Yesterday, I blogged about enjoying the crocuses Mrs. Hoge has planted in our yard. Here’s an example.
Crocus Redux
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Category Archives: Mrs. Hoge
One Delight of Spring
Crocus.
It’s a favorite flower of mine. I enjoy seeing them popping out of the ground in the late winter and early spring.
Mrs. Hoge has planted them along the walkway from the house to the street and around the cherry tree near where I usually park my car. The white and yellow and purple brightens my morning.
Thank you, Connie.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Hoge
XOXOX.
A Slow Blogging Day
Mrs. Hoge has pulled a muscle in her back, and I will be taking her to the doctor. Blogging is likely to be sparse today.
UPDATE—The doc prescribed some very nice muscle relaxer tablets for Mrs. Hoge, and she is resting in bed for the next couple of day. She thanks all who expressed their concern and good wishes.
Waiting for the Does
Unlike the non-character in the Becket play, they showed up. We saw three nice does—and a buck—stroll over the rise. And, of course, they were in the one direction that was unsafe to take a shot. They stood still for around half a minute, apparently daring us to take a shot, and then disappeared back over the rise.
Well, I have rarely shot a deer on opening day. Modern firearm season runs for another couple of weeks plus a bonus weekend in early January, and muzzleloading season is the last two weeks of December.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hoge and I had an enjoyable morning in the woods together. It was a nice start to our 33rd anniversary.
Mrs. Hoge Waits for Bambi
6:45 am
Gone Hunting
Today is opening day of deer season. Mrs. Hoge and I will be out in the field and ready to go at Oh-Dark-Thirty.
A Weekend at the Ranges
Yes, that’s ranges (plural).
Yesterday, my son and I went over the indoor range we frequent. He took his Colt Python .357 for practice. He also was picking up a used Mossberg 195K-A from the dealer who owns the range. The 195K-A is a bolt action 12 ga that was made during the mid-50s. William’s has the optIonal adjustable choke and rifle sights. He was able to pattern the gun with 00 buckshot. The pattern at 7 yd was so tight that the pellets tore single holes about 2-1/2 in across. At 25 yd, the pattern was about half the width of a silhouette target with the choke dialed in at improved cylinder. The pattern was centered on the point of aim. The idea that you don’t have to aim with a shotgun is bunk.
After church today, Mrs. Hoge and I went to the outdoor range run by our county’s Park and Recreation Department. This was Mrs. Hoge’s first day with her new rifle, a Mossberg 100 ATR in .243 Winchester. After she got it zeroed, she shot several 1 in or smaller groups at 100 yd with Hornady 95 gr SST Superformance ammunition. That’s at or better than the accuracy spec of the rifle. She and the rifle did almost as well with Remington 100 gr PSP ammo. The rifle was not happy with the Federal 100 gr Nosler Partition rounds she tried.
Bambi is in trouble.
Blue Honey?
Mrs. Hoge, who is a lapsed beekeeper, found this amusing.
A Day at the Range
Mrs. Hoge and I spent the late afternoon at the range. She has been honing her basic rifle skills getting back in to practice for deer season. This week and last week, she has been working with a .22. Next week, she’ll be moving to her .243 Winchester. Here’s the first group she shot this afternoon.
Her groups got progressively better. Bambi is in a heap of trouble.
A Day at the Range
It’s that time of year when we start getting ready for deer season. Mrs. Hoge and I spent the early evening at the range practicing. Even though it has been a while since she did any rifle shooting, Mrs. Hoge shot several 1.5 MOA groups. After another week of brushing up on the basics with a .22 on an indoor range, we can move outdoors and begin zeroing in her Mossberg 100 ATR (.243 Win) and my Tikka T3 (.270 Win) at 200 yards.
Rule 5 Friday
Mrs. Hoge reaches for her Browning 20 ga.
Ladies and Guns
Governor Susana Martinez used to carry a .357 Magnum while guarding church bingo games. Mrs. Hoge is more of a .243 Winchester kinda girl.
Bambi, beware.
A Day At The Range
Mrs. Hoge and I are back from a day of target shooting. She spent most of her time getting used to her S&W Model 60 .38 Special to which a set of Crimson Trace laser sight grips have been added. Her shooting is much improved by aiming with the red dot on the target. She also did quite well with my Browning High Power 9 mm pistol.
I spent my time working with a couple of .45s. The first is an Colt Lightweight Officers ACP that I repaired this week. The original recoil spring plug on the Officers ACP is weak. When it fails, it and the recoil spring go flying downrange, and the slide stays fully back instead of returning to battery. That happened last weekend. The recoil spring plug actually hit the target that was out at the 25 ft line. I replaced the plug and the spring and the original guide with a Clark reverse plug (much stronger), a Wolff 24 lb spring, and an Evolution Gun Works full length guide. Groups seem a bit tighter.
The other .45 was a new Kimber Stainless Custom II. This is an off-the-shelf gun that would have passed for a high-end tuneup job from a gunsmith 20 years ago. I like it.
The range we have been using of late is a bit of a hike from our house. It’s Horst and McCann over in Bel Air, MD. It’s small—only 7 lanes, but the people are very friendly. If you’re looking for a pleasant indoor range in the Baltimore area, Mrs. Hoge and I strongly recommend Horst and McCann.
UPDATE—An old college friend emails via LinkedIn:
I saw a plaque hanging on the wall in a business in Boulder City, NV where we are moving. It had a small mounted handgun and the words “We don’t call 911.” One of the reasons I like Boulder City.
When I’m 64
Today is my 64th birthday.
Mrs. Hoge says that she still needs me and will still feed me.
Then vs. Now
Mrs. Hoge is quite conservative these days, but in her youth she was very liberal, even radical. She was one of the street protestors at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.
While listening to coverage of the Occupy Wall Street bunch on NPR this morning, she remarked, “You know the big difference between us and these kids is organization. We had the KGB providing adult supervision.”
UPDATE–The original Mayor Daley wasn’t the only Democrat willing to punch hippies when they become too inconvenient. Details on LA here and here.
Mrs. Hoge’s Volvo
BTW, Mrs. Hoge’s Volvo does not have any bumper stickers at the moment. In 2008, she was driving a Saab, and it had a Palin sticker.
