https://thegreatmodel8.net/

Made a quick trip to Fayetteville and squeezed in a few hours with Matt (Mattitude) Tuesday afternoon. Though he had a rigorous day at the range on Monday and was a bit pooped he took my SIL Reid and I out for another session. Thanks Matt! Just toting all the guns and equipment to the firing line was a pretty good workout. I brought three newbies; a 1920 Model 8 in 32 Rem and a 1942 Model 81 in 35Rem along with a Ross 1910 sporter in 280 Ross. These three came out of a fine collection in Vermont. The Ross is equipped with a Lyman Alaskan 2 1/2 x scope and the 81 has a Lyman tang sight. Due to the fast approach of dusk we shot everything at 50 yards. All performed very good with decent groups and no function problems. Matt brought some modern stuff too. AR 223 and a Benelli 12 ga. Matt, I hope, will chime in and tell us more about those two. The Benelli with the special slugs Matt had was impressive at 50 yards.The 223 was scary accurate and fun. Short range work with pistols finished up the day when darkness approached. Reid with his Ruger SR1911 45, Matt with his Sig 45 and I with a Colt 1903 in 32acp. Have included some photos below.One is Matt with the Ross. You will notice a third Model 8 with the 8 and 81 I brought. It is the Model 8 "D" grade we have talked about before,Matt`s 'Sophie". It is in good hands now and returned to Florida with me. I`m very appreciative to Matt for letting her join my collection. No name change will be made.
Next trip up we are planning to do some long range shooting . Matt has a steel target to set up at 300 yards. Can`t wait to give that a try with my 30 Newton and 7X61 Sharpe & Hart. Thanks again Matt for a fun afternoon and "Sophie".
Joe

As with the last time, I had a blast with Joe & Reid when they visited me a few days ago. They stopped by more towards the evening and we spent the first hour in my home catching up and doing some show-and-tell on my end. The weather was deceptive as even though it was about 2 hours before dark with a slight breeze it was still very humid outside.

I did beat myself up at the range the day before (it doesn't take much because of my disabilities, sedentary lifestyle and constant dependency to pain medication) so normally I would've skipped this range session...but I just cannot pass up even a short time with good friends, and in all sincerity I can call both Joe & Reid good friends. We did bring more guns than we had available daylight to shoot them all but we did give it the 'ole college try to get the job done. Joe's Ross rifle in .280 was definitely an experience. I've shot one in .303 that was sporterized but this one was original and I really liked the period scope. That was all of Joe's rifles that I shot despite him also bringing 2 8/81 rifles & a rimfire...again it ended up being a daylight issue more than anything else.

My contribution on the firing line was my new Bushmaster ACR & Benelli M4 tactical shotgun. The ACR is very different from the AR-15 pattern of rifles & carbines and I really don't have the time or space to describe how awesome it is but take my word for it...it's a badass rifle and if anyone likes the "modern" stuff I guarantee you will love it. Completely modular and ambidextrous, can be taken completely down with nothing more than a bullet tip and can even change the barrel & caliber without any tools and can do it in under 1 minute. The Benelli shotgun is the exact model that the Marines use (they call it the M1014 and has a collapsible stock) and IMO is the smoothest, tamest recoiling shotgun you can ever shoot. I was blasting away with lathed steel slugs (http://ddupleks.com/index.php/en/) and the recoil impulse was LESS than my old Model 8 .35 Remington ("Sophie") by a good margin. The ARGO system is amazing, but you will end up really paying $$$ for it. Check out the slugs in the link. I picked up a couple hundred of them when the Sportsman Guide was blowing them out for under 2.00/box over a year ago.

Lastly we shot our handguns before packing it in. My wife bought me a SIG P220 Super Match ( http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductD ... match.aspx) this past Christmas. I found it at one of the local gun pushers used for a price that I couldn't refuse and my wife offered it up as a gift...and what kind of husband am I to refuse? I did also shoot Reid's Ruger SR1911 and Joe's Colt 1903 as well before calling it a day, and what a day it was.

I was happy to see Joe again as we both have so much in common so there is no shortage in conversation and we both appreciate fine firearms. I was very sad to let Sophie go, but I know exactly where she is now and I know she is in a great home and won't get sold. She is a very special rifle and I know I can never replace her, but unfortunately I had to take care of some pretty important personal business and had to make a sacrifice. She's in great hands. All in all it was a fun visit and I'm looking forward to the next time when the weather will be more enjoyable and then we can take our time on the 300yd range to ring some steel.

Looks like Matt & Joe had a great shootfest!

I am green with envy....here's the icon.....

very nice for you guys to be able to get together, shoot 'em up, swap stories, and just generally have fun.

Adam

good times all around