Darrell

So I'm feeling a little under the weather and decided to watch an old rerun of Leave it to Beaver, a show I enjoyed as a kid. In this episode, Beaver is invited to a party and finds himself the only boy among half a dozen girls, and he's miserable. He sneaks out of the living room and finds himself in the hostess's father's den, where the father is waiting, expecting Beaver to have made an escape. So here's the great part. The father has a collection of firearms, a Sharps rifle, an old six-shooter, and a gun rig that may have been worn by Billy the Kid. The father lets Beaver admire and handle the firearms and try on the gun rig. Can you imagine? A TV show that shows a 7-year old boy handling ---- GASP---- guns? A man letting a child handle those guns without the child's parent's permission? Several firearms in a den inside a glass-door gun cabinet with kids in the house? Now, I actually would never invite a child to handle a firearm without his parents' permission, but the point is how normal those things were in the late 1950's. Boys were expected to be fascinated with guns, adults were trusted to show a firearm to a kid, and people weren't going to freak out that there might be a gun in the house. What a huge societal change since I was watching that show.

I remember that time, too, and I also remember that I looked down my nose at those rifles and figured I wanted nothing to do with them. Hindsight, huh?

Everything you'd ever wanna know: Mine is apparently a hodgepodge. It has the early flip-type peep sight, but the late bayonet lug barrel band. And the paratrooper stock is a repro, no cut out, Fujimo. Still, fun shooter!

I'll check next time I get into the safe.

All these hard questions! This has always just been a shooter for me. I have no idea if the folder is a repro or original. How can I tell?

I bought my M1 Carbine in the late 70's, and still shoot it often. It's actually a pretty good pig-getter. I don't remember what I paid for it, but I was poor back then, and I doubt it was more than $100. And it came with both the standard and folding stock. I should probably look for a bayonet for it.

And in 30 years you may be pining for the cheap prices we're enjoying today. Ha!

I'll do that after the symptoms are gone. CDC site says to self-isolate for five days unless symptoms are severe. My worst symptom is chills, I'm ALWAYS cold during the winter months, and a fever just boosts that. Thanks for the info.

I check daily for H1000 or, preferably, Retumbo. Good luck with that, though! H110 was on the Hodgdon site this morning, too.

That cat is hilarious!

Don't even think of apologizing. I'm sure all of us appreciate the time and effort you put into this board. THANK YOU!

Looks like it's my turn in the Covid barrel. I've not been tested, but the symptoms all match. Triple vaxed, and that is probably helping as I'm just coughing, aching, and feverish. I guess it could be the run of the mill flu, but I took that vaccine, too.

My Ducati 1098S last summer: And right now: It's more work to take the body panels off than to do the valve adjustment. Forks coming off as soon as the engine is back together.

We live fairly near one another (I'm in Hebbertsburg). Maybe we can get together one day for a short ride.

I'm not sure I understand your complaint. The tax laws say you have to declare income, so eBay is just following the laws. I expect that Gun Broker will have to do the same thing. I don't love paying sales tax on internet purchases, but that's the law.

Suzuki has a pretty good dual-sport in the DRZ400. It's a good mix between dirt bike and street bike. There are big adventure bikes, too, but probably not for a beginner.

No, It's possible, but unlikely. People snap those up pretty quickly, so unless you happen to find one that belongs to a friend of a friend.....

You can't go wrong with any Japanese motorcycle. They know what they're doing, parts are readily available, and there will always be a resale market. I sold a KDX-220 (a two-stroke) a while back, and I know the buyer is going to have a great time with it, just as I did. The problem with two-strokes is pollution, of course. They can be made clean-burning now, but the manufacturers have gone four-stroke, and that's that. There are electric bikes out there, too, but I won't be putting a leg over one anytime soon.

There are no dual-sport 2-stokes anymore, unless you find an OLD one on the used market. There are only a couple of two-stroke dirt-only bikes. But I still have a two-stroke street bike, an 89 Yamaha RD-350, and it's a BLAST in the twisties!

I've always been interested in the Urals. Which model do you own? I've got five bikes in the garage, from a Ducati Superbike 1098S to a Gas Gas Trials 300. But I might be able to find room for a Ural. Harder to hide from the wife than a new pistol, though.

JFK speaking informally to a crowd. Note the kid with the toy gun just to the right of JFK in the pic. I think security was a bit less extreme then, Looks like he kid has the muzzle in his mouth, too.

A friend gave me an old box of Winchester .270 ammo this morning. Check out the price tag! And also take a look at the price of a pound of powder back when. Of course I wouldn't want to work for $5.00 an hour anymore, either.

I've read it happens in New Jersey as well, and can be VERY expensive. Nothing less than harrassment.

I just did a quick Google search, and there's some information out there. Armory USA is now defunct.