Old Betsie

Actually, "Old Betsie" was the name that Uncle Ken gave to my muzzle loader when I was having a problem with it a couple years ago. Since then, he has commonly referred to all my guns as "Old Betsie" to distinguish them from the controversial ARs, of which I have none. This particular Old Betsie is a single shot in the .308 Winchester caliber, which is basically a souped up .30 caliber. Old dog may remember the M-14, which fired the 7.62 mm NATO round. Well that's the exact same cartridge, only in metric.

To load or unload a single shot you push on a button or a lever, which unlocks the mechanism so that the gun can "break open", which is the equivalent of opening the breach on other types. That part is broken on this gun, and the only way I can make the gun open is to bang it on the corner of a table at the hinge point. While this works for now, it's not right and can't be good for the gun. I could probably take the mechanism apart, and I might even be able to put it back together, but the part that's broken will have to be replaced. I have not had lot of luck dealing with gun manufacturers in the past, I get the impression that they would rather deal with gunsmiths or retail dealers than directly with individual customers. A good gunsmith could make a part like that from scratch, but I don't know if there are any gunsmiths around here anymore, I'll have to check around.

I won't be hunting during the muzzle loader season this year. It starts on the first Friday in December and runs for ten days. This year, the first Friday is today, so I didn't have time to get out the muzzle loader and sight it in between the seasons. Also, I dropped that gun while cleaning it last year and cracked the stock, which I had just replaced because the old stock was also cracked. I have the feeling that this particular model has a design flaw that makes the stock vulnerable to cracking, and I'm not sure I want to fool around with it anymore. Maybe next year.

When I said that "they" got what they wanted, I meant the Blacks in general, not any particular group of them. I have since come to the conclusion that there is no one group that represents all the Blacks, or all the Whites either for that matter. I have no doubt the world would be a better place today if people had followed the advice of MLK and his ilk. The murder of King likely drove many Blacks into the arms of the militants. Wasn't that about the time all the riots started? Be that as it may, the Blacks today are about as equal under the law as anybody, but they are still struggling with social acceptance. I don't know what to do about that, you can't pass a law that requires people to like somebody.