Macmac..I'm not 'crusty'. At least I don't mean to come off that way.
I don't know exactly, Big M. I had a single shot Marlin .22 bolt action when I was 10 years old. (pulled a knob out behind the bolt to cock it) I helped to feed my family with it in those North Alabama hills where I was borned and raised. Lot's of times it would mis-fire and we would go to bed that night with our stomach's a little less than full.
At 17 years old at USMCRD Parris Island My 7.62 M-14 mis-fired the very last round and that stopped me from shooting a perfect 250. All three of my Drill Instructors raised pure holy hell but they wouldn't give me the last shot over again. I cried like a little boy. (Hell, I was a little boy. That Goddamned M-14 was damn near as big as me) I felt so Goddamed betrayed. I hope that frigging range commander died a horrible lingering death with lot
's of pain and suffering.
I found my way to Vietnam like everybody else did back then and they issued me the M-16 A-1 and that piece of **** jammed coming and going. I never pulled so many 'immediate actions' in my life. I found my best friend dead and shot all to pieces on Hill 881 North with his M-16 torn down beside of him where he was trying to un -jam it when he was shot. War is war, but he was shot a lot more times than he needed to be.
I don't need to hose lead any more Macmac. When I load my blackpowder firearms I KNOW they will work first time and every time. Just a few shots now and then is all I ever make anymore. I have practiced with them so much (thousands and thousands of hours I guess) I can use them real good and I know they will work. (I'm fast to. Never tried to be. The speed just came with time I guess. Even so, I'm not as fast as I was maybe 15 years ago. I can tell, but so far I am still accurate.) I still love my Walker best of all, but I know for a fact that I own 5 of the absolute finest 58's and 3 of the finest Carbines that it is possible to find on the face of this earth period. No engraving or anything on them. I'm not a fancy person. The serial numbers are recorded and they will pass on to the National Rifle Association when my time on earth is through.
Besides, Macmac, it give's me a sense of satisfaction to sort of build my own round like a person does with blackpowder firearms. I mean, I have some chicken and bologna and a little bacon and stuff in my refrigerator like everybody else but sometimes I still like to go hunting. It make's me feel good and give's me satisfaction to build the round that I got my meat with.
Nobody bothers me out here. Hell, everybody out here in this part of the country know's each other and we are all friends. We all own several firearms and we would pretty well stomp our own snakes if it ever came to that. We help each other out. Some of that other way of living and thinking might work for those 'genteel' folks in New York City or out there in San Franscisco, but their **** won't fly out here on the high plains of Wyoming.
Thank you for calling attention to the message I had Macmac. I never noticed. I'm usually in a hurry. I'm way out here in the middle of nothing so to speak. The power company wanted $27,000.00 (all up front) to run power out here to me. I told them to kiss my ass. I bought a nice wind turbine and mounted it but the wind blow's too hard up here. I have three generators and they work good (just use one at a time of course) but they use a lot of gasoline. In about 2 more months I have another generator coming in. It's a real small one and dosen't use hardly any gasoline at all to speak of but will run all of my stuff well withing the 'half power' mode. Most of my stuff run's on propane. When the new generator get's here I will be able to stay on line as long as I like. I'll probably spend at least 9 to 12 hours online each day. Hell, I'm retired and don't have anything else to do except maybe go into town now and then and shop a little and sit around and drink coffee and bull**** with a few of my friends. Yes!! I may sound 'crusty' but I do have a few friends!!
Talk with you later Macmac....Stan....