leroy

I like the endura... I tend to like "bigger" knives and the endura is a great blade length and shape (...for me, at least....).  The VG 10 will come sharp and ya can strop it right back up there to hair whittlin in just a few strokes on a leather strop.  I always keep at least one of the enduras either in my pocket or layin around close.   Remember, as others have opined; buy both, ya cant go wrong with spyderco....   Enjoy.... leroy

Dont worry about it man.... I cant see too well myself... . I aint as young as i used to be...   leroy

Greg:  Mike's idea here aint a bad one... I'm an older coot and it seems to me that one time there wuz a wildcat cartridge that wuz essentially a 223 necked up to  6mm.   It may be called the 6 mm by 45.  Here is some poop from Chuck Hawks re: this idea:  http://www.chuckhawks.com/6mm_military_cartridge.htm   There's lots of gibberish in this article but the idea in included in the content if ya dig a bit.    I like the idea of usin the 223 brass because ya can find it very cheaply; but it requires ya to reload.  There is also the extra work of resizin and formin the brass; but the feed material is readily available.   I think a 6 mm X 223 would be a helluva custom bolt gun; very akin to  mikes idea of the 6 mmBR gun...     Ya might want to look at just a plain jayne 223 bolt gun.   We've got a 1 in 12 twist bolt gun that will shoot all day long at 100yds; and ya can lay a dime over a 5 shot group (...if ya do your part...) and there is no wind.  I suspect the fast twist 22's will shoot a longer (...heavier...) bullet (....75, grain, 77 grain, 80 grain...) longer and just as well; and a 223 sure aint gonna wear out any barrel throats.    Remember, the 243 is just a necked down 308.... Tnat's why they tend to wash the barrel throats out.    As i remember, the most liked 243 bullet is an 87 grainer.  It aint far from a 77 grain 223 to an 87 grain 243...  A wildcat 223 by 6 mm would get ya there too... And, i think at least, would be a helluva shooter... .   Random musings from an old coot .... Have fun.   leroy

Sonny:  We used to use the 7.5 grain load of unique with the 185's...   leroy

Five point two (...5.2....) titegroup, 230 grain slug...  With the 185's; i would try 5.5 titegroup...   leroy

To kinda add to the knoxville thing and make it a bit easier for the "wayfairing pilgrim" to understand where things are; i would break up knoxville as follows:   I.    275 corridor--- From the junction of 40/275 north; dont get off the interstate to the west (...your left hand goin north...) until ya get passed the 640/275/75 junction... The area is an older part of town with plenty of hoodlums about; day and nite...   2.   I40 east between the 40/257 junction (...downtown....); all the way to the i640 junction on the east side of town... This is a broad territory that runs from the tennessee river to the south side of I 640 on the north to the junction with 40/640 east...    Us natives would bound it from Riverside Drive north all the way to Dutch Valley; from Western Avenue on the west all the way to Rutledge pike on the east...  It's the old magnolia avenue corridor south and north...As others have said; "...It used to be a nice neighborhood...".  It aint anymore... This is another older and fallin down industrial corridor.  The Christian-Newsom tragedy happened in the territory bounded on the south by the interstate goin east and the north by the I 640 belt.  This includes "Knoxville Center" or "East Towne Mall"...   As others have said, there simply are no "safe locations" anymore...    leroy

Since we've stirred this hornet's nest up a bit, so to speak, i think folks need to bear some human nature things in mind.    The first is this; you are what you are.... .  If you are no good, it will soon show up if you are given enough power and lee-way.  That's exactly what happened with the Randy Weaver thing.     It got several people killed, some of 'em murdered (...i think...); all over a "failure to appear in court" and shortening two single shot shotguns 1/4 inch under the 18 inch minimum decreed by law.  There wuz one reason and one reason alone, that a US Attorney and the gubmt fooled with this; and that is that they wanted to make an "example" out of Randy Weaver.... . My guess is that it wuz to help the political aspirations of whoever the US Attorney in that territory wuz; or, worse, yet; to send a message to anyone who would defy or ignore Uncle Sam that the consequences of ignoring him are very deadly and final...     Never believe the fairy tale that says that all gubmt servants are selfless patriots.   Some of 'em would be accessories to murder in order to feather their nests; and would cover their tracks and withhold evidence while doin it; just like they did in the Weaver case.  Take a look at what happened in Florida the other day...   There are apparatchiks in the gubmt at all levels that will do most anything to either get what they want or cover for what they have. Ergo, the evidence tampering in the Weaver case.   These apparatchiks have willing accomplices who will plead that "they were just doin their jobs" when they are confronted with wrongdoing... That brings us to the FBI hostage rescue guys.... .   They knew full well what wuz right and wrong; but they choose to curry the favor of those for whom they work... . It takes courage to refuse an unlawful order; and they (...sadly...) didnt have the backbone to say no.... .  I suspect they figured that in the long run that they would be protected... .  It turns out that they were.... .   Government outrages like what happened at Ruby Ridge and at Waco are exactly why lots of people hate the government.   The fact is that we live in an imperfect world full of imperfect people.   Some of them with even murder for Uncle Sam... .   Never believe that government is always right and justified in what they choose to do... . It aint so.   From my perspective, the last people that i ever want to come to see me is the dammed US Attorney or (....God forbid...) the FBI... .  The sad truth is the Uncle Sam and some of his apparatchiks look a lot like Uncle Joe Stalin and his inner circle from time to time... .     Do i think they are all that way?... No.... .  Do i believe that they are enough of them to be noticeable?... Yeah... . Sadly.   leroy

Interestin read regarding the "Randy Weaver" incident:   http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/12/h-s-precision-women-and-children-first.html   And here: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/weaver/weaveraccount.html   Sad but all too true...   leroy

Those who hire the repugnant are destined to reap the harvest of distain... .   I would never do business with anyone, no matter how winsome who chooses to hire a genuine murderer; or an accomplice to murder... . The hell with Troy Industries and their stinkin pimps and "trainers"...   leroy

Interestin stuff...  Any theories on why a "suppressed" rifle may be more accurate than an "unsuppressed" one?   leroy

Charlies Pizza, on the main drag in Jacksboro (...or LaFollette...), TN...   leroy

RE:  OS great observation here:     I've heard my graddad (...lived to be 93, died in 1963...) and my mom laughingly call possums "Hoover Hogs"... .  As big as a groundhog gets; i bet they were at least "Hoover Cattle" in the "Hoover" days!!!    Sometimes we whine today about "problems" when the truth of the matter is that they are mostly "inconveniences".  We've made a bit of progress here, at least; we've went from eatin the great groundhog to admirin and watchin him...     I wonder if Jackson, Sharpton, and Obama like "Hoover Hogs" and groundhogs??  I wonder if that thought is an indicator of a heinous racist stereotype???!   wonderin leroy

John is a great creature!!  I love big hosses.   We used to fool with 'em when i wuz a boy.  My grandad and uncle always kept one.   The neighbors down the road had a team that we worked in the wagon or sled... I've never seen anyone break ground with a turning plow; but ive seen lots of cultivating....   Thanks for posting these great pictures !!! It's a window into the past where it took a bunch of work to raise a garden or plant a field...   Thanks again. leroy

  Ya got the tools and the in-laws know the wife will make ya fix the lawn mower no matter what.   That is the nature of things....   Keep up the good work (...and lawnmower repair...)   leroy

I think "whistle pigs" are cool!!  I like to watch 'em too.   In the "old days" lots of 'em were killed because of diggin up the pastures.  Farmers didnt like 'em because of the possibility of livestock steppin in their burrows.   They are also "hell" on gardens... They like everything we like and will eat it in the garden.... Seems like the ones i see today are on the roadway slopes watchin the cars drive buy.  The more foolish ones venture down to the roadway and get run over crossin across the roadway... .   Thanks for postin the great picture. leroy

Could be a plug power pack.  My Kohler (...long gone...) 18 hp twin would run on one cylinder every now and then.  Discovered it wuz a weak plug pac.  Just follow the high tension plug wire back to wherever it goes and ya can find the plug pac.  If it started all at once and does it reliably on heating up, i would bet that's it.  Havin said that; maybe the "real small engine mechanics" can chime in... I confess to bein an amateur.   Good luck.. leroy

  I didnt know that !!! Thanks for the mini-history lesson....  Very enlightening...   RE:  The "low-life lawyer thing" -- remember the "low-lifes" have gotta eat too; along with payin the bills.   It beats bein on the dole like lots of others are...   With the drunk and impared drivin thing; the defense lawyer aint the problem; the drunk/impared driver who does the crime is the problem... Never forget that... .    On a personal basis; I think we should go back to an old testament view of the drunk drivin thing...  If ya injure someone while impaired; the biggest, meanest of the aggrieved family members administers the appropriate punishment.  I also like Mark's idea on selling the car... .   I'm sorry, drunk and impaired drivin aint a harmless, victimless "crime"...Dont drink or take dope and then drive and ya wont have the problem.  Abstinence (...from driving...) is the answer here.   leroy

TMF:  RE this:    I think this is an interestin conundrum to consider when ya look at the libertarian (...Constitutional....) thought vs the current "conventional" way of doin things here in TN.. ..  The libertarian side of me says that the state (...or local...) gubmt cant suspend your Fourth Amendment rights; and i dont think ya do; even in this case.  I think we can quibble about whether it should be done to begin with the way it is now; but that's another fight; and if libertarianism ever completely wins the day, i think we'll see the fight renewed; with possible differing outcomes on lots of things...   While lookin at the other side of this; i come up with this little picture:   When ya take a look back to the "old days", when there were horses and mules; the sheriff simply arrested ya for "public drunkenness" (...assumin there wuz a law against that; which, again, we can quibble about...) and put ya in the slammer to sober up...  No tests, no warrants, no nothin; just him, you and the jail; and no one challenged that action... This action wuz thought to be an "acceptable action" under law because it wuz the community norm.   There  "probable cause" wuz the sheriff's judgement based on his observations of you and his oath to uphold the law to the best of his ability... It's the historical precedent thing.  We can quibble about whether that is right or not; but it is what it is, regardless; and law is built on precedent as well as rules and words.   Fast forward to now... We still got folks drinkin and drivin; and we still got the sheriff observin (...via the DUI checkpoint....) and we've got new tools to detect and prove "drunkeness".  We still got "probable cause or lack there of depending on his observation" (...his observations of you as he interacts at the checkpoint...)... If he thinks you are impaired. he asks for a test... You can still refuse to do the sobriety check test and make him get a warrant to get a blood sample; but that is exactly what he will do.  All the while, you and he waits for the warrant (...as i understand things now...).   Ya still get to exercise your right to demand a "writ from a judge"; but the LEO will have no problem gettin one.  Thus your right to demand a "writ from a judge" has been fulfilled; your constitutional right has been preserved; and you are headed for the drunk tank.  The question then becomes wuz the original observation an overbearing and malicious "unreasonable search and seizure" or wuz the sheriff's observation and subsequent actions "reasonable" to begin with?...  Ya know who is gonna win that one....   leroy

Let me see if i can add a bit of a "twist" on the "no refusal" DUI checkpoint thing...  As i understand it (...and as others have pointed out or hinted at...) a "drivers license" is a special permission given out to a citizen by the state for the right to do a certain thing (...drive...) with certain conditions attached (....think training, drivers testing, insurance, not doing certain things; like drinkin or dopin here....) all for a fee (...of course....) as opposed to a constitutional issue..  The constitution says nothin about states issuing licenses.  We can have a big discussion about whether this "license - fee" thing is good; but it's the norm and aint gonna change.   Said another way; a "license" has "strings attached" and requirements that are demanded by the state.  One of the big strings is a requirement that says "dont drive impaired"....  The stated reason is that ya cant drive too well impaired.  It endangers others. Bingo (...or eureka...) we've found the basis for "no refusal" DUI checkpoints.... .  We can quibble about the Fourth Amendment thing a bit; but it appears that the courts have long ruled that LEO has the prerogative (...even a duty, if ya are into "serving and protecting" the community....) to set up DUI checkpoints and its a slam dunk that they have "probable cause" to do so... Take a look at the number of "driving impaired" crashes anywhere... Like it or not, they dont need a warrant if there is a state law in place that outlines the "strings attached to driving"....   Take a look at the news... There is not a week (...or sometimes even 2 to 3 days...) that goes by without some drunken son or daughter of satan either crashing or killin another driver in your neck of the woods.  There's is one that just happened the other day or two that killed some innocent folks right here in east tennessee.  The dammed drunken driver wuz drivin on a revolked license and wuz a chronic offender.  Evidently the 3 strikes and your out doesnt work on some folks.   DUI checkpoints calm down this epidemic of "impaired driving" to some extent; and i think that's a good thing.   If everyone had good sense, ya wouldn't need DUI checkpoints.   Casual observation will demonstrate that lots of folks aint too smart.    The world is upside down... Dont fall into the trap of thinkin that somehow that your constitutional rights are being somehow violated when ya get in your car and encounter a DUI checkpoint... I've been thru bunches of them... I think they save lives... We can quibble about what ought to be done with drunk and impaired driving chronic offenders -- i tend to think we ought to shoot 'em--- but that's just me.   RE: the "mean overbearing LEO thing"... Yeah there are some out there; but the vast majority of LEO types are professional and tryin to do the right thing for the right reasons... The fact is that we live in an imperfect world where folks of all stripes do wrong things.  That is the nature of the fallen state of man...  I say give 'em a break; they aint the gestapo and they aint gonna haul ya off to the gulag or shoot ya (...unless ya do somethin real stupid...).   I say "dont drive impared" and "drive safely"... the life ya save could be your own, your neighbors, or your loved ones.... . That is a very important and worthwhile thing.....   leroy

A special thanks to all who took the time to opine on this.   Of the two pistols i handled; the M & P shield felt the best in the hand and it looks like the Apex kit would fix one right up.  Looks like a $400 pistol (...new....) goes to $500 approx with the apex kit which overall aint a bad deal.   Havin said all that; do any of you all have any experience shootin the M & P shield; and do ya like it?  It looks to me like it could be a "poor man's" PPS; which is a helluva thing, i think... .    Also; do ya like the smaller 45 ACPs (...i like the Glock 36; and everybody else must like theirs too -- cant find 'em -- a good indicator of how good they are, i think....) like the CW 45?   Thanks again, as always.   leroy

Dear fellow opiners:   I took the time to look at a couple of pistols today... One a S & W Shield 40 and the other a Kahr CW 45 (...im lookin for a single stack carry pistol in 40 or bigger-- these two were the "right price"...).... The Shield was heavy and gritty...  The Kahr wuz better; but with a long pull.   The question(s) is this: 1.   can ya smooth out the trigger on the Shield and make it close to a good Glock?? 2.   can ya smooth out the trigger and improve the Kahr to make it smoother and the throw shorter??   thanks a bunch.   leroy

I think this is hilarious....  Even the "anointed ones" at Harvard cant cook the books and make this one work.  They know they are under a microscope and that most folks intuitively understand that more guns doesnt equal more crime.  More than that, there is a mountain of data that says that where there are "Must Issue" gun laws and a high rate of armed citizens, that the crime rate goes down...  Havin said all that, as other wizened opiners have said; dont wait for the big three "lamestreet" (...way to go on the 'lame street media RED!!!... A great characterization.....) media to report this.  HEHEHEHE....   leroy

More childish behavior cloaked as doin the "right thing"....  This is "red meat" for the low information children and a slap at capitalism, the second amendment, congress, and law abiding citizens by a pompous, overbearing, childish, vindictive politician of very small stature.  This is a perfect picture of who Barak Obama is...." ...An overbearing, pompous, smartest guy in the room statist elevated to the highest office in the land on via "Equal Opportunity", voter fraud, and "Insider dealing" who knows better than everybody what is best for us "rabble to to controlled" ALA the "chicago" way.....    I think it is also a calculated political move to take the discussion off the Syria intervention talk, the whuppin in the Supreme Court RE:  voting rights, the NSA fiasco (...which is still cookin...), and other nobama administration failures as well; as it stirs up those who actually believe that the Second Amendment actually means what  it says....  I say: "....Keep talkin... the more folks ya make mad, the greater the chance to fix this problem in the Senate and White House..."....   leroy radical isolationist libertarian and despiser of both political parties!!!

I made fun of them for a long time (...until i shot one...).  Got 3 now, 2 "babys", 1 compact. Lookin for a glock 36 now (...lightly used and lovingly cared for of course...). They are a great thing.   enjoy leroy

rob:____________   Did ya tap the case to settle the powder?  I always do that on the "compressed loads".  We used to load some pretty hefty loads of IMR 4350 in the 375 H & H.   Tapping the side of the case will generally make the powder settle a bit and ease the "crunch" ya are feeling while seating the bullet.     I've got some 458 loaded downstairs with 67 grains of IMR3031 (...i think...) with 400 grain hard cast linotype bullets.  We've shot 'em; the load  recipe is no good.  The bullets are a bit small for the bore and i think are strippin the lands.  Cant keep 'em on the target at 50 yards.  I'm gonna pull 'em down and reload them with a jacketed bullet; but ive just not done it yet.    If your rifle is a ruger #1; they have a generous bore and lots of free bore.  That calms the pressure down a bit; so i wouldn't worry if you have double checked your load and you know for certain that it is ok with the loading manuals or the powder website.   Have fun. leroy