swamp_thing

All I will say at this time is I might finally have someone worth voting for. Sure hasn't been up to now.

I think I have the perfect solution for you on this one. First, remove the bug shield from the front of your rig. Now, with some home made brackets, install said neighbor onto the front of the truck. Mounted properly he can serve as a hood ornament as well as a natural bug shield. At the end of three or four trips across the desert making those runs to Kalifornia, simply dispose of him at the edge of a swamp. All things considered you will have rid yourself of the neighbor and kept the truck cleaning bill down at the same time. Dave PS, meantime keep on truckin and thinking of the Ozarks

In case no one has, here is the article. It has cost him his ties with Remington, Cabelas, and many more. You should maybe check out how this guy feels about gun owners that don't fit his ideals. quote:http://outdoorlife.blogs.com/zumbo/2007/02/assault_rifles_.html quote: Assault Rifles For Hunters? As I write this, I'm hunting coyotes in southeastern Wyoming with Eddie Stevenson, PR Manager for Remington Arms, Greg Dennison, who is senior research engineer for Remington, and several writers. We're testing Remington's brand new .17 cal Spitfire bullet on coyotes. I must be living in a vacuum. The guides on our hunt tell me that the use of AR and AK rifles have a rapidly growing following among hunters, especially prairie dog hunters. I had no clue. Only once in my life have I ever seen anyone using one of these firearms. I call them "assault" rifles, which may upset some people. Excuse me, maybe I'm a traditionalist, but I see no place for these weapons among our hunting fraternity. I'll go so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles. They tell me that some companies are producing assault rifles that are "tackdrivers." Sorry, folks, in my humble opinion, these things have no place in hunting. We don't need to be lumped into the group of people who terrorize the world with them, which is an obvious concern. I've always been comfortable with the statement that hunters don't use assault rifles. We've always been proud of our "sporting firearms." This really has me concerned. As hunters, we don't need the image of walking around the woods carrying one of these weapons. To most of the public, an assault rifle is a terrifying thing. Let's divorce ourselves from them. I say game departments should ban them from the praries and woods. There are many posts on some of the other sites concerning this and the landslide it has created. swamp_thing

Well, you will surely be closer to home there. Funny, I just looked at a house for sale on one of the internet real estate agent sites in your home town. Thought about you immediately upon seeing it. Old place with a wrap around porch in need of some repairs, but for under 20,000. Having said that, the hunting in the rural KC area was not bad in my younger days. The area east of KC, as in around Hamilton, Braymer, Ludlow, etc. had a large dear, quail and rabbit population. Haven't been there for well over thirty years, so a lot has changed I would guess. I'm betting that you will eventually find your way back to the Ozarks though, as once it is in your blood it tends to nag away for your return. Good luck with your endevers. swamp_thing

Thank you. I too would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Not trying to rob anyone's thread here though. Be careful if you are traveling. swamp_thing

Jim, I must say I agree with FC and Karl, it would not be a problem for those here to make a small contribution to your cause. While I certainly understand your feelings of not wanting to feel like you are asking for help I also want you to know that it is being offered. Friends help friends when in need because that is what it is all about. When you consider we here are more like family than friends then this is even more true. If you can see your way to take a bit of help from your MFRC family, just say the word and I am sure it will come to be. swamp_thing

Prayers sent swamprat. I will continue to do so. swamp_thing

Jim, how can the settlement for lost property be considered income? I suppose that the government looks at the insurance money as if it were the same as a capitol gain would be from selling a property, but, you stated before that you only had the buildings insured for about half their value. That being the case, is there not some way it could be that the loss sustained in the actual settlement would offset any gain? I really have no idea what the answer is, but I would certainly be wanting some definitive answers before giving uncle sam 30% of what you stand to collect. I will continue to keep you and yours in our prayers and hope that this thing takes a turn for the better for your family. swamp_thing

I have bought several stocks from Richard's. First off, calling is a nightmare most times as you will get the recording you mentioned. Also, the time frame has always been off by about three or four weeks in my experience. This is always on oddball stocks due to left hand configuration and non popular actions. Now, for the good points. I have always gotten what I asked for on my orders and the only time I ever had a complaint on one it was handled by the owner personally and within three days I had a more than satisfactory solution. This was on a Mosin left hand stock, and the inletting from the bottom and top sections did not line up quite right. The wood was grade A fancy and when I called them they offered to either replace the stock or refund 50% of the purchase price. I took the second option and worked through the alignment problem myself with the aid of some glass bedding. They still have my vote. swamp_thing

That's going to be one fine looking rifle there and the stock will be beautiful. As has been said already, it is not the date of completion but rather the final product and the joy it brings you that counts. With what I have seen here you are not going to lack in the happiness department with this one. Your project is inspiring me to get back to work on something and with winter here maybe the time has come. Great looking rifle DT, you are doing yourself proud. swamp_thing

I was just thinkling about you the other day. We will be taking a vacation this coming summer to the ozarks and since Yelleville and Harrison is on the planned route, I will pass through your neck of the woods. Going to be my first time back in over 25 years and I want to see what all time has changed. I'll have to take a look at crooked creek and let my kids and grandchild see where I fished as a kid. Good to here from you around here again. swamp_thing

Jim, if you can make some good come from the mangled barns it would add a bit more silver lining to the events you have been through as of late. Why not see what you can use from the barns to your benefit as has been suggested. Maybe that new workshop for those projects you are going to have time to do now. Whatever you decide though, I am truly impressed with your ability to cope with everything and still reach out to help your neighbors through it all. swamp_thing

Hello to all. Haven't been posting for awhile and thought I would check in to see how everyone is doing. Has been a busy few months and I seem to have just gotten away from the computer for the most part. With winter here I should be able to find some forum time again. swamp_thing

In light of this statement I still lean towards a small burr in the chamber and if this is the case then it will be there with whatever ammo he shoots. Need to look it over good and remove the rough spot. swamp_thing

Two things common to Mosins are chambers that have a laquer build up from the ammo and small burrs at the edge of the chamber, closest to the bolt face. Both are relatively easy fixes. In the case of a build up thorough cleaning and maybe a very light polishing of the chamber will fix it. As for burrs, simply remove them with a piece of emery cloth or abrasive and the problem will go away. These have proven to both be common in all of the mosins. Good luck and let us know. swamp_thing

spec4, if not for the rods and screws that have become an unwelcomed part of my lower back I would be on the list for helping you move. Unfortunitely they do tend to stop a fellow from doing the lifting thing. The chance to see an old part of my younger days would have otherwise made the trip all worthwhile. Side note to this is if anyone is faced with spinal surgeries and you can possibly avoid them by any means, take the advice given and make that a very last resort. Having had five, with only one sucessful on my neck, I would never again do it. Now I know there are some that have good results, but the odds are not in your favor on it. swamp_thing

Hey buddy, this mean you are gearing up for a move to the Ozarks? swamp_thing

Thank you Karl. I must say that I have little knowledge with the shortwave stuff at this point. I am going to begin working with them and will be building a receiver. I have recently acquired a couple of HF radios. One is a transceiver and the other is an old Hammerlund transmitter. The tube radios do seem to have some real advantages from what I have learned and read. Of course, with the tube stuff there is very high voltages to deal with. I hope to continue on and get a ham license and transition into the world of transmission. There are many good sites on the web concerning short wave, but with each site comes very differing opinions as to what is good and what is not. I think the bottom line becomes what works out best for the individual user. If you are looking for easy operation and 100 watts of power are enough the Kenwood TS50, although discontinued, seems to be a real nice radio. It can be used as mobile or with a power supply as a base. It is one of the radios I have and covers 0.5-30Mhz. Here is a page link with info on it. They can still be readily found and are well liked by almost everyone that has or had one. swamp_thing http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0868.html

Great link flaco, I have researched some of these before, but never found that site. I appreciate the info and will have to give that a shot. swamp_thing

I could use an attached antenna coil with fair results, but I run mine on a long wire antenna and ground system. The antenna is 216 feet and the ground rod is 8 ft. I gave up the politics stuff, got tired of the hard feelings that are always created. Much better to just tune in the radio and let the talk show guys hash it all out! Thanks for the compliment on the radio. On the next one I may well go with the loop coil antenna, although there are so few stations in the area it probably would severely limit reception. swamp_thing

I have flexability with the knobs, since I built the chassis, poorly, but I did, I can move the knobs to whatever locations I would need to. They could even be moved externally off the chassis if needed. swamp_thing

Tony, I have not gotten San Antonio as of yet with it. It is funny with the am waves, certain times of the night different areas come in. I have gotten New Orleans, Des Moines, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and many others so San Antonio is a definate possibility during the right conditions and hours. As for the Zenith case, yes there are some Zenith cases it would definately fit inside. I have considered and will continue to consider going that route. Otherwise, I will build an old tombstone style case for it. My next project is going to be five tube I believe. It takes time to round up all the needed parts sometimes, just as with most other projects, but that is part of the fun as well. Thanks for the reply. swamp_thing

fritz, hopefully you will get more rain soon also. Haven't looked in the gauge, but I figure we have had a couple of inches or more already, and the main part is still to come. Things were very dry here so the ground can take quiet a bit. Of course, when it is hard rain much of it will run off. sphingta, actually this year has not been as hot and humid as usual up until a couple of weeks ago. We had a much milder spring I thought. That will definately change as the summer rolls on. swamp_thing

Some time back I posted about crystal radios and transistor or IC sets. I have now completed a three tube superhetradyne receiver with a one tube amp section and power supply. I plan to build an old style wooden cabinet for this one sometime later on. I receives many stations on the AM band at night, as well as a couple during the day even in my rural area. Sure was a long term project, but very rewarding when finished. Here are a couple of pictures of it in it's present form. swamp_thing

Alberto is bringing us the rains that we have been lacking in for some time now. It is sure a welcome thing around here. The water situation has been on the short side for some time. Looks like we may get 3-6 inches tomorrow according to the forecast, as the main part of the tropical storm passes over the Savannah area. We will take what we can get. swamp_thing