Johan vanZyl

L

Lt. Dan

Joined
Aug 6, 2000
Messages
539
I tried to e-mail you before Christmas, but it bounced.:(
Would you e-mail me? This is the only quick way I know to try and catch you. My new addy is the same, but you'll have to substitute danno for ltdan.

Hope all's well, bud.

Dan
 
Hi Lt. Dan, Sorry to post on this thread. Do you know what is going on with this forum? You were kind of keeping things going here a little while back. I was hoping to get a WWIII but that does not look like it will happen now!:confused: Anyway hope all is well and take care.
 
It's good to hear from you. You're always welcome to post any old time on any thread I start. Even after e-mailing Craig some time ago, I still don't know anything. It could be that he never got my messages, but I was hoping he would post his situation here at the very least.

Not being a seasoned knife guy or having any of the other tools I feel are needed to do a good job moderating anything, I've also passed over the moderator position here. And not knowing what's up with GH, I'm not able to help out folks with their questions. That said, I still enjoy the 4 rosewood handled khukuris (not counting the boys') I've pared down to. And my MJ is a vixture in my varmint kit.

As you know, I'm primarily a varminter who really likes long range single shot pistols that wear good glass, but dabble in some long tubes as well. Wildcat calibers and attempts at precision handloading are keeping me quite busy. Some boards that I'm pretty involved in have to do with varminting, handgun hunting, and small caliber shooting. Aside from getting geared up for .17 Ackley Hornet, working up pet loads with .243 very low drag bullets, and breaking in a new .17 Rem bbl, I'm trying to get together a classic/traditional .222 with a 10x fixed scope. The more I learn, the deeper I get into it, and it's become a consuming cycle. Heck, I don't even have time to shoot rifle or pistol matches anymore.

And work seems to get in the way, too - not to mention hanging out with my 3 teenage boys. Sometimes it's just good to be who you are, if you know what I mean. I'm still around, but a bit less. Say, I like your motto and your taste in guns.

Sorry for a such a long answer to your question. Be well, Chris.

Dan
 
That's cool Dan! Guns sure are a fun way to pass the time! And they sure can burn a hole in the pocket too! I also use a Seko(to lazy to check and see if that is how it is spelled) in .243 to hunt varmints(parier dogs) in Wyoming. It is a GREAT bullet!
 
At last! Hi there, all! The shameful story is that our router, which allows us (me) access to e-mail and internet, went on the blink about the middle of December, and has only been replaced this day. Fact is, I was not participating fully on these forums for a while during our final semester due to pressure at the office, and when things started getting quieter, and I could give a little bit more attention, the router gave up the ghost. I went on holiday to Cape Town, visited my kids etc. and when I returned to the office, things were quiet and I could spend some time with you guys. No! The router was STILL out of commission and I was sitting around, twiddling my fingers relatively speaking. So there! Hope things will be A-OK from now on. Good to hear from you, Dan! Hopefully I'll e-mail you and others as soon as possible. Especially JP HAS to get an e-mail from me, 'cause he did me a great favour and I need to express my appreciation ASAP. I'll get to you, John, soon now.

Got me a Martini-Henry! You gurkieboffins know what a Martini-Henry is? Stay well, guys! :D :D :D :D
 
Hi, Pat! It's no surprize to me that you know what a Martini-Henry is. I know many of you guys are just as knowledgeable about rifles as you are of khukuris. I'ts just that the Martini-Henry rifle to a certain section of the South African community is just as significant as maybe the Zouave rifle to some folks in the US, having some interest in the Civil War. The name Gurkieboffin (Gurkhiebuff) is perhaps not so clever after all. It pertains to my expert friends out there who have taught me such a lot about the Gurkha's khukuri for more than a year now. :)
 
Dan, ol' friend, I did the unimaginable thing, to rely on my e-mail address list to store your address. When the router went, the addresses were dropped. Please e-mail me, so that I can reply. It shouldn't bounce now. :eek:
 
Chris: Your Sako is a fine piece for sure, and the only way to take a step up from that is to go custom. And I'll bet that .243 does very nicely in the wind on PD hunts. Boy, dog hunting sounds like some serious fun. We only have groundhogs in VA, so I just make do chasing them. But I'm starting to consider foxes and crows as well. Are there coyotes where you are?

Pat: Have you put that cute little "balance" to the test yet?

Johan: It's been said that everybody ought to have at least two Martinis! You rascal, which caliber did you get, and what condition is it in? Hope your acedemic schedule has loosened up some for you this term. I'll try your old e-mail addy pretty soon.

Dan
 
Hey Dan!
Haven't tried the balance yet. Between the toddler, occasional car troubles, and a series of colds, I haven't been too active of late. I'm hoping that's to change soon. as far as my knife collection, I'm selling off one of my larger (HI) khuks to finance the Paul Chen Katana I just bought :)

2 martinis, eh? Make mine shaken, not stirred;) I'm planning on a few additional Mausers sometime in the near future, and maybe a lever gun.

Pat
 
Ol' buddy! You ol' varminter! Why do some folks, when I talk about Martini's, keep on referring to stuff they seem to be drinking? Is it a remedy for flinching when shooting with a Martini, or a traditional ritual associated with the battle at Rorkesdrift?

My Martini's calibre is, technically, .577/.450. For those very few otherwise EXTREMELY knowledgeable guys out there, experts in their own fields, who would never admit that they are now totally confused: (whisper:) it's a forty-five! It's in exceptionally good condition. Sorry, no more, 'cause its off topic. (- unless I am threatened with disciplinary action for not spilling the beans.)

Groan! My acedemic schedule is tighter than its been for a long time. (Sigh!)

Thanks for the impending e-mail, Dan.
:D :D :D
 
Pat:
I'll bet your big time busy with the toddler thing going on. And you're going to another level with the katana. My supervisor had no trouble talking me into taking yesterday and today off because of this ugly respiratoy thing I've turned the corner on - I could see the whole OR staff getting wiped out. Our cars haven't been very healthy, either, and mine could use a new carb. So I know what ya mean, Vern.

The Balance will wait patienty for you, I'm sure. Katanas sure are nice, and I hope to hear all about it. I might be even able to get the Leuku I want after all - another puukko enthusiast doc at work goes to visit in-laws in Sweden every summer, and he actually met Heimo Roselli (Finnish maker of my favorite puukko), and wants to pick up some for me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Johan:

So you've got the big bore Martini? Congrats!!! I hope a nice specimen of the small caliber model falls into your lap. Are you going to handload for it?

I've sent you a test e-mail with my new addy via your old addy, and it didn't seem to bounce. Going to go stick my nose in Varmint Hunter magazine and then go play on their website again.

Later, bud.

Dan
 
Dan,
The .243 does seem to do fine in the wind. It does get windy in Wyoming. I think it is because it is a small head and moves extremly fast. You need to get to Wyoming some time to go on a dog hunt. You can shoot all day long. There are so many of those critters you can't see the horizon!!! It makes for a fun day! There are guides that can take you to the good places for a small fee.
 
Chris,

Going doggin' is something I'd very much like to do, and it might have to wait until the 3 teenagers have left the nest. The guys on the varmint board talk about PD's and 'yotes all the time, and post some amazing time lapse pic sequences of PD's catching air, doing 'copters and other gymnastics. It's pretty nifty to see the red mist. You live in a wonderful place.

A khukuri always goes with me groundhoggin'. Sometimes a WW2, but usually it's the MJ in the kit. They come in handy when making a hide at the edge of the woods, overlooking the hayfields.

Dan
 
Hi Dan, We also have alot of 'yotes around here but I have not yet baged one! I will have to soon though! The Sako is my Dad's but will be mine in time and it has a bull barrol on it! On a calm day we have taken PD's out over 500 yrd's with her!

It is cool how they turn into copters and fly all over! I love it when they pop up 10 yrd's from you and all you have to do is point! Talk about exploding from that range!!!!!!

Good thing the "anti's" and PETA are not on the forum! They are trying to outlaw PD hunts here and trying to get them on the endangered list!!!:D Endangered? Yeah right!!!!! There are millions upon millions out here!!!!!
 
Dan,I'll try to sneak this past the moderator. You ask about handloading. Yep, I have 28 lathe-turned cases. I load 62,7 grains of Ffg black powder. The primers are Large Pistol. After the powder I load a cardboard disc to keep the lubrication from entering the powder. Then I put in a felt wad, inpregnated with lubricant. Then the lubricated round nose bullet: weight 445 grains, diameter .459 inches. During reenactments we shoot at 200 metres and 300 metres. I aim to earn a few gongs with my prowess as yet undetermined.;) ;) :D
 
Chris, that's some shootin' iron you've got there! When Sako makes a varmint rifle, they don't just screw on a heavy bbl and call it one. The stocks are specially designed for shooting prone and the forend is extra wide. Unfortunately, the new model 75's have a key locking mechanism. As you know, you have something very special. Check out this site: http://www.varminthunters.com/forums/ggvg/index.shtml It's the best place I know to learn about coyote and all kinds of varmint hunting and all aspects of this shooting. (There is also an excellent quarterly magazine. The main site is www.varminthunter.org and the other one will get you directly to the regular board, and they also have wildcat and political boards and many many other informative sites.) The downside is the lack of khukuri interest.

Johan, your Martini sounds just dandy. I'm glad you're into balck powder loads with wadding and lube. Folks tell me that these old cartridges are more accurate with black powder loads than Pyrodex or downloaded with modern powders, as that's how they were designed. I hadn't thought about using a large pistol primer, but it makes the most sense. Will you carry your WW1 era khukuri with it?
 
Quote from Lt. Dan: "Folks tell me that these old cartridges are more accurate with black powder loads than Pyrodex or downloaded with modern powders." Yup, that's dead right, Dan.

Some very interesting news: this coming Saturday the BBC has invited a group of us to demonstrate our Boer War rifles and act out a sortie with charges, shouts and shooting. They'll be videotaping us, in our Boer War dress, for some TV program. I've just yesterday evening made up a dozen blank cartridges for this occasion.

About the carrying of my WWI era khukuri with the M-H: Nope, not till our mutual Texan friend comes up with evidence that Gurkhas played some sort of role in the Boer War. I will, however, MOST DEFINITELY carry it with my WW I Lee-Enfield Mark III SMLE when the opportunity arises. :D
 
Johan: Please pardon my ignorance for suggesting that khukuri / rifle combo. I don't even know what I was thinking. We certainly want to match them correctly. Maybe you'll dig up an older vintage khukuri someday to go with that big bore Martini. However, the Cadet model is my favorite, as is the mini Mauser action over the large. Those heavy bbl Sharps buffalo rifles and Remington rolling blocks get my attention as well. The Creedmore matches were a fine moment in long range shooting on this side of the pond.

I'm proud of you for handloading black powder metallic cartridges. Do you have a favorite brand of powder?


Later, Dan
 
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