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What are some of your obscure hobbies or interests?


Chantry

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I've been dabbling in military history since I was about 10, but the past 5 years or so I have been focusing on the Gurkhas and the British Indian Army.  Mostly during WWII, but to a lesser degree, WWI and the various campaigns along the Northwest Frontier.

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Depends on what you mean by "obscure" - by one definition, CAS is fairly obscure.

 

But I've also just started a small collection of 19th century firearms.   Small in two ways - (1) I only have two, and (2) they're a Thurber Allen Pepperbox and a Smith & Wesson Model 1.   Was inspired while reading "Roughing It" by Mark Twain.   Those who know the book will know what's next on my list.

 

 

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A different part of the shooting hobby started many years ago when I got an M1 Garand from CMP. Turns out it had been issued to the USMC in January 44. A friend suggested I find a GI Joe with a Marine uniform and Garand. I did, and it continued with other arms acquired over the years, including Japanese, Italian, French, German, Russian and now old West figures.

I also love playing tabletop skirmish games like Battletech.

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Growing up, I enjoyed reading books. I would get2 or 3 books a week from the library and rather then many hours in front of the TV, I spent it reading. For Christmas and Birthdays my parents got me the Whitman Juvenile books which only cost 49 cents each. Many were based on TV shows and many were Classics.  Over the decades I had room in my office for bookshelves and whenever I find a title I don't have, I buy it and add to my collection. I have over 200 now and started savoring them again. 

Now that my Military Flight Helmet, and canteen collection is almost gone and only a couple WW2 German hats left. I have taken a renewed interest in these books as well as Whitman's Little Big Book to add.

My neighbor is into Marx Playsets and has a room in which he has them wall to wall. My wife recently said after seeing the neighbors littered room and collection, "I'm glad you went into books, at least I can read them also".

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I collect molds, spores, and fungus. 

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I have had several HO and N scale model train layouts over the years, but they were really just an excuse to buy scale models of vehicles from the golden period of railroading, the late 40s until the late 50s. Most are trucks, preferring tractor trailers and Kenworth then Mack tractors. They dont take up much space displayed over my reloading bench and on a couple of bookcases. We are in the process of moving so all that is packed up for now.

 

Imis

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I collect medals and decorations of the British/Commonwealth and the U.S. gallantry decorations.   

These are the insignia of The Order of Canada in the degrees of Companion. Officer and Member

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Other than guns, reloading, motorcycling and my roadster I really don't have any other hobbies. I do plan to take up fishing and hunting again once I get out of The People's Utopia. 

 

None of my hobbies would be classed as "obscure". I did used to collect 1:37 scale model cars but once my collection reached 3 cars the supply dried up. :lol:

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Toupee spottin'.  It ain't as easy as it looks.  My wife and I indulge in amateur genealogy, which can include traipsing through old cemeteries looking for graves of relatives we never met.  I also don one of my kilts and go to Highland Games to sell memberships to my clan association.

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1 hour ago, Bart Slade said:

Depends on what you mean by "obscure" - by one definition, CAS is fairly obscure.

 

 

My first thought, also. Seems whenever I mention it, I'm asked, "What's that?"

 

1 hour ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I collect molds, spores, and fungus. 

 

I did, until I became allergic, Egon.

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1 hour ago, Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 said:

Pig's feet. Don't be fooled by imitators like Hormel. It has to be Big John's. :lol::blink:

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I have a number of hobbies, I just can't think of any that one would call obscure. Other than shooting Cowboy Action, I suppose the big ones at this point are Kenpo, scale model building and amateur radio. Otherwise, I mostly just dabble in things. I jokingly told my wife the other day that my SASS alias should have been "Doc Dilettante."

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Depends on what period of life it was, or is, for me. Most hobbies, for me, are kind of like a slow moving target. Kind of interesting at first but gets boring over time.

 

 

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One of my lesser hobbies has been building scale model WW2 warships and aircraft. Unfortunately it's something I rarely do anymore because I have nowhere to put them afterwards. My man cave is full of shelves crammed with dusty old battleships and airplanes.

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I've always been into woodworking but several years ago, I got interested in woodturning.   Then I went off down the segmented woodturning rabbit hole.  That's where you cut exotic wood up into little pieces and glue them together, spin them up to 1000+ rpms and shape them with a razor sharp chisel.  It's a great way to pass a pandemic.

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9 minutes ago, Badlands Bob #61228 said:

I've always been into woodworking but several years ago, I got interested in woodturning.   Then I went off down the segmented woodturning rabbit hole.  That's where you cut exotic wood up into little pieces and glue them together, spin them up to 1000+ rpms and shape them with a razor sharp chisel.  It's a great way to pass a pandemic.

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That clean shop puts you out of my league!  V. nice work, BTW. 

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I have one example of every lever action rifle (no carbines) made by Winchester from 1860 to 1900, starting with:

 

1. 1860 Henry made by New Haven Arms Company, a company owned pretty much 100% by Oliver Winchester. (Uberti .44-40 - E.M.F. )

 

2. 1866, the first Winchester marked rifle. (Uberti .44-40 - E.M.F.)

 

3. 1773 Winchester (Uberti  44-40 - Allen Arms )

 

4. 1876 Winchester (Chaparral Arms .45-60)

 

5. 1886 Winchester (Browning Arms .45-70)

 

6. 1892 Winchester (Rossi? .45 Colt - E.M.F.)

 

7. 1894 Winchester ( the only real Winchester in the lot .30 WCF)

 

8. Winchester 1895 (Browning Arms .30 U.S. Krag)

 

Just for my own satisfaction and some minor bragging rights.  :D

 

I also have accumulated a bushel of little pocket / vest pocket / big coat pocket pistols from .22 short to .44 rim fire "Hammond Bulldog".  Again, just because and for some bragging rights.  :D 

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Obscure hobbies:

 

- History -- Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW2, ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient Israel

- coin collecting -- 19th and 20th century U.S. coins, ancient Roman coins

- collecting mid-19th century American firearms

- bullet casting

- umpiring baseball

 

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I collect, in a desultory fashion over the years, classic brass camping and hiking stoves. Most of these are kerosene fueled, but not all, and most of them are of Swedish design and manufacture, but, again, not all. I think I now have about 60 of such stoves.

 

Brands such as Primus, Optimus, and Svea; along with many others. They are often referred to generically as "primus stoves".

 

This folds into an overall hobby of what I would call traditional outdoorsmanship. I use classic stoves and gear on backpacking trips.

 

I was a fanatic Nordic/XC skier for 30 years, and amassed a sort-of collection of traditional Nordic skis, but find these last two seasons that it's at last getting too hard for me; pretty strenuous overall skiing uphill....

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It's really more my wife with my help but we have a couple of Nubian milk goats.  She's getting better and more consistent making cheese. Ive made yogurt too. We drink a lot too. I have a buddy who I bring a jug to when we shoot a match.

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I guess playing my drums and guitar and piano are hobbies now that I don’t play in a band anymore.
 

I played drums for years and made a decent living. I also taught drums privately. No more though!

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I collect tons of stuff. Vinyl albums, (especially Classic Blue Note Jazz), knives, comics, movies, and guns.

 

But, my "unusual" collection is my Lego Star Wars minifigures. I have been a Star Wars geek since when my mom took me to see the Original Star Wars on opening day 05-25-1977 for my B-day. It was my first indoor movie. I started collecting the Kenner Star Wars toys (which I still have) when they came out up until they stopped. Then I swithed to the Legos upon their initial release in 1999 and have been buying them ever since. They are getting more and more valuable everyday  I used to collect the complete sets, but I started running out of room so I condensed most of those down to just the figures.

 

JEL  

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I have several hobbies/interests that keep me off the streets chasing wild women.  Those are S&W double-action revolvers, reading military history, 15mm miniature historical wargaming, and for the last year I’ve taken up the hobby/interest of smoking a pipe.

 

Miniature Wargaming

Since 1982, I’ve been collecting, painting, and wargaming with 15mm miniature WW2 figures and predominantly 15mm Napoleonic figures.  Also I do miniature wargaming with 1:1200 scale ships of the fighting sail period (circa 1750-1815).  I have my little battles on either a 6x4 foot or an 8x6 foot table.

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Pipe Smoking

Last May, 2021, I asked the wife, Sharon, if she would object too much if I started smoking a pipe again.  I last smoked a pipe about 50 years ago.  Sharon didn’t object but asked that I don’t smoke in the house.  Now I have a dozen pipes and several blends of pipe tobacco that I enjoy out on the patio.  I don’t inhale and figure at the age of 75, something other than pipe smoking will put me under.  I again enjoy this hobby/interest. 

 

My wife gave me this Danish made Neerup pipe for Christmas, 2021.

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2 hours ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

Gun collecting, antique ammunition collecting, and monitoring my retirement calendar...1409997788_retirement52622.thumb.JPG.8850cffc707c0ae9b0d17f3af09947bd.JPG

 

 

I have one of these. Mine has 9 more days on it that yours. 08-06-2024

 

JEL

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52 minutes ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

I have several hobbies/interests that keep me off the streets chasing wild women.

Well, Welcome Back! :)

 

I think you forgot 2 hobbies.

1. Having some of the nicest classic Smith & Wesson revolvers I have seen - not obscure, but very cool. 
2. Taking on hoards of baby carrots with your cannons. :D

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