Clod Stomper

We recently had a 'coon in the backyard with the dogs. It looked like it may have had distemper. It was trying to get in the dog house with the dog inside. Had flies blowing it, too. Nasty. So to keep it from giving whatever it had to the dogs, I went ahead and shot it in the head (I'm not in the city limits), then called animal control. I thought they may be interested if it did indeed have distemper or rabies. Nope. The only time they test them is if there has been contact with people or pets. They wouldn't even come get it. So I took it to my Dad's in another county and burned it.

T-shirt. Over the pistol. Nobody will notice. That is all. Will

At some point one of these thug "protestors" (rioters) will attack a white person and get shot for it. I'm afraid that's all it's going to take to escalate this to a whole new level. The grandmother in the van had every right to defend herself from assault and get her granddaughter to the hospital. What if she had done so with a gun? There would be a whole new "Justice for (insert thug's name here) campaign. If this BS doesn't simmer down soon, it's going to boil over. I suspect that is what some black "leaders" want to happen.

I've always wanted to.  I even collected a 50 gallon barrel full of hardwood ash.  I don't have time right now to bother with it, and I would like the barrel off my carport.   So if anyone wants some hardwood ash to leach the potassium hydroxide out of, it's free for the taking.   Also in the Classifieds.  http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/67958-anyone-here-make-soap-free-hardwood-ash/   Will

No.  You are not legally required to inform an officer that you are carrying on contact.  If they ask, though, you have to tell them.     That said, I've happened across some LEOs that don't know the law and will give you a lecture about it on the side of the road.  Just smile and nod.

If person One has just punched person Two in the nose, then person One (usually) has no cause to shoot person Two for punching person One in the nose in return. However, if person One was following person Two because he or she was acting suspiciously and person Two punches person One in the nose for following person Two, then, IMO, person One has cause to shoot person Two in self-defense. To personalize this. No one has a right to punch me in the nose for for any reason other than me physically accosting them. Will

  It usually gets semi-tolerable between the time kids go back to school in August and when the leaves start turning in October.  But yeah, January through March is the best time.

Speaking of creepy bunnies...   http://www.flickr.com/photos/74339175@N05/9301796589/   http://www.flickr.com/photos/74339175@N05/9304577580/   Yes, that was in my front yard last Easter.  Mothers-in-law... sheesh...       Sorry, I don't know how to insert a pic into the post.  I tried.    

Last couple times we ate at Sargent Pepperoni's, it had really went downhill. When they first opened, it was outstanding. I hope they have come back around.

I should have mentioned that you should not drive through Pig in Forage or Seeeverville. Next time go through Townsend. The Rangers at Abrams Cr trailhead did a pretty good job of sizing you up without harassing you or even mentioning the weapon, huh. :) It is sad that so many families were displaced by the fedgov when the park was created. The Smokies were full of homesteads in the '30s. It is very telling that one group of people who were given a lifetime lease (some of which were somehow passed on for generations) were the owners of the cabins just above the campground where you camped. They weren't poor farmers, though, they were well-connected city folk. Those cabins were weekend getaways. The last lease expired, I think, around 2000-2001. The only other exception I know of was a farmer in Cades Cove, Kermit. Can't remember his last name. He ran cattle there until he died. Also sometime around 2000 IIRC. Not sure which brochure you were reading, but the thing about the red wolves is funny. There were never enough wolves to even make a dent in the deer population. Parvo (I think) kept killing them. They eventually abandoned that project. That was a great write-up of your trip. Thanks for sharing.

You do NOT want to get caught shooting a snake in the park.  You'll go to jail for that one.  Just leave them alone along with the bears.  Keep your distance from both, and all will be fine.  If you see a venomous snake in the campground, tell the hosts or VUAs and they'll move it if it may endanger campers. No, I'm not a snake-lover.  But I don't want to see someone get arrested for shooting one.  I've removed several rattlesnakes and copperheads from Elkmont campground.  Mainly because people just won't leave things alone.  The rattlers were very docile.  There was one copperhead though that was very cranky and would start striking if you got anywhere near it.  When we tossed it out of the box, it came BACK, striking. Mean little SOB. Remember, National Parks are there primarily to preserve the nature or history within.  Not primarily for our recreation.  There are other places set aside for different uses, including recreation.     Back on topic:  This is one reason I built an AR pistol.  It's more compact, easier to hide (no, not on my person), more discreet and it's legally covered by my HCP.  So I don't have to worry about how it's cased, loaded, etc.  Functionally, it's a long gun.  Legally, it's a pistol.  I know you have a rifle and not a pistol, but it may be something to think about for future travels.   Will

Do what you're most comfortable with. I don't know what you drive, but rifle or not, keep all valuables out of sight. Vehicles do get broken into regularly in the park, but usually because somebody leaves things in sight. In the campground, I'd leave it in the vehicle (along with your food). Pay close attention when the fee collectors or hosts read you the campground rules. If you leave some food or coolers out while you go somewhere else, they WILL take them back to the kiosk and you will probably end up with a fine. Playing by the rules is the best way to avoid negative run-ins with Rangers. Don't worry about them not knowing the law, however. The Park Rangers I know are the most professional LEOs I've encountered. Unless you get stopped by some rookie who just transferred from Hippy Valley Natl Park, they're not going to suspect you of poaching. Believe me, they know who the poachers are. And they're mostly in North Carolina. The law in the NP is whatever the law of the state it is in. I don't know the law of NC, but you already know the law about carrying a long arm in TN. As far as the B and B, do you have a discreet case it can be broken down an put into? That's what I usually do. It's rare for me to drive more than hour from home without taking a long gun. Oh, and about the 3G in the campground. BWAHAHA! You'll be lucky to get a weak cell signal. Closest place to get a signal is to leave the campground, turn right on Little River Rd (toward Cattleburg), top over the hill at Laurel Falls trailhead where parking lots on both sides of the road will be full of the cars of "hikers" waddling up to Laurel Falls. As you start down the other side, park at the first overlook. You should get a pretty good signal from town there.

It's unlikely that you'll be far from your car if you're near a federal building.  Most tourons just do not want to walk all that far.     With that said, I haven't been to the visitor center at the Dome.  But I'm betting it's close to the parking lot.

^ This ^

  All true.   I worked for the Smokies for most of a decade.  Part of that was as a VUA at Elkmont.  Rest of it was in Fire Management.   Just curious about who your folks are.  I know a couple from Oak Ridge who were hosts for many years at Elkmont.   Will

Never say never. I have reloaded AL cases. Just to see if it could be done. It's been years and years, but to the best of my memory, it was either .38 Spl., or .357 Mag. CCI Blazer AL. I had to punch through the case head with the decapping pin since the cases are Berdan primed. Fortunately, AL is soft and I didn't break a pin. Also fortunately, the CCI Berdan primers were the same size as standard small pistol primers. I loaded light loads. It worked. Once. Your mileage may vary. I don't recommend anyone else try it. I wasn't the first to try, either. I read about someone else doing it on Rec.guns on the old Usenet. I say again. I DO NOT RECOMMEND RELOADING ALUMINUM CASES. Leave that sort of stuff to tinkerers who have learned how to keep all our digits intact when doing something iffy.

I bet he ticketed the tailgater, too. Right? Right?! Note the sarcasm. If he did, it would be the first time I've seen it happen.

Thanks for that info. I hadn't tried it yet and that saves me the trouble.

I have a partial can of denatured alcohol that I'm going to try. May work, may not. As soon as i can retrieve some of my cast boolits, I'll give it a try and post results.

Haven't seen the new one, but neither of the original Evil Dead movies can beat the sequel "Army of Darkness".   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_d4I_VYDj8   Probably my favorite movie quote ever, BTW.

Just curious...  have you fired an AR-style rifle?   :stir:

Oops, forgot to add...   It sticks in at least 2 SKS's that I know of.  Presumably, the lacquer melts and sticks to a hot chamber wall.  Clean the chamber and it works for a few rounds.  Then, when it gets dirty, the rounds become very hard to extract.  Rinse and repeat.   Haven't shot any for many years.  Still have a few hundred rounds.  

Yep.  Plastic core training ammo.  It will not cycle my SKS.  And it is very corrosive.   At least that's what it LOOKS like.  Does it FEEL lighter than normal?

I've never used a left-hand bolt action. I shoot lefty, but have learned to use right hand bolt actions. I don't think I would want to get used to any LH action. As it is, I can pick up any regular rifle and be comfortable using it. I do have a left-eject pump shotgun. I have only used it a couple times. It just feels weird. In short, I will stick with what I know. Will

Wow. I got one if those when I was a teenager. I don't think I have seen another one since then. Can't give you velocities from the rifle, but I worked up some loads with VV N110 and 158 gr SWC that is 1500 fps from an 8-3/8" barrel S&W. I bet it would be a good load for the rifle. H110 would probably be very similar. Your post made me want to dig out that old Savage just for old times' sake. Will