steve1

Having a prejudice is an interesting topic. We all have them and may or may not be aware of them. When I went through school to become a counselor, we were once asked if there were any clients out there that we probably shouldn't work with for whatever reason. One type of client that I think I'd have a real tough time working with would be someone who had sexually abused a child. I really don't have any empathy for this type of person, and I'd probably have a really tough time trying to counsel them. So, I'd have to refer them to someone else. I also mentioned that someone who is a hom-sexual might be better off finding a different therapist. Although I have a greater depth of understanding toward someone like that now. I still don't have enough understanding or empathy to help them like a counselor should. So, again I may need to work on whatever predjudices I have left in this area. You were quite right to pick up on this in my earlier statements....Steve1

No, he's still their favorite. I've since said the hell with both my step-mother and Dad. There's plenty more I could say about them, but I'll leave it at that. But, getting back to my Gay step brother....I'm actually not as narrow minded as you might think. I tollerate him even though I have great difficulty understanding where he is coming from. I'm courteous and have never put him down for his being a homo-sexual. He's good to my daughters and even sends them money. So, I don't dislike him. He doesn't have much to do with me now, because I think his Mom is an old witch and I've been open about how I feel about her....So, that's my life's story.....Steve1(the biggot)

Is it the musical aspect of the song that you dont like or the lyrical content/subject matter? If its the latter, it bothers me that you write off Willie as a good artist because of a song he writes. Willie was persecuted for being ahead of his time and progressive in country music back in the day...here it is again. In the case that you just dont like the music in the song, my apologies. But sometimes even jokes contribute to the opression in society today. I get your point. I've always like his music but I don't like his lyrics to this one. I guess some of my predjudices are showing, and again maybe that is something I need to work on. But before you give me a lecture on this....What are your predjudices. We all have them. Some of us may be more honest about it. And I agree, predjudice is not a good thing, and this is something I need to change. I used to be a rodeo cowboy and possibly I take offense in that respect. Actually I have a step brother who recently came out of the closet. I even met his "Gay" boy friend. They both reside together in San Francisco. To tell you the truth I was actually very happy to get this news. Growing up in my dysfunctional alcoholic family he was supposed to have been the only "good" kid in the family. My evil step-mother never missed an opportunity to remind my other brothers and I that we weren't worth a "shit", and that her son was the only one of us who was going to amount to something. So, naturally when he came out of the closet and announced to the world that he was a homo-sexual, I was really happy.....Steve1

I think that is really what's going on here. (I used to kind of like his music until I heard this.)....Steve1

Your Uncle John was one tough hombre!....Steve1

Getting into this sport these days does take a fair amount of cash. I started back up about five years ago, and I didn't have to do much retraining (luckily). One lady who is a teacher at the school I work at asked me what I was thinking?? She said after all you're just a teacher, and you don't make enough money to do a sport like that. So, I got to thinking....This lady smokes probably two packs a day. That's a lot more than I spend on jumps in a year. So, that's kind of how I rationalize my jump habit today. If you're a smoker, quit and you'll have plenty of cash to jump with....Steve1

Not likely. Maybe if he had been treated in the ER and released, you'd have a point. The fact that he's been hospitalized in the ICU for several days makes it clear the doctors thought his injuries were serious. Well, it sounds like the press may not be stretching things too much this time. I agree gun shot wounds are nothing to be taken lightly. I had a friend who accidentally shot himself while crossing a fence with a shotgun. And he died. There was some talk that it may have been a suicide, though. Shotguns can be deadly at close range, but usually aren't at longer ranges. My first thought, when I heard of this, was that he may have caught some BB's from long range. I guess I was wrong. I haven't done much research on this myself, but it would be interesting to know how far Cheney was from this guy when he pulled the trigger. I also wonder how many BB's hit him, and where. Also what size of shot. Actually this is a fairly common hunting accident, and is rarely fatal. It's also based on really careless gun handling, when it does occur....Steve1

QuoteI think it's a tremendous pity that such a course is not taught to kids in grade school. reply] >>>>I agree. One of the things I work into my classroom guidance program is gun safety. I can't find it anywhere in our school curriculum, but I teach it anyway, because it helps keep kids safe.....Steve1

They should be made to practice this 'tactic' in a small bar with darts to make the point. These are not gun people. How big was the circle? apparently smaller than the shotguns' ranges? Actually I don't think this was all entirely planned, but that was how it worked out. Everyone was well within range of each other and anxious to pull the trigger on another bird. Most of the pheasants flew up above everyone's head which were safer to shoot at, but there was the occaisional shot between hunters on a low flying bird....All this was way too crazy for me. I was smart enough to back out of there. Luckily noone got a face full of shot. I hate hunting with large groups of people....Steve1

I'll bet the press is having a field day with this. It brings up the question about how badly shot up this guy really is. He may have only been hit with a BB or two and the press is making it sound like his guts were hanging out or something. It's no wonder this happens every year. I love to hunt but I don't care for the way some people do it. I've got a friend I've hunted with since I was a kid. He's also very rich. He had another very rich friend from Washington come out pheasant hunting a couple years ago. I live in a Podunk town in Eastern Montana. At any rate this super rich guy landed his Lear Jet in Western Montana and picked up my pal and son in Western Montana. They then zoomed over to my area and had a tough time landing because the run way was so short. The aircraft was stuffed full of out-of-staters and expensive shotguns. The plan was to hunt all the coolies shooting as many birds as possible there. The escaping birds would all fly down to a big patch of brush down below. Then the plan was to surround the brush pile below from all sides. This worked great until the final shootout, down below the coolies. I mean shotguns were booming and BB's were flying every which way. I decided to back the hell out of there before something bad happened. I also decided not to hunt with them the next day. I can sure see how a person might end up being shot up, if he hunts with the wrong herd of hunters. Particularly a bunch of politicians who often have more money than brains...Steve1

This is bullshit! I don't care how good of a shot you are, you don't just take a "fun shot" to test your skills and you Luck. I myself enjoy shooting long ranges for practice and would feel quite comfortable taking a reasonable long shot on whitetail in the correct conditions. But back to my original statement, Shooting at a running dear at almost 900 yards( in the wind no less) is piss poor ethics. It is people like you that give hunters a bad name. Don't take pot shots. Don't shoot if you can't make a clean kill. I would never allow you to hunt out of my camp or attend a hunt with someone like yourself if I have before hand knowledge of your horrendious ethics. Not that this would bother you. Josh Craddock, I have to agree with you. I've been biting my tongue on this, and I should have jumped in sooner. Lecturing another hunter about ethics can create a lot of hard feelings, but maybe it's needed. Taking a long shot that you aren't sure of, or even running shots (in most cases) are unethical in my book. A missed shot could have been a shot that broke a leg, or hit the guts, or even hit an animal in the rear. It causes unnecassary suffering and lingering death. It also gives all hunters a bad name. Rationalizing that there are lot's of deer is a good arguement for hunting, but it is a really poor reason to allow unethical shooting and crippling of game in the name of fun. I've killed a lot of big game in my day, but I still have tons of respect for the animals I hunt. They deserve a better death than to have someone taking "iffy" pot shots at them, and crippling them in the process.....Steve1

That's correct! You don't need a fancy rifle scope, or an expensive laser range finder to do these functions. Have you ever tried a good MilDot scope and used a mildot master? its a slide rule type thing and faster than any calculator out there....been in use for many yearshttp://www.ustacticalsupply.com/mildot-slope.shtml cheap too! another solution is a shepherd scope I am sure you all have heard of them....one shot zeroing and then place the circle that fits on the target and fire! >>>>>I've seen these advertised, and I've never looked at one up close. I'll have to check one out....Steve1

I've got in the habit of trying to miss the front shoulders on deer and elk, if I can. A bullet can really make a mess of things and ruin quite a bit of meat, but sometimes it happens. A few inches off, when aiming at the lungs, and you've got your bullet hitting bone. That's why I like a bullet that will hold together when the inevitable does happen. Probably the most accurate bullets on the market are based on a hollow point design. Although extremely accurate they are risky to use on big game, because they can fragment and not penetrate when hitting a shoulder blade. A ballistic tip bullet isn't really a hollow point, but very similiar in design. I've shot Ballistic Tip bullets for years, but no more. I can shoot 1/2 inch groups with them, and they work great on deer sized critters as long as I miss bone with them. But again hunting conditions are hardly perfect. Many shots are taken from an unsteady shooting position. I know I'll eventually hit another shoulder blade with them. That's why I'm experimenting with different bullets now, before hunting season opens. I don't mean to sound like a know it all. I'm really narrow minded about some things. It seems like the older I get the grouchier I get on some subjects, and guns and ammo are easy to argue about. What works for me, may not be the answer for someone else....Steve1

Sounds like a good formula, John. The legendary Jack O'connor used a Lee Dot in the center of his scope to estimate range. He figured out how much it would cover up at different ranges and had great success with it....Steve1

Our club had a lot of old B-12 rigs back in the early 70's, and that was all that was available for students to jump. If you cinched the diagonal backstraps down hard enough, then cinched the leg and chest straps down, even a tiny person would stay in. I'm not sure how comfortable they were though. I knew a guy in the army who was huge. The backstraps just wouldn't let out far enough for him. He really earned his jump pay, because it hurt like hell to be scrunched into his rig. The riggers finally came up with a special harness for him that they had customized....Steve1

I'd love to have one of those toys, but they are way too expensive. You must have won yours in a raffle or something? instinct thinking takes too much time plus i shot 3 times... I'm in the market for a good rangefinder myself. I've never used one, but I can definitely see the advantages. Up to this point I've been using the distance between my duplex reticles when my 3X9 Leupold scope is set on nine power. I picked out an 18 inch (tall) cardboard box which is about how thick a deer is. Then shot at it at 300, 400, and even 500 yards. It only takes a quick glance now and I can guage fairly accurately how far a deer sized animal is, and if I have my trajectory memorized I can lay one in there. I almost never shoot over 400 yards though, because I don't like wounding an animal. But there are those shots that need to be taken. Once an antelope that someone else wounded was getting away. He had a broken leg and was covering ground fast. He stopped way out there for just a few seconds. I quickly estimated the range at near 500 yards and dropped him with one shot. It's nice being able to do that. Most hunters could shoot a box of shells at that range without touching a hair. But there is an easier, better way. I'm sure you already know all this John, because you do a lot of long range shooting. A lot of hunters are buying quality range finders. I recently put a target turret on the elevation adjustment on one of my Leupolds. So, all you have to do is range an animal then turn the turret for that range and you should be right on. Of course this needs to be customized to your favorate load at the range. There's other things like windage to worry about on long shots, but this could extend a hunters effective range a lot further out there. I watched a video recently where some coyote hunters were shooting coyotes out to 1,100 yards, and they seldom missed. That is simply amazing. I know this was video and they didn't show where they really messed up, but I can see how this system would really work. The only real problem I can see with all this, is that it might be too easy. I kind of wonder if hunting was ever supposed to be like that. But at the same time I'd like to be able to make a shot like that. So, at any rate, I'm in the market for a range finder. I've been looking at the new Bushnell 1500, but wonder if it's any good. I've heard the cheaper ones aren't very reliable. Leica makes one for about $100 more. I guess you get what you pay for when it comes to scopes and even range finders. I just wish I had more money instead of being so damn good looking!....Steve1

I really agree with this. I see all kinds of hunter who go afield each year with a large magnum that they can't shoot well. The ballistics for some of these look wonderful, but it's really hard to concentrate on proper shot placement if you have a rifle that kicks like a mule and sounds like a cannon. There are some experienced marksmen who can shoot one well, but even they may start to flinch after firing too many rounds. I have a 300 Win. Mag. that I really like, but I usually grab my old 270 when hunting season opens. It's lighter, has a shorter barrel, less recoil, less noise, is almost as flat shooting at longer ranges, and above all I have more confidence in it. But then again, when there's that big bull elk standing out there at 400 yards, I'd rather have the 300. It just has a lot more nock down power. There is an advantage to having a heavier, larger diameter bullet when dealing with bigger critters. But as you mentioned one of the greatest elephant hunters ever used a little 7mm to get the job done. He probably just got a little closer than needed and didn't pull the trigger until everything felt just right....(leaving little to chance in terms of having a wounded animal)...Steve1

I've been handloading the Nosler ballistic tip bullet for the past ten years or so. I love the accuracy that I can get with them, but have also had some failures with this bullet. I've been shooting a 130 grain bullets almost exclusively in my 270, and some of these loads are extremely fast. Over the years I've had three of the Nosler Ballistic tip bullets blow up on the shoulder blades of antelope. I mean they litterally blew up without entering the chest cavity. There was a huge hole on the entrance with little penetration. I've recently bought some Nosler Accu-bond bullets that I hope to try. I've heard you can get the accuracy of a Ballistic tip with them, yet they will hold together for even bigger big game. Years ago, I used to load the Nosler Partitian bullets for elk and even deer. Although they perform well they just won't group nearly as tight as a Nosler Ballistic Tip. I've recently bought some Barnes triple-X bullets. They are supposed to be very accurate without blowing up on bone. I guess the bottom line is I just need to get out shooting, and test them out. I'd sure like to find a long range accurate bullet that won't fail on big game. In the past it was hard to find a bullet that would meet both needs. With todays technology this is changing....Steve1

Don't you mean copper jacketed bullets? Steel jacketed bullets shot through a steel barrel would be hell on wear and tear. The military uses "ball" ammo, which means it's round-nosed, rather than hollow-point, as you mention. Before I had the money for a good varmit rifle, I used my trusty 30/06 when calling coyotes. This was, of course, way too much gun for a mere coyote, and it was really hard on pelts if you used a soft point bullet. So, I ended up using military ammo with full metal jackets. Some coyotes I had to shoot more than once because these bullets were zipping right through without doing much damage. Some of these were armor piercing, others were standard Ball ammo, and even a few tracers were experimented with. Finally, I bought a good 22-250 and started loading Hornady SX bullets. These would usually blow up inside with minimal pelt damage. But sometimes I'd hit a shoulder blade and have a huge hole to sew up. I've thought of using full metal jackets in this rifle too, but I've never been too impressed with the stopping power of that type of bullet....Steve1

Don't you mean copper jacketed bullets? Steel jacketed bullets shot through a steel barrel would be hell on wear and tear. The military uses "ball" ammo, which means it's round-nosed, rather than hollow-point, as you mention. You're right again, John...What was I thinking???...Steve1

One big reason a 9mm or even the m-16 may seem puny is that steel jacketed bullets are required for military use. If soft points are used in the M-16 or if hollow points are loaded in the 9mm, then you could have a much more lethal weapon. So maybe a 45 is better for military use. I remember a drug deal that went bad, and a policeman was shot through the chest with a 223 steel jacketed round. When he was taken to the hospital little damage was found. They put a bandage on the entrance and exit wound, and sent him home. He would probably have died if a soft point bullet had been used. Our unit received some training once from some S.F. soldiers who had just returned from Vietnam. One told a story of how he carried a 9mm auto as a back up weapon. This was back before the army adopted beretas (so it might have been some other brand). At any rate he was walking guard duty one dark night within their base camp. He was packing his issue M-16 also. When out of nowhere an NVA soldier jumped in the trench he was standing in. For whatever reason the enemy soldier pointed the bayonet (on his A.K) at this soldier and prepared to run him through. He said he still doesn't know why the guy didn't shoot him. Maybe they were making some kind of silent attack or something. But instead of using his M-16 he whipped out his little 9mm and shot the guy twice in the chest, and that was that. I imagine he might have also had to clean out his underwear shortly thereafter. So I guess the 9mm hasn't always been too puny to get the job done.....Steve1

What a weapon! I'm wondering how much back blast this rifle has. I fired a 3.5 inch rocket launcher once. Talk about back blast. If you were standing directly behind it, you'd probably be dead. One time our instructors stacked some wooden crates behind a guy firing one of these, and shreds of wood went flying everywhere. I would imagine this weapon has some similiar dangers if you weren't careful....Steve1

I agree... There may have been some jumpers that did that, but not me. The though of having one side coming loose close to the ground didn't sound like much fun. I recall one jump where I had a really hard opening on my PC, and my arm brushed one of my shot and a half covers...popping the cover off. Scared the hell out of me. I knew a lot of jumpers that had one shot capewells in the early 70's. Those too were scary to me. But then again, maybe I'm just a big scaredy-cat....Steve1

I used to really worry about that, for some reason, back in the early 70's. I used to take a pair of pliers and bend the hooks enough to where they were somewhat hard to unhook. This was also a pain when packing, because you still had to unhook all of them, to get your canopy in there, but maybe it was a little safer. I also had a friend burn in when he accidentally hooked a pack opening band over his reserve handle. When he cut away his malfunctioning main, he couldn't pull the handle on his belly reserve. A good rigger check could have saved his life. In the army part of the rigger check (on a belly wart) was for the jumpmaster to check the butterfly snaps on the D-rings, run his hand behind the reserve handle, then poke a finger inside the pocket, then open the front flap and check the pins and cones. It only took a very few seconds to do all this. By doing this check exactly the same, each time, you could do it very quickly without ever missing a thing. It probably saved many lives....Steve1

Mike, Maybe I should reword my reply. I shouldn't have said I always used rear risers when jumping a round. Hell, that was so many years ago it's kind of hard to remember all that. I always thought of pulling the rear risers as a way to put on the brakes. On really windy days I didn't pull them down. I hated rear PLF's with a passion and I figured I'd do anything to get a little more drive into the wind. I don't know how many times we jumped in way too much wind, but there was a bunch of these. So, on those jumps I either left the rear risers alone and turned slightly, so it would be easier to get to my side when I slammed into the ground. Prior to that I did a lot of feet, rear, head landings. God, my head still hurts from that. But later I learned to run with the wind and then hook it into the wind at the last moment (on my para-commander). With the long lines and big oscillation from a turn, you could land without backing up. But then again you had to time it just right. I recall one jumper who was jumping a para-comander in Utah (back in the 70's). The wind came up, and he was probably knocked out on landing, then he was drug to death. There was a reason everyone wore a heavy duty helmet back then....Steve1