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Education / Training You know you’re an airgunner if…

You know you’re an airgunner if…

by B.B. Pelletier

Guest blogger
In the same vein as Jeff Foxworthy’s “you might be a redneck if…,” my wife, Edith, would like to share her observations of how to identify a dyed-in-the-wool airgunner.

If you’d like to write a guest post for this blog, please email me.

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by Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

When we were publishing the Airgun Letter, I noticed that airgunners are often drawn to the same things. While going to airgun shows, my husband would find lots of common ground with airgunners on things unrelated to airgunning. It was uncanny how many guys liked the same things.

At the show in Roanoke, Virginia, a number of us joined show coordinator Fred Liady and his wife, Dee, for dinner at a great Italian restaurant. Although there were several of us at the table, the most memorable were Josh and Boris from Pyramyd AIR (if you’ve spoken to either one of them, you’re nodding in agreement). The conversation somehow switched to tractors. My husband loves the old ones, and Josh mentioned that he had vintage tractors and was rebuilding them. That was the first time I realized that airgunners had a lot of common interests outside this niche hobby.

You know you’re an airgunner if…watching a stirling engine is hypnotic
From the earliest days of our marriage, I noticed that Tom was fascinated by engines. If it was well-made or functioned in a unique or unexpected way, he was as captivated as a two-year-old flushing a roll of toilet paper.

The first time I witnessed his fascination with a stirling engine was when he saw a tiny one churning away atop a cup of steaming coffee. It was as if Australopithecus had just witnessed the first spark of fire made by his own hands. He was giddy…laughing and smiling at such wonderment. Ever since that time, I’ve been forced to look at every stirling engine he’s found at flea markets or seen in a catalog. Yes, they’re unique, but we have no use for one. And, no, we don’t own one. I’ve already got a houseful of airguns, so the thought of stocking up on hundreds of stirling engines has very little appeal.

You know you’re an airgunner if…you can easily identify any vintage tractor at great distance
Tractors were just as fascinating as stirling engines. Whenever we drive anywhere, he’ll point out old tractors on the side of the road or abandoned in a field. When he sees one for sale, the first thing I say is, “No, you can’t buy it.” We live on a lot the size of a postage stamp. What are we gonna do with a Johnny-popper the size of our back porch? My “just say no” attitude hasn’t stopped Tom from seeking out old tractors, reading tractor books and talking about them in terms of endearment.

I once tested the tractor-airgun link at a show. Tom was part of a small cluster of airgunners gathered before the show opened. I walked up to one of the guys that I knew and said we’d seen a certain vintage tractor while driving to the show. Immediately, the conversation turned to tractors. I rest my case.

You know you’re an airgunner if…you can identify the make and model of most airguns at 50 paces
When we lived in Maryland, we attended a weekly flea market held in the parking lot at a local mall. It was huge, and we bought quite a few collectible airguns over the years.

One time, Tom and I were standing in an aisle and he noticed an airgun at the bottom of a pile of rakes and other assorted garden and household tools, and he said it was a Daisy No. 25. Doesn’t sound unusual? The pile of stuff was three aisles over–about 50 yards. It’s staggering how he can identify a gun by the muzzle at this distance.

Yet, at the same flea market, we often went our separate ways and hooked up again an hour later. In order to do that (pre-cell phone days), I looked down each aisle to find Tom. When I did, I would call his name every 5-10 seconds, raise my right hand and waive in an exaggerated fashion as I walked toward him. It was comical to those who observed my metronome-like behavior. Tom would slowly turn around while standing in place to identify the source of the sound and to see if he could figure out which one of the people might be me. I had to get within 10-15 feet before he’d recognize me. He has visual agnosia (an inability to recognize familiar/common faces or shapes), but that applies ONLY to me. It does not apply to friends, other family members or airguns. We’ve now been married 27 years and nothing has changed. I had the same experience at Wal-Mart just last week. He was 20 yards away but didn’t know who I was until he followed the sound of my voice and got within 15 feet of me.

Visual agnosia is not common to airgunners, as far as I know, but the ability to identify airguns by the smallest visible part from distances that would make eagles jealous is a known trait.

You know you’re an airgunner if…you think it’s okay to spend $1,000 on a gun but highway robbery to pay $5.00 for a tin of pellets
Airgunners are not stingy, miserly or cheap. In fact, they often spend large quantities to acquire their prized possessions. But, they try to economize in areas that make no sense to me. Here are some examples.

When we were publishing the Airgun Letter, a man who was not a subscriber asked if we could fax him a past article about an Air Arms gun. He’d bought the gun and heard that we’d written a lot of useful info about it. At the time, we sold back issues of the newsletter for $2.25. He could give me a credit card or send a check, and I’d send him the newsletter. He told me he couldn’t afford to buy the back issue because he’d also ordered a custom Maccari stock for the gun. In all, he had over $1,000 in this rig. I didn’t fax the article, but I would soon find out that it was not considered irrational for an airgunner to spend a huge wad while economizing on the least expensive part of the hobby.

Another airgunner called to chat. He didn’t want anything from us, just wanted to talk to a fellow collector. When I asked what he was shooting in his gun, he told me he didn’t have pellets yet and was driving up to Rick Willnecker’s place in Pennsylvania to buy some. The caller lived in Virginia, so I was surprised that he’d drive several hours to buy pellets. When I mentioned this, he told me that he could save $1.00 a tin by driving up to Rick’s. He wasn’t buying a case or a large quantity…just a few tins. Whatever he saved on pellets would be spent on gas. Because I’ve heard this rationale more than once (not just about pellets but also about scopes, rings and other accessories), I have to include it as typical airgunner behavior.

That’s it for today. I’m sure other common traits will occur to me. If so, I’ll compile them in a future blog. If nothing else, this blog should serve many of you quite well. Print it out, show it to your spouse as evidence that you are part of an elite group with distinctive traits.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

65 thoughts on “You know you’re an airgunner if…”

  1. Great stuff,
    I didn’t know about stirling engines, they are great ! My wife is to be SOOO happy about this.
    I found this one : http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/08/a_stirling_engine_in_a_te.html
    Not very expensive but hours of fun for sure.
    I don’t know if I’m the only one like this but I also like die-cast cars, the colletion is getting bigger but this part may also be true for airguns (or maybe it’s just me) my excuse to my wife is that it’s gonna be worth more money then what I paid for it someday.

    You forgot the part about going to stores that are on “our way”.

    J-F

  2. J-F,

    Yesterday I was looking through some past issues of the Airgun Letter and discovered a similar article I'd written. Besides stirling engines & tractors, I had listed model trains, remote-controlled vehicles, watches & clocks.

    Tom has a number of wristwatches, but he generally wears only the most modern one because it keeps accurate time.

    Metal detecting is also a popular hobby for airgunners. I know we have 2 only of them right now. One is a MineLab, which I really like a lot. It finds stuff! Unfortunately, we haven't been metal detecting in such a long time that it's only a faint, happy memory of times past. When we were first married & as poor as church mice, we went metal detecting every Saturday & Sunday morning because it was the only hobby that didn't cost us money…it made us money.

    Our favorite haunt was at the University of Maryland at College Park. We detected the field where the band practiced and the field across from that, which was on fraternity row. We found all sorts of wonderful & valuable baubles…18kt gold broaches, 14kt gold rings, silver jewelry & tons of vintage coins. Those were also the days where colleges had banks of pay phones. We had a Garrett's metal detector with a special attachment called a "coin shooter." It could be used in tight places or for finding items in crevices, like the cracks of a sidewalk or the space between the sidewalk & grass. Several times, we found a "glory hole," which is a hole that has a number of coins. One of them was a hole with several walking liberty coins (or maybe they were standing liberty coins…I forget). Another time, we detected around the parking meters in front of the big church by the field, and it turned up a significant amount of modern money.

    At the time, things were tight & tough. Funny that I now look back on those days with a smile. Metal detecting sure is a lot of fun. Incidentally, Tom is the only one who uses the detector. I stand there & read until he finds something. Then, I help dig and search for the goodies. I also use my intuition to tell Tom where I think he'll find stuff. I've been right more than once!

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  3. Edith….

    I guess I’m not really a hard core airgunner.

    Don’t give a hoot about tractors.

    Have done some metal detecting.

    Mostly like shooting things.

    twotalon

  4. Gee I love metal detectors. With a good one costing $300 or more and several hours worth of time, you can recover several dollars worth of spent pellets to melt down.

    I would bet a lot of airgunners are also into R/C toys. For some reason, they just seem to go hand in hand.

  5. Yep, motorcycles, metal detecting , photography, tried astronomy but in this part of the country, the light pollution is too great and I’ll be darned if I’m going to stay up till 2 in the morning and then drive home from a rural part of the State, firearms, re-loading, gun books but not Stirling engines. I’ll have to look into those. Oh, I used to be a model airplane pilot but on the old control wires, not RC. I still have the scars in my middle finger from the plastic and wood props from that .074 OK Cub engine kicking back as I tried to start it.

  6. Edith, your last one is so true.
    I’m always amazed how on this site (and others) people, as you say will pay any amount for the airgun of their dreams. When I mention that I pay $13/tin for match pellets so many will claim that they get ‘nearly’ as good a result from the $3 WallyMart brand.
    I don’t get it.
    I remember a few years ago. I had a friend who was taking his family (4 people) to Europe for two weeks. I figured their entire expenses for the trip would be around 10K.
    As a photographer he asked me:
    -Did I think 5 rolls of film would be enough?
    -Did I have any outdated film so he could save a few dollars.
    Nope…it isn’t just airgunners!
    CowBoyStar Dad

  7. Edith,
    You two are a national treasure!! What an amazing relationship you have! I’m honored to have personally met almost half of this treasure. Thanks for brightening my day. Now I know I’m an Airgunner because I read this blog every day. What’s more convincing is that I know I’m an Airgunner because I fill pugs with pellets everyday.
    -C

  8. CowBoyStar Dad,

    You're right, it's not just airgunners.

    When Tom was doing consulting for the Dept. of Defense, he told me that many offices had bought lots of computers but didn't buy any software! They'd spent all their money on the hardware. What were they thinking? They said that they had programmers on staff & that they should write all their own software. This was in the early days, when computers didn't come with software preloaded.

    My brother is a gas/oil exploration geologist. He's done very well in life, but he's quite frugal. He told me more than once that those inexpensive inkjet printers are cheap because they really get you when you buy the toner cartridges. In my mind, that's okay. When I buy a printer, I know I'll have to buy toner. When I buy a car, I know I'll have to maintain it & put gas in it. Obviously, there's a disconnect that I'm not aware of.

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  9. Mrs. Gaylord,

    Thanks for confirming my airgunitis. Airgunoholism? I never admitted to myself, until your article today, that there are so many symptoms.

    I have to make a confession about the White MXT I purchased about 5 years ago.

    We own a second home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains near Leadville (famous, historic mining district). The gold, lead and silver mines made many people rich like Horace & Baby Doe Tabor, Carnegie, Guggenheim, etc. The first phase of our retreat was built in the late 1800's at the foot of Weston Pass. Weston Pass was the first toll road in Colorado. It was the shortest route from the early dry good stores to the gold fields and many miners paid the toll in order to get to their imagined riches as quickly as possible. Over time the wagon loads of supplies and stagecoaches full of wealthy businessmen and their wives also paid the toll to get to Leadville the quickest.

    The fact is that our cabin was first built as a stopover and weigh station for those travelers on their way to the boom town. Horses and mules were kept in the corral where the fence posts and barb wire still can be seen. A year round spring for water that is behind our home still runs strong. This spring is the unique feature that is cited in many treasure books when the tale is told about the two men that ran the weigh station. Legend is that these two gentlemen made money by:

    1-Offering a change of horses or mules for the freight wagons and stagecoaches
    2-Providing a bunk and meals for passengers
    3-Robbing the travelers further up the pass then high tailing it to their weigh station and then acting amazed at the story their newly arrived guests told of being robbed just hours earlier.

    The story as told in several treasure books we have in our home is that these clever gents weren't discovered for years. While Bat Matterson was sheriff of Leadville he found out these guys were the ones responsible for all the robberies. He formed a posse and road out to the weigh station early one morning. Although there was a gun battle at the weigh station no one was wounded and the two men got away. Everyone was certain that these guys left without their loot and although many have searched no one has found the stash.

    I've searched most of our property with the metal detector but only found old cans, nails, barb wire and bottle caps.

    About four years ago I bought (on ebay)replica gold and silver doubloons, a replica scrimshaw whales tooth with Captain Kidds treasure map inscribed, 500 replica $1,000 bank notes dated 1854 and about eight pounds of good quality antique jewelry and 3 period correct canvas bags used to transport money (one is imprinted U.S. Mint, one is Security Bank and I can't remember what the other is imprinted with). I buried this "treaure" about two feet deep with an antique gold mining pan on top of the bags.

    For first time guests at our home in the mountains the story usually starts with the legend/myth and is quickly followed by letting our guests read the passage in both treasure books that talk about the cabin at the foot of Weston Pass with a spring behind it where these highwaymen plied their trade. It then progresses to our admission of recently buying a used metal detector on ebay that didn't come with instructions. We then admit our ignorance to "electronic gadgetry" and place the disassembled White's MXT in front of our guests, still in it's hard case, and tell them if they can figure out how to put it together we'll tell them where the old timers in the area suggested we search first.

    Of course they quickly figure out how to assemble the metal detector and usually within an hour they have found the treasure site. With ten to fifteen minutes of digging we hear the yelling and screaming.

    kevin

  10. Calling all tractor fans:

    Josh has sent me images of some of his vintage tractors, & I've posted them here:

    /

    Cut-and-paste the url into your browser if you'd like to take a look.

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  11. Hi Edith,

    Have you and Tom been to the Hayes Antique Truck Museum in Woodland, California? Lots of antique tractors!

    A.R. Tinkerer
    (.22 multi-shot)

    P.S. I’m partially back (I get to read the blog at least every couple days).

  12. Kevin,

    You are a sick puppy. However, that sounds like something I’d do in a heart beat.

    Edith,

    My son worked the food stands last summer at the University of Maryland. I’ve never seen anyone using metal detectors there. Could be a real gold mine now.

    CowBoyStar Dad,

    My comment to vacationing friends is, how much would it cost you to go back and retake your pictures or shoot the one you wished you had, but didn’t cause you didn’t want to waste the film?

    Mr B.

    word verification plumprap (a new snack from Taco Bell?)

  13. A.R. Tinkerer,

    Thanks for the info. If they have a website, I’m sure Tom will ogle the tractors. Otherwise, he’ll have to come up with an excuse to fly to Woodland, CA.

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  14. Kevin,

    I think you need professional help. Only I would have thought of doing something like that.

    That’s hysterical. A great practical joke. But you know, all that treasure may still be out there somewhere…..

    What, are you still reading this blog?

    Fred

  15. Mr B. & FRED,

    Yes, I know I'm sick. I still need professional help. I have a psychiatrist on retainer.

    In the words of Hunter S. Thompson, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

    Yes, I'm still reading the blog. Lately I'm not able to read daily but I eventually get caught up.

    kevin

  16. Kevin…..

    That was a despicable low life thing you did. You must be part redneck!!!!!

    That rates right up there with taking sombody fishing and handing them a bait bucket that was contaminated with a few drops of gas.

    twotalon

  17. Kevin, I think that’s hilarious! I’m sure it’s fun for the victims also (after a while.)

    I’m still stuck on yesterday’s post. After I signed in I thought why not find out exactly what kind of toads I used to hunt in Florida. We always just called them African Toads thinking that someone imported them from Africa because that sounded exotic. They are actually called Cane Toads. Look them up and you’ll see that they’re just as big, ugly and poisonous as I remember! They were originally introduced to control rodent populations in the sugar cane fields in Florida and then overpopulated the entire lower half of the state. They were so thick at night that you could not avoid running them over on the street if you came home after dark. Anyway, as I was reading the official information on them, the animal control site recommended that if you have an infestation that you’d like to control you should:
    Catch the toads, put them in a plastic bag, put the bag IN YOUR FREEZER FOR THREE DAYS! and then bury the bag 2 ft deep. This is frightening stuff! Do you really have to wait for three days for these things to die? and even if they still survived you had to bury them 2 ft deep so that they can’t dig out again!?!? I knew they were hard to kill, but seriously! There is no way one of those things is going in my freezer. Imagine if it got out and the next day you had an awful surprise waiting for you in your ice cream! YUK. Much easier to shoot them in the head with an air rifle.

  18. “That rates right up there with taking sombody fishing and handing them a bait bucket that was contaminated with a few drops of gas.”

    OK, there must be a story behind this…share, please.

  19. Toadsicles…

    I always thought you were supposed to bury them at a crossroads, with a stake through their heart and a mouth filled with garlic.

    Oh well…

  20. Edith,

    This is very entertaining, and that bit about the visual aphasia is so interesting.

    I don’t know anything about tractors or engines, but I find that I’m quite taken with the radio-controlled flying. Has Tom gotten his helicopter?

    Matt61

  21. Anon……

    If you get even the smallest amount of gas or oil on your bait, hooks, or lures you will not catch crap! It repells fish something fierce!!

    If you are going fishing and you need to gas up the car or boat, you wear disposable gloves. If a bait can has been contaminated by the smallest amount of gas or oil, you might as well throw it away.

    Contaminated bait guarantees NO FISH. Found this out the hard way.

    The fishing partner with un-contaminated bait will do great while you won’t catch crap.

    If you are a dirty rat you can have your partner gas up the car and boat….handle the oil and gas. Don’t let him touch your bait or tackle…..let him screw his up. He won’t catch anything for months.

    twotalon

  22. Wayne,

    Wow, that is a very interesting point that the S410 shares the same barrel with the EV2 winner of national field target championships. Rich from Mich told me that accuracy is pretty much all in the barrel.

    Expensive compared to what? That’s an easy one–there’s my monthly paycheck, the price of plane tickets. You’re right, though, in terms of dollar amount, it is not that significant over the long haul. The main criteria is what use will I put the gun to, and with my micro-range I cannot justify a high-end gun like the S410. I would hardly notice the difference from my IZH 61. Out at the range, my Savage 10FP is as accurate at 50 yards and beyond as anything else I’m likely to shoot. I’m looking for a niche. However, that variable power with hundreds of shots on the low setting is very attractive.

    Congratulations on your Howa and hitting targets at 200 yards. My performance at 270 yards with the Savage 10FP in .223 was dismal. I had not calculated the bullet drop too well. And that’s interesting too about the Hogue stock. B.B. mentioned that a 30-.06 bolt action will kick your teeth out, but yours doesn’t seem to cause problems. I’ve heard that for high power, holding the stock into the shoulder is more important than holding the front end down. I think my forgetting this point is why the M1 seemed to kick so hard last time.

    Matt61

  23. Anon….

    On the flip side….
    If you can catch a water snake and get it to whizz all over your hands you got a great fish attractant.

    Stinks really bad, but get it on your bait and you can’t stop getting fish. Hands go into bait bucket to spice up the bait. Anything you touch will smell like snake whizz.

    Don’t know any really good way to get the stink off…maybe some of the deer hunting scent killer.

    twotalon

  24. Anonymous, burying them at the crossroads only gets them found by the driver of the long black train. They then come back as evil zombie hellspawn toads impossible to kill with anything but a silver pellet!

  25. Fused & twotalon,

    Thanks for the comments. We've probably pulled this prank at least a dozen times. After the "treasure" is dug up and reburied you have to wait for it to settle and add more dirt then we transplant grass and some sage bushes so the ground looks less disturbed and we're ready for the next victim.

    It takes some people longer to get over the shock and disbelief that it's not real but in the end they have a story that they tell at every opportunity. We always allow the people that find the treasure to take home a momento. Most people either take one of the $1,000.00 bank notes or a gold doubloon. Isn't it everyones childhood dream to find a buried treasure?

    I have one more confession and I'm done.

    The primary reason we bought this second home at this location is because it's part of a private fishing club. We're one of 150 members on 2,100 acres. We have 32 lakes and you can fish in 26 of the lakes. We have our own private fish hatchery and two full time fish biologists that insure that we have the best fishing in Colorado. I have several friends that are as fanatical about fishing as I am. Most of the people we invite up to fish are like us and love to catch trophy trout but don't want to eat them. Since we release the overwhelming majority of fish we catch we usually pinch down the barbs on the hooks to make the damage to the fish minimal and the release easier.

    Inevitably we have friends that come to the club to fish and they don't have the flies that are hatching that time of year. I willingly give them the patterns to fish with that the fish are biting on that weekend. If, however, they show up again and don't have the right pattern of fly, I'll reach in my fly box, retrieve the correct pattern, and tie the fly on their line. When I take my pliers out and act like I'm pinching the barb down on their fly hook I'll actually cut the hook off below the fly pattern (hard to see the hook is missing when it's covered in fly tying material). These great fisherman will get bite after bite and can't hook a fish. Yes, after awhile I'll suggest they check their hook if they hadn't already discovered it.

    It's not the "gas in the bait bucket story" but close.

    kevin

  26. Kevin…

    That is even more rotten than the fake treasure.

    I bet you would hand someone a .22 airgun and some .20 cal pellets.

    I bet you are a really cool guy…quite a sense of humor.

    twotalon

  27. Kevin…

    Never cared for trout.
    The rainbows that I have caught really tear their mouth up fighting the hook, and I don’t really care for the taste.

    Best for me is crappies..
    Filetted, battered , deep fried…along with french fries.

    Like shake and bake…can add more flour , corn meal, and some pepper…never salt.
    Dip in coctail sauce when eating. Tastes a bit like shrimp. Great eating….but NEVER use salt on the crappies.

    Smaller bullheads, catfish, bass are good too. Small pike, suckers, carp.

    Carp is best scored, breaded, splashed with tabasco. Yeah….sewer bass….but it’s different.

    twotalon

  28. twotalon,

    You're making me hungry! I LOVE fish. Tom usually has to be beaten with a stick before he'll eat it. However, he recently ate some fresh tuna at a good local seafood restaurant & said it was delicious!

    Before Tom & I met, I lived across the hall from an immigrant Russian family. The husband was unemployed and spent most days fishing (Cherry Creek Reservoir in Denver). He caught carp & smoked it. I was invited over to his house, where all his Russian friends, the landlord & I would eat smoked carp and drink vodka and room-temperature 7-Up. Well, at least the carp was good. We had carp parties about once a month. It was only after a few months that I realized he was trying to get me together with the landlord, who was also single. I quickly found something else to do on Saturday afternoons!

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  29. Edith..

    I have tried smoked carp…it’s different, but nothing I care for that much.
    Used to drink vodka some times..got really wasted on it. Has to be the right kind or it tastes like rubbing alcohol smells.

    Carp that is breaded, deep fried, and splashed with tabasco while still hot, a dash of salt, and served with good dill slices and french fries is quite an experience. No problem with finding the bones in a carp…big.

    For most purposes…if the fish fillet is too big for the skillet then you don’t want to eat it.
    Depends a lot on the water that it came from.

    An all you can eat shrimp/catfish/carp smorgasboard is the place I want to be. I always got my money’s worth….usually on the shrimp.

    twotalon

  30. twotalon,

    Fugu? How can you eat software? That's the first thing that occurred to me. Fugu is an FTP program for Mac computers. Yes, I know, it's also a fish.

    Fried rice…sweet & sour…now you're talkin' my language. I LOVE Chinese food. Even the authentic stuff.

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  31. Mrs. Gaylord,

    Small world.

    I grew up fishing Cherry Creek Reservoir. Used to have huge northern pike and good walleye fishing. Since it’s a warm water fishery the trout were mushy and tasted like moss. Back in the late 1970’s the nitrates started flooding into Cherry Creek Reservoir and the fishery has never fully recovered. The increase in jet ski’s and boat traffic hasn’t helped either.

    twotalon,

    I’m not a big fish eater since I grew up on beef and elk. Don’t mind eating walleye and kokanee (fresh water salmon in Colorado). Kokanee cooked in sealed parchment with fresh lemon, tomatoes and herbs then covered in cilantro butter is great with a good white wine.

    kevin

  32. Edith…

    Fugu…blowfish…neurotoxin..poison. Japanese delicacy.
    Eaten raw in thin slices from just the right (least toxic ) part of the fish. Not for me!!!

    Oriental foods I have indulged in were in Thailand and the Phillipines mostly.
    Standard American foods just don’t get it after some of the stuff I have eaten. One thing about spending time on that side of the Pacific is that you experience FLAVOR.

    If it smells and tastes good, then eat it…just don’t ask what is in it.

    And hot….Thai red peppers…brutal. The story goes that if you can eat it without getting poisoned, then the peppers will kill the bad taste. This is for the poor people in those countries where anything that can be eaten can be made paletable by covering up the taste with something.

    PI OK , loved the Thais, Korea sucked…food, beer, and climate. No wonder the Koreans are so mean.

    twotalon

  33. Actually your prospecting friend has a valid point about inkjet printers, in my opinion.

    You can easily go down and buy a 50$ printer with 30$ worth of rebates, which will give you quite nice quality and will last for a few months before the ink needs to be replaced. Then you find out that the ink cartridges themselves cost 50$. Further, once you take the seal off a inkjet cartridge, the ink starts drying out whether you are using it or not.

    It seems clear to me that the inkjet printer companies charge an absolutely phenomenal markup on the ink, simply because they can. They sell printers at manufacturing cost to attract new customers, and then gouge like crazy on the ink because you feel like you’re “locked in” at that point.

  34. Kevin….

    Your recipe sounds good.

    It’s a shame that pollution has made it difficult to find fish that are fit to eat.

    We used to joke up in Michigan that you could nail a fish up on a vertical board and calibrate it to a thermometer with lines and a magic marker. You could tell the temperature by watching the murcury level rise and fall in the fish.

    I’m in ohio now . You don’t want to eat too many fish from here.

    twotalon

  35. Tractor guys,

    Josh has sent me 4 more images of his metal babies (tractors). I’ve added them to the top of the page I mentioned before. If you’re interested, have a look-see!

    Edith (Mrs. B.B.)

  36. Since ya wanna talk fish I can talk fish. I catch Walleye and Northern Pike out of the Winnipeg River in Ontario near Kenora. Terrific fish, but nothing compares the the Halibut I caught in the Gulf of Alaska off of Homer, Alaska. The best fish I ever ate. Fresh Walleye shore lunches every day in Canada are to die for but the Halibut in Alaska is to keep dying for.
    -C

  37. That harvester picture brought back a memory of a story my dad would tell. He lived on a farm in Southern Illinois with an aunt and uncle because both my grandparents died of the flu epidemic back in the early nineteen hundreds after my dad was born.

    His uncle worked him on the farm when he became a teenager. He was taught that while harvesting wheat, like they’re doing in that picture, if the harvester ever caught fire he was to shut down the engine and get the heck out of there. I guess they used to catch fire easily back then.

    Well, one day it did catch fire and he did exactly what he was told to do, however, the harvester was right next to the barn. When the harvester burned up so did the barn. His uncle was furious because he didn’t drive the thing away from the barn before shutting it down. My dad reminded him again what he had taught him but he says it didn’t help his case any.

    -C

  38. CJr

    You travel more than I do.
    Bet the fish way up north don’t start growing extra fins and heads like they do around here.

    Pretty much unspoiled country way up north.

    twotalon

  39. twotalon,
    Is is reasonably unspoiled. Where I fish we’re at least 30 miles from any towns. Those towns are not big at all and there is no industry to pollute the river in that area.

    There is an Ojibwa Reserve across from the island where we stay in cabins. We hire the local Indians as guides through the camp. They do all the work, we just eat and fish. The Alaska fishing was from a chartered boat for 6 people a few miles off Homer. I don’t know what the pollution is there but it’s deep ocean fishing (90 ft.), but Anchorage is coastal with the Cook inlet which runs into the Gulf of Alaska and I’m not familiar with their industry.

    -C

  40. CJr

    Only ocean fishing I have done was off Okinawa.

    Charter captain told us which fish to throw back. We had a fish fry after we got them cleaned. Some had a spicy taste . don’t know what any of them were.

    Got seasick fishing.

    twotalon

  41. Wayne,

    I can see why you’re a successful businessman. Between the super barrel and power adjustment, I’ve come to favor the S410 over the Marauder. The only remaining point of contention is the quietness of the S410 on low power. How quiet is it?

    Similarly, the reading I’ve done on the Howa is very impressive–great all-around quality at Savage prices. After Savage I would get a Howa. You just need Black Hills ammo to do it justice. This all makes you wonder about the Remington 700 which has been the standard for so long. You don’t hear so much about it anymore. Maybe people are tired of it. Or perhaps, there was never any particular reason why the Remington 700 stood out so much. Once the Marine Corps adopted it for their sniper rifle, everyone wanted one. But I don’t know that the Marines spent that much time on their choice. One explanation is that the Remington 700 was cheap and of good quality. Of course with enough time and attention, the Remington 700 can be made to shoot with the best, but you could probably say that about other models. It’s worth noting that David Tubb, before shooting the SR-25 and then his own design, the Tubb 2000, used a Winchester 70, not a Remington 700.

    Regarding fish, I’ve heard that carp is oily and tastes bad. Apparently that’s not true. I like fish as much as the next, but the best I can remember is Atlantic cod used for fish and chips in England. Fabulous. I do worry, though, about all the crap that fish absorb from polluted waters.

    Matt61

  42. It's hard to eat anything unhealthy in Thailand. Lot of good things to eat. As for beer, Chang has the advertising, but Singha has the flavor.

    I once pounded a mud wasp into the dirt with a hammer. The mud wasp worked its way out of the crater and came after me. I tried every wasp killer known to man and it had little effect. So I finally filled up there little mud holes with gasoline and lit those little SOBs on fire.

    As for cane toads, they're not too popular in Australia either. I think they were introduced to eat the cane beetles, but seemed to eat everything else and multiplied out of control.

    Then there's powerful airgun addiction, almost as bad as the addiction to chatrooms and blogs. I hear there's a program to help those with online chatting addiction called On&On&On. (lol..small joke)

  43. AJVENOM

    Drank a lot of Singha. Amaret was the alternative…still good, but less formaldehyde. Ice cold was the best. The first hangover was a mother.

    Was told one day that I ate a baht bug when I was drunk. Decided not to drink so much after that.

    twotalon

  44. Matt61,

    Re: How quiet is the AA S410 on low power

    In .22 caliber if your power adjuster wheel is at half power or lower it sounds like opening a can of pop that hasn’t been shaken. At full power it’s like a kids cap gun going off.

    I’ve added an ldc to mine and now on full power it is quieter than opening a can of unshaken pop.

    kevin

  45. Giant waterbug…eeeeewwww…I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s eaten bugs in Thialand. Some say the old timers in the outskirts still do, but I stuck to the seafood.

    I have eaten bugs here in the US and they are suppose to be a good source of protien.

    Durian, now there’s a funky fruit, but it was not as bad as some people say.

  46. AJVENOM

    At least you know what a baht bug is.

    Used to run over them with mj-4 and mj-1 bomb loaders to pop them. Threw them in the exhaust stack of -60 gas turbine power carts. Toasted one for our shop hose boy with a heat gun. Put freon on them to watch them go nuts.

    Almost as entertaining as the tokays. The lizzards that yell obsenities at night.

    Could tell a lot of stories, but not on a public forum.

    twotalon

  47. Anonymous asking about shot count and velocity for .22 caliber disco running on CO2,

    I’ve never owned a disco but did some checking for you. Here’s a quote on velocity:

    “14.3gr. pellets (depending on which ones) run about 645fps on co2 during warm weather (over 80degrees) and earn about 13.2 foot pounds.

    The heavier pellets will earn a bit more energy, but will be doing slower. to get to 14.5 foot pounds, those 18.2gr. pellets would be moving at about 600fps. To get to 15.7 foot pounds, the 28.4gr. pellets would be moving at about 500fps.

    Really don’t think you’ll see quite that much energy jump from going with the heavy weights…sill see some, but would expect those 28.4’s to be running closer to 490fps (15 foot pounds).”

    Here’s a quote on shot count:

    “A “field fill” where both the rifle and co2 tank are at the same temperature, will fill it to about 1.1 to 1.3oz., which is good for about 50-60 “good”shots (will shoot more, but past about 50 shots, vel. will be dropping for each shot). This is for my rifle, set to shoot 825fps with air….can figure on 630fps with Co2. If yours is tuned and is set a bit lighter, would get more shots…if set heavier, would get less. 630fps not real fast, but for a stock co2 rifle, it’s on the fast end of things.

    If using co2, and shooting from one place (like bench testing or sitting in one spot plinking) without moving around, will usually run the rifle from a remote line and stay hooked up to the tank.

    Estimate the volume would be safe with 1.7 to 2oz. of co2, but you’ll have to do odd things to get that amount in. It’s not something you’d do in the field, needing the rifle cool and the tank warm, and to go for the max, would need a scale accurate to a fraction of an ounce….go with a “field fill”.”

    Hope that helps.

    kevin

  48. Here in Peoria we have Asian Carp in the Illinois River. They’ve invaded from who knows where in the last few years. They weigh around 10 lb and jump 6 feet in the air when a boat passes near. They have been known to hurt people really bad: boaters, water skiers, jet skiers, fisherman, etc. I have sat in a shore side restaurant and watched them jump in front of boats as they go down the river. We have bow hunting competitions where someone spooks them into the air and the other guy shoots them. Carp are favorite food for some people around here. I’m not so sure about the Asian Carp, however, which are a different species than regular carp.

    -C

  49. Edith,
    Waited all day for DSL to come back up so I could get my fix, then blogger dumped my comment (or I misplaced it in cyberspace). I think BB is not that different from some other people I know:). I’ve been tempted more than once to buy him a Farmall Cub or — most recently– an AC model B when I see them for good prices. Perfect size for the garage, and he could mow the lawn with a sickle bar or something. Even if it gets 6 feet high:).

    Wayne,
    You’re too hardcore — FT position with an ’06:). I’m glad you got one, though; there’s no better all-around cartridge. I gather its considered underpowered these days, but that seems like BS to me. By the way, you can get reduced recoil loads that are easy shooting, and more than enough for deer and Gamo squirrel targets:).

    Matt,
    I think the Savage centerfires are up there in terms of functionality and accuracy, and they seem determined to keep making them better in the US. Buy them while they’re cheap:). Ironically, the AR15 is very popular, and there has never been an uglier design, yet its Savage that gets called ugly:).

  50. Edith,

    Great stories!!

    I wish you would blog every friday for us.. then we could talk about Tom all weekend, while he's off making movies with the big wigs!

    Matt61,
    Our .177 cal Air Arms s410 is a little quieter than the two .22 cal Carbine s410.. The .22 cal on full power gets 30 plus foot lbs. So it should be a little louder on all settings..

    I'm very anxious to compare the newest offerings from crosman and Evanix at about half the price of the Air Arms S410… should have the Evanix any day now!

    I researched the Howa 1500 and it's Hogue stock.. for it's ease of shooting!
    ..and I'm very pleased with the real thing! That Howa 1500 in 30-06 is easier to shoot 180gr than the Stevens 200 in .243 shooting 100gr.

    It must be the Hogue stock, because the Stevens 200 is new also, with a similar type composite stock, but not a Hogue…

    Anyway, I like Howa 1500.. in .223 and now .30-06… and with the Nikko 3-10×42 side focus.. all for $469.. seems like a good deal!!

    Kevin,

    Oh my, your a master!! You know how to live life!!

    You've made some very wise choices in your life and deserve every moment of joy you bring yourself & others!!..
    Wow is all I can say..

    That is the nicest joke a person could play on someone.. a life long memory for sure.. The treasure one, that is..

    Clipping the hook, instead of pinching the barb, must be saved for the real jerks only.. and I'm sure it is… or was…?

    STILL Smiling,
    Wayne

  51. Nitro_Fish,
    I subscribe to Nuts&Volts and I was elated when I saw that article. I already have a chrony but the thought of building one interests me. Are you planning to try it?
    -C

  52. Not sure Cjr,
    I also have a Chrony…
    …but it looks like a cool build!
    -NiTr0

    (Maybe I'll build a really BIG one & use it to clock the hotrods that fly by my house.) grin

  53. Anyone have a link to details for how to increase the power of a Izhmash Yunker 2 AK47? I believe that there were upgrade kits at one time but wonder if there is anyone still doing this. Also, although not legal in all countries, any links to how to make it full-auto? Thanks.

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