Shiloh Rifle Forums

I received my special order Ipe board yesterday, cut out the laminate and glued up the Hickory backed/Ipe bellied bow stave last night. I ruffed it out this AM ,glued on the Zebra wood handle and it should be cured up by tomorrow so I can start the floor tiller. I don't know much yet about bow making but the internet has so much good information on design and fabrication it literally cut years off the learning curve.
Course it doesn't cover everything like for instance on this Ipe board the grain runs in plank saw run not quarter saw which is best for bow and rifle stocks. The grain run on the Hickory is correct for tension but Ipe will be in compression so I'm hoping I can get away with the perpendicular run.
I guess we will see, it could blow up I suppose on the first full draw!

It's another Pyramid bow but fully 7 inches longer than the other one I made last year. I like this design as it's fast, smooth and easy to tiller out.

Along with the bow building I realized I've been going through .35 cal bullets like crap through a goose shooting the little Cadet chambered in .357 Mag. She's really begining to hum with this new bullet.

Great day to be in the back yard doing all sorts of fun stuff. Oh I mentioned spitting my thumb open while working on this pile.

Better angle:

I'll try again:

Diverging back to that casting setup.
What exactly is that 35 cal mold you mentioned for your Cadet 357?
Is that the RCBS 35- 200FP ?
I have had excellent performance/accuracy with the Lyman 358318 200gr rn
in my 1950s Klein's Chicago 357Mag rebored Cadet.

But I last fall, I came into a RCBS 35-200FP mold that I have been wanting to try.
Got some cast, but have not loaded any yet.
I know this was an excellent performer in my friend's 357 Maximum Wichita International pistol
for IHMSA Silhouette. Kind of a handful to shoot. I once shot an 80 round State Championship
with it. Got kind of sore, compared to my own Wichita Int, in 7 Int Rimmed and my T/C 10" Contender 30-30.
beltfed/arnie

Yeah Arnie it's the RCBS 35-200-FN and it's working well in my gun with 11 grains of H-110. The gas check keeps the bore perfectly clear of lead. I haven't tried it in the Max yet with the 14 pitch Douglas barrel. The barrel in the Mag is also Douglas but 10 pitch.

What is the predominant timber for firewood ? Appears to be pine, cypress ? Oh I do miss splitting pine after working at white or yellow box gum...or ironbark. Without a hydraulic splitter it really is hard work. Burns hot...and long...but doesn't come to life as fast as cypress or pine in general. If it isnt partially seasoned...then the block splitter will bounce off it all day long. Appreciate your handiwork and the photos and captions take our minds off not being able to get to our ranges for now. Keep them coming.

J.B.

I am guessing fir and spruce?

I guess that makes sense. Its still hard work of course.. but one gets more return on their investment when the wood actually splits and doesn't fight you back ..

Gavin.

We call it swamp spruce here. I had fifteen taken down in the yard last fall, all dead from Spruce bark beetles. They cut it up for me , I hulled the bark and kept my new log splitter quite busy for a few months. This stuff has a nasty habit of growing limbs cross ways through the main beam of the tree and is a night mare to split with a splitting mall . Dang near impossible with an axe. The hydralic splitter though is rated at 27 tons and goes through it like hot cheese. Just make sure to keep your fingers clear though!

Thanks. I saw some of the devastation that the bark beetle can create when we were travelling in Montana some years back. The little buggers certainly leave their mark.

J.B.

Those bullets weigh 216 grains made of my alloy, with the GC and lube on Arnie. I have not chronograph-ed it yet but would guess it's going 12-1300 fps in the Mag out of the 26 inch barrel on the Cadet. It is pretty mild recoil compared to the 45-70's I often shoot but farely sharp in report as it cracks quite smartly .

The two Cadets spoken of and loaded 216 grain RCBS bullet mentioned in both Mag and Max.