Joe Berk

A Fancy Stevens Little Scout

I saw this very interesting post on Facebook from good buddy Reeve not too long ago and I thought you fancy walnut aficionados might enjoy it:

Here’s my take on a Stevens Little Scout. I built it for my grandson from a rough original. The barrel has a new liner, and the stock changed to a pistolgrip. The forend changed from the lifeless little wedge to a Schnabel. The wood is Turkish walnut. I hot blued the metalwork. Engraving and color case by Mike Crumling.

Reeve, thanks for allowing us to share your artistry. I’d say your grandson is a lucky guy on many levels. That is a beautiful rifle, my friend.

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More Tales of the Gun!

18 Reasons Why You Should Buy A Used Sportster

This blog started out as a snarky collaboration between dos Joes (Gresh and me) as a followup to the recent blog on 9 reasons why you should ride a Chinese motorcycle. One of the reasons we always hear about why you shouldn’t ride a Chinese motorcycle is that you can buy a used Sportster for what a new China bike costs, as if somewhere there is actually someone trying to make that decision. You know, a troubled soul asking himself: Should I buy a used Sportster, or a new Chinese motorcycle? We’ve got a bunch of witty one liners (at least we think they are witty) and I’ll get to them in a second. But before I do (and before all you macho Milwaukee muchachos get your chonies in a knot), you should know that I actually would like to have a used Sportster. Three, in fact.

The first is a 1977 or 1978 Harley Cafe Racer, one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever made. When these were first offered by Harley they retailed for about $3K. I was a young engineer at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas, and I wanted one. But I couldn’t justify spending $3k on a motorcycle. I was single; I don’t know who I think I needed to justify it to. I should have bought one.

The next is the 1983 Harley XR1000, which we did a Dream Bikes piece on a couple of years ago. Man, I’d like to have one of those. The XR1000 was a stunning motorcycle. I’d call it visually arresting.

And the last one is a mid-60’s XLCH, preferably in blue or maybe red, like you see in the big photo up top of a restored bike. These sold for something like $1700 when they were new; I could have bought the one you see above for around $4,600 maybe three years ago. On the other hand, I saw a fully restored blue ’65 Sportster at the Long Beach International Motorcycle Show just before the pandemic hit and that one had a $20K price tag.

The used Sportsters listed above are the rock stars. There are also the not-so-exotic/not-so-collectable Sportsters. These are the ones that cost less than most new bikes but more than most used bikes. It’s a sweet spot, and to hear the folks who hate China bikes tell it, any used Sportster is a hell of deal. All righty, then…in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek nature of everything we write, here are our reasons why you should buy a used Sportster.

1. When you buy a used Sportster, you’ll spend less than you would on some new Chinese bikes (which, after all, is what started this blog).
2. When you buy a used Sportster, you’ll be helping the guy selling it get a Big Twin or a new Sportster.
3. When you buy a used Sportster, a lot of people on Facebook will think you’re smarter than the guys on ExNotes who keep bragging about Chinese motorcycles.
4. When you buy a used Sportster, you can hang out at Harley dealerships (the ones that are still open, that is).
5. When you buy a used Sportster, you won’t have to buy a vibrating chair (you’ll already have one).
6. When you buy a used Sportster, folks who don’t know anything about motorcycles will think you’re cool because you ride a Harley.
7. When you buy a used Sportster, you can gain weight big time and your Harley friends won’t call you fat because you’ll still be thinner than they are.
8. When you buy a used Sportster, you won’t have to ever shift into 6th gear.
9. When you buy a used Sportster, you won’t ever have to worry about not being able to find your 10mm socket.
10. When you buy a used Sportster, you won’t have to oil your chain (if you have a newer used one).
11. When you buy a used Sportster, it’s not likely you’ll ever get a speeding ticket.
12. When you buy a used Sportster, if you ride in flip flops and shorts no one will ever lecture you about ATGATT. In fact, they probably don’t even know what ATGATT means.
13. When you buy a used Sportster, you can wear Harley T-shirts. For a T-shirt company, Harley makes a nice motorcycle.
14. When you buy a used Sportster, you can watch Then Came Bronson reruns and not feel silly.
15. When you buy a used Sportster, if you just don’t feel like riding everyone will understand.
16. When you buy a used Sportster, you will help cut down the used Sportster inventory. The scarcity helps Janus sell more of their motorcycles because the 1200cc Sportster and the 250cc Janus are almost the same motorcycle performance wise.
17. When you buy a used Sportster, it allows you to say “I paid less than that for my used Sportster” when the cashier at McDonalds rings up your Happy Meal.
18. When you buy a used Sportster, if it’s old enough it will have a kick start. Kick starters are cool. Or, you could get a kick starter on a brand new TT 250, but hey, this is all about why you should buy a used Sportster.

So there you have it: 18 reasons why you should buy a used Sportster. If you have more reasons, we’d love to hear from you. Leave your comments here on the blog. We know a guy named Richard who always leaves his comments on Facebook, but don’t you do that (in other words, don’t be a Dick). Leave your comments here on ExNotes, like the cool kids do.

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Phavorite Photos: Alone in China

We were somewhere in China approaching Aba after leaving the Tibetan Plateau, and somehow it was just Gresh, Sergeant Zuo, and me. I can’t remember why we were separated from the rest of our group. Honking along at a brisk pace and blitzing through one area after another, the photo ops were flying by and I wanted to capture at least some of them with my Nikon.

I finally caught up with Zuo and Gresh and flagged them over. I asked if I could go back a mile or two and they said they would wait. We had passed a Buddhist temple with a gold roof. The overcast skies, the green mountains, the asphalt, my orange and muddy RX3…all the colors clicked. I needed to commit that memory to the SD card.

When I turned around, I was surprised at how long it took to return to the spot you see above (I think we were on China’s G317 highway, but it might have been the G213). Then I felt fear: What if Gresh and Zuo didn’t wait for me? I don’t speak the language, I had no cell coverage, and I wouldn’t be able to find my way back to wherever. It was like being in outer space. It was just one of those crazy psycho unreasonable moments that sometimes hits when you realize you’re not in control of the situation. I snapped a few photos, they looked good enough on the camera’s display, and I wound out the RX3 to get back to my compañeros as quickly as possible. They had waited. I was in clover.

About a month later as we approached Beijing some of the street signs were in both Chinese and English, and it was obvious Beijing was directly ahead. Gresh told me he felt better because if we had to we could find our way home. I guess I wasn’t the only one having those “out in the boonies” feelings. It happens.

Earlier Phavorite Photos? You bet! Click on each to get their story.

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Nine Reasons Why You Should Ride A Chinese Motorcycle

Sometimes we’ll do a blog just to get folks fired up, you know, like the mainstream media does. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that there’s no better format for lighting a fire than a listicle. Listicles get lots of hits, they’re fun to write, and they offend the easily offended. If the topic is controversial, all three reasons are amplified. With that as an introduction and in these times of human rights violations, a new cold war, and a town called Wuhan, what could be more controversial than a list of reasons why you should ride a Chinese motorcycle?

Reason 1: Cost

Hey, what can I say? Buy a Beemer or a Ducati or a KTM, and you’ll pay twice what those bikes should cost. Buy a Harley….well, I don’t need to finish the sentence. Triumphs and the Big 4 Japanese bikes cost about what I think they ought to, but a Chinese bike will be way lower than any of these. And when you buy a Chinese motorcycle, you probably won’t do so through a conventional motorcycle dealer, so you won’t get bent over a barrel on freight and setup fees.

Nearly $1600 on freight and setup on a $6600 motorcycle!

Chinese motorcycles simply cost less. And if you want to come back at me by claiming Chinese bikes have no resale value…well, read on, Grasshopper.

Reason 2: Resale Value

This one may surprise you. The argument you hear from online motorcycle wizards (when they’re not being online military strategists, political scientists, or infectious disease experts) is that Chinese motorcycles have no resale value. I’m sure glad the guys who bought the two Chinese motorcycles I bought new and rode for several years didn’t know that. When I advertised my RX3 and TT 250, one sold the same day for 60% of what it cost new; the other sold the next day for 70% of what it cost new. And that was after I’d owned those bikes for 5 years.

My TT 250 on Route 66. Freight and setup on the motorcycle in the photo above would have nearly paid for this bike!

I suppose I could have taken that money and bought a used Sportster, but I went another route: I bought an Indian motorcycle. Not Indian as in Scout or Chief, but Indian as in chicken masala or curry. I wasn’t getting into enough catfights riding a Chinese motorcycle, I guess.

Reason 3: Reliability

This is another advantage that will put those who know so much that just isn’t so in low earth orbit. I never had a breakdown on any of my Chinese bikes, and that includes big trips in the US, a ride around China (yep, China), a circumnavigation of the Andes Mountains in Colombia, and lots of Baja. I led tours in the Southwest and up and down Baja for CSC Motorcycles, with 8 to 15 bikes on each of those thousand-mile-plus trips, with only one bike ever needing to be trailered home.

You can tell me about your buddy who knows a guy whose cousin bought a Chinese bike and had problems with it, but I know you know not of what you speak. I’ve been there. I know different. I know a little bit about reliability engineering, too. The Chinese bikes I’ve been around are supremely reliable.

Reason 4: Performance

Will a Chinese bike smoke a Hayabusa? You know the answer to that. Or at least, you know the answer today. Look at what’s coming down the road from China and your answer may not ring true for much longer. China has at least a couple of liter bikes on the horizon. They won’t be slow.

What’s coming down the pike from Chongqing…

Within their displacement classes, the Chinese bikes perform as good as, or maybe even better than the small displacement bikes from Germany or Japan.

Deutschland? Nein! Das ist ein Mumbai maschinen!

Japanese? Nope. This puppy will help you Thai one on.

Hell, those other bikes aren’t even made where you think they’re made. Ask me how I know. Want some Pad Thai with your KLR or Triumph Bonneville?

Reason 5: Self-Reliance

“But there’s no dealers!” or so goes the anti-China whine. (Actually, China has some good wines, but I digress.) With regard to the lugubrious (look it up) “there’s no dealer” wails, I have two responses.

I used to be able to say that I’ve seen the same number of BMW, Harley, KTM, and other big name dealers in Baja as I saw for Chinese manufacturers (that number was zero). But I can’t say that anymore. Italika (a Mexican company, the Romanesque name notwithstanding) now imports Zongshens to Mexico, so you’ll actually have better dealer coverage in Mexico with a Chinese bike than you would with a BMW, a Harley, a Triumph, a Ducati, or any other other macho man motorcycle. It’s even more pronounced if your travels take you to South America; Chinese bikes are all over down there.

So that’s one response; the other is: You say “there are no dealers” like it’s a bad thing. Maybe my life experiences are unique, but I don’t think so. Whenever I’ve had work done by dealers, most of the time it was so poorly executed I had to do it over myself. I’d rather save the time and cut the cost associated with letting some kid learn motorcycle maintenance on my bike (while the dealer charges me $125 per hour as Junior learns). Nope, not having dealers is a good thing.

It’s from India and it runs as well as a Chinese motorcycle, which is to say, it’s good. I do all the routine maintenance on the Enfield myself.

I know this approach is not for everybody. Some guys like working on their bikes, some guys like Starbucks, some guys like clutches that rattle, and some guys like tattoos and chrome. Whatever floats your boat.

Reason 6: Fuel Economy

Both my Chinese 250s sipped fuel like The New York Times ingesting truth serum. My carbureted TT 250 got about 60 miles per gallon; my fuel injected RX3 always did better than 70 miles per gallon.

My last Harley was a 40-miles-per-gallon bike when new, and when I put an S&S stroker motor in it, it joined the 33-miles-per-gallon club and I received a personal thank you note from the Emir. Yamaha’s old V-Max got 27 mpg. Yeah, I know, there’s a huge difference in displacement between a Harley and a China bike. But if you don’t like spending $5 bucks a gallon for Biden gas, a Chinese motorcycle can lessen the pain.

Reason 7: Style

You know, all those years I rode an RX3, the keyboard commandos criticized the bike for copying BMW’s styling.

Gobi Gresh, on a Chinese motorcycle, riding in the Gobi desert. 6000 miles in the ancient kingdom with nine other riders on China bikes, and nobody missed a beat.

Hell, I can’t see much of a difference in any of the ADV bikes’ styling for the last 15 or 20 years. They all look like the illegitmate offspring of a wasp mating with an armored personnel carrier. It’s the ADV style. I think it looks good. And unlike the Teutonic Tower bikes (you know, the Special K and GoSlow machines), I could get my leg over the RX3’s saddle.

Reason 8: Individuality

At one of the Love Rides (do they still even do those anymore?) Jay Leno was the grand marshall, and when he got up on stage, he asked if anybody had seen his buddy. “You know, the gray-haired guy with the black Harley T-shirt and pot belly…” It got a good laugh, but a lot of rugged individualist podiatrists, dentists, lawyers, and other pseudo-bad-asses were looking around nervously. You know what I mean. The folks at the River Runs could be made by a cookie cutter. Their moms all dress them the same. BMW riders? Stop in at any Starbuck’s and check out the Power Rangers inside. It’s the same deal.

One of the Hollister events, where all the individualists converge. They’re all trying to be Marlon Brando.

Ride a Chinese motorcycle, though, and you’ll stand apart. Trust me on this…you won’t bump into too many people riding a Zongshen or a Loncin at the Rock Store. Other riders may make snarky comments about your bike in ignorance, without knowing where many of the parts on their bikes are made (that’s because their manufacturers try to keep it a secret, as explained below).

Reason 9: You May Already Be On A Chinese Motorcycle…

…but you just don’t know it. Some bikes that you think are made in Japan are actually completely manufactured in China. Others have significant Chinese content. I’m not just talking bits and pieces…I’m referring to castings, electronics, and in some cases, the complete engine (it’s no accident you sometimes hear Chinese factory technicians humming the Horst Wessel song). You ubermensch riders on a first-name basis with your barristas know who you are, but did you know you’re already riding a China bike? I know…we live in a free country. If you feel comfortable spending $5 for a cup of coffee when you should be buying 技术支持隆鑫 decals (it means Powered by Loncin) for your $1800 panniers, more power to you.

So there you have it. I could make excuses and blame this entire blog on Gresh (the topic was his idea), but that’s not me. And for all you guys who look at the Chinese motorcycles I’ve owned and tell me “You Coulda Bought A Used Sportster” (sung to the tune of I’m A Yankee Doodle Dandy), well, all I can say is “heh heh heh.”

Got a response? Hey, leave it here…don’t be a wuss and leave it on Facebook. We want to hear from you!

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The New Ford Bronco

The new Ford Bronco is a cool looking little vehicle. I saw the bright yellow one parked in front of a Ford dealer and I stopped by to get a few photos.

I was afraid the dealer might chase me away as I was taking photos (I remembered my experience with the Rivian dude), but Ford dealership guys basically ignored me. I couldn’t even get any of them to come over to try to sell me a car.

I called the dealership when I got home to ask a few questions and the nice young lady on the phone told me the yellow one I kind of fell in love with is called the Badlands model. It’s not available yet, but she invited to visit the dealership and test drive it. I may do that. She also told me the MSRP on that vehicle was just north of $52K, and the dealer had a $5K “market adjustment” tacked on.

There are other Bronco models available, including the gray and silver ones shown here. These carried more reasonable stickers (around $30K), but they still had that objectionable $5K dealer larceny fee.

The interior of the Badlands model I checked out was cramped, but it looked cool. I liked the yellow accents.

The new Bronco comes standard with a 300-horsepower EcoBoost engine (it’s a four cylinder engine), and there’s an optional 330-horsepower engine. The $52K (plus $5K markup) yellow Badlands model had the standard engine. When you throw in taxes and the other dealer fees, that Bronco will be well over $60K, and that’s a lot for a four-banger.

Dan’s Drifter

Good buddy Dan, a loyal ExNotes reader, enjoyed our recent blog on the Kawasaki Drifter. Dan wrote to tell us about his Drifter. Check this out, folks. It’s a beautiful motorcycle.

Joe:

My motorcycle is a 1999 Kawasaki Drifter 1500cc. Recently got it, love the combination of Japanese bike reliability that will go forever and the Indian style that is a real head turner. Changed up the seat, added some Indian badging including the tank decals and even an Indian VIN plate cover. Other adds on include the jockey shift that is actually linked to the heel toe shift, the book rack and the triple head lights. I couldn’t afford a 40s Indian and even if I could some of those you have to be a mechanic to operate, this is a great compromise that doesn’t feel like a compromise.

I think people who appreciate the bike for what it is might like the look of the seat and such. It’s funny as a tribute I was even on the fence about the Indian badging but at the end of the day I subscribe to “ride whatever, be safe, have fun.” I even had a rider of a current Indian tell me his was no more Indian than mine…they stopped making them in ’53 and as far as he was concerned anything after that was nothing more than a tribute.

Thanks and be well…I enjoy the blog.

Dan

Thank you, Dan. Your Drifter is a good-looking motorcycle and it’s one I’d be proud to ride. Great photos, too!

Five Favorite Handguns

I’ve owned quite a few handguns and I’ve shot quite a few more. These are my five all-time favorites.

Colt 1911 Government Model

What can I say? I waxed eloquent about the 1911 in several ExNotes blogs. I’ve owned several 1911s, and I still own my first, the MacManus Award Colt 1911. My mid-1980s bright stainless steel 1911 is a real honey. It’s hard to go wrong with any 1911.

1911 Government Models can be phenomenally accurate handguns, I love the .45 ACP cartridge, and the 1911 is part of America. I carried a 1911 in the Army and I carry one today (see below).

Rock Island Compact 1911

The Rock Island Compact checks all the boxes for me. It’s under $500 (I picked up mine new for an incredibly low $425). While not quite as accurate as a full-size Government Model, it’s accurate enough and it’s easy to carry. Like the bright stainless Colt 1911 above, my Compact has been lightly customized by TJ’s Custom Gunworks, with a polished barrel and chamber, engine-turned chamber exterior, Millet sights, and other mods to improve reliability (new extractor, recut ejector, etc.). It feeds anything. I like the Parkerized finish; it’s all business and it reminds me of the 1911s I carried in the Army. I call it my American Express gun (I never leave home without it).

My favored Compact 1911 loads are a 230-grain cast roundnose with 5.6 grains of Unique, and a 185-grain semi-wadcutter with 5.0 grains of Bullseye. The 185-grain SWC load is crazy accurate for a snubbie .45.

Colt .22 Trooper

This is an unusual one. I bought it in the 1980s. The Trooper is the same .357 Magnum that Colt manufactured for police duty, except it’s chambered in .22 Long Rifle. The barrel and the cylinder have the same external dimensions as the .357 Mag, which makes it heavy and that translates into stellar accuracy. It is the most accurate .22 handgun I own. Mine has custom rosewood grips. I love shooting the Trooper, and it does well with every brand of ammo I’ve put through it.

I paid $200 for the Trooper back in the ’80s. If you check what they go for today on Gunbroker.com, I think you’ll agree it was a good investment. But like all the other guns in this blog, it is not for sale.

Ruger .357 Magnum Blackhawk

Ruger Blackhawks are exceptionally accurate revolvers, they are easy to shoot, and they are just plain cool. I’ve shot loads in mine that run the gamut: 148-grain wadcutter target loads, 110-grain max hollow point loads, 158-grain max loads, and metallic silhouette 200-grain cast roundnose loads. The Blackhawks don’t care; they handle all of them with target-grade accuracy.

I used to say Blackhawks last forever, but I have to tell you I can’t say that anymore. My stainless steel Blackhawk finally wore out. When I sent it in to Ruger for repair, they were surprised, too, and they backed up their surprise with an even-more-surprising offer to buy the gun back (an offer I accepted). I’ve got my antenna up for another .357 Blackhawk, and when things calm down a bit in the gun world, another one will find a home with me.

SIG P226 Scorpion

The SIG P226 is an amazing handgun. At $1200 (and that’s a pre-pandemic price), they are not cheap, but I feel like I spent my money wisely on this piece. I love the SIG’s finish and grips, and I love its accuracy (it is the most accurate 9mm handgun I’ve ever owned).

I first learned just how good the SIG is when I fired good buddy Python Pete’s, and it wasn’t too long after that I bought the one you see here. It did better than any of the other 9mm handguns in the load development comparos (for both cast and jacketed loads). Trust me on this…if you want a fine handgun, you won’t go wrong with a SIG P226.

Lots more gun stuff on our Tales of the Gun page!

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Phavorite Photos: Sensorio!

An interesting dilemma…is this a Phavorite Photos blog, or just a regular blog? Hey, I’m going with both. Susie and I were on a content safari (a term I stole from Gresh) and one of the safari stops was the Sensorio light show in Paso Robles. Paso Robles is a cool little town along Highway 101 in central California. I initially wasn’t that keen on the concept, until I saw it. The artist, Bruce Unro, covered acres of rolling hills with lights. It sounded to me like the thing that guy did with umbrellas a few years ago, and I thought that was a goofy concept. But hey, what do I know? My wife has a better sense for these things than I do, I went with her better judgment, and I’m glad I did.

We arrived just as it was starting to get dark, and we could see the bulbs and their stems.

As it got dark, the lights started to stand out a bit more.

There are columns made of wine bottles about halfway through the exhibit. They were cool, too. Paso Robles is a wine-growing region.

The full effect came into focus when it was completely dark, and it was something to see.

The folks who organized this show thought it through. There’s a lot of walking involved, and you sign up for a specific time to get in. They do that to limit the number of people at any one time, and that worked well. There were other people there, but we never felt crowded.

The website for the light show posted prohibitions about commercial use of any photos, so I left the Nikon home and used my cell phone to snap the photos you see here. The iPhone 12 has great capabilities, way more than I expected for available light photography. I’d like to tell you I knew what I was doing, but I just held the phone as steady as I could and let the camera do its thing. It was a three second exposure, so I suspect it has some kind of algorithm that acts like a gyroscope. The photos are great and I wanted to share them on the ExNotes blog, so I emailed the organizers and they gave me permission to do so (thanks, guys). In their response, they also sent their press release, which contains good info on the show so I included it here.

I enjoyed Sensorio and I think you will, too. If you get a chance, this is worth the trip to Paso Robles.

SENSORIO ADDS DATES FOR
BRUCE MUNRO: LIGHT AT SENSORIO
NOW EXTENDED THROUGH JANUARY 2, 2022

PASO ROBLES, CA (16 July 2021) — Due to overwhelming public demand, Sensorio announces the extension of the stunning outdoor art exhibit Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio through January 2, 2022. The immersive installation includes Munro’s 15-acre Field of Light, an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics which gently illuminate the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color, and the adjacent Light Towers, featuring 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles illuminated with glowing optic fibers modulating to a custom musical score. Since reopening in April 2021 following a mandated closure due to the pandemic, the exhibit has been sold out weeks in advance. Says Sensorio Executive Director Paul Haught, “We are thrilled to announce this extension, so that all interested visitors can have the opportunity to experience this one-of-a-kind immersive exhibit.” Sensorio enhances the experience with live entertainment by local musicians, and offers food and beverages including wine/beer, snacks and meals. A VIP experience option is also available, which includes exclusive access to a terrace overlooking Field of Light, with an Airstream bar, private tables and fire pits, and other amenities. Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio tickets are available for timed entry on Thursday-Sunday evenings, now through January 2, 2022, at Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles, California. For more information, the public may visit SensorioPaso.com.

When Sensorio opened with Bruce Munro’s Field of Light in May 2019, it was an immediate hit, with thousands of visitors from around the globe flocking to experience this remarkable event. Sensorio’s installation is larger in size than any other Munro exhibition internationally and is Munro’s first US exhibit entirely powered by solar. It was singled out by The New York Times as #6 in its “52 Places to Go in 2020.” It has also attracted national and international media attention, applauded for creating a “movement that infuses culture in valleys of viticulture,” (The New York Times), and described as “the future of public wellness” (Forbes), and a “pilgrimage-worthy art escape” that is “meant to complement, never compete or detract, from the beauty of the landscape” (Travel + Leisure).

For Light Towers, Sensorio enlisted Munro to create a vibrant new illuminated work that pays tribute to the 200+ wineries and vineyards that blanket Paso Robles’ beautiful rolling hills. Light Towers is inspired by Munro’s earlier work Water-Towers, originally created for and exhibited at the spectacular arcaded cloisters at Salisbury Cathedral in Wiltshire, England. For Light Towers at Sensorio, Munro has utilized wine bottles for the first time, as an homage to Paso Robles’ abundant vineyards. The 69 towers are made from 17,388 wine bottles—252 bottles per tower—rising some seven feet high and illuminated in gently changing colors to visually represent the original composition “Rise and Shine,” composed by Orlando Gough and performed by an international vocal ensemble.

Sensorio was created by Central Valley locals Ken and Bobbi Hunter as a destination for entertainment, exploration, meditation, adventure, and delight, honoring the natural topography of the landscape. It opened with Bruce Munro: Field of Light, which became an international sensation. Sensorio launched its second phase with the addition of Light Towers, an extension of the current exhibition that is included in the admission fee. Both exhibitions will continue through January 2, 2022 at Sensorio. Other exhibitions and buildings are planned for future openings at the site.

London-born Bruce Munro is known for large-scale light-based artworks inspired by his continuous study of natural light and his curiosity for shared human experiences. With a fine arts degree, early career training in the lighting design industry, and an inventive urge for reuse, Munro creates art that captures his responses to literature, music, science, and the world around him. His work has been commissioned by and displayed in special exhibitions in galleries, parks, grand estates, cathedrals, botanical gardens, and museums around the globe, including Longwood Gardens, PA; the Guggenheim Museum, NY; the Sharjah Museum of Art, UAE; Montalvo Arts Center, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ; Desert Botanical Garden, AZ; Jeju Light Art Festa, South Korea; the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, CO; Sotheby’s Beyond Limits at Chatsworth; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild Collection, Buckinghamshire; and Salisbury Cathedral, among others. Artworks by Munro are held in the permanent collections of museums and public art collections worldwide including the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archeology, Oxford; Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Art Museum, TN; and Texas Tech University Public Art. More information is available at www.brucemunro.co.uk.

WHAT: Due to overwhelming public demand, Sensorio announces the extension of the stunning outdoor art exhibit Bruce Munro: Light at Sensorio through January 2, 2022. The immersive installation includes Munro’s 15-acre Field of Light, an array of over 58,800 stemmed spheres lit by fiber-optics which gently illuminate the landscape in subtle blooms of morphing color, and the adjacent Light Towers, featuring 69 towers composed of more than 17,000 wine bottles illuminated with glowing optic fibers modulating to a custom musical score. Sensorio enhances the experience with live entertainment by local musicians, and offers food and beverages including wine/beer, snacks and meals. A VIP experience option is also available, which includes exclusive access to a terrace overlooking Field of Light, with an Airstream bar, private tables and fire pits, and other amenities.
WHEN: Now through January 2, 2022
DAYS/TIMES: July-August: Thursdays/Sundays 7pm-10pm, Fridays/Saturdays 7pm-11pm
September: Thursdays through Sundays 6pm-10pm
October – November 6: Thursdays through Sundays 5:30pm-10pm
November 7 – January 2: Thursdays/Sundays 4:30pm-9pm, Fridays/Saturdays 4:30pm-10pm (Additional holiday dates to be announced.)
WHERE: Sensorio, 4380 Highway 46 East, Paso Robles
TICKETS: LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAILABLE NIGHTLY. To guarantee admission, tickets must be purchased in advance at sensoriopaso.com for a specific date/entry time. A limited number of walk-up tickets may be made available at the door, sold only as on-site guests depart to ensure safe distancing at all times.
ADULT ADMISSION: $31.50 to $41 + ticket fees
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Cast Bullets Follow Up: The .300 Weatherby Magnum

This is a followup on the cast bullet story, focused specifically on the .300 Weatherby cartridge in a Mk V rifle.

I tried a few loads previously and I tried to get a little better results for this blog, but it seems I already had the keys to the kingdom. Here’s the bottom line first:

- I didn’t see much difference between the two bullets I tried (a 180-grain gas-checked bullet and 20.0 grains of Trail Boss, and a 210-grain Montana Bullet Works gas checked bullet with the same powder charge).
- 20.0 grains of Trail Boss works well. I tried higher charges, but they weren’t as accurate.
- Cast bullets in the .300 Weatherby won’t give you a tackdriver at 100 yards, but it will keep the holes in the black. I was averaging 2 1/2-inch groups at 100 yards with the loads mentioned above.

I experimented with two bullets, the 180-grain design mentioned above that I get from a local caster, and Montana Bullet Works 210-grain cast bullet. The Montana bullet is longer and has a more pointed tip; the 180-grain has a blunt nose. I think I showed you these photos before, but I’ll include them here again for easy reference.

180-grain cast bullets. These have a gas check and were sized to 0.309 inch.

These are the Montana Bullet Company cast 200-grain rifle bullets. These were also sized to .309 inch.

Neither bullet leaded the barrel with any of the loads I tried. The Montana bullets don’t appear to have a much of a step to crimp on like the locally-sourced 180-grain bullets. I crimped the Montana bullets just above the top grease groove. The blue lube you see north of the case mouth is just lube that had smeared above the top groove. I tried some with the loads as you see them above (with blue lube smeared above the crimp), and some where I wiped the lube clean after crimping; that had no effect on group size.

.300 Weatherby cartridges loaded with Montana 210-grain cast bullets.

The Montana bullet needed to go deep into the case neck to cover all the grease grooves. This wouldn’t be an issue for my target shooting because they are transported in a box, protected, before I shoot them. The guys that know about this stuff say if you’re going to hunt with them, you shouldn’t leave any grease grooves exposed because they can pick up grit. So I made mine like I was going to hunt with them. Someday maybe I will. There might be a pig out there with my name on it.

The cast Montana bullet base is well below the case neck when loaded.

Note that that the base of the Montana bullet is well below the neck inside the case. I thought that might cause the gas check to come off when these rounds are fired. That didn’t seem to be happening with mine and my friends who know about such things tell me that there’s more important stuff to worry about.

The data below are all for 100-yard results with 20.0 grains of Trail Boss, The Montana bullets have a slight edge, but not by much, and I’ve only tried the one load (20.0 grains of Trail Boss) with them. I had previously found 20.0 grains to be best with the 180 grain bullets.

I’ll probably vary the Trail Boss loads a bit with the Montana bullets at some point in the future.

I tried SR 4759, which has always done extremely well for me shooting cast bullets in other rifles. I tried two loads (22.0 grains, and 27.0 grains). Neither did nearly as well as the Trail Boss loads. I didn’t record the group sizes, but take my word on this: They were huge. The Lyman manual shows going up into the mid-30s (i.e., 35 grains) with SR 4759 and cast bullets in this cartridge; maybe that would be better. But I’m good enough with Trail Boss, and that’s where I’m going to hang my hat.

I have other powders I could try with cast bullets in the .300 Weatherby, but I think I have my load, and that’s 20.0 grains of Trail Boss with either 180-grain or 210-grain cast bullets. There’s not much difference between the two, and accuracy is okay at 100 yards (not great, but good enough to practice with). One more note, and that’s that I used CCI 200 primers in all loads, and I crimped all loads.

It sure is a lot easier shooting cast bullets in this rifle than it is shooting 300 Weatherby factory-level loads. It completely changes the character of the rifle and the shooting experience. Shooting 20 rounds of factory ammo off the bench in a .300 Weatherby is punishing, and unless you’re a self-styled Facebook expert, it’s time to call it a day. With cast bullet loads, though, I can go through 50 rounds and wish I had more. And the cast bullet savings are awesome. I did a little spreadsheet work to determine what a .300 Weatherby cartridge costs loaded with a cast bullet, and by my calcs, I figure I’m sending about $0.29 downrange every time I pull the trigger. A box of 20 rounds of 300 Weatherby (assuming you can find any) goes for around $80 to $100. At the high end, that’s $5.00 per round. Granted, you could knock down a T-Rex with factory ammo, but we don’t get too many of those at the West End Gun Club. I loaded 90 rounds this morning, so I guess I’m wealthy by Weatherby ammo standards.

More Tales of the Gun and Weatherby stories are here!

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Subie’s New WRX: 16 Years Later

I’m a Subaru fan. We’ve owned four and they’ve all been great. Well, maybe except for the entertainment center in my current ride, a 2018 Outback, but that’s a story for another blog. To get back to this one, Subaru announced their latest WRX and I think it’s awesome. I don’t need another car, but I’d sure like to own this one. 271 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat four, 4 wheel drive, and an 8-speed automatic. Yeehaw!

The first time I drove a WRX was when good buddy Tom let me drive his STI. That thing was a rocketship and I knew I needed one.

My first Subaru was a 2006 WRX and I loved it. The thing was a go kart with air conditioning and it was fast. I owned a Z06 Corvette at the same time and the Subie was way more fun to drive. Sue and I went all over in it, including a trip up to Oregon where we grabbed quite a few cool photos. Here’s one among the giant redwoods.

Here’s a marigold farm north of Santa Barbara. I was on a business trip and when I saw those marigolds I stopped for a photo.

Here’s one on the Oregon Coast Highway. The car made me look good, I think. The Subie was an exceptionally photogenic automobile. It was my first ride of any kind along the Oregon Coast Highway, and in my opinion that road is even more scenic than California’s Pacific Coast Highway. We included this stretch when we took the Chinese and the Colombians on CSC’s RX3 Western America Adventure Ride a few years later.

And one more, this time on the 395 just below Bridgeport. The 395 is a scenic drive, too.

I haven’t cared for the WRX body styles that followed mine until this latest 2022 version. Subaru got it right once again, I think. I don’t need a new car, but man, I’m tempted. I could apply Bidenomics to it, pay for the thing, and explain to Susie that the cost was zero.

In their advertising Subaru shows only two colors for the new WRX. There’s the orange shown at the top of this blog and a more sinister-looking gray. They both look good, but I’d go for the orange. I had an orange Subie CrossTrek, and what I liked best about that color is I could instantly spot it in any parking lot.

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