The sun was just up on opening day of NYS Deer Season.  I could see movement about 85 yards out from my ladder stand.  Putting the binoculars up, a nine-pointer was in the corner of  an overgrown meadow, broadside to me.

Raising the Ruger Super BlackHawk, I put the front site of the shoulder area.  Of course the width of the front site covers a lot of the deer at that range but that wasn’t the problem.  In trying to focus the rear site and the front site, I had a problem.

The light, the background, the eyes were all contributing factors.  I could not focus on the front and rear site at the same time.  Under hunting conditions, it’s a must.

I didn’t shoot that deer that year and the long NYS winter set in.  I knew I had to come up with a scope mount for my Ruger that I could be happy with… without drilling and tapping.  So into the shop I went.  Drew up the first prototype and then the second, third, fourth, fifth, and then I had one.

Fired up the milling machine and went to work.  All winter, all summer, into fall, made, re-designed and made again.  All of that along with 4,000 rounds of testing all at the same time.

Finally, I had a great mount.  I decided on a Red Dot 4 minute of angle.  I knew a single sighting plane was what I needed.  Man, was I shocked.  Shooting with a Red Dot was like cheating the traditional way of sighting.  You know… line up the front sight, put front sight on target, line up rear sight to front sight and then try to stay on target.  DUH !

I have used iron sights for years, have shot metallic silhouette rams out to 200 meters with great success.  Class A Shooter!  I’ve hunted rabbits, squirrels and about 25 nice bucks but the Red Dot ….well put the dot on the target and pull the trigger.  It doesn’t get any better than that for hunting under any conditions.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Opening Day the next year getting out of my truck and realizing I don’t have a way of carrying my loaded scoped handgun safely in the woods without a holster.  You know ice, snow, frost, slippery sticks…I needed a holster for a scoped handgun.

Here we go again… (To be continued.)

Dan