So... any of our members here have an interest in firearms?

When I worked in the middle east I would drink a lot of water. Working in the desert twelve to sixteen hours a day. I would consume eight to ten two liter bottles of water per day. The heat did not bother me that much. But you sure had to drink a lot of water.

The guys that did not drink much water would fall victim to heat stroke. When one of my coworkers would pass out from heatstroke. My teammate would look at me and say time for another bottle of water. We would suck down as much water as we could.

I tried to stay out of air conditioned space as much as possible. If I wanted to cool down I would find some shade and kick back. Coming out of air conditioned spaces into the high heat would make me realize just how hot it was.

I can recall several times during the night I would wear a heavy down winter parka and the temperature was in the mid 80F. Out in town tourists would look at my teammates and I and would think we were nuts wearing parkas However when the temp drops 35f to 40f degrees I would really feel the cold.

I have hesitated to share the following life changing story, primarily because I consider it a spectacular personal failing, but since we are on the topic of extreme heat I feel its important to share....FYI, it's long.

I'm going to bold and italic all the key errors I made during this adventure.

Back in May I went to Las Vegas with my wife, as we did 2yrs ago. Stayed at the Vdara(and by the way, rooms above floor 52 are the best views in Vegas-I'd sit up at 2am just staring out at the city through the panorama windows.....ain't cheap, but worth every penny)

I rented a mountain bike and got a ride out to Bootleg Canyon. No one else in the van, nobody else in the parking lot when we got there.

Starting to feel just a bit uneasy being alone...but hey I've got this mountain all to myself now (a thought I would rue later)

2yrs ago I went to the same place to ride and had a blast but only stayed on the trails around the parking lot...this time I wanted to venture to the back side of the mountain..the more remote, but more beautiful locations.

They gave me a map of all the trails, I would later find out were not to scale. The trails on the backside of the mountain are much longer than on the front side, but to fit it all on one page they made the trail loops look shorter.

The quickest way to access the other side of the mountain was to ride up and over the top, about 1500ft vertical from where I was. That took me an hour and about a third of my water.

Turns out, on the backside of the mountain, the trails are rougher, harder and steeper than on the front. primarily because few ride back there and they don't get worn in.

I figured I'd pick trails that gradually worked my way back to the front side by going around the mountain, which turned out to also be the most desolate trails.

The trails were poorly marked compared to the frontside with many intersecting paths not on the map.

Went several miles, stopping more frequently as it heated up...took pictures etc. Used up another third of water.

Realizing what water I have left, and the heat(utterly clear sky blazing sun), I started to calculate how far was left and felt confident even if I used up the water I could still get back to the parking lot in good order.

Now about 4hrs in, temps were over 100. Went a few more miles and used up the rest of water.

Well, the parking lot has to just be around the next hill. Said that to myself about 20 times until I realized I was getting in trouble. The surface temp was well over 100, full blinding sun and no relief despite the map saying I should be much further along.

I rode about 100yds and stopped to sit down. Did that about 10 times.

Then I started to walk the bike as I could not pedal anymore. Walked about 100ft then stopped to sit down. Did that about 10 times.

I suddenly(and way too late)began to realize heat stroke occurring, as I must be delirious because I was stopping to rest in the full sun. There was no cover whatsoever.

In part of my past wonderful career, I was head of Health&Safety for a major corporation, and conducted training on working in the heat and recognizing the symptoms of heat effects. But of course, I never thought it would happen to me.

I now knew I was in big trouble. I was an hour by car from Las Vegas. I was the only person on this silly mountain. I was out of water, and my body was starting to shut down from both heat and dehydration.

I decided to call for help...911. NO SIGNAL. the mountain blocked the signal to the towers. I was too low.

I had to abandon the bike and climb up the side of the mountain to get signal. Panic was setting in, as I began to realize how rapidly things had turned for the worse. At this point, without signal, and the lateness of the day, if I didn't reach someone I was doomed to be there til at least morning, if not longer, perhaps much longer. My wife would freak out first, but have no idea what to do as she only knew what region I went to...heck only about 400 square miles to search.

I started losing track of time (bad), had extreme trouble climbing (I was having trouble walking, period). One. foot. at. a .time..my hands pushing on my knees to lift myself with each step.

I saw a rock outcropping about 400ft further up and figured that was it, I just have to make it there, that would be all I could do so that became my last goal. My last chance to reach a signal, otherwise, well...bad things, perhaps the worst.

Made it, finally. My phone was at 18%. I learned later that a cellphone will draw a lot of battery life searching for a signal when it can't find one. One more nail....

But there it was...a single tiny bar, blinking in and out on the signal status. Shit. That's it. Its got to work.

Called 911 for emergency services. Got them. They asked my address. I said I'm on the side of a mountain at Bootleg Canyon. What?...yes the side of a mountain. I know the trail I'm on and that's it.

911 DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. Without an address they can't dispatch help. Literally. They transferred me to another 911 center and they transferred me to another one. None of them knew what to do or even who had jurisdiction. I was transferred one more time to the Park Service, who said I have to call 911. Brilliant. I'll just die here while you guys figure it out.

I had to give up on 911. I still had a flickering one bar signal so decided to try calling the bike rental company. It took 15 calls (that kept dropping about 10 seconds in) to get my point across that I was in trouble and where I was. He said no more calls, only text (which I learned later that data was easier to transmit).

6% battery life. He texted me to open Google maps quickly, get centered, "drop a pin" for GPS position, send the pin by text back to him. I did. It worked.

He said he knew where I was (along with a WTF for good measure), but it would be an hour just to get to the mountain, let alone get to me.

I was able to text my wife and tell her I merely got lost and I would be late. So sorry. I didn't dare tell her the truth.

A few minutes later the phone was dead.

It took 3 1/2 hours to reach me. Young twenty something fellow who hiked straight up the side of the mountain from fire roads, off of access roads, off of service roads, off the main road. He had already drank all of his own water, and brought two water bottles for me. He honestly looked as bad as I felt, and I am now sure he was in trouble as well.

He said he knew the way down, but though there was a faster way if we went parallel for a ways. We started back the way I already came...I said hey this is going further away...he said naw its a shortcut. Shit, I have no choice. I followed him for about half a mile, stumbling behind him. Then he stopped, looked around, and said this doesn't look familiar.

Oh boy. We went the wrong way. We should have went the opposite direction. He checked his google map. His battery was almost dead too, from the same problem as mine. Shit. Now we have to walk the 1/2 mile back from where we started, and then start on the right path out. At that point I realized we may BOTH be in big trouble. He's not thinking straight either (but still better than me). I asked him who else was with him, anyone follow him up?...he said no he had a guy waiting at the van down at the truck stop on the main road (several miles away). Shit.

A few minutes later, his phone went dead.

As luck would have it, the guy in the van got a call from a friend of theirs who knew the mountain well...he heard the story and had grabbed his bike and set off on his own to get up there. He rode up the gully washes, straight up the mountain...absolutely incredible strength and endurance.

We were walking and saw this fellow in the distance...we started waving to get his attention. He saw us and rode over open ground to get to us. When he arrived he was in good spirits to find us, and we were able to discuss the best way out.

The plan was for me to make it over two more hills to where there was a very long gully that made its way all the way down the side of the mountain to a set of high tension lines that we would then have to follow to get to the access road back to the main road and truck stop.

Those two hills were almost impossible. The water I drank when the 1st fellow arrived was long gone (and wasn't close to enough for either of us) and I was back to severe dehydrationville. Its still well over 100 ground temp.

But once over the second hill(which took several attempts due to slipping on gravel), all I had to do was sit on my bike and coast behind the other rider, who would guide the way.

Except...the gully was filled with rubble and pebbles and sand all the way down. I forced my few remaining brain cells to solely focus on staying upright and right on his back wheel.

I now know what a migraine must feel like...my head was absolutely splitting with pain....now officially ticking off all the symptoms possible for heat stroke, except for one.....falling into coma.

It took a while, but I made it down, by sheer will more than anything...my vision narrowed to almost a point directly in front of me. If I fell down it would have been very bad as the whole way down was sharp boulders and rocks. I wondered if I could even get up after falling down at that speed. The odd thing was that having been exposed to such heat, the ability to coast on the bike actually woke me up a bit from the breeze, although my already dry eyes were drooling with tears.

But I made it. Thank God. All the way to the van. It took two hours to drink slowly and lie down til I felt better. The fellow who hiked up there to me arrived about an hour later. Thank god for that too.

And here lies the last huge mistake. I let them convince me to go back to the hotel. Quite frankly I was ok with this. I felt horribly embarrassed.

It was now evening and I texted my wife that I was on my way and could she meet me at the door (I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to walk in and get up to the room). She asked Why? I said don't worry just meet me. She then followed with "What happened!".....I couldn't reply. I simply said I'll let her know when we were close.

We got there. She was horrified. I'll never forget that look. It hit me like a brick wall. I instantly felt so horrible I had let her down, had let all these guys down by putting them at risk. My shorts were falling off, I was burned and thoroughly worn out. The other guests stared as I hobbled to the elevator. Please don't let the mgmt see me. I don't want any attention. I sat on the floor of the elevator, my wife's look of horror turning to anger, to pity, back to anger.....Oh Boy.

I sat in the shower for an hour til I climbed into bed and shivered all night.

The list of critical failures is quite long, and don't think I haven't thought about this over and over in my head. So many signs, so many warnings to not go forward. By far the most critical error was my own ego. Pure and simple. A human failing that almost permanently failed me.

I don't want to leave this story without some positive, some lesson learned. 20yrs ago I might have made it out. 10yrs ago who knows, but time catches up with all of us. The ego thing was simple, I wrote a check my body couldn't cash.

I mountain bike here in Florida about 40miles/week. My resting heart rate is 55. I was fit, I know heat, and I know how to read my body.

All of this failed me because of a different environment I couldn't handle, and unfortunately some aspects I couldn't plan for, such as the screwy map. It all added up, very quickly, to a life threatening emergency.

One last thing, a bit creepy, but nonetheless it had an equal effect.

While I was waiting those hours for rescue, suddenly and inexplicably a peaceful calm 'washed' over me. You know, I never really understood that expression until it happened. A literal cascade effect from the top of my head down to my toes. An incredible peace, a life altering peace. The pain went away. The panic went away. The fear went away. Total relaxation. I think it was an acceptance that whatever happens will happen. The landscape around me was so incredibly beautiful. I thought...you know, if this is it, its not a bad way to go. Alone in nature's wonder. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. It was a fundamental and profound experience. I heard voices, saw visions. The whole deal. It was amazing, actually. I was very calm when the 1st fellow finally reached me.

Lastly, for a bit of humor, when they dropped me off at the hotel, the fellow said to me "Don't forget to put a good review on Yelp". I asked are you serious? I have to be literally the worst customer you've ever had. He said no not the worst, you're still alive. I think that was a joke..........

Postscript: between the van and the hotel I drank 10 more bottles of water(16.9oz ea) and 2 liters of gatorade. My shorts were falling off. My body and clothing were white with salt. My phone was crusted with salt. They say losing 15% of your body water will incapacitate you, 20+% will kill you. I figure I lost 14%. Too damn close, too damn fast. Later I checked the humidity for that day...8%. About as dry as a desert can get. The biggest danger was I never felt like I was sweating....but in Florida you know.....you sweat your ass off and you get soaked as the humidity is 90% and you can't dry off. The heat effects are OBVIOUS. Here I never noticed how much water I was losing.

Postscript 2: I was very ill for several days but troopered through the rest of the trip for my wife's sake. Took about three weeks to feel normal again. I drink so much water now before I ride I usually have to stop and piss during the ride. I'm fine with that. You bet.

Pic 1: Magnificent desolation. Well over 100 on the ground.


Pic2: The rock outcropping 400 ft up from trail that provided not only a slice of cell signal, but this sliver of shade in which to await rescue. A miracle as there were no other rock outcroppings anywhere in view.


Pic 3: The nightscape of Vegas from the hotel room, 56th floor.

Nice to know I'm not alone....no wait. I hope nobody else goes through this.

Living in the southeast, heat index is drilled into your head early on. Hot and humid, beware.

But in the desert, this idea becomes a problem. The dry air felt awesome, even though it was hot. And air temp is not the same as ground temp. Air temp might be 100, but ground temp might be 120 or higher, maybe much higher.

And you're losing water extremely fast and not feeling it. If this was Florida, I'd have backed out as soon as I reached the summit, because I would have been soaked through. In Nevada, on that hot dry day, I felt fine. Hot, but fine....for a while.

Its hard to understand just how much water you need in the desert. It seems ludicrous. 2 liters per hour under exertion (I subsequently learned).

I figured 3hrs tops. so that would have been 6 liters. 14lbs of water, minimum. wow.

There was no way to carry that much water to take on the trail. Well, possible...yes, practical...no.

And the actual exertion lasted for almost 7 hours(excluding waiting time). Besides the physical effort and body temp issues, the water reqts would have been 14 liters. Almost 4 gallons, 32lbs of water.

Screwed in quick order.

I was constantly drinking and pissing well into the next day to get equilibrium back.

BTW, being that salt deprived, you almost want to lick rocks to get sodium. Its a craving I had for a couple days. Anything deep fried..chicken, french fries, man give me a bucket full.

Interesting stories.

Here's one that come to mind


Working in the desert takes some planning. Most of the time I was never far from my vehicle’s. In the vehicle I had plenty of water and food. Normally at least a dozen cases of two liter bottled water. For food nothing great but that was seldom used and the food was MRE’s. I always kept at least eight to ten cases of MRE’s in stored in the vehicle. Along with lots of 62 grain green tip .


The vehicle’s were kept stock with the water, food medical supplies and plenty of ammo. First thing in the morning vehicle’s were topped off with fuel, coolers iced down and loaded up with as much bottled water as they were able to hold.


One time my teammate and I were in the desert for over week straight living out of are vehicle’s that SUCKED. One afternoon I was eating lunch and ran into some feral dog pac’s. Some of these pac’s were very large with over one hundred dogs in the pac.


These dog pac’s are very territorial and have boundaries. I would observe these pac’s and try to stay away from them. I would watch as they have scout dogs that would go into the other dogs territory to hunt for or water.


One day a couple of the scout dog’s from one pac were ran off by the other dog’s pac. Not very long after that the two dog pac’s. were going to settled up for the dogs entering their bounderies.

From my view point each pac had over one hundred dog’s. One pac was on one side of the road and one pac on the other side of the road. It was sort of a Mexican stand off. Plenty of barking and that was about it for that day.


The sound of a couple hundred barking dog’s make one think. My teammate and I were in are vehicle. I thought about what I could do to get rid of one of those pac’s. I had a big time brain fart. The next morning I had my M4 in hand along with twenty thirty round mags stoked up with green tip. On my journey to hunt one pac. I ran into another military officer that had much more experience with these dog pac’s than I.


When he seen me heading out with M4 in hand and a battle pc of mags. He asked me what I was planning. I told him I’m going to take out that one troublesome dog pac. He mentioned that’s not a good idea. He explained that the dog’s were are friends. And we should leave them alone. Well I took his advice and let them be.


It took me awhile but I made friends with one pac. When I would eat lunch a few of the dog pac scout dogs would be nearby. So I would throw them some food. It took a few weeks of feeding them, to become friends. At first the dogs would only come up to me and kept a distance of about twenty feet or so.

Little by little I was able to get them closer and closer to me. Eventually I was able to hand feed some of them. I had to make sure the pieces of food was large enough so I would not get bit by the dogs. The dogs snapped at the food. Some of those dogs had rabies.


While I would eat lunch or dinner Some of the dogs were within two to three feet of me. And I would toss each dog a piece of food. Prior to going out in the desert when eating breakfast at the hotel. I always asked the waitress for the food that others left on their plates. It was a large hotel with plenty of guests. Every morning I would have two half full large plastic trash bags loaded with table scraps.


When I arrived to my destination when the dog pac seen my vehicle at least twenty or more dogs would run up to my vehicle for breakfast. I would stop get out open the rear door and set the bags of food on the ground for the dogs, they were smart enough to get the food out of the bags. Life in the fast lane.

The dogs were actually a big benefit for my team and I. The dogs would roam around us at night. They kept us safe from rats and other creepy critters that crawl around in the desert. Rats can be a huge problem with vehicle’s and aircraft. During the night rats would crawl into vehicle’s and aircraft.

The rats would eat the insulation on wires and do huge damage. Sometimes that would make our gear non operational. The dogs kept the rats at bay they ate the rats for food “snacks”. Only issue with the dog pac’s was they would whizz on the tires of vehicle’s and aircraft. Not a big issue but one I could live with.

During the night the aircraft tires, brakes, engines, were still warm from flying. The dogs liked to lay around close to them for warmth. That worked out well for us. No rat damge

Bargains
Sometimes you just get lucky.Yesterday I was looking around for a scope for this AR. I have other scopes but they are all on other AR's. Yesterday I was hunting around in a couple big box stores. I ran Across a Bushnell AR scope out the door was 83.99 Bushnell has a 40 dollar rebate on the AR line of scopes. So with the rebate the scope will be 43.99. It's a lot of optic for this AR cost wise it was too good of a deal to pass up.

The scope is 3x9 power I wanted a 1x4 or 1x6 no luck those were sold out and the 3x9 was the last one in stock. So it was no brainer to get the 3x9. I ran 30 rounds though the AR today. For the price I'm impressed with this scope.

Anyone else get lucky lately with bargain shoot'n gear?


Update

The scope mounting ordeal has started. Since this is a bargain scope that calls for a bargain scope mount. The mounts I have in the picture were used just to tack the scope on the rifle so I would be able to check out the scope. The scope mount needs to be moved forward. So that calls for cantilever mounts.



I have a few spare cantilever mounts but those are for 30mm scope tubes. The bargain basement scope has a 1” tube. I just ordered a inexpensive mount it should work out okay for my needs.

Most of the gun shops in my neck of the woods have a lot of junk scope mounts and very high prices. I do not mind buying a good mount but not at crazy $$$ prices. Yesterday I went into a local gun shop looking for a mounting soloution no luck .


He had a decent mount at a crazy high price. The mount was priced at 4x the cost of online prices. I do not mind paying more to keep a brick and mortar store going but at 4x the cost I’ll pass on that deal. Since I do not like going into a local shop without making a purchase.


I asked the guy you have any bargain AR mags? He quoted me $38 bucks for a inexpensive GI mag which should have been less than $12 bucks the retail on that type of mag is around ten bucks.

Last Update
The bargain mount arrived. I just tacked the mount on the rifle. Later in the week I will finish mounting the scope. So far so good. Scope height and eye relief is very good. For a mount that cost just under 22 bucks I'm very pleased with the mount. This rifle was a budget build. I will train my two grandsons with this one.

Eventually when the youngest one is old enough. I may give the rifle to him. I'm really bored with all things AR. However old habits die hard. I'll keep my eye out for used budget AR parts and upgrade the rifle as time goes on.

I'm in no hurry. I already gave my oldest grandson a first generation M16A1 that is new in the box. That sits in my safe and he whines from time to time to shoot it. For the youngest grandson My plans may change a good friend of mine has M16A1 that is nib. If I can pick it up for a good price. I'll give that one to my youngest grandson. I made a deal with my friend when he wants to part with that A2 I will take it. Last time we were bartering with firearms. I offered him 1,000 for the rifle he wants $1200 not a bad price however for me 1k is better

Been playing around with my CO2 powered Umarex Peacemakers lately. These are amazingly realistic BB and Pellet revolvers. Wish these were available when I was a youngster.
I have one of the older 1960's Crosman peacemakers . No where near as realistic but not bad just the same. Good balance and shooting characteristics.

The Umarex uses dummy shells that hold a BB or pellet in a rubber gasket. The breech end of the barrel moves back and forth when you cock the hammer providing a good gas seal. Velocity is pretty good.

I have both smooth bore BB and rifled Pellet versions. The rifled version is deadly accurate to 20 yards or more, nearly as accurate as a rifle. The BB version is good for plinking at 30-35 feet.

Well with respect to both a bargain and BB pistols, at last gun show I picked up this box of BB pistols for $20 for the whole lot....Umarex S&W MP40 and Daisy Powerline 1991 Commander....plus 6,000BBs and 30 CO2 cartridges. Sweet.

I have a couple air pistols laying around.. One of them I call the pistol BIG Money. When I traveled alot living in hotels. My buddies and I would set up small target in our hotel rooms. We bet on who was able to put the most shots with the tightest groups into the bullseye.

I won a lot of cash $$$ with that webly air pistol. Keeping the shooting fair we always used the same pistol. What's not to like plenty of scotch, air pistols and gambling makes for a very entertaining evening.

I've spent more than a bit of time in hotel rooms as well. Never thought to add air pistols. Now you got me thinking. Thanks.

have fun
kfw

That webly air pistol we used has enough power to penetrate one side of small plastic waste basket. We taped the targets to the waste baskets and the fun begins. The waste basket also served as a pellet trap no mess to clean up. We would order room service when they entered the room some of the looks on their faces was priceless.

How all the air pistol nonsense started. One day a friend of mine and I went into a small sporting goods store. I spotted the webly I purchased the air pistol for my Son he was 12 or 13 at the time. I planned on giving it to him as a surprise gift. When we went back to the hotel. My friend said I wonder how accurate that pistol is. I replied let’s find out.


The webly came as a nice package pistol rug, pellets, cleaning kit and targets. So I taped a target to a waste basket and we had some fun plinking with the air pistol. As the evening progressed other buddies stopped by to visit. Then the fun began. The next day I went back to the sport shop to purchase another webly for my Son.


We would all kick in $100 or $200 bucks for are 5 shot competition. The $$ would add up it was a winner take all type of thing. Depending on how many guys were in the competition. The money would add up to a nice pot. We had those competitions one night per week. Sometimes as many as 12 to 15 guys would be involved. No one lost big but if you won it was nice.

Air pistols can be good training. I set up an air pistol range in my basement. I use miniature metal targets based on IPSC and IDPA full size steel targets. The mesh keeps the BB's from getting all over the place. The size of the targets and the distance I can get back simulates up to 25 yards. I especially like the falling plate rack (they're all knocked down in the picture. They are in the center on the top shelf between the two cardboard silhouettes.) The pistol is powered by an air compressor, so the only thing you have to reload is BB's. I especially like the very small plate targets for air rifle.

I've got that Glock, but in .40 S&W. 😀

I've always wanted one of those, but in .45 Long Colt. The Peacemaker, and maybe an older 1851 Navy Colt.

Those Daisy powerlines develop leaky valve bodies pretty easy but the fix is simple. If you ever have that problem check out the youtube videos.

I've rebuilt several Crosman 38T revolvers in the past few years. I have two in .22 caliber, one is an early model with machined brass valve body and steel cylinder, and three in .177, plus enough parts to restore a 38C with brass valve body and steel cylinder in .22.



I have an 1851 Navy replica in .36 caliber. My older brother had an original Colt Navy his son gave to him years ago. I suppose his son has it now.
I also have a cut down (3" barrel) pocket version of the Confederate Colt copy in .44 caliber.