leroy

John is a great creature!!  I love big hosses.   We used to fool with 'em when i wuz a boy.  My grandad and uncle always kept one.   The neighbors down the road had a team that we worked in the wagon or sled... I've never seen anyone break ground with a turning plow; but ive seen lots of cultivating....   Thanks for posting these great pictures !!! It's a window into the past where it took a bunch of work to raise a garden or plant a field...   Thanks again. leroy

  Ya got the tools and the in-laws know the wife will make ya fix the lawn mower no matter what.   That is the nature of things....   Keep up the good work (...and lawnmower repair...)   leroy

I think "whistle pigs" are cool!!  I like to watch 'em too.   In the "old days" lots of 'em were killed because of diggin up the pastures.  Farmers didnt like 'em because of the possibility of livestock steppin in their burrows.   They are also "hell" on gardens... They like everything we like and will eat it in the garden.... Seems like the ones i see today are on the roadway slopes watchin the cars drive buy.  The more foolish ones venture down to the roadway and get run over crossin across the roadway... .   Thanks for postin the great picture. leroy

Could be a plug power pack.  My Kohler (...long gone...) 18 hp twin would run on one cylinder every now and then.  Discovered it wuz a weak plug pac.  Just follow the high tension plug wire back to wherever it goes and ya can find the plug pac.  If it started all at once and does it reliably on heating up, i would bet that's it.  Havin said that; maybe the "real small engine mechanics" can chime in... I confess to bein an amateur.   Good luck.. leroy

  I didnt know that !!! Thanks for the mini-history lesson....  Very enlightening...   RE:  The "low-life lawyer thing" -- remember the "low-lifes" have gotta eat too; along with payin the bills.   It beats bein on the dole like lots of others are...   With the drunk and impared drivin thing; the defense lawyer aint the problem; the drunk/impared driver who does the crime is the problem... Never forget that... .    On a personal basis; I think we should go back to an old testament view of the drunk drivin thing...  If ya injure someone while impaired; the biggest, meanest of the aggrieved family members administers the appropriate punishment.  I also like Mark's idea on selling the car... .   I'm sorry, drunk and impaired drivin aint a harmless, victimless "crime"...Dont drink or take dope and then drive and ya wont have the problem.  Abstinence (...from driving...) is the answer here.   leroy

TMF:  RE this:    I think this is an interestin conundrum to consider when ya look at the libertarian (...Constitutional....) thought vs the current "conventional" way of doin things here in TN.. ..  The libertarian side of me says that the state (...or local...) gubmt cant suspend your Fourth Amendment rights; and i dont think ya do; even in this case.  I think we can quibble about whether it should be done to begin with the way it is now; but that's another fight; and if libertarianism ever completely wins the day, i think we'll see the fight renewed; with possible differing outcomes on lots of things...   While lookin at the other side of this; i come up with this little picture:   When ya take a look back to the "old days", when there were horses and mules; the sheriff simply arrested ya for "public drunkenness" (...assumin there wuz a law against that; which, again, we can quibble about...) and put ya in the slammer to sober up...  No tests, no warrants, no nothin; just him, you and the jail; and no one challenged that action... This action wuz thought to be an "acceptable action" under law because it wuz the community norm.   There  "probable cause" wuz the sheriff's judgement based on his observations of you and his oath to uphold the law to the best of his ability... It's the historical precedent thing.  We can quibble about whether that is right or not; but it is what it is, regardless; and law is built on precedent as well as rules and words.   Fast forward to now... We still got folks drinkin and drivin; and we still got the sheriff observin (...via the DUI checkpoint....) and we've got new tools to detect and prove "drunkeness".  We still got "probable cause or lack there of depending on his observation" (...his observations of you as he interacts at the checkpoint...)... If he thinks you are impaired. he asks for a test... You can still refuse to do the sobriety check test and make him get a warrant to get a blood sample; but that is exactly what he will do.  All the while, you and he waits for the warrant (...as i understand things now...).   Ya still get to exercise your right to demand a "writ from a judge"; but the LEO will have no problem gettin one.  Thus your right to demand a "writ from a judge" has been fulfilled; your constitutional right has been preserved; and you are headed for the drunk tank.  The question then becomes wuz the original observation an overbearing and malicious "unreasonable search and seizure" or wuz the sheriff's observation and subsequent actions "reasonable" to begin with?...  Ya know who is gonna win that one....   leroy

Let me see if i can add a bit of a "twist" on the "no refusal" DUI checkpoint thing...  As i understand it (...and as others have pointed out or hinted at...) a "drivers license" is a special permission given out to a citizen by the state for the right to do a certain thing (...drive...) with certain conditions attached (....think training, drivers testing, insurance, not doing certain things; like drinkin or dopin here....) all for a fee (...of course....) as opposed to a constitutional issue..  The constitution says nothin about states issuing licenses.  We can have a big discussion about whether this "license - fee" thing is good; but it's the norm and aint gonna change.   Said another way; a "license" has "strings attached" and requirements that are demanded by the state.  One of the big strings is a requirement that says "dont drive impaired"....  The stated reason is that ya cant drive too well impaired.  It endangers others. Bingo (...or eureka...) we've found the basis for "no refusal" DUI checkpoints.... .  We can quibble about the Fourth Amendment thing a bit; but it appears that the courts have long ruled that LEO has the prerogative (...even a duty, if ya are into "serving and protecting" the community....) to set up DUI checkpoints and its a slam dunk that they have "probable cause" to do so... Take a look at the number of "driving impaired" crashes anywhere... Like it or not, they dont need a warrant if there is a state law in place that outlines the "strings attached to driving"....   Take a look at the news... There is not a week (...or sometimes even 2 to 3 days...) that goes by without some drunken son or daughter of satan either crashing or killin another driver in your neck of the woods.  There's is one that just happened the other day or two that killed some innocent folks right here in east tennessee.  The dammed drunken driver wuz drivin on a revolked license and wuz a chronic offender.  Evidently the 3 strikes and your out doesnt work on some folks.   DUI checkpoints calm down this epidemic of "impaired driving" to some extent; and i think that's a good thing.   If everyone had good sense, ya wouldn't need DUI checkpoints.   Casual observation will demonstrate that lots of folks aint too smart.    The world is upside down... Dont fall into the trap of thinkin that somehow that your constitutional rights are being somehow violated when ya get in your car and encounter a DUI checkpoint... I've been thru bunches of them... I think they save lives... We can quibble about what ought to be done with drunk and impaired driving chronic offenders -- i tend to think we ought to shoot 'em--- but that's just me.   RE: the "mean overbearing LEO thing"... Yeah there are some out there; but the vast majority of LEO types are professional and tryin to do the right thing for the right reasons... The fact is that we live in an imperfect world where folks of all stripes do wrong things.  That is the nature of the fallen state of man...  I say give 'em a break; they aint the gestapo and they aint gonna haul ya off to the gulag or shoot ya (...unless ya do somethin real stupid...).   I say "dont drive impared" and "drive safely"... the life ya save could be your own, your neighbors, or your loved ones.... . That is a very important and worthwhile thing.....   leroy

A special thanks to all who took the time to opine on this.   Of the two pistols i handled; the M & P shield felt the best in the hand and it looks like the Apex kit would fix one right up.  Looks like a $400 pistol (...new....) goes to $500 approx with the apex kit which overall aint a bad deal.   Havin said all that; do any of you all have any experience shootin the M & P shield; and do ya like it?  It looks to me like it could be a "poor man's" PPS; which is a helluva thing, i think... .    Also; do ya like the smaller 45 ACPs (...i like the Glock 36; and everybody else must like theirs too -- cant find 'em -- a good indicator of how good they are, i think....) like the CW 45?   Thanks again, as always.   leroy

Dear fellow opiners:   I took the time to look at a couple of pistols today... One a S & W Shield 40 and the other a Kahr CW 45 (...im lookin for a single stack carry pistol in 40 or bigger-- these two were the "right price"...).... The Shield was heavy and gritty...  The Kahr wuz better; but with a long pull.   The question(s) is this: 1.   can ya smooth out the trigger on the Shield and make it close to a good Glock?? 2.   can ya smooth out the trigger and improve the Kahr to make it smoother and the throw shorter??   thanks a bunch.   leroy

I think this is hilarious....  Even the "anointed ones" at Harvard cant cook the books and make this one work.  They know they are under a microscope and that most folks intuitively understand that more guns doesnt equal more crime.  More than that, there is a mountain of data that says that where there are "Must Issue" gun laws and a high rate of armed citizens, that the crime rate goes down...  Havin said all that, as other wizened opiners have said; dont wait for the big three "lamestreet" (...way to go on the 'lame street media RED!!!... A great characterization.....) media to report this.  HEHEHEHE....   leroy

More childish behavior cloaked as doin the "right thing"....  This is "red meat" for the low information children and a slap at capitalism, the second amendment, congress, and law abiding citizens by a pompous, overbearing, childish, vindictive politician of very small stature.  This is a perfect picture of who Barak Obama is...." ...An overbearing, pompous, smartest guy in the room statist elevated to the highest office in the land on via "Equal Opportunity", voter fraud, and "Insider dealing" who knows better than everybody what is best for us "rabble to to controlled" ALA the "chicago" way.....    I think it is also a calculated political move to take the discussion off the Syria intervention talk, the whuppin in the Supreme Court RE:  voting rights, the NSA fiasco (...which is still cookin...), and other nobama administration failures as well; as it stirs up those who actually believe that the Second Amendment actually means what  it says....  I say: "....Keep talkin... the more folks ya make mad, the greater the chance to fix this problem in the Senate and White House..."....   leroy radical isolationist libertarian and despiser of both political parties!!!

I made fun of them for a long time (...until i shot one...).  Got 3 now, 2 "babys", 1 compact. Lookin for a glock 36 now (...lightly used and lovingly cared for of course...). They are a great thing.   enjoy leroy

rob:____________   Did ya tap the case to settle the powder?  I always do that on the "compressed loads".  We used to load some pretty hefty loads of IMR 4350 in the 375 H & H.   Tapping the side of the case will generally make the powder settle a bit and ease the "crunch" ya are feeling while seating the bullet.     I've got some 458 loaded downstairs with 67 grains of IMR3031 (...i think...) with 400 grain hard cast linotype bullets.  We've shot 'em; the load  recipe is no good.  The bullets are a bit small for the bore and i think are strippin the lands.  Cant keep 'em on the target at 50 yards.  I'm gonna pull 'em down and reload them with a jacketed bullet; but ive just not done it yet.    If your rifle is a ruger #1; they have a generous bore and lots of free bore.  That calms the pressure down a bit; so i wouldn't worry if you have double checked your load and you know for certain that it is ok with the loading manuals or the powder website.   Have fun. leroy

I saw this great quote in one of the comments on the NRO Blog article that was posted by some wizened opiner.  Booker T. Washington knew first hand about the "Confederacy" and "Jim Crow".  That did not keep him from becoming a world renowned educator and visionary.   He died in 1915.  He wuz a very wise man:      These "race-problem solvers" are alive and well in governments,   "community activist" organizations, and black (...and some white...) churches.   You can rest assured some of them are near you.    More on Booker T. Washington here:  http://www.washingtonpolicy.org/publications/opinion/booker-t-washington-great-educator-great-american   leroy

Valuable insight on this subject from our buddies at Moonbattery Blog (...one of my favorites...).  Make sure ya look at the picture.   Enjoy or cry, depending on your mood:  http://moonbattery.com/?p=35503   leroy the anti moonbat

Here is a link to a short article i found via drudge posted in National Review on line:   http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/356851/jesse-jackson-tea-party-resurrection-confederacy-katherine-connell   It seems that that great friend of democracy, peacemaker, and friend of all of mankind, Jessee Jackson, thinks the Tea Party is the "New Confederacy".  It's a short read.  The sentence above gives his sentiments.    Tea Party operatives:  I say "....keep up the good work...!"  When they call ya names, you are winnin.   leroy, radical isolationist libertarian and friend of the Tea Party

Been watchin this thread with interest.  Lots of good information has been passed along; especially with regard to sizing the brass, overall length, taper crimping, use of loaded round gages (...a must, i think, with semiautos -- pistol or rifle...).  I started off reloading for 38 special and 45 acp lots of years ago (...early 70's...).  Havin said that; here's the principal thing that ive learned in regard to semiauto pistols RE: the "...minimum powder charge..." and velocity thing:   The first rule of shootin reloads in a semiauto of any flavor is to understand that the pistol is designed for a particular loading.  That loading is the "factory load" for that particular pistol.  If your load does not meet the minimum impulse - momentum value for that particular loading (...momentum = mass times velocity...); the pistol may not cycle reliably.  The "source" of that failure can be not enough powder, too slow a powder, or too light a bullet. That is why all our brother opiners are recommending a load of at least 5 grains of bullseye in this particular case.   Said another way; your reload in a standard pistol (...standard recoil spring...) must meet the ballistics of a "factory round".  If ya want to find a reload combination that works in a "stock" pistol; ya need to first see what the factory load is with the particular bullet ya like; then go to the reloading tables to find one that develops at least the same velocity in your particular pistol at the same bullet weight.   Hope this gives a bit clearer perspective on this issue.  It works for all semiautos; regardless of caliber.   leroy  

Before everybody gets too jumpy and throws "the baby out with the bathwater" so to speak; just take the time to remember that the minutemen, the british, the mountain men, the buffalo hunters, naval gunners, army cannoners, road builders, the quarrymen, and the miners everywhere (....and everybody else that shot or blasted anything...) handled black powder to do it with until well into the first 1/3 of the twentieth century.  Havin said that; I'm convinced that esd probably set this charge off; but ive got no way of knowing that for sure.     Ya need to use metal (...brass, non sparking....) tools to reload black powder with; along with a real good look at seeing to it that there is no potential source of electric charge near (...rugs, plastic tools handling powder, plastic loading blocks, cel phones, electric motors, ect, etc -- ya get the picture...) and that everything you use is non-sparking or grounded if the rounds (...or powder containers...) sit on it .    Blasting regulations with all kinds of powder (...black and otherwise...) have always cautioned about lightning and electrostatic discharge when handling and loading explosives (...black powder is an explosive... Smokeless powder is a flammable solid...).  Electrical sparks (...big or little...) can set this stuff off; as can a pretty good blow (...shock as with a hammer blow...) to the powder itself.  Dont be dragged off into the woods by some yahoo on youtube sayin that electric sparks wont set off black powder.  Rules for handling black powder and explosives are "written in blood".  That means that researching catastrophes and  confabulations (...after burying the dead and tending to the maimed...) caused these "rules" to be known and adopted.   Being careful is the watchword with all reloading; and is doubly true when handling black powder, dynamite, or anything else that can set ya on fire or blow ya up.    Remember, on balance, the most dangerous thing that ya handle with reloading is the primer.  It explodes from a relatively light physical blow.     Look carefully at everything ya do... .   There is a place right up the road from our location where a genuine loss of life tragedy happened from what was suspected to be an esd.  The place wuz the Pyro Shows fireworks fab facility.   These guys were (...and are...) world class pros that make their living by handling black powder by the ton.   Accidents happen from the most innocent of actions or from overlooking of hazards that are sitting in front of ya.    This is a double lesson.... . One in thankfulness that Dave wasn't hurt any more that he was; and the other in that things can happen very unexpectedly and that the source of the confabulation can be relatively minor; even undetectable.   Be watchful... .  Be careful.... .   leroy

We've spilled more than enough blood and spent too much treasure in the middle east with no end in sight.  Let 'em kill each other off; the Israelis will finish 'em if they get too rowdy.   leroy, radical isolationist libertarian

There will always be "lapdogs" in government willing to toady up to any regime; no matter how idiotic or despotic in order to curry favor and advancement within that regime.  In the east tennessee vernacular; "...they are anybody's ole dog that will pet them...".... .   That is the nature of the standing army and bureaucracy anywhere.  The military and the government cabin industry attracts the full spectrum of the society that it draws its recruits from; from left to right, mild to wild, from straight to gay, despotic to libertarian, patriot savior of the citizenry to potential murderer of the citizenry,  --- ya get the picture.     Remember this, service in the military does not equate to selfless patriotism; nor does "public service" in government equate to statesmanship and selfless "giving back" to the country.   There will always be some fraction of this bunch that will gladly do the bidding of their political masters in order to curry favor from them.     Take the time to google the details of the "Bonus March" of 1932 and take a look at some of the names of those who took action to suppress this "mob" of people.  My bet is that you will be dismayed and saddened.   You are what you are... .  Your deeds will surely follow you; be they good or evil... .   leroy the amateur philosopher and student of the human condition 

Glad you are ok... . Sorry for the accident.  My guess (...as others have opined...) is that static electricity set this one off too.  I've loaded my share of black powder loads; i like to shoot them in a 45 colt myself.  I made up a bunch of cut off brass powder measures with brass handles to charge the powder.  I always keep my cel phone away from the reloading bench because of the static electricity thing.     Were ya using plastic loading blocks? ...  The ESD mat is a great idea.   leroy

The real crime (...outside of the non-coverage...) wuz the complete silence of then mayor bill haslam and his sorry chief of police sterling owen. Do a google search and see what ya find.   Always remember, politics tops everything when you have political aspirations and it dont affect you personally.   leroy

Here's an interesting read from Hot Air RE:  The NM photographer case.  It's an interesting read.   http://hotair.com/archives/2013/08/23/lawyer-for-new-mexico-photographer-forcing-her-to-work-at-a-gay-wedding-violates-her-right-of-free-expression/   leroy

  Very interesting.  Thanks for posting this.   The stench of this "non-story" may finally be overcoming the collective "non-conscience" of the news media...   Here's hopin. leroy   leroy

Chip... Your post above.  How does this mesh with the obamacare thing movin thru the courts that is considering the "religious exemption" for "the morinin after pills" and other stuff?  That's what i was thinking about.    Help me to understand what principle of law the courts argument is built on; .....it appears to be that if you are engaged in "commerce"; that you must forfeit your "deeply held beliefs" for the sake of that business.  How does that square up with the "we reserve the right to refuse anyone's business" and "no shoes, no shirt, no service" signs that are prevalent in my part of the country?    leroy