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Post by captbart on Jul 2, 2015 13:13:22 GMT -5
OK, this is a 'real' gun moment. Last fall, the family got together in Tennessee just before I had surgery. We stayed in a great cabin in the Smokies and had a great time. We were warned that the dry summer had left little food for the bears so we needed to be careful with trash and walking around so as not to have a bear encounter of the worse kind. They were coming out of the hills hungry.
The day we were packing up to leave, I went to the car and heard a grunting and moving around in the woods across the road. The people who moved into the cabin next to us overnight had not bothered to put their trash in the bear proof containers so a big black bear was dining on their garbage. I told all of our folks to stay inside while I tried to scare the bear off with car horn, yelling etc. The new guys came out and this one woman decided to go pet the bear! She thought it would be OK because she LOVED nature and would never HURT the bear! She refused to listen to me tell her to get back inside until I pulled my 1911, loaded with a bear load, held it where she could see it and told her if she didn't get inside, I was going to kill the bear.
She call the police and complained that I had threatened to kill the "protected" animal. When the police arrived and talked to her, they came over to me and wanted to know my side of the story. After telling them the story I was asked why I didn't just threaten to shoot her - that way it would remove the problem and save the bear at the same time. I could see the logic in his thoughts but complained the paper work would have been excessive. He thought it might have been worth it anyway.
Fortunately, no intelligent creature was harmed (the woman was ok as well) and the bear was herded back into the wilderness area. That is the closest I've come to having to use a firearm for "score" in a long time. Not a worm but a 400 -500 lb. black bear could really mess up your day.
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Post by captbart on Jul 2, 2015 13:17:47 GMT -5
Now for a 'reel' gun moment. I was watching 'Winchester 73' - the original with Jimmy Stewart - and I caught the scene here Stewart shoots Waco Johnny Dean near the end of the show. The bad guys fires multiple times into the ground with a Colt SAA and never cocks the single action once! Very disappointing.
Since I am hoping to be back more often, I'll try to keep looking for these moments. Share your 'real' or 'reel' gun moments and let's talk.
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John Mortimore
New Egg
We plan ahead, that way we don't have to do anything right now. Earl explained it to me.
Posts: 60
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Post by John Mortimore on Jul 2, 2015 13:18:51 GMT -5
Wow, some people are crazy. I can't believe someone would think that they could pet a wild bear.
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Post by captbart on Jul 3, 2015 11:54:14 GMT -5
Wow, some people are crazy. I can't believe someone would think that they could pet a wild bear. John, No kidding. I am not an expert in bears but WOW! The topper was that she was from Texas (I assume an import - I can't believe a native Texan would be that dumb but you never know) and really should have known that wild animals don't care how you "feel" or what you "visualize"! I really sympathize with Burt's oft repeated "WILL YOU PEOPLE NEVER LEARN?".
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Post by tressdady51 on Jul 4, 2015 0:52:37 GMT -5
Wow, some people are crazy. I can't believe someone would think that they could pet a wild bear. John, No kidding. I am not an expert in bears but WOW! The topper was that she was from Texas (I assume an import - I can't believe a native Texan would be that dumb but you never know) and really should have known that wild animals don't care how you "feel" or what you "visualize"! I really sympathize with Burt's oft repeated "WILL YOU PEOPLE NEVER LEARN?". "will you ever learn?" thats awesome
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Post by captbart on Sept 20, 2015 13:14:28 GMT -5
A "reel" moment - I just watched John Wayne in STAGECOACH. During the final Indian battle the sheriff does some really great shooting - looks like maybe 300 to 400 yards with a shot gun loaded but buck shot! While I'm well aware that a shotgun is good out to 50 yards with shot and 100 (maybe 150 -200 if your MUCH better than me) hitting a moving target from a moving, bouncing coach with a coach gun (sawed off barrels) is a bit more than I can accept.
While I'm well aware that 'the Duke can do no wrong' I do know that in his movies firearm history is not even considered. A shame but that is truth.
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Post by timforston on Sept 25, 2015 11:03:56 GMT -5
Very true. I was raised by my grandmother and I love westerns. (Have Gun Will Travel ROCKS) But alas any truth about firearm history is irrelevant to a classic western.
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Post by captbart on Sept 26, 2015 17:21:15 GMT -5
Timforston,
With rare exception you are right. The classic westerns (1930's until about the 1990's) are almost all bad historically. The movies of Tom Sellick (spelling ?) and some of Clint Eastwood's stuff (Outlaw Josey Wales) and the modern Louie LaAmor based movies (Shadow Riders, Conager, Crossfire trail, Quick and the Dead) are pretty good but the rest are not so good. I've not seen Deadwood or End of Track or any other the other "based on reality" western TV series so I can't speak to them. Still a bad western is better than NO western ... I guess - I did watch Aliens Vs Cowboys. That was SO BAD but I did enjoy the silly thing but then I like bad, Japanese monster movies so what can I say?
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Post by captbart on Jun 28, 2016 19:34:23 GMT -5
I am in the middle of watching the movies again. I notice that Burt grows some as a prepper in the movies. In T1 he spends much of the movie without even a side arm! Rifles are first choice but there are times when a side arm is your only option.
A truly prepared person is NEVER without a firearm, a sharp edge (knife), and a way to start a fire. Under the heading of a REAL GUN moment -
A handgun's purpose is to allow you to fight your way back to where you never should have left your rifle. I believe that was from Jeff Cooper, Col. USMC Ret. and father of a great many shooting innovations.
My personal rule of thumb is you should always carry a handgun that answers the following question:
Where the hell did that (insert name of least favorite predator here) come from and how did it get so bloody close?
I find that a .45 usually answers that quite nicely but generally .357 Mag, .44 Spl, or any caliber above ..40. I have bear loads for both my .45 Colt and my .357 Mag.
Just a little food for thought - what ARE you going to do if you run into a cougar, wolf, pack of dogs running wild, rabid anything while taking out the trash tonight?
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Post by captbart on Jun 29, 2016 13:38:10 GMT -5
OK, REEL moment: Tremors 2, Burt tells Earl "Do you know she (Heather) actually blames our problems on the collapse of the Soviet Union. She said I was too hard to live with without the threat of global war!" A trained and equipped individual had given up when the reason (the why - Heather) and the what (survive global war) went away. The call from Earl gave Burt a new why (help a friend) and a new what (Graboids are still a threat to be defeated).
Real moment: A fighter pilot in Alaska had an engine failure in flight. He radioed a Mayday but got no response. He managed to glide his aircraft to a safe, dead stick landing at an emergency field. Almost an impossibility in an F-106 but this guy was GOOD. When the rescue team got there two hours later they found the pilot, still strapped into the seat of his undamaged aircraft, dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound. His Mayday was received but he just did not know it and facing a long term survival situation with no help (he thought) on the way was more than he could face. A fully trained and equipped individual with shelter available (the undamaged aircraft) did not see a way to survive.
The moral is that the "why and what" of survival can be at least as important as the how. A trained individual with a reason to live (beyond just living) can survive with almost nothing. Burt gained a reason from Earl's call for help.
Give a well trained individual a blade of some type and the odds are in their favor. Read Louis L'Amour's "Last of the Breed" as an example. Now that I am 67, partially crippled, and retired the reasons for prepping are different than they were when I was 30 with kids at home. The requirements have also changed. Walking out is much less a viable option for me now so I'm looking at a motor coach as a "bug out" method. That is just one of the adaptations I've made for changing circumstance.
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Post by Mr.ELBlanco on Jul 2, 2016 15:37:41 GMT -5
OK, REEL moment: Tremors 2, Burt tells Earl "Do you know she (Heather) actually blames our problems on the collapse of the Soviet Union. She said I was too hard to live with without the threat of global war!" A trained and equipped individual had given up when the reason (the why - Heather) and the what (survive global war) went away. The call from Earl gave Burt a new why (help a friend) and a new what (Graboids are still a threat to be defeated). Real moment: A fighter pilot in Alaska had an engine failure in flight. He radioed a Mayday but got no response. He managed to glide his aircraft to a safe, dead stick landing at an emergency field. Almost an impossibility in an F-106 but this guy was GOOD. When the rescue team got there two hours later they found the pilot, still strapped into the seat of his undamaged aircraft, dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound. His Mayday was received but he just did not know it and facing a long term survival situation with no help (he thought) on the way was more than he could face. A fully trained and equipped individual with shelter available (the undamaged aircraft) did not see a way to survive. The moral is that the "why and what" of survival can be at least as important as the how. A trained individual with a reason to live (beyond just living) can survive with almost nothing. Burt gained a reason from Earl's call for help. Give a well trained individual a blade of some type and the odds are in their favor. Read Louis L'Amour's "Last of the Breed" as an example. Now that I am 67, partially crippled, and retired the reasons for prepping are different than they were when I was 30 with kids at home. The requirements have also changed. Walking out is much less a viable option for me now so I'm looking at a motor coach as a "bug out" method. That is just one of the adaptations I've made for changing circumstance. Thats a pretty sad story about the pilot, thats too bad. If only he waited a little longer even. I think a vehicle like that is a good option as you can fit a lot more gear on it then carrying.
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Post by captbart on Jul 3, 2016 9:47:54 GMT -5
Yes, very sad. The mindset can kill you. Another "real" story from WW2, in one of the German camps there was a man that decided they would be liberated by a certain date. When that date arrived and they were not liberated, he died that night. What was especially sad was that they could hear the allied guns only a few miles off and the camp was liberated a few days later. Other stories of survival tell of folks making it for extended times, against long odds because they simply refuse to give up. Hugh Glass was mauled by a Grizzly and left for dead. In 1823 he was a member of a mountain man party and everyone knew we would die. He managed to craw 250 miles or so, survived and went on to other exploits. (full story - www.historynet.com/hugh-glass-the-truth-behind-the-revenant-legend.htm) He simply refused to die. Oh, a "reel" moment from Tremors 1 and others - this is one of those things I understand but it does detract from a film. In the basement, when Burt is shooting in full auto, the gun recoil does not match the muzzle flash in every case. Obviously, Burt is shaking the gun and the film makers add the flash and sound in the studio. Same thing actually happens in a John Wayne movie, "El Dorado", the first time Mississippi fires his shotgun. Probably doesn't bother anyone but a gun nut but ....
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Post by Mr.ELBlanco on Jul 4, 2016 1:02:38 GMT -5
I would like to think I would not give up in those situations. Yes, some things in movies gun related can bug a gun nut. If you have not seen them, I suggest you check out "Collateral" and "The Way of the Gun" Those are two movies in my collection that have very good firearms handling in them.
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Post by captbart on Jul 4, 2016 10:45:24 GMT -5
Thanks, EB. I'll check them out. I wrote on a survival blog for a while and I was amazed at the number of people who modeled their survival strategies from movies. Trying to explain that while the totally unprepared guy survived in the movie, that was a "MOVIE" and in real life very few unprepared types actually make it. I am intrigued by the mall ninjas who own a cool looking gun and plan to use it to take stuff from those who have something they need/want. I've never quite understood why they assume that part of a preppers preparation is the means to defend what they have acquired for survival. The folks who plan to become MZBs better hope they never come upon a real survivalist like Burt. Their survival time is measured by the time of flight of a high velocity slug.
When you are quite literally playing "you bet your life" do you really want to be totally unprepared. I absolutely sympathize with Burt's oft repeated "I keep trying to tell you..." Folks never seem to learn.
REAL moment: While blogging I had one person who was going to "practice" his "survival skills" by walking off into the woods, by himself, with nothing but a knife and no one knowing where he was going. I finally got it through to him that what he was doing was not practice. He was deliberately putting himself into a life or death situation to see if he was good enough to make it out! He finally understood that if you do not have a plan B and a plan C then you are not practicing and a failing grade means death!
As in "Night of the Shriekers" - "Backup backup generator". There are all kinds of mantras for survival but one I really like is "Two is one and one is none". If your life depends on it, if you only have one of an item you are betting your life it works as advertised.
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Post by Mr.ELBlanco on Jul 7, 2016 12:30:48 GMT -5
Thats not the first time I've heard someone say the prepared guy dies in a movie, I am not totally prepared, I'll admit that-I do have plans though and they don't involve taking things off others. I also grow my own food now. I think putting yourself at risk just to see if you can is pretty reckless, especially not with a real plan that makes any sense of not dying if you don't do so well on the test. Night of the Shriekers was a great episode, it was a very survivalist Burt episode.
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