Plenty to Lose

That's great, RP! Bet you can tell a difference already. Are you getting some exercise? Or just eating better and less?

Margaret

That's great, RP! Bet you can tell a difference already. Are you getting some exercise? Or just eating better and less?

Margaret

Exercise, eating better, etc. Lifestyle changes.

I took a look at that BMI calculator. At 6' 2" and 205 lbs it says I'm 26.something BMI and 10 lbs. overweight. That BMI is pretty tough. :evil:

Ric,

Don't you have that big shotgun?
Yep. Funny you should ask about that. Before I went off to the beach and got out of shape again being mostly jammed in a condo, I'd gotten back doing the midnight walk legally toting a ballistic confidence builder in case of dangerous beast encounters. Not the long one in the pictures, it stows out of sight so as not to alarm any neighbors who may come out or drive around. Don't want to use it (other than practice) and doubt I ever will, but the extra weight of iron adds exercise value.
:lol:

The lion encounters spurred me on to go through the lengthy procedures to acquire the necessary licensure, after many years of procrastinating. I had a carry permit in another state many years ago, moved to Tennessee when they had no such permit available, and when they passed a permit law initially it had some very difficult and burdensome provisions. By the time it became more reasonable in 1996 my situation had changed so I very rarely found myself in a situation where I felt personally threatened, so I simply let it go. I'm a peaceful man, and I like to keep things simple. As for the lion, even walking around where I know I've encountered it twice alone at night, I know intellectually that I'd be in far greater statistical danger if I took up golf and started hanging out on the links on July and August afternoons with thunderclouds blowing up than from being attacked by a big cat. But having experienced that sensation of no longer sitting comfortably atop the food chain makes me glad for something that puts me on a more even footing with his teeth and claws. Probability is one thing; a cougar lurking in the shadows is another. He may not even be in this state anymore by now, as they can roam over a wide range, but I'll remember him for a long time and wouldn't be freely comfortable going for my walks without a bit of backup. Never know when he might turn back up.

That lion thing is something else, and I'm not sure I know the whole story.
We had some sort of wild-cat thing in New Hampshire when I was growing up, but only once did I ever see even a claw print.....and I LIVED in the woods. Then, on the day we moved to NY state, probably 30 minutes before hopping in the truck, I saw one in the back yard.

Don't know if you watch Discovery channel or Animal Planet, but they've had some good programs on all types of cats. The act much as our house pet: hide and pounce. I still can't get over walking at midnight (even with a gun) because a cat could (in my opinion) pounce right out of some cover before you could get your hand on the trigger and gun pointed. I think I'd be walking with a 9mm in my hand on the walk covered by a towel. Again, I guess a shotgun would be more repelling for a cat.

I understand what you're saying and quite agree. It's definitely not what I'd choose to use to go out and hunt a big cat, go into a zone of high likelihood of attack, etc. A shotgun loaded with buckshot would definitely be the thing for that, where the range is very short. That's what African professional hunters have often favored for close up tracking of wounded lions in brush. In suburban America today it tends to attract unfavorable attention, however. I think the actual threat of being attacked is very small (he's let me alone twice when I was unaccompanied and barehanded out there), but I do want something reasonably dissuasive just in case, and I do discreetly have it out, ready for action when in the area in question and am on high personal alert. He might still get me, but I'd give him a go. If he wants a piece of me, he'll risk getting a piece of lead in the face. I just don't feel like having to give up walking because he's moved in on my territory. May well have moved on by now; haven't seen, heard or felt any sign of him for several weeks. If so, though, he's somebody else's problem. Keep your eyes open.

Ric,

Why not carry a piece of meat or a few dead rabbits with you, then if he attacks you can throw him something to eat!

I understand what you're saying and quite agree. It's definitely not what I'd choose to use to go out and hunt a big cat, go into a zone of high likelihood of attack, etc. A shotgun loaded with buckshot would definitely be the thing for that, where the range is very short. That's what African professional hunters have often favored for close up tracking of wounded lions in brush. In suburban America today it tends to attract unfavorable attention, however. I think the actual threat of being attacked is very small (he's let me alone twice when I was unaccompanied and barehanded out there), but I do want something reasonably dissuasive just in case, and I do discreetly have it out, ready for action when in the area in question and am on high personal alert. He might still get me, but I'd give him a go. If he wants a piece of me, he'll risk getting a piece of lead in the face. I just don't feel like having to give up walking because he's moved in on my territory. May well have moved on by now; haven't seen, heard or felt any sign of him for several weeks. If so, though, he's somebody else's problem. Keep your eyes open.

i'm not real familiar with the range of area available to this cat where you are, but out in SoCal when i used to do a lot of hiking, rock climbing, etc, the cats were presumed to have an area roughly 150 miles sq that they called home.
He/She may be gone for a bit but weather and food/water supply may keep it near for a while. be careful :wink:

Yeah, I definitely won't assume he's gone for good.

Well, I managed to get out this evening and get my walk done before dark. Packed nothing heavier than my iPod. Enjoyed listening to Poppa Chubby's One Million Broken Guitars cranked up, rather than anxiously attending to every tiny sound from the woods. Poppa Chubby was briefly drowned out by the fighters flying over for the prerace ceremony for the Busch series race that ought to be going on now. Saw some deer, who weren't alarmed by me. Found something cool, a broken off head of a specialized hammer. Wish my dad were around to identify it; he was a blacksmith in his young days and always was a real tool fan. I believe this is a metal forming hammer of some sort. Weighs three pounds. One end's octagonal and flat faced, a standard sledge. The other end's a 45° wedge with a rounded, not sharp, edge. Since it had rolled down off a bank across the road from two houses where a lot of heavy duty car and truck work used to be done, I suspect it was used in body work and got tossed in frustration when the handle broke off. The broken end of the handle is still holding the wedge in the head, I just need a new handle to restore the hammer to functionality. I'll take a look around at the hardware store. Maybe I'll get a picture of it in a while, if anybody's interested in odd hammers.

Man, 34 pages to this post! May be a record.

To continue adding to the length of the thread, the hammer matches the machinists' riveting hammers on MSC's catalog pages, though it's larger and heavier than any of theirs. Dang, those hammers are expensive! Bet my metal working artist daughter can eventually find some use for it. I'll put a handle in it. I'm about to go out for another walk before the temp climbs too high.

Well, we're back to a ghost page on this topic again.

Here is the hammer I found. Turns out I misjudged the weight of the head. It's heavier than the head of the 4 pound hand drilling hammer in my shop, feels like a 5 pound by comparison. I didn't get it weighed before mounting it on the handle. And, while it looks a lot like those machinists' riveting hammers, what it is is a blacksmith's hammer, numerous examples of which are to be found in MSC's catalog. Just the thing for my daughter. I got finished mounting it on the handle today, after lots of hand work with a chisel and rasp working the oversized hard hickory handle down to fit, then hammering in the wooden and steel wedges, trimming it, soaking the end of the handle in linseed oil to swell and seal it, and lastly I need to cut off the 36" sledge handle to 12" to make it a useful blacksmith's hammer for my daughter. I'll cut it tomorrow. I'll still have a useful 2' hickory stick for something. Got plenty of good exercise out of carrying it home and working on it.

You could do with a matched pair of those hammers for when you're out walking, Ric.

1 - Carrying the extra weight will burn off more calories.

2 - You can throw them at any feline predators.

3 - Once you've thrown them, you'll be surprised how much faster you'll be able to run!

:D :D :D

Vic