bbl not bl or brl?

[MBTcustom]

OK this is a pet peeve of mine. Why does everybody abbreviate barrel with BBL? There is only one "B" in barrel! Its a barrel not a bubble! I could understand if it was a bull-barrel but that's not what is being abbreviated. Can anybody explain why this is done so my brain will quit tweaking every time I read it?

[Tom W.]

'Cause dats de way it's always been....:bigsmyl2:



But I dunno why.....

[selmerfan]

I'm with you goodsteel. BBL means "bull barrel" in my book.

[btroj]

I just write out barrel.

[crash87]

Welllllll!!!!!!!!How about it maybe came from sumthin else.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/18636-where-does-that-2nd-b-in-the-abbreviation-for-crude-barrels-bbl-come-from or....
http://www.csub.edu/~dbaron/Sci360B/Bbl.htm Now with this explanation, I wonder what a stainless barrel would be???

[geargnasher]

I just write out barrel.

Yep. Electrons and pixels are cheap. You aren't going to use up all of our site bandwidth with a few extra characters.

I never understood "PP--" as an abbreviation for "pages" used when referencing publications, I guess it's to avoid confusion with "post script" (P.S.).

BTW, Crash, that's good to know, but difficult as heck to work into a conversation!

Gear

[olafhardt]

Get it close to home. Lets cast some boolits. Melt together 94 lb pb, 5 lb sn and 1lb of sn

[The Double D]

Because bbl is the correct abbreviation barrel but really means a 42 gallon barrel.

[youngda9]

Lie right here on the couch and tell me about your feelings :)

[gray wolf]

Like all the other spelling on this forum is perfect ??
Some folks can't spell the words and get it as close as they can.
Some don't even know we have spell check.

Besides it's the way we always did it.

[Jim]

The ORIGIN (http://seekingalpha.com/article/18636-where-does-that-2nd-b-in-the-abbreviation-for-crude-barrels-bbl-come-from) of the abbreviation.

[mdi]

Stuff like that used to bother me; mispellings, wrong terms, bad abbreviations, etc., but my new medication took care of that...

[white eagle]

bbl=bubble
pp=#1

[3006guns]

AHA! Thanks to Jim we now know that the evil oil companies are at the root of our dilemma. Might have known................

[Doby45]

Mine is using the word clip to denote a magazine.

[fecmech]

When some of us "seasoned citizens" grew up most of the gun catalogs abbreviated barrel as bbl. in the specifications. I think that might be the reason for it and also many of the "clip fed" .22 rifles where designated as just that. My primary concern has always been to place the boolit or bullet as close to the point of aim as possible whether it was fed from a clip or magazine or launched from a bbl or brl. I have enough difficulty in doing that so I try not to get caught up in the nomenclature.

[montana_charlie]

Why does everybody abbreviate barrel with BBL?
The thing is, not many here abbreviate barrel ... at least not very often. Mostly, an abbreviation for barrel is used in advertisements that include a list of specifications or parameters. Then, many of the terms are abbreviated.

But, since it bugs you, the 'blue barrel explanation' should set your mind at ease.

CM

[scb]

OK this is a pet peeve of mine. Why does everybody abbreviate barrel with BBL? There is only one "B" in barrel! Its a barrel not a bubble! I could understand if it was a bull-barrel but that's not what is being abbreviated. Can anybody explain why this is done so my brain will quit tweaking every time I read it?

Good Lord. I wish that's all I had to worry about.

[fredj338]

I don't know? Why is a dog called & dog & not a cat? Geeze, the things that set people off.:veryconfu

[hoosierlogger]

Well on cars with a carburetor they will refer to a 2 barrel carb as a 2v and a 4 barrel as a 4v.

Can somebody explain that?

[secondshooter]

Well on cars with a carburetor they will refer to a 2 barrel carb as a 2v and a 4 barrel as a 4v.

Can somebody explain that?

Hi, v = venturi

[hoosierlogger]

Hi, v = venturi

Drats, there is one in every crowd. LOL I never made the connection.

[brnomauser]

I always thought bbl stood for barrel blank but then I never understood why it got used everywhere. So I'm with the OP on this one

[frankenfab]

Actually if you read the comments on the blue barrel explanation, there is a link with documentation showing it abbreviated bbl as far back as 1756.

http://www.sizes.com/units/barrel_abbr.htm

[Simonpie]

I always thought BBL meant "Big Boned Lady"? Maybe I should spend more time here and less in Craigslist's "Strange seeking kinky" section.

[Stick_man]

as for why "pages" is referred to as "pp", it is rather simple if you apply a little math. 1 page = P, 2 pages = P P or simply PP. :bigsmyl2:

Geez, all this talk about pp... I gotta go hit the little boys room. :takinWiz:



PS - my apologies for the potty talk.

[montana_charlie]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_2_bbl_carb

[MBTcustom]

Its not that this is the only thing I have to worry about. But its like that mosquito that starts buzzing in your ear when you are trying to do something important, Its not important and doesn't effect the outcome of your life one way or the other, but then one day, you decide that its freaking going to die. Die annoying pestilence die!!!! one day you break from your serenity to run all over the house swatting at the little bugger like a mad man, or you might sit down and ask a question that makes people think about what they are writing and point out ever so gently that our barrels may be blued but they do not hold 40-something gallons of anything. It might just occur to someone that some dummy 50 years ago, who happened to work around blue barrels of toxic waste or something, brought his shipyard jargon and wrote an article in Rifleman, or something and like sheep we will faithfully follow in his footsteps for the rest of our lives.
So anyway, it was bugging me but I feel that now I have a better handle on things, understanding that some things people do are just stupid.
After that explanation of blue plastic shipping containers, I totally understand how that applies to firearms, the connection is huge! how did I miss this before.
Heck with it I'm done.

[Tom W.]

Missed your meds again, didn't you?:kidding:

[Mal Paso]

venturi?

[mpmarty]

Well on cars with a carburetor they will refer to a 2 barrel carb as a 2v and a 4 barrel as a 4v.

Can somebody explain that?

The "V" you refer to is for Venturi the number of which is the same as the number of "barrels" you describe those anachronistic devices with.

[That'll Do]

Mine is using the word clip to denote a magazine.

That makes two of us.

My peeve is when people say "heads" or "pill" instead of bullet (or "boolit", but that's different can of worms).

I think I need to increase my medication... [smilie=w:[smilie=w:

[303Guy]

I don't know? Why is a dog called & dog & not a cat?Cuz ya cant say cat for dog and dog for cat cause it dont rime. Ya cant say dog-scan or catgonit!:holysheep

I always thought bbl was a typo or a stutter! A bullet to denote a cartridge is getting serious. And 'quad bike'? A four wheeled, two wheeler?!

PP stands for paper. Either that or it's a typo for pg. :killingpc

[Hang Fire]

Cuz bbl just comes naturally to oilfield trash such as I.

[Tatume]

Well here, I'll give you something else to worry about. Why do people use "data" as a singular noun? The only time this is correct is when speaking of Mr. Data, the officer on Star Trek TNG. The singular form is "datum."

It's easy to know intuitively whether the word is used correctly; just replace data with numbers, or datum with number.

Correct: The data are important./The numbers are important.
Incorrect: The data is important./The numbers is important.

When ignorant people like newspaper or TV reporters make this mistake it doesn't bother me. It's when intelligent, well-educated folks like bullet casters and gun writers do it that I'm concerned. We should know better.

Take care, Tom

[Mossy Nugget]

I can't help correcting people who call a "cartridge" a "bullet". For no logical reason, it forces me to launch a lengthy explanation of primers and cases every single time. [smilie=b: I feel your pain(s).

[Frosty Boolit]

Enbloc magazine?

[selmerfan]

Mossy Nugget, I do the same. When they come into my man cave and look at the loaded cartridges they say - look at all those bullets. I point to my loading bench where the bullets are stored and say, "No, THOSE are the bullets. What you're looking at are cartridges." Then I explain, hit a primer with a hammer, burn a little powder, etc.

[cajun shooter]

When I was working in a gun store in the early 70's, I had a co worker that was for the proper use of what things are called. We would always have customers come in and ask for a box of 38 bullets. Bill would go to the reloading section and pick up a box of bullets and put them on the counter in front of the customer. With the difference in box sizes the customer would always pick up the box of bullets and read the label. They would say, Sir I believe you gave me the wrong thing. Well that started Bill off on his normal rampage. He would always start by stating, No Sir I did not give you the wrong thing. You requested a box of 38 bullets and that is what you received. Now if you perhaps need some 38 special ammunition I have that also. You have to know the correct terminology if you are in gun store. He would then show the customer a bullet board and explain the difference between the two. I would do the same when asked for a Colt 45ACP clip. I would always give them moon clips first and look at the weird looking face they had as they looked at them. My favorite and I just posted on this a few days ago is the 45 Long Colt. They have no such cartridge or firearm to use it in. Show me a box of factory 45 Long ColT ammunition or a firearm with that stamped on it. I have heard all the reasons for it but not a single one is correct in a historical manner. Even well known gun writers show how much they know about firearms history when they call it the Long Colt. Later

[Longwood]

PP stands for paper. Either that or it's a typo for pg. :killingpc

My computer ribbon never seems to run out of ink so I simply add the proper letters so people know what it is I am talking about.
I do not expect people to be able to read my mind so I try too NOT be lazy and use abbreviations and acronyms.

The people that have been on here for a long time know them all but when they use them, it makes it difficult for the new guys that are trying to learn. When one exspurt is talking to another, many of use would appreciate it, if he would remember that new people are trying to read it, and learn what he is typing about, also.

[blackthorn]

Life is both precious and too short. Don't sweat the small stuff. Count your blessings instead!

[Rocky Raab]

The English language is full of oddities and less-than-sensical usages. It is in fact one of if not the hardest languages on Earth to learn - and that's before we get into the differences between the King's English and "Ameriglish."

If "bbl" bothers you, just shrug and get over it, or you'll go absolutely nuts trying to figure why "pounds" is abbreviated as "lbs."

I'll work on getting my writing correct rather than worry about the exceptions in the language, thank you. And the next time I'm in my safe, I'll take out my prized bblbbl 20-gauge.

[Papa smurf]

WOW! Is this a cast bullet and reloading site or an english class ???

[rockrat]

Dang, and here I thought PP meant "Paper Patch" here

[Mohavedog]

Doesn't really bother me, but I always wondered why "mfg" is used to abbreviate "manufacturer" or "manufactured"?

[Tatume]

When I was working in a gun store in the early 70's, I had a co worker that was for the proper use of what things are called. We would always have customers come in and ask for a box of 38 bullets....

One of my favorite dialogs is when a cowboy in a western movie walks into a store and slaps a coin on the counter:

Cowboy - Gimme a box of bullets.
Shop keeper - What kind of bullets?
Cowboy - Pistol bullets!

I like to pull this routine at my favorite gun shop.

Take care, Tom

[Von Gruff]

Doesn't really bother me, but I always wondered why "mfg" is used to abbreviate "manufacturer" or "manufactured"?

ManuFacturinG

Maybe.

Von Gruff.

[geargnasher]

+1 Von Gruff.

I've seen this on machinery before: "Mf'd". Also "Mfr." The first one always makes me laugh.

Gear

[303Guy]

So .... why is/are pounds abreviated to lbs? (We could be talking pounds of alloy [smilie=1: ).

Once when guano (bird poo) was harvested and shipped in sailing ships, the bags of the stuff were marked "Store High In Transit" (or an abbreviation thereof) 'cause if stored low they would get wet and release ammonia and nitrates and could blow up the ship. (Vaguely related to guns and shooting).

[Von Gruff]

So .... why is/are pounds abreviated to lbs? (We could be talking pounds of alloy [smilie=1: ).

Once when guano (bird poo) was harvested and shipped in sailing ships, the bags of the stuff were marked "Store High In Transit" (or an abbreviation thereof) 'cause if stored low they would get wet and release ammonia and nitrates and could blow up the ship. (Vaguely related to guns and shooting).

I sincerely hope you have photographic evidence of the bags so marked, otherwise we might think you were taking the pi$$.

:bigsmyl2:

Von Gruff.

[noylj]

BBL is specifically "British Barrel" derived from the british barrels used for wine way back when. The petroleum industry adopted that size and called it a BBL.
Others were too stupid to know that it wasn't a universal abbreviation for barrel and have used it for about 75 years so it is now "tradition."
And you know, tradition is always correct...

LB is not pounds, it is libra, which I believe is basically latin for weight. Comes from Latin weight measurement "libra ponda" and was abbreviated lb.
It kept is usage when pounds came in with the Germans, who ended up with a weight of a pound (from ponda, I assume) but kept the Latin LB to stand for it.
All things make sense and you shouldn't worry about it 'cause you can't do anything to correct it now.

[noylj]

Hoosierlogger:
One would "assume" from the butterfly valve. The Brits love their valves.

[noylj]

olafhardt:
I think you meant 93 parts Pb, 6 parts Sb, and 2 parts Sn. All going back to those silly Romans.

[303Guy]

I sincerely hope you have photographic evidence of the bags so marked, otherwise we might think you were taking the pi$$.It might be just an urban legend or a hoax. It does kinda make sense but no, I have no proof.;)

[XWrench3]

ford was big on calling their carbs 2v and 4v as i remember. carter (mopar) and rodchester (gm) called them bbl. the "v" stands for venturi. bbl has been the abreviation for barrel for as long as i can remember. it does come from the industrial arena though. not sure if it was oil, or just industry in general. i have no idea why it was bbl, and not brl. which would make a lot more sense. maybe it cam from shipping, and originated in ENGLAND, which would explain a lot. like i tell my kids, ENGLISH is the strangest language in the world. how can one of the smallest words, have the largest use (if), and why is it that we have so many words that have multiple meanings. and so many different words that mean the same thing. why not one word, one meaning.

[Rocky Raab]

English has over 600,000 recognized words (the most of any language) precisely because no two of them do mean exactly the same thing. That abundance of verbiage allows us to find precisely the right shade of meaning for what we are trying to say.

Just as one small example, English has numerous gradations for the emotion of anger. We can and do make precisely scaled judgments of anger from irritation to furor. A language with only one word for anger would be pretty liable to be a violent place if there were no differences between pique and rage.

[blackthorn]

And then we have:
Lead (the metal)
Led (down the garden path)
Leade (into the rifling)
And most folks just use the first example for all three!!
Who's right? Who's wrong? Who knows?

[lbaize3]

I have read all the posts in this thread and have enjoyed the experience.

My medication is working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tatume]

Once when guano (bird poo) was harvested and shipped in sailing ships, the bags of the stuff were marked "Store High In Transit"

See http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/****.asp


Sorry, the URL won't post here. Copy the text of the link into your browser and substitute s, h, i and t for the four stars to see the SNOPES article.

[nanuk]

Mine is using the word clip to denote a magazine.

I usually use the word "Graphic Non-Fiction Novel" in stead of magazine...

or I use "Powder Cache" ...

or sometimes I even use "Clip"

it all depends on the context, and if I can remember what I'm talking about or not!

:kidding:

[nanuk]

Cuz ya cant say cat for dog and dog for cat cause it dont rime. Ya cant say dog-scan or catgonit!:holysheep


Cat-Leg?

Catbane?

BullCat?

"Dog Scratch Fever!"

nope.... Not working for me neither

[nanuk]

One of my favorite dialogs is when a cowboy in a western movie walks into a store and slaps a coin on the counter:

Cowboy - Gimme a box of bullets.
Shop keeper - What kind of bullets?
Cowboy - Pistol bullets!

I like to pull this routine at my favorite gun shop.

Take care, Tom

my favorite movie faux pas is when the "Tough Guy" swings open the cylinder of a DA revolver, and spins it, and it makes a buzzing sound..... Then he "Snaps" it back with a twist of his hand, possibly damaging it and throwing the timing off.

And the absolute BEST was when a guy, sitting at a desk, checks his Blued Snub Nose revolver as above, puts it in the desk, Calls for the "Guy" to enter, and as the guy does, the Desk sitter reaches into his drawer and pulls out a NICKELED small framed Automatic and shoots the guy....
[smilie=b:

[tomf52]

"V" on a carb is for venturi.

[fatelk]

Mine is using the word clip to denote a magazine.

I hope I don't get too beat up for my un-PC opinion, but one of my minor irritations is how excited gun folks in general get when someone happens to say something about a pistol clip.

It may be a bit archaic, but at least at some time in the past the term "clip" was considered correct terminology for a detachable magazine, especially for handguns and .22 rifles.

The way I heard it, this changed around WWII, with the introduction of the M1 carbine. Calling for a bunch of "M1 clips" when you really needed carbine ammo could cause severe logistical problems and get soldiers killed, so the military beat it into new recruits that "a clip is not a magazine and a magazine is not a clip!!!!!!". Generations of veterans became absolutely convinced that to call a magazine a clip was a cardinal sin. To me this might explain some folk's violent reaction to what they see as the incorrect use of the term.

Yes, I understand the technical differences as they are currently defined; I've read the explanations and seen the illustrations. I really don't mean to offend if it's an important thing to you. To each their own.:)

I went through a phase when I was careful to call a pistol clip a magazine, just so I would sound like a pro. Now I don't really care, and only use the term magazine to describe a pistol clip when in the company of someone who seriously thinks there's an important difference.:razz:

[303Guy]

See http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/****.asp
Oh schite! Well. I've learned two things here. **** did not come from 'ship high in transit' and schite is not censored on this site.[smilie=w:

[bowfin]

I hope I don't get too beat up for my un-PC opinion, but one of my minor irritations is how excited gun folks in general get when someone happens to say something about a pistol clip.

Some do the same when ".45 Long Colt" is mentioned, although it turns out there was a reason for that as well. The Government tried to make a cartridge that would work in .45 Schofields as well as Colt Single Action Army revolvers, and it was less than a stellar success. Since it was also called a ".45 Colt" cartridge, the original cartridge was often called a ".45 Long Colt" so as to differentiate between the two.

[youngda9]

THIS is the thread that has the most posts on the first page...really, this is what captured everyone's interest. Lord help us.

[Longwood]

THIS is the thread that has the most posts on the first page...really, this is what captured everyone's interest. Lord help us.

:popcorn:
It's goodsteels fault.
He started it!!!!
:drinks:

[Longwood]

My pet peeve is soon becoming nasty weather.

It is the middle of May and it is cold and windy in the California desert. :(

Not good. :-?

Not good at all!!!!:evil:[smilie=b:

[youngda9]

Let's debate magazine vs. clip as well...many people seem to get their panties in a wad over that one as well.

or 9mm vs .45

Pass the popcorn :)

[mdi]

Uh, well, you know, like, if you, like you know, wanna uh get a message uh, to the other, uh, guy your talking to, you know, like you gotta like use the er, correct words, you know, and, like you know, not the words he wants to hear.

Go to Brownells and search for "clips", and you will see a page of magazines. Search for clips on Midway and you'll see Garand clips, half moon clips, and stripper clips...

[youngda9]

^^ I guess Brownells and Midway cater to different crowds, haha.

[Frosty Boolit]

Uh, well, you know, like, if you, like you know, wanna uh get a message uh, to the other, uh, guy your talking to, you know, like you gotta like use the er, correct words, you know, and, like you know, not the words he wants to hear.

Thats quite a few similies all packed into one sentence.

[MBTcustom]

9mm vs. 45 is only an issue to those who carry the weaker, less powerfull, barely effective, easy to conceal, cheap, second rate, foreign knockoff, kinetically challenged, and otherwise diminutive, 9mm.:target_smiley: Those of us who carry the decided champion of all pistol cartridges, the originator, the brainchild of John Browning, the ultimate combination of power and size, the cartridge that is as American as baby back ribs and crawdads, the one that was designed for the most copied pistol in the history of the world, the decided winner of any test of shear stopping power and effectiveness, the everlasting, the unstoppable, .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge, have no reason to argue its superiority to the thousands of weaker pistol cartridge configurations, modifications and knockoffs that are out there.:guntootsmiley:[smilie=f:
The .45 ACP is the forensic and scientific answer to the problem of the human torso and it's stubborn will to survive.

[MBTcustom]

I'm actually enjoying the schite out of this!:drinks:
Lb. is Latin? thank you kind souls for solving another dilemma for me!

[Canuck Bob]

I have trouble with spelling like color, everyone knows that proper English is colour.

When I was a kid a cigarette was a ***. Try that today!

A girl was a Lass. A woman was a bird.

Once my grandfather told me to "trot over yon about 5 rod and drive that post in betwixt those two trees" and I understood perfectly.

Language is defined by communities and groups. What helps define them as groups is thier shared understanding. Why does nobody ever chastise people for using boolit, interesting!

I attended an American school on a football scholarship. The guys from the south were amazing. My linebacker coach was from some place in Tennessee with Holler in its name. When he went insane, a linebacker job skill, he sounded like he was speaking Klingon! My favorites were the black guys and the bubba's from the south. They were all fine Christian lads and could really play tackle football.

I had a good friend from somewhere in western Texas. His name was actually Bubba. A real Bubba, a big powerful man with no retreat in him, a real tough pulling gaurd. He once said to me you Canadians talk like sissies. I suggested he should just learn how to talk! It was a fun afternoon of nutcrackers. He taught me one other lesson. Don't play cards with a southern Bubba. The whole "by shucks, by golly"' routine is to outwit prideful Northerners and lighten thier wallets, trust me.

[noylj]

Language is defined by communities and groups. What helps define them as groups is thier shared understanding. Why does nobody ever chastise people for using boolit, interesting!

This is a bit of bull. There are rules that make language easier. Saying "Me and Jim went..." will never sound intelligent or correct. Just because a lot of people use "loose" for "lose" and vice versa does not read better. I can follow pidgen and broken English, but that does not mean that it then becomes correct.
Finally, "why does nobody..." This is a joke, right? Please tell me it is a joke!

[astroskg]

Make sure you use lower case letters and proper punctuation, other wise some readers will accuse you of yelling at them or can't find the question because all the words flow together.

[Von Gruff]

9mm vs. 45 is only an issue to those who carry the weaker, less powerfull, barely effective, easy to conceal, cheap, second rate, foreign knockoff, kinetically challenged, and otherwise diminutive, 9mm.:target_smiley: Those of us who carry the decided champion of all pistol cartridges, the originator, the brainchild of John Browning, the ultimate combination of power and size, the cartridge that is as American as baby back ribs and crawdads, the one that was designed for the most copied pistol in the history of the world, the decided winner of any test of shear stopping power and effectiveness, the everlasting, the unstoppable, .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge, have no reason to argue its superiority to the thousands of weaker pistol cartridge configurations, modifications and knockoffs that are out there.:guntootsmiley:[smilie=f:
The .45 ACP is the forensic and scientific answer to the problem of the human torso and it's stubborn will to survive.

I favour the 44 but that is a hilariously well put apolagy for a grand old cartridge and pistol.

(and remember that an apolagist for an idea or concept is more correctly a clear explanation - not an apolagy)

Von Gruff.

[Canuck Bob]

Language is defined by communities and groups. What helps define them as groups is their shared understanding. Why does nobody ever chastise people for using boolit, interesting!

This is a bit of bull. There are rules that make language easier. Saying "Me and Jim went..." will never sound intelligent or correct. Just because a lot of people use "loose" for "lose" and vice versa does not read better. I can follow pidgen and broken English, but that does not mean that it then becomes correct.
Finally, "why does nobody..." This is a joke, right? Please tell me it is a joke!

No I wasn't joking. I was tired and have succumbed to the bad habits of the internet. Fatigue makes me lazy and fuzzy, but never dull or stupid if that is your implication. Imho its a good reason to lol not get rude.

I want to add that "me and Jim went" sounds unintelligent and incorrect to you not me. As far as correctness goes, one expresses exactly the same meaning as the other. Since meaning was clear I value freedom of expression in that case. I think the proper expression should be "will never sound [educated]sic". I judge intelligence from a different perspective. Surely one can be uneducated and intelligent so making judgments on people's intelligence from one turn of phrase is a slippery slope.

[303Guy]

He never learned to write only printI only print by choice. I see my son does too. (I'm talking printing using capitals). Must be something in the water! But you are right in what you say. Intelligence and creativity/innovativity comes in all forms. There are several forms I admire a lot. And skills - I admire and enjoy peoples skills (including shooting and hunting skills). Specially when those are skills I lack (and there are too many of those). I've chatted to 'hillbillies' and have been amazed at how smart some of these folks are! (I'm a hillbilly by the way :mrgreen:).

[Canuck Bob]

I only print by choice. I see my son does too. (I'm talking printing using capitals). Must be something in the water! But you are right in what you say. Intelligence and creativity/innovativity comes in all forms. There are several forms I admire a lot. And skills - I admire and enjoy peoples skills (including shooting and hunting skills). Specially when those are skills I lack (and there are too many of those). I've chatted to 'hillbillies' and have been amazed at how smart some of these folks are! (I'm a hillbilly by the way :mrgreen:).

For 303 guys sake please note that I heavily edited my original post he is referring to. I was specifically referring to an uncle who dropped out of school during the depression but was a rather gifted man intellectually. He went on to homestead in Canada's north in the thirties before five years in Europe in the forties. Uncle Bill was a self proclaimed Hillbilly and proud of it and the finest story teller I've ever heard short of Mark Twain. He always said "me and ...." so I embarked on a silly personal need to defend a man who never needed anyone to defend him in his life.

[Rocky Raab]

It does not matter if ten million people say "Me and Jim went..."

It does not matter if ten million people write "your" when they mean "you're."

It does not matter if ten million people use an apostrophe to pluralize words.

It does not make any of those usages correct. If you use them, people will judge you to be uneducated. They will be correct in that judgment.

The word is "bullet."

[Cadillo]

OK this is a pet peeve of mine. Why does everybody abbreviate barrel with BBL? There is only one "B" in barrel! Its a barrel not a bubble! I could understand if it was a bull-barrel but that's not what is being abbreviated. Can anybody explain why this is done so my brain will quit tweaking every time I read it?

The same reason we abbreviate pound with "lb."

Don't overthink it!

[Cadillo]

Well on cars with a carburetor they will refer to a 2 barrel carb as a 2v and a 4 barrel as a 4v.

Can somebody explain that?

Yes. The "v" stands for venturi. Look through the top of your carburator, if you have one, and youl'll see a venturi inside each "barrel".

Like the song says:

"Look it up."

[303Guy]

... but was a rather gifted man intellectually.Yes, I understood that he was. A certain sense of pride came through in your post - I thought.:drinks:

Where I came from we had twin choke carbies! Now understand that those 'chokes' were not identical twins - there were progressive chokes. Why call them chokes? The carb only had one choke on the first 'barrel'. We really don't speak accurately do we? (Pun intended!):mrgreen:

By the way, there are smart folks, taleted folks, skilled folks and witty folks right here on this site.:drinks:

[leftiye]

Yah, but no compulsive ones.