Drop dead beautiful. Pretty much every one of them I've ever met. Quiet, reserved, even "bashful", but painfully aware of the allure they hold over us mere mortal men. They just
know we are willing to put up with more simply because we crave their company. Don't get me wrong - unlike many, they are never conceited, full of themselves, or in any way "bi-tchy". Not by a long shot. They love us (men) as much as we love them, and crave our attention every bit as much as we crave theirs. Yet... well, they can be, to put it politely, "difficult"...
Here are the two Swedish women in my life. Similar in oh so many ways, but as different as night and day. Jealous of one another? Is that what drives their behavior? Is that why each demands to be treated differently, to be respected as an individual, as her "own woman"?
The one has had a 20+ year long affair with my oldest son. The other, over ten years with me. One would hope they could get along with one another but, alas, such is not the case. Both demand to be treated as individuals, with nothing more in common than the fact that they are both Swedes.
The upper is my son's, a mid '80's vintage Model 70 Featherweight. The lower is mine, a mid 2000's era #1 Light Sporter. Both chambered in 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser, of course. We were hoping we could share ammo, work up one load that would suffice for both. Or at least be close...
Alas, such was not meant to be. Any load worked up for my son's rifle is massively, excessively, dangerous over pressure in mine. Thank God the #1 is the strongest commercial action ever made. A lesser action would have failed the first time I pulled the trigger on what is entirely a safe load in my son's rifle.
Today, some ten years after having discovered this "inconvenient truth", I find myself once again faced with working up loads for these things. We have, you see, shot our way through our stash of Sierra 160 grain semi-pointed bullets, and they quit making them over ten years ago. The "new" bullet of choice is the Lapua 155 grain (which we have actually played with in the past, it's just that now we need to get "serious"). Loads with the same bullet, same case, same primer, same seating depth are a full ten grains of powder different. Yet, in their respective rifles, velocities are similar.
Lesson here is to always, always, start with that "starting load". In our case, his rifle has a generous chamber, long lead, and generous throat. My rifle has a very tight chamber, very short leade, and almost no throat. All factors that add up to increased pressures.
Which, well, sucks. We cannot share ammo. His is too hot for my rifle, mine are darn near "squib" loads from his. So, yeah, be careful out there, kids - "it's all good fun until someone loses and eye"...