Well, go shoot, of course. But for a noble purpose! To break up the ice on the pond so the horses can get to it to drink...

At the same time, I can show off the Castle's newest acquistion... SWWBO's Christmas present. That's right, guys, I got my wife a rifle for Christmas and it was *appreciated!* I bask in the green glow of your envy. KCSteve and Heartless Lib excluded, since they found similar women. Heh. Ya shoulda seen the reaction at the office when I told my compatriots of my gift-giving acumen. The opinion was universal that I was making a HUGE MISTAKE. Hah.

So, meet SWWBO's new bangstick. She's been wanting a "black rifle" for a long time. She likes the SKS (especially the Albanian) but she was hoping for something with a little less kick, but still serviceable as a varmint gun - the coyotes around here have been sniffing around the chicken/guinea coop, and the cats like to sneak out now and again, and SWWBO wants to be able to deal with predators should the need arise.

Her new farming implement is a [ Armorer's note - the designation having caused some questions, this section has been added to] Bushmaster XM15-E2S, according to the receiver. Cabelas, where I bought it, called it an M15S. As a reader noted, Bushmaster doesn't market any such beast - but they do have the O.R.C.©, or Optics Ready Carbine, which is what this rifle probably is.], essentially an M4-clone with a Picatinny rail sporting a TruGlo aimpoint-style sight. With the intechangeability of uppers and lowers in the M16 universe... who knows? I'm not so interested that I'm going to ak Bushmaster if they're using XM15 lowers with their O.R.C.© uppers.] Just in case she feels the need to get up close and personal, this is a post-ban rifle with a bayonet lug, though getting a bayonet isn't really in the plan. A laser, perhaps, but I don't see SWWBO suddenly feeling the need to use cold steel nor go commit drive-by bayonetings...

So, here's SWWBO's new farm implement:

If you'd like to see it a little closer... click here.

Okay, on to unscientific experimentation. Which rifle/caliber choice works best for breaking up the ice - at least this particular form of ice, being a couple of inches thick, but not really rock hard. Now, if you recall last week I mentioned that I had already done a little ice-breaking, using my 1916 dated Mosin-Nagant M91 and my SVT-40 carbine (which might be an actual carbine, or might be one of the fakes that came out of Finland, the provenance is murky on the issue). One of the reasons I decided to try it at all is that with the ice storm, walking down the rocky hill to the edge of the pond was treacherous. With the rifle I could stand on top of the hill, on level ground by the gate, and break up the ice without risking my ample behind and limbs clambering down the hill carrying an axe or pick.

Here's a look at the Castle IceBreakers.

The fodder being used was Sellier and Bellot 7.62x54R 180 grain ball. The 5.56mm for the Bushmaster was Black Hills Ammunition 55 grain ball. I'll have to try softpoints next.

This is the target area.

One a whim, I shot 10 rounds from the SVT, and 20 from the Bushmaster (hey, I *said* unscientific).

The is the result - 7.62 on the left, 5.56 on the right. In overall terms, the 7.62 dd a better job... but both would have been sufficient for the purpose - especially as the horses enlarge the holes themselves. If you're curious about the partial melt on the pond - it's spring fed, and the way the spring empties into the pond causes a current against the bank on this side of the pond.

So, there ya go, a quick and dirty examination of what tools to use for ice-breaking out at Castle Argghhh! If this was MIssouri, and the Castle Vickers or Maxims were functional... much less the Carl Gustaf or M18 recoiless rifles...

To close this out - below the fold in the flash traffic/extended entry I've posted a picture of a Sarah BradySchumerRodhamStein nightmare...