Snore, Nod...stuck in the airport again...

Well, it's my own fault. I failed to call and confirm my flight, and here I am at Denver International, killing four hours.

A couple of strange gun points...I'm looking forward to delivery of my newest rifle, a Martini Cadet in .357 Magnum build by my friend Alan Samuel's dad, Vic, who goes to England, ferrets out the last of the little Cadet actions and builds them into heart-breakingly beautiful rifles. Here's an example of one of his Martinis. And a Schuetzen. No, there's not a reason in the world for me to own one of these beauties, except that I WANT ONE! I've always had a thing for the Martini family of rifles...maybe it was the movie Zulu.

I've always thought it was a shame that SASS, who sanctions cowboy action competition, doesn't allow the Martini in long-distance rifle competition. I'd love to build up a .45/70 Martini Henry for long-range shooting (something like this). Heck, I might do it anyway! Cadets were wildly popular back in the early 1960s as a platform for single shot varmint/target guns (here's a cool page of Cadet customs). I chose .357 for no particular reason, except that I've always got a lot of them around and they're fun to shoot. I figure one of the new Burris scopes should top it off nicely.

I'm also considering having a second Cadet restored to original condition and converted to either .32/20 or 32 H&R Magnum, with a venier rear peep sight and hooded front.

The Cadets remind me of a time before we became obsessed with the utility of the gun we were purchasing. I mean, if it's not tactical, should we have it? While I appreciate purpose-built machinery, every so often we have to touch the fine craftsmanship of a beautiful rifle or pistol. THEN we go shoot the shit out it!