Abilene Slim SASS 81783

I’ve been exposed to violent death since I was six years old, with the loss of a number my Navy pilot father’s squadron mates who were also fathers to my classmates and friends. They were Cold War warrior deaths, that were not to be acknowledged, much less celebrated. After my father’s death, my mother married another who has since passed. He’s buried in the same St. Louis cemetery, a short stone’s throw or less from Gen. William T. Sherman. One has a large memorial, Don has a marker. Neither knows they are neighbors, nor does it matter to them. Funerals and memorials are an indulgence for the living, and hopefully give the survivors a sense of peace and closure. I guarantee it doesn’t matter a whit to the deceased.

I toss all of the .38sp CBC brass in the trash. Virtually none of it will pass the case gauge test.

What finagling did you do?

I did that, but English isn’t among the many languages offered. Suggestions?

My apologies for a fat finger on a phone. Shoulda been 5 13/16” for the flask length.

gotcha. Typical pistol loads are 18-30 gr for a 44 cal pistol. I shoot 21 gr. Some folks like warthog loads for their dragoon or Walker with 36+ gr, so add an 1/8” or so to the 30 gr measure below. I don’t have a precise dimension because my next size up from 30 is 48 gr. Mine with the 18 gr spout is 7 5/16” OAL 21 gr: 7 9/16” OAL 30 gr: 7 11/16” OAL Hope this helps!

Yul, the OAL with the longest spout I have (84gr) is 8 5/16”. The cylinder without any spout is 5 13/16”. The brand is Traditions. As I recall, it came from Dixie Gun Works.

You must live in a special time zone because I’ve never witnessed what you describe.

Break out your stop watch. I did one night when I was really bored when the news was on.

The program is incidental as it’s just filler between commercials. Seriously folks, commercials consume 50 percent of broadcast TV. That 1/2 hour news program you watch has 15 minutes of commercials. Same for everything else. Sporting events are even worse. I’m all in for a potty break, but I don’t need one every 5 or 6 minutes. No wonder the nation has ADD. And let’s not forget the pop-up ads that blot out the screen while the show is on…

The Kansas City Chiefs are moving from KC, Missouri, where they’ve been since they arrived in the early 60’s as the former Dallas Texans, across the state line to my state of Kansas. Our goobernater Laura Kelly and her co-conspirators conducted this deal in total secrecy with owner Clark Hunt and no doubt, the NFL. There were no hearings, no possibility for public input and no ballot measure on which us voters could weigh in at the polls for this $2.7 billion scam. It was announced a little over a month ago. Here you go, taxpayers, another gift to a multi-billionaire without your consent. The Chiefs have been the beneficiary of state, county and city $ billions over their residency. And for that support, Clark Hunt and his minions said, we need more. You need to build us a new stadium or we’ll leave. When local leaders said for the first time in memory, “the price is too high for this shakedown”, Kansas said, “Please come here! We want to be taken advantage of too, and lavish you with other people’s money, because we have low self-esteem just like the other cities!” Can’t wait for the next sales tax increase to make this nightmare a reality. Oops, almost forgot this little tidbit. The state of Kansas will have its own luxury suite at the new stadium. Think they’ll let this little old taxpayer sit there? Yeah, I know…

Indiana is giving the Bears $2 billion for a stadium at taxpayer expense that Illinois would not. Look at Hammond, IN on a map. The Bears aren’t exactly leaving. It’s more like the NY Giants and Jets moving to New Jersey.

This ^^^

Dave, I’m assuming you’re wondering about your newly acquired .44-40? Unlike the ‘73s in .38/.357 which accommodate a wide range of lengths, it can be finicky with cartridges loaded at or very near maximum OAL. Some.44-40 bullets can put you at the max which can cause feeding hiccups when picking up the cartridge from the mag tube. Sounds like you have a cartridge that’s working well.

I have an adjustable bar for my MEC 650 that sits in a drawer. Bought it brand new. It required constant fiddling and I don’t think I was ever able to load a single box of shells without interruption. I went back to the regular charge bars and never looked back.

Can’t look at the article without signing up.

You get what you pay for. The Phonaks I have were spendy, but anything less wouldn’t have solved my problem. Without hearing aids, I’m functionally deaf.

Pat, I can’t make out the text above the octane rating on the fuel grade buttons. Can you make them out and share?

I’m old enough to remember when Sunoco, a brand long gone from our market, had 101 octane gas for those behemoth engines in the late 60s. All we can get here is 87, 89 and 91. In neighboring Colorado the low end is 85. Not sure if 91 is available. I believe the 85 octane is 20 percent ethanol, vs 10 percent in 87. The only 100 octane gas I’m aware of now is the avgas I put in the planes I flew.

Yup, your Miata and Kawasaki need the higher octane in order to run properly. Note that it’s 91, which is the highest octane available in many markets. If they required higher octane, they’d lose sales for lack of available fuel.

So you’re saying that the fuel line hose on my Honda mower engine, is made from a different material than an engine bought in a state where non-ethanol gas is available? And that Honda and replacement parts mfrs keep tabs on the different markets where gasoline blends vary? That would be a logistical nightmare. We’re talking lawnmower equipment here, not flex fuel autos.

My lawn equipment has been running great on the stuff for over 25 years. Those things deteriorate over time regardless. I'm not worried about it.

Can’t buy non-ethanol fuel here. I don’t know why anyone would need to, outside of specific uses like racing. IMO, it’s a total waste of money for a small, low-tech engine like a lawnmower designed for cheap, low octane gas.

I read many years ago that if an engine wasn’t specifically designed to take advantage of premium gas, buying it was a waste of money. My walk-behind lawn mower is 25 years old and my 2-stroke blower, string trimmer and small garden tiller are even older. All were designed for 87 octane gas. Premium fuel has a higher, not lower flashpoint. Higher octane rating means it resists detonation from the increased heat resulting from high compression.