The wisdom of C.S. Lewis provided guidance today as I decided to run a few more rounds through “The Beast” (my Marlin 1895M in .450Marlin). In The Problem of Pain, Lewis warns against a washed-out, weakened view of the power of Nature and the natural order as God has established Her in Creation and as She will be One Day when He redeems Her from the Fall in order to fulfill Her purposes in Eternity, and he uses the king of beasts as one example to paint his metaphoric picture of “the glory that will be revealed“:
But if there is a rudimentary Leonine self, to that also God can give a ‘body’ as it pleases Him … richly Leonine in the sense that it also expresses whatever energy and splendour and exulting power dwelled within the visible lion on this earth…. I think the lion, when he has ceased to be dangerous [as a part of New Heavenly/New Earthly ecosystem], will still be awful…. There will still be something like the shaking of a golden mane: and often the good Duke will say, ‘Let him roar again.‘
That made very good sense to me in regards to the Marlin 1895M, too. This gun can fill a person with awe, even when it is carefully managed. I decided to unleash the Beast and let him roar a few more rounds’ worth. At this stage in my shooting experience, 50 yards was too far for me to place a hit (it turns out … after missing with two shots from there), so I ended up at the 25-yard shooting station and moved in a bit for the last shot (on the Pepsi bottle– that video did not survive the editing process … live and learn).
I’d only plan
ned on two shots but ended up sending six. Once I got started, it was hard to stop. I am very impressed with the quality of the trigger system on this rifle. It’s not feather-light, but I find no creep of any kind. It’s either cocked, or the hammer has fallen, and the thunder has rolled. There is as little “in-between” as in any other gun I’ve ever fired.
The cartridges were all Hornady. The last two rounds were ballistic-tipped Critical Defense rounds. I’d hoped to dig the slugs (the flat-tops weigh in at 350-grains each) out of the backstop, but they all buried deep after making a milk jug and a Pepsi bottle turn into short-lived mini-cyclones.
I hadn’t noticed that the cases for the CD’s are slightly shorter than the older, interlock slug-headed shells. Not that it seemed to make any difference; just a point of information I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been doing the Gun-a-Day thing.
The editing and uploading of the slow motion video recordings is still a work in progress. There’s a steeper learning curve than some of the other iPhone apps I’ve been using, but I’m gonna stick with my standard approach to such things: stubborn-ugly persistence. Hope to have them posted soon. Now posted below!
For now, Shot o’the Day is another “stand in” picture– an “after” of a Pepsi bottle which caught my eye at least as much for the appearance of heat-melted edges as for the banana-peeled effect of the explosive hit.
I think I’m seeing that right. It may just be stretching, but it looks for all the world like the plastic was melted as well as ripped and exploded.
It would have been nice to have some slow motion images of the plastic cap falling to the ground at least a full second or two after the bottle was hit. How high must it have gone to take that long to come down?!
In the interests of full disclosure, it should be noted that the addition of the recoil pad on this rifle (unlike the Savage 29B) is not just decorative nor merely used to increase the length of pull.
No, it’s on there to keep my right arm attached to my right shoulder when I fire it, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! I didn’t even bring it home in the first place without putting on that pad.
Yes, six shots was fun, for sure, but I am definitely feeling it in my collar bone tonight.
Here’s the video of the work done on a water-filled milk jug. It runs a bit long, but I got interested in the way the water spray floated across the frame from left to right, and then I heard the birds. Before and after, the same bird or birds are singing the same happy little song, seemingly undisturbed and unconcerned about whatever might have happened to make “that big, loud noise.”
Nature does not fear guns.
I say again: Nature does not fear guns.
So, the 1895M faithfully and effectively answered an impromptu call to action and receives recognition for a job well done. Now, all that’s left is a good cleaning before being laid to rest back in storage under lock and key.
The Beast is not dead, only sleeping. Here’s to the day when I’ll get to let him roar again.
Gun-a-Day 