I got to start mine out with a trip to the dentist due to a sudden and severe tooth pain caused by an old filling that decided to crack. So not only did I get that exercise in mouth pain this morning, but then I had to have it fixed by a dentist who introduced herself as "Doctor Smith". Of course I chuckled a bit, and she repied "Yes, I know...it's pretty generic." I told her that I wasn't laughing about that, I was thinking about Dr. Smith from the old TV show
Lost in Space. She gets this puzzled look and says that she's never heard of it. The hygienist also shrugs and denies knowledge of the show.
"Really?" I exclaim, suddenly feeling very old. "You two need to leave and send the adult team in here."
The hygienist tries for a save and volunteers that she "sort of" remembers
Mork and Mindy. "That was back then too, right?" The dentist says "Oh yeah. Robin Williams was in that, wasn't he?"
Groan.
And to add insult to injury, my insurance doesn't cover repairs like this any more, so the replacement of two fillings was all out of pocket. Glad that I didn't fly this week-end.
I did at least get to the range, however.
This time out, it was the Belgian M1950 Mauser in .30 (.30-06).
I grabbed this old rife and a bag of dubious-looking old reloads on the way out the door. It's been a while since this one's been shot.
ABL = Armee Belge/Belgisch Leger, or "Belgian Army Rifle". This rifle was made in 1952, and the big B is for King Baudouin who was Boss of Belgium in that year. And this one's not blued or parkerized--it's painted gray.
It's interesting to note that Fabrique Nationale was stil making--and the Belgians were still buying--bolt-action Mausers in 1952 despite the numerous semi-automatic rifles available by that time, not the least of which was FN's FN-49.
I shot it at both 100 and 200 yards off of sandbag rests from the bench, and I'm happy to say that it kept all 30 rounds fired on paper plate targets save two dropped rounds at 200 yards that were still dead center, just low. So the keep or sell question is asked: Would I fight with this rifle if need be? The answer is that yes, I would. So it stays.
I also shot some steel with the Glock 21 that typically resides on my bedside table. Gotta stay in practice with all the defensive arms, even the ones that don't get carried.
It is big in the hand as compared to the smaller Glock 19 and 23, but it shoots to point of aim and the recoil is actually quite light, even when fired one-handed. (Because we all practice strong-hand only and support-hand only whenever we go out, right). Gotta admit--14 rounds of defensive .45ACP plus night sights and a light does the job right nicely when things go "bump" in the night.
Now I'm home and the novocaine has about worn off, and now I realize just how much trauma my mouth was subjected to so I'm back to being all unhappy. Phooey. I'm going to go drink beer and take a nap.
Pit-tah-full.
ReplyDeleteAnd you call that a sucky start to the day. HA! Now, walking through a blizzard, uphill, for miles, dragging a broken leg...THEN getting the tooth and leg fixed, with no painkiller, by an ugly, smelly, zombie. THEN slogging home, all uphill, in the same blizzard.
THAT is the start of a Sucky day. (You really need to step it up on these stories)
Dental visits are never fun. Just one of the bad things of life.
ReplyDeleteNice Mauser. I know FN produced a good many Mausers after WW2 , most of which went to Central or South American countries and some of which were chambered for 30-06, but they are relatively rare today. Nice piece for your collection.
Hope you feel better soon. Like that Surefire?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that Surefire.
DeleteFeel this story, one unlucky day I found myself in the dental chair at 7:30am for a root canal by some kind of nut dentist. He finally told me I was his worst patient and I told him he was the worst dentist. Needless to say, I didn't go back. :-D
ReplyDeleteMine started with a root canal, with no shooty goodness to make me feel gooder.
ReplyDeleteOK, that's kinda worse.
DeleteAt least you got to do some shooting, i.e., something pleasurable.
ReplyDeleteActually, my day today was not really all that bad, at least compared to the two previous ones. I did two back-to-back all-nighters drafting and assembling papers for our cross-motion, which were due in the court yesterday. Which wouldn't be so bad, except for my client's obsession/compulsion with detail (example: Taking 11 minutes to verify the correct spelling of a peripheral player's name, AFTER I had told him how to correctly spell it). But hey, who am I to badmouth a client who always pays his bills?
The second all-nighter was in a 24/7 copy/office services establishment in New York City. If we had completed the copying and assembly 90 minutes earlier, they would have gotten bound by 8 AM, and we could have driven out the 75 miles to the courthouse, paid the motion fee at the County Clerk's office, driven or walked to the courthouse and clocked in the papers and gotten home by noon and slept a few hours. But my client's delays put the work further back in the queue, and they weren't finished binding them until about 10:30 AM. And my client, who was doing the driving, insisted on stopping for breakfast before the drive out to the courthouse, by which time the major road construction project put a significant detour in the highway.
Long story short: I didn't get home until almost 5 PM. That was 43 hours with maybe 5 hours sleep total.
Today (actually yesterday, it's after midnight), I slept until 9 AM, and then ran around taking care of things I haven't had a chance to do on account of the all-nighters.
I've got a No. 4 Mk.2 from the 50's (you saw it at Lapeer when you let me shoot a belt in your 1919), so the Brits were still making bolt guns then, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sucky way to start your day
ReplyDelete