Cletus the Mighty

I went out to my folks' place this weekend, a nice 55 acre piece of land out near Barboursville, Virginia. It's really very beautiful. I've always said that the land out there is what I think of when I think of paradise.

Yeah, boring old Barboursville is paradise. Most people think of paradise and they think of a tropical beach somewhere. Well, friends, the only problem with that is that you're assuming a resort hotel goes with that beach because the tropics, naturally, are anything but paradise. Without the AC and modern amenities of the resort hotel you are left with mosquitoes (and malaria), poisonous snakes, spiders, and insects. Hell, the piranhas in the Amazon will eat you in no time flat!

In Barboursville on one little piece of land we have a pond, spring, woods, fields, creeks, and a marsh. Deer, rabbits, field mice, squirrels, a large variety of birds singing... a regular Disney cartoon of wildlife. I go out there and I can just feel the relaxation wash over me. I love that land.

Of course I went out there to shoot Cletus, my new Remington 870 Express (of last entry's fame). My brother and I took him down into this gully and propped up some targets and blasted away. Between the two of us we shot off about 50 shells, so no big deal.

It definately had that "new shotgun smell." The pump mechanism was stiff and we found out that the 8 shot extension to the magazine must be blocked off because we could only fit 6 shells. I'll have to chat with the gents down at the local gun shop to see what I need to do to correct that one.

Aside from the need to break it in a bit, Cletus was indeed a mighty weapon who pleased his master very much. There was a good balance to the weapon and it felt quite sturdy - like it was made well. I despise nothing more than a gun that feels rickity and loose. It shakes my confidence in the weapon and when I'm not completely confident in a gun, I won't shoot it.

Cletus was the polar opposite, thankfully. Very solid and reliable feeling. I figure when you intentionally release controlled explosions inches from your face, you better feel confident in that mechanism's reliability.