misteraven

@SukiSukiNowwhen’s the last time @IOUhas been on? Seems like ages ago.

Trying to keep this from going off the rails. Sorry, hate to hide it and maybe I kinda started it a bit, but yeah... way this is going, Goatse is about all you can beat these with and nobody really wants to see that.

Going to roll this back. Was funny, but trying to keep this half way decent.

Another thing I sort of screwed up on is not keeping a journal. Really helps to jot down dates and progress so you can review the following year and dial things in tighter. Couldn’t remember what never sprouted or when other stuff actually did sprout. But this year was a mess with all the work I had to deal with before I could even get to planting. Never got my new raised beds built, missed the cutoff to buy local compost, etc. Still really happy with how it’s gone, all things considered.

Oh wow, no shit... We should grab a beer or something sometime. You ever come up North? Maybe DM if you want to discuss. Yeah, last frost here was June 22. I’m still seeing the mountains gettting dusted so I feel you on that. Home Depot sells netting that might be a good solution for you. Link: https://www.homedepot.com/p/7-ft-x-100-ft-Deer-Block-Netting-889553A/202267888 $50 but it’s 7 x 100ft. They have a cheaper version but it sucks. This once I linked you to will work though. Yeah, my tomatoes are way late. Not sure they’ll make it before it snows again. Sake for Shishito peppers, which I sort of went into knowing it was unlikely. At least I have those in planters so I’ll move them inside, but the lack of sun will still probably keep them stunted. Definitely plan to put up a hoophouse or green house when I can and also planning on some grow lights in the basement so I can start my tomato and some stuff way early.

Wow, looks great man. Good for you fordoing all that and extra props for finding smart solutions without dropping bank. You can look up last frost and climate zones and all that online. I’ve found it helps a ton to find people in your area that are growing stuff and just sort of following their lead. Mind if I ask what general area you’re in? Obviously a huge difference growing in the Deep South versus way up North. Regardless, looks like you’re doing a great job with it. Suggest you figure out that deep situation cause they’ll absolutely be back. Surprised they didn’t wipe you out completely already.

It’s a fun fun for sure, but knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t have bought it. My main gripe is that it is indeed a specialty gun with no real world benefit over the AR platform. It’s uses the same cartridge, so might as well use an AR. My main issue is the weapon controls are off from that of the AR so training on it is a bad idea unless you’re committing to the ACR. I ran mine early on. It was my main carbine. I spent a fair premium for it over a comparable AR, spent extra on a nice trigger and accessories and trained only with it. Then at one particular class, switched over to the AR, as that’s essentially the standard carbine in the USA and wanted the flexibility / availability it comes with over pretty much any other gun type or platform. Ended up fumbling a few times with the weapons control when running it under pressure. Though it’s unlikely you’d be in some SHTF scenario, but if I were to happen, you’re most likely to come up on AR since they’re so prolific. What is likely, is being in a class and have your weapon go down. Like I said, you’re pushing 1k+ rounds through it daily and even quality weapons will go down occasionally. So you might have a backup, and most likely it would be an AR. If you don’t, you’re maybe borrowing from a team mate, which almost certainly would be an AR. So I’m either scenario, you’re suddenly faced with transitioning to slightly different controls. Sounds stupid, but the way training works is you’re building muscle memory through repetition. The saying goes that under pressure, you fall back to the lowest level you train at. So leaves you in kind of a jam (no pun intended). At least if you move to the AK platform or a SCAR (17), then you at least gain something with ballistics (and possibly more) in exchange for having to build muscle memory with a different control system. With the ACR you don’t gain anything with ballistics, it doesn’t deliver the flexibility that it was engineered to have, it doesn’t have the 3rd party eco system of parts and accessories so refining it is almost certainly custom work ($$$) and you’re investing your time into training on a slightly odd control system. One of the original features touted on the ACR is that it’s fully ambidextrous, but truth is that most quality ARs are now these days, at least as far as the key controls (safety, mag release, etc). Anyhow, just my opinion on it.

Just found out my cauliflower is starting to develop heads. First time growing cauliflower and growing two types.

Busy week up here... Spring chickens layed their first egg. Was tiny and in the dirt instead of a nesting box, but they’ll dial it in and produce real eggs by the end of the month. Also started harvesting more than just greens. Beets and squash did great, definitely planning to expand that for next year. Strawberries I planted a little while back (see previous posts) are doing incredible! Almost too sweet. Also, we started cutting our alfalfa fields yesterday, so it’ll dry for a few days, get flipped once and dry a few more days before getting baled and taken to market. Since the pasture is all cut, all the spring fawns are no longer hidden and running around all over. Lots of bucks running around and deep population in general looks to be exploding. They’ve totally lost their winter coats and are all a deep rusty red as they gorge and get ready for next snow, which is only 3 months or so off from now.

@simon sandleshitcurious about where you live and your setup, if you don’t mind talking about it. Don’t think I’ve seen you post about it.

Yeah man, no sweat. I’m an enthusiast but far from an expert. I try to do my homework and then gain a little experience by putting it in practice. Bushmaster is basically a Walmart brand. They’re huge and well distributed at big box retailers. They aren’t terrible for the audience they’re intended for, which isn’t usually guys pushing 1k rounds through them in an afternoon of training. Granted, that’s really a torture test short of running it full auto, but if there’s anything you own that you want to be reliable, it’s the stuff your life depends on like your gun and your car. Magpul does much more than mags and accessories. They do a lot of research and development as well as tactics and training (though the latter seems to have died when Chris Costa and Travis Haley left Magpul Dynamics). They created the Magpul Masada, which is what the ACR was supposed to be. But Magpul wasn’t big enough to bring it to market in terms of having the tooling and scalibility, especially when this was developed as a response to a military contract request. So they partnered and brought it to market as the ACR. Corners got cut and then Bushmaster didn’t follow through on the promise of field conversions between a family of parts for quick barrel and caliber swaps. Could have been a great platform, now is just a good one. Like I said, I own one and I’ve run it hard at a few classes and seen better guns break. It’s expensive for what it is though so if you were looking to get one, I’d suggest a good AR or pushing up to a SCAR Heavy if you want quality and to run something a little different than what everyone else is probably running.

Would agree with all of this. 5.56 is a wimpy round which is why everyone is moving away from it. Always laugh at the irony of the gun control debate to get rid of AR’s when all it’s just a high profile scale goat. If you actually looked at crime stats or understood ballistics at all, you can easily understand why it’s a silly gun to target. They are fun to shoot though. I think 7.62 is a nice balance between cost, ballistics and portability but if we’re looking at performance (and again, it’s really more about usage), I’d lean 6.5 creedmore or if you really want to reach out, 3.38 lapua. Shotguns are great, but I enjoy the discipline in precision shooting. Even intrigued by the math of it, so not super into shotguns. Is a great tool and you’re right that it’s very versatile. I run G17s as my go-to pistol. Own several Sigs including the p226. Fortunate to have the MK25 version of it that’s also had some custom trigger work. Keep debating on whether to send it to Salient for a full work over. I love the ergonomics of it, but not a fan of double action / single action pistols cause that first round always sucks. Don’t own any 1911s yet but will likely be my next move. Feel like all my friends have become big 1911 advocates lately and feeling left out of that conversation. I know some people are nervous about the safety on glocks (or lack thereof), but carrying a 1911 cocked and locked actually makes me nervous, but then again I lack experience with that platform.

ACR shoots almost identical as an AR. I have AR's that shoot much flatter though since my ACR is mostly stock (just an after market trigger in it). SCAR isn't much more being 308. A touch more thump in the recoil. Really doesn't start to kick much until you get over 308 / 7.72 into some of the hunting and precision shooting calibers. Lot of people confuse the ACR for a SCAR since they both have that Ugg boot type stock and monolithic type upper. Bushmaster isn't really known for quality, but they did a decent job with the ACR. I've run it through a few classes that are the equivalent of a torture test and out of maybe 10k rounds only had one casing really jam it up. Still far from the design Magpul had when they created it though and a long ways from the custom AR builds I've made since, but I think with proper ammo and a crisp Geissele trigger, you can pull 1 MOA or maybe even sub MOA precision out of it.

Thats all pretty basic. Flared magwell is hardly a feature since it's typical for fast mag changes. That one doesn't look that flared to be honest. Yes, most military small weapons platforms are spec'ed in a NATO equivalent or are at least multi cal to accept. Increases market share when you can sell to anywhere and have ammo be easily accessible. Only makes sense to get into specialized ballistics and odd calibers when the weapon has a specific usage, like precision shooting (snipers). Otherwise, they usually take whatever is most commonly available with 7.62 being the most common since the AK platform is the most common small weapons platform on the planet. Platforms like this and the ACR are usually responses to government contracts. ACR was Bushmasters submission as a replacement to the M4, that never really went anywhere. I have one myself and its better than their version of the AR and is a decent carbine, but they never fulfilled the promise of allowing for quick field conversions to other calibers like .308 / 7.62. Believe that FN won the US contract with the SCAR Heavy (17), but I don't really keep up with that stuff. Own one of those as well, but in general the USA seems to be phasing out 5.56 as its just too underpowered for a modern small arms platform, especially when 99% its going up against 7.62, which has a fair bit more range and hits harder. Plus the ammo is literally everywhere so makes sense to adopt a platform chambered in what is most widely available. Spec Ops have been running it for a while, but thought I read that it'll be standard issue for USA military soon. Definitely better than most AK's, though @6Penniescan chime in since he loves the draco shit. Wish it allowed for parts swap with the AR platform (at least he trigger group), but you can still get good after market stuff for it. Biggets fault IMO, is that you need an after market lower to run PMAGs in it and though the FN mags are solid, they're expensive. Hate guns that only accept proprietary mags when there's a PMAG available in whatever its chambered in.

Wonder what purpose that last one has in that it's .223 but doesn't appear to share much with the AR? Also, wondering why they've got it promoted as .223 instead of 5.56 NATO unless its not multi cal. Cycling bolt is kind of dumb I think, considering better options exist for a fully ambidextrous platform. Also wonder why they ditched all the top rail space? Gun doesn't make a lot of sense, especially with everyone dropping that caliber. Reminds me a little of the ACR.

Beating your picture while killing your urge to beat off.

What?! They relate... You presented a gap, I followed up with a prettier gap, though its implied. I'm subtle like that.

Anyone actually make their own pizza? So freakin good...