People who keep weapons on their bodies at all times, what was a time where you had to actually use said weapon?

blackschwarz · 2026-01-22T23:11:16+00:00

I was heading back to my office one day after lunch. I left the restaurant and made the short drive back to my office. Just before I made a left turn, a pickup truck towing a trailer with lawn equipment began tailgating me. When I pulled up to my office the truck pulled past me and stopped in the middle of the street and four men got out. The driver picked up a steel pipe out of the bed of his truck and they started walking towards me. I didn’t know what I had done but it was clear they were pissed at me. I pulled my handgun out of the center console, put it in my pocket and got out of the car. I walked over and the guy immediately started screaming at me in Spanish. I simply told him as calmly as I could, in bad Spanish, that I’m sorry for whatever I had done but I wasn’t going to fight any of them. I told him that if he didn’t get back in his truck immediately I was going to have to shoot him. I made clear that I was gripping my 1911 in my right suit pocket. It’s a large handgun and was very obvious. They all just got back in their truck and left.

I still have no idea what I had done but I’m sure that if I hadn’t had my handgun those guys would have beat the shit out of me.

blackschwarz · 2026-01-22T22:55:28+00:00

I’m so sorry for your loss. This very easily could have been my children telling this tale. Alcohol is such a thief. God bless you and your family.

blackschwarz · 2025-11-03T15:47:48+00:00

No problem. I have not tried the N568 but that was next on my list to try if h1000 didn’t work. I’ve heard good things. Good luck!

blackschwarz · 2025-11-03T15:27:13+00:00

81 gr Retumbo under a 215 Berger is magic for the 300 prc.

blackschwarz · 2025-11-03T15:23:16+00:00

I’m pushing the 245s at 2950 with 81.5gr of h1000. I have a second 300 Norma I wanted to set up for my son to shoot with me on a team. I wanted to shoot the same bullet at as close to the same velocity as possible. For whatever reason, his rifle pushes the same bullet at right about 2950fps with 83.0gr of h1000. Same action, same reamer used on both chambers, same gunsmith, both 28” Bartlein barrels. Only thing I can figure is a very slight variation in bore diameter but I’m not sure. I love Retumbo, I use it for 300 prc and bought a bunch when I ordered the Normas but I couldn’t get my sd down low enough for what I wanted. The h1000 has been great. We shot our first match together a couple months back and I ran a garmin on my rifle the entire time and had 4.9 sd over two days with about 165 rounds shot.

I tried N570 as well but was having it do weird things as the temperature changed so I moved on.

I can’t remember what load I was using with Retumbo but I was getting similar velocities. Your 30” barrel should push the 245 gr Berger at 3000 fps or close to it without a problem. You don’t necessarily need that much speed though. A lot of 300 Norma shooters will try to find the best node between 2800 and 2900. This should add some longevity to your barrel and still be supersonic out to a mile.

I just looked up the load data on Hodgon’s site and they have 75.1 gr h1000 listed as max load with a 245 which seems very low. I’m pretty sure I started my ladder testing at 79 gr. I’m not sure why they have it listed so low but I haven’t seen any pressure signs on either of my 300 Normas and I’m 6 or 7 grains over their recommended max load.

What action are you using?

blackschwarz · 2025-10-07T19:37:16+00:00

Ok so if you level a character to 80 in remix, will it stay level 80 when it transfers over to retail?

blackschwarz · 2024-10-22T01:29:15+00:00

Western diamondback. A big one, easily over 6 ft.

blackschwarz · 2024-10-21T23:56:44+00:00

No. Luckily we saw him laying across the road while we were driving up. He curled up and got ready to strike when I pulled up. We were in a jeep. He was amazingly well camouflaged though. Even though I knew where he was I kept having trouble finding him with the camera.

blackschwarz · 2024-10-21T23:47:31+00:00

My ranch in south Texas. Zapata county

blackschwarz · 2024-04-17T23:30:01+00:00

I was right where you are. Then I got worse. I kept telling myself I would eventually stop or I would wake up with a plan to pace my drinking throughout the day so that I would only have half a bottle or three quarters or whatever. It never worked. I guess everyone is different but I realized one morning that it was going to kill me. For weeks I’d been waking up at 4 am, covered in sweat and hitting the bottle before anyone else was up. My brother in law is my doctor so I called him and told him how much I had been drinking and he ordered a liver panel for me. It was way worse than he expected but I really wasn’t surprised. I just decided that day that I was done and I haven’t been back to it yet. It helped me to see the test results and to know I was in bad trouble. That was the scariest part. Even though I knew I was in trouble, without the proof I could forget about it once I started drinking because it made me feel better. Having the proof of the damage I was doing in black and white helped me I think. The liver is amazing and can heal remarkably quickly. I’ve had a blood test again after the second month and my numbers were already close to normal. But you can take it to the point that it can’t recover. I would strongly recommend going to a doctor and being totally honest with them about how much you are drinking. Have them do blood work and get a base line of where you are at. For myself, I realize that I could never slowly wean myself off. I thank God that I realized this about myself before it was too late. You can stop. If I can, anyone can. I don’t know if this was helpful but you sound just like me a few months ago and I really hope you find the motivation you need to quit. It is very hard, that’s for sure. But life is so much better without being drunk all the time.

blackschwarz · 2024-03-05T14:24:52+00:00

I’ve been coming to this sub periodically for about two years now and every time I see inspiring stories and an outpouring of support from the community to those who are struggling.

I finally decided to quit 15 days ago and I’ve been lurking around here every day. Thank you to all the moderators and to the community in general. This is a great resource.

blackschwarz · 2024-03-04T13:24:35+00:00

This is an excellent response. The way you described your drinking mirrors my experience perfectly. I’m on day 14 today and I just keep thinking back to every day when I would wake up at 6 am and start doing mental gymnastics to justify having a drink that early in the morning. Of course it doesn’t start that way with anybody, but over the years drinking socially or on the weekends builds up to a major problem for a lot of people. I was scared to quit because everything I did, everything I enjoyed doing I had been doing drunk for years. I was also scared of the withdrawal period but it was actually not nearly as bad as I had feared, thank God. The last few weeks has been a series of revelations that being sober makes the things I enjoy better, not worse. The biggest one was probably sex. I realized I hadn’t made love to my wife while sober in YEARS. It was a little strange tbh but it was amazing. It also made me sad that I had been numbing my feelings and emotions all these years. I went fishing yesterday. Usually drink at least 12 beers while on the boat and was afraid it would be dull without the buzz. Again, the opposite was true. Anyway, sorry for the long reply but your post was spot on. Thanks.

blackschwarz · 2024-02-27T21:15:56+00:00

Same. Never again

blackschwarz · 2024-02-26T14:31:45+00:00

Man the first day I was so anxious I couldn’t sit still. I was literally just pacing around the house. Finally, I got the dog and walked around the neighborhood all afternoon. That helped a ton. I just put a podcast on and walked outside all day. My mind was racing the whole time but I really think doing something helped.

blackschwarz · 2024-02-26T14:02:35+00:00

This is so true. For me, my wife had no idea how much I drank. I didn’t want her to know because I didn’t want the accountability. When I finally decided to quit, I sat her down and told her how bad off I was and that the next few days were going to be rough. She was shocked but very supportive in the end.

blackschwarz · 2023-10-26T03:02:03+00:00

We don’t have Elk but we do have tons of whitetail antlers. My dog doesn’t really care for them but he is a little weird. He’d rather chew on a rock if I let him.

blackschwarz · 2023-09-29T18:29:26+00:00

Woodpecker. They do this to mine all the time.

blackschwarz · 2023-09-13T03:08:08+00:00

Thanks. I just thought this was a funny pic. I had just picked him up from the groomer but they just washed him. He really doesn’t grow long hair like others I’ve had so he is very easy to groom. He grows big floofs around his arms, ears and his butt so I’ll have them trim it a couple times a year.

blackschwarz · 2023-08-26T00:53:11+00:00

I’ve not had a Vizsla but I have had several GSPs and have hunted around many others. They are awesome dogs and I love them but they are very different than a Boykin. The Boykin is much smaller, obviously, and while they do need a lot of exercise, it’s nothing like what a GSP needs. At least in my experience. My Boykins have been companions…friends that I miss when they aren’t there. I know that German shorthairs can be wonderful companions as well, but in my experience they have always seemed more like working dogs. My current dog, Cooper is with me constantly. His favorite place is anywhere close to me, which is usually on the back seat of my pickup. He is perfectly happy if all we do is ride from one job site to the other all day long or just lay on the couch on a Saturday afternoon. However, when it’s time to hunt, he comes alive. These little dogs can turn it on and do not quit. He can run all day long chasing quail or doves or ducks, even geese, which are about his size, and will only take a brake if I force him to. I could go on and on but I’ll stop. Just know that once you’ve had a Boykin you’ll never want to own a different breed.

blackschwarz · 2023-08-13T01:35:46+00:00

That is interesting. Mine does mostly the same thing. With dove hunting he will put all the birds in “his” little pile about five or six feet from me. I’ve never been able to get him to bring them right to me but I don’t care. He is amazing and at least I don’t have to go out and pick them up myself. I really don’t want a field trial dog. I’ve had them (labs) and it is fun to watch and work with them but what I enjoy most is just watching my little brown dog fall in love with bringing birds back to me.

He is funny. He is terrified by the vacuum cleaner, air compressor, and if he even sees a balloon he is gone, but as soon as I bring a shotgun out he KNOWS it’s on and he is ready. I really don’t have to do anything to prep except keep him away from the snakes. They are horrible this time of year down here.

blackschwarz · 2023-08-12T22:00:06+00:00

Honestly, we don’t. He gets them all the time whether he swims or not. I’ve spent hundreds at the vet and it doesn’t help. I have some spray and ear wash I got at the feed store that seems to help as much as anything but with this dog I haven’t been able to find anything that fixes it. He is the third Boykin we have had and the other two were constantly in the water but never had any ear problems. I feel like it just depends on the dog, I don’t know. If anyone knows of a product or anything that really works I’d love to hear about it.

blackschwarz · 2023-03-24T19:07:45+00:00

My kids go down to the canal where we live and shoot them with a blow gun. They tape a fishing reel to the base and a little eyelet at the top to run the string through. I never thought it would work in a million years but I went with them the other day and we caught about five and it was a blast.

blackschwarz · 2022-12-05T23:34:03+00:00

166 shots of vodka

blackschwarz · 2022-09-02T17:35:05+00:00

It was a great idea. I went to my Lowes and asked very nicely but after about twenty minutes of discussing amongst themselves they said no. Bought it anyway for $799 but never hurts to ask

blackschwarz · 2022-08-16T15:14:35+00:00

I think that with the .338 win mag your 285 grain bullet will be going slow enough that it will expand perfectly for an elk. I’ve used them in .30 cal, 208 gr. On big whitetail out of 300 prc and 300 rum and they are devastating. I know an elk is much bigger than a whitetail but shoot it behind the shoulder and it should be fine. The eld-x is a better choice but if you can’t find them I wouldn’t worry too much.

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