Where I live now (rural North Carolina) I see Confederate flags nearly every day.  People fly them in their front yards, mount them on their gas-guzzling trucks, etc.  Armed is the normal state here -- and that includes me; I'm very liberal in many ways, but I'm also a firm believer in keeping the ability to defend myself and my home.

Ditto, except for the owning a firearm part.  I don't enjoy guns, so I don't own one.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:01, Fri 10 Apr 2020.

So the two handed sword is indeed a daunting foe for a housebreaker, but the shorter Gladius & Shield is more useful in tight confines.
Or there is the little two foot long child's baseball bat, a truly lethal weapon.

And you can hide those things anywhere.

For intruders, I'd prefer the hatchet I have on the shelf above my bed (yes, it's in a sheath bolted to the shelf.  Yes a cat once, once, knocked it down onto my pillow right next to my head, hence the bolt).

I don't have a shield*, and if I have to take someone in the hall to my bedroom, I wouldn't want a shield, it's cramped enough as it is in there.



* I mean, I don't have a real shield.  I have some boffer shields which are foam and canvas on a frame, in a duffle, in a closet, stored... I guess if the attacker had a knife or bat it might help.  A second hatchet or maybe a baton would be better for me, though I do have a cane beside my door, but it's collapsible.  And I've never really liked using shields†, my actual combat training was with bare hands and polearms... so... my hatchet-fu isn't exactly topform either.

† With a shield I tend to forget to use it actively, it just mostly hangs around.  I have used small bucklers, and I do well(ish) with them, but again, I'd rather just have an off-hand weapon.  I'm far more active with paired weapons than sword and board.  But you want to see actual skill?  Give me a duelling glaive, quarter/bo staff, or naginata.  I've trained with those and half-assed kept up on my katas (until I blew out my knee last thanksgiving).

In other topics... for my party fellows in Seekers of The Flame:

The Player is fine returning to town.  The Character is a bit miffed because there is a dragon out there that we have turned around to walk away from without her getting to wrassle it.  Sure, sure, it'll still be there tomorrow... but she's rather wring the bandit's neck, toss him in a ditch, and start beating feet towards the dragon, err, I mean The Sacred Flame, rather than away from it, no matter how temporary.

Expect further grumping if we actually have to enter town to finish disposing with the bandit.


(And yes, I know, if we see an actual dragon on the horizon and the party runs away, she'll follow the Parties' lead, but expect mild grumpleing about that too.)

A poleaxe is the same value as the two handed sword, keeps them away if you can get it in front of you and will dissuade charges.
But sorta sucks against a firearm. The hatchet isn't a bad weapon, just requires you to get in close and again isn't what you want in a gun fight. The Shortsword is preferable to anything you have to swing, as it will stab, slice, dice, draw cut or you can swing with it, more ways to use it in close confines.  I think it is cold steel that makes a rubber handled Quama/Gladius/50 other names that costs about $30-$40, is darn sharp and has a useful 18-20" blade. If you insist on no gun, it's the ticket in my book for INDOORS.
Personally I have a 44 special that will put a 230 grain soft lead hollow point out at 870 fps (measured at 8 feet) ... all I have to do is hit him with it and I get 5 tries before having to throw it at him. I'm not great but inside 15 yards, I am reasonably good and will put all shots within a 1' diameter circle double action.

i have a fairburn-sykes, a folding stiletto, and a homebuilt, .410/45 colt that i keep a mix of defense shells for, which are capped, with a .41 slug, with two .35 balls behind it, which spread out, and i have the big, .45 colt cowboy rounds, in hollow point.

See the violence inherent in the system?

Thanks for bearing with my slow rate, been working on a publishing product

Well, if we want to get detailed...

I'm not a big fan of knives and swords, but I've spent a certain amount of time on a range and I'm very confident with a pistol.  Hence I keep a pistol handy where I sleep, an EAA Witness Steel (large frame), currently setup as .38 Super (but I also have 10mm/.40 S&W upper with both barrels, a .45 ACP upper, and a 9mm barrel for the .38 Super upper).  Two mags hold 17 each in Super or 9 mm, 13 each in 10/.40 (though I've got extensions for those that add two rounds each), or 10 each in .45.  I've got the .22 conversion for it, but it's very picky on ammunition so I haven't shot it much.

Near my computer, I have an 1890s vintage H&R .32 revolver (ejector isn't quite right, but it works when the trigger is pulled, just an extra second to reload).  My shotgun is currently broken down in its case, but I've also got a Mosin Nagant (Russian/Soviet infantry rifle, roughly .308 power), a Marlin 795 (.22 rimfire semi-auto) and a Polish P-64 in 9mm Makarov with two 7-round mags.  Somewhere here, I have a Dan Wesson revolver in .357 Magnum.

Hey, I grew up in Idaho...

I've never understood anyone's love for this Russian longspear.

Ideally, i'd like a FEG Model PJK-9HP Pistol, an SKS paratrooper, with bayonet, 40 rnd banana clips, and a 75 round drum. sturdy, reliable, and cheap firearms. they also fit my aesthetics.
I'm also looking for a good, police positive, in .38 special with at least a 4" inch barrel.

I have never understood the fascination with guns.  More power to you if you enjoy them.  I shot many as a kid as an uncle was an enthusiast, so it's not inexperience.  It's probably the time I spent working with kids when I was younger - I have seen the damage that violence and death has inflicted on families.  A lot of people are very responsible with firearms.  Unfortunately, enough aren't, and the aftermath can really impact lives.

No matter which side you're on, it's a passionate issue.  I can see both sides have merit, and have no intention of judging your hobbies.  Please don't be concerned there.  I just didn't expect the chatter to go so far down this particular road, and figured another opinion wouldn't hurt.

You guys stay safe out there.

Have to agree with you Balir, I have seen too many people who shouldn't have guns, either because they didn't know how to use them or didn't have enough sense to use them safely/correctly.

Well, they were very, very cheap for rather a long time, because the Soviets made so very many of them.  And yet, they've all got history attached; mine was made in Izhevsk in 1942, and was almost certainly on the front before the lacquer on the stock was dry.  They're strong, simple, and easy to handle, maintain, and repair.

Yes, they kick (they were made for use in heavy winter clothing, and the length of pull is too short for most folks using one in summer).  As they come out of the cosmoline, they're ugly beasts and don't shoot well, but with very minor work, they can be accurate enough (I've seen video of someone hitting a target the size of a truck door with one over original sights, four rounds out of five, at 900 meters).

But mostly, it's a good, reliable, durable rifle that was in my price range.  It's the only full power rifle I've ever owned, despite growing up around guns.

My son  bought one and cleaned it up, he thinks it great and I can't argue, I watched him hit an e-type silhouette 3 out of 5 times at 500 yards. Considering that many of hese were turned out under miserable conditions, they border on the amazing. Russia was producing quantity, not quality, but these are still rock solid! I stayed away thinking they were junk too, but they aren't.

Exactly.  The only thing on mine that isn't an original part is a Smith Sights adjustable front sight to allow setting zero in elevation as well as windage.  I've adjusted it to shoot to point of aim without the bayonet (arsenal set them up with), scraped the barrel channel to remove pressure from the barrel, and with '70s vintage surplus ammunition it shoots better than I can see (though to date I've gone bust trying to put a scope on it to see what it can really do).

In 1942 in the Soviet Union, what mattered was that it go "bang" when you pulled the trigger, feed the rounds when you work the bolt, and outlast the conscript it was issued to.  They did every bit of that, and really shined on the "outlast" part -- and yet, churned out literally by the million, they were well enough made to be converted for snipers with just a scope, and a bent bolt handle to allow operating with the scope.

probably the rifle that coined the term "obrez".

In reply to Oly (msg # 304):

Out of circulation for a while. We have put to sea to self quarantine!

In reply to Christine Bjorn (msg # 307):

Sail safely

Don't worry, Jednesa will keep teh adventure on track while you're away...

/Christine comes back to find the wagon in flames, the Frog Sisters alternately trying to put it out and heal the Ogress, Jednesa wrestling a dragon, and Masugatan trying to backstab its tail...

Obrez is a Mosin after an encounter with a hacksaw.  Like making a mare's leg from a long infantry rifle, instead of from a lever action carbine.

"For when you need to blow a fist size hole in someone and set their clothes on fire at the same time."  A rifle round from a short barrel loses a lot of power -- but gains a bunch of fireball.  BATFE frowns on them, though; convert a rifle into a pistol and you need a $200 tax stamp before you start cutting.

In reply to Ardenas Barehand (msg # 310):

Going to try and catch up tomorrow.  Today I got to rebuild a set of wireframe shelves with 200 zip ties....
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:26, Thu 16 Apr 2020.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 311):

Gah. Back at work, even less time to respond to anything.