So far this year, the snowpack in the areas in SW MT I tend to frequent ranges from a low of 40% to a high of 58% of normal. In those areas of WY where I also visit it ranges from a low of 50% to a high of 74% of normal. Suffice it to say, we are trending below normal across much of the northern Roc...

Thank you for that level-headed, thoughtful and reasoned explanation. I certainly agree there are those Cooper rifle lovers who would consider making modifications to their rifles akin to a cardinal sin and I don't fault them in the least. Typically, when I make a firearm purchase, I buy the item I ...

Hi Rick! Yes, kid in a candy store...guilty as charged! :D One comment you made got me to thinking and it had to do with your admonition NOT to thread the barrel on the Cooper 204R rifle as it would "kill the overall resale of that rifle." While I don't doubt the threading of a barrel on a...

Hi Rowdy! According to the carrier (UPS) the Cooper should arrive at my FFL today! Excited? You bettcha!👍 Since I have yet to put my hands on the rifle, I will provide the seller's description. The rifle is a Montana Varminter, walnut stock with the classic "Buick holed" stock inlets. It h...

I recently ruptured one of my shooting bags and as I was repairing the slight hole the thought occurred to me whether the media I was using (white rice at the time) was the best choice. I typically also use a thin plastic shopping bag inside the shooting bag to help protect the contents from getting...

Us folks "up north" are now warming up a bit. It was only -10F this morning and while snow is back in the forecast, nothing fell overnight...thankfully. After having lived in several states over the years and having experienced several major events in years past (hurricanes, tornados, eart...

Speaking for myself, not too busy to reply, just occupied in trying to keep from freezing! :cold: We are fortunate in that high-speed fiber optic internet cable service was recently brought to the neighborhood now giving those who sign up, the option for speeds of; 200 mbps, 500 mbps or 940 mbps, de...

In SW MT it "warmed" to -25F this morning...Hey, when it was -42 just two days ago, we'll take -25F any day! If the weather forecast can be believed, we might see high temps in the mid 30s by the weekend! I'm not breaking out my tank tops or Bermuda shorts just yet...

Our chimenea sits on our back patio. As you can tell it is keeping nice and warm as it is wrapped in a blanket of snow... :lmao: For your further enjoyment, I've also included a picture of what people in MT do for fun when it's freaking cold outside...they give OId Man Winter the middle finger and g...

I'll let Bill K chime in on his particular type or model as it looks like his is made of a sort of clay. We have a similar heat source sitting outside on our patio and it is called a chiminea fire pit. Ours is made of some sort of cast metal and it sits about 5 feet tall. Yes, it is heavy!!

The temperature outside our home in SW MT dipped to -42F last night! :cold: Electrical power went out, as we later discovered due to a nearby substation failure, at 12:06am (yes, 6 minutes after midnight!) and the power stayed off until I awoke this morning at 5:30. When I looked, the temperature in...

Secretcode. I need to do a little digging to get the manufacture date. Since Cooper was purchased by Nighthawk and they moved the manufacturing and administration from MT to AR, I don't know how many of the legacy records went to AR. I have to make a few more calls and/or emails to do try and sleuth...

I feel for you. Up here in MT, we are forecasted to see low temps in the -20F range late this weekend along with snow into early next week. Like you said though, these type conditions are not that far out of the ordinary for those who have lived here a while. It'll be a different story for the recen...

Many thanks to those of you who took the time and shared your thoughts on what direction I might want to consider taking with my 204R pursuit. The end is near... After an exhaustive search across many different rifles both new and used, I was finally able to turn up a used Cooper model 21. Judging b...

It may come as but a small consolation...but looking back and the older I get, the more "shoulda, coulda, would a moments I've experienced. Is this a sign of indecision or just too many life experiences spread out over time? Hmmm. Maybe a little of both.