"No ordinary work done by a man is either as hard or as responsible as the work of a woman who is bringing up a family of small children; for upon her time and strength demands are made not only every hour of the day but often every hour of the night. She may have to get up night after night to take care of a sick child, and yet must by day continue to do all her household duties as well; and if the family means are scant she must usually enjoy even her rare holidays taking her whole brood of children with her. The birth pangs make all men the debtors of all women. Above all our sympathy and regard are due to the struggling wives, for the lives of these women are often led on the lonely heights of quiet, self-sacrificing heroism."
- Theodore Roosevelt
And now a parable.
Long ago in a Porch Indian Tribe 3 young women were talking amongst themselves about their troubles. None of the three were able to have children and they were all miserable about it. After some debate they finally decided they would all go see the medicine man together and ask if could help them.
When they spoke to the medicine man and told him about their problem... what he had to say surprised them. The old man explained that he did in fact have medicine that would work for them... but it had a cost. He told the women if the medicine worked... they would go insane. He then sent them away... refusing to hear their answers. He told them to think about it for a night and come and tell him their answers in the morning.
The next day the three young women came to see him. When the old man ask for their answers... two of the women said yes. But the third said she couldn't risk such a thing. So the old man gave the two women the medicine and sent them away.
Mere weeks later both young were with child... and months after that... new babies arrived.
When the babies were a few weeks old all three ladies came to see the medicine man again. They asked... "when will the madness come?" He stood a moment and examined them. Then he said, "its already started. Look at you. You can't stand still. You sway back and forth like a sick horse. And you are making crazy "goo goo" sounds. What kind of sane adult makes "goo goo" sounds. Its ridiculous. Those babies have already made you insane."
The young mothers laughed as they finally understood. They thanked the old man and left.
But the third woman was not laughing. She said, "I didn't know that's what you meant. If I had known that I would've taken the medicine too. Give me the medicine"
But the old man looked sadly at her and said, "No. It is to late. They made their choice and you made yours. They chose to sacrificed themselves for the child. The loved their children even before they were born. You love yourself."
And then the old medicine man sent her away.
55 comments:
Good post.
This is a post for the ages Nate. That is a wonderful parable. The last paragraph nails it exactly. Do you love your baby even before you meet it, or do you love yourself more?
Nate,
I love this post. almost as good as somethin' Outlaw-x would say.
On another topic, are there any M-1911 style 45's that are imports that you would buy? I was in the guns store the other day, and saw some sitting in a case for 4-600$, and thought you would be the person to ask, as you might own a couple already.
still working on the recoil buffer, last drawing session i made a kind of conceptual breakthrough to get the size and weight of down quite a bit. since prototyping costs me about 2,000$ per prototype, i gotta make it work well the 1st time
sincerely
Cheddarman
Nate,
I love this post. almost as good as somethin' Outlaw-x would say.
On another topic, are there any M-1911 style 45's that are imports that you would buy? I was in the guns store the other day, and saw some sitting in a case for 4-600$, and thought you would be the person to ask, as you might own a couple already.
still working on the recoil buffer, last drawing session i made a kind of conceptual breakthrough to get the size and weight of down quite a bit. since prototyping costs me about 2,000$ per prototype, i gotta make it work well the 1st time
sincerely
Cheddarman
are there any M-1911 style 45's that are imports that you would buy?
Why in the world would you want to? A gun should be a high quality possession that you will cherish and keep for life. It is something fine and desirable, it should not be something that you try to acquire several "cheep" versions of.
Unless you need something for defense tonight, you should find a gun that represents quality. Take the time to discover what you value and revere in a firearm. Then and only then, go shopping.
Of course my mentality is different than a lot of guys. I would rather make love to one women that I find highly desirable than shag a bunch of bimbo's. If its a matter of what I can afford, then I will have one Davidoff instead of two boxes of Dutch Masters, or one glass of good whisky rather than a bottle of Canadian. I find it is more fulfilling to be a connoisseur than a wino.
"Why in the world would you want to? A gun should be a high quality possession that you will cherish and keep for life"
And...
You bought a Kimber.
Just FYI on 1911's. Para USA has $100 rebate on all of their 1911 until the end of this month. We've sold a bunch and they are a fine weapon. Own a couple few myself...
toothy
You bought a Kimber.
After over 12,000 rounds down range my still functions flawlessly. Not bad for a 10 year old firearm and all original parts.
The downside of Kimber is that they are out of New York and have the level of customer service that we've come to expect of New Yorkers.
Nate, I'll gladly give up my Kimber when you send me a custom Wilson Combat 4in to replace it.
"Nate, I'll gladly give up my Kimber when you send me a custom Wilson Combat 4in to replace it."
Why do you need a Wilson Combat to replace something a Rock River Arms will outshoot?
Just just check the Taurus closely for casting cracks and small bits of open space that look like they should be full of metal.
I don't want a Rock River Arms, but I'd love to have a custom Wilson. Make it a pretty one with my initials engraved in gold and the real ivory grips, if its not too much trouble.
Besides anybody that loves Savage doesn't have any room to complain about any other gun manufacture. I'll give you that their customer service people are nicer, but a crap rifle is still crap no matter how nice the people on the phone are.
Kimber's are the Harley Davidson of 1911's. They are pretty, and if you get a good one, that's great. They are not all good.
I can only speak from experience (we own a gunshop, as many here know), of course, but of all the Para's we've sold, we've only had to send two back (same model, same batch, same "power" extractor problem). They were back within a week. Really.
Nate's endorsement aside, we generally don't like Taurus, as they seem spotty on quality and customer service both.
And Savages are junk? I did not know that. The ones I have are not modified (with the exception of one non-accutrigger), and are very accurate, with no mechanical problems ever. I'm not sure what else one would want out of a rifle. But, perhaps I have been lucky.
I know you have much long-range shooting experience Res - would you care to elaborate on the Savages, just for my edification? I am always trying to increase my knowledge base re firearms.
yours in Defiance
Toothy
"Nate,we love your social commentary. keep it coming!" said cheddarman from the amen corner.
I forgot about Res's Salvage trouble. Ha.
Remington's 1911 is imported too. I think they have worse customer service than Kimber if that were possible.
Ruger makes an American made 1911 I think.
I don't think the Remington 1911's are imported. Last I knew they were made in NY State. (Know way of knowing if some of the parts are imported, however).
When we log guns into our bound book, we need to put the Manufacturer and the Importer (if there is one). So I'm pretty sure they're USA or we would be entering them as such.
Glocks and Springfields can be either one, for instance.
Toothy
When Ruger and Remington came out with their 1911 at about the same time I read a write up on them in a gun rag. One of them was imported, and I'm pretty sure it was the Remington.
You are probably right that they are made in the USA from mostly imported parts.
Toothy,
I've owned 2 savages. The first one was a 300 Savage lever gun back in the 80's. The gun was a poor performer. However it was given to me used and may have been abused before I got it. That gun was replaced in short order with a Mauser in 30-06. I'm still killing deer and antelope with that 06 and it makes it to elk camp most years.
Based mostly on Nate's say so, I bought a Savage bolt gun in 300 wsm. I knew about the Savage accuracy guarantee and promptly went to the range and shot a 8in group at 200 yards off a rest, with the factory ammo they recommended. BTW I zero everything at 200. I reduced the distance to 100 and shot a 5 in group. I checked everything. I discovered that the barrel was loose on the action. I don't mean not fully torqued down, I mean hand loose, I could unscrew the barrel from the gun.
I called Savage. Customer service was great, they treated me right and paid for the return to the factory. They torqued the barrel properly and sent it back to me. I went out and shot a 4in group at 100 yards off the bench. That's when the fun began.
I called Savage back. We got into a discussion about how some shooters (meaning me) can't shoot as good as the gun. I had them look up some of my published bench rest competition results. Eventually they dropped that line of bull and admitted that the "accuracy guarantee" means that if you shoot a 5 shot group at 100 yards 3 of those shots will be inside of 1in as measured by the distance from the outside of the bullet holes. Of course I could duplicate that with a cold barrel.
I sold the gun at my first opportunity. I've had 2 Savage guns that I wasn't happy with. I won't buy a third.
In fairness the Acue Trigger is a very good trigger. Also in all fairness if the gun is going to shoot a box of ammo before deer season and maybe a deer or two its going to preform to most guys expectations. I suspect, if a shooter is using a standard, non-magnum cartage they will likely have better results with their gun. I've shot the same gun in 243 and 308 and had better results.
I don't buy off the shelf rifles any more, I have them custom made. I do that because I know exactly what I want from a gun and I have some sponsorship for some of my shooting.
I bought a Kimber Pro II back about 10 years ago. I had great luck with the gun and have shot it at a rate of about 200 to 500 rounds a week during the summer IDPA season. From what I understand their quality control started suffering after 2008. I think they were trying to put out more guns than they could do a good job producing. Kimber Customer service is an oxymoron. All I have every tried to get from them was a replacement barrel. I wanted 2 extra's and I've never been able to get them to sell them to me. I won't buy another Kimber either, but its not because I don't like the gun. I love the gun, I hate the people you have to deal with.
Toothy,
I also have a P-14.45. I bought it pre-Clinton gun ban. It still does everything the way it should. I did have Brian Bisby do some work on it before he died.
Nate,
Do you know any management people/owners at any gun manufacturing companies in the Southlands?
Especially ar-15 makers who do 308 or larger calibers?
sincerely
cheddarman
Savage told Res he can't shoot... that's pretty awesome.
obviously my experience with the company has been totally different. The first savage I ever shot was a old model 99. It shoots sub MOA and always has. I have headshots on ground hogs from 300 yards. I've had several other savage weapons but they were the high end savages... model 12 long range percision... also a model 12 palma and the new F-Class.
every one of them has been an absolute tack driver. They all shot 1 inch out of the box. They all improved from there.
I can't vouch for the axis line... as I don't buy firearms from walmart.
Cheds... can't help ya there. Are looking for an AR to test on?
I ask because see I happen to have this 50 beowulf..
Thanks for the info, Res.
Can't say as I blame you. However, my experience has been much different. Such is life.
Cheds, I have a 308 AR platform rifle w/threaded bbl if you're ever in the neighborhood.
Nate - My brother finally got his Amphibian in. Very cool.
And yes, I bought one of those Cold Steel Kukri knives I gave you a link to - dammit. This site costs me a fortune...
toothy
Brothers in the Band of Nate,
I have a DPMS carbine in 308, and will use that as a test bed. If it works, I will commence Operation Defiance, and show it to Toothy, and then Operation Sweet Home Alabama, to show it to Nate, and his extended Southron network. If it does not work, I will need to get some timely words of wisdom and advice from Outlaw-X and move on to the next thing.
I was hoping Nate knew some gun manufacturing execs that could help me with sales and marketing.
This whole process has been fun. I started out about 7 months ago, putting my ar-15 on the kitchen table and asking the Lord and myself how I could do this. I would make sketches every night, and kept on asking The Almighty to help me refine the idea. Finally got to something that would be reasonable to manufacture and retrofit on an existing AR. Let us hope it works. Even if it does not work, it could be the basis for a bullpup on an AR platform.
Thinking about a hydraulic trigger for that project.
God bless y'all,
cheddarman
You're crazy, cheddarman.
I like that... ;)
Yours in Defiance
toothy
PS - FNH USA has dropped the price of their handguns by a significant chunk the last few weeks. They're pretty sweet. Black, hi-cap, well-made...
And cheds, your not crazy for praying, just for being an uber-gunnut.
God bless ya'll as well.
toothy
Ah, what the hell:
A: Great Lakes Rye of the Tiger IPA
T: Sonador by Plasencia maduro
F: 1963 Beretta over-under a guy traded in that his dad bought in Italy that year. No box (yet), but all the original paperwork in Italian.
toothy
Cheddarman, Could you include a sympathetic Yankee?
I have a contact, formerly at AMEP, who has some commercial contacts in the firearms manufacturing world. I've texted him and and am waiting to see if he has any .308, or larger, AR companies in his rolodex.
I'll keep you posted.
Now hold on Cheds... I didn't say I didn't know anyone. The stuff you're talking about is mighty innovative... and the man I consider the most innovative firearms designer in the world today is down here in the south. George Kelgren.
I've met him a couple times. He's a good guy, if a little jumpy but a hyrdolic trigger? Don't know if he's that jumpy.
Toothy,
That O/U sounds cool.
Res, it is pretty cool, lots of scrolling and in good shape (%85ish).
It was on the shelf for a week, and I was resisting...
Next thing I know, I'm calling in a 4473 with my name on it (yes, I have to do a background check on myself, even though I'm an owner of the shop).
Tough place to work... fat kid, candy store...
The accutrigger is damn nice. And if you want a better one for a Savage (not you in particular, Res) Fred Moreo of Sharpshooters Supply in Delphos, Ohio is your man. Makes his own, and they're freakin' awesome. Got one in my 308, which cost me around $100 installed, no less! There is a rumor (don't know if it's true) that he invented the accutriger. He's a long range shooter - perhaps you've met each other.
toothy
There is a Fred that comes out to shoot at Sundance. There are a couple of other guys from Ohio that shoot the MOA match. I don't remember their last names. I've agreed to work a prairie dog shoot for those guys this year. I'm also doing the WYTRC as an RO again.
" There is a rumor (don't know if it's true) that he invented the accutriger. He's a long range shooter - perhaps you've met each other."
I've heard that the accu-trigger was invented by someone outside of savage and was shopped around and savage was the first one to bite on it. Again... don't know if its true
La Bomba Warhead - $6.50 a stick shipped. Normally almost $10 plus shipping. Damn fine cigar.
Don't know how long they'll be up, this is the second deal they've had today and when they run out, another cigar goes up:
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/joecigar/
Brothers in the band of Nate,
I am just thinking about the idea of a hydraulic trigger. I have not even started reading about hydraulics yet. Just a concept.
A goal of mine is to be able to use an existing ar-15 as a basis for building a bullpup rifle from a kit from the ground up. It would be hard to make a decent mechanical trigger linkage to the existing trigger assembly, so why not something like a hydraulic system? Hydraulics are generally robust in nature.
I think an electronic trigger would be hard for a lot of people to accept.
I am thinking about a housing you can fit on the exisitng AR upper to guard your face against a catastrophic failure/explosion/ammo detonation, using carbon fiber, maybe impregnated with aramid resin?
Your thoughts, everyone?
Sincerely,
cheddarman
I will post here as things progress, and contact anyone that can help if i get good results.
If i can form a company (LLC) I want to call it "Sling and Stone" and have an engraved image on the products of David slaying Golaith with his sling.
Of course, we all know Nate is probably a direct descendant of David, and King Leonidas of Sparta :) and King Jan Sobieski of Poland (Sobieski is my favorite God fearing badass. Sobieski saved my ancestors in southern germany/austria form being over run by the dirty ottoman turks)
sincerely
cheddarman
Cheds
Remington tried the electric fire system a few years ago on a hunting rifle. The market didn't so much ignore it... as have a freakin' panic attack over it.
hydro-trigger though.. that's another story.
Remington made electric primers that were fired by electricity instead of a firing pin. There was nothing wrong with the system, but most people aren't going to buy it because your gun would be locked into remington ammo and wouldn't use regular stuff.
The military uses something similar on 20 mm.
Again, there was nothing wrong with it, and in theory is is superior to what we have. It was just so radical that nobody bought it.
If I remember correctly, they put it in a skinny barreled sporter so that any improvements in accuracy would not be noticed.
So typical, as Remington has come up with some very good stuff over the years and they botch the roll out every single time. They must have had some good engineers and piss poor executives. Examples: 6mm remington, 280 remington, short action ultra mag line, etc.
Cheddarman, I don't know if they can make aramid in anything but a fiber, then that fiber is cast in resin to make shapes.
My thoughts on a hydraulic trigger, are this:
1) The seals will add more drag than one would want,
2) A small leak would render the gun undependable,
3) Any air in the system would make the trigger squishy and possibly undependable, and
4) it's to complex to be practical.
With some thought and innovation, maybe a hydraulic trigger could be simplified from what I'm picturing right now. I like keeping things simple (and this is one of my reservations against bull pups (i.e. a long (read extra mass) trigger mechanism)), but then, since I don't know what you're alluding to, I can only guess at what you're thinking about.
Maybe I need to hit the radio show tonight. I do have a cigar question that I'd like some expert help with...
Also with hydraulics, temperature can be a big factor (but maybe one easily overcome?). Still, I'd like to see it in a bullpup, just to get rid of the gawdawful long trigger linkage...
And ajw308, I know a little bit about cigars, if I may offer my humble advice.
I think the radio show is over until a suitable replacement for Blogtalk radio is found.
toothy
Ya know, an electronic trigger that drops a remote hammer might not be bad, either (as opposed to direct electronic ignition).
Hmmm...
toothy
People....
No one wants a battery operated gun.
I have a lifelong friend turning 50 next month. He's a cigar smoker, but doesn't seem to have a favorite. I'm thinking some Spec Ops Gurkas would be appreciated unless something better is recommended
Perhaps not.
However, I do recall skepticism on several people's part regarding those fancy red dot scopes. Battery, temperature issues, can't handle the repeated shock, overall reliability, etc.
Meh, they'll never catch on...
The question of an electronic trigger is can you overcome those types of issues from a design, weight, complexity, and cost standpoint. Because if you could, you might have the sweetest trigger on the block as far as weight, creep, stacking, etc goes.
This might even be more applicable to a bullpup with the need for a longer linkage.
Being able to use conventional ammo is leaps and bounds ahead of what Remington was doing.
And you are right to a point, Nate. I would not buy a first gen electronic trigger gun. But a tried and true - why not?
toothy
ajw308 - Those aren't bad, but they're pretty strong for a newbie.
My brother just started into the BOTL (Brotherhood of the Leaf) and he very much like the Macanudo Portifino. It's mild, smooth, and tasty. And roughly the same price point as the special ops (maybe a buck or two more). Just my two cents.
toothy
A: Sam Adams Rebel IPA and Knob Creek
T: Alec Bradley Tempus Maduro - good flavor, a bit of trouble staying lit - grrrrrrrr...
F: 1969 Browning Hi Power
toothy
Eh, missed your friend is a regular cigar smoker, 308. Sorry.
Padron 1964. Wow.
And dang near any Oliva I've smoked has been nice. Serie V and Master Blend 3 are outstanding.
toothy
So Nate - Home-rolled 1911 - Did you buy a frame, or make it from scratch? Thinking about my next project...
toothy (again)
Frame was 80%
have another where I purchased a frame.
Both have caspian slides and pretty much everything else on them is Wilson Combat.
Toothy, thanks for the advice. He's been smoking, in and off, since the 7th (or 8th) grade. I can remember gagging on a filterless camel about then. He's always trying something new. He seems to be enjoying the variety available. Nate's advice on blondes vs. brunettes may apply here as well.
Cheddarman, I'm drinking coffee right now. The Turks left so fast that urns of brewing coffee were found in their camp and that was how coffee was introduced to Europe.
ajw308,
You can never go wrong with Davidoff. Seriously. If he smokes cigars he'll like these. La Aurora Ruby is a good bet too. The Ghurka's tend to run on the strong side, with is great if he normally smokes a full flavored cigar. If you're going full flavored IMO, the Warlord is a better cigar than the Spec Ops.
Thank you Res, I appreciate your answer.
awj308,
About the aramid,
I am thinking that if you had carbon fiber and injected it with a resin like nylon or aramid, it would make a hard light weight shell you could put over an ar-15 chamber area to hold it together in the event of a catastrophic failure, so you dont get a face full of metal. I know aramid is used to make fiber, i am trying to see if it is used to make hard plastics. The stacking of the aromatic rings and hydrogen bonding between polymer chains makes this stuff a very strong plastic. injection molding carbon fiber and aramid resin may make a great shroud for the rifle.
With the shroud, you would need a piston operated rifle to keep heat from building up in the chamber, as heat will weaken the aramid.
about the hydraulic trigger, i was looking at the actual trigger on the ar-15 as a "lever arm." If you put a force at the very tip of the trigger, it takes less energy to actuate the mechanism, as opposed to where your finger sits in the trigger when you pull it. By making the lever arm a little longer, you would need less force to actuate the trigger. So the idea of a hydraulic mechanism becomes more plausible or possible.
This is all just the musing of an amateur, but some times amateurs get lucky.
sincerely
cheddarman
Here is a you tube video of someone installing a trigger assemble in an ar-15. notice where your finger sits in the trigger is about 1/2 way down the lever. If you lengthen the lever arm 2x, it only takes 1/2 the force to move it. simple physics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSq3JbEx0iA
sorry, i dont know how to do live links
cheddarman
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