Sniper Country Duty Roster

April 2008

Darren: Good vid.

Mayhem: Glad to see that you are posting.

CDC'
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 02:28:21 (ZULU)

Now that's some very good hate agitprop....probably better than anything the other side has produced to date.

medicjim
Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 03:03:06 (ZULU)

I know he'll get painted as racist for this, but I understand his feelings. The Muslim community seems to be instructing their people to breed like rats, colonise, and take over the world.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't hate Muslims, or any other religious or ethnic group. Unfortunately, certain sets of people, who happen to be linked by their religion, are the ones doing this.

From what I understand, the Dutch have bent over backwards to welcome immigrants from all over the world, and the Muslim population there is making our Mexican insurgent problem look like a petty squabble. Their social services have been drained by these people, who then started electing their own representatives, and are bitching that they aren't being GIVEN enough.

Ungrateful sons of bitches! That's kinda like a coyote killing all the wild turkeys around my house, killing all my chickens, then demanding access to my fridge! Sounds as if their next step is to demand that the last few fatted calves not only be slaughtered, but also cooked and served on a silver platter.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 10:09:33 (ZULU)

Travis, you are on the mark.

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 15:13:33 (ZULU)

On contractors. I am by far no expert but I agree with everything Rick said. See the resume and dont believe any of it. Rick straightened my ass out on this once when I was burned.

Nothing like figuring out some guys have no tactical sense when your already there.

Back to my old retired fat cop life. LOL

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 15:14:56 (ZULU)

Mike, you can't judge all contracts by one experience. We have a couple of posers here, but they get found out pretty quick. Most of the men I work with are pretty squared away as far as the SKILL level goes. Now, the weird-assed personality quirks...well, that's another matter.

Pat, you RAWK. Package recieved. The Crystal Light is like gold around here. So is the Cope. I owe you one, amigo. When I'm back in Tejas on break, come on down and the beer is on me. Thanks again.

Culture break tonight. The Ghurkas threw a going away party. Amazing. It seems to be a point of honor to kill the goat with one stroke of the kukri. The goat knew damn well what was coming, too. They sure dance funny, but the Heineken makes it all very logical.

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 17:18:34 (ZULU)

Travis on that same note........

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,344409,00.html

Jim Reifinger
Pearsall, TX, USA - Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 20:26:05 (ZULU)

Charles: Glad it got thru and it helps. Enjoy.

Pat II
Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 00:25:49 (ZULU)

Jim,

".....all muslims are innocent." Bullshit. Can you imagine the shitstorm if the rest of the world declared them all to be guilty? They'd be trying like hell to buy the ACLU and the U.N..

I'm about to the point where I agree with the "Let God sort 'em out" mentality.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 03:14:39 (ZULU)

Charles S.,

You oughta see 'em do that with a cow.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 05:19:43 (ZULU)

"I'm about to the point where I agree with the "Let God sort 'em out" mentality."

Yup,Me too. It wasnt that long ago the muslim community was whining about how airport security was "profiling" them based on sex and age groups.What a big stink they made about that.

Also loved the comments the muslim lawyer made about hating anything non-muslim.

Yeah,Right...Sure,He hates it.He is hating it,all the way to the bank.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 05:39:27 (ZULU)

Polar bear killed with .223. Click. I betcha someone shit his pants a little! I guess now I can throw that at the idiots around here that think they need a .300 Ultra to miss deer at 100 yards!

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 06:09:39 (ZULU)

What happened to HD Rifles? Did they go away? I can't seem to find them on the web. This is probably old news, but it's been a long time since I've needed any rifle work done. I was primarily looking to get the Remington 700 bolt mod done. I also had a note to get thier DM stock mod, but honestly I don't remember what that mod was. If HD Rifles no longer exists, does anyone know of anyone that does this kind of work now? Thanks for the help and Semper Fi,

Paul

Paul
San Deigo, CA, USA - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 07:43:28 (ZULU)

Any of you logger types have any ideas about how long I'd need to dry cottonwood logs for building a cabin? Should I peel them before storing, or at all?

I'm also considering using Elm.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 08:41:13 (ZULU)

HD rifles is gone with Jeff Hicks, who departed under a cloud, to be kind.

The remaining personnel have been reorganized under a new name, Cactus Weapons. Click on my name for their contact data.

Lindy
The Northern Occupied Territories of Mexico, Texas, U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 13:58:18 (ZULU)

Cactus Weapons,

I've had limited dealings with Bruce Hudgens in a fire / medical services capacity. He is apparently the service manager there. He's been top notch in my experiences.

medicjim
Wednesday, April 2, 2008, at 19:40:23 (ZULU)

I was flipping channels last night and ran across a program from South Africa about the elections in Zimbabwe. Excellent! They covered the issue without hype, speculation or hyperbole. In fact, they refused to speculate and made no snide comments-at least any I recognized.

Damn, could we get them to cover our news?

WR Moore
Thursday, April 3, 2008, at 04:31:28 (ZULU)

Re - Joke for the Day

Three men and a Genie

Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a Marine are all working together one day.

They come across a lantern ....

And a Genie pops out of it. "I will give each of you one wish, which is three wishes in total", says the Genie.

The Canadian says, "I am a farmer and my son will also farm. I want the land to be forever fertile in Canada."

POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in Canada was forever fertile for farming.

Osama was amazed, so he said, "I want a wall around Afghanistan,Palestine, Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or Canadianscan come in our precious land."

POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye, there was a huge wall around those countries.

The Marine says, "I am very curious. Please tell me more about this wall."

The Genie explains, "Well, it's about 5,000 feet high, 500 feetthick and completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or out;it's virtually impenetrable."

The Marine sits down, cracks a beer, smiles, and says, "Fill it with water."

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Thursday, April 3, 2008, at 20:52:19 (ZULU)

re: Genie wall joke.

Hear a variant of it for Quebec, Canada's sometimes separatist-leaning province...

Google - quebec genie wall

This from 2005:

http://www.canadaka.net/modules.php?name=jokes&op=ViewItems&vid=72

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Thursday, April 3, 2008, at 23:38:09 (ZULU)

There is nothing that Rod could not find "the rest of the story" on; he is our resident fact-checker/ back-story man. I commented on this a few years ago---he still amazes/ amuses with his ability to add both color and depth to our conversations.

Rod: You're either one heck of a researcher or a future "jeopardy!" star...probably both. But I'd consider the Marine's wish a better use of the asset over the candian version!!! Not even a close contest:))

I'll be in the DC area 11-16 april, with the weekend on the eastern shore. The whole clan will be along...and we'll tour my old stomping grounds of my youth. Oughta be a blast for the kids (first airplane ride too). If I'm crossing anyone's AO, hit me offline. I'll buy anyone a beer who supports this site!

Joe M
Friday, April 4, 2008, at 05:49:39 (ZULU)

Political Quip - very interesting yet true :-) ENJOY

545 People, by Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems

and then

campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans

are

against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation

and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?a

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on

appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, The Federal Reserve Bank

does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme

Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly,

legally, morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems

that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that

problem

was created by the Congress.

In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound

currency to a federally chartered but private central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.

They have no legal authority.

They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a

president to

do one cotton-picking thing.

I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.

The

politician has the power to accept or reject it.No matter what the

lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine

how

he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you

that what

they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regard

less

of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive

amount of gall.

No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood

up and

criticized the President for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget.

He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole

responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and

approving appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House?

She/He is the leader of the majority party.

She/He and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any

budget

they want.

If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they

agree

to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot

replace

545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and

irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable

directly

to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the

power of

the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what

they

want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom

they hire

and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice

they

can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and

from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists

disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or

"politics"

that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are

their bosses - provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own

employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Friday, April 4, 2008, at 14:24:14 (ZULU)

Pablito, man I just re read your article on Parallex and scopes, on Sniper Country. It has been a long time since I read it. That is the best explanation of how scopes work I have ever heard

Thank you for that work and glad to hear the legal system limped in with correct verdict for you.

On HD rifles. I have done business with the new company Catcus Tactical and they are good to go.

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Friday, April 4, 2008, at 16:11:48 (ZULU)

Mike

Can you point me to that article? I'd like to read it

Thanks

Doug sickels
Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 02:25:10 (ZULU)

'Lito article on parallax:

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/Parallax.asp

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 07:24:10 (ZULU)

UnDudeski...

Thanks for the nice words - it was fun to write.

I finely beat the system, and in the end, the other side was tripping all over themselves to get the Rug Rat into my hands.

It has been nearly two months since he left, and he hasn't heard a word from her... no letters, no phone calls, no "nuttin".

It doesn't surprise me one little bit... she never cared, she just wanted to hurt the Rat and me.

I tell him that he has to leave the cell phone that she gave him plugged in, so in case she calls, she can leave a message... but I know nothing is coming.

He is in school now, and doing great - he is studying Shakespeare Romeo & Juliette now... and the he came home the other day and said:

"Daddy, I went to the lunchroom today, and there was no seats at tables with other kids, so I found a table that was empty and sat there.

Four girls came over and invited me to their table - they scooched over so I could sit with them - there were eleven girls and no other guys."

I think he is on his way to being a "Girl Magnet" ;))))

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 17:39:32 (ZULU)

Gents, long time no talk. In one way, fortune has smiled and I will have a lot more free time to actually shoot now. After 3+ years of no posting, I may actually have time to surf a certain rifle site a bit more again . . .

I will be heading to Oklahoma soon, and one of the fellows this trip is shooting a match M-14. He is looking to shoot some 175 smk's, and potentially switch to a new primary diet of 155 scenars. While I have a good bit of data on both of those for the bolt guns, I'm concerned about op rods, and port pressure, etc.

I've found my standard loads seem to be fine, generally speaking, in an AR-10 but as everyone knows that is not the same thing.

He plans to roll with Win brass, and would prefer to use Tac powder, but has some Varget left over too. If anyone can post M1-A / M-14 data with that in mind, it'd be appreciated. Factory data from Sierra (and others) seems very conservative these days, linked on my name below. Guess I'll blame the "Liability" thing.

Should be interesting to see how this works, as we'll be taking prediction data down, and coming back with some known data for a variety of .223 and .308 loads, 100 to 1k.

Thanks, John

John L
Mid, MO, U.S.A. - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 18:23:40 (ZULU)

'Lito:

Congratulations on acheiving a happy ending to a tempestous saga. It's always nice to see the good guys win, especially against such a crooked "house". I applaud your persistence.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 19:55:42 (ZULU)

John: Hey! Welcome back. Bravo is the resident -14 fan; I'll give him a call and see what he can post up for ya...damn! He just called me!

Initially, he is saying ya can't push the scenars fast enough to match the performance potential of the 175s off the M14 platform. he'll elaborate more when he gets a minute...

Joe M
Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 20:08:08 (ZULU)

John L...

First, welcome back.

Second, FIX OUR SEARCH ENGINE - It no workie ;))))

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 21:11:48 (ZULU)

John L.,

Welcome back. Guess I'll have to start making the drive to Badlands more often now that my local school is kaput. I'll bet it's "delightful" down there in August!

Cheers,

Doc

Doc Holloway
The sunny Ozark boonies, MO, USA - Saturday, April 5, 2008, at 22:08:26 (ZULU)

Sierra loading data- I had occasion to call Sierra awhile back and asked about the changes in load data. Their answer was "Different rifle in use." Guess that one has a tighter chamber/bore than the previous one.

WR Moore
Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 02:45:59 (ZULU)

"I think he is on his way to being a "Girl Magnet""

Or a hair dresser;-))

Just kiddin' 'lito.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 05:35:32 (ZULU)

On "Persistence" (a mini-thesis ;)

I would like to thank all of you guys that have supported me over the last 4 years in my battle for Ruggus Rattus.

It has meant a lot to me, especially in some of the dark days of the first and second year when I was broke, my lawyer took all there was, and I didn't understand what I was up against.

I would also like to toss in a special word of thanks to that rascally bum that called me and said...

... "Look, if it gets real bad, grab your son and take a bus out here, and I'll bury the two of you so deep that the USA will be a part of Mexico before they find you!"... it came close to that a few times.

On persistence. It doesn't take much to be persistent. My son wasn't an "accident", or something that the wife wanted. I wanted kidlets long before I ever met her.

She quit on him when he was 6 months old. I was his mom and dad at the same time. I fed him and changed him... and played with him, and watched a thousand hours of "Pokeman" with him (Yuck!)

He went everywhere with me. I'm self employed, and I turned down clients that wouldn't let me bring him with me... in his little "Oshkosh's", with his coloring books.

So persistence was not an issue - they stole a major part of me - there was no where else to go, and nothing else to do.

They steal your kidlet, wadda you gonna do - go off and start again, and send him birthday cards until he's 18.

Not in this lifetime. I would track my son in bare feet over broken glass.

Now, it's payback time...

Me and another father (who was victim of the same shitty crowd) spoke the a state detective (who's IQ was over room temperature), this past Friday, and we got his attention... he said, "I'm not suprised by a single word you have said", even about the judge being in on it.

I think the case is going somewhere. He's gonna try to get it referred to the State's Attorney General's Office for criminal investigation.

If that doesn't happen, I'll keep on knocking on doors 'til I put these bastards out of business.

Anyway... thanks for all your support - it DID help.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 10:56:45 (ZULU)

Give'm hell, 'lito...

Sharon

Larry J. Porter
Boonies of the Panhandle, Texas, USA!!!! - Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 14:24:49 (ZULU)

Rest in Peace Mr. Charlton Heston....an advocate for the rights of the common man....

cmoore
Dago, Kali, usa - Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 14:25:58 (ZULU)

Lito: Your words resonate. I knew that Blake's egg donor was not wired right immediately, too. No way she would raise him---the only reason she even tried was to "get back at me" for daring to have a life after she tried so hard to ruin it! FWIW, Blake tried to latch on to one of her meal stations that first week of his life, and her reaction was bizarre---she jumped up out of a slumber and freaked out. My instructions from her were to "keep it off me!" Christ. The battle should have been easy, but the system had no concept of father's rights in the life of a child beyond his wallet. It just was not done. In my case, spending money...lotsa money...was the answer. Even then, the gender-blind laws that would have started with 20% of my income simply became a non-factor in Mass; they pretended they did not exist. She never paid a penny in support for some 17 years. And nobody batted an eye.

I've thought about fixing this system (thru law school). But now I realize we are past the point of "do over." Can't fix this mess, so we gotta tear this one down and build a better one...

If self interest drives decisions of this generation of judges and shysters, imagine the near future when the "self esteem" generation starts taking over key positions in society.

Strike that; this current generation will drive our society into the ground before these kids get a shot at it.

Give them hell....and WY6.

Joe M
Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 18:41:20 (ZULU)

Re: Tribute to Charlton Heston

I stopped by the NRA Whittington Center several years ago on the way back from Red River, N.M. and snapped these photos of a recently built monument to Charlton Heston.

The location of this memorial is right on the Santa Fe Trail. It's called, "The Scout."

(click)

Mk4
Texas, United States of America - Sunday, April 6, 2008, at 23:58:28 (ZULU)

MK4,

Actually, he was the model for "The Scout.' It was not a tribute (well, sorta...) to him. Original intentions were to build an entire wagon train - with Indians - and he/it was the first piece. Small copies of the statue were sold to finance the operation, the copies were 2 grand per each. The were offered to the "Founders," NRA members and the Santa Fe Trail association, then the public.

I guess interest was not what was planned/hoped...

Sharon

(Wife & I are both Founders)

Larry J. Porter
Boonies of the Panhandle, Texas, USA!!!! - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 02:49:37 (ZULU)

Larry,

Understood. Lets just call it my tribute ;)

Here's the plaque that explains the monument.

(click)

Mk4
Texas, United States of America - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 03:25:03 (ZULU)

Long week and another is about to begin. Screwed up my old back Friday and spent the weekend hobbling around with the wife upset that I wasn't "doing something". :)

Charles - Not using one experience on the warning but quite a few and the stories of others that have come back. As you have stated, you have had some as well. I help vett alot of the guys that claim Special Operations , Special Forces, and or sniper. You would not believe the number of guys that have claimed high speed backgrounds, and are now, or were, in high positions making decisions over which they had little or no experience. Add to that, they were getting guys fired that actually did have the experience and were trying to get the s**t straightened out. I realize not all are bad, not what I am saying, just watch and doubt until they prove them selves. If they are real, they will not mind proving themselves. The BS artists are the ones that will claim that they do not have to prove themselves to anyone and then storm off. That is a major red flag.

Lito - Keep on driving on brother, get them good before they screw someone else like that.

You guys and your flavor of the month bullets. :)

Darren - Good summary of what is actually wrong with the US today. It was never intended for the US to have professional politicians. Ben Franklin had seen what mischief they could bring while living in England as the representative of several of the colonies. Many of Tory felt that it was the politicians in the House of Lords that were causing the problems and if only the King knew it would be different. Him, were they the beginning of the liberal movement of blind leading the unseeing? :)

Oh well time to quit and head for bed, 0530 will come early in the morning to this old fart.

Hold hard guys and Stay Safe Charles!!

Rick

Rick B.
Fayetteville, NC, USA - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 03:48:48 (ZULU)

Rick, I agree wholeheartedly with you. We have a few of those, as well. I went through training with one, I think he's actually incapable of separating fact from fantasy. Fortunately, the guys on my team are the real deal. Cop-heavy, if you will. I developed a fairly good set of BS feelers about 5-6 years into my police career. They twitch a lot, lately. Mostly when I'm talking to the corpaorate weenies. Like, why do they have the money to send me to the range to "qualify" four times on the M240, 249 and M4, but not enough to get me an ACOG for nighttime. Or, why can't I just get my own sent over? Blah blah, blah blah blah blah. Or, why can't we use Bearcats to go to the range, instead of up-armored Suburbans that have the armored glass duct taped in? Yeah, that's right.

So, you can see, I'm not seeing things through the oft-named rose colored glasses. But, it still beats answering bullshit family-disturbance calls.....

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 05:31:13 (ZULU)

155 Scenars. Not hard to beat 175SMK performance with these. BC is same between two and out of mag length weapon I get 2900 fps with no signs of high pressure. Use H4895 for this bullet in mag length. Varget is too slow for mag length. Rick I think this should be 7.62 sniper round for military use. I did some testing for Black Hills and they are considering loading it.

This is bullet I shoot in F TR Class past 600 yards.

Paul, I actually used that article in a class I taught this week on rpecision shooting. Never seen a better explanation than what you provided. I hope you dont mind?

Mike/Undude

Mike Milelr
Ca, - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 14:56:29 (ZULU)

One more voice suggesting the 155 scenar is worth a look. I load them up with RL15 based on a conversation some years back involving George Gardner and Lito. My partner shot his 24" .308 (1:11 twist)at last year's Allegheny match and was using my dope for wind and drop. I shoot a .260 and he was right with me.

medicjim
Monday, April 7, 2008, at 15:13:52 (ZULU)

The 155 scenar is no doubt a great choice--in a bolt or a tuned AR10-style platform...

But the question was whether it is a good choice for a M14/ M1A platform.

From what I've heard, it is not. Bravo would be able to tell us why, once he pops up from defilade.

Joe M
Monday, April 7, 2008, at 19:18:31 (ZULU)

Howdy Gents,

Charles: I hear you brother. I have been fighting with my Company for 7 Mo. now trying to get 3 ACOGs for my platoon. As of right now, I alone have more dismounted time than the other three platoons put together. However since my guys drive the heavy mnachinery, and always have an escourt, we are suppoed to just "Take Cover, and let the line Platoons do the shooting." Aint that a crock of $#!*!! Too bad that I went to the range with out "SDMs" shooting their M14s. Thier groups at 500 were were 15" at best. I will give it to them, they still have the cheap plastic stocks (I'm trying to talk my CO into buying Sage or Troy stocks for them).

Steve: Good God man!! Has it been 5 years? We'll deff have to get the old stcks out, poke holes in paper, and toss back some suds! I'll hit you up here when I have a more deff answer on leave times.

All: Anyone have suggestions on optics for me? I currently have a Trijicon Reflex sight on my M4. It will not hold a zero for more than 2 rounds. this is my personal optic. I need something with a zoom capability preferably 3x-4x and won't break the bank. ACOGs are ok, but after my Reflex sight, I'm leaning away from them. Please can anyone help? I need one at a decent price quickly. We are getting ready to move again, and this time again it is to a not so nice area, and I'll be dismounted 90% of the time I'm outside the wire. Thanks for yall info and support.

Mayhem

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13

Mayhem
Monday, April 7, 2008, at 19:32:57 (ZULU)

Mayhem: All kinds of possibilities; you could try a GG&G (ok) or Larue tact. mount for your reflex--that'll likely solve the wandering zero. Aimpoints in the stock mounts have the same issues. The aimpoint, OTOH, has a 3x optic that mounts behind it. The plus is it extends your ranges somewhat; the downside is it crowds out a buis on the rail (mounting forward of the receiver is unsatisfactory unless you have a solid free-float, which we did not with our two piece rails). I had the same problem mounting myPVS14 behind my eotech anyways; and I found it OK as long as i was diligent each morning in re-mounting my BUIS (usually using the irons and the dot to re-zero). As for a variable--I had no use for one on my carbine. I cheated, i carried a 20" upper that I slapped together in a spare parts bin with a acog on it. FWIW, I rid myself of my acog--it is a tank, and useful for short-cutting marksmanship from novices, but the lack of eye relief, and the paralax, made it a hated "cool looking" POS for me. try this: get behind an acog and orient on a distant target...then move your eye slightly around the center. You'll see the reticle jump around that target by huge swings; meaning if yer in ahurry and your cheekweld isn't wht you'd prefr, you'll likely miss a mid-range shot. Still, they are easy to come by over there if you know where to look. If I were to stick to a 14.5" upper alone, I'd probably go with a 2MOA aimpoint with the 3x magnifier on standby. And, ya know what, I'd try mounting my buis AHEAD of all that, and use that as a "scout style" emergency back up (never did need it, probably cuz i had it). If I could make that work half-assed, that sure would free up space for the PVS and the magnifier, eh?

I'm gonna try that after i get back from DC. Why in the hell am i wedded to an emergency sight sitting where other more useful things could go??? It is, after all, a last resort just ahead of inserting barrel into terrs' mouth...

If'n yer hellbent on a variable--try one of those muellers with the red dot center in the cross hairs. I say this because i mounted on on a 300 WM for someone, and it held up well so far---AND it is cheap. The bonus is that it does reflex stuff far better than that binder aiming concept crap of the acog. If yer out-of-pocket like i was, then beating this to death won't hurt your wallet. If you have money, might I recommend the S&B straight tube? Heheh.

WY6...retirement rocks only if you get there!

Joe M
Monday, April 7, 2008, at 21:11:40 (ZULU)

Life gets more interestinger and interestinger.

I picked up the forms and papers today to file a law suit against my first lawyer... I'm gonna ask for $1.3 Million dollars. (I'll take what I can get).

HA!

See what a little success in court does - it creates a monster :)))

Double HA!! (as Original Pat would say!!)

---

jc...

You got a thing for hair dressers???

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Monday, April 7, 2008, at 23:08:31 (ZULU)

'lito,

"jc...

You got a thing for hair dressers???"

Sure, as long as they're FEMALE hair dressers.

Why? You lookin' for somebody to give you some pointers? ;-))

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 05:53:13 (ZULU)

Naw...

It's just that most guys don't think of hairdressers when the conversation is about women.

Just wondered what Sigmund Freud would think about that?

Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Or maybe you have some issues with my Rat???

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 06:17:29 (ZULU)

Thanks Joe,

The problem with my reflex sight is not the mount. It is the finger that holds the notched knob for windage adjustment. For some reasoon all of a sudden it doesn't want to hold.

I have tried that moving your eye around in a ACOG, and know exactly what you are talking about.

I have purchased a VLTOR freefloat hadguard for my weapon, so I do have the one piece rail on top. I have looked at the Aimpoint, just never been fond of their dots. They always seem distorted, more oblong that true dots. I figured with magnification, they would be worse.

The reason that I'm looking for a variable or fixed power is being dismounted in the open like I am, buildings and LNs are usually 200-300m away. I want to be able to see what is going on, on roof tops. I know that is what they make Binos for, but Everyone knows that Binos and a radio = Target!! I don't like to stand out that much.

Was thinking about the Millett DMS, but don't know if it will hold up to the abuse that our weapons see. We don't get to carry them around in drag bags, and have to carry them everywhere. For some odd reason, Dump Trucks and dozers don't like to play nice with weapons.

Thanks again for the help! I will take any advice that yall have.

Thanks,

Mayhem

Mayhem
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 06:25:32 (ZULU)

On the Reflex, I messed with one about ten eyars ago and found when you got them wet (Rain fog etc) the aiming dot got weird. Even found I would sometimes get a double aiming image. Not sure if this is something to do with my eyes or the unit. I do know I dont get htis with an Aimpoint

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 15:27:38 (ZULU)

Oblong dots: Time to clean the CLP off the lenses:)) I had that too, at times. On the older aimpoints, our soldiers "etched" the glass by rubbing sand grit in circular patterns. That added weird distortions (subtle) to the dot as well. Ask a soldier what he has on him: Compressed air? or a rag? Yeah, taking care of something starts with knowing how. In 2003, most soldiers (remember, only our RDF-tagged units saw these before this war)---met up with reflex sights for the first time in the staging areas of Kuwait at the RFI stations. You can bet that training on many other things crowded out basic maintenance on the new gear. I would hope it got better over time, but i would not bet on that. Once a habit begins, it takes a conscious effort (like an army wide awareness program, which I have yet to see) to make changes.

FWIW, my aimpoint has a nice round dot that is too big at 4 MOA---unless i over-bright the setting--which also will distort it. As with my more favored eotech, it is a "settings game" of adjusting for the conditions to maintain the best all around sight picture. The new ones have DOT-size options--which is a good thing. a smaller one might be the ticket.

The Mueller unit is kind of a neat scope, and will set you back a c-note or less. On low mag (2x), with the dot illuminated--it does an adequate job of reflex targeting. On 7x, you can extend your range. The glass is 'adequate" and would be fine in a sunny environment. The one I played with sits on an old friend's BLR 300WM---and has held up to the recoil. As with anything precision--you still need to try to treat it good.

Last: That mentality of "you have security to protect you" is a typical REMF concept. There is nothing more dangerous a leader can say to his own troops, IMHO. When the shit hits the fan, that security force first thought is that of self preservation. If that helps the "secured troops" then all is well--but, you just never know. It isn't hard to imagine the security force on the left side of your dumps, and the bad guys on the right side--with you in the catbird seat in middle. Every soldier outside the wire is a rifleman first and foremost. It is wise to blow that idea right off and to train up your boys...too bad the headshed coffee wasters don't get it. But then, they are a only "theorizing' in the first place. You are expected to test their ideas. BS; and i am glad you ignore them:))

Joe M
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 18:19:18 (ZULU)

Gents: Myrants on the economy and the dire predictions i made may have sounded "tin hat" worthy; but I am amazed at how fast things are moving down this very path. I suggested that you all should read market news (try to stay awake) to verify my take on things.

The newest crisis: Food. Chow. Grub. It is getting tight on the market. As with everything else in economics, it isn't any one problem--it is a whole host of seemingly unrelated things that screw things up. |The dollar isn't being crushed by the fed's actions (the fed is helping, but slightly)--it is congress's spending of dollars on give-aways (no product to prop up the GDP is money wasted essentially--or, in this case, all US money made more worthless abroad). On the food side, it started with "green, renewable energy subsidies" that made cash crops out of maize. Here in dairyland, hay was plowed under for corn (hay prices are outta control, thankfully I grow my own). With less feed for cows, dairy operations dependant on outsourced haybales are making hamburger (a temporary drop in beef prices is underway due to the slaughter)--and once the cows are gone, they switched to--yep, corn. |Me, I'm buying feeder calfs. In a few years when I hit market, I shall clean house. Meantime, wheat suffers the same fate: Everyone wants a piece of the action (ethanol|) and will see those prices come down due to the flood of participants. Going the opposite way made sense to me. But--the shortage of grain on the worldwide market is causing a jump in prices that is already causing social unrest around the preiphery. Wow--hell in a handbasket and moving faster than imagined:))

Here's a thought: Lets form "F-PEC" to counter OPEC; a food producing nations' cartel that dictates to the oil countries: "eat crude, or take a bushel per barrel" Heheh. Barter, BTW, is where we are heading.

Flour in storage is not a bad idea. Unless you have a farm, heheh.

6bn people on this planet is sustainable ONLY thru modern tech and cheap energy. Take diesel off the farm for draft animals, and say bye-bye to at least 4 of every 6 people walking. Ya think this will be a fun transition? |Any volunteers to un-ass the planet? Line forms to the left...

This mortgage bailout in congress may slow the slide initially--but the near term downside will be like gas on fire (in the form of deficit spending that spirals out of control as performing, but tight, loans suddenly default too for a free handout). Hell, anyone care to make my next mortgage payment??? I thought not...but if nanny-fed would, how many will take them up on it??? exactly..

The food crash is starting in asia (where it hurts the most), and the credit crunch is seeded all over the developed markets. We have a set of circumstances unlike the models of the past--and we are using the past as a guide for each micro-economic issue--with no clear eye on the whole. Attempting to solve symptoms is useless; only reigning in government spending will fix it---but that is the last thing that we will do (and then only because no money will be available from us taxpayers). Instead, every proposal from the fed and congress involves printing money we do not have (and cannot sell as debt anymore, either).

As I see it, there are two kinds of people: Those who need, and those who can. I do not like that math at all. Needy fucks outnumber us. I'll go 19th century if i have to--and do just fine for me and mine alone--but others may want what i have right now with no regard for tomorrow at some point too.

Christ...i DO have a tin hat...

Joe M
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 19:31:07 (ZULU)

OK, so I popped up ;-)

On the Scenars, I started to say "it can't be done", but then rethought making such a statement. In a '14, I'm not sure if it can be done or not, just that I haven't been able to do so. At least not yet, and how I would prefer.

When it came to the M14, my favorite lightweight bullet powder was N135. That's not a good powder to use with the 155s if you're trying for 2900+ fps, but it's great for trying to mimic M80 and such essentially. I buy the 150 Hornady SST bullets, but I don't try to get 'em to 2900 fps. Likewise, Varget wasn't ideal either, keeping a 2.900 COAL (I run mine to 2.920" COAL, which is 'pushing it') gets to a packed condition QED. Same problem I had with the 178 AMAXes.

Did I try H4895? Nope. For a long time, H4895 was in my opinion tied for best lightweight bullet powder. I liked it every bit as much as N135. I tried N135 behind 175 SMKs, and the N135 was just too fast to give me the standard 2685 fps without problems. H4895, being just a TOUCH slower, was what I chose for last years BadLands course. My mistake, I won't do that again.

We were all discussing loads and such out there, I indicated that this year I decided to give a serious try to H4895 in a mimic of M118LR - and mentioned that in my experience H4895 was almost as temperature stable as Varget. Bobby just said "not out here it's not" - and he was right. I don't see myself changing from Varget to anything else, although I will admit thought has been given to trying Geoff Corn's load, using N140. As far as I'm concerned, the 'high energy' (a.k.a. higher nitroglycerine content powders) stuff is for the birds. For me, I want nothing to do with ball powders - and nothing to do with IMR powders either.

The thing is, the Scenars need more muzzle velocity than the 175SMK to stay competitive on wind calls at range. Sure, if you can bump the Scenars up 200 fps faster, then I can see it, the Scenar would be a better load - I just haven't been able to. At least not yet. The last time I went to get Lapua bullets, they were just 'gone'. None in stock, and questionable when they'd come in. That sated my thirst for comprehension.

For what it's worth, I got my big powder order in not long ago. I maxed out the UPS shipping weight limit with kegs of Varget. All the same lot number. That statement is worth something in my opinion - I'm not moving off of Varget any time soon.

As far as optics go, I stuck an Aimpoint M3 on the XCR-L, using a LaRue mount (Thanks Master Rick!). I personally prefer the 2 MOA dot to the 4 MOA dot. 400+ yard shots with that rig is cake, and I'm no slower with the 2MOA dot than I was the 4. That's just me though, and the way my eyes work. When I try to run an EoTech fast, the 1 MOA dot is a touch small for me, and I can't seem to focus on the circle instead of the dot - again, it's ME. For a carbine though, I'd have a difficult time not using one or the other.

Now for a rifle, whatever you do, don't listen to our resident money-maker BKS. He'll cost you money. Not that he's wrong, but being right costs dough.

Bravo
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 20:17:30 (ZULU)

Joe M.

I know that there are a few, myself included, whom would volunteer to man the perimeter security shifts. What would you like us to bring to the party? Dare I say this, in Wolverine'ish intent?

Things are getting interestinger, that's for sure.

Sean T.
Winnipeg,, Manitoba, Canada - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 21:27:23 (ZULU)

...and that last sound we heard was our Bravo ducking back under his rock for another month or so:))

I've had to inspect my M21 oprod after excellent (boltgun) handloads using light bullets ...no damage, but the recoil was different enough to make that first shot the last. I imagined the scenars would be along those lines in this platform. I have set factory loads--FGM 168s, BH's 168s, and winny white box 147s for plinking. I may try the 175 load w/ varget one day--but my twist rate is less than Bravos IIRC. The platform, IMHO, is engineered too narrowly for experimentation beyond the proven loads.

Joe M
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 21:33:20 (ZULU)

Sean, I can't speak for the lord of the manor, but you're good to relieve me about 2200 ;-)

Patron Joe and I talk about such things as the economic indicators. In all honesty, if we don't see some really major problems within 12 months I'd be surprised.

Yesterday I read a quick little quip in one of the news magazines about how the FDIC is wanting to hire more people. The article information, coming from the FDIC, indicated that with the recent large bank closures (failures) - and concerns over future bank runs - the FDIC felt it best to have staffing up to the upcoming task. Normally that wouldn't set off any real red flags, right? Wrong. Hiring a person or twelve isn't that big of a deal - hiring 75% more people? That's big. Yeah, as in for every 4 people working there, they want to hire 3 more. Now. I'd say that's big.

Now you folks know me, and you know that I've had tinfoil under my aluminum foil beanie for quite some time. No question. Part of the reason why is I like the pick-me-up the galvanic action gives my scalp when it rains, but mostly it's 'cause I've lived through what I have. Remember Y2K? I loaded up 20 or 40 more gallons of water and a few more mags - that was my entire 'preparation'. I saw it coming, did research, and found it to be a paper tiger. The only reason I did even that was 'cause I was more concerned with 'stupid people problems' than problems actually caused by Y2K.

What I see coming now isn't a paper tiger. As your friend, I emplore you - get your houses in order now. If nothing else, do your own research, and be completely objective in what you learn. Just because things are the way they are now - and have been for our short lives (anyone born post-WWII is 'short' lived in the grand scheme of things) - doesn't mean that they HAVE to be that way, or can't change RAPIDLY.

One last thing - I love this place. I don't know how to reset my password, so I have to look for it on the rare times I feel compelled to post. But I'm most always here. Not long ago I got to thinking about how long I've been on here....... it's a long time. I started lurking this site before I moved here, and I've been here just over 10 years now. Lots of good folk come, and unfortunately, go. This place is unique in more ways that one. Great folks here, and I'm proud to count myself among y'all.

Kittywhacker and Sarge - gonna go for General tomorrow evening. Should be entertaining.

Bravo
Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 23:02:36 (ZULU)

Bravo...

>"Kittywhacker and Sarge - gonna go for General tomorrow evening. Should be entertaining."<

Good luck!

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 23:18:56 (ZULU)

44.0 grains H4895 in Military new brass

2900-2915 fps in M40A3 Groups sub .33 moa

2800-2825 in M14 groups sub .50 moa

2895-2910 in M24 groups sub .60 moa

These are my results and where max loads in my rifles. Its all about correct powder for the bullet you shoot.

All the loads will beat any factory 175 grain load on planet

The Scenars are a better bullet for long rnage than the 175 SMK. Dont beleive watch us shoot F TR with them. Winners are either 155 Scenars, 155 Bergers or 155 SMKs in every major event I have been at.

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 00:57:15 (ZULU)

Ref: Extreme Long Range

I just finished up an Extreme Long Range Rifle course at Gunsite. It was a great three days! I used my .338LM and am very pleased with the performance of my system. If you've never been to Gunsite I'd recommend it. Cory Trap was our instructor and he did a great job. The weather was nearly perfect with clear skys and temperatures in the '70s.

I learned a bunch to include; I don't want a .50BMG (too loud, too heavy, too much dust and too much recoil)

Kevin R. Mussack (Andys' Dad)
Phoenix, AZ, USA - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 01:17:05 (ZULU)

'lito,

"It's just that most guys don't think of hairdressers when the conversation is about women.

Just wondered what Sigmund Freud would think about that?

Hmmmmmmmmmm?

Or maybe you have some issues with my Rat???"

It was just a joke. I'd try and explain it to you, but I don't think it would do any good.

Get over yourself.

jc - Out

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 05:45:50 (ZULU)

jc: I have a good friend who liked to say "...as long as he doesn't turn out to be a poet or artist someday" about his godson; aka "my boy." That was kinda funny in that he was helping to steer him clear of that. Jokes are funnier when I am the punchline. I tend to wanna punch the perp when my kids are the punchline. Its just me, and about 99.9% of other fathers. This is not about me or any other father getting over himself at all---it is about that protective instinct we have for our children. And a man who fought the way Lito fought for his---well, expect that kind of response in spades. It is nowhere near about him in this.

My useless advice would be to man up and apologize. Your fueling the fire over an insulting attempt at humor is not what I would've expected from you. I really think you are better than that.

Joe M
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 06:49:48 (ZULU)

Howdy,

Has anyone tried out a C-more sight? I was thinking of getting one and coupling it with an Aimpoint or Halo magnifyer. Don't know if the glass would line up. Is the sight stout enough to withstand normal grunt abuse?

my Co told one of my fellow PLs that he wanted him to come up with an Operational Need Statement for a night vision scope that would allow his "snipers" (read can hit a man sized target on a 500m range using an M14) to make 600-800m shots at night. Yall got any recomendations? LOL!

Thanks for the help guys

Mayhem

Mayhem
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 07:59:24 (ZULU)

On economic projections:

In the book "The Wisdom of Crowds", James Surowiecki examines the surprising ability of markets to make predictions. (Click). In addition to the commodities markets, there are markets that deal with other types of predictions. I'll post links.

CDC'
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 10:45:09 (ZULU)

Click for a link to "Intrade".

CDC'
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 10:46:56 (ZULU)

This link is "Tradesports".

CDC'
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 10:49:27 (ZULU)

The last one (click) is "Iowa Electronic Market".

There are two ways to use these markets: If you have knowledge about an upcoming event that is not generally available, use that knowledge to make a profit. Or you can use these markets to check the odds about an upcoming event.

If you have knowledge about a coming scarcity or surplus of a commodity, you can use that knowledge to make big $$ in the commodities markets.

Goddamn insomnia.

CDC'
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 11:00:13 (ZULU)

Mayhem: An easy question! The Raptor 4x will get you there, the 6x will get you well past those ranges. This is a intensifier scope; there are a slew of thermals that are almost as good. I can't recall the name, but if you google "NVEC or Night Vision Equipment Company" you'll find a few websites as well as the fact that some new company now owns them--and their product line is state-of-the-art. They had two thermal scope units as well as the two raptors.

FWIW, the raptor was impressive as hell (both the 4x and the 6x models)---that from a guy who flew with ANVIS-9s!

The raptors have an integral ARMS rail mount too. The 6x power reticle is MILDOT (4x is duplex).

Joe M
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 13:43:20 (ZULU)

Mayhem:

The M14 won't do well. But a good bolt gun, like the M24 or the Mark 13 Mod 0/2/5 with an AN/PVS-22 or AN/PVS-26 UNS mounted on a McCann rail in front of an 3.5-10X40 or better scope (a Schmidt and Bender 4-16X44 would be better), and a PEQ-2 using the narrow beam - not the flood - to illuminate the target will get you to 600-700 yards easily, and on smaller targets than man-size. That's based on experience, not a guess. Of course, that assumes proficiency and training.

Lindy
On The Road, U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 13:54:39 (ZULU)

jc...

>"It was just a joke. I'd try and explain it to you, but I don't think it would do any good.

Get over yourself.

jc - Out"<

Jeez, jc, what I said "was just a joke" so get over your own Goddamned self, asshole.

But that's not what this is really about, and you fuckin well know it. You've been takin' cheap shots at me for a few years, and I didn't give a shit, but when you drag my son into it, you have crossed the friggin line - asshole.

So since you wanna get nasty in public, the public should know what this is really about.

Here's the truth of it.

About two years ago, I had a Remington "Police Folding Stock" w/pistol grip - it was the top folder where the stock came up and lied flat on top of the barrel - it was marked "For Police sale only", and they were pretty hard to get when they were made - and when Clinton's "assault" ban went into effect, Rem stopped making them, cuz it was easy to add one to a standard shotgun and make it a federal violation.

So I had this puppy for a long time, just collecting dust. I got it from a cop, and they were illegal in my state, so I decided to sell it.

"jc" wrote me and said how he had the hots for one "since forever", and I told him that it was in 98% condition (it WAS), I gave him a website where he could see a picture of it and know that it was the one he had the hots for, and I gave him the price - I think it was a buck thirty five, which was cheap for what it was.

So he bought it, and when he gets it, he send me this whimpy whiny e-mail, and says:

"... I got the stock today and it doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy all over, so here's what I want to do - I want to return it to you and get my money back."

What the fuck is "Warm and fuzzy" about a black folding police stock??? They kill people!

If I knew that he wanted "Warm and fuzzy all over", I would have suggested that he spend the money on a hooker!

So (biting my tongue, cuz I hate whimps, whiners, and slime balls), I tell him that I didn't sell it on an inspection basis - I sold it outright... it was what I said it was, and in the condition I described, so he "owned it", and was free to do what ever he wanted to do with it, including selling it to someone else, but I wasn't taking it back.

Well, he sent me some ugly e-mails, and made some nasty posts on the roster, and has taken cheap shots at me on the roster ever since.

I never said anything about it or called him on it, because it was penny baby shit, and I didn't much give a shit, cuz he's just a little whiner.

but taking shots at my son crosses the fucking line - big time.

So, jc, get over your own whimpy, whining useless scum sucking self.

And that's the way it is....

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 15:52:30 (ZULU)

Mayhem - You will have trouble with the M14 at those ranges day or night as the weapon can become fragile and it will not hold its zero well under alot of circumstances. It is also not the most accurate of weapon systems as you have it in your unit. Too make it more accurate is to make it even more fragile. One of the big issues hitting at long range at night is reading the wind. If you can't read the wind the scope will do you no good. Lindy has the right answer, I just don't like the McCAnn or the Remington base due to the rail acting as a torque bar and it will change the weapon's zero. This is due to the pressure on the front of the bar being transferred and magnified by the leverage onto the four itty bitty screws holding the base onto the weapon receiver. We have had that problem since day one. The students can engage targets to 800 meters with the 24 and our set up, with a simple transition from day to night. If they can hit it during the day they can hit it at night.

I am afraid that your commander is asking a bit much with what you have and what you can get. If you ar enot presently authorized the M24, then you should start getting some within the next couple of years as the weapons are traded out with the M110 debacle. I would look at the LaRue method of mounting the 22 or 26 as the mounting bar can be removed and it does not raise the head that high off the weapon. One word of advice, if you go the M14 with something like the Raptor, which is a fine scope you just have to remove your day optic which asking Murphy to be Murphy, then use your non shooting eye to aim instead of building up you stock so high it is useless during the day. This gives the added advantage of not having your dominate eye go night blind after looking through the NVD.

Joe M. - If anything is made by ARMs I stay away. :)

Kevin M. - I would take a .338 over a .50 anyday of the week. How goes life?

Mike M. - Dam that is a alot of Ms. :) You should know that the military is slow as molassas when it comes to changing bullets and going up in weight is prefered to going down in weight.

Dam 'Lito! Blood Pressure Bro!!! Watch your ticker, you got a youngen under wing now.

Hold Hard guys and stay safe.

Rick

Rick B.
Fayetteville, NC, USA - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 16:26:48 (ZULU)

Dang, don't mess with Lito, if he can beat the government red tape bull crap he can beat you (you being anyone). I am in awe of the man as I tip my hat off to him.

Darrren
East Bay, CA, USA - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 16:31:34 (ZULU)

re: night vision

local vendor handles recent thermal NV products by Elcan - Armament Technology.

http://www.armament.com/thermal_weapon_sights.htm

The ELCAN SpecterIR series is a revolutionary breakthrough in the world of affordable Thermal Weapon Sights for small arms, featuring significant reduction in size, weight and cost.

Utilizing uncooled microbolometer technology, the Specter series of thermal devices are completely passive infared weapon sighting systems which allow users to identify the heat signatures of individuals or objects; day or night and in rain, fog and smoke.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 16:44:31 (ZULU)

Thermal imagery country!

OK, so someone explain this to me.... and don't ask me how I know this.

If a fellow is sitting in his truck on a cold evening, watching out the window - then chooses to 'look at' a 'warm object' with his thermal, all he sees is the black (cold) of the glass. It wasn't just that one side either, black on all the glass all the way around.

(That part made sense to 'the fellow')

But then when it was mentioned that mirrors reflected heat signatures, said fellow had to go and try it himself. He put a candle beside the bath tub, and looked at it (behind him a few feet at about 160 degrees) with the thermal via the bathroom mirror - and saw the reflection of the flame big and bright!

So what is it about glass - does it always reflect but not transmit? If glass always reflected, wouldn't he have seen his own signature when trying to look through the truck window (which didn't happen)?

JC - I'd take Patron Joe's advice. I asked about what started your passive-agressive comments a LONG time ago. They were, and are, obvious. I've been told to "not take myself so seriously" and "get over myself" too - both times were from someone with a passive-agressive attitude towards expressing old animosity. I'd recommend - as Joe said - manning up. One way or the other. Passive-agressive is little girl games.

Andy's Dad, glad to know Cory is still doing well, and teaching that course still! Great guy there, and glad you had a blast.

Patron Mike, did the extra 100 to 140 fps with the Scenar versus the 175 SMK make enough difference "out there" to warrant a change-over? I don't have data on hand, but your 2800 fps sounded real close for my attempts too.... I figured since I was pushing the 175 at 2685 fps, that little bit of extra velocity wouldn't have made it worth changing. I'm more than willing to learn though. For someone pushing the Scenar at 2900+ fps, I could certainly see it being a real winner.

Master Rick insults both my beloved '14 and my 50 all in one post! You know what though, I'm just DANGED GLAD you're posting here again. Really. Just to fuel the fire, I've thought mighty hard about trading off the AR50 for an AR338, and believe it or not I've rigorously cleaned and heavily oiled the '14, to be put into deep storage awaiting the day my boy will be big enough to shoulder her. I found out the hard way that my eyes 'fuzz out' a camoflaged target past 300 to 400 too much. High contrast targets are still QED, but until I can talk the zombies into wearing prison jumpsuits, I'm making the equipment conform to the capabilities of my eyes instead of vice versa. Funny thing, same course of fire gives me high into the expert rating scores on high-contrast targets, but just below expert on camo'ed targets - 95% of the difference being past 300. BAH.

Patron Kittywhacker - got the news today that I had to provide 2 forms of ID for the test. For me, that's cake. How does one provide ID for an 11 year old kid? I'm gonna bring his birth certificate (no pic) and his membership card in The Nation (no pic) and see where it goes. Kids his age don't have picture IDs. Worse turns to worst, there's a fellow in the club willing to vouch he's my kid.....

Bravo
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 19:35:13 (ZULU)

Bravo,

Does your kid have a Baptism Certificate? My sister used hers to get her drivers permit when we couldn't find a certified birth certificate. It was pretty ratty but it had the priests name and a seal. The little old lady in tennis shoes (who spent 23 years in the same office) said it was good to go an legal.

If it's and "official" thing, the issuing agency will have a list of accepted documents. Sometimes an affidavit will do.

Trajan

Trajan Aurelius
East Bay, Kalifornya, USA !!! - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 19:55:37 (ZULU)

Bravo,

Fire Service thermal imagers don't have parings to image intensifiers...combat thermals do. Very interesting comparison.

also...

My daughter has had a valid passport since right after she was born. When we speak next, ask me why.

medicjim
Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 20:20:38 (ZULU)

'lito,

Name calling, distortion of facts, and outright lies, the sure sign of a ..., well, let's not even go there.

You've obviously forgotten the post I made congratulating you on winning your court battle.

And finally, I wonder how you would act if you weren't hiding behind a keyboard. Maybe one day we'll find out. I'm looking forward to that.

jc - finished with this exchange.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 21:34:40 (ZULU)

>"'lito,

Name calling, distortion of facts, and outright lies, the sure sign of a ..., well, let's not even go there.

You've obviously forgotten the post I made congratulating you on winning your court battle.

And finally, I wonder how you would act if you weren't hiding behind a keyboard. Maybe one day we'll find out. I'm looking forward to that.

jc - finished with this exchange."<

---

No distortions - just exactly as it happened.

Yeah, you congratulated me, then you said my son might be a hairdresser. A 16 year old kid is an easy target - especially when he can't defend himself - you're a real class act (behind "your keyboard")....

And I'm not hiding behind a keyboard or anything else - you wanna know where I live, it's Wethersfield Connecticut - come on up some time, and I'll say the same to your face - and more.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 23:16:41 (ZULU)

Bravo, the 155 Scenar and 175 SMK have same BC so any increase in velocity is an improvement.

Rick, Lapu actually has factory loads with this round but velocity is just over 2800fps. The H4895 is the powder for the mag length stuff and the results where five rounds across chrongrapgh. All loads where hand weighed grain by grain. The trick the 155 Scenar does is have long assed bullet with more open space in tip. It is longer than a 175SMK. It requires a 1x12 or faster twist to work right and thats a reason most Palma shooters dont use it. Now us 308 Tactical and 308 F TR guys love it.

Paul and Jerry, your both good guys, I know both well, and its time to shake hands and move on. This is a stupid net msiunderstanding and if you two where together face to face this would not have happened. Drop the problem and make up.

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 00:41:40 (ZULU)

re: thermal and mirrors

Don't know if this is the detail you were looking for, but keep in mind a "real" mirror works because of a layer of aluminum or silver is reflecting the light, not because there is glass in it. Front-surface mirrors have the reflective layer unprotected by any intervening glass

Really old mirrors don't even have any glass at all, just a really well polished piece of metal.

purpose-fabricated mirrors are also not normally made using automobile glass formulations.

A cursory search suggests that automobile glass is designed to reduce passage of infrared frequencies. (That would reduce greenhouse effects in motor vehicles). If that is indeed the case it would make it difficult to use a thermal (infrared) sight

on the other side of intervening automobile glass due to IR attenuation.

http://www.igacertification.org/mod01/mod01.php

"Certain materials are added to the glass batch to give the glass absorbing properties to fight the harmful affects of ultraviolet and infrared light. Metallic coatings (similar to those mentioned under Heated Glass) can be applied to one of the surfaces that are laminated inside a windshield. This coating reflects the heat out of the vehicle."

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 00:56:12 (ZULU)

Bravo - Yeah, I kinda cringed when I made that post but since I shot the M14 and M21 rather extensively figured you would not take it as a cheap shot. Same with the .50, been shooting different sniper versions since 1985 and kinda got a little bit of background. My eyes are doing the same thing. I am getting to really hate getting old. Body aches, everything thins our but your belly, takes an extra 20 minutes in the morning to get things functioning after a long hot shower and stretching exercises. But heck, it is better than the alternative.

Mike - Some of the arguments are penetration and terminal ballistics at range. I don't have any data so can not support nor dissuade any of those concerns. Since I have been unable to dissuade any stupid decisions lately, I have been wondering about my ability to talk sense into military brass. Will plug on for a bit longer, am eligible to retire in 1 year and 8 months. Will see what happens between now and then. Maybe I will go into steady woodworking making fun yard crafts. :)

Have fun guys and play nice.

Hold Hard and Stay safe!!

Rick

Rick B.
Fayetteville, NC, USA - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 01:53:17 (ZULU)

OK, now it's "eye" country...I have a question. I'm scheduled for cataract surgery (my "shooting" eye, of course). I understand that the artifical lense inserted in place of the clouded one is a "fixed focal length", normally "infinity", which I believe is from about 15' on out. Not a real problem with a scope sight, but.... I don't know about "electrodot" sights, and I'm pretty sure it won't work with normal irons...like rifle or handgun....without corrective lenses... I've been told I'll need a "reading" (farsighted" correction to see up close.

There's enough old f**** out there that've had this done or know someone who had this done, so here's the question....

I'm thinking that a corrective lens with "no correction" in the center, a "reading" correction in the lower part, and a "front sight" correction in the upper left corner (right eye) will be necessary.

Anyone out there had experience with this "aging process correction" and if so, can make any recommendations, including an optical lab that can to this sort of gyration with a corrective lense? (my left eye so far is "normal"... albiet a bit nearsighted so my glasses will be really weird.... which is OK so long as I can see the sights and the target?!)

Thanks from the "barely far side of 60".

SteveinButte
Butte, Montaaaana, USA - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 02:46:32 (ZULU)

Steve-

You are correct that most lens replacement surgeries go with a single power lens that will give you best clarity at a single focus point.

There are some intra ocular lenses on the market right now that are multifocal (that gives some functional distance and near vision)- but I haven't had any patients with them who are shooters, so I can't give you any good data on how precise they are. Shooters tend to be much more picky about exact focus than the rest of the population.

While it may be possible to get glasses lenses like you described ('Lito??) they would most likely be somewhere north of Schmidt and Bender prices. One thought would be to get a "double d" bifocal that has a bifocal on the bottom and one on the top- they only make them with identical focal lengths on top and bottom, so you'd most likely have to pick something between reading length and front sight length. It wouldn't be perfect for either- but just might be good enough.

Another option might be fresnel lenses (they are plastic and stick-on) for either the shooting part or the reading part. These don't have the same optical clarity as a normal ground-in bifocal, but you can put them wherever you want on your glasses lens.

FYI- I'm a practicing eye doc and 'the most feared man in P-cola (TM)'. Just ask any prospective Student Naval Aviator.

Joe M. I finally put that aimpoint on an AR this week. It workee great. Thanks again.

Doc Mac
Cradle of Naval Aviation, FL, - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 04:22:03 (ZULU)

Doc Mac,

What about a progressive lens with a bifocal section at the top of the lens? Anybody doing anything like that? Is that even possible?

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 05:06:11 (ZULU)

Well, Blue Cross SUCKS! They won't pay for total disc replacement surgery, but they will pay for spinal fusion.

Any of you had your spine fused? How long would I expect to be "down" before I can resume normal activities? (Shooting, messing with horses, etc.) My Dr. is telling me one thing, but I'm hearing other things from family members.

What kinda mobility limitations would I have from having my L1 fused?

I'm just wondering whether I should wait until I can barely walk to have it done, or go ahead and get it done. Any advise appreciated. Being crippled SUCKS!

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 07:20:11 (ZULU)

Doc Mac: Huh? Ya know, I've forgotten about the aimpoint...but never mind that--you are home! i may have missed that little bit of news somewhere. Congrats! And, my eyes are sucking worserer these days...

IR reflection: First noted in my bay window while checking thermal leaks about the hacienda. The first cool night of the end of summer hit the high thirties, and the pool was vividly reflected in the pane of glass. No mirrors, and not too much additives in the glass---but a strong IR signature with detail was reflected. At that time, i realized that the sun, in fact, could be reflected off of broken glass in that Waco documentary (Canadian a/c was filming the assault with an IR camera). That one piece of evidence may not be as damning as the producers had stated--but the rest of it sure as hell was.

Bravo: I'm 6 of 8 over 11 days or about 20 hours of my time!

Joe M
Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 07:22:53 (ZULU)

Travis,

My Angel has been living with multible compound compression fractures in L3 and L4,herniated disks from a domestic type altercation for about 4 yrs now.She was thrown into a slide by patio door frame and got the center beam in the back.(No,it wasnt me.Aint the type.)It took the "Experts" 3 months for them to diagnose why she hurt.

She also found out too that she has Degenerative Disk Disease.Her spine is collasping.Last doc we talked to was such a total jackass,We walked out...

I was under the impression we were goin in for a consultation for sugery,He glanced her way and "Your clear to go to Work as soon as I sign your paper so hand it over"....Um,Doc? Dont you normally examine a patient or read their charts first ?...Oh yeah.(Red Flag here)

So he puts the x rays up...does a few grunts and Hmmms..Then has her do the bends and walk tiptoe/heels and as she walks by him,He just nails her in the Siatic(sp?)so hard she drops to her knees...(Big Red flag)

I came off my chair...His explanition was,Sometimes we need to put the patient in pain to find out whats wrong.He was informed if he did it again he was gonna feel real pain.

It was at that point he concluded she needed 4 point stabilization,front and rear of the spine as well as left and right sides.

And she needed to do it ASAP as he was droppin her insurance as he felt they didnt pay him what he felt he was worth.Plus in the same breath he also says "Contrary to what we may have heard he has never crippled,maimed or disfigured anyone"(Big Red Flag and Alarm bells)and her recovery time would be anywhere from 2-3 weeks to a month and a half...

It was at that point I informed him that it was my opinon whatever the insurance company paid him.... was too much.And there was NO WAY he was gonna be the Doc that cuts her. We grabbed her med records and left.

Wether its good or bad she still hasnt had the surgery.That doc visit was 3 years ago.She has her good and bad days.Some days she needs to chew on a Vike,most days a Tramadol and Cyclobenzaprine(Flexorall?)does the trick.

We have been having a hard time findin a doc that will do more than just push pills and talk about fusing her spine.Disc replacement is an option they dont want to talk about in her case.And she doesnt want rods in her body. So its watch what she does,and chew on a painkiller when she overdoes it.

Seriously...Good Luck

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 10:07:51 (ZULU)

UnDude...

The 155 Scenar has a BC that is higher than the 175 SMK, and approaches the 190 SMK, and it is almost as long as the 190 SMK.

It can be shot out of a 12" barrel, but it is marginal and sometimes fails at looong range - it really shines out of a 10" barrel.

SteveinButte...

By the time you have cats (assuming that they are not congenital or traumatic), your eye lenses are already ridged so having close/far focus is a long ago memory. If you are just on the far side of 60, then near/far focus was what - 15 or 20 years ago??

If the implants are done right, your irises will still work, so you will have increased depth of field on bright days... just like you always had.

Electro-dot sights project the dot at infinity, so you will have no problem using them, same with scope sights - the cross hairs are at infinity (if properly adjusted).

For normal iron sights, you will see the irons as a bit fuzzy, but that is the same as it is for everybody - no one can focus on iron sights and a far off target at the same time... but there are pin-hole glasses that even "normal" people use to make the sights and target sharp at the same time - and they will work for you.

As to "bifocal implants - doooon't do it. It is voodoo consumerism at it's worst.

Same with progressive glasses - they are "cute" for people that are vain and don't want to be seen in "yucky bifocals" but by their very design, introduce a LOT of astigmatism, and as Martha says, "... and that's a bad thing!!".

What you want (as a shooter) are bifocals with the top at infinity, and the "line" just below (about 5 to 8 degrees) the straight forward axis. This way, you can aim a pistol looking straight ahead, and slightly rock your head back and instantly see the iron sights. With this type of bifocals, you will be able to use irons better than regular guys without bifocals.

In the Cat eye, you want a "0" correction in the top, and a +1.25 diopter for the bottom, and for the non cat eye, you want the normal correction for the top, and add +1.25 for the bottom.

These will make good shooting glasses, but reading will be a bit of a chore. For "normal" street glasses, you want the upper corrections like above, and the lower to have a +2 diopter (give or take, as is comfortable for reading).

Eye problems... back and spine problems... I've been kicking around the medical world for some 35+ years and my thoughts on it are you take your life in your hands when you go to the doctors - like lawyers, most are just going through the motions these days.

There are some good ones, but the good ones will tell you that most of them are bums.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 12:34:36 (ZULU)

Catshooter wrote "There are some good ones, but the good ones will tell you that most of them are bums."

Ding...shooter on, center mass hit, send another.

medicjim
Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 13:46:55 (ZULU)

DocMac and 'Lito: Just want y'all to know how much I value your advice.... gettin' old sucks but the alternative sucketh moreso!

Don't know if my eye doc is a shooter or not (I suspect not, at least not at the level y'all are), so this'll give me some info to lay on him and/or the lab that does the glasses.

Thanks again,

SteveinButte

SteveinButte
Butte, Montana, USA - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 14:06:37 (ZULU)

Catman, the BC for the 155 Scenars runs exactly equal to the 175SMK when shot at 1000 yards for me. I quit believing advertised BC's long ago/ LOL

I should have said 1x12 twist for 28-30" bbls but for shorter 20-24 I like a 1x11.27 or faster

Undude/Mike

Mike Miller
Ca, - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 15:44:33 (ZULU)

Trajan, turns out I didn't need it after all - they took his birth certificate and enrollment card without problem. Not that it did any good, but at least he knows he has to study harder now (GRIN). Unfortunately, I know I need to study harder too. Got the technician with ease, but screwed the pooch by just a touch on the general. The on-line practice tests are NOT identical! Eh, there's always next month.

Jim, I ought to call here soon anyway - it appears there's a very good likelyhood I'm gonna start into your profession in August. What the heck, sleep is over-rated anyway. If I can't get a medic to join the group, guess I'm elected to become one. The down side is that I've got to run 48 hours per month or else they'll boot me off the bam-you-lance. I've got a feeling that's gonna suck.

Patron Mike, I didn't/don't see that any MV improvement would be better always, assuming equal BCs. After all, elevation is a function of MV and BC, but wind drift is a function of mass and time of flight. Or to put it another way, if a 150 and a 190 both have the same BC, and the same MV, the 190 will be blown off course less than the 150. I was just wondering where the 'no loss on wind calls' velocity came in with the Scenar, hanging in the air less time to be blown around less. I'll admit I'm impressed with the bullet - anything that hollow IS impressive! But I figured since I'm better at ranging than I am wind doping, I need all the help I can get in that category. If it weren't for my mag length restriction, I'd seat those puppies out and drive 'em as hard as the oprod would allow. As it is, I just run the 6.5 bullets in a boltgun instead (GRIN). I call the wind much better with them.

But really, I wonder if the FN SPR would be a stick to run those Scenars through - I know Joe's was a 1:12, but what are they now? At the velocities you're running them out of a boltgun, they wouldn't be very far at all behind my 6.5......

Master Rick, I guess the good side is that I could swap the AR50 off for an AR338, and hopefully get enough extra to pay for a big 'ol bunch of components...... but what would I do without APIT? HA! Since you wrote about the "M110 debacle", I can't really claim unjustness (LOL!) You know, the funny thing is, the longer I live and shoot, the more right you are HA! DOUBLE HA! You've been a tremendous help to me, and that's a fact!

Bravo
Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 16:01:12 (ZULU)

•SteveinButte: You can take what Catshooter said to the bank. I had cataract surgery on both eyes last year. I’m on the far side of 70. I use glasses called Progressive, No line multi-focal lens. Progressive lenses allow a greater range a vision from far away to close up and everything in between without the visible lines of bifocals or trifocals. Just a few dollars more than bifocals. I can shoot a scope with or without glasses and little or no difference in group size. I do wear glasses when shooting a pistol and don’t notice the glasses.

On another subject I got this in an email. If you have seen it disregard. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/08/gingrich/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

HDR
OK, - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 16:27:40 (ZULU)

Stan good luck I gave you my findings from firing a few bullets. 4500 155 Scenars alone last year. So far 3000 Scenars this year. I am happy. You be happy also. You making it to F TR Nationals this year? This year I have to shoot against Tubb. I will be there and maybe we can discuss this further over beers?

Undude/Mike

Mike Miller
Ca, - Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 18:07:31 (ZULU)

"I am happy. You be happy also."

Now that says it all. Obviously 100+ fps is more than enough! I guess that's what I get for not pushing further when I was playing with 'em. So where do you buy the Scenars at a decent price?

My last order of Lapua brass was what I consider a 'decent' deal - 1500 pieces for 600FRN delivered. My guess is that those days are now gone.

My guess is that I won't be able to get much of anywhere out of state, with the exception of the trip to BobbyWorld. The Appleseed folks hit me up to be an instructor for them, and at first I politely declined. Just can't spend that much time away from home. But they re-offered later, with a "just do what you can" ;-)

Man, I wish I could retire. But I'm good for the beer when we hook up next! Missed you at SHOT......

I gotta crawl back under some cover. I've posted more in the last couple of days than I have the previous year I think.

Bravo
Thursday, April 10, 2008, at 20:49:14 (ZULU)

Mike:

Who loads your ammunition? (That's a lot of time). Neck sizing or full-length?

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 00:21:04 (ZULU)

This is for Mr. Lito. seems he could us a laugh. Thanks for a great site folks. You have my Greatest respect, Cheers

Toilet Cleaning Instructions:

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids. You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a 'power-wash' and rinse '.

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where it will dry itself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.

Sincerely, The Dog

George Daly
Dickson, Tn., USof A - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 02:14:17 (ZULU)

Mike, just wondering what your load receipt is for the 155 Scenars you shoot. Would you be willing to divulge it?

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 03:21:07 (ZULU)

Unpat,

Yeah, I met a lot of total douchebags in my search for a good back Dr.. Most just want a copay. One asshole expected me to come in for an office visit every time I needed a refill for anti-inflammitories. What a dick.

My Dr. told me that the disc replacement, if I did it out of pocket, would cost me $10,000. I looked in my pocket, and there damn sure wasn't ten grand in there!

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 04:46:23 (ZULU)

I received an email, yesterday, from an old acquaintance that is currently working for Blackwater. He's a doctor, and is the WPPS director in Baghdad. Asking me if there was an opening here in Kabul at Armorgroup. I passed on the request, and you'd have thought I'd announced the discovery of the Holy Grail. Got another one, this morning. AG was on him by the end of the day (that's unheard of in the corporate world), but he turned it down because they were offering a PA position, and he feels it is not "professionally a good idea". What I've learned, and the point I'm making, is that if you are, or know anyone that is a current PA, or a currently licensed EMT (IV, all that), we are woefully short. Just FYI.

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 07:48:01 (ZULU)

"My Dr. told me that the disc replacement, if I did it out of pocket, would cost me $10,000. I looked in my pocket, and there damn sure wasn't ten grand in there!"

Here either. When the one doc(differant one) said it wasnt an option for her to have disk replacement...I knew better than to toss a number out there. If it wasnt laughed at...it would have been tripled.Just because they can and they got ya. And throwin out too big a number leaves ya wide open lookin desperate and playin right into their game of how much are ya willing to pay.

Doc also didnt clarify why it wasnt an option...bone deteriation,or skill level or insurance money.Seems like as soon as she gets the MRI's,X Rays,and EMG's done for one doc,he just writes a script for drugs and he passes her off to another...only go thru it all over again.

One good thing,since she lost her Social Security Eligibility hearing we dont need to see so many "Medical Experts" now.It was pretty crazy there for awhile.Crisscrossin town 35 times in 2weeks.Physical Therapy,Acupuncture,Chiropracters...You name it.They wanted her to do it.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 08:21:51 (ZULU)

I went to one physical therapist that was about as dumb as possible. I weigh about 250, and have lower back and hip problems, as well as crunchy knees. One of my complaints is pain from climbing stairs. Her dumb ass tried to get me to do SQUATS to fix it!

Some women are absolutely worthless with their clothes on!

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 09:20:39 (ZULU)

George...

Thanks - Ruggus Rattus and I cracked up this morning. He is into "Cat" stuff (I can't imagine where he gets it). He finds all the "Cat things" on Utube and keeps us in stitches.

Shooting Trap instructions...

1 - Load shotgun with appropriate shotshells.

2 - Take clay pigeon thrower and put tuna fish on the end of it.

3 - When Cat gets the tuna...

4 - ... Yell, "PULL!"

---

Trav...

>"Most just want a copay. One asshole expected me to come in for an office visit every time I needed a refill for anti-inflammatories. What a dick."<

I had a Dermatologist like that once - I had a rash on my skin, and he said it was from an allergy to a "normal" skin flora... so he would have me come in every month to "check it", and write me a script for a teeny tiny micro-sized tube of goop... $140 for the visit (not counting the goop)! I was self insured at the time :(.

After some four years of this shit, I started smelling a rat. I think the new Porsche outside the office was the first clue.

I did some research on it and found out that it was not a normal "flora" but a non-normal fungus that he was just keeping at bay with minimum medications to milk the shit out of... I mean, hell, the Porsche had to be paid for, right?

So I got someone at my eye clinic to write me a script for 800 pounds of "goop", and got rid if it in 6 months.

Bastards all!!

---

As to your comment... >"Some women are absolutely worthless with their clothes on!"<

There are a lot of women that are absolutely worthless with their clothes OFF, too!!! Take my word for it - I have married more than my share :(((((

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 12:01:49 (ZULU)

"While it may be possible to get glasses lenses like you described ('Lito??) they would most likely be somewhere north of Schmidt and Bender prices. One thought would be to get a "double d" bifocal that has a bifocal on the bottom and one on the top- they only make them with identical focal lengths on top and bottom, so you'd most likely have to pick something between reading length and front sight length. It wouldn't be perfect for either- but just might be good enough." Doc Mac

To the contrary, I've got a pair of specs by AO Safety with at +1.5 up top, distance vision in the middle and +2.25 on the bottom. They're called mechanics glasses and there is a limit to how far apart the two different prescriptions can be. I've been getting these for several years now, paid for the first sets myself-not bad at the prices AO charges. The company paid for the most recent set.

WR Moore
Friday, April 11, 2008, at 12:40:08 (ZULU)

WR...

>"with at +1.5 up top, distance vision in the middle and +2.25 on the bottom."<

That sounds like a great "working" combination.

Where did you get them.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 13:15:24 (ZULU)

WR... re. "mechanic's glasses" at AO Safety. I looked up their website and they don't list anything called "mechanic's glasses"... is there another name, or can you give me their "address" so's I can look it up? I'll have to wait until I "recover" from the procedure to know exactly what corrections will be needed, but the "front sight" and "reading" corrections shouldn't be very far apart.... sounds like what you have is right in the ballpark. (and I also do "mechanic" things...looking "up" at something close with regular bifocals no workee...have to look over the top of the lens.)

Thanks!

SteveinButte
Butte, MT, USA - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 13:53:05 (ZULU)

Charles Hunt wrote "What I've learned, and the point I'm making, is that if you are, or know anyone that is a current PA, or a currently licensed EMT (IV, all that), we are woefully short."

Err... would you email me the details on how to get more info, pay rate, commitment, job detail... I might be able to match the job with some serious hard core medics that know GSW and trauma. The kinda folks you'd want backing you up. Roster mail has been working for me lately. - Thanks.

medicjim
Friday, April 11, 2008, at 15:04:05 (ZULU)

www.aosafety.com is a large optical company specializing in prescription safety glasses for industry. They've got offices in most major (and some flyspeck) cities. My employer springs for new safety glasses each prescription change along with CFR required spares. They will make specs for anyone, finding their offices may take a bit of effort. Try searching "AO Safety", the website or the customer service number: 800-928-2828.

"Mechanics glasses" is the description of the lens grind, not a style of frame. It's what the optician that services our account terms the bifocal top & bottom, distance in the middle lens grind. If you look over the order forms, you'll see a wide variety of possible correction combinations. You will need a recent prescription. There are other safety glasses purveyors out there who can probably do the same thing.

'Lito, kinda wish I'd gone with +1.25 up top, the sights are crystal clear, the targets kinda blurry-more than "kinda" at longer ranges. Fired my last pistol qual without corrective lenses at all. Cleaned the course:)))

WR Moore
Friday, April 11, 2008, at 17:08:57 (ZULU)

Darren, loads are different depending on weapon.

For mag length I usually run around 44.0 H4895

For long throats and long single loaded 2.92-2.95" to just touch lands, I run around 46 grains of Varget

Catman, it was once said that no matter how good looking the single woman is there is always some dude damm glad to be rid of her.

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 21:40:46 (ZULU)

UnDudeski...

>"Catman, it was once said that no matter how good looking the single woman is, there is always some dude damn glad to be rid of her."<

You got that right.

I once had a poster to that effect - a real hottie in a "G string" bikini, with a line on the bottom that said something like:

"No matter how much you want her, there some poor guy that wants to get rid of her twice as much!

HA! - ain't that the truth!! Double HA!!

I tried to trade the last wifie for a shotgun and got no takers.

So I tried to sell her...

... started at $15,000, and worked my way down to .25 cents, and I still got no takers.

I can't imagine why. I mean any prospective buyer was getting a real deal by the pound, as she had a LOT more of them than when I first met her.

And she was hardly used at all - I mean she did nothing in the house, never went to work, and she had a headache for 15 years.

She had a good sense of direction... I tried to get rid of her by driving off from a gas station when she went to the little girls room, and she found her way home...

... from Ethiopia!!

I finely had to pay a lawyer to get rid of her - and she was still a pain in the ass for ten more years!

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Friday, April 11, 2008, at 21:46:34 (ZULU)

Damn I'm going to have to teach the neighbors 12 year old how to reload for me or something. I'm at the bench almost every week night it seems LOL. It must mean I'm sending alot of lead down range on the weekends so that's a good thing.

On the Kowa scopes that were mentioned recently- I'm getting back into high power again and I'll be forking out some money for one soon. I'm expecting it to be a Kowa anyway only because they are by far the most popular choice from what I see in that sport. I might take a look at that Pentax 'lito mentioned awhile back with the big eyepiece. The Kowa TSN 821M I'm looking at is $650 and the 27X fixed eyepiece is $180 from Creedmoor.

Are any of you guys looking to buy a new Nightforce scope right now? I can get you one for one hundred dollars off of regular internet selling prices. Any model they make shipped right to your door from the factory. One scope one time deal for a gift cert I won at last years Nor Cal match. You can contact me at- marc soulie at yahoo dot com

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Saturday, April 12, 2008, at 00:58:44 (ZULU)

MarcS,

Try Jim Owens at http://www.jarheadtop.com/

He usually has better pricing than most places, and he's a pretty nice guy as well.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Saturday, April 12, 2008, at 04:45:37 (ZULU)

'Lito-if it's the poster I remember, the caption is: "Somewhere in the world is some guy who's sick of her shit."

WR Moore
Saturday, April 12, 2008, at 11:44:16 (ZULU)

WR...

Yeah... I think that's the one!

She was one of God's best efforts (anatomically speaking)... but I found out early to avoid women like that.

Something I learned about trophys (women and critters)...

... trophies are expensive to find, and if you find one, they are even more expensive to mount!

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Saturday, April 12, 2008, at 12:56:27 (ZULU)

Isn't this the way the godzilla movie started?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,350870,00.html

Wes, got anything bigger than a .338? <g>

medicjim
Saturday, April 12, 2008, at 14:31:44 (ZULU)

'Lito and Unpat,

As if Dr. copay wasn't enough of a dick, just in general, the bastard was ALWAYS a minimum of one and a half hours late. First thing in the morning, or whenever, I could check in, run across the street to Wendy's, screw a nurse, read 2 magazinesw, shoe a horse, take a nap, ans STILL have to sit and wait!

'Lito,

You Bastard! Why did you turn the one that's useless with the clothes OFF loose again? I married her big ass! I bet you catch and release Gar and Carp, too, ya bastard!

I feel like a Yuppie with a Harley. She's got low miles, I just never feel like riding her.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 09:40:53 (ZULU)

Click my name. Someone needs an ass whoopin' over this!

Travis Morgan
Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 09:59:18 (ZULU)

Travis,

You an 'Lito didnt corner the market on the "Naked and Useless" ones...Think every guy has dated at least one.Seems to be as much a right of passage,as your first beer.

Orherwise how would we know when we found a good one.

"I could check in, run across the street to Wendy's, screw a nurse, read 2 magazinesw, shoe a horse, take a nap, ans STILL have to sit and wait!"

You sure do get alot accomplished in an hour and a half...Send the doc a bill for your time,or request a discount to make up the differance.

I would only have time enough for 2 of those things you listed...if one of them was a quick nap.....LOL,but then again I am a slow......reader.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 11:31:57 (ZULU)

Trijicon ACOG Sight System Are they worth the the money? I've got a DPMS 308 That i'm needing optics for.

Gary Kaney
N.W., ILL, - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 12:27:01 (ZULU)

Trav...

I'm glad you have insomnia - I crack up each morning when I read your stuff.

---

UnPat...

What's this "... dating at least one" crap.

I've dated them ALL...

... and I was dumb enough to let the few that were real wind up toys (with their own fur lined handcuffs) get away :(((

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 15:31:18 (ZULU)

I wrote this on another website, but I thought I'd drag it oveer here for some of you new~ish loaders.

This guy was having problems understand why shoulder bump body dies are really FL size dies without necks.

---

>"OK... trying to sort all the things I know/have heard on the subject. Does mean there is no advantage to using fire formed brass, or does "die that is properly made to work with the chamber in question" mean dies which are tailored to the exact dimensions of a specific chamber? How do competition dies fit this scenario?"<

You are making this far more complicated then it has to be.

So I'm gonna start from the beginning.

Fire formed brass is better than new brass. It fits the chamber within a few thou all over.

It was once believed that brass MUST be fire formed to achieve maximum accuracy - there is still some truth to this, but it has been learned that maybe 95%+ of accuracy comes from the throat, barrel and case.

Absolutely outstanding groups have been shot with new (unfired) brass, so it is arguable that cases must be fire formed for best accuracy (though it does eliminate one more bit of slop).

Now, the fly in the ointment - cases expand when fired, and then contract a few thou, called "spring back". The actual amount depends on the state of anneal, the thickness of the section (body wall or neck).

Also, the action, bolt, and ring also stretch each time the gun is fired, so the case "springs back" a little less each time, until it is a tight fit in the chamber.

With some case designs, they never get tight, and never need bumping the shoulder... and some cases are more susceptible to it, especially when pressures are running in the mid 60's.

At one time in benchrest, this was the most desired state of a case... to keep it a "crush fit" because it meant there was no play at all, but that was back in the days of "The smallest group won".

These days, BR shooters don't stress the absolutely smallest group, it is the "Aggregate" that wins. So you can shoot one smallest group, and a bunch of dogs, and in the past you would have won the gold for the day, now you go home with doodley squat.

BR shooters will judge the wind and mirage conditions, and may fire the whole string in fairly rapid succession, when the condx meet their approval.

To be able to do this, the cases MUST be able to be chambered without any resistance that would break the string of shots, or (God forbid) cause the rifle to be moved in the bags - so an effort to open or close the bolt is not acceptable.

So it works like this - snug cases remove the last bit of slop, but may slow down loading and unloading.

Varmint shooters like snug cases, because when they are snug, case growth is at a minimum... BR shooters like their case to have a few thou around the case for ease of loading and unloading.

Each time you move the shoulder (and reduce the body diameter), by sizing with a FL or "body die", there will be an initial stage of stretch of the case until it gets back into it "happy fit stage"

Now, when/(if) the gets too tight a fit for your use, you have the choice of tossing it in the trash, or using a FL/Body die to start the cycle all over again.

Also keep in mind that NO sizing die will match your case/chamber exactly, so when you think you are just moving the shoulder back a few thou, you are actually moving some of the shoulder back many thou, and you may be reshaping the shoulder/body junction, or the neck/shoulder junction... and all of these parts of the case must go back into place on the next firing.

I have 7 high quality .223 rifles, and the fired cases from them are enough different that I can hold them in my hand and see differences in the shoulders and neck junctions. No die can just bump the shoulders on all of them - that's why a body die brings the case back to minimum dimensions to start all over again.

I hope that this clears some of this stuff up for you.

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 15:40:19 (ZULU)

on case sizing:

(This doesn't seem to contradict anything 'Lito is saying)

Bart Bobbitt, a very serious and successful past long-range competitor (multiple Palma team member) argues for full-length sizing. However, he does like lapping out the neck of the die to reduce the amount of neck sizing that occurs. This could also be acheived by using a neck-bushing die system and selecting the right bushing dimensions.

http://yarchive.net/gun/ammo/308_loads.html

One concept I've seen mentioned occasionally is having a sizing die cut using the same reamer as was used for the chamber. It would have to be heat-treated afterwards. Seems like a neat idea.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 16:06:18 (ZULU)

rod...

>"One concept I've seen mentioned occasionally is having a sizing die cut using the same reamer as was used for the chamber. It would have to be heat-treated afterwards. Seems like a neat idea."<

The problem with this is that he sizing die MUST BE SMALLER ALL OVER than the chamber, or it won't reduce the case size so it will be smaller than the chamber and go in easily.

If the chamber is 0.5000" and the case is large enough that it won't go back in easily... then you need a die that is 0.4960" to reduce the case below 0.5000".

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 16:16:22 (ZULU)

Just finsihed up a few days ago teaching the first of several phase one precision rifle, out in California. Went really well and had a great bunch of students.

They club has already booked me for more training so if anyone is in California and wants training let me know.

It will be in three phases, with phase two classes starting late this year and phase three mid next year.

Ohase one will be in Bay Area, Phase Two will most likely be in Central Ca and Phase Three's location is not yet set (Several Possibilities)

Mike/Undude

Mike Miller
Ca, - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 18:47:30 (ZULU)

Most of my .260 brass has about 4 firings right now and I full length resize (with a redding S bushing die) every time.

My chamber must be huge because it's a bitch of a push down on the press handle and it leaves the brass polished from the rubbing. The neck is only sized down to 2 thou below a loaded round, but there is still a large, expanded ring around the bottom of the neck near the shoulder where the S bushing doesn't reach. Then, obviously, after firing it's all straight and smooth and there are no marks or evidence of this.

I feel a little bit of pressure most of the time when I close the bolt handle. Do I need to worry about this? I assume it's from that short little fat section of the neck but I'm wondering if I should worry about shoulder bumping. I should say the rifle is spooky accurate.

My other rifles that I load for have GA Precision chambers and the dies just barely kiss the brass at the very bottom end of the stroke.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 19:50:04 (ZULU)

Mike you might want to mention your classes on the new nor cal site

http://www.ncpprc.com/forum/phpBB3/index.php

You could probably pick up some guys from the Calguns site too.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Sunday, April 13, 2008, at 19:53:17 (ZULU)

'Lito,

On dumping the cute fuck machines- They simply aren't worth the maintenance. The best ones don't act like a whore, and there's never that elephant in the room about whether you'll ever see each other again.

It's like leaving a slot machine after it pays out. You got what you wanted, you buy a round of drinks, then leave. Otherwise, you're gonna be sitting there, pulling your lever and crying.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Monday, April 14, 2008, at 04:54:40 (ZULU)

The other issue with those chambering reamer cut dies is that when you heat treat it, you're gonna see a change in dimensions as it stress relieves itself.

I FL size everything, it's more than accurate enough for what I shoot and I need it to always work without having neck sized ammo from the loose gun get jammed up in the tight guns chamber. S/F....Ken M

Ken M
Monday, April 14, 2008, at 07:41:35 (ZULU)

Trav...

>" On dumping the cute fuck machines- They simply aren't worth the maintenance. The best ones don't act like a whore, and there's never that elephant in the room about whether you'll ever see each other again."<

I wasn't talking about the one nighters, and the bar-room trash.

I was talking about the long term gals. It has been my experence that there are some women that just plain really like sex with the guy they have chosen, and some that don't and fake it until you have gotten committed.

Unfortunately, the latter outnumbers the former by about 10 to 1.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Monday, April 14, 2008, at 13:55:28 (ZULU)

Click on my name for the SC of spinal injuries.

Dr. Wise Young is a no-shitter!

Disc replacement is a no go, all promise and no results.

Stem cell treatment is within 5 years of being viable. So don't get impatient and get screwed up worse than you are already.

I had fusion of L4-5 in 2000, awakened post surgery partialy paralized from waist down. It took 3 years of therapy to walk with a cane. 4 years to drive an auto, 6 for a standard.

Do NOT let someone cut on your spine without serious consideration.

Those of you who are back healthy, take a look at the posts "how I was injured" it's amazing how easy it is.

4i's
Siloam Springs, AR, USA - Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 00:02:39 (ZULU)

4i's...

How were you injured.

I had a lower back injury racing motorcycles, and it is just beginning to ease up on my... and it has been many years of pain. It would come and go at times - once putting me in the hospital for 9 days with so much pain that I was afraid to eat, because it meant that I would need to get out of bed to use the bathroom.

I haven't had a re-occurrence in a year and a half - the longest pain free time in many year.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 02:10:08 (ZULU)

MarcS,

What type case lube are you using for your FL resizing?

If you're not using Imperial (Now Redding) Sizing Wax, get some. You'll be glad you did. Sinclair has it.

Happy stroking. ;-)

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 05:25:48 (ZULU)

4i's,

Thank You....For seriously scarin the shit outta me.No,I am not being sarcastic.Dead serious.Thank You for the reality check.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi , USA - Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 06:29:51 (ZULU)

Cougar country:

As you recall we were debating the reality of a cougar being in Joe M's neck of the woods there in central WI. I'd say that's pretty safe that the kitties are there, since the police just shot one on the north side of Chicago!

I see coyotes and foxes all the time in what is otherwise urban areas, in fact there was a coyote that entered a downtown deli last fall but I never expected a cougar. S/F....Ken M

Ken M
Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 10:05:58 (ZULU)

A friend sent this to me, thought you guys might enjoy. I'm sure it's been posted before, but here it is anyway.

Rules for a Gunfight

Anonymous

1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.

2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap - life is expensive.

3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.

4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.

5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)

6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.

7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.

8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.

9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel blows the powder from the flintlock of your musket."

10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.

11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.

12. Have a plan.

13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.

14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.

15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.

16. Don't drop your guard.

17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.

18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)

19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.

20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.

21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.

22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.

23. Your number one option for personal security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.

24. Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with anything smaller than "4".

25. You can't miss fast enough to win.

Duman
Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 16:14:02 (ZULU)

re: FL resizing

I've used Imperial Sizing wax. It works fine, but I tended to get dented case shoulders because I had a hard time keeping it away from there. I'm now using a lube rack and the RCBS spray lube. Much faster process, and it works well enough. Carbide expander ball in Redding dies eliminate need for lubing inside case necks.

I acknowledge that bushing dies are an alternative to expander ball dies, but I load enough different neck-wall-thickness brass that I don't want to mess with an array of different size bushings.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 16:47:20 (ZULU)

Completely off topic: Knots

I was never in the Boy Scouts, and never really learned how to tie knots. Since seeing Bravo in Vegas, and his 'survival para-cord bracelet' I've taken to learning about knots.

Question: if one were to learn ~6-8 knots, learn them really well, what would you choose? Some of the obvious ones (not counting the square knot) are:

1. Bowline (bo-linn)

2. Clove Hitch

3. Constrictor (slight variation of Clove Hitch)

4. Sliding loop - (name escapes me)

5-8 ??

I've picked up a couple of "knot" books, and it's interesting how easily some of these can be tied incorrectly. In fact, one book has an error, where the knot does not turn out as pictured.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Back to your regularly scheduled program.....

Duman
Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 23:48:15 (ZULU)

Besides the ones you mentioned, I'd add a fisherman's knot, a taughtline hitch, a butterfly knot, and a trucker's hitch - which uses the butterfly knot. Those and a bowline are the ones I use the most.

The sliding loop you mentioned may be a Prusik knot.

Lindy
On the Road, U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 00:04:40 (ZULU)

I teach high angle rescue... the knots I use the most align well with Liny's list

bowline (tied blind around yourself), figure eight on a bight, butterfly, prusik and the purcell, which is a prusik which binds on itself (great for adjustable stokes bridle, leg elements of ascenders, etc). If you plan to hang from the rope, you'll want to understand self equalizing anchors as well. Then there is a water knot for webbing, mechanical advantages.....well......<g>....it never ends actually.

medicjim
Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 00:51:21 (ZULU)

Duman: Tautline hitch (for tents), cargo (trucker's ) hitch and highwayman's hitch come in handy. Figure 8 on a bight is what I usually use to construct a cargo hitch. It has many uses.

CDC'
Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 01:35:37 (ZULU)

Bowline,

I learned that one from my old Scoutmaster. Rabbit comes out of the hole goes around the tree and back down the hole. I still use it today. Darned fine knot.

Cheers,

Doc

Doc Holloway
The muddy Ozark boonies, MO, USA - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 02:56:54 (ZULU)

My rabbit always seems to stop and take a leak, decides to have a beer, wanders off, and never comes back. Damned rabbit.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 04:43:37 (ZULU)

Sheepshank - probably the same as something already mentioned.

Bowline is referred to in some circles as a hondo. The name oughta give it away

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 05:34:12 (ZULU)

JC- I do use Imperial sizing wax. Very sparingly with a spin in my fingertips applying the thinnest layer of it.

Just did a 120 cases tonight. That will get me through Saturdays HP match and another full course for practice after. An eighty round match will be held in Sacramento soon. Looking forward to my first full XC match in a very long time.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 05:40:07 (ZULU)

Check this link for animated knot tying. Worked well for my 14 yr old Eagle Scout. http://www.animatedknots.com/

Scott Kangas
Denton, Tx, USA - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 14:36:33 (ZULU)

Howdy Gents:

Knots: At both Sapper and Ranger schools, we were taught: square knot, figure 8 on a bend, Water knot, figure 8 retrace, bowline, tripple bowline, Clove hitch (middle and end of rope), round turn with 2 half hitches, and prusick (middle and end of rope). There were a few others, but I havent found a whole lot of use for them. I would also recomend learning swami wraps and other tie offs.

Had fun today walking through an Agricultural field looking for UXO. always a fun time. Still trying to fight my Co about getting a Leupold CQ/T or an ACOG.

Mayhem Out!

Mayhem
Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 17:53:26 (ZULU)

>>4. Sliding loop - (name escapes me)<<

Slip knot?

Used that one A LOT while fishing the Rio Grande in Big Bend Country. Great for tying off a throw-line to the cane along the river.

Mk4
Texas, United States of America - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 21:10:33 (ZULU)

RE: Knots

Thank you for the replies, as always there's no shortage of experience with you guys. Thank you.

CDC': Tautline hitch is the one I was thinking of. Thank you.

I'll have to look up those others....

Duman
Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 22:58:36 (ZULU)

Laser rangefinders.

What's the current recommended "price point" laser rangefinder commercial retail model for unknown distance ranging up to (say) at least 600 yards.

Thanks

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Wednesday, April 16, 2008, at 23:46:58 (ZULU)

Here's a good knot....that's knot used enough anymore....eight turns works best.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangman's_knot (click name)

Cheers

George Daly
Dickson, Tn., USof A - Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 01:18:01 (ZULU)

Patron Lito,

I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in my early 20s, by 28 I was told I had the spine of a 65 year old :( I had several episodes of injury, rest, PT and bull-headedness. When I was 39 I slipped going down our back steps in the snow/ice while carrying two 6gal. jugs of hot water, to use thawing out our horse watering trough. I didn't fall all the way down, or drop the jugs, (I probably would have been less injured if I had). I got up said a few expletives and finished my chores, drove 30 miles to work, wrestled a 300lb. punch press die all day (I almost didn't stand up after lunch) drove back home in my jeep wrangler, stepped out and was instantly on my hands and knees. I could not even lift one hand to reach my cell phone.

It turns out I had herniated several discs, and the L4-5 was pushing on my spinal cord. The cord bruising is what caused the paralisis.

UnPat,

No problemo, people should learn from others mistakes ;)

4i's
Siloam Springs, AR, USA - Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 02:12:11 (ZULU)

Rod

I just bought a Newcon 1500. I have no complaints with that unit.

Gary Kaney
N.W., ILL, - Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 11:29:37 (ZULU)

Duman: Mayhem's figure 8 follow through is well worth learning and is easy enough. Don't use iffy cord. Untying a ice encrusted knot in the dark - with frozen fingers - is difficult enough without having to screw around with cheap line.

CDC'
Thursday, April 17, 2008, at 14:33:53 (ZULU)

Your Eyes are your windows to the world !

http://www.6mmbr.com/eyeprotection.html

Take care of them !!

Regards,

Joisey Steve

Steven Dzupin
Ridgewood, New Joisey, US of A - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 01:16:29 (ZULU)

A question for the real experts. There is a debate going on at a shooting forum I frequent and figure This would be the best place to get a real answer.

Is there any data or theory that suggests the type of ammo you use when breaking in the barrel will perform the best out of your rifle from that point?

Thanks for a great place to learn. Cheers, Geo.

George Daly
Dickson, Tn., USof A - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 04:11:57 (ZULU)

George: If that were the case, I'd be shooting white-box winnie 147s into 3/8th" groups all day long and laughing my way to the bank with my savings over better stuff, eh? I say that cuz I tend to use up whatever non-performing loads are laying about when I break in, and the el-cheapo winnie fodder seems to always be on hand for feeding to my battle riffles:))

Bravo: the new SPRs are still 1:12s, though the 300WSM is 1:10. I thought about rebarrels--but decided that the longevity and dang good peformance of that chrome-lined 26" stocker is just too decent to toss. The only solution was to buy a new .308:)) Last count, that would be seven chambered thus...and my howa rubbergun is my go-to now for toting about and standby duty (bold coyotes moved in on me).

Oh, I forgot Geoff's surplus find...an FAL makes eight!

Scott: 14 yr old Eagle! Heck of an accomplishment. Kudos to dad for guiding him right-proper!

knot-country: Surgeon's knot. Tie off your own bleeder without losing tension with one hand's worth of fumbling fingers:)) Beats the hell out of a torniquet if medical help is far away. Tautline found use in a zillion field hooches, but the most used is the venerable bowline; i still tie it both ways for balloon strings and dummy-cords as recently as this week (in DC). A uli and sliding uli is handy is you play with det cord and C4, too. OK, so those are kinda specialty, eh?

Thanks, Pope, for ruining my traffic experience:(( Stay as long as you want, cuz i bugged out.

Joe M
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 05:09:16 (ZULU)

Joe M,

"OK, so those are kinda specialty, eh?"

Yeah, just a bit. ;-))

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 05:34:44 (ZULU)

Icy knots........ Damn. One of the things I really don't miss about hunting camp in Wyoming.

Frozen halters and hobbles really blow, too. Trying to get frozen hobbles off of a horse standing in 2 feet of snow at 3 a.m. while holding a flashlight in your mouth just SUCKS!

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 06:10:38 (ZULU)

Knot Country huh?

Uli knots, those are useful on a daily basis here. The Cherry knot is easier. Oh yeah and don't forget about the Scanman knot (not many people know this one).

Icey knots: especially on figure 8 knots, you can place a stick or dowel inside the knot, especially in wet conditions. This will allow you to work the knot loose, but will not sacrifice the security of the knot.

Anyone have any bad things to say about magpul PMAGs? Just bought 7, waiting for them to arrive.

Thanks,

Mayhem Out!!

Mayhem
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 07:52:00 (ZULU)

Below, or click my name, is a good website with animation on creating knots for various venue such as boating, scouting, fishing or climbing just to name a few.

http://www.animatedknots.com/indexscouting.php?LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 15:01:46 (ZULU)

Gentlemen, I have been away from sniper country for some time. I see it has not changed.

A friend convinced me to take the plunge and start hand loading. Do you any of you have a good US source for new LC 5.56 brass? I would pick up some once fired brass here but the army has this thing about taking it back home from Iraq. Go figure.

Good hunting to you

Pat Henry

Pat Henry
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 18:32:24 (ZULU)

Gentlemen, I have been away from sniper country for some time. I see it has not changed.

Good hunting to you

Pat Henry

Pat Henry
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 18:32:42 (ZULU)

Mayhem,

Bravo has done quite a bit of research on mags, including the P-Mags.

Ummm... Uli knot... tying det-cord.... C-4 ?? Out of my scope. Could be fun, though.

CDC': Figure-8, with a retrace... looks solid, not too complicated. Good advice on material selection. I'm practicing with para-cord. I've tried some different strings, and the results tend to be better with synthetic materials.

medicjim: you could probably write a chapter on knots for rescue. Reviewing my pocket-survival book, there are a number of survival techniques, but nothing specific on how to tie things off, like when building shelters. I guess "knot-tying" is assumed to be a skill possessed by the average joe. My objective is to develop knot-tying (of a handful of knots) to the point where it becomes second nature. Right now, I'm a hack.

Travis: man, you know how to have fun. Drunken rabbits, horses in snow at 3 a.m., ....

Thanks again, everyone, for the info.

Duman
Friday, April 18, 2008, at 23:34:17 (ZULU)

re: 5.56 LC fired brass

A US source for US delivery would be:

http://www.gibrass.com/brass.html

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Friday, April 18, 2008, at 23:43:51 (ZULU)

"...chapter on knots for rescue."

See:

_Technical Rescue Riggers Guide_ by Rick Lipke. Amazon carries it.

Click on my name for the link.

Lindy
The Northern Occupied Territories of Mexico, Texas, U.S.A. - Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 00:17:58 (ZULU)

Duman: Untying (sp?) is as important as tying. You can't go wrong with issue parachute cord.

Duman and Bravo: How are your swamp rats working out?

CDC'
Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 04:36:31 (ZULU)

Duman,

I figured I'd eventually end up crippled, but figured I oughtta do some living first. No sense in being alive 60 or 70 years, and not doing any actual living. ..........back surgery moved up to the 29th. All prayers appreciated.

(That part about splittin' me open and moving all my guts outta the way so they can whittle on my spine is a little unnerving!)

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 11:10:44 (ZULU)

Greetings,

Knot country: Ulli knot...spoken like a true demo man...have not thought of that in a while.

The ones that I have used repeatedly are the bowline, half hitch, double half hitch, round turn with double half hitch, square knot, slip knot, prusik, linemans knot (used in a transport tightening system and does NOT need a stick in the middle of it to loosen the not, ie does not tight on itself so hard that it is almost impossible to untie) taut line hitch, timber hitch, overhand knot. With the exception of the linemans knot, nothing fancy and will get 90 percent of what you need done outside of more advanced mountaineering.

Taught knots and river crossing at Camp All American while on support cycle at Ft. Bragg 20 plus years ago. If any of you were there, I was the one kicking dirt on the ROTC students from the bluff over the creek at recondo base camp while they were crossing the creek....

Pat II
Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 16:43:47 (ZULU)

.223 Rem w/75g Hornady - magazine length

Any powder recomendations based on experience?

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 19, 2008, at 23:22:52 (ZULU)

Rod- I use 24.9 gr RE15 and Remington BR primers. The Hornaday factory ammo (not A-Max) does 1/2 MOA, the handloads are tighter.

WR Moore
Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 00:29:08 (ZULU)

Travis,

(That part about splittin' me open and moving all my guts outta the way so they can whittle on my spine is a little unnerving!)

If that part bothers you, you really don't want to know how they put it all back in.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 05:22:35 (ZULU)

By the way, two round turns with two half hitches is better than a clove hitch, though a clove hitch comes in pretty handy for throwing over a spar. Click.

Insomnia makes me dwell on crazy s***.

Travis: Good luck with being gutted. About a dozen years ago, a guy split my briskit with a bone-saw, cranked the cavity open with a screw-jack then gave me a valve job. The worst part of the day is coming to in IC with Baywatch on the tube. My first thought was, "My God, that woman is gorgeous." My second was, "My God, this show is terrible."

Like I said, crazy s***.

CDC'
Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 10:15:48 (ZULU)

My back started bothering me in my late twenties/early thirties I think. Years of construction trade work started to show. Now I'm a superintendent and 40 so I don't wear my bags as often but I still like to when I can. Last Saturday it hurt like hell trying to shoot from slung up sitting position and now I can't move too well. Before it's always been a matter of some pain, now it just won't work and the pain is up there several notches. The guys enjoy watching me get out of my truck in the morning 'cuz it's a lengthy ordeal to straighten out. I have to lean against the utility boxes and slowly pull up on the lumber racks in small increments. It's never lasted this long or hurt this bad.

You guys are freaking me out with the surgery descriptions. I'll give this another few days or so to improve and then maybe I'll go see the doc. Right now I'm just eating Advil like M&M's.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 16:08:24 (ZULU)

"If that part bothers you, you really don't want to know how they put it all back in.

jc"

No, I don't, and don't you tell me, you son of a bitch! I've never gotten nervous about a surgery before, so it kinda bugs me that I'm getting nervous about this one. It might have something to do with my Dr. being about the same age as me.

Knot country:

Don't forget the sheet bend. one of the most useful knots I've found.

WTF is a "uli" knot?

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 18:35:13 (ZULU)

Finally got everything but the peppers in. Getting too old to be working this hard to have fresh veggies. Farmer's Market is looking better every year.

Travis.........

If yer doc is a little forgetful, make sure the OR nurses take notes to make sure the doc gets everything back in the right place. Else you might end up with your a**hole at yer belly button. Would be more convenient but a little unsightly...........LOLOLOL

Shooting.......

What do you guys do when you're in a shooting slump? I was shooting minute of bulls butt 3 or 4 months ago so I layed off for a while. Gonna get back behind the trigger next weekend and almost afeared that I'll keep em-bare-assing myself. I was shooting pretty good until mid-summer last year and all of a sudden I've pooped out.

Time for Grandson's 5th birthday shindig, Bolt out!

Bolt
Garden is finally planted in......., NC, - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 19:12:56 (ZULU)

Back problems.....

I have similiar issues as Marc S. Riding BMX, motorcross, sledding, snowmobiling, you name it....if you could do it "extreme" style, or get off the ground at speed, I was doing it in my teens. My mom always said I was going to ruin my body LOL....what goes up, must come down! She was right. I had my first "sore back" when I was around 15. I also started playing drums then. In my 20s, I started working as a shortline RR conductor/switchman....12+ hours a day of getting on and off moving equipment (usually moving way too fast), throwing switches that are poorly maintained, etc. I also continued to ride dirtbikes and run the occasional race, and play drums too. I'm not a Buddy Rich type drummer...more like Tommy Lee or for you old farts, Cozy Powell or Tommy Aldridge.

Throughout my 20's, every so often I would tweak my back and wind up taking a few days to get over it. I also couldn't lean over the engine of a car for more than 5 minutes. In my 30s, that has become more frequent. In the last couple years, it has gotten to be once or twice each year. I don't have to strain it either....just sitting wrong will do it. I won't even get into the fact that if I crouch for more than a minute or two, I have to pull myself up with my arms.

Fortunately, my regular doc is really good. Also, in the classes I have taken with Defensive Edge, I met up with and became friends with a retired Marine who is a GP.....another really good doc. He quit his gig at a family clinic because he was tired of seeing lazy people with crappy lifestyles ruining their bodies and coming to him wanting him to fix their ills with pills and procedures. Went to work for the VA. To quote him "the money sucks, but I got all the money I need. Hopefully, I can actually help some people".

Both docs tell me the same thing in regards to back issues....cutting is the absolute last resort. I was flat on my back a couple years ago, and I will relate what my docs have told me. It will fix it in a strict mechanical sense.....but the aftereffects are almost always worse than the original issue. When it comes to your back, the main hurdle other than mechanical issues is inflammation.....this affects all the nerves in the area of the injury and becomes a powerful "pain multiplier" so to speak.

I am pretty fortunate in that I don't have a reall bad issue....I have a disc in my lower back that will occasionally leak "goo" (the stuff in the disc, what my doc calls "a gelatenous substance") into the surrounding tissues....I guess that would be a mildly ruptured disc. Anyway, the human body is an amazing thing. It can heal this, but it will always be weaker than a healthy disc and susceptible to rupturing again. Now, when this goo leaks out, your body sees a foriegn invader and goes nuts trying to kill it, and that's where the problems come from. Swelling, inflammation, and PAIN. The pain is from not just your spine, but all the nerves in the area that run in and around your spinal cord. If the area around any nerve is inflamed, the nerve will be "hot" with pain signals. There are lots of nerves, obviously, around your spine!

All this biological drama overcomes your bodies ability to recognize the real problem and heal it. In order for that to happen, you need to get the inflammation and pain down to a level that the body can overcome. The keys are diet, stretching, strength, pain and inflammation management, and REST.

First, make sure you are on a good healthy diet. If you are overweight, lose it. Easier said than done, but it can be done if you are serious about being and staying healthy. Why make your bad back cart around an extra 10, 20, or more pounds?

Second, address your "core strength". Weight training is pretty good for this. Joe M gave me a set of weights and I use them. It really helps! Incidentally, your abdominal strength is very important for back issues.

Stretching.....flexibility will make all your muscles and connective tissues in your back healthier and increase circulation, enabling your body to reduce swelling and heal that much faster.

PAIN - if your doc gives you pain meds....USE THEM. Don't be stubborn. A person in severe pain does not heal nearly as quickly as one who feels better. This is a fact. Also, the large doses of Ibu (or similiar anti-inflammatory) reduce the inflammation and swelling, and gives your body a chance to "see" the real problem and work in it instead of being locked in mortal combat with itself while you suffer.

REST - we are all probably pretty stubborn in this area. I took off work FOUR DAYS the last time I had a flare up. I hated it because I'm not a "miss work" kind of guy. I did nothing but stretch twice a day, eat, take my mega doses of Ibuprofen, and relax, off my feet. It took some convincing by my doc and my Marine buddy, but I did exactly what they said. And it got me over the hump in about a week. I could not have healed without the bed rest.

BOTH docs were absolutely adamant with me on one thing DO NOT CUT ON YOUR BACK unless it's a last resort. My issue is way too mild to do that. Basically, I am better off living with it and managing it.

This is my experience with a mild recurring back issue. Hopefully you guys will see something useful in the advise my doc and friends have given me.

BOLT - Getting back to fundamental is never a bad thing to do. If your not feeling into it, let it go for awhile. Wait until you really want it, then start back up by relearning your fundamentals and dry firing.....safety, stance/position/NPOA, sight alignment, breath control, trigger squeeze, follow through. DON'T FORGET FOLLOW THROUGH.....it's easy to get lazy with it. I threw together an 8 lb. hunting rifle last fall and follow through was a big issue for me....I was used to shooting a 14 lb. gun and had gotten lazy. Focusing on follow through cut my first zero group from 2" down to less than 1" just like *that* (snaps fingers).

That's my strafing run for first half 08 guys, good to see you!

Out.....

Geoff M
WI, USA - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 19:56:46 (ZULU)

Painkillers-

My pain finally got so severe that I started to take them according to the Dr.'s specifications. Turns out, that was a bad thing. I'm NOT doing anything, really. Just eating, drinking, and hanging around the house. My big project for the day is feeding the horses a coffee can full of grain. If I take the pain killers, I guess I walk around the house more, or lay in the wrong positions, because I end up with pain in my bones! I'm so sore that pain pills won't help me sleep. For the most part, I just avoid the pain meds until I can't do without.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 20:27:42 (ZULU)

Thanks for that Geoff. Sounds like you've gone a few more rounds with this than I have.

Bolt- I'd agree with Geoff on the solution being in the fundamentals. My personal opinion is that the trigger press and follow through is the most important of all. When I'm in the zone and doing it right then I can get away with screwing up the other stuff. I know that because I can still get good hits when shooting in awkward feild positions if my trigger control is good. Getting into position RIGHT NOW and getting hits does not allow NPA or relaxed breathing techniques. I think if your trigger press is good you'll still be ok, and if it sucks then it won't matter if you do everything else perfectly anyway.

I work on this by not only dry firing but using ball and dummy drills. I've loaded up some ammo with sand in the case and cutting some pencil erasers to fit tight in the primer pockets. This way they look, feel, and sound exactly like a loaded round when chambering (unlike commercial snap caps).

I'll put one live one in a pile of six and mix them up in my hand then stuff them in a magazine. No matter how much you dry fire it's always different when you aren't sure if it might be a live round.

Sometimes I'll reverse that ratio by only putting one dummy round in there and run through a stage on a barricade speed drill or something like that. If you're screwing the pooch on that trigger press you'll see it instantly. I believe doing this religeously will cure anyone of a flinch.

Make sure to concentrate on that follow through. Make sure you stay pressed, straight to the rear, through the recoil pulse. I didn't realize I had a problem with this until Jacob Bynum was sitting right next to me watching me shoot and pointed it out to me. I believe he said something like "Don't sacrifice the shot you are taking right now, for one that you may or may not get to take after this one, just so you can run the bolt fast and get back on target". It might help if you get someone to watch you. I mean really watch. Like laying down right next to you and watching for an eye blink or trigger slap from about 18 inches away.

I do this with my S&W 686 revolver by loading only one live round in a cylinder. I "shoot" one shot at a time, as carefully and precisely as possible, without knowing when it will fire. By the time I have ten shots on a 25 yard target my group is remarkably small. I won't say how small because when I do guys always think I'm full of shit but trust me it works.

For me it's a perishable skill and I have to stay on top of it all the time. I'm constantly fighting a little bit of flinch and when I get lazy with it I start dropping down the list at the end of the day.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 21:51:01 (ZULU)

Geoff, and Travis,

I too have a bit of a back issue. In July of '04 I was in an MVA where my pelvis was broke in 4 places, among other injuries to both my back, and other areas.

I hear you both on the med statements, and yes, they do work both ways. Whilst I have never been 'hooked' on the meds, I've learned that I have been 'dependant' on them. You'd have to be there, to know what I'm talking about. I never did "need another pill" or any crap like that. I took them, because I hurt, and I never did get stoned, or any drunken effects as such. But, I will say, that I decided to stop taking one, thinking I didn't need it anymore. I had been on it for about 5 months. So I just stopped, when the script ran out. I had a full body ache, for about 3 days, that was borderline 'unbearable'. I sure didn't move much at all, and did lay on the floor for the majority of that time. Then, I went to do some laundry, (funny how you run out of things,eh) and whilst going through pockets, I found a "go-pack", that had one of those pills in it, for an outing. I took it, just to help 'get by', and let me tell you, about a half an hour, to 45 minutes later, I was straightened right out, and relatively normal.

I learned right then and there, about dependancy. I never knew that before, and likened it to that Nick Nolte movie, with him and the ice-cream. I forget what it's called, but he's on heroin. I truly didn't know.

Please all, learn from my mistakes.

Take what you need, when you need it. Evaluate said need, maturely. Do you really need it right now, or is it just easier to do so, right now. Second, WEAN YOURSELF OFF. Dont' just cold-turkey it, as it ain't worth the grief.

Changing pages here, there's a whole other issue, regarding excercise and fitness. I used to be a journeyman tradesman. Now, I'm gibbled, and haven't worked in 4 years. So much of that time, was spend laying in a hospital bed, or in a wheelchair. I used to be very active. Not saying I was a perfect specimen, or anything, cause I wasn't. But I was almost always on the go, and/or doing something. Simply eating hospital food, that they brung me, I gained 35 pounds the first month in bed. I was in there for 4 months, and gained over 60 pounds total.

Since getting out, and learning to walk, and whatnot, I really don't move around all that much. It does hurt like hell to do simple things. I don't walk far, or without a cane.

Swimming being about the only painless and able thing I can do, I sure pay for it afterwards. I know that something has to be done, but I dont' know what. For a couple of years now, literally, I've been on pretty much 1 meal a day. That don't seem to work either. So, short of chainsawing a leg off, how does one lose weight, when one can't move much, and whatnot.

Yes, my SI is still barely connected (loosely) to my right pelvis, and other issues. My SP has over 2cm of gap, and is wobbley, to say the least. But I still want to.

I still have the desire.

Heck, I've got a new Crusader here, that I haven't fired yet. I still need a scope for it, but I want to get out there and do so.

So then end result of this blathering is, learn from my mistakes, this is my situation (anyone got any suggestions?) and it ends with something about shooting. I respect the group here, and watch out for those 18 year old girls in oncoming traffic. They'll change your life!

This is the place that got me interested in the long range shooting to begin with, about 10 years ago.

God Bless Us All,

Sean T.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 21:59:36 (ZULU)

Sean,

I've never been addicted top the pain meds. I'm so reluctant to take them, I probably couldn't get addicted to crack!

As for excercise, the only thing I've found that works for me is swimming. I'm thinking about joining a rock climbing club here that works in an old concrete mill, but a year's membership is about $300. If nothing else, it'll truly whip my upper body back into shape. (Ever tried picking up 250 lbs. with JUST your arms?) I dunno if my bum shoulder will take the abuse, but I want to be as strong as possible once I go back to work, but would rather not build too much muscle mass. I don't think I've ever seen a rock climber I'd call "big".

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 22:26:28 (ZULU)

Sean- Email inbound with no attachments regarding scopes.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 22:58:10 (ZULU)

Sean:

I intentionally lost 70 lbs by reducing portions and making better choices in my diet, without changing my exercise levels. That was over a period of roughly 8 months. I have a desk job, walked maybe a kilometer outdoors a day. So it is possible to lose weight without increasing exercise levels, although of course it is easier to lose weight by increasing exercise.

Hospital food offerings and portions aren't necessarily "right" for all patients. Local high-school students go to a nearby hospital cafeteria for lunch in part because the hospital cafeteria sells french-fries, which the high-school cafeteria doesn't sell as part of a better foods initiative.

I have since added 3.1 kilometers walking to most of my weekdays by walking home from the office.

This is my primary dietary/portion reference publication, which I would recommend to any adult interested in improving their diet:

http://www.diabetes.ca/section_about/btb2.asp

One of my obese sisters is making good weight loss-progress on the commercial Nutrisystem diet program, which is also available in Canada.

http://www.nutrisystem.ca/nutrisystem/

I'm not saying it is easy, but it is possible...

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 00:36:01 (ZULU)

Sean T:

Please don't think that needed pain-killers to function is dependency. I tried to gut out the pain of numerous injuries for years until I realized that, sometimes, I need medication to get through the day.

You are absolutely correct about weaning yourself of pain relievers or any medication. If your doctor says "cold-turkey", fire him. One of my co-workers had to take prednisone, AKA "synthetic adrenaline". The doctor kept increasing the dose until it was 100 mg a day and then decided it wasn't working. The resulting crash caused a medical crisis that resulted in a psychotic break and five days in intensive care.

Getting in shape helps too. I understand that you may not be able to get to where you want to get, but, it's worth the effort.

Alternative medicine, acupuncture, Pilates, yoga, supplements, etc, have helped me a lot, as has a certified pain management specialist. But some days, I still need the meds.

Good luck and I'll say a prayer for you.

Trajan

Trajan Aurelius
East Bay, Kalifornya, USA !!! - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 00:44:19 (ZULU)

Low impact walkin is about the only exercize my Angel can do,she works with a couple of the Walk the Pounds off tapes.They do help her abit.Plus she does try to stay busy and mentally busy as well.

The majority of the pools here are open to the public,but tryin to find nights/days that are adult only is limited,and not convienant for us.

She used to follow her docs suggestions on the painkillers but then after a period of say 3-4 months on them she was having memory problems...Now she only takes the heavier stuff when it really hurts her real bad.Anything stronger than a vicotin will actually make her sick.

Given the choice of pain or hoverin over a toilet...she ll take the pain,for as long as she can.Same goes for any surgery,She ll put that off for as long as she can there,too

She has other medical problems as well,so we keep a close eye on what she can/cant take.Certain allergies to some meds,as well some meds just dont work they way they are supposed too.She also has one of those systems that drives a doc nuts.

One of the hardest things for her to accept is that she has limits.She still wants to think she is SuperMom and can do everything and anything.Daily reminders are as much a pia for me as her.She dont like hearin it,I dont like repeating myself.Its almost like havin a lil kid around.<Put that down,I ll carry that,What are doin?>

Travis,Best of luck with your surgery.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 02:24:21 (ZULU)

Some of you might remember when Mythbusters did a thing on Gunny Hathcock's shot through the bad guy's scope. As hard as they tried, they couldn't get it done. They tried not to piss off the Marines and other snipers by not saying that it couldn't be done, but that's what they implied.

So I felt that it was a challenge and decided to try it myself. I started collecting old scopes from local gun shops and gunsmiths and began shooting them at 100 yards. I aimed the scope back at myself as it would be if the BG had me in his sights.

I had much the same result as Mythbusters did for the first two scopes, but today... I did it. Scope number three went down the middle with only some slight deformation on the one inch tube. It blew the turrets off of one side but didn't touch the objective bell or the occular bell.

Naturally, this doesn't put me in the same class as Gunny Hathcock but it does prove that there is no scientific reason to doubt him..., not that I ever did. I intend to send an explanation and photos to Mythbusters to show that perhaps they needed a better shooter or that I was extremely lucky. Either way, I proved that they hadn't busted a myth after all.

Indiansinger

Roger C. Carpenter
Sweet Potato Capital, MS, USA - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 04:38:55 (ZULU)

Bolt,

Geoff and Marc are giving you some good advice. Back to basics, practice your fundamentals and stay on the gun for a count of two after you break the shot. Aw, hell, you know all this stuff. Ya just gotta get it back into your head and all in the right order and you'll be fine.

For inflammation, Celebrex can be your friend.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 04:56:12 (ZULU)

re: Mythbusters scope shoot

(From memory).

They did a revisit episode after getting followup complaints from the fan site. The revisit used a scope much closer in construction to what the Vietnamese sniper would have used, and ammunition much closer to what Gunny Hathcock would have used. In the retest, they did get a penetrating wound in the ballistic jell head placed behind the scope in at least one of their retests. On the basis of that they changed their evaluation to Plausible.

More info, which includes this little gem:

http://www.kalinkaoptics.com/Mythbusters.aspx

Excerpt:

"In my humble opinion, there are several fine points to consider. I consulted with Mike Miller, a 25-year U.S. Army Sniper School Instructor and former Police Sergeant, and confirmed these points with him:"

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 06:16:53 (ZULU)

Any of you guys have a website for Terry Cross.

He makes the pod-loc and an adjustable comb, and other goodies.

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 13:53:40 (ZULU)

CDC',

Bravo sent me some photos of his first outing with the Swamp Rat. He told me he was going to attempt to chop down a sapling. Well, he did. The sapling was several inches in diameter. The experience didn't appear to have a negative impact the knife. I have not tested mine, though it's identical to Bravo's Swamp Rat.

ULI Knot: http://www.fixor.com/Initiation_Methods.html

Duman
Monday, April 21, 2008, at 16:20:42 (ZULU)

It doesn't look like Terry / KMW has a web site :-(

The Pod-Loc is available from Sinclair's, Brownells (item #100-000-326), or you can buy direct from:

Terry Cross

KMW - Long Range Solutions

129 Fish Hatchery Road

Forest Hill, LA 71430

Phone: (318) 748-8732

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 16:29:51 (ZULU)

Terry Cross

http://www.kmwlrs.com/index.htm

But it is under construction and not much there.

You better try contacting him by another method.

Jerry

Jerry
Annapolis, MD, USA - Monday, April 21, 2008, at 16:51:50 (ZULU)

Good stuff here guys!

I'm just getting back after a long weekend of shooting. Except I didn't get to squeeze the trigger once. Seems the Appleseed guys wanted me to start instructing, so 19 April was my immersion into teaching marksmanship. That I can think of, there wasn't a more fitting way to spend Patriots Day. The success story was 2 fellows that couldn't shoot marksman scores on Saturday morning left with Expert badges on Sunday, and they both proved it wasn't a fluke. The surprising part was one was using a 16" DSA FAL and wolf ammo! Virtually everyone was shooting significantly better when they left though - real progress was made! My kiddo surprised everyone on one of the NPOA drills, turned in a nice 5-round 6 to 7 MOA group - fired with his eyes closed. That's a decent NPOA ;-)

I've got a personal goal: running the AQT (10 rounds offhand, 10 rounds kneeling, 20 rounds prone at 2 different distances - working from close to far) in 120 seconds including position changes & a mag change - and hitting expert. So far, I'm in the 'very high sharpshooter' category, but I'll beat it ;-) That is, if I get to squeeze the trigger again :-( Funny thing - I'm sighting with the Aimpoint. On the far targets, the trick is to see the dot with the head of the siloughette as a bump on top of the dot, 'cause the dot covers everything else LOL!

I keep telling myself that I'm saving money on ammo this way - trying to find some 'good side' to not shooting. It doesn't work.

Boltster my friend, I'll reiterate the advice of the other guys. Basics. Lots-o-lots of basics. And an Appleseed or two will help! Not that you don't already know this stuff, but having personalized attention and instant feedback are great tools. I didn't realize I had a blink until one of the other fellows caught it. Didn't seem to mess with my calling shots, but it was still a bad thing - and I wouldn't have known about it without someone eyeballing me while I was shooting.

Knot country - I'm coming in late, but it seems my answers were already given anyway. The bowline, water, and figure 8 retrace are the majority of what I use for climbing / rapelling. What CDC said about cheap rope is 100%. Like most things, life is too short to have to live with cheesy rope. Taughtline, prussic, and something-or-other-I-can't-remember on a bite are the others I use for more general use. Admittedly, I'm not a knot-guy. The only way I can tie a bowline right is with the rope around my waste - but I can tie it that way fast and with only one hand.

Mayhem, I've been impressed so far with the Pmags. I spent part of one evening throwing one up in the air, then spiking it into the floor with another one in my hand. No damage. To say they're impact resistant is an understatement. I like the flow of the follower, and getting 30 in will still allow it to lock in with the bolt forward. At least on my XCRs. I'm running 7 right now, doing the same as you - evaluating. Gonna take those 7 to BadLands and see if they survive. One of my instructors from Gunsite did a 'use and abuse' on these, and gave 'em a thumbs up. On the opposite side, a reliable source in the manufacturing industry said that they didn't hold up as well as he'd have preferred - but he estimated he had fed somewhere between 3500 and 5000 rounds out of each of his. FWIW, he said that in the same round count it took for the Pmags to start wearing out, the GI aluminum mags had the lips spread and welds break. They're running 10,000 rounds in a weekend though, so consider that a "worst case scenario" LOL! For training mags, I have a difficult time believing there is much better. On the other side, I highly question if they'll get somewhat brittle in the cold-cold - but don't have that info YET.

CDC, the swamp rat is a nifty blade, no doubt! IIRC, the sapling Duman mentioned was about 6" diameter. Took about 10 minutes, at a leisurely pace (wanted to take pics along the way). It cuts well, although the factory edge wasn't as good as I'd have preferred. Even so, every time I'd swing the blade in, pieces of wood rebounded off the side of my truck a good 8 feet or so away. Hard metal too - the honesteel I normally use didn't have much effect on the edge - went to diamond sharpeners pretty quick. Batoning was QED, and the only thing I've hurt to date is the finish on the blade. Choking up on the blade gives plenty of control for finer things too. The down side is that this piece is bigger and heftier than I'd thought it'd be. At the present, I've got some Scrap Yard Dumpster Mutts incoming (have been incoming for the last 6 weeks) that are smaller. For a "around the campsite" knife (cooking, cutting cord, etc), I think the mutts would be better - as a 'for real' field knife though, the rat would be hard to beat in my opinion. If someone would donate a buick, I'd love to run my rat through it just to see if I could and it would ;-) Lemme know if you want pics of the cedar, I tried getting artsy HA!

Bravo
Monday, April 21, 2008, at 18:33:06 (ZULU)

Thanks Rod, I read your message this morning and posted a reply but I guess it didn't make it onto the forum. At least I had a good time proving, to myself if nothing else, that it could be done with modern scopes to shoot at and BTHP ammo as well. I guess the trick is to hit the objective lense dead center so that the round isn't deflected. In my case, even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.

Indiansinger

Roger C. Carpenter
Sweet Potato Capital, MS, USA - Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 02:02:06 (ZULU)

Re: KMW Long Range Solutions

Somebody asked me at Sniper Quest (last Sept.) if Terry had come out with his new stock. Didn't know he was working on one. He was still sporting an AICS 1.5 at the time.

The home page of his web site has a rifle w/stock like I've not seen before. I'm assuming that is it.

(click)

Mk4
Texas, United States of America - Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 03:36:35 (ZULU)

I saw his stock at the 'Hide cup and it was very nice. Some things I remember are a wide, flat forend that is very shallow and close to the barrel channel, an inletted spot for a bipod to mount flush to the stock, then the belly comes down at a steep angle towards the magazine well so it can be leaned against a barricade as well as providing a lower area to use as a hand rest in offhand, a wider and stronger section through the action area so the bigger Surgeon XL would fit better, and a flared out butt cut to the size of a Pachmayr Decelerator pad that hasn't been trimmed. I think he also had flush cups installed in at least three places towards the rear- one in the standard bottom spot (toe?) one on the side of the butt stock as I've seen in other rifles, and another up in the side of the grip.

The only thing that I didn't really like was the fact that it's a thumbhole. I just can't get used to that but it's obviously a personal thing. Some guys love 'em.

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 05:00:22 (ZULU)

Some interesting articles about increasing violence in Mexico and the state of illegals in LA. Got the links from the weekly Blackwater mailer.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/world/americas/16mexico.html?_r=1&ex=1366084800&en=34ab9c482baff246&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2007/220107mexicangangs.htm

Marc

MarcS
East S.F. Bay area, CA, - Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 05:07:25 (ZULU)

CDC: Insomnia has no quippy upside to use as a punchline...I tried to come up with something...but am too tired to succeed. Know what you mean 100%---and wish I did not.

Uli knot--Travis, it is akin to a stand-alone hangman's knot that "bunches" up enough det cord in one place to boost most mil-spec explosive compounds. It can either be tied unto itself as in an end of the line wrap, or tied with a seperate piece of det cord on a main line so that it can slide along the run. Best example is "daisy chain" claymore mines: You figure the spread of each mine (spaced IIRC about 25 meters max between for a max PK distance-shot), then you figure how many mines will be needed for the KZ size or frontage you want to cover, then you cut that length of main det cord...next, you pop the back off each mine and stick a uli in the center of the charge...then you roll up the mess of them and trot off to do your damage. Once in position, you realize that terrain will make one mine cloaser than the max distance and another a tad further apart than you'd want...so you just slide them around as you place them....this is very fast--and very damned effective. You can wipe out a column of BGs with one simple click of a clacker (assuming you did everything else right along the way)! I could have just said the uli enables you to set up ring mains and "swag" charge placements ahead of arriving on target so you can fine tune the placement of charges in a NY minute, burn fuze, and haul ass, I suppose:))

Rod is understating his success. His is an amazing turn about!

Joe M
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 06:34:15 (ZULU)

Bravo: Yep, if it's too big to carry, it's not much use. There are a few large knives on my shelf and that's where most of them stay. I use a big "Ranger" as a camp knife/beater. I carry a Falkniven F1 or a little Bark River patch knife. All three companies make very good knives.

I'd like to see the pics.

Joe M: My sympathies. And no, there's nothing funny to say about it.

CDC'
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 12:13:08 (ZULU)

For you old timers:

Subject: C-130 vs F-16

A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by.

The jet jockey decided to show off.

The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, 'watch this!' and promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb.

He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The F-16 pilot asked the C-130 pilot what he thought of that?

The C-130 pilot said, 'That was impressive, but watch this!'

The C-130 droned along for about 5 minutes and then the C-130 pilot came back on and said: 'What did you think of that?'

Puzzled, the F-16 pilot asked, 'What did you do?'

The C-130 pilot chuckled. 'I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back, went to the bathroom, then got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon bun.'

When you are young & foolish - speed & flash may seem a good thing !!! When you get older & smarter - comfort & dull is not such a bad thing !!!

Duman
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 15:40:04 (ZULU)

The economy is a forest fire--and those trying to save it are focused solely on individual trees (one at a time). Californistan foreclosures are 327% above last year in this same quater, at a rate of 500/ day. The math on this includes bank losses, depreciation of neighboring homes |(with paper losses to those families), and tighter still credit for those trying to downsize before the axe falls on them.

Food riots? Sure, the planet has them in spades in the parts of the world where food accounts for more than 40% of incomes. That is going to spread. Every last bit of corn production increases over the last five years went into ethonal. Mostly, this increase came at the expense of wheat production and dairy operations. Shortages and price hikes will hit bigtime (already started). Rice as a traded commodity has collapsed---producers are hording what they have as they realized that they could not feed their own markets.

The euro is over a 1.60 FRN now, and will likely do much better. The Fed tried to raise rates to stave off inflation, but instead kicked off the mortgage crisis--now it sees that as the big threat and is lowering the value of the dollar trying to shit the barn doors after those horses ran off. In fact, as ol' JP once said: Borrow a little and the banks own you; borrow a lot and you own the bank. The fed, as it stands, is owned by mortgage holders and brokers.

And, to save the mess, every proposal either extends public debt or prints more 'easy money". Congressional acts that spend more than they have IS the problem (ethonol subsidies have a two edged fault)...and nobody has that figured out yet. Therefore, my estimate of two years several months back is probably optimistic. I did not see rice doubling in price in a months' time nor the ripple effects of "renewable energy" in the grain markets. originally, i had thought the devaluation of the dollar alone would drive food commodites up in price as a result---instead, we have this as a concurrent problem. As such, there is more downward pressures.

The bottom line: the cycle is in motion, and there is no possibility for the drastic reductions in government spending and dollar-boosting that would stave off disaster (these measures would trash housing and cause a deep recession...but the alternative, not yet acknowledged, is world wide depression and wholesale governmental failures). In the attempt to fix the little problems--we are creating a major one:))

I've said it is fun to watch. Only in that I can see the target-lock the experts are engaged in. It is a sort of forest and trees thing; and the so-called experts are so intently focused on each small problem in the economy that they have yet to notice the larger inter-relationships that create the true, and total, problem.

I'm now thinking water impoundment; wind is unreliable for 24/7 electricity:)) I wonder what the outflow needs to be for 30KW?

Joe M
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 19:59:14 (ZULU)

Isolated incidences of food rationing by retailers---in the USA!

But don't worry--the situation will be drastic for some time before it gets thru to most people. Remember my theory: People only know what they know; if they grew up in a land of plenty and never saw adversity--they won't recognize it until they are well and truly screwed. That also explains the 'delay" in economic downturns--people continue to do what they do until they cannot. Oh, and once it dawns on the masses that they are, indeed, massively fucked--watch out. 80% of us live in wholly dependant cities. Once the farmers start to hold grain (riding out inflationary waves for the best price)--all hell will break loose. This is happening now, and all you need to do is track farm futures to see why.

Do we have a year?

|Last word: "Be Prepared"

Joe M
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 21:07:39 (ZULU)

It's freakin scary how much we as a group have in common.

Celebrex: Mom swears by it, it gave me heart palpatations.(MAJOR)

I just cut my pain meds in half Fentanyl 25 from 50. Of all the (major) pain meds fentanyl is the only one that doesn't leave you stoned. And I still get to sleep 2 of 3 nights ;)

Chiro's kept me working for 10 years longer than I could have.

Females are better than males imho, they do with proper position and timing what men try to do with force. Or maybe it was 30 years of martial arts that made me tense-up when near a guy ;)

Essential Oils and massage help me loads with arthritis.

You cant stop moving for long and it's helpful to over-do-it exercising occasionally, so long as your working on core muscles or swimming (no impact)

4i's
Siloam Springs, AR, USA - Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 22:23:15 (ZULU)

"Females are better than males imho, they do with proper position and timing what men try to do with force. "

That's turn-of-phrase you don't hear everyday. :8-p

Duman
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 23:07:10 (ZULU)

Soon comming to a neighborhood near you !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYzs65mwXiw&NR=1

Regards,

Joisey Steve

Steven Dzupin
?, ?, ? - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 00:22:37 (ZULU)

Gunshot Survival Story

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23914454/?GT1=43001

Duman
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 01:57:09 (ZULU)

"I'm now thinking water impoundment; wind is unreliable for 24/7 electricity:)) I wonder what the outflow needs to be for 30KW?"

Joe, Mother Earth had/has some books on stuff like this. Off the top of my head, an overshot wheel will give you more mechanical advantage than anything else. Turbines need a more massive flow (I think).

Change of topic to pet peeve: Why doesn't the Department of State pull Peanuts Carters passport?

WR Moore
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 02:33:15 (ZULU)

Moore,

"Why doesn't the Department of State pull Peanuts Carters passport?"

Because that Dept is full of people who agree with the traitorous little pin head.

SSG Mac
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 03:08:04 (ZULU)

Now there's a wise old staff; maybe a new precedent should be set as we advance him to four-star by morning:))

State is that ate-up...no doubt.

Joe M
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 05:48:53 (ZULU)

Joe M.

I also can see trouble coming for the country but I'd like to suggest that you check the real estate markets in the mid 1980's and early 1990's.

I was a state certified Real Estate Appraiser in California during that time. I say State Certified because we were held responsible for the Savings and Loan failures of that period. Some may remember the Resolution Trust Corporation and other "experts" decided that it wasn't the greedy Real Estate and Mortgage Brokers who caused the S & L's to fail, it was the Appraisers who did it.

At that time though, at least in California, the housing market fell into such a serious slump that the forclosers in some neighborhoods became the market. I did a Appraisal Review of someone else's report which supported a refinance loan value with old comparables but when I checked the more recent sales data, I cut the value $100,000- because there were recent model match sales in that complex that said so. It was a PUD (Planned Unit Developement) in Newport Beach, Ca., and the value had dropped that much in only six months.

The rest of the country had already bottomed out value-wise and California was starting to feel the pinch. After they cost us close to $2000- for continuing education and licensing, the powers that be decided to let the Banks and Mortgage Companies to do "Equity Evaluations" which required very little training and no license.

What I'm trying to say is that we heard the same "sky is falling" cries then like we are now in the housing market. Banks and Savings and Loans were falling apart like now, the difference being that we weren't trying to support millions of illegal visitors, paying $4.00 per gallon for gas, or fighting leaders in our country that seem intent on destroying us.

As a side note, I was in the office of a Mortgage company I worked for in Orange County, Ca. when President Bush, the Elder, initiated Desert Storm. One of the younger Loan Reps said "Good, a war economy is a good economy" shaking his fists with excitement. "Not if one of your family members comes home in a box" I told him. As a Vietnam Veteran I didn't exactly like the comment from someone that had never suffered more than a full parking lot at work.

I'm not an economics major or anything like that, but I wanted to say that we've seen a bad Real Estate market before. With the cost of the average house in this country being over $200,000- , the market has to make an adjustment in order to make it possible for the average Joe (no pun intended) to afford to buy one without using the "creative" financing that has gotten people in the door but later slammed it on their fingers.

I read your comments with interest and respect them. I just found the relationship in the real estate market then and now something to consider. The sky didn't fall then but it I'm more inclined to run for cover now.

Indiansinger

Roger C. Carpenter
Sweet Potato Capital, MS, USA - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 06:59:52 (ZULU)

OK, long term, large scale rant coming. This is broad brush, not targeted at anyone specific, so if you get offended, oh well.

A major contributor to the current issues is the pervasive micromanaging attitude of many Americans and the intense desire to not let anyone fail. The real estate adjustment isn't going to be an issue for those who didn't make stupid purchasing decisions unless the God damned government gets involved and starts spending public money to fix a private problem. So banks fail? So fucking what? Other businesses fail all the time. Liquidate their assets to (partially) cover the FDIC insured savings, file criminal charges against the fools that merit them, put them against a wall and move on. All the uncovered stuff is a loss. That's the risk that comes with uninsured investment, too damned bad. The FDIC covers what they're legally required to cover and NO MORE THAN THAT. If these fools don't suffer for their poor decisions, then no learning will take place and the suckers will do it again and again. Start a WPA-esque program (We Putter Around) and have them digging ditches instead of illegals. Have wounded vets run it, cracking the whip on amoral ex-bankers and other completely self centered jacksasses would be cathartic.

As for starvation in America. Ain't gonna happen. Essentials prices will go up, spending on trivial Stupid Shit(TM) and other non-essentials will go down. We won't import as much crap trinketry from Asia, another "so what." Other than the junkies and mentally impaired I see everyday anyways, their isn't going to be any malnutrition. America has too many porcine walking food blisters anyways. Increased food prices may be the best thing that can happen to some of these people, not to mention having to forgo taking the car down to the 24hr fatburger trough at will.

If the USG would step away from the damned alt fuel subsidies, the grain prices would moderate. Hell, if the USG would step away from all sorts of subsidies, all sorts of prices would moderate. Sorry, but just because fuel is $4.49/gal is no reason for the USG to get involved just because you still want to drive your F-350 extended cab or Excursion as a family car. If you can afford to fuel it, great, if you can't that's no ones problem except your own. If you don't feel safe except in an uber SUV, that's just too damned bad that you're neurotic. Get off the cell phone and the crackberry and pay a little attention to your driving and you'll be OK. Or lock yourself in your house and never leave. Either way, it's not MY problem, it's YOUR problem.

Lord, I hate this nanny state entitlement garbage and all the shit that it brings. S/F....Ken M

Ken M
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 14:48:57 (ZULU)

If we ever find ourselves in another fight for our very existance...I know where to find the next US Grant, Patton, etc

medicjim
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 15:29:26 (ZULU)

NEED SOME INPUT

I bought a Coyote Lite in 243. Has a Kahles scope mounted in Signature Rings. Scoped the bore and chamber, perfect condition. I've tried WW760, H414, H4350 with bullets ranging 75grns. to 95grns. When i find a combination that groups 3/4" and reload that combination it might shot 1.5" to 2".The Coyote has a Bell& Carlson stock that is aluminum block bedded, but Winchester also bedded the recoil lug. I found that the bedding was touching the barrel at about 4 oclock, I ground that off and it changed my POI. I thought about removing the bedding around the recoil lug. I guess i don't understand why Winchester would do that. I'm about to take that SOB and wrap it around tree, it ain't heavy enough to use for a boat anchor.

Gary Kaney
N.W., ILL, - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 15:39:15 (ZULU)

Ken,

I like the way you think. How do we know if this isn't the Dems and the Media trying to scare us into voting their way? Anyone remember the Y2K frenzy that they created? The only thing that happened in Y2K was that I got a year older.

It's something to think about at least.

Indiansinger

Roger C. Carpenter
Sweet Potato Capital, MS, USA - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 16:08:24 (ZULU)

re: US Gov policy

I've read that alternate fuel subsidies are a political "third rail", so there are structural problems with making them go away. Too bad.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 17:02:15 (ZULU)

Gary re: Coyote Lite in 243

Factory barrel?

If it is, rebarrel or move it out. You appear to have exercised "due diligence".

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 17:04:58 (ZULU)

Ok guys need your advice.I had my heavy bench rifle sitting on our end table and it got bumped off.It was about a 2foot drop onto carpet.I looked it over and could not see anything wrong.

The only thing I did check was that when I mount a scope I use a scope Ez leveling tool,I checked it last night and it was a little off.But also I did not level the scope after the rifle was rebuilt.So it could be just that.

Am I being to worried for nothing?Or should I send it in to leuplold to have it checked?Its a 8.5x25x50 mark 4.Let me know what you think.

Jon

Jon Kujawa
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 18:25:47 (ZULU)

Rod

Factory rifle. First Winchester i've had trouble with. I wish i had a Stealth or a HBV in 243.

Gary Kaney
N, ILL, - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 18:31:09 (ZULU)

I like the way Ken M cuts right through the bullshit. It makes an engaging read and - as an added bonus - saves a bunch of time.

CDC'
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 18:45:48 (ZULU)

Ken - Hallelujah brother! I'm a perfect example of your philosophy. I look at H2s with their 8 MPG in the city and drool, I would love to drive one and can even afford it......but I just keep taking the economical route and driving my little Alero. Choosing the smarter route is not something that comes easy to me either......

Jon....2 feet onto carpet? Pish posh. If that hurt it, it's defective. I've seen Chinese scopes hold up to much more than that.

Out here..gotta go see the doc.

Geoff M
WI, USA - Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 20:51:25 (ZULU)

Ok I pretty sure it didnt hurt the scope,but I just had to ask.

What about the level though,should I have releveled it on the new rifle even though it was the same rings,bases and action?

Jon Kujawa
Wednesday, April 23, 2008, at 21:19:23 (ZULU)

Jon,

The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer is absolutely. And there you have it. ;-))

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 05:05:48 (ZULU)

I really don't have much of a philosophy, I'm just trying to live what I think is the American dream. You know, that rugged individualist thing that Teddy Roosevelt idealised. I don't bother you, you don't bother me and we all just think that other guy is weird as Hell but that's his business and not mine as long as it's not directly impacting me.

Just so nobody gets me wrong, I'm not disagreeing with Joe, I just don't see things playing out in CONUS like he sees. OCONUS is going to suck, but OCONUS always sucks. Asia is all FUBAR because those dumbasses are shutting down rice exports causing hording and speculators to panic but their base problem is overpopulation for their infrastructure. Energy costs(transporting that food) become too high to support their basic food needs and it goes "smash." Unfortunate but it's been a long time coming. American farmers will make money, always a good thing. They're not going to hold out for much as far as waiting for the prices to inflate, farmers are simply too fractious for that. There's always somebody whose need for fast money will outweigh their desire to force price increases. The big conglomerates will manipulate the markets some but there's enough small farms to cushion this IMO. They simply don't have the cash and credit reserves to do that sort of thing. As long as the USG stays the Hell out of it.

As for political 3rd rails: That's another one of my "so what's." I'm in IL and politicians are dropping like flies around here. It's great. There's this turd, Tony Rezko, turns out he just got implicated in a deal to oust our local US Attorney, whose been going after these crooked schmucks for a few years now. The Gov here, Rod Blowjobovich, aka Hot Rod has just been implicated in a quid pro quo state job for money deal, so hopefully he's going to jail to join our last Gov. So, what the crooked pols want isn't really important. If they think paying off the farmers via subsidies is going to keep them in office, they're sadly mistaken.

Capitalism still works(always has), people may have to shift their skillset about to make money but that's just life. Be adaptable, that whole "survival of the fittest" thing. S/F.....Ken M

Ken M
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 07:26:49 (ZULU)

Ken

The sooner Blogi. goes to jail the better off we'll be. To bad his buddy Daily won't go with him. I like Quinn, i think he would do use some good. Speaking from outside of Chi-Town.

Gary Kaney
N.W., ILL, - Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 10:39:18 (ZULU)

Roger, Ken: I agree that any given sector that is bad off today has a history of being bad off in the past. But that kind of focusing and drawing of historical parallels is exactly why it is different this time. You see, by taking a fractional view sector by sector (in these cases, real eastate or food availibility), we tend to overlook new or inter-releated issues that are also in jeopardy; for food, trans is the weaker link today even though outof balance market forces are creating shortages (rice collapse is largely weather, but corn is self inflicted and cut across wheat, livestock feed etc). Diesel at 4.19 locally is impacting us all hard. Starve? Hardly...it is unchecked inflation and scarcities that will be the major problem in chow: Who cares if there are warehouses full to the brim with corn if the average citizen in Phillie can't afford it! So, food is may be available, but you lack the dollars to purchase enough to make a difference. What gives next? We see this already in areas where wage depressions exist---riots and social breakdown. Inflation is the same thing, only you'll need a bigger wallet to be as broke:))

Real estate has had adjustments and over-speculated markets in the past, but it tended to be localized. And yes, the world will suffer our mistakes in spades first and foremost--but what exactly makes this country different in the long run? Is it the mere fact that we have only known unprecedented economic expansions our whole lives? That tends to color judgment on what is possible---our past "is a our only guide to our future thinking." That thinking can be said for every major civilization that has failed: The Romans did not say "today we shall embark on a path of failure"---but they sure as hell thought they had it licked right up to the end. But the view that it is "different" for us is borne on the sum of what we know from all of our yesterdays--and that is why I see this slightly differently than most. I've seen a couple of wrecked societies, and studied their failures. The standard explanation in most books is that "these social structures came unglued because they were weak to begin with..." OK. I thought about that, and started to look at both psychology and sociology a bit. I slowly realized that social order is a thin veneer that desperately needs stability to maintain itself. Social groups tend to devolve to groups of 120 or so; larger ones need strong support or they devolve to this level. History and anthropology supports this in numerous examples. But it is just another aspect of the whole problem: human nature.

As a father, if i lack the means to play by your rules to feed my family--I will quite probably start playing by mine. Multiply that by just 2-3% of the population, and watch our resources get overwhelmed.

The bottom line is that 6.6 billion people may or may not be overgrazing the food sources of the planet---but cheap energy drives their grazing and enabled the herd to expand to the current size. I have no idea what the population size is that might be sustainable--but i do know that volunteers will be hard to come by should we need to cull this herd.

That is the macro end of it, and now these sectors we look at as individual entities are, by themselves, nothing to frett over. Unless of course, you can link the housing meltdown to the fall of our dollar, and that to the rise of oil prices, and the overspending of congress to the dollar falling again, and the fixes in place and debated that will add to our debt (and drive dollar south even more).

Fiat money is nothing but a belief system. It has failed before, and will always have its ups and downs. In the past, our currency was both stable and plentiful- so the world relied solely on it as a benchmark. Enter the Euro and trillions of USDs in "debt" that is now held as a reserves by foriegn banks/ governments: Who controls the US currency? Congress by spending non-existing dollars? The fed by contraction/ expansion policies within our troubled banks? Or China and OPEC, with their vast holdings of our currency? The answer is all three, and two of these groups are hell bent to save a small sector at the expense of the whole. How long until the foriegn holdings become unacceptable losses?

This policy is just one third of the issue; out of whack commodities are only partly due to the fall of the dollar---they are also affected by the foolish subsidies for bio-fuels, an ever larger market place, and by droughts.

Energy is another leg of the problem: and with little imagination, you can see how all three of these problems are largely interconnected.

Once I started to consider a larger and larger systemic view, I began to realize that the US is NOT immune, just more resilient. Even though i am focused on trying to grasp this---I am surprised, daily, by events unfolding as we speak.

I suppose it is comforting to keep each little problem isolated---just focus on solving these one at a time; but these solutions do in fact cause other problems in other areas. Housing is so bad that it would, if not checked, take out banks (FDIC has added 70% more workers this year alone, and bank failures have a psychological impact well beyond those affected by that branch). But the attempt to ease credit is killing the dollar--adding to the rise of oil costs. To work, we drive! How much can we cut this new cost? My truck takes a c-note to top off; I use it to move bales, water and wagons around the farm. Last year, 50 would do it. My spending habits are altered by this reality. It continues to worsen. Inflation is here---and is under-reported by the so-called indicators (since COLAs are tied to this, the government has incentive to play it down--click link). "In the past, we were looking at incidents causing ripples in the markets...today, what we may be seeing are wholesale trends..." And that is why this isn't yesterday's recession.

Ken M, you live in an area that is quite in need of outside support. If I am right, you are welcome to stop in for as long as you like (I'd damn sure welcome you if things got that bad). If you are right, you are welcome to stop by and laugh at me as we ring steel and drink my beer:))

I hope and pray you are right and i am tin-hat material.

Joe M
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 14:44:26 (ZULU)

Joe - I think you are right, but your timing is off. The core principal that is causing us grief here is that we "manufacture, harvest, supply" less today and rely on speculation, debt manipulation and leverage for an ever larger portion of our GDP. This is compounded by the artificial controls introduced into the free market both you and Ken mentioned. The US is on the path to ruin and the trend is accelerating, but our foundation is still a bit too solid to crumble in the imminent future if you ask me.

Now is the time to start some prudent, reasonable, long range planning for a sustained period of 'punishment' for our departure from true capitalism...it's on it's way, but not tomorrow (IMO).

In short, I agree with everything you've said and done except the duration of the planning period.

"Collapse" by Jared Diamond is an interesting but too 'preachy / granola' text on the subject.

just my $.02

medicjim
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 16:01:27 (ZULU)

MedicJim: Timelines and tea leaves are notoriously chancy for bets;)) I woulda used the 10K per day applications for SSN bennies (over the next 10 years!) as a catalyst for disaster, or at least re-writing our tax codes beyond repression---but other things inconveniently intervened in my analysis. Bottom line is the human factor makes any prediction utterly worthless without a functioning crystal ball. Mine's broke...so I just try to assimilate as much data as I can each day. The entitlement crunch staring us in the face along with the voter's incessant drive for more nannyisms were among my red flags not too long back. But now, noting market lag behind consumer activity---I think that things can (and will) get bad fast, long before the usual inidcators will react. There is much in history to draw from. Argentina and Germany come to mind. Overnight crashes, once the rats discover they've sunk the ship--with preceeding indicators indicating only a minor correction in segments as a warning. Dollar weakness is being quietly addressed today by G8 interventions; but the underlying weakness is being accelerated by fed/ congressional actions on another front. Bad debt propped by the same bad debt. How long before we hurt our benefactors in this, and how long before a free-fall occurs?

Shit, I've already moved several positions to things not too dependant on USDs. You hear of speculation in commodities' markets (copper, gold, oil, exported grains, etc)--but is it that or is it smart money running away from the USD and looking for "stable" places? In my case, it was to minimize a brutal 1st quarter's loss in dollar based stocks. Greed? maybe...but I prefer the term "maintaining my hard earned bucks." I lost "15%" on devaluations, now I contribute to the PI's rice dilemma:))

As for the link, it goes to Ken's point directly on guvmint interferences and unintended consequences. Oddly, the author uses that exact phrase--and one we are fairly fond of!

OK...got it. Some see strength and resilience; as has always been the case throughout our lifetime. I dug deep into this, and saw weaknesses that, alone, mean not a whole lot. I kept digging, and found patterns of weakness that are feeding each other--and became an alarmist.

I think my original point---start following market news as deeply as you can--is the only valid point that can be made right now (inform and evaluate for yourselves). The rest is purely guessing...which leads to much disagreement.

BTW, I interviewed with citigroup. No shit:)) I might take them up on an offer. Nothing...and i mean nothing at all in my background gave me any reason to think of this avenue on my own. A long story that involves two dirt roads, beer, and a chance meeting of an investment banker who liked to talk shop:)) Being Irish rocks at times. I shoulda played the lottery that day...

Joe M
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 19:46:14 (ZULU)

Joe - I agree with you on most of your points, especially about society being a "thin veneer". In the larger scale, it explains a causual link between the wholesale de-emphasis of judeo-Christian principles (by the liberals) in the US and the increase in societies ills i.e. abortion, divorce, gang activity, drug use and abuse, violence, etc. Anybody really have an idea what teenagers in the cities are like today? It's flat out scary. Kind of like Mad Max. You may or may not be a Christian, but this country was founded on very fundamental Christian morality. That has fallen by the wayside. While it definitely has it's weaknesses, it definitely has it's strengths. In our rush to make things "fair" we have eliminated our ability to keep the lid on IMO. As a society we have given up our ability to overcome many negative influences and raise kids that have respect, behave, and don't shoot or otherwise kill each other (via state protected abortions).

Now, everyone has the right to believe what they want. But what happens in a society when everyone believes something different, and there is no common thread of morality anymore? "You can't legislate morality". This is a fact, and the libs will be the first ones trying to grapple with this when the chickens come home to roost.

Ken M - I'm in your corner too. "I'm just trying to live what I think is the American dream. You know, that rugged individualist thing that Teddy Roosevelt idealised. I don't bother you, you don't bother me and we all just think that other guy is weird as Hell but that's his business and not mine as long as it's not directly impacting me." Right on. I work with a few gay dudes. Don't shove it in my face, and we will be just fine. Oh....and don't try and shove it down innocent kids' throats via the school system. That's one that really gets my goat. I don't have kids....yet. But I do have friends with kids. I worry about them too.

Jon, repeat after the rest of us....."you CAN'T CANT". :-)

Geoff M
WI, USA - Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 19:47:37 (ZULU)

The unpredictability of this stuff is that human factor--not just the US consumer (the heart of the world economy)--but all other trading partners as well. This article shows a change in attitude (unaccounted for by our experts) that is dangerous: Canada threatens a retaliatory energy deal with any NAFTA reno. Ok, if they ratchet prices, we go further into a recession, which in turn screws them by lowering profits from raising prices (supply then exceeds demand). Why shoot themselves in the foot? Because there is a thought out there that the US isn't as important anymore; the world can get along on Euros and globalisation with or without us. That is a wildcard that needs to be watched closely. Many tipping points, and not once have i red-flagged the usual suspects.

Oh heck: This is sniper country! This whole thing started when ammo prices jumped hard over the last two years. I started looking into commodities as a place for a few grand...and discovered that the war had less to do with the price hikes than I figured. Then, I became the chicken little-economist as a started following the money-makers. To look into it---do not watch stock quotes at the end of the day---read delivery schedules and prices, futures, and projections; read bank quarterly reports; in other words, don't look at what, but try to see why. And not just in energy or finance or grains--but a general look into al markets. That depth shows minor corrections here and there are all part of a larger trend that is uniformly heading in one direction.

Or, you can be happy Ford posted a quarterly gain for the first time in a few years and just ignore the fact they deferred energy costs;))

Joe M
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 20:26:33 (ZULU)

Joe, let me know if you get that job....especially if it's doing what I think you'll be doing. Our paths will likely cross if you do any site assessments.

medicjim
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 20:32:37 (ZULU)

Ah, "I don't bother you, you don't bother me and we all just think that other guy is weird as Hell but that's his business and not mine as long as it's not directly impacting me."---a constitutional issue. Believe it or not, I have far more passion on this than economics.

This Texas kid-seizure has me troubled in a fundemntally 4th ammendment way. Likely a false tip? But the kids go to foster homes anyway? So what was the probable cause to intervene again? Hey, I may think their lifestyle is bizarre, but I do not presume to pass judgment based on how they dress and organize family structures. So far, no evidence of the original crime allegations, and plenty that the tipster is a nutjob from Colorado. yet the families are being ripped apart. This thing bothers me. Convict someone first, eh? Then punish. Just because they are assumed to be weirdos is no reason to kick doors and kidnap their children. I would hope they'd need a shitload more than this to kick in YOUR door. Polygamists? Maybe..bu they did not obtain licences, so that's gonna be tough to prove:)) Child brides? |Think of the damage you can do to a rival with the right "anonimous tip" if this is how we now establish probable cause.

" and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

I'd say a little piece of this concept got thrown under the bus in this case...its almost enough to make me wanna write a check to the aclu. (Gag..barf)

Anyway, Ken's quoted quote by Geoff made me think of this example. edited to add: I had a not so friendly visit by social services in 92 during the divorce. It seems a tip phoned in to Alaska from Mass alleging "abuse" is all it took for me to be forced to shove an expensive attorney up their asses. I was out major dinero, and for 18 hours my son was in protective custody; all because of an obviously BS allegation from 4800 miles away.

Land of the free-- insofar as we are willing to fight for it. Willingness is sadly lacking, IMHO.

a article on dollar-gold de-linking and some of todays commodity pricing (click)

Joe M
Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 20:44:57 (ZULU)

Very Sad News Today - Logan Dane Coffery (34) died in an auto accident. He was the founder and president of Tactical Tailor.

Click my name for the news report and or read below - the url listed below is to another news site with photos of the car accident:

Two people killed in Lakewood crash

06:40 PM PDT on Sunday, April 20, 2008

Associated Press

LAKEWOOD, Wash. - A 35-year-old Lakewood man and a woman were killed and three others injured when a red Ferrari struck a shuttle bus in Lakewood.

Courtesy of Dean Minor

Two people in the Ferrari were killed in the crash.

Lakewood police Lt. Dave Guttu says the driver and passenger in the Ferrari died at the scene on Sunday afternoon.

The driver and two passengers in the Transpro shuttle were injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment. Guttu says the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The sports car had been going north on Gravelly Lake Drive when it crossed into the southbound lanes.

The Ferrari struck the Transpro shuttle about 12:30 p.m.. Transpro provides rides to disabled and elderly passengers.

It was not known if speed was a factor in the crash.

Tacoma and Lakewood police shut down a section of Gravelly Lake Drive for several hours to investigate the accident.

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_042008WAB_lakewood_fatal_ax_SW.835a04ae.html

Darren
East Bay, CA, USA - Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 20:50:44 (ZULU)

Joe M,

The Texas polygamist incident was wrongly handled and the raid seems to have been based on a tip from a mentally unstable person in another state. They may act funny and they dress strangely, but as long as everybody's happy, (kinda like you and I did in the Army) they have the right to do that. The warrant seems to me to be very flimsy, but it has to be checked out.

Why? Because bad things happen to kids. My wife works with special ed kids. They're easy compared to the kids who were taken from their homes because of murder, rape, beatings and psychological abuse that makes you think Carlos the Cuban from the Hanoi Hilton was coaching the abuser.

She got a job in a 'non-public' school that had a padded room for kids who were upset and acting out. I remember calling from TDY to let her know I would be late. The secretary said "The hospital called. Your wife is OK." A teen-age girl had a flashback to witnessing her mother being murdered and clocked her. She got a black eye and we could laugh at it, but we didn't have to live with that particular horror. So yes, they check it out.

CPS also checked out my son-in-law because the nosy neighbor next doors said the kids were loud. They left when their mom, a 6 foot tall Swede, asked for a warrant. They came back with a deputy and were met by their attorney at the property line, so yes, sometimes you have to get ugly.

I agree with you that sometimes people do mean and stupid things, but most of the time, taking a child from a proven abusive situation is the right thing to do. Most people don't have the integrity that you do.

Local law enforcement apparently had a source inside the compound for as long as two years. Why didn't they arrest or publicly investigate the compound until now? Waco. They are going to get sued into bankruptcy, no matter what, but nobody died.

Statistically, about 40% of the children who are removed from situations like this make it in "The World", 40% will be wards of the state or incarcerated and 20% - unknown. They get to go into the world at age 21 to express themselves as protected by the 1st Amendment.

When, in the course of an investigation, based on probable cause or reasonable suspicion, evidence of other crimes is discovered, arrests are made an the evidence investigated. It ain't pretty, but that's part of being human.

Rant off.

Trajan

Trajan Aurelius
East Bay, Kalifornya, USA !!! - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 02:30:14 (ZULU)

Click. ...and thanks, guys!

Ken, "A major contributor to the current issues is the pervasive micromanaging attitude of many Americans and the intense desire to not let anyone fail."

So, you've met my wife and mother in law? My wife CAN NOT let the boy do anything without being involved. Even simple shit, like moving the push mower from the back yard to the front. He's TWELVE!!! I swear those two cows would sit in his plate and tell him how to eat, if their big asses didn't cover half the table.

....and they wonder why he can't even cut his own meat.

As for the banks failing, I think the only good thing about it is saving some of the smaller banks, so Bank of America, which ain't based in America, doesn't end up owning the whole banking business.

On increasing food prices being a good thing, it'll only be good for folks like me, who will supplement by growing my own damn food.

Increasing prices will only cause lower income people to feed their kids crappier food. (Think Top Ramen, little Debbies, and cheese puffs) It won't cause them to tighten their belts at all. Have you ever met trailer trash that didn't have top tier cable, an expensive stereo and surround sound for their video game, and a smoking habit?

When these type of people have less cash, they don't cancel their cable or quit smoking,they buy cheaper food. Damned if they'll do without their new Nikes.

Medic Jim,

We ARE in the fight for our very existence! Look at our only choices for president! ....and one of THOSE losers will be chosen by APPOINTED "super delegates"! The electoral college is absolute bullshit. The SD's are gonna do what they're told.

Gary,

Just send that rifle to me. The boy needs a stick.

Jon,

I'd go shoot it, maybe do the "square" test,(1 click up, 1 right, one down, one left should make a square) then decide.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 05:27:02 (ZULU)

Joe M.,

I'm thinking you would make a good Intel Analyst. Give the Company a call. Maybe they'll let you work from home. ;-))

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 06:18:21 (ZULU)

WSJ's Brett Arends thinks it is time to start stockpiling food. Click. A few notable senior investment bankers share that view too.

jc: I'd wager I'm not welcome with the agency. I tended to be a smart ass whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Joe M
Friday, April 25, 2008, at 06:46:16 (ZULU)

Travis

For a nominal fee i could do that. I like that rifle, it's light wieght, no recoil to speak of, great little coyote getter. I think i'm going to send it to GAP.

Gary Kaney
N.W., ILL, - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 12:22:03 (ZULU)

I've had some e-mails about my son, and got one this morning and my e-mail wouldn't reply (my 'putter is having "one of those days - weeks"), so here's what's happening...

"Good morning Sharon.

Ruggus Rattus is great.

I just got his report card last week and he's pulling all A's and the teacher comments were all positive, ("He's a joy to have in class", "Jason has a very positive attitude", "He has fit right in with no adjustment period", etc)

He's just glowing. We have heard nothing from his mother in nearly three months. She never gave a shit, she just wanted him to "get even" and wreck our lives. The "Ultimate" in bitter divorced women.

She has a real shitty life in front of her."

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 14:43:43 (ZULU)

'Lito,

You and your son both deserve congratulations and respect. Obviously, the right thing has happened, and both her and the courts should pay for preventing such, for so long.

I pray I may be so lucky, in my debacle of similar circumstance. Care to throw some of that luck my way?

I know, I know, it ain't luck, it is shear perserverance, and no stopping a man who knows he's right. No argument there.

Sean T.
Winnipeg, where there's snow on the ground, AGAIN!!!, Manitoba, Canada - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 16:45:04 (ZULU)

A long time ago I posted, "Screw Master Kung Foo Fighter, the guy I wouldn't want to piss off is (Catshooter)"

I'm still good with that.

FluffyBlaster: Kids give us our highest highs and our lowest lows. You've been through enough of the bad times that you've earned this.

CDC'
Friday, April 25, 2008, at 21:19:42 (ZULU)

Carly Fiorina for VP?

If it's a McCain/Fiorina ticket, I'll vote Democrat.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/22/carly-fiorina-gets-endorsement-of-sorts-for-vp-job/

Duman
Friday, April 25, 2008, at 21:39:38 (ZULU)

Equipment country:

(WRT practice and ongoing training, deepest flat range I can access locally is 800m.)

I'm looking at the Leica CRF900 laser rangefinder. Given that my ongoing long-range stick is likely to be .308 Win chambering or similar, is there any compelling argument to get the CRF1200 instead?

Best price I could find for the CRF900 was $US440 from Turner Sports thru Amazon.com. Typical pricing was $US550. Any alternate vendor dynamite deals?

Thanks

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Friday, April 25, 2008, at 23:35:52 (ZULU)

Sean...

I can tell you it ain't luck - it's blood and tears. If you ever need any advice, drop me an e-mail (put SniperCountry in the subject line so I won't have a misunderstanding like last time - sorry!!)

Now that the stuff for my son is over, I have had a chance to come up for air, and I have been going over the papers from the first case and found that my first lawyer was about 4 times more worser than I thought (is that POSSIBLE???)...

... but in the browsings, I found that she committed "Misrepresentation for the purpose of financial gain" (aka FRAUD!!) a felony around these parts. Also, she supplied me with a knowingly false sworn affidavit, a felony around these parts... along with a few other real baddnesses.

So last week, I filed a $1,500,075 law suit against my first lawyer - It's pretty different than what I have been doing, but I have a lot going for me... I can shut her down in a flash, and probably close her father's law firm too.

I'm in the process of putting together the complaints to the state BAR "Grievance Committee" - felonies are a mandatory loss of license for her and her father... the father is a nice guy that raised a selfish, self centered, spoiled daughter, who can't take responsibility for her own farts.

I figure that if I press them with everything, and they are looking at loosing their living, they will have the insurance company cut a deal asap. That's my hope and strategy anyway.

Getting back to shooting... I had a 22-250 Rem 40-XB single shot that I bought new in 1980, and I ate up the barrel on Prairie Dogs and crows. It's been sitting around for years, and every so often I would take it out and see if I could find some magic bullet that would squeeze a few more years out of it. Never gonna happen. Like the "Original Pat" said, the throat looked like 40 miles of bad road ;) The stock had got beat up too, and it looked pretty ratty.

So last December, I sent it to Remington for a new Custom Shop Match barrel in 6m/m Rem (244 Rem) cuz I'm wore out on the .22-250 (and I have another one also), and it got back about 10 days ago.

Beautiful barrel. So I stripped the stock with paint remover, and steamed out the dents, and laid into it with 400 sandpaper... and then some nice Walnut stain.

I put on about 8 coats of gloss polyurethane, and it's looks pretty good for a start - I have to a little more sanding (dribbles), and do a few more coats of poly, but I want to shoot it for a while and work up some loads.

I can smell the air, and it smells clean and warm... look out you woodies. ;)

CDC...

>""Screw Master Kung Foo Fighter..."<

Man, that o-fish-u-lly makes you an old timer...

... I haven't thought of "Master Kung Foo Fighter" in many years. HA!

I think that was about 7 years ago???

You should know - you know where ALL the bodies are buried ;)

'lito

CatShooter
Spring has sprung, da' creek has riz, I wonder where dem kitties is? - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 00:16:14 (ZULU)

Rod: you probably won't be astonished that manufacturers claims for the distance that LRFs will work are somewhat...optimistic, to be kind. I'd go with the 1200 - which I have - even for a .308. Except on big, highly reflective targets, my 1200 doesn't often work much past 800.

Lindy
RV-Nomadic, On the Road, U.S.A. - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 01:13:42 (ZULU)

Lindy:

I was kind of wandering into that direction, would like some margin for targets that don't resemble a billboard surfaced in Da-lite :-) Only too familiar with "specs-manship" :-)

Appreciate the feedback. I don't have money to burn, but I also hate wasting money iterating on products. 23% more price as insurance on 800 yd specs is fine.

CRF1200 $US540 from Turner Sports thru Amazon.com. Any better-priced sources?

Usual price is $US650.

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 01:46:39 (ZULU)

'lito,

Glad to hear it.

Sharon

Larry J. Porter
Boonies of the Panhandle, Texas, USA!!!! - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 01:47:38 (ZULU)

rod,

Ditto on what Lindy said. Good advice and it looks as if you're taking it. Good move.

Joe M.,

What the hell, give 'em a call anyway. Their memory ain't that good these days.

jc
Cordova, TN, United States - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 04:55:23 (ZULU)

Joe,

It wasn't my intention to leave you with the impression that I disagreed with your assessment of the direction our country is going. It's true that the real estate market is only one element in our economic condition.

The Romans left us with a great example of how a country can rise and fall from grace. History suggests that we, as a nation, are following in their footsteps.

We started out with the right idea but I believe our success has lead us to the place we are today. We traded our noble dreams for something not quite as noble. The Romans eventually had a problem with power hungry people governing for their own sake rather than the good of the citizens they were supposed to represent. Honor was left in the dust of their race for power and wealth, leaving the people behind. Sound a little familiar?

You are much more the scholar than I am and like I said, I read your posts with interest. I have learned that for all of our ability to gather and store historical data, we have become even more inclined to ignore it. For all of our intelligence, we don't seem to have the sense that God gave a goose.

Just my two cents.

Indiansinger

Roger C. Carpenter
Sweet Potato Capital, MS, USA - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 05:28:13 (ZULU)

Rod.

When i bought my range finder i went with the 1500 series over the 1200 just for the extra (insurance)i guess you would say. I was really druelling for a Swarovski, but setting down and thinking about what i was really going to use it for i couldn't see spending that kind of money. Like i said before i'm happy with my Newcon.

Gary Kaney
NW, ILL, - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 12:22:47 (ZULU)

Gary:

Just found out that Newcon is based in Canada - an advantage for me. They also have arrangement to sell refurb units thru a Canadian vendor, which appeals to my pricing sensibilities :-) (Domestic shipping is a big advantage too.)

http://www.ramoptic.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=51

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 13:54:22 (ZULU)

Laser rangefinders:

Found this little gem while searching thru spec sheets. Similar patterns for other products guaranteed, just not necessarily published :-(

(Newcon) LRM 1200 LRM 1500

-------- --------

Max. distance, m (white target) 1140 1460

Max. distance, m (black target) 436 608

*That's* why you want the apparently over-spec product, since the spec is based on a white target. Not too many white targets in realistic field conditions except after a fresh snow-fall.

http://www.newcon-optik.com/Specs/lrm1200_1500.pdf

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 14:23:30 (ZULU)

Rod: Great target reference, but another factor is conditions. Bright high noon sun, as you know, can also degrade the range. The thing that would make the difference in how much I'd pay isn't so much how utterly fantastic the optics were as it would be how much output the laser had. Transmissions and horsepower! The abslolute best slick assed tranny in the world coupled to a 200hp stock 350 is going to lose to 650hp coupled to a garage built 400 turbo everytime;)

Lito can correct my anology if my reasoning is false without me getting defensive---heheh. This has happened before, and I am a smarter human for it.

Now I received a letter from my son last night. His OSUT ends May 8th, and the grad letter came the day before (from the CO). His letter was a short, vague "oh woe is me" POS of a scribbled mess. Apparently, he wants to come home, chapter out and run away (and asks my help in this). My best guess at this point is to assume a typical response to a typical temporary twinge of regret: He got full of himself, made a slight transgression, and got stomped on by a Drill---and had the fear of God himslef placed deep into his heart (I know that feeling!). This rocked his equilibrium, cuz he thought he was one of the chosen peoples by excelling to this point. This combined with a sense of homesickness to cause a near manic mood swing instantly; now he wants to walk away and run to mommy (or, in this case, that side of me that tried to be the mommy in her absense over the years).

That is the theory: I spent most of last night (insomnia can be useful) finding the back door portal to the secure side of Benning to obtain every dang email addy and phone listing from the CG on down to his 1SG. That stuff is a contigency. I also spoke directly with a senior drill in another company in his cycle---he relayed my concerns to his drills directly thru the brick-radios. I expect a bit more details once they get a chance to get on the phone.

The company is off on the final FTX, and my boy appears to be among them (he is not in the holdover area). That tends to reinforce the theory that he is just overreacting to a handslap. Heheh, I did much the same a few times early on too.

The bitch of it was trying to speak to someone after duty hours on a friday night. Staff duty appears to be a Brigade level thing anymore:((

The other theory is he did something really dumb (like sneaking off to the PX or Burger King on a work detail--I did too, only was not caught)--and they would be stomping him a bit harder (maybe a recycle or a summary AR15---neither of which matters a bit to a career so much as it does to self esteem. In that case, maybe I could be of use by applying some wall-to-wall counseling that is no longer legal on their end.

In any event, i am prepared to launch to GA in hours if needed.

Dang! I did really well at letting him be on his own without any interference to this point...but i will not let him make the biggest mistake of his life out of stubborn pride and silly adjustment period-induced depression. A quitter is habitualized for life. If it is that bad, I have to stop him.

Joe M
Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 15:35:32 (ZULU)

Joe M: I'm not lecturing anybody, least of all you. Esquire magazine has a feature called "What I've Learned" in which it asks accomplished and/or famous people, well, what they have learned.

I am neither accomplished nor famous but here's my shot at it:

..................................................................

- No serious endeavor turns out to be like you imagined it would. You need to understand that going in.

- When grown-ups have to do unpleasant jobs, grown-ups do them.

- Nothing worth doing is easy.

- In any big project there's a point at which you will be tempted to quit. If you quit, you'll regret it every time you think about it for the rest of your life.

- Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you'll get there soon enough.

.....................................................................

Again, I'm not lecturing. You gentlemen know all this. Most kids don't.

<3rd edit>

CDC'
Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 16:53:44 (ZULU)

Joe....had the same momentary problem with #1 daughter.....advised her that home was now a "With your shield, or on it" place of rest. Seems to have worked. If I had stepped in in any other way, the immediate problem may have been avoided, but it would still have had the effect of "daddy fixed it, not me". Seems to have worked. Article 15 overcome, back on track and supposedly OTW a PsyOps gig. We'll see. Having them is the easy part. Raising them is a problem. Letting go is a bitch.

Range finders....I popped for a Nikon 1200. They advertise 1200, I've actually gotten a hit at 1310 on a large bilboard in the Texas hill country. With a teeny bipod I use for my spotting scope, I've gotten true recordings of 995 yds on a flat black, standard mailbox down the road from my house. Here in the 'Stan, I regularly get out to 800-900 yards with no problem. There's so much damned dirt in the air here in Kabul, I've had some problems farther than that, it's an atmospheric problem, not the unit. Be prepared to spend $500. I still had problems with the F*#%ing UKD targets up at Bobby's World. He gots some kinda hoodoo hex on 'em or sumthin...

Abdullah the BBIED warrior got in a taxi today and told the driver to take him to the MOI police station. Driver refused, and Abdullah the Dull got out and slunk away. I laughed so hard, my 'taint hurt...I sure needed the laugh. I never included working for DoS idiots in my zombie plan....

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 19:03:39 (ZULU)

<<<Nothing is ever like you think its going to be.

Grown-ups have to do boring, uncomfortable tasks. Grown-ups do them.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

In any significant task, there's a point at which you will be tempted to quit. If you quit, you'll regret it every time you think about it for the rest of your life.

Put one foot in front of the other and you'll get there soon enough.>>>

CDC,

If ya dont mind I would like to borrow/use this....Gotta 15yr old stepson that needs a reminder now and again on how life is full of disappointments,And disapointments used properly can build character.

UnPat

UnPat
Wi, USA - Saturday, April 26, 2008, at 20:48:30 (ZULU)

UnPat: Go ahead. Since your C&P I edited them to read better.

CDC'
Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 00:33:26 (ZULU)

Taliban tried to kill Karzai a couple hundred yards from where I was standing today. They got within 30 yards, had RPG's, BBIED's and AK's. Couldn't hit anything other than a little kid and one MP. I hope this is their 'A' team......What a bunck of shitheads. I am, however, starting to get a growing respect for the ANA.

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 17:41:52 (ZULU)

re: the opposition

Always better to overestimate enemy capabilities.

OTOH, nothing wrong with hoping they're all as inept as they appear :-)

(But I'm sure you knew that already).

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 20:06:24 (ZULU)

CDC',

Good list on 'grown-ups'. There need to be more grown-ups in some areas/positions.

Duman
Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 20:36:54 (ZULU)

Charles,

All it takes is one bomber to ruin your day.

The ANA are gutsy. As good as the ROK's except for equipment and nutrition. Very experienced as individual fighters (fighting is the national sport) and learning the art of combined arms warfare the hard way.

Trajan

Trajan Aurelius
East Bay, CA, USA - Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 21:29:06 (ZULU)

re: news

Attack on Karzai and associates on national news in Canada. Footage only had sounds of rifles, but of course the cameraperson may have missed other stuff.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080427/ceremony_attacked_080427/20080427?hub=TopStories

Of course, the Canadian coverage had to add a Canadian flavour:

"Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan and President Hamid Karzai narrowly escaped an "audacious attack" by the Taliban during a ceremony in Kabul marking the end of the Soviet invasion."

rod regier
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 23:34:26 (ZULU)

Joe, Plus 1 on the quitting becoming a habit. Works the same with relationships. It seems some guys I know have a divorce lawyer on speed dial.

It seems that, based on MY observation, most folks quit within days or feet of sucess. A few things I've quit on, it pissed me off to see that I had been ALMOST THERE when I threw down my stuff and told everyone within hearing what a bunch of assholes they were. I now have a different opinion of exactly WHO the asshole was.

Travis Morgan
Wichita, Ks., U.S.A. - Monday, April 28, 2008, at 05:01:43 (ZULU)

Travis: I had similar experiences in life. Every time I've had a problem, the same person was always present - ME!

I've tried to teach that to our kids, but haven't completely succeeded. Some lessons are difficult to teach to others, and apparently must be learned on one's own.

Lindy
On The Road, U.S.A. - Monday, April 28, 2008, at 13:33:48 (ZULU)

CDC,

Thanks,...The kid has drivers ed this year and in the frame of mind that nothin can happen fast enough to make him happy.He has alot to learn.

UnPat

UnPat
Monday, April 28, 2008, at 18:45:38 (ZULU)

WOW!

Just getting a chance to catch up on the roaster, and - to quote the Grateful Dead - what a long, strange trip it's been!

Good news (kind of) - I'm now officially a certified ISO & OHSAS auditor. Don't let that fool you, I still think ISO is a euroweenie consipiracy. But if I can make a buck from fools that don't look at the bigger picture..... and got my explosives handlers license re-upped too. That, and the FCC license - it's been a big month for licenses! HA! Now someone throw money at me quick - just because I look GOOD!

On the Texas kids, I gotta side with Joe about this one. Before one can have probable cause, one is required to have reasonable suspicion. So are polygamists "guilty" of child abuse just because they're polygamists? Several of you know I've got somewhat of an inside track on this stuff. Some of what those "fundamentalists" do is sick and wrong. Like marrying off pre-teen girls to family members. When a 16 year old girl - with 4 kids - explains that she's been married to her uncle for 4 years, that pegs my "sick and wrong" meter. But I wanna see SWORN AFFIDAVITS before someone pulls a kid. ANY kid - for ANY reason! Either we've got a Constitution or we don't. Either we've got laws to punish perjury, or we don't. If we don't, then let the revolution roll - let's see who's back is up against the wall first - if we do, you can't trample it without repercussions. Personally, I couldn't care less what adults do - as long as I don't have to finance it under duress (like I do now) - and feel that anti-polygamy laws are a violation of the First Amendment. Besides, the federal government has no legitimate business as pertains to marriage. PERIOD. Since the states do though, I'll hold my tongue. The end comment? Let adults exercise their freedom of religion, let the Constitution mean something, but if kids are being done wrong, come down on anyone involved like the Hammer of Thor. Just make sure those ducks are in a line FIRST.

I've been through the same thing Joe said - evil people using the system as a weapon. You prove 'em wrong, and there's no justice. I asked why, and was given the crap about "we don't want to discourage people from reporting" - I asked if they cared about discouraging people from committing felony purjury by knowingly filing false claims". Uh, no. There are NO consequences to filing a report KNOWN to be false. That part of the system is broke, and it wouldn't make me cry if some family made "the system" bleed. These 'government workers' seem to think there's no difference between pulling a kid forcibly from his home and sending him off for a week at scout camp. But I forget - what is it that the Founding Fathers said we needed to do when government usurped authority and abused it? I forget..... yeah, right.

CDC, drop me a line at the Riflemen.net addy - I'll send you the pics. By the way, YOU are the bad fellow! You've talked me into spending too much money. Since the Chopweiler was so big, I ordered a trio of DMDCs from Scrap Yard (7 weeks ago, still to be delivered). Then Swamp Rat opened pre-orders for a little 3.5" blade just this weekend. It was YOU that clued me in to Cliff Stamp, and his skinning the Buick with the little Rat (I especially loved the part where he cut through the door hinges!). I'm "on the list" for a trio of those too. You're a very, very bad man. On the good side, I snagged a Busse. Not that I'm gonna keep it - it's a jump school graduation present for a certain young paratrooper - too rich for my blood :-) What you said about kids being the providers of both highs and lows is slightly more than 100% right.

On grown-ups, I'm continually telling my kiddo there's more to being a man than growing old. Sometimes I think he catches it. Other times I'm not so sure. Maybe more westerns would help.

On food, do I agree with storage? Not long ago, I ordered 15 cases of MountainHouse #10 cans. Good for 25 to 35 years - not that I figure it'll take anywhere near that long for the bottom to fall out of our socialist experiment. That's one spoke in the bike wheel. I've been saying for quite a while that people need to get their houses in order - I've been practicing what I've been preaching. I'm just practicing it harder and faster now.

Bravo
Monday, April 28, 2008, at 19:55:36 (ZULU)

ATK, LEUPOLD ACQUISITIONS . . . Irvine, Calif.-based Meade Instruments announced it has sold its Weaver and Redfield sport optics brands to two buyers for cash proceeds of about $8 million. ATK acquired Weaver. Leupold & Stevens purchased the Redfield brand.

Sharon

Larry J. Porter
Boonies of the Panhandle, Texas, USA!!!! - Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at 02:38:02 (ZULU)

Unpat: Fifteen and still "He has alot to learn."?

That's pretty sad. My daughter just turned fourteen and she knows absolutely every goddamned thing.

Bravo: It was all a part of my nefarious plan. I'd have trouble parting with the Busse.

CDC'
Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 05:10:52 (ZULU)

CDC,

I hear ya,man...LOL.

Has anyone dealt factory direct with Magpul for a PRS Stock for ARs ?

Any comments on order fill time ???

UnPat

Unpat
Wi, USA - Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 06:50:07 (ZULU)

CDC: Knowing-it-all afflicts all of us.

In fact, it explains Blake's current problem: He bought a cell phone on pass (he misses his girl friend even more than mommy, thankfully:)) A company drill saw him and passed word back. |When asked if he had one, he decided to revert back to what he would have told his mom (and gotten away with it)--he lied. So they took his locker apart and found three "contraband" items--the phone, a MP3 player and a spent practice fuze for a grenade (doh!). Now he faces a big-assed "summarized" field grade. It is slightly different than one he may receive in a real unit in that it stays in Benning when he leaves (no lasting impact). That is cool IMHO.

He struggled a bit (hence the tear-stained letter) about manning-up and taking his lumps and driving on vs. quitting. His first instinct was to quit. His 1SG (this man is now a hero in my world) explained to him that, other than this, he was in the running for trainee of the cycle and he is counseling him to stick it out. So far, he has had success. Blake is planning on recycling back thru the final phase and going forward.

I did talk with the CSM and his 1SG--but my caveat was that I would only get directly involved if asked. They appreciate that. As is noted here---letting him find his way is important.

I can't bleat about how dumb this was since i did equally dumb things early on, and I was prepared to quit at least twice myself. It might be better that he learns this lesson now--that real-life is for freakin' real and nobody is joking around about some things. At least in trainee status, if they do not toss yer ass, they just smack it with a big stick and then erase the record. A few months later, and he would be toast. Silver lining? I try to see it that way:))

So....now I gotta re-arrange my travel plans:))

Joe M
Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 17:19:16 (ZULU)

Joe: sounds like rearing and his innate value set burned through the fog. Good for him. And I know you're all burned up about having to rearrange your travel plans. Glad it turned out that way.

I'm finding out quite a bit about the corporate warrior code of ethics. At least on the "corporate" side. Get a copy of your contract, laminate it, and keep it in your rucksack. You need it. 'nuff said.

Charles S. Hunt
San Antonio, Texas, USA - Wednesday, April 30, 2008, at 18:34:02 (ZULU)

Back to Archives