Hello from a Subversive Element

[Barak]

Welcome to CP Barak, though I do not share your particular views on our Government, I do share some concerns.

Don't worry; you will. (Of course, by that time I'll undoubtedly be even more wild-eyed and paranoid.)

Thanks to you as well for the friendly welcome--and to the people I missed, too; hbooker and Rod, I think. Especially Rod, since he's a moderator and all.

Speaking of Rod, have y'all ever noticed how beautiful and otherwise aesthetically pleasing his username is? With a tall letter on each end and such a nicely curved short letter in the middle, it soothes the eye with gentle warmth and symmetry. And the way he writes is wonderful, too; have you noticed how he uses such--but I'm digressing. Sorry.

Luckily this is not a Political Forum (usually ??? ).

I understand that getting me not to talk about government might be a little like getting Patsy Ireland not to talk about men or Al Sharpton not to talk about white people, but at least I'll try not to do it in the cigar forums. Honest.

Glad you found us, now put down that gun and fire up an ISOM

You know, it never occurred to me before; but since it's so much fun to smoke cigars, and so much fun to shoot guns, I wonder if it'd be twice as much fun to smoke cigars while shooting guns. I suppose you wouldn't want to do it if you had your handloading stuff set up on the shooting bench, and you'd pretty much have to accept that recoil would knock the ash off your stogie (unless you restricted yourself to something like an AR15 poodle-shooter or a wussy-boy 243Win); but other than that I can't think of a good reason not to. I'll have to try that: thanks for the idea.

But no, I've never had the ISOM experience. Given the paltry amount of money I feel justified on spending on tobacco (aviation is expensive, and so is shooting if you do it right--even if you don't have to replace the garden hose you accidentally shot holes in because you didn't notice it hanging on the wire fence you were using to hold targets), I'll probably never have it. But that's okay: I've heard that Cubans are no longer anything special since Communism has ravaged the country and the soil is no longer properly fertilized, quality control is largely ignored, and all the best torcedores have fled. It may not be true, but as long as I'm persuaded that it is, the absence of ISOMs in my humidor is of no consequence.

The benefits of rationalization, you see, can be easily underrated.

 

[Barak]

Though a newbie myself,

Dang, you're right: in terms of messages posted, I'm almost a third as old as you are already, and I only joined today. Gotta be something wrong with that. Government regulation of some kind, probably.

let me offer a wholehearted welcome.

And thank you too. I wonder what it is about nicotine that makes people so friendly. There's gotta be something to it, though; some of the most unfriendly people I've ever met have been cigarette smokers who weren't getting enough nicotine.

I must say that your quite a witty fellow.

Aww, I'll bet you say that to all the girls.

Barak, Barak, Barak, heard that somewhere before... :0 Hey! Is your name really Barak or are you just a fan of the above mentioned books? Huh?

Hmm. Neither, actually. What books are you talking about?

Barak is a screen name I decided on back in the early 80s, in the days of BBSs and before anyone had heard of Ehud Barak. It's based on a somewhat unflattering parallel that can be drawn between me and my namesake in the fourth chapter of the book of Judges in the Bible. I'll tell you about it when I have more time, if you're interested. Years and years later, after I started hanging around with Messianic Jews, I found out that "barak" means "lightning" in Hebrew. That's kind of cool--but that's not why I chose it.

 

[DMC]

Welcome! :thumbs:

 

[huskerMike]

Welcome! :thumbs:

 

[LuckyDawg]

finally! a kindred spirit to stand shoulder to shoulder with!
you can help me in the political arguments i may encounter w\my brother(PB).
welcome!!!!!!!! :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

[wk-mang]

Welcome aboard Bruddah!

Aloha,

Wade

 

[LuckyDawg]

hey! no more badmouthing .243's!
it's quite a reliable little cartridge, particularly on the doberman
sized whitetail around here(north texas).

 

[Barak]

finally! a kindred spirit to stand shoulder to shoulder with!
you can help me in the political arguments i may encounter w\my brother(PB).

Nah, I'm probably not smart enough to be a backup. I can be point man, though, and chew on his ankles until I get myself in trouble, at which point I'll need to take refuge behind a more intelligent backup arguer--you, perhaps.

 

[Barak]

Thanks for the welcome, DMC, huskerMike, and wk-mang.

 

[Barak]

hey! no more badmouthing .243's!
it's quite a reliable little cartridge, particularly on the doberman sized whitetail around here (north texas).

Hah!

What a weenie. I bet you sit down to pee, too, dontcha?

Nah, just friendly joshing. The only thing I've gotten around to hunting so far is deer, and 'round these parts The Man doesn't let us use anything bigger than a slug gun.

Matter of fact, when I'm in the mood for some recoil therapy, my go-to gun is a featherweight 12ga Maverick 95 bolt-action shotgun, with iron sights and a lightweight polymer stock. A nice box or two of three-inch Remington Magnum Sluggers outa that ol' gal will wake you up and remind you that you're alive and hurtin'.

Of course, that's just a toy. My real deer gun is a pump 12ga with a heavy rifled barrel, wearing a 1.5x low-light scope on a cantilever. That weight, plus six more slugs (interestingly enough, those cheapo Magnum Slugger punkinballs shoot better from my rifled barrel than premium saboted slugs costing up to $5.00 apiece) in a SideSaddle, brings the recoil down to something that'll let you keep the target in view.

I don't hunt much, though. It's a good thing to know how to do, from the initial scouting to labeling the freezer paper on the last pound of V-burger; but there ain't much shootin' on a deer hunt, and shootin's what I like best.

Maybe one of these days I'll give turkey hunting a try: there's less freezer space involved. I've also dreamed about prairie-dog hunting, but around here there's not much call for it.

 

[Horse]

West Texas Javalina Hunting - on Foot, with a handgun is a Blast! Can't stand the weenies that hunt em from the back of a truck with a rifle. No sport in that.

 

[Wascal]

What ya huntin them piggies with ? Custom JDJ 375 mag in a Thompson? :0 That should give ya sufficent "blast" Of course probably not enought meat left for a BBQ sandwich. Pig huntin with a handgun, sure sounds like fun!

 

[Horse]

.357 mag Colt Revolver

 

[Muley]

Hmm. Neither, actually. What books are you talking about?

... in the fourth chapter of the book of Judges in the Bible.
...I'll tell you about it when I have more time, if you're interested.

The books are by David Eddings and there's actually two separate series (both Fantasy). But, that's neither here nor there as your name's from a far Superior book. And, I'm always interested in hearing stories from/about the Word. Feel free to write or PM or email.

 

[Muley]

Though a newbie myself,

Dang, you're right: in terms of messages posted, I'm almost a third as old as you are already, and I only joined today. Gotta be something wrong with that. Government regulation of some kind, probably.

Actually yes! I spend too much time at work on a Government Computer to get any quality time or visits here.

 

[Barak]

West Texas Javalina Hunting - on Foot, with a handgun is a Blast! Can't stand the weenies that hunt em from the back of a truck with a rifle. No sport in that.

I've never hunted wild pigs before, although I have butchered domestic ones. Not sure I'd be able to: I already respect domestic pigs enough for their intelligence and independence that it hurts to kill them. Killing wild ones (assumedly even more intelligent and independent) might just be too much for my gentle Mennonite constitution.

I do enjoy all sorts of (non-Fear Factor Second Stunt) pork, though--even though I hang around with Messianic Jews.

According to Jeff Cooper, wild pigs were intended to be hunted (by men, at least) from horseback with a spear; anything stronger isn't sporting. (When I hunt, I'm interested in meat, not sport, so if a rifle from the back of a truck was efficacious, I'd have no objection to it; but you sound like more of a sportsman than I.)

 

[Barak]

And, I'm always interested in hearing stories from/about the Word. Feel free to write or PM or email.

Judges 4 tells of the calling of Barak, a new judge of Israel, by the prophetess Deborah. His job was to deliver the Israelites from the oppressive 20-year occupation of the Canaanites with a comparatively small army of ten thousand militiamen. He was uncertain, so he told Deborah that he'd accept the job only if she went with him. She agreed, warning him that his reward would be reduced by his reluctance. (You can read the whole account at Bible.org by entering "Judges" and "4" into their search engine.)

I'm a high-functioning autistic, and I grew up with almost no social skills at all; I was pretty much outcast until I met the woman who is now my wife. She kept pestering me to meet new people and attend social functions and do all sorts of other things that scairt the ever-lovin' liver outa me; after many refusals, I told her that I'd do it only if she went with me. She did: she put me out front to socialize until I'd had my fill (two or three minutes, at first), and then she took point position for the rest of the engagement and let me recharge.

After many years of that, I'm much better at appearing normal at social engagements, sometimes even without her help. I'm pretty proud of myself for that, but I'm sure I'd be even prouder if I'd managed to do it the way she first suggested it, rather than requiring so much hand-holding.

That's what reminds me of Barak in the Bible, and that's why I use his name.

 

[Muley]

Actually drawing that parallelism was quite a feat in itself. I'm impressed. Trying to finish up my Dedication for Discipleship study, then maybe I'll pour through Judges again.

Thanks for the great story and inspiration.

 

[Barak]

Actually drawing that parallelism was quite a feat in itself. I'm impressed.

Nah, don't be. I'm autistic, which means that in certain areas I'm kind of an idiot savant. Not to the extent of Raymond from Rain Man, but I'm pretty good at remembering quotes. (That part of my brain seems to compensate for a number of my inadequacies--like handling social engagements, speaking without making a fool of myself, understanding art or fashion, or remembering the difference between "mauve" and "fuschia.") I'm an ethnic Mennonite, which means that when I was a kid I had a Bible story read to me every night. I'd be a lot more impressed if I remembered--for example--my anniversary, or my wife's and daughters' birthdays.

Trying to finish up my Dedication for Discipleship study, then maybe I'll pour through Judges again.

Of course, as Paul told Timothy, all scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness; but when it comes to just reading for fun, my two favorite books in the Old Testament (which, of course, was what Paul meant by "all scripture") are probably Genesis and Judges. Exodus and Joshua and the Samuels are pretty good too, as well as single-story books like Ruth and Esther and Jonah and the first part of Daniel; but when it comes to swashbuckling action-adventure, it's hard to beat Genesis and Judges--especially the parts (like Genesis 34) that they never read to kids.

My question is this: If I read I and II Samuel twice, can I get out of reading I and II Chronicles (the "begats" books)?

 

[Barak]

You know, it never occurred to me before; but since it's so much fun to smoke cigars, and so much fun to shoot guns, I wonder if it'd be twice as much fun to smoke cigars while shooting guns.

Thought you might be interested in knowing that I found the answer to this one.

The answer is: No, it's not.

At least not if you're shooting centerfire rifles.

Last weekend I decided that it was time for my annual all-gun shoot'n'clean, so I took as many guns as I could fit in the car (turns out I can't fit 'em all anymore...hmm) out to the range and rezeroed 'em, then brought them home and cleaned them. Since I'm mostly a rifle guy (I'm strictly okay with a handgun, and that "jaaahnt suckin' sound" that Ross Perot heard back in 1992 was undoubtedly me trying to hit aerial targets with a shotgun), most of the guns I was shooting were rifles in 308Win or 7.62NATO. Some of them had muzzle brakes (which throw a significant amount of the muzzle blast back and to the sides to act as recoil-reducing "rocket propulsion").

I thought I'd have time to smoke a Robusto (a Montecristo, if I remember, and I was quite disappointed in the flavor) on the way to the range, but when I got there the cigar was only half-done or so. So I tried shooting and smoking.

Turns out that if you try to hold the cigar in your teeth while you shoot, the smoke will waft up into your sinuses and screw with your breathing, spoiling the control you have to have it under if you're going to shoot well. And if you put the cigar down in an ashtray on the bench, the concussion from the shot will knock it out of the ashtray onto the ground. (This last didn't apply when I was shooting 9x19mm carbines or 22LR rifles, just 7.62NATO and bigger; but I didn't have anything between 9mm and 7.62NATO to experiment with.)

Maybe if you had one of those Cigar Clips I keep seeing advertised, it'd be easier; but I gotta say that what with all the stuff I have to keep in my head while I'm shooting (including safety rules, of course), it's just easier not to have to keep up with a cigar too. I wouldn't want to be squinting through the spotting scope at the target, reach for a pencil, and grab the cigar instead.

So there ya go...a report from the field.