I enjoyed reading your article. Having lived in W.AZ and then NM, I could relate so much of it. I am surrounded by trees in E. VA now but would rather be back in the high desert anytime.

One thing I noticed not mentioned in your article was the tendency of those traveling through, not to, the high desert, have a tendency to have thief dogs get “lost” or just plain let them loose to fend for themselves. Which leaves us with packs of wild dogs not afraid of humans, unlike healthy coyotes. That was one of the main reasons we used to go armed. Hell, the local authorities sometimes even [provided] the ammo we used on wild packs. It was that bad when the main roads weren’t that many miles away. I can only imagine how bad it is now, with the current economy, foreclosures, and job losses.

Dave

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I will be subscribing to your magazine and plan on giving 2 gift subscriptions…one to our public library and one to my daughter.

Thanks so much!

MJF

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I love your recipe for laundry detergent and have been using it for several months now. I blogged about it and mentioned your website and magazine in the blog. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe for free for us! It has saved me so much money and it is earth friendly. Love it!

Thank you,

Sara McFall

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In your article you stated a good amount of junk silver to have would be around $300 to $400 dollars worth. My question is, is that amount in face value of junk silver or would that be the amount you would spend to have some junk silver?

Thanks

Grant Underwood

Grant,

That’s my mistake.  I should have stated it clearly that that’s $300-$400 in face value in junk silver.  Nowadays, you’ll spend a several thousand to get it.

John

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(Current letters begin below this one)

Mr. Duffy,

Thanks for your excellent article defending Ron Paul. Things don’t look good for Ron now, but November is a long way off. During the 1996 campaign, I “cursed” a friend of mine for voting for a third-party candidate instead of Bob Dole. I told him to vote for Bob Dole in order to keep Bill Clinton from a second term. Well, this year it is I who will be doing the protest vote. If Ron Paul wins the nomination, I will vote for him. If he runs as a third party candidate, I will vote for him. If he doesn’t even run the race, I will still vote for him. If he dies before November 4th, I will still vote for him.

The only thing that can save America is a return to the Constitution. Ron is serious about the Constitution. We moderns are great at technology, sports and conventional warfare. However, the people of the 1700s were superior to us in politics, education, marriage, family life, art and music. The Constitution can’t be beat. Only the Bible is superior, but most people won’t follow the Bible, and they fight about it.

Here’s an idea; have the people in the states decide controversial issues like abortion, gun control, drugs and other things. That way, conservatives can move to conservative states and live under laws they like. Liberals can move to liberal states and live under laws they like. Isn’t that the way the Founders wanted it to be anyway?

Dave Salmon

Sparta, NJ

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Keep up the good work.

Dan Dzak
Illinois

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1. Failed to mention about tungsten iron shot. Heavier than lead. Faster than steel. Less choke, tighter patterns than steel, manufactured by Remington.

2. Failed to talk about back-bored barrels. Manufactured by Browning. A prime example would be the Browning Gold gas semi-auto.

3. Why would someone like Ayoob choose a dinosaur like the Remington 1100B.C. or 11-87B.C.? Both of those guns have to use rubber O-rings on their magazine tubes,and constantly need replacement, every few,(4 to 800 shots.) Neither gun has over-bored or back-bored barrels.

The Remington 1100 B.C./11-87 B.C. must be cleaned every 75-90 rounds fired, or they will jam. I have owned both of these, and came to my senses, and replaced them both with Browning’s.

My Gold features a gas system that NEVER NEEDS CLEANING. I have spotted guys 100 shots fired from my Browning’s. And they started jamming after 75-90 shells!! I have purposely fired my Browning’s more than 2500 rounds without cleaning. And NO feed or eject jams PERIOD.

Michael Smith

Michael, thank you for your input. Added opinions on topics is always welcome here.

Tungsten shot was not mentioned in the 20-gauge shotgun article because it’s a type of projectile that can be used in any shotgun, not just the 20-gauge under discussion. The article was intended to discuss the 20-gauge in general, not every shotgun ever chambered for that size shell.  

I’m glad you had good luck with your Browning Gold, and am sorry that you seem to have had bad experiences with the Remington 1100-11-87 series.  However, as I’m sure you know, those Remington autoloaders are among the most popular in the world; the Browning Gold is now offered only in 10-gauge, and as we both know, comparing 10-gauge to 20 is a bit like comparing a Kenworth to an SUV.

Again, your added input is appreciated.

Respectfully,

Mas Ayoob

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I just wanted to drop you a line and say “thank you” and tell you I’ve linked to one of your Hardyville essays. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read or thought about the words you wrote…

Now that I have my own burgeoning readership I’ve come to appreciate the occasional email that says, “I read your blog every day and just wanted to say ‘thank you’!” Mark Twain once said he could live two weeks on a good compliment and I’m right there with him. My readers words keep buoying me up when times get tough.

Your words… “Are you racing like a little maze-rat, just to keep yourself in fancy toys?…When it comes right down to it, do you choose convenience over independence? Then you’re not on the road to Hardyville. If you want to be on the road to Hardyville, then turn around”

They made a difference. I started thinking about the life I wanted and how I could get it. It also woke me up to the fact that the whole rat race and more toys and crap were NOT what I wanted. It wasn’t an overnight change, but we are well on our way. And I’ve got a good life, one that makes me happy, and that’s better than it was.

I just wanted to remind you that you touch a lot of lives.

Christine Shuck

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