S&W M1903 .32 Hand-ejector- refinished with a custom grip adapter. Coming soon- stag grips and perhaps a barrel shortened to 2-1/2 to 3″

The old saying is, ‘Man makes plans, God Laughs.” Well, we’ll see how that works out in 2017.

Thanks to politics we can look forward to more minorities, liberals and members of the LGBT community joining the ranks of gun owners and 2nd Amendment supporters. I will be happily welcoming them, and doing what I can to help out with safety briefings, range trips, advice etc. The more the merrier, eh?

I have decided, to much snickering from those who know me, that the best thing I can do to advance my gun hobby is to stop buying guns.  There’s a lot I want to accomplish in the coming year, and every mother-loving bit of it will take money. Things I’d like to do this year include:

*Get started reloading. I have arranged to trade for an RCBS single-stage with a piggyback turret and .38/.357 dies. That’s a huge step forward… but then of course  need components and accessories, .32 S&W/S&W Long, .38 S&W and .45 Colt dies… maybe even .44 Colt dies (Using the original heeled bullets.) It ain’t gonna be cheap.

*Run a 220V line to the shop and install a 3-phase converter to get the milling machine running, which will run about $500. Then I need to acquire various hardware to use the mill effectively. I also need to get the lathe set up and buy some tools for it. All in furtherance of…

*Gunsmithing projects. These will include things as ‘lightweight’ as making a pair of stag grips for the m1903 .32 Hand Ejector to as heavy as (hopefully) making my first revolver. Maybe even a semi-automatic pistol. ‘How hard could it be?’ he said, then ducked. Other things I would like to accomplish- refinish the S&W M1903 .38 Hand Ejector, the .38 Steampunk Snubby, fabricate and mount the rear-sight on the 12-gauge ‘slug gun’ etc.

The latest version of the ever-evolving .22 revolver design. No doubt there will be a lot more changes before some variation of this sees the light of day.

*Hunting and shooting clays- really want to press the shotguns into service this year, do some upland bird hunting and start shooting some clays. This goes back to the reloading- but I have a quite capable shotgun shell press for 12-guage; I just need to fabricate/purchase some powder bushings and buy components. I’d also love to take a deer, either with the Ugly Duckling Carbine or the slug-gun.

That at least scratches the surface pretty well at least; there’s likely at least a half-dozen things I have forgotten. Anyway I hope you all have your own plans in order, and I wish you all the best and happiest New Year.