Author Topic: Ice in the Virginia mountains  (Read 1840 times)

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Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #30 on: February 11, 2008, 10:59:07 AM »
     Just as I was beginning to look forward to yet another weather report or weather story from around the country, this guy leesecw has to go and hijack this thread.   ;) ;) ;)  He wants to talk about cannons and mortars!  Now who the heck wants to talk about an old and dusty topic like that??  I thought this was the back room at the Weather Channel where they tell those fascinating 'severe weather stories'.  Oh well, now I feel obligated to combine a weather AND a cannon story.  When I attended a school in central Vermont in the late 60s, you could tell how cold it was outside when you heard the squeaks of the leather soled boots on the cold, winter snow as the artillery crew approached the evening gun, a 3" Armstrong Q.F. Breech Loader, after dark, in the winter months.  Squeak, squeak, squeak was good for about -5 deg. F.   Squeeak, squeeak, squeeak meant it was about -15 deg. F. and squeeeak, squeeeak, squeeeak was good for a very chilly -25 deg. F. !

Regards,

Tracy
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #31 on: February 11, 2008, 10:59:48 AM »
     Just as I was beginning to look forward to yet another weather report or weather story from around the country, this guy leesecw has to go and hijack this thread.   ;) ;) ;)  He wants to talk about cannons and mortars!  Now who the heck wants to talk about an old and dusty topic like that??  I thought this was the back room at the Weather Channel where they tell those fascinating 'severe weather stories'.  Oh well, now I feel obligated to combine a weather AND a cannon story.  When I attended a school in central Vermont in the late 60s, you could tell how cold it was outside when you heard the squeaks of the leather soled boots on the cold, winter snow as the artillery crew approached the evening gun, a 3" Armstrong Q.F. Breech Loader, after dark, in the winter months.  Squeak, squeak, squeak was good for about -5 deg. F.   Squeeak, squeeak, squeeak meant it was about -15 deg. F. and squeeeak, squeeeak, squeeeak was good for a very chilly -25 deg. F. !

Regards,

Tracy
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline leesecw

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #32 on: February 11, 2008, 11:08:17 AM »
OK sorry for blabbin. Ill email directly from now on. You guys in here are to darn interesting to talk to
If Guns cause crime, then mine are defective...Ted Nugent

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #33 on: February 11, 2008, 11:11:21 AM »
      Tell us more, we ARE interested; all of the comments above 2X were with "tongue in cheek".

Tracy
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline leesecw

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #34 on: February 11, 2008, 11:20:29 AM »
Regarding the remark from guardsgunner, its not Tim thats responsible for all the stops. If that remark gets back to any of the gal's in that bunch including my buddy Joe Towards mom may you find a remnant of horse artillery in your sock drawer.  I like that bunch alot. I stopped in at Fort Shenandoah this last fall and am looking forward to seeing them up here again this summer. 
If Guns cause crime, then mine are defective...Ted Nugent

Offline 30-06man

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #35 on: February 11, 2008, 04:13:03 PM »
Today it was about 60 degrees all day and we had winds in the 15 mph range. I don't like 18 and being from down south I don't want to feel anything too cold.
The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind

Rick

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #36 on: February 12, 2008, 12:33:44 AM »
     ....  When I attended a school in central Vermont in the late 60s, ...
Regards,
Tracy


Northfield, VT perhaps?

Bought my first M1 from a gunsmith just South of there for $85 back in 1964.  Also spent a number of summers (firing a 1" bore bronze cannon) up North of there in S.Woodbury.

Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
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Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #37 on: February 12, 2008, 07:35:14 AM »
     So when is your mid-winter shoot going to happen, Tim?  Colorado is weird when it comes to weather; we have 10 feet of new snow in an area only 50 miles south of us and it's 45 deg. with no snow here 18 miles north of Denver.  What a small world it is.  You mentioned buying your first M-1 from a gunsmith just south of Northfield, VT in 1964.  What a coincidence!  I bought my one and only Luger from a gunsmith just south of that Vermont town in 1965!  $65.00!! The name I remember is Cappy Chase.  Could he be the same one you dealt with?  In April and May we used to leave Norwich on a Saturday morning at 4 A.M. and go north to Montpelier and take Rt. 14 north thru S. Woodbury and keep on going clear up to Newport and then turn east on 111 to 114 and then north a few miles to Norton Pond in the 'Northeast Kingdom' area of Vermont, a sportsman's paradise.  We left the cannons behind to find TROUT!  Very nice rainbows in that lake.  More than half the roads in Vermont were dirt back then and cows outnumbered people.  It's changed quite a bit, but it is still a fantastic place to visit in the autumn.  A few photos below show the field gun used at the end of every day at the north end of the upper parade ground.


Mike takes a good look at this Armstrong-Whitworth gain twist rifled field gun.



A unique trunnion-capsquare arrangement.



Pretty much tells you everything you might want to know.  I love British markings.


The concussion from this gun used to rattle the windows of my room in Goodyear Hall
every evening during my freshman year.  Two more guns just like this on stood in front
of Goodyear back in those days.  The upperclassmen used to bombard adjacent halls with
empty soda can projectiles propelled by cherry bombs! 

Regards,

Tracy
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline 30-06man

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #38 on: February 12, 2008, 12:11:41 PM »
Rain today. Cool also.
The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind

Rick

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #39 on: February 12, 2008, 03:32:15 PM »
Calm today - a welcome respite after the wind.

Tracy - SMALL world.  Chase was the fellow's name - I just knew him as Mr. Chase as I was still in HS.

We didn't have far to go to fish - about 100 yards from the house a 5 acre pond (40' deep) and another shallow 4acre pond just upstream in the woods.


Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
Cat Whisperer
Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline accuratemike

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Re: Ice on my front steps
« Reply #40 on: February 12, 2008, 05:15:24 PM »
1/4" of ice just fell in my neck of the woods (Cecil County, MD). While I was eating dinner. Saw some friends to the door, ate dinner, took out the trash, fell (HARD) on my back on the front steps. It all fell in about 1/2hr. Took me by surprise. The neurosurgeon knows me  too well already (at least my back, former herniated/ruptured/squshed disc Quasimodo here). We will see if I can move tomorrow. My power is still up (rare in an ice event). Even with this gift, I still know somebody out there has it better.
 I'm actually rooting for global warming. I'm 40' above sea level and near the C&D canal. Things go right, and I can start mooring a boat in the stream that runs through my front yard. Or even enough warming tonight, so I can get in my car tomorrow morning. Enjoy, MIKE

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #41 on: February 13, 2008, 01:33:34 AM »
OUCH - Mike -

I can FEEL your pain!

Reminds me of when coming down the stairs and felt cat under my foot - ended up flat on my back on the stairs - didn't move for 10 minutes out of fear -

Hope y'all get through it with minimal pain/damage!

Rain here this morning - much needed.

Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
Cat Whisperer
Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline lance

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #42 on: February 13, 2008, 02:58:05 PM »
...
 When are you guys coming up here to grayling?

That sounds like a 'good-weather' type of venture!

Keep us posted on events/dates.

'eh Lance - this summer?  Road trip?


Tim, Road trip to Grayling would be fun, there is a summer up there right? I can tell you about some summers in the Colorado mountains, but i know nothing about Michigan. Any Flea markets on the way? oh, don't want to get too far of topic,right now- bitter cold 22deg with light snow flurries,really just a dusting.
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Offline 30-06man

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #43 on: February 13, 2008, 05:04:21 PM »
It was cloudy and it rained some today and its cool outside now. I feel during our last big snow and it hurt quite bad and I stayed there for about 10mins.
The sportsman lives his life vicariously. For he secretly yearns to have lived before, in a simpler time. A time when his love for the land, water, fish and wildlife would be more than just part of his life. It would be his state of mind

Rick

Offline leesecw

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Re: Ice in the Virginia mountains
« Reply #44 on: February 14, 2008, 05:05:41 PM »
Regarding the trip to Michigan. if you get up this way, you might want to check out da trip across da bridge. Any of us that live under the bridge including lower michigan and any other state are reffered to as  da troll's. The fine music of Da "yoopers can be heard on most radio stations up here with da classic "The 2nd week of Deer camp. You can go to
http://www.dayoopers.com
Visit the tourist trap and museum and view the pics of Big Gus which makes your home chain saw look weak  "diesel engine on dat big boy" and if you are a blackpowder enthusiast, stick around for a shot from Big Ernie.  if you've ever seen the movie "Fargo" Yahhhh, we do talk like dat up here" 
If Guns cause crime, then mine are defective...Ted Nugent