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Post by enakan on Apr 8, 2019 18:56:30 GMT
I'm trying not to talk about the book because I don't want to spoil it for anyone else! Funston is a bit of a loose cannon, isn't he? To the Easterners! For Texas, they need anything and everything they can get! Finagle all you can get!!! Send those other motivated upstarts down there too! GO TEXAS!!!
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Post by scottwashburn on Apr 8, 2019 18:57:18 GMT
Glad you liked it! I cannot take credit for anything here beyond some of the basic plot lines. Jonathan found or created all the new characters himself. He is a wonderful writer and I was so happy when he agreed to help out with the Great Martian War. I seem to recall the Winchester coming up in our discussions and I think it was legit. Could be wrong, it's been a while. Oh, actually I'm wrong I did sort of write one scene. When Funston and Lang go to Washington to demand more help, it was the exact same scene which appears in "Counterattack!" (Book 3) with much of the same dialogue, except it is from Lang's point of view rather than Wood's.
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Post by enakan on Apr 8, 2019 19:01:57 GMT
Thought it was, went back and looked it up (dialogue). "Smelled" terribly familiar! I won't say anything else about the cast of the book, but for the second one, I'm sure the "other" troublemakers will show up?
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 9, 2019 8:10:44 GMT
yes, G. Woods was quiet figure in his time. Bell actually tried to sue him over the invention And Lost!
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Post by scottwashburn on Apr 9, 2019 10:58:09 GMT
I will have to ask if they really have a Winchester chambered for 30-06? I asked Jonathan about that and he said that the ones issued to the Texas Rangers are/were the Model 1895, box magazine fed in .30-06 (which gets around the risk of spitzer bullets in a tubular magazine; this box model was manufactured in several military and hunting calibres for quite a few years and can be seen in many photos of Rangers of the period).
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Post by hardlec on Apr 9, 2019 13:15:45 GMT
Now I have to find one. Winchester makes shootin' irons better than Springfield.
Totally off topic: Rural King, a chain out here in the Styx, sells new model 1903 and model M1 Springfield rifles. Both are popular for wild hogs. I have a friend who wants me to come with him to the Everglades. There is a bounty on giant pythons there. A Winchester is a bit handier than a Springfield, but to take a Python, I want something more powerful than a 30-30. With snakes and gators, you have to kill 'em, then let them figure out they're dead. I was saving up for a 1903.
Pythons are an invasive species. So are the wild pigs. Both are only slightly less of a problem than Martians. I can't stalk pigs any more, but I can still shoot. Pythons are hunted by people from air-boats. They most certainly do not taste like chicken.
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Post by scottwashburn on Apr 9, 2019 14:18:24 GMT
I've been wanting an '03 for a while now. I have an M1 Garand and an M1 Carbine, but I want the Springfield to complete the collection. I almost bought one last November, but it had a serial number that corresponded with the batch that supposedly has metallurgical problems which make them dangerous to fire. The seller said that's all nonsense, but I've seen multiple sources referring to the problem, so I balked.
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Post by enakan on Apr 9, 2019 14:22:36 GMT
Now I have to find one. Winchester makes shootin' irons better than Springfield. Totally off topic: Rural King, a chain out here in the Styx, sells new model 1903 and model M1 Springfield rifles. Both are popular for wild hogs. I have a friend who wants me to come with him to the Everglades. There is a bounty on giant pythons there. A Winchester is a bit handier than a Springfield, but to take a Python, I want something more powerful than a 30-30. With snakes and gators, you have to kill 'em, then let them figure out they're dead. I was saving up for a 1903. Pythons are an invasive species. So are the wild pigs. Both are only slightly less of a problem than Martians. I can't stalk pigs any more, but I can still shoot. Pythons are hunted by people from air-boats. They most certainly do not taste like chicken. You know once a year you get the discount for firearms too at Rural King? I go there a lot, our local store gives veterans 15% discount. This applies to most items except firearms. But around Christmas, they have an annual gun sale where I think you get 10% off on guns too.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 9, 2019 22:29:28 GMT
Does the 15% cover ammo? Same for the 10%? In any case, careful hunting pythons; they favor terrain that favors them and can be damn fast to strike if you've too close. And any size snake can kill someone depending on circumstances. I once saw a man die from a bite of a 'two-step', so named for the speed in which you die from its bite.
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Post by hardlec on Apr 10, 2019 3:22:53 GMT
Snakes are difficult to hunt, yes. Pythons hide very well. The trick is to keep them out of the boat until you're ready for them. While they don't have venom they have a terrible bite and an 8 foot python can crush the life out of a human. They have been known to eat wild pigs. Cottonmouths are not quite as venomous as a two step, but they are deadly as well. All the ERs and urgent care places in FL stock anti-venom. Cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. So, in FL I tend to keep a weapon handy.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 10, 2019 8:14:14 GMT
Yes, I once worked for Parks & Recreation (before the show of coarse), using a big tractor to cut the huge acres of grass fields. Often dodging very mad bubblebees btw. The was a large lake on the property and several other employees and my supervisor were called to investigate a sighting of a snake around on tree that hung out over the water. At its base we found a nest of cottonmouths!! Everyone managed to get away and we came back with lots of shotguns to discover the vipers. The thought of those things loose on the public at a park was chilling. In Kentucky, they stock Eastern Diamondback, Cottonmouth, and Cooperhead anti-venom. Of coarse, if you're bite by a coral snake, you SOL.
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Post by scottwashburn on Apr 10, 2019 11:23:34 GMT
At first I thought this thread was getting really off-topic, but the thought suddenly struck me about how the Martians would deal with deadly types of Earthly animals? They would probably have no real problem with lions and tigers and bears, since they are large, easy to spot, and look pretty dangerous. But smaller stuff like poisonous snakes and insects might come as a very unpleasant surprise to them. Just like microscopic diseases, such things had probably disappeared from Mars ages ago. And while the defenses of a Martian holdfast can keep out humans and larger animals, how long before snakes and spiders start taking up residence in various hidey-holes inside? Hmmm, have to work that into future stories...
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Post by enakan on Apr 10, 2019 12:13:13 GMT
I had to relearn my local biology when I retired down here to Florida,
Had maybe some small rattlers up in the Midwest, nothing like down here. I have a family of blacksnakes in our fern bed, love them, they take care of a lot of pests plus they keep the venomous ones at a distance. At least my neighbor told me that! They're too fast for them!
But down at Mt. Dora had a close encounter with some cottonmouths, down by their lake.
Move fast!
I can see you working them into some stories Scott, you always hear of them nesting up in basements or here, crawlspaces. I don't think a Martian would have time for an "Oh S***" moment before getting multiple bites!
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Post by David N.Tanner 07011959 on Apr 11, 2019 1:14:13 GMT
Yes, I once worked for Parks & Recreation (before the show of coarse), using a big tractor to cut the huge acres of grass fields. Often dodging very mad bubblebees btw. The was a large lake on the property and several other employees and my supervisor were called to investigate a sighting of a snake around on tree that hung out over the water. At its base we found a nest of cottonmouths!! Everyone managed to get away and we came back with lots of shotguns to discover the vipers. The thought of those things loose on the public at a park was chilling. In Kentucky, they stock Eastern Diamondback, Cottonmouth, and Cooperhead anti-venom. Of coarse, if you're bite by a coral snake, you SOL. I was bitten, more like nipped, by a Coral Snake. I had mistaken it for a King Snake and took it home to show my Mom. She nearly fainted. She asked me if I'd been bitten, l of course said no. My arm went numb up to my elbow, but it cleared up after a few hours. Coral Snakes don't have fangs, so they really have to chew on you to kill you.
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Post by madmorgan on Apr 11, 2019 8:07:57 GMT
Yes, just like the Gila Monster of the Texas area. I used the name Gila for one of my TX armored cars versions. You were very lucky it didn't get a hold of you. I can't remember the ditty for telling the difference of the pattern.
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