Free In Idaho!

Just in time for my new rifle, and the results of my first ePostal attempt, Kim has a super post about what is really important when it comes to shooting, especially if you’re keeping firearms around for home and self defense.  Trying to punch lots of boolits into the same hole is great sport (even for those of us with a little tremor who measure by “minute of shake”), but Kim’s post is a needed reminder that “minute of goblin” is a more important measure.  He even provides some benchmarks and some drills for practice.  Thank you sir!

I am a very blessed man, in that my wife doesn’t mind my outdoor, gun loving, preparing type activities.  She joins me on the bikes, and the hikes.  She is “winter rated” down to 17 degrees after a couple of snowy tent days in Yellowstone two years back.  She can break tracks uphill in snowshoes as well as I can, and she sometimes joins me out in the sagebrush on 90 degree summer days to break clays and shoot the rifles and handguns.  She even enjoys my occassional buffalo roasts and buffalo soup dinners.  Of course, I return the favor by watching HGTV and “John and Kate plus 8″, but that’s another post.

I’ve been looking for a new rifle for a number of months.  Wanted a Remington 700 in .308, preferably with a heavy barrel.  Since I don’t have a bottomless gun budget, the rifle I hoped to find had to be something I can hunt with in the fall (God willing) but also take out to the desert for some varmint shooting, and also something I can begin to learn how to shoot long range.  Yes, I’d love to go to Boomershoot someday (wouldn’t we all!).  Months of reading the want ads, weekly trips to the various gunstores, all the gun shows, and getting the word out to friends produced absolutely nothing in the way of a used rifle (to say nothing of a private sale).  I was beginning to resign myself to the idea of a new purchase.

Sunday morning we were sitting on the couch, drinking coffee… my sweetie was reading the paper, and I was reading the blogs.   Actually, she was reading the sale ads.

She said, ” Was the rifle you wanted a Remington 700 SPS Varmint?”

“Yes it was, hon, why?”

“Well, they have them on sale at Joe’s, with a $30 rebate too.  $469 is pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I’d pay that, but this store doesn’t have any .308’s.” 

“You should go look again, on the way home from church.”

“Well I just might have to then…”

She should know me better.  She had to go to work early, so I went on the way to church, and guess what?  They had just gotten a .308 in.  This was not a hard decision, and my wife had already blessed the purchase (she must really love me), so I traded in some bills I’d been saving, the young man behind the counter had my paperwork done in no time, and I was out the door, even making it to church on time.   Pretty fun.  My honey is the best. 

I would love to go crazy with this rifle, and put a big piece of tactical glass on it, get a trigger job, yadda yadda… but I’ve never owned a new bolt rifle, so I need to learn how to shoot it first.  All that fancy stuff would be pointless right now.  So I’ll find a modest hunting type scope for it, and spend a lot on ammo (yes, I’ll learn to handload for it) and really learn to shoot.  Later on there will be plenty of time to trick it out, if I want to.  I’m expecting a big difference from the Mosins I’m used to shooting.  

I wonder if my sweetie wants to go shopping for scopes with me?