The ALICE pack is nothing fancy but works. I appreciate the minimalist design.
We used big MOLLE packs briefly for mountain training...which consisted of carrying a bunch of crap up a mountain with insufficient supplies. The purpose of such an exercise was unknown but everyone learned some tough lessons. I learned that I handle altitudes well, and can drink water that made others violently ill. Anyway, for carrying more gear than usual they were appropriate.
A couple drops of bleach will fix just about any water. I used iodine for years and never had a problem, now they're saying iodine isn't safe enough.
I got giardria or dysentery, not sure which in Nepal at 10,000 feet from drinking untreated water. That was fun. It made me mad because I had to lay in bed for three days while my buddies Summitted a 17,000 ft peak.
We were using iodine. It was taking too long so I drank it straight. Others used iodine and were still not so lucky. One had to be hospitalized. Others were sick for a day or two.
On Fox the other day was some woman explaining that the difference between a hunting rifle and an assault rifle was that the assault rifle has a scope.
Watchout for guns that have charging handles or buttstocks, they're almost as dangerous as guns with upper receivers! They're super assaulty!
When was the last time ANYONE fixed bayonets? I guess that turned an M-1 Garand into an assault rifle???
Sure there's such a thing as an assault rifle - it's any rifle that you assault someone with. The same goes for pistols, trucks, baseball bats, crowbars, gasoline and matches, repressive laws, anything.
They are perfectly qualified. They are your masters.
They don't need or want technical competence. That would be an impediment to selling the lies that lead to serfdom.
I no longer believe the leaders believe at all they are saving you.
That's what they sell. The deliberately misinformed public may believe it, they are incompetent in centuries old technology. They believe meat is made in a store or factory. ( some truth to that but not the way they think )
These are the people who brought The Terror to France.
The Governor of New York has State Police proceed him down the road and trespass on private property to steal yard signs offensive to His Majesty. NRA, SCOPE, ABATE, etc. Signs are taken away and thrown in the trunk of their secret police cars.... I mean State Trooper cars.
The French Aristocracy has nothing on the arrogance and corruption of my Holy State Masters. King Louis only dreamed of the millions in bribes Cuomo collects.
I hate this god forsaken hell-hole of a state. I am stuck here. Everyone I have heard that even knows about this idiot's "Putch" for power, is either indifferent or all behind her.
I even talked to an avid hunter/fisher guy at work. He sold his M1 carbine years ago because he had "no use for an assault weapon". He has no problem with the restrictions as they don't affect him now.
That's how everyone is. "They are burning down people's houses the next block over. I'm glad they're not burning down MY house right now."
"The incident sent shock waves through Japan, where mass killings are rare. Because gun ownership is highly restricted, mass stabbings tend to be more common"
No shit. I wonder, was it an assault knife? Could the killer just as easily have used a cricket bat?
On Tuesday, I was at Fort Ticonderoga, in front of the display cases with muskets, swords, etc. A granny with a NYC accent was telling her grandson, "Let's move on. Those are guns and we don't like them." I wanted to say that guns like them helped us get our independence, not "smart diplomacy", but didn't. It's funny, my Dad never had a gun (maybe he had enough of them from WW2), but I never had the idea that they were anything other than a tool that you used for hunting, target shooting or self-defense. I heard stories of kids playing with their Dad's gun and shooting a pal, but that was foreign to me because I had been brought up to leave my folks' things alone and had NRA training as a Cub Scout.
It's a shame. "Gun safety" as a term has been perverted. It's now fear mongering, political pandering, propaganda, and anti gun legislation. What happened to the tradition of teaching kids to know and respect guns and gun safety rules and teaching them to shoot?
A free people are an impediment to their global vision.
My kids a scout. They shoot, do archery, fish, hike, learn about conservation and nature, do crafts, make rockets and other interesting kid things. It's not perfect, but it's sure better than staying at home playing video games.
This one is Denise's - It's a Virginian Dragoon Deputy in .357 Mag, 5" barrel, very rare two-tone blued/stainless finish, made by Interarms in Alexandria, Virginia somewhere between 1982 and 1986. We have the original box and candy for this one, in equally mint condition:
I learned how to shoot a rifle and archery at a summer camp in upstate NY as a kid 40 years ago. I wonder if they even allow kids to do those things at summer camp now.
I've fired a couple single actions (Ruger Blackhawk in 30 Carbine and Super Blackhawk Hunter in 44 Magnum) and while they were enjoyable and I have entertained purchasing one, I don't have much practical use for such a gun.
Purchasing one of the inexpensive Heritage rimfires for use with CB caps has been a consideration, but with a 22 can coming I'll probably be investing in a Pac-Lite barrel for my 22/45 instead.
I may get a black powder Remington New Army at some point, cause that's just plain fun. Firing a Colt Walker Dragoon replica a couple years ago was quite entertaining.
Maybe I'll just get a Ruger Blackhawk 45 Convertible. I dunno. I have enough stuff. Need more ammo.
Unless your bow is black, or camo, or has a pistol shaped grip, or any type of optic, or is capable of firing more than one arrow. In that case you're a white evangelical racist republican with an assault bow.
Wow, all those scary black guns!!! Who would own such a thing? So loud they endanger your hearing. You can get a hang nail or serious skin pinch loading bullets into a new Taurus 709 slim magazine. And figuring out how to clean the slidemathingy is impossible. And bullets. You could feed a whole third world village for a day for what a box of 9mm Luger costs. And range time, and accessories, and targets, and the cost of CCW training and permits. Learning all that terminology, like "battery" (does a gun have a battery?). The horror.
Not me. In a wild moment of realization I bought a Star Wars light saber on sale at Wally World for $6.00. It will cut down trees, right? Only it is painted black. Does that make it an assault light saber? Should I trade it for a green one?
The money I saved I used to buy an awesome used aquarium for my ant farm. I'm going to go use my new light saber to trim my hedges now.
Grey Power! We're old, We're tired, Get off our Lawn!
...I don't have much practical use for such a gun.
Yeah, us either, but we've got several in the collection just because.
The one above was purchased from the daughter of the original owner, was obviously a safe queen based on the pristine condition, and it resides as such in our safe.
Here's another Virginian in our fleet, another .357, blue with 7.5" barrel and adjustable rear sight, sold by Interarms but this particular model was actually manufactured by Uberti in Italy. It's an '83 (Italian-made pistols are easy to date-verify; this one is stamped "AL" on the underside of the barrel). This particular Virginian is a one-year-only offering from Interarms. We also have the original box and candy for this one. Based on the patina I'd say it was a working six-shooter:
For those with revisionist theories on the 2nd...screw you...you're wrong...
quote:
"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..." - George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." - Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787
"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787
"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776
"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785
"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824
"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823
"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them." - George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788
"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." - George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788
"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops." - Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787
"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of." - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country." - James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789
"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..." - James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783
“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms… "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." - Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788
"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun." - Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778
"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." - St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803
"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance ofpower is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves." - Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775
"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788
"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them." - Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833
"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." - Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789
"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787
"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28
"If circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788
"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms." - Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789
20160313_083215 (1) by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr 
