[Garand]

I just got back from a Cowboy Action match in Great Falls, Montana. Didn't go the way I expected. Shot a Wild Bunch match with the 1911 on Saturday, then while getting ready to shoot a Cowboy match on Sunday, we were rained out. I really hate bringing ammo home with me!

 

[John in AR]

Last week, ordered a 40' conex container for delivery this Thursday. Plan is to use it long-term for storage behind our building, but will short-term use it for storage at the construction site of our new house. Hopefully it will get here ahead of the rain that's now being forecast...

Fwiw, for anyone looking for a cheap storage solution, containers have come down in price since I last looked a few years ago. This was a mid-grade one, and total cost including delivery was only $2275. For 320 square feet of weatherproof, lockable, fairly secure storage, that's awfully cheap. A little 10x10 foot wooden shed with no floor that I saw at Home Depot was $1600.

 

[ethereal]

Nowhere near as cool as a Cowboy Action Match, but did some much needed varminting at my friend's cattle ranch, then in an entirely unexpected turn of events hit up a rave after a long drive. Good times.

Other than that, did some work for a prominent machine tool manufacturer. Slowly starting to feel that such jobs are more of my interest, as of late. Under NDA but there are a few really nifty personal / light run machining centers coming out I've had my paws on.

 

[John in AR]

Got the shipping container delivered & set. Very happy with it; basically a secure, weather-tight storage building with a total delivered cost of only ~$7 per square foot. That's just silly cheap for what it provides.

Also changed my edc pocket knife this week to an emerson cqc-7aw. I've been carrying a spyderco delica for several years, as it's one of the few knives that can be set up for a lefty and has the emerson 'wave' opener. Not 100% sure on the emerson yet - it's a great knife, but substantially heavier than the spyderco. Kind of wishing I'd gone with the mini version of the cqc, but there's no denying that this is an extremely good knife.

 

[Jammer Six]

What exactly is a rave, anyway? I've heard all sorts of things about them, but I've never heard from anyone who's actually been to one. So I'm pretty sure all I've heard is rumor, wild exaggeration, fear and speculation, just like when antis talk about assault weapons.

So what really goes on at a rave?

 

[ethereal]

What exactly is a rave, anyway? I've heard all sorts of things about them, but I've never heard from anyone who's actually been to one. So I'm pretty sure all I've heard is rumor, wild exaggeration, fear and speculation, just like when antis talk about assault weapons.

So what really goes on at a rave?

Mostly just adults-at-play, but it depends on the crowd and what you're going to. Electronic music has kinda turned into pop as of late, so people throwing proper raves are basically reaching out to an older (and in that I mean the 30-40 year old range) crowd by comparison to most club or party goers. Every major area is going to have different electronic music events, whether or not they are raves or shows is another story.

As for the fear and speculation, there are drugs present in any aspect of nightlife. If you go to a local bar, someone is assuredly consuming something illegal. Crazy stuff doesn't really happen at anything I find myself at, even if people are intoxicated on whatever. IMO, more power to 'em, and I wish it was all regulated and creating jobs as opposed to funneling money into the hands of generally horrible people. At shows (like proper concerts, but with electronic music), you'll probably see more irresponsibility and patent abuse of drugs (including alcohol) than a "rave" these days.

Even at events where there one can find excessive indulgence, the concepts of raving generally preclude any kind of violent crime. You also find a lot of specialized professionals at raves now, and there are great business and interpersonal networking opportunities in such libertine atmospheres where people don't act erratic for the sake of it. Weird expression is common (example, I usually dress up in a suit plus bracelets with a rainbow prism patterned top hat worthy of the Mad Hatter), but bizarre, violent, or intimidating behavior is extraordinarily rare.

 

[Garand]

Just got back from a 2 day, 10 stage Cowboy match, what a hoot! Did some great shooting shot all 10 stages "clean" no miss but I had a brain fart on Stage 1 and got a "Procedural" which cost me 10 seconds and a Clean Match Certificate!

 

[BigBassMan]

Been doing a little (too little) shooting, bought a couple guns, mint model 37-1 and a 9mm carbine. People will not stop ribbing me about it using Glock magazines. At least it is not a HiPoint! Just a fun gun to shoot an accurate at 50 yards with a borrowed red dot, tried a scope but did not have tall enough rings. 5 shots almost touching. Have not had a chance to shoot it farther, maybe today.
Also traded into a mint 14-3 with all the goodies that will have a home in my pistol box. June is almost here so waiting delivery on a 9mm Star loader that is being built, been a long 4 months waiting.
Thinking about moving to the south west part of MO , out of this State an off this lake with all the weekenders. Boat has not been off the lift this year an only a couple times last year. Go down there an be a old hermit! At my age it most likely will not happen.

 

[ethereal]

Haven't shot since I last mentioned it, which sucks.

Lots of very niche management training and certification and getting ready to roll out my own consultancy.

 

[Terry G]

A lot of Bass Fishing in small lakes using my 16.6 Alumacraft and my Son's 18 foot Ranger. He cleans my clock every time. Been shooting the fairly new CZ P-09 a lot, as it's my hiking gun now. I did shoot one combat course with my Glock 21. Say what you want, it put's the .45's where you point them, and never, ever has mal-functioned with anything I've shot out of it. I shot a couple hundred rounds of .223 out of my Colt SP-1 yesterday. No fancy sights, special trigger, or tricked out forearm. Just the civilian copy of the M-16. Memories.

 

[BigBassMan]

No fancy sights, special trigger, or tricked out forearm. Just the civilian copy of the M-16. Memories.
That is the way they should be.

 

[Garand]

Back to load development, picked up about 6-7 pounds of Hercules Infallible Shotgun powder. Apparently it hasn't been made in 69 years, since 1948. I'll try it making some .38 Special Cowboy loads.

 

[BigBassMan]

Last can of that I seen was made by Laflin & Rand which was earlier.

 

[John in AR]

This week I killed the biggest snake I ever have, other than running over with a car. Thing was 5'8" long and coming toward me when I saw it about 8' away. (I was inside the conex at our house building site walking toward the door to leave, and he was outside, also heading toward the same door. I assume he was heading under the conex for shade or hunting.) We saw each other about the same time and he pulled a u-turn & started heading away.

He was a black snake, which is frankly beneficial for killing rodents & some other snakes, but shooting him likely saved me from listening to my wife scream if she had come across it later.


{edit - actually, killing a snake in arkansas is illegal. So obviously, what I meant to say was that I saw a 5'8" snake commit suicide on my property. Goofy thing shot himself twice. Weirdest thing I ever saw...}

 

[Terry G]

That's a damn big snake! We have some big snake's here mostly harmless, but will scare the crap out of you. Some thing in our psyche, I imagine. I have never had a "fear" of snakes, but will jump with the best of them when I come across one. We do have several venomous species, Timber rattler's, mostly. The "Fox" or "Pine" snake is often mistaken for a Rattler, and can grow to 4 1/2 feet. My Dog stepped on one last year that was about three feet long. Still a puppy, she went about two feet off the ground when the thing moved. When she came down she was madder than hell and wanted a piece of that snake in the worst way. I had to pull her off so the poor thing could escape. I generally leave snakes alone, although several years ago a Friend found a Timber Rattler nest under a Kiddie pool in his back yard that we dispatched with extreme prejudice.

 

[John in AR]

That's a damn big snake!...

Yes it was. If he was stretched out completely straight, he might be an inch or so longer than the 5'8" he measured:

Weirdly, the two holes you see there are from the same bullet even though they're a foot & a half apart. We surprised each other, and he was turning around when I shot him; the hole nearest his head was the entry and the way he turned back on himself, the same bullet went through the second section, further back. The second shot was in the top of his head while he was moving slow.

I don't like snakes, "good" or not. Same with buzzards, which we also have constantly around here. Only reason I leave them alone is that I'm not likely to accidentally startle one the way you can with a snake.

 

[Terry G]

I'll bet it wasn't even armed. SLM (Snake Lives Matter)

 

[John in AR]

(Snake Lives Matter)

Only to crazy people and Satan.

Doesn't look like it, but that's a .35-caliber hole; a .380 xtp from my pocket LCP. (I confess the .380 was the only gun I had on me because I was doing physical labor on a construction site, but the snake didn't seem to disrespect it.)

 

[BigEd]

Nice "Trophy" John LOL :laugh:.

Last couple of times I 've bagged a snake there was a 6ft pry bar "handy" so to speak.

Believe it or not I've seen a black snake that may have been a foot or so longer but by the time I got back with "measuring" equipment it was gone.

Basically it was sunning itself stretched clear across a one lane country road. When there is plenty of grub for them like rodents fish and chickens in my area they can get big.

I looked up the record length for one and that's 8-ft 5-in. So they can get a might big if they live long enough.

 

[John in AR]

Is it just me or did the pics disappear..?

{edit - never mind, they're back}