Board Popularity

[MTWeatherman]

I usually try to check the board at least once a day...at times it may go for a few days but most times it is daily. Sometimes, however, I have no access to a computer due to travel etc. and I'm away from the keyboard for a more extended period. I missed checking in for about ten days the first part of this month...and just got back after missing nearly two weeks again recently.

I was absolutely amazed at the amount of unread posts on both occasions. When I checked in this morning, after about a 12 day lapse, I had to go to the end of page 4 in the "Cast Bullets" section alone...nearly 100 threads with unread messages (most of which had a significant number of new posts within them) to get to a previously completely read thread. The amount of actual new posts on the entire board would appear to be measured in the 100s.

I was a member of the original Shooters.Com and Aimoo before transferring to this board. However, "Cast Bullets" not only has continued the tradition of those boards but now has obviously significantly passed both in its use. The amount of posts by more than 1500 members has demonstrated that. Gunload Master certainly deserves to be commended for his efforts in helping to accomplish that... as are the many knowledgable members on the board itself who are willing to share information.

If you ever are unable to peruse the board for a couple of weeks or more, you will know exactly what I am talking about. The jump in use since last year at this time is pronounced.

THIS IS ONE POPULAR FORUM!!

[Buckshot]

............I agree that the board has grown quite a bit. I believe we get a very good balance of information going from the "Very well reserched and documented" to the "Look what I did" variety, for the many forums we have here.

I would also like to think that the reason for the board's growth is that people might find it nothing more then a comfortable place to be, and to simply read about what other folks are up to.

To date I have never yet had anyone complain about the board as it is other then 2 guys who said they'd hoped that the board had been more strictly regimented toward research. I will agree that well done, documented work is of great benefit to all, it also requires a great deal of time to do. We have some of those posts and it's very welcome.

However a board strictly bent in that direction would also seem to be very restrictive in what other members might be interested in posting about. I honestly believe the main thrust is to just have a good time and include as many people in it as possible.

In that vein, while I value each and every member, I appreciate our members from outside the United States very much. I think they're a very cool and valuable asset here. I refuse to say foreign members because amongst the small numbers of shooters who cast and shoot lead boolits, they're no more foreign then we are in the eyes of mainstream shooters :-).

We're all just a bit different, together!

.................Buckshot

[Pilgrim]

Your comment re: research is spot on. I've done a fair amount of same in my prior life when employed, and as a shooter. Some of my work has been published. I make that statement not to brag, but just trying to make the point that what is to folllow is not BS. It's based upon experience and peer review.

Not too many folks actually appreciate how much data is needed to make a valid statement re: cause and effect. Dave Scoville (editor of Rifle & Handloader) had a rant about that five or six months ago with respect to "gun writers". He's right. One or two groups from a single firearm, with no controls in place to establish a baseline only makes an observation about a single experiment. No more, and no less. The experiment is not invalid, nor of no value, but is not sweeping in its significance. The single experiment might point you in a direction, but without repeat experiments, and usually with multiple firearms and/or components (often both), you really have a single point and we all know a single point doesn't define a line or trend. An example is some work I did in ~ 1990 thru 1992 (+/-) to try and sort out what, if any, accuracy benefits one might obtain using benchrest techniques in a standard rifle, factory barrel (not +/- 0.0001 tolerance barrel), common bullets, etc. I did not come to THE definitive answer, but for that one rifle and batch of components, roughly 3000 rounds and two years were needed to sort out the cause and effect. This did not include any change in components! It did pretty well use up a barrel, though. I could not have done the experiment (cost considerations) without help from Winchester, Hodgden, Speer/RCBS, and a few others who supplied tools and testing equipment at cost . Even with the help, the published article didn't cover my out of pocket costs by a factor of probably 4 or 5. Anyway...

My point is that pure research is time consuming, expensive, and must be carefully done to protect controls, etc. I didn't try to further develop my work, again due to cost, time and limited return on investment. If I was an employee of Blount (or similar holding company) then maybe it would have value but notice that except for reloading manuals you don't see those folks performing or publishing that kind of stuff, either! If you notice, the reloading manuals are not completely updated either. It is hard work and expensive. FWIW Pilgrim

[Catshooter]

This is a wonderful site.

[MTWeatherman]

Buckshot and Pilgrim:

I wouldn't argue with a single point that either or you made.

I would add that simply because a post isn't a research paper in and of itself, it doesn't follow that the post is not based on research. Many of the posts made here are based on solid research made by others and that information is then relayed to others in the post. Granted it isn't necessarily new to the shooting or casting world...but it likey was to someone reading the thread.

Also, a piece of work not comprehensive enough to warrant an article or actual paper still remains valuable within its own right. If enough of those "experiments" lead to the same result and are thus repeatable under the conditions mentioned, they are essentially as useful as an actual "paper" or "research" for just because those results haven't been thoroughly tested and documented as a paper...a user of the information can logically conclude that they might work for him also. It is up to the user of that information to veryify the results for themselves. Examples of this type of information appears on this board regularly.

Opinions based on a one or two time observation are valuable also. As Pilgrim pointed out, it provides a place for one attempting to solve a problem to start. That's much better than a simply theoretical guess...it at least allows one to
focus in on something to start with. Much of the information on this board falls into this category.

No, not everything needs to be based on extensive research. All credible information is useful. Unfortunately, the internet is a huge repository of false and misleading information. The problem is sifting the misinformation from the correct for, in the world of forums and chat rooms, with a new poster one ititially doesn't have a clue as to the credibility of the individual making a statement. I suspect that may be why some have wanted to emphasize the documented research...you should be able to accept the information at face value (just be careful in checking the conditions under which the results are presented). However, in a forum such as this one, where individuals are posting over an extended period of time...you can compare their statements against the true ones you are aware of and quickly "calibrate" your sense of their credibility in the future. My experience has been that this board, has some very knowledgeably people who willing share information. There have been few "crack pots" indeed and the true ones I'm aware of have either left the board or been removed from it.

As to those of our members from "out of country" I particularly note that ,without exception, they seem to be extremely knowlegable shooters and casters. Perhaps in many of those countries, their firearms laws require them to be extremely dedicated to the shooting sports to practice it...and it shows.

Enough said...got on the soapbox again.

[Bucks Owin]

For my part, I'm sure glad I wandered in here. Lotsa fine folks doing the same things that I like to do and not too "snooty" to share their findings good, bad or indifferent...

This is certainly my internet "hangout" now, and I'm glad of it!

Dennis

[sundog]

Bucks, "not too snooty"? I'll take that as a back handed compliment. And, you are right. Pretty good bunch of folks here. sundog

[JohnH]

Buckshot, I've sure found myself comfortable here, have said so on several occasions, I'm like Bucks Owin, I find myself here enough that It's kinda home away from home.

As to research and scientific methods and such, What is often missed about that is such testing is really nothing more than documented observation of controlled conditions. A test is designed to either monitor the variables, or to monitor the methods used to monitor the varibles. Sounds like double speak, and it don't account for 30 years of observing groups fired at 100 yards leading me to say that a 2" group is a really good group for a run of the mill rifle and cast boolits. I'm sure some do better, and I always seek better, and I'm sure some wonder how to get a rifle to shoot that small, but I wish I'd known how good a group 2" was 30 years ago. I'd have spent more time enjoying my cast shooting, and less time trying to figure out what was wrong.... when nothing was.

As well, A fellow here suggested I work with a softer alloy at a time I was having a lot of difficulty with a particular rifle. I suspect that the suggestion came more from the speed I was seeking than the arm I was using, and I doubt that any scientific method was used to arrive at that suggestion, just experience and observation.

Spock and Bones went round and round about the value of logic and "leaps of imagination". I imagine that more advances in firearms and technology in general have been the result of leaps of imagination than hard logic. I'm also sure that hard logic brought the fullness of such leaps into reality, so to dismiss the value of one or the other, or to hold one as more valuable than the other can only deprive us of a valuable research tool.

Several years back, there was an outbreak of a bacterial sickness (Hanta Virus I believe it is) carried by mice in the South West. The researchers into this asked the elders about their past experiences. They told them they had only seen this sickness when there was more rain than usual and the mice populations exploded. Seems the excess rain caused a mini explosin of the mice population and they began to move into places they didn't normally inhabit, like houses. On cleaning, people would handle the mice waste, and get sick. The observations of the elders lead the researchers to the root cause of the sickness. Not a lot science on the part of the elders, but immensely valuable none the less, and a great lesson about the value of simple observation.

[JohnH]

Buckshot, I've sure found myself comfortable here, have said so on several occasions, I'm like Bucks Owin, I find myself here enough that It's kinda home away from home.

As to research and scientific methods and such, What is often missed about that is such testing is really nothing more than documented observation of controlled conditions. A test is designed to either monitor the variables, or to monitor the methods used to monitor the varibles. Sounds like double speak, and it don't account for 30 years of observing groups fired at 100 yards leading me to say that a 2" group is a really good group for a run of the mill rifle and cast boolits. I'm sure some do better, and I always seek better, and I'm sure some wonder how to get a rifle to shoot that small, but I wish I'd known how good a group 2" was 30 years ago. I'd have spent more time enjoying my cast shooting, and less time trying to figure out what was wrong.... when nothing was.

As well, A fellow here suggested I work with a softer alloy at a time I was having a lot of difficulty with a particular rifle. I suspect that the suggestion came more from the speed I was seeking than the arm I was using, and I doubt that any scientific method was used to arrive at that suggestion, just experience and observation.

Spock and Bones went round and round about the value of logic and "leaps of imagination". I imagine that more advances in firearms and technology in general have been the result of leaps of imagination than hard logic. I'm also sure that hard logic brought the fullness of such leaps into reality, so to dismiss the value of one or the other, or to hold one as more valuable than the other can only deprive us of a valuable research tool.

Several years back, there was an outbreak of a bacterial sickness (Hanta Virus I believe it is) carried by mice in the South West. The researchers into this asked the elders about their past experiences. They told them they had only seen this sickness when there was more rain than usual and the mice populations exploded. Seems the excess rain caused a mini explosin of the mice population and they began to move into places they didn't normally inhabit, like houses. On cleaning, people would handle the mice waste, and get sick. The observations of the elders lead the researchers to the root cause of the sickness. Not a lot science on the part of the elders, but immensely valuable none the less, and a great lesson about the value of simple observation.

[Bass Ackward]

Scientific testing has occurred in this sport over the centuries. In fact, with all our scientific break throughs that have produced improved quality weapons, molds, reloading equipment, and telescopic sights, we still have trouble "meeting" ( i did not say surpassing) accuracy standards established over 150 years ago with black powder, lead and open sights. For me that's a humbler!

As long as courtesy is maintained and we respect each question / response, this board will flourish. When this fails, posts will dwindle and people will walk.

Then we will be talking about why the board died.

Cast bullet usage is on the rise. All we have to do is create a successful attempt for a new member, just one, to hook them into trying to figure out .... why. And the cycle will live on.

[Gunload Master]

Thanks for the compliment!

Really though, there is no way a board can strive and grow by one individual. The members of this board are very kind and willing to lend a hand to experienced and non-experienced caster's alike. So it's a great place to start, and a great place to improve on your abilities. Other's see that and want to join in. It's definitely the members that make a board so great. I'm just happy to be a part of it.
Thanks everyone!

[Swagerman]

I find this board to be a real delight in the character and characters that prevail here. You are all top drawer first class A number ones, except myself who has on occassion been called number two.

If I've peod anyone in the past I humbly apologize and will try to make amends by washing your pick up truck on weekends and drinking all your beer.

Jim :mrgreen:

[Ken O]

Other reasons for the success here is very few ego problem, and realizing there is more than one way to skin a cat. So bottom pour/ladle, hard lube/soft lube, Ford/Chevy etc. we all find our preferences with out knocking the other methods. Also, no problem hijacking a thread, or not staying on topic (which seems to be a rule, not an exception LOL) which makes being here just plain FUN!
Edited to correct spelling.

[Bigjohn]

I was directed to the site by a friend who would be here with us if he had access to the internet of his own. The reputation of this site is spread far and wide, and I recommend it to any shooter I find who has an interest in Cast Boolits. Regards my own impressions; well I feel right home here and unfraid to ask a question about any problem, simple or complex, which I can not find an answer for. And you are not thought of as a lesser being for not finding the answer yourself.

The information which is freely shared here amongst fellow shooters is better than a set of encylopedias and easy to understand. I have not been able to detect one sniff of "High Brow" attitude from anyone.

At times this forum is a little like a conversation between like minded people which anyone of the same persuasion can stop and join in without interupting the flow or feel like and intruder.:-D

[waksupi]

BigJohn, most of us feel it is more like sitting around a campfire spinning yarns, or leaning on the pickups with a few beers. Good place, and good people to talk to. And yes, we do wander far afield with the topics, or off topics, as it were. That is why it is good. Occassionally, we have a new person show up, who tries desparately to keep us on subject. I believe this only contributes to poking the skunk, just to raise more of a stink. All in good humor, of course, but we have tried herding ferrets before. Much easier job, than keeping the conversation on a single topic here. A person just has to learn to sort through it, and hope they don't miss out on some absolutely great wisdom, tossed in amongst the BS. If some prefer a board that keeps strickly on track, I do believe there is a forum on Yahoo they may enjoy...

As a side note, we do have an emergency fall back page on Yahoo, should this page develop any catastrophic problems. I'll look up the address and post it. I don't see any problems in the future, Willie is doing a great job with this.
However, as the moderator of the Yahoo site, I do keep the spammers hearded off as best I can. Lately, I have had a couple new people try to sign on, with suspicious email addresses. I asked them what thier experience in cast bullets was, and recieved no response. So, they were rejected. We've had a couple get in over the years, and they have had thier selves neutered immedaiately. None of us wants extra crap in the email. That board generates extremely light traffic, just enough to keep it active.
So, if you sign on there for approval, please include your Cast Boolits registered name, or PM me, so I am expecting you.

[DanWalker]

I really like it here.
I came to shooters.com when alloutdoors.com folded.I'd been there since the mid 90's I then followed the gang here.
I read a lot more than I post, but this place has taught me tons of stuff.
All in all, I can't think of a nicer place or a nicer bunch of people. I REALLY need to get to a NCBS one of these years. it's ONLY a 12 hour drive from here.

[Bigjohn]

waksupi: I could not have put it better had I used the words you used. I think that says it all.
I have spent many an hour sitting around the camfire spinning yarns, some tall ones most true.

[fourarmed]

I think the main difference between this board and the typical one where Glock users savage 1911 users (and vice versa) is the age and experience of many of the regulars here. You don't come to the cast bullet level of shooting and handloading until you've been doing it quite a while.

With age and experience also comes the aplomb to smile and keep ones mouth shut when a neophyte pops off with something you know to be wrong - especially if you can still remember when you, too, though it was right.

To get back on topic, averages and standard deviations of large samples are wonderful things to have, but even single data points carry some information. However, I confess I still get irritated when certain authors and magazines publish articles on (drumroll) Loading The .243 (swelling organ music) that turn out to be based on one 3-shot group per load.

[Gunload Master]

I try to make this site have little to no downtime what so ever, and the software I use is some of the easiest out there to understand. There's always going to be an uncontrolled outage at times that is out of my control (we've all seen it before) but for the most part this site is usually always up. I had to upgrade the server we are on about 6+ months ago just to support the growth of this place, and I do see another server upgrade in the future as the growth continues.

[kodiak1]

fourarmed I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that the people that cast have probably been shooting for a while already. The only other way probably is if they had a salty oldman or a salty old idle that cast and they watched and liked.
My grandson is going to be one of those you casters I think. He just loves it when I drag out the pot and pail of moulds and head down to the shop he know's which side of the yard the sun come up on.

Yes this is one relaxing and joyful sight to come onto. I try to every evening to pass through.

Ken.

[cherok9878]

I have wanted to cast boolits for many years. Reading the available books on this subject was at times controversial and misleading. I know of no one in my general area who cast's boolits, I had no source of information.
I found this site while searching the web, name kept popping up and the "Boolit" caught my attention. I have since started casting and enjoy the activity very much. I am sure my endevor would not have been so successful had it not been for the people on this forum. Thank you, one and all, for sharing the wealth of information you posess so willingly. This is a great place to spend some time with a great bunch of people....................larry

[45nut]

Bump for a look back at how things were back when we only had 3,000 members registered. :-)

[BruceB]

I certainly don't see that much has changed in the critical areas, those being respect, polite discourse, fun mixed-in, and the sharing of information which in many cases is available NO PLACE other than right here.

Also, the freedom of thread drift is much appreciated, compared to other places I visit on the web. In many a forum, the slightest deviation from topic is ruthlessly expunged. Efferybody in LOCKSTEP, ja?

One minor criticism I have hearkens back to the original post in this thread. When I return from an absence of several days, I can ONLY access twenty pages of threads, which means that an awful lot of conversation has vanished into the maze never to be seen by my eyes. Can this be changed?

[mike in co]

ken...
ya done confused me.....i was lost..then saw the dates....duhhhhhhh

mike in co

[Matt_G]

One minor criticism I have hearkens back to the original post in this thread. When I return from an absence of several days, I can ONLY access twenty pages of threads, which means that an awful lot of conversation has vanished into the maze never to be seen by my eyes. Can this be changed?

Twenty pages should be plenty. Perhaps you meant something else and that is a typo?
Anyways Bruce, click UserCP in the bar across the top. Once that page opens, under settings and options click edit options.
About half way down that rather long page is a section called thread display options and an option called Default Thread Age Cut Off.
Change that to your liking, scroll down and click save changes and you should be good to go.

[dromia]

The beauty of our site, Cast Boolits, is that the total is greater than the sum of its parts.

[BruceB]

Matt, amigo;

"Twenty pages should be plenty. Perhaps you meant something else and that is a typo?"

Surely you jest? I want to read pretty much everything, and twenty pages wasn't a typo.


"Anyways Bruce, click UserCP in the bar across the top. Once that page opens, under settings and options click edit options. About half way down that rather long page is a section called thread display options and an option called Default Thread Age Cut Off. Change that to your liking, scroll down and click save changes and you should be good to go."

Thanks for the directions. I did what you instructed, and my setting on "options" now reads "Show all threads".....but I STILL get only a maximum of 20 pages on the "today" function or on trying to see my own posts before late 2007.

Curious, no?

[cbrick]

Some of your posts in this thread are confusing, are you trying to say that there are other boards? :confused:

Rick

[BruceB]

Update here.

I just went to the "Cast Boolits" forum, and it now allows me access to almost 500 pages. Ergo, it's the "today" function and also records of posts by individuals that don't allow access to the entire history.

I like to be able to see my own posts, because on some research I've been posting my results HERE instead of maintaining separate files elsewhere.

[45nut]

We were crippled by the capacity of the old server and had cut down the number of viewable pages, too many people searching past threads took down the entire site.
With the new server that should be able to be extended,, I will get with Willy and see.

A quick way to view your own, or another members posts,, or threads would be to go to the profile,, like your own.. http://castboolits.gunloads.com/member.php?u=81
Click on "statistics" then "posts" OR "threads started by".


for instance:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/search.php?searchid=1805508

[Recluse]

Geez, talk about nostalgia. Here are some real gems from that conversation.


I believe we get a very good balance of information going from the "Very well reserched and documented" to the "Look what I did" variety, for the many forums we have here.

I would also like to think that the reason for the board's growth is that people might find it nothing more then a comfortable place to be, and to simply read about what other folks are up to.

It's comfortable and it's a place where you learn from other's firsthand experience, trials and errors--not some anonymous here-today-gone-tomorrow gunwriter.




As long as courtesy is maintained and we respect each question / response, this board will flourish. When this fails, posts will dwindle and people will walk.


BigJohn, most of us feel it is more like sitting around a campfire spinning yarns, or leaning on the pickups with a few beers. Good place, and good people to talk to.

Hence why I refer to this place as "The World's Biggest Small Town."


Other reasons for the success here is very few ego problem,

Shoot, with all the experience and ability and "been there/done that" that exists here, Ego gets trampled by Experience.


I really like it here.
I came to shooters.com when alloutdoors.com folded.I'd been there since the mid 90's I then followed the gang here.
I read a lot more than I post, but this place has taught me tons of stuff.
All in all, I can't think of a nicer place or a nicer bunch of people.

Ditto.

Alloutdoors.com was pretty good, shooters was better, but Cast Boolits exceeded both of them by leaps and bounds.

I'd dabbled with casting way back in the service--with pretty bad results. Got the hook set in me at Shooters, and like Dan I followed the gang over but never joined--just read.

Hell, I didn't need to join. Everything I needed to know was right here. Any question(s) I had were already addressed.

As a general rule, I don't care to participate in discussions where I can't see the other person/people. I hate talking on the phone, despise writing letters or sending out cards and on most days would sooner wipe my butt with lighter fluid while playing with matches than post on an internet.

That's why "recluse" suits and describes me to a "T" so well.

But it also shows just how different this place is. Privacy is respected because members are respected.

:coffee:

[gon2shoot]

There are a couple or three different forums that I look at on occasion, and the last few times I've been there I found links or references to this site.

I attribute that to the fact that there is a great deal of knowledge here, freely shared. And an outstanding group of people in general, ( and we have loob grooves). ;)

[qajaq59]

Some of your posts in this thread are confusing, are you trying to say that there are other boards? Nahhhhh, he's pulling your leg.

[waksupi]

20 pages? If you use the today feature like I do, and are gone all day, you WILL miss some posts with only 20 pages!

[Wayne Smith]

I now take my laptop on vacation with me largely to keep up with posts here. We are on vacation now and here I am, on Cast Boolits, responding.

[Gunload Master]

Ok here's the deal on that Bruce, I did have to cut back on the ability to view everything from way back when because it caused the server to slow drastically. I am going to change it back to how it use to be (be able to view everything). This server should be more then powerful enough to handle that request, but I am going to monitor the load and make sure everything is still good to go.. I will change this right now.. *poof*

[Gunload Master]

It use to be you could search back to a limit of 500. That limit has been changed to 5000.. Which should be plenty :)

[mroliver77]

Wow! I can view Bruce B's posts back to 1935 now! "Cast in the 1903 Cal .30 Rifle" You have been at this a while Bruce. ;)
Jay

[waksupi]

Willie, on the old Shooters.com, you could view all posts made in a day, regardless of amount. And, you could keep clicking on "Previous Day" until you had caught up on things. Is that possible here? If someone is gone for a long weekend, they miss out on a lot of stuff!

[Buckshot]

............Waksupi, I hadn't heard anything about it with all this component shortage, hoarding and what not, but I was wondering if your supply of lube grooves had been hit hard?

.................Buckshot

[waksupi]

............Waksupi, I hadn't heard anything about it with all this component shortage, hoarding and what not, but I was wondering if your supply of lube grooves had been hit hard?

.................Buckshot

Buckshot, the back ordered supply is holding up well. I was notified by Fishhawk that he may have located an original batch of Herter's Perfect Guide Quality loob grooves to add to the back order inventory. I suspect the inventory will remain at the same level. Orders have sky rocketed, since I have been including a toohark to every order. If you are not familiar with a toohark, they are a rare fur bearing turtle, only found in north west Montana.

[1Shirt]

Like Wayne the Shrink, I also take my laptop with me when I am on the road, and it is mostly to keep up with the postings and reply on this forum. There is a whale of a lot of wisdom passed on here, along with some good natured fun, and an occaisional meathead response to something. I just ignore the meathead responses and press on!
1Shirt!:coffee:

[KY_Camper]

If you are not familiar with a toohark, they are a rare fur bearing turtle, only found in north west Montana.

But can it sit on a post?

[Jim]

Boy, this thread took off like a shot, didn't it? I found Shooters.com back in '01, I think? Not sure now. I went as Paper Puncher back then. I'm still here for my own reasons as well as the reasons everybody else has.
One thing, no, a few things, among others that impresses me is the patience of the old hats on this forum. The same questions get asked week after week. And like they did for me, they keep answering and explaining things to new members. I really admire that.
I can't really say that I've contributed much to this forum. I sure have learned a lot, though. The one or two times that the light bulb came on for me and I shared it, you'd have thought that I just discovered the formula for black hole dynamics. Made me feel like somebody the way the guys responded.
Probably the biggest thing that I really appreciate on this forum is, like at the range after a shoot, I'm welcome to the tailgate for a cold one, but it's done as if my wife were there with me. Nobody gets vulgar and trashy. I've gotten out of hand a couple of times when my Irish temper got away from me and I got a very gentle and polite PM that my "wording" had "adjusted". That's REALLY impressive to me.
To all the "brass" on this forum, from Ken through all the Mods and all the members that make this forum what it is, thank you all very much. You're a great bunch o' guys. Reach over there in my cooler and getcha a cold Guiness. This one's on me.

[Linstrum]

Speaking of tooharks, I wear an alzohark fur hat!

For those who don't know, the toohark is closely related to the alzohark that lives around here in southern central New Mexico at the higher elevations of the southern-most Rocky Mountains. Like the toohark, it prefers a cooler climate and is not found down on the desert floor of the nearby Tularosa Basin even though enough water is present for it to breed. Like many members of the tortoise family, tooharks, alzoharks, ploharks, and the giant 1/4-ton plocenoharks of the Lesser West Dalpabos Islands imprint on people quite easily when young and make excellent pets.

My alzohark hat is kind of like Davy Crocket's coonskin cap but with a scaly tail like all tortoises and turtles have. The problem with my alzohark hat is that it is difficult to feed the critter while sitting on top of my head, and it does have a rather voracious appetite for Mexican free tail bats (the species of bat that lives in the nearby Badgaswasser Caverns), its primary source of food. The last time I was in Santa Monica, California, I had trouble with an animal rights activist who didn't like the idea of me wearing fur, but I was quite surprised to find out that my pet alzohark is every bit as defensive as a dog when it senses that someone is threatening me, and it nipped the animal rights activist's ear when close to me while attempting to spray me with red paint, like some animal rights activists do. The activist's arm jerked and the red paint ended up in the activist's own hair! The activist ran away with a badly bleeding ear, yelling at me that my fur hat was dangerous. Hypocrite! I yelled back: "No more so than red-paint-spraying animal rights activists! How do you like it when you get red paint in YOUR hair?" Some nearby Yuppies saw the red-paint-covered activist running away from me and thought the miscreant was the one wearing fur because of being covered with red paint, and yelled: "Animal murderer!" Well, it was almost true, my alzohark might have been hurt or even killed in the paint attack! When my alzohark got calmed down, it horked out what was probably a tuft of the activist's hair, then closed its mouth while moving to a more comfortable place on my head and went back to sleep.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I just couldn't resist talking about my alzohark when tooharks got mentioned.


rl602

[qajaq59]

OK, Now I know where my hat went!!! Put him in a box with some food and water and send that runaway back. [smilie=2:

[waksupi]

Speaking of tooharks, I wear an alzohark fur hat!

For those who don't know, the toohark is closely related to the alzohark that lives around here in southern central New Mexico at the higher elevations of the southern-most Rocky Mountains. Like the toohark, it prefers a cooler climate and is not found down on the desert floor of the nearby Tularosa Basin even though enough water is present for it to breed. Like many members of the tortoise family, tooharks, alzoharks, ploharks, and the giant 1/4-ton plocenoharks of the Lesser West Dalpabos Islands imprint on people quite easily when young and make excellent pets.

My alzohark hat is kind of like Davy Crocket's coonskin cap but with a scaly tail like all tortoises and turtles have. The problem with my alzohark hat is that it is difficult to feed the critter while sitting on top of my head, and it does have a rather voracious appetite for Mexican free tail bats (the species of bat that lives in the nearby Badgaswasser Caverns), its primary source of food. The last time I was in Santa Monica, California, I had trouble with an animal rights activist who didn't like the idea of me wearing fur, but I was quite surprised to find out that my pet alzohark is every bit as defensive as a dog when it senses that someone is threatening me, and it nipped the animal rights activist's ear when close to me while attempting to spray me with red paint, like some animal rights activists do. The activist's arm jerked and the red paint ended up in the activist's own hair! The activist ran away with a badly bleeding ear, yelling at me that my fur hat was dangerous. Hypocrite! I yelled back: "No more so than red-paint-spraying animal rights activists! How do you like it when you get red paint in YOUR hair?" Some nearby Yuppies saw the red-paint-covered activist running away from me and thought the miscreant was the one wearing fur because of being covered with red paint, and yelled: "Animal murderer!" Well, it was almost true, my alzohark might have been hurt or even killed in the paint attack! When my alzohark got calmed down, it horked out what was probably a tuft of the activist's hair, then closed its mouth while moving to a more comfortable place on my head and went back to sleep.

I didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I just couldn't resist talking about my alzohark when tooharks got mentioned.


rl602

A very good dissertation on the genus and species, including their range and propensities. A most under rated companion!

[shooterg]

Love this site. BIG THANKS to the guys running it. Used to lurk on shooters and then this site at work before retirement and purchase of a PC - now I too take the laptop to the beach so as not to get behind - and yes, the laptop has been in the "reading room" !
I think I may have a 100 count box of original Ideal lube grooves in a drawer with all my IPCO colloidal graphite wads.....

[No_1]

Those original Ideal Lube Grooves must be "Vintage" if they are from the shooters days. You better hold on to those in case something good comes up for trade.

Robert


Love this site. BIG THANKS to the guys running it. Used to lurk on shooters and then this site at work before retirement and purchase of a PC - now I too take the laptop to the beach so as not to get behind - and yes, the laptop has been in the "reading room" !
I think I may have a 100 count box of original Ideal lube grooves in a drawer with all my IPCO colloidal graphite wads.....

[qajaq59]

Love this site. BIG THANKS to the guys running it. Yup, the reading in here is kind of like what was in the gun magazines in the forties before they turned into "Slicks"..

[Circuit Rider]

Been loadin' 10 yrs, and casting for 2. For years I was on the road 6 to 8 weeks, then home 5 or 6 days. Would have to refresh my loadin' skills each time I was home. Health issues(and age) forced my retirement in Jan. 09 and the knowledge I have gleaned from the various Cast Boolits threads has been immense. You gents know what I'm speaking of because you have been there and show much patience with us rookies. Thanks greatly, Circuit Rider[smilie=s: