and the dead shall walk the earth

Well, it's Zombie Day once again, and we gather to increase our chances of survival as usual just in case the dead rise as the legend of Jesus indicates they may. I, for one, will not be unprepared.

And in spirit of the holiday, I took out my mosin nagant today in order to sight that mother fucker in, and I have to say, that's deadly. Before I was shooting probably six or seven inches to the right at a hundred meters, and probably a foot right at three hundred fifty meters (the reason I use inches for up close and meters for distance is because the iron sights on my mosin are made for meters, but I am a better judge with American standards with small measurements).

Iron sights are sights that are built into the gun itself, so there is a small pin sticking up at the front of the barrel and a V shape left at the back of the barrel to put that pin in. You level them off to look sort of like a w and shoot with the middle pin on your target.

In order to adjust iron sights, you have to move either the back or front sight, depending on what your gun allows. If you move the front sight, you move in the direction you are shooting off--I was shooting right, so I would move it right. If you have to move the back sight, you move it in the opposite direction.

And in order to move the front sight on my gun, I had to use a flat-tipped screwdriver and a hammer and tap the butt of the screwdriver until I moved the sights only a couple millimeters--that's all it takes. First I moved it too far, then I moved it back, then moved it back nearer the original position, but then moved it slightly back and voila--I now shoot two-inch groups of five at a hundred and fifty meters. That's outstanding, considering most people would shoot that only with a scope. Scopes are for chumps!

In fact, my gun is deadly accurate now, shooting within less then five centimeters of the target center. It's brilliant. I probably shot out forty-five rounds today, but it only took fifteen to get it sighted in properly. And now that it is sighted in, I won't have to adjust it any further, even if it took a drop or fall in the field. That's the beauty of iron sights, as opposed to a scope--the damn things are always going off one direction or the other, and it's hard to anticipate. This way if you miss the target, you can take full responsibility and know that you are simply a bad marksman.

Even better is the news that I will be turkey hunting this year, and that I will be taking my mosin out to shoot one of the giant birds. They are seriously big fucking birds. And since my gun is so accurate and the iron sights are dead on, I could probably take a bird with confidence at three hundred or even five hundred meters. That's a long shot; I would even chance it with a scope on my other rifles, but this gun, my gun, is different. I simply love this firearm, the first that I bought and paid for by myself for my own reasons. And the fact that the thing is seventy-two years old this year is even better; I know plenty of guys who have brand new rifles that aren't half as accurate--or deadly. I've got a big caliber. It's a 7.62 x 54r, which if you know anything about ammunition, is bigger than a .308 Winchester--the round used by snipers the world over, often considered overkill for game like deer and more suitable for elk or moose or even bear. And I'm going to use it to take a tom turkey. Awesome!

Also, since I've got the gun all sighted in now, I'll be able to take it out with my good friend Sabastain and do some just-for-fun shooting. You know, plinking cans and picking off small items of no import at medium and long range. Today I used empty air cans and cardboard, and later old tractor oil filters. Lots of fun to be had there, I can tell you, esp. since you know when you hit the damn things because they jump in the air and make a loud ping sound as your round passes through unhampered.

Anyway, that's all I've got for this year's Zombie Day. Remember: keep your gun sighted in, your leathers close at hand, and the gas tank full as we approach the impending Day of the Dead. Because if I see a dead man rising from the ground, I'll be the first to shoot him in the head, and double tap for safety.

More at another time.