tartanphantom

Now yer talkin'! :up:

Looks like the rare soft-shelled armadillo-- they have been moving up from the Gulf for several years now.

  That's awesome. Good on you.

Half & Half is just what it says-- Half burley, half bright virginia-- yes, it does contain PG, but it's not totally soaked in the stuff. Can get a little hot & harsh IF you smoke it too fast, but the flavor marries extremely well with a cob pipe.

  Big fan of McClelland 5100... MacBaren navy flake as well (although I prefer Escudo or Orlik when it comes to mild navy flakes), but I've never been able to get along with MacBaren Plumcake-- tongue bite has always been a problem for me with that one, no matter how gently I smoked it. As far as the drugstore blends, there are a few decent ones out there--  Carter Hall as you mentioned, and also, it's pretty hard to beat Half & Half in a corncob pipe on an mild autumn day outdoors-- one of my favorite "bottom shelf" combinations.

Definitely a Chinese Type 53-- the Chinese version of the Mosin M44.

In Russia, you do not fire Mosin. In Russia, Mosin fires you!   I've got a 91/30, an M38, and an M44. Love them and shoot them all. Great fun and a sore shoulder that you will remember-- especially with milsurp ammo.

That's a real beauty. I love sandblast finishes-- they generally smoke much cooler than smooth-finish pipes, and the tactile sensation is great when holding the pipe between puffs.

For beginners, I don't recommend aromatics. The main reason is that most aromatics are cased with some flavoring or topping (often artificial in nature), which increases the sugar content in the blend. While this is not a big problem for the experienced smokers, it can be a problem for newbies for several reasons:   1-- The additional sugar allows a bowl cake to build up quickly, but depending on how heavy the casing (flavoring) is, it will cause the pipe to retain the casing flavor-- this can limit the pipe's ability to be smoked with different blends without them tasting funny.    2-- More importantly, when the sugars are burned, they break down into two primary components-- carbonised sucrose (contributes to the carbon cake in the pipe bowl-- a good thing)-- the second primary byproduct is STEAM. Steam is not your friend, mainly because a good deal of it can condensate in the bottom of the bowl and in the pipe stem-- causing a pipe to "smoke wet" and possibly turn sour. However, the second, more discouraging side effect is tongue bite and scalding of the roof of the smoker's mouth. This can be a huge problem for beginning pipe smokers, who haven't yet learned to pace their puffs. It's especially a problem for pipe smokers who are also cigarette smokers, as they usually have a tendency to smoke way too fast. There is not much that is more uncomfortable than a scalded tongue and mouth, and it has discouraged many beginning pipe smokers from continuing much past the first half-dozen bowls.-- if you intend to take up pipesmoking, you don't want to be known as a quitter. :shake:   3-- most drugstore blends and pipe shop bulk aromatics are heavily laced with polyethylene glycol (PG for short)-- which is used as a moistening agent in cheaper tobaccos in order to prevent them from drying out. PG itself is pretty harmless, but it can contribute to excessive steam, and the aforementioned condensation within the pipe.   Most newbies aren't yet ready to venture into the wonderful, complex world of English, Oriental and Perique blends, however, some folks who are frequent cigar smokers may find it easier to transition to English blends-- as they are often full-bodied and are often totally free from any secondary flavoring agents. I highly recommend that beginners start with good high-quality natural Virginia or Virginia-Burley blends (some common brands of quality are McClelland, G.L. Pease, MacBaren and some of the Peterson blends) without heavy artificial flavorings. "Natural" blends (also known as "straight Virginias") have only the natural, original sugar from within the cured tobacco leaf-- without additional flavoring agents or heavy doses of PG. Virginias are not necessarily as fragrant or fruity as flavored aromatics, but they are a very satisfying smoke, and most have a room note (smell) that is at least tolerable by others. Also, not all Virginia blends are created equal, and they certainly do NOT all taste the same. The reason is that Virginia tobaccos come in various strains-- red virginia, yellow virginia, stove-cured, and many other strains. A good blender can create several distinctly different blends by using different recipe mixes of similar leaf. For the more adventurous, a good Virginia/Perique blend is hard to beat-- but the Perique tobacco adds a different flavor and quite a bit of strength to the smoke, so proceed with caution if you are a "lightweight."   I'm not saying to avoid aromatics altogether, but if you choose to smoke them, it's best to have a couple of pipes dedicated to nothing but aromatics. As your pipe collection grows, it's also advisable to have pipes dedicated to other types of blends as well-- certain pipes for English blends, certain pipes for Virginia and Perique blends, etc. However-- I have never, ever seen a cherry tree or a vanilla plant growing in a tobacco barn. I see no reason to add flavors where they don't naturally occur. This, of course, is just my personal opinion. Smoke whatever you like.   Hope this helps new folks interested in taking up the enjoyment of pipe smoking-- One of the most important things you can learn in smoking a pipe is patience, patience, patience. Pipe smoking is not a sprint race, it's more of a cross country journey.

I gotta meet you folks out there one weekend-- I haven't been shooting in over a month due to very very busy weekends...

  You have no idea... my pipe collection is 6 times the size of my firearms collection... I just realized that I could smoke a different pipe every day for 2.5 months and still not smoke them all. :stunned:

  Best of luck with your endeavor, and don't let the "Fudds" get you down. As long as you know your stuff, you'll do fine. :usa:

  Sadly, you are spot on, my friend.   I saw this story yesterday, and the lack of participation by Tennessee was not surprising at all.

  Just don't tell the dogs that it's nothing more than frozen water... they will be absolutely crestfallen. Never saw a dog that didn't like playing in the snow.     Here in Murfreesboro, the BS coming from the Capitol building in Nashville is 10 times deeper than the snow... which we didn't get. Frankly, I'm a little tired of the local forecasters "crying wolf" so much this year. Our total snowfall in Murfreesboro has amounted to substantially less than 1/2" this season.

My favorite Nagin quote of all time was his backpeddle on the "chocolate city speech"-- "How do you make chocolate? You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk and it becomes a delicious drink. That's the chocolate I'm talking about." what a crooked buffoon.

I lost my father when he was a very young 66. But his memory is always with me. No one is really gone until they are forgotten. Your mother will live in your memory until you draw your last breath-- she will always be with you.

  Would these Walmart sources be the same Walmart employees that "don't know" when ammo will be shipped in or put out-- unless you pay them a small "finder fee"? Or the same Walmart employees that state emphatically that ammo now has a government-mandated "expiration date"?   Sure, there are exceptions and some good folks who work there, but I trust the average Walmart employee about as much as I trust Joe Biden.

Another vote for Carmax. I bought from them about 3 years ago, after hunting for a few months (I was in no hurry) for a decent used vehicle. Yes, it's true, they don't negotiate, but the car I got was priced about 1200 below book, so I feel like I got a decent deal. Also, Carmax has a very small doc/prep fee-- $125-150 if I recall correctly-- unfortunately most dealers look to rack up on the doc/prep fees, especially when they undercut the advertised vehicle price. I've seen them as high as $650 some places-- that's a hell of a lot of money just to fill out a sales receipt and a title transfer, and most dealers WON'T negotiate on the doc/prep fee-- it's gravy money to them.

Same here. I've only had the 10 y.o. expression... wasn't too impressed with it. Not bad, just seemed kind of average for a Speyside malt. Given the choice on conventional Speyside malts, I'd take Aberlour or Dalmore over the Glenmorangie.  But then again, different strokes & all that.

It's interesting-- my job involves Day travel all over middle TN-- from Clarksville to McMinnville, White House to Monteagle, and all points in between. Whatever town I am in, I frequently check the local Walmart ammo supply.   Murfreesboro is consistently the worst of the bunch as far as available inventory goes.

Judging by the fact that the ammo shelves at the local Mboro Walmarts are STILL perpetually bare, I'd say that Mboro must be the hoarding/reselling capital of middle TN.

One of my favorites-- I was a just a little kid back then, but I loved me some westerns... still do.   http://youtu.be/HqBInlTQHaU

Father Goose, I hope you've had a chance to try the Laphroaig Triple Wood. It's extremely difficult to get-- I got a bottle of the 2012 release, and there were only 12 crates total allotted to the US market that year. They don't make it every year, because of the required triple maturation. However, I believe they are planning a release for this year. This is far and away THE most complex expression of Laphroaig I have ever tasted... much less iodine notes, yet the sea salt is still there-- as well as dry citrus notes and a slight nuttiness. Of course, the peat is present, but more subtle. Bottled at cask strength, it take distilled water well when mixed about 4 to 1 (2 oz. whisky, and 1/2oz distilled water)-- this really opens up the whisky's nose in an incredible bouquet. :yum: I've been rationing and nursing this bottle for 2 years now, and I still have a good bit left-- only treating myself every now and then... it's that good. This ain't your Grandpa's Laphroaig! You can find out more info here: http://www.laphroaig.com/triplewood/ I got mine at Stones River Beverages in Murfreesboro-- they have one of the best scotch selections within a 100 mile radius and the owner knows his stuff. In fact, he was only allotted a 1/2 case and it never even hit the shelves-- each bottle was already spoken for before then-- including the one bottle that he held back for me.

  Not a bad one in the whole bunch! :usa:   I particularly like the somewhat dry (compared to other Islays) finish of the Lagavulin 16yo. Plenty of peat smoke and sea air, but not as oily on the palate as some of the others. Not that I dislike Ardbeg or Laphroaig (quite the contrary), just different tastes for different moods. the Lagavulin is the perfect after-dinner touch when paired with a charcoal-grilled salmon steak.

Acting career aside, he was also a useful idiot for the gun grabbers... and people like this want to tell us as gun owners how to live our lives. I don't take advice from junkies.   http://www.examiner.com/article/hoffman-was-narrator-of-gun-control-cartoon   http://youtu.be/UKq9ZKZljlA