known that I would have just sighted down the barrel instead of using the sights. LOL Squirrel was about 6-7 feet off the ground with no back stop to see where the bullet went. Borrowed guns take getting use to. LOL

 

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[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

Howdy audigger53,

Many years ago, a co-worker had purchased a used .38 Special revolver. After we all took turns looking at it at the company yard, they placed a beer can just about 20 yards away. With the owner going first then three others, and all missing, it was my turn. I was watching were the bullets were hitting, which was about an inch or two from the top, and an inch or two to the left. I aimed about an inch and a half to the right side of bottom of the can, and hit it almost dead center. After all the congratulations I told them the sights were off, which they could not believe since I had nailed it.

Homar

Homar, you and AU are on the same page with sights. I’ve always trusted sights over scopes.

With sights, you can adjust your second shot as long as you have a background to see how much you are off.

Scoping and re-aligning can be pain in the neck, even with a spotter.

I remember helping my oldest son, set his first scope after he assembled it.

He didn’t like the way it assembled, It didn’t feel tight and the top brackets didn’t close evenly. It wasn’t American made and the instructions were translated to English by someone who didn’t speak either language!

Off to a bad start!!

We took it out to an outdoor gun range and I set up my tripod and telescope on the target and he set his lead pack to steady the rifle.

First shot hit a corner of the target , so I said “Eight low and left.

He made his adjustments and made a second shot... missed the target and it was out of my field of vision...

This went on for a half hour...

I took the gun and twisted the raise/lower knob and it moved left and right.

Both knobs were marked “ L and R”.

Left and Right looked just like
Lower and Raise...

It was easy to see what went wrong, after the fact, with an older set of eyes [emoji102].

One look at the scope and the instructions and I could see that the instructions were wrong.

The photo was reversed!

Loosened the bolts and rotated the scope 90 degrees and the locks fell into the slots... and everything tightened up correctly.

The second shot after that was a bullseye [emoji457]!!!

#/;0{>~

 

[Real of Tayopa]

Mikel, it takes one shot to zero your scpe then possibly a scond shot for proof that it is zero'd

 

[Real of Tayopa]

No my friend I never had the privledge of meting Do Rouc.h. the adventures club, bein based ins
LA, calif, was a natural. My mentors, Dan & Ginger lamb, tarted it. My partner was
approched, but I was away and so claimed admission to the Explorers Club.
After submiting my data they voted to admit me..

 

[Mackaydon]

Don Jose,
As a Marine, he also carried a BAR during WWII in the Pacific theater.
Thought, by chance that you may have met him during the intervening years.
Don......

 

[Oroblanco]

Hola amigos,

Ah iron sights versus scopes, a long and complicated debate. I have probably posted these two tales earlier here and if so, please forgive the repetition, but hopefully they will amuse you.

When I was sixteen and full of it, had gone deer hunting in a rather pretty and remote valley, sort of hidden in a ridge line in PA. The day was frosty and bright, with a little snow just an inch or so but enough to make for easy tracking and easier spotting of the game. I settled in to a comfy spot by an ancient stone wall just above a very old and long neglected apple orchard. As the deer opener was well past (I believe this was very late in the season) the odds of ever seeing a legal buck were pretty long, but I had high hopes and iron sights on my Savage 99 308, which was a very accurate rifle. I never gave a thought to the rough ride in the old Jeep pickup to even get up into the hills where I was hunting.

I had not sat very long before I spotted movement coming out of the timber, a deer heading for some frozen and probably well rotted apples in the orchard. I looked it over through my binoculars and saw that it was indeed a legal buck, a very nice 8 point Eastern count! I set the binocs down and carefully lifted the rifle to shoulder, waiting for the buck to step into the small clearing he must pass to get to the old orchard. Sure enough, after testing the air for scent and looking everything over, he gingerly stepped out of the thick timber into the small meadow, advanced to the middle of it and STOPPED! He was giving me a perfect, standing broadside shot at less than 100 yards! I could taste the venison steaks already!

I eased the safety off as I put the bead on his shoulder, and carefully squeezed the trigger. The Savage roared with authority, and I watched the buck stand there perfectly still! He looked around himself while the loud boom from the shot echoed off the hills, as if he could not tell what direction that sound had come from. I had missed! I quickly jacked another round in the rifle, thinking perhaps I had jerked the trigger or somehow moved at the last instant, carefully steadied myself and squeezed off another round. Boom! The buck again stood perfectly still, now looking around as if he were concerned, but not so much as one foot did he move. I had missed again! How on Earth could this happen?!! I was upset and jacked a third round in the chamber, took extra special care aiming, bracing against the tree and stone wall to be SURE that I didn't move and miss again, took a breath, let a little out, brought the bead down on his shoulder, absolutely certain that I could NEVER miss again at such an easy shot, and growing nervous that the buck would soon vanish, squeezed off another shot.

Boom! The shot echoed off the hills again, the buck took a single step, looking around, even looking directly at me for a second, but he kept looking around and I still had time to try again, because I had MISSED AGAIN! I could not believe it. I started wondering about the ammo, was I unconsciously moving as I fired, was there an invisible cross wind, etc. I repeated my careful aim and fired - and this time I saw a tree branch, about six FEET behind the buck blow off a piece of bark! I was stunned, but the buck was starting to decide that he maybe ought to head for greener pastures, I looked at the sights on the rifle - the rear sight had gotten knocked sideways almost entirely OUT of the dovetail slot! I had been aiming far off to the left, behind the buck! I quickly jacked my last shot into the chamber and unfortunately the buck took a flying leap and vanished into the brush. Lesson learned? Iron sights can get knocked out of perfect alignment too.

Second tale
As an iron sight 'purist' I was hunting for deer in PA, not too long after I had married my wife Beth. We were living in the hills not particularly wealthy but not starving either, and we depended on venison for a part of the annual larder. So of course I was again hunting for deer, a legal buck, out on the ridge behind where we lived. I had the trusty Savage 99 with iron sights, and had learned my lesson about making sure the sights are not damaged or moved before getting into the woods. I found a nice spot on the ridge overlooking where two major game trails intersected, one trail leading to a marshy pond and the other eventually would end out at a corn field on the far side of the ridge. It was the season opener, so like most of PA the woods were full of hunters, and the deer would almost certainly be moving. So I picked a spot to take a stand (standing is not my preferred method of hunting, but I was mainly after the meat not the antlers) and sat down with my back on a beautiful old white oak tree and waited.

Sure enough, right after the Sun rose, you could start hearing the shots on the far hills, indicating that other hunters were having some success. I watched as some fat gray squirrels set to work digging for acorns and hickory nuts they had secreted in the fall. Before long, I heard that distinctive rolling rustle sound of a herd of deer approaching through the dry leaves. The sound was coming from my left so I cautiously shifted my position to put most of my body behind the trunk of the tree, to help conceal myself from the deer as they approached. I picked up the binoculars as I saw movement through the timber, definitely deer. I guessed the range at a bit over 200 yards, rather a long shot through the trees, and looked the deer over as they stepped between openings in the trees. I counted, one, two, three, all does, four, five wait a minute, that one has antlers! I tried to see if I could count the points but no, it looked like maybe a six point (Eastern count) whitetail, of respectable size, traveling with a small herd of four does! I kept my eye riveted on the buck as he stepped slightly out of sight, his front half blocked from my view by a large tree, as the does were also milling about searching for acorns, and set the binoculars down with my right hand then lifting the trusty Savage 99 up to my shoulder. I didn't think the deer could see any movement on my part, certainly I could see with my eyes that they did not act the slightest bit alarmed, and had hardly bothered to even look in my direction. I eased the sights to the right side of the large tree that the buck had stepped behind, and waited for him to step past it, which would put him directly in my line of fire.

I waited for what seemed a very long time, listening to the deer as they were nosing through the dry leaves, and finally the deer stepped out from behind the tree right into the perfect alignment for my shot! I eased the safety off and squeezed the trigger, boom! I watched the deer drop in his tracks, and then saw the four remaining deer go bounding off past me including one with nice antlers on his head! What the heck!!! I took another look at the deer I had just shot, and nope he is NOT moving, I had NOT missed, the deer had been killed instantly.

　
I walked over to dress out the deer and as I walked up close enough to see his head (he had fallen sideways away from me so his head was not visible after he fell) and had a shock - I had just shot and killed a BUTTON BUCK! The two deer had been feeding side by side, I had not noticed that the button buck (no antlers just little 'buttons' on his head) had stepped in FRONT of the larger and LEGAL buck. As I stood there, wondering how the heck I had done this mistake, I heard someone shout from the top of the ridge - "Hey did you get him?" I was suddenly petrified - this is NOT a legal buck and I could certainly NOT afford a hundred dollar fine, so I yelled back "Yes I got him" - hoping that stranger would not approach any closer. To my horror I could see him starting to hike down the ridge to me, as he hollered "I will help you drag him out!" Horrors! What can I do? I did the only thing I could think of, I yelled back "NO thank you I can get it!" and grabbed the feet of the illegal button buck and started dragging him for him as fast as I could go! I looked back and he was still coming! So I shifted the buck up onto my shoulder and took off hiking with him as best I could, which was not that fast as the buck was still fairly good sized, probably 120 pounds or so and if I had not been so nervous I doubt I could have carried him away on my shoulder like that. Anyway long story short, I did manage to get that illegal deer home and put into the freezer without having to pay a fine, but I learned another valuable lesson - scopes DO have their uses, for if I had had a scope I would have easily been able to see that the deer that stepped out from behind the tree did not have the antlers.

　
Please do continue amigos, just thought I would entertain you with my misadventures with iron sights and scopes, and I honestly believe that BOTH have their advantages and disadvantages, it is a good practice to have a rifle fitted both ways.

Oroblanco
　

 

[rockhound]

My uncle and I were float fishing at night on a river with a jon boat. Later that morning as we approached the spot where we were to get out, we heard shots fired. When we reached our destination we saw two teenage boys shooting a .22 rifle at a old fence post. My uncle was always a prankster so I never knew what he would do. I did know that he always carried a snubnose .38 wherever he went. As we stepped out of the boat my uncle asked if they could shoot well, which they replied that they could. My uncle walked down to that of post found a nail protruding from the post. He turned and asked if they could drive a nail with that rifle. Surprised at his suggestion, they just shrugged their shoulders. He said I have an old .38 snubnose that will drive nails. I bet $10 I can drive that nail with it. They looked at each other in amazement, then agreed. He stepped back about fifty feet, far out of range of sight. And fired. When we all walked up to the post, he grabbed that .38 by the short barrel and drove that nail with the handle. Then he turned and demanded his $10. They knew they had been snookered, but he didn't make the pay up. We all got a good laugh out of it. rockhound

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

Oro, two great stories.
Both points made, and a good laugh on each.

A few miles from where I live, there is a fella that does auto body and upholstery work.

Several years ago, an old friend of his came in and told him not to ask what happened or he would go elsewhere!

He walked him out to his newly restored, early model, Ford Bronco.
Immediately he said “What?”
And his friend got into the truck and drove away.

The next morning, the friend’s wife came back with the Bronco. She said the same thing that her husband said the day before...

By this time he was more interested about the story than the money.

The wife told him to keep it a secret!

There were five holes in the passenger side front fender and five rips across the hood. He told her that he would fix it and not tell her husband that she had told him, but he would not fix it without knowing what happened.

She told him that her husband was sighting in his new scope with his arms resting on the driver’s side of the hood, aiming at a target on a tree in their field and couldn’t figure out where the shots were hitting the tree.

He was off by quite a bit!!

He fixed the truck and didn’t tell her husband that she had told him.

He found out that she had told him a few days later while having coffee [emoji477]️ at his regular restaurant, from someone else!

The guy only promised to not tell the husband, that she had told him!!!

He kept his promise.

#/;0{>~

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

Mikel, it takes one shot to zero your scpe then possibly a scond shot for proof that it is zero'd

Jose, that’s what happened..... After getting the sights on their proper axis.

The first one hit the target and he dialed it in and put the next shot in the bullseye [emoji457]

#/;0{>~

 

[audigger53]

Scopes and Iron sights: I friend of mine that I meet when fishing showed us his shotgun for deer hunting here on the East coast. 12 guage pump with a scope on it. He has it sighted in for a 100 yards. My first thought was "What?". After some thought I guess that if you are shooting with a non rifled barrel, a scope might well make sense for slugs.
Since I moved away from the West, Arizona, I have not gone hunting deer. Every time I see a White tail deer, my first thought is, "They need another year to grow up", but that is because I was used to hunting Mule Deer. Mule deer are about 200 to 250 Lbs., while White Tail are "Big" at 120-150 Lbs. Back in '64 I saw a report of a guy in Utah that "Shot my deer". I didn 't care that it would have had to cross the Colorado Canyon and drift all the way past Phoenix to get down to Florence for me to shoot it. He said he pulled down on it 9 times before he shot it. "That's an Elk! No, that's Mule Deer." Field dressed out at 526 Lbs! Was world record then and may still be.

 

[rockhound]

Then there was the time my uncle and I were at a shooting range in upstate Pennsylvania. The NRA was sponsoring a 1000 meter shootoff. All participants were attempting to set a new world record. My uncle, being a gunsmith had taken a 7mm mauser and ordered a douglas precision barrel for it. For weeks we loaded and tried almost every conceivable variation of powder and bullets to find the best combination. Saturday, as we sat there waiting our turn, two guys approached us and commented on my uncles sandbags. He decided to have a little fun with them and exclaimed that they were made of nauggie hides. He went on to explain about how we went to Australia and shot several nauggies and made them. They were almost ready to book a flight to Australia to hunt nauggies. He took first place that day, but fell barely short of the world record. OH, and we never did tell those guys any different. I wonder where they are now? rockhound

 

[Ditlihi]

Then there was the time my uncle and I were at a shooting range in upstate Pennsylvania. The NRA was sponsoring a 1000 meter shootoff. All participants were attempting to set a new world record. My uncle, being a gunsmith had taken a 7mm mauser and ordered a douglas precision barrel for it. For weeks we loaded and tried almost every conceivable variation of powder and bullets to find the best combination. Saturday, as we sat there waiting our turn, two guys approached us and commented on my uncles sandbags. He decided to have a little fun with them and exclaimed that they were made of nauggie hides. He went on to explain about how we went to Australia and shot several nauggies and made them. They were almost ready to book a flight to Australia to hunt nauggies. He took first place that day, but fell barely short of the world record. OH, and we never did tell those guys any different. I wonder where they are now? rockhound

Michigan.

Meet the Nauga, a species not of gerbil, hamster or guinea pig but of its own, and indigenous to America! The Nauga is known for its bug-eyes. The Nauga, unfortunately today, the day after Earth Day, has to be reported as an endangered species, oddly enough endangered by the Barca Lounger.

You see it takes an enormous amount of pelts to produces a naugahyde couch or reclining chair. In fact Sam van Pelt and Joe Hyde from PETA reckon that it takes over 1,000 Nauga's hides to produce such a product. The plight of the Nauga was recently brought to national attention by the Disney film 'Bedtime Stories', in which a genuine Nauga masqueraded as a guinea pig and family pet. It was an Oscar worthy performance but sadly there is no animal category at the Oscars.

Where do Nauga's come from? They appear to have originated in the northern peninsula of Michigan which explains why it is that so many loungers and recliners have historically been made in Michigan, including Lazy Boy Recliners.

Ben Witherington: FRACTURED FAIRY TALES FROM THE FARM NO. 1

 

[rockhound]

I could go on and on about my adventures or misadventures, but I am saving the best ones for my book,'' Adventures of a Rockhound''. One of these days I will finish that book., as well as the other one that's nearly finished. I guess I'm like Real Tayopa, I'm just a procrastinator. Wishing you all had a very Merry Christmas and hope the New Year finds you health, happy and prosperous. You see back in 1971 many of the nice shooting rest available now, were not on the market, so most made their sand bags out of burlap sacks or flour sacks. Nauggie hide was a rarity back then. My uncle shot a five shot group, then they measured each hole and averaged them to make a group. His group average was 17''. The world record then was 15.5''. If one shot was out much it made the entire spread larger. Good Luck. rockhound

 

[Real of Tayopa]

Whatch it Rockhound, I am considered an excellent shot with a pistol to 4-500 meters,

Procastinator indeed, Ill have you know it's just because,,,,hmm walchit anyways

 

[audigger53]

OK this is from a neighbor that I knew. He would go prospecting on the weekends when he was not working. He found a slag pile and filed a claim on it (high in silver). Later a man came to where he was working as a caretaker on a non working mine at that time. The man wanted to purchase his claim. He told the man he wanted $10,000 for it and rubbed his fingers together, cash. He guy said no, and left. Later he came back and showed him the money and asked for a quit claim for it. He looked at the guy and told him that he really needed a new pair of boots like he was wearing adn told him his size. The guy left and came back with the money and the boots. He then wrote out the quit claim for $10. He took the $10,000 back home and put all the money on the bed in the bedroom. When his wife walked in and saw the money, she screamed and asked were he got it. "Remember when you would yell at me for going prospecting? Well this is from that." "The money is for our kids to go to school after High School." He put it in the closet. True story. LOL The slag pill was from a mine that had shut down but didn't do a good job for refining the ore. They just took out the gold and left the silver. The buyer was from the old owners of the mine, who had let the claim go without keeping up the required upkeep to keep the claim active.

 

[Oroblanco]

Whatch it Rockhound, I am considered an excellent shot with a pistol to 4-500 meters,

Procastinator indeed, Ill have you know it's just because,,,,hmm walchit anyways

Out of curiosity, (NO pressure amigo) are you comfortable to give us a progress report on the book? If not I will understand.

Great posts! Keep 'em coming amigos y amigas, and especially those of you whom are readers but have not posted!

 

[Real of Tayopa]

Progress report ?? whats that ?7

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

Progress report ?? whats that ?7

Jose, that progress report is kinda like a report card that you fill out, yourself, and grade yourself, and take home, to approve yourself and sign to return to yourself.

But, we get to watch!

#/80{>~

 

[audigger53]

Another story for you. One time when stopping in Wilcox for gas, as my brother went in side, I was filling up the truck. Now the truck had all the camping gear, shovels, pick, ect in the back. A guy pulled in to the other side of the pumps and started filling his. He looked at the truck and said, "what are you doing, Going hunting? No, it's not deer season." Going gold hunting. "Huh, I did that when I was a kid living in Tombstone. We would sneak onto this ranchers land and go into his mine and dig nuggets out of the walls. He finally caught us and told us that we would have to have our parents permission to go in there and to leave until then or he would press charges for trespassing." Why, don't you go back there now? "What! I'm a Mill wright, I have a wife 2 kids, an ex-wife and 3 kids to support. I'm not a crazy gold prospector." With that he finished filling up his truck and drove off.
Tombstone known for Silver, not gold. Ah the stories one hears when people know about your "hobby". LOL

 

[markmar]

Happy and prosperous new year to all !!!