It came to my attention that my hunting and fishing buddy "Shotgun" never read a book by Robert Heinlein. I plan to fix that deficiency.
Shotgun informed me that he thinks Louis L'Amour's book "Last of the Breed" might be the finest book ever written. Do any of you have any opinions as to WHICH of Heinlein's many books is the best "first" book? If that is too broad of a question, then which of his books is the most like Louis L'Amour's book "Last of the Breed"?
Keys
One of my brothers bought a Kawasaki murder-cycle. It only has one key. The dealer told him to have a second one cut at a lock-smith's. The best lock-smith in town told him to get it from the dealer.
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| Photos of the business end of the key |
My brother found a firm in the U.K. that will cut a new key if he has the key-code or if he sends them a picture !! 8-) !!!.
Do any of my readers know of sources in the US who can provide this service?
Thermal scopes
Scopes that help shooters make ethical shots in low-light conditions are HUGE force multipliers. Short video here that compares several models from one supplier.
There are countless varmints that only come out at night. Raccoons, 'possum, hogs, coyotes and so on. Having some kind of thermal scope also helps identify items that might be lurking in the background.
There are two key-words used to describe scopes that are sold for low-light conditions.
The older technology is "night vision" which relies on an infrared "flood-light" and video technology that can sense IR light. Actually, nearly all digital camera technology can see short-wave IR; commercial cameras require an IR filter to remove short-wave end the IR spectrum to ensure that IR sources like hot pavement and heating elements on stoves don't show up as light sources.
The down-sides of the old "night vision" technology is that it gobbles batteries and is a huge beacon for anybody looking for IR.
The newer technology is "thermal" which is passive and senses the difference in temperature between your target and the background. For example, a 'coon in a tree is warm while the tree is cool and the sky in the background is near absolute zero. That is an easy "find". A 'possum moseying along in front of a stone fence that has been baking in the afternoon and evening sun is a much more difficult "discrimination" problem.
Low-end "thermal" scopes with coarse image resolution are available in the $700 range. Very functional (in my uneducated opinion) with 300x400 pixel resolution can be had in the $1400-$1700 range.
I don't see value in putting thermal on every rifle and air-gun in the safe but I can see that having one on a general purpose firearm. If shooting varmints that took refuge in a tree is on your menu, then you need to be hyper-vigilant about where your bullet will land...and you should strongly consider mounting the scope on a stout, nitro-spring pellet-gun or a low-recoiling shotgun (like a 20-gauge, semi-automatic).
Noo Yawk take notice
Most cities in Germany are on the brink of bankruptcy
Their cash-burn is accelerating by the month. Budgets that were made last year are hundreds of millions of Euros in the red this year. Most of the black-hole is related to immigrants "pulling" benefits they are not paying into.
Noo Yawk will end up as a paragraph or two in economics history lessons. Words like "Doomed" and "Inevitable " come to mind.
ReplyDeleteIts funny that Marxists don't teach history because they don't want the people to know it.
I believe " The moon is a harsh Mistress" is in the top 3 Heinlein books.
ReplyDeleteDitto.
DeleteAgreed!
DeleteThat was the first one I thought of as well.
DeleteSpot on…though Starship Troopers is a close second
Delete"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is among my top Heinlein picks; I think "Time Enough for Love" is better. "Starship Troopers" is as good as "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, albeit less complex; it hammers upon the theme that authority and responsibility MUST be balanced for a stable society to exist. Any of his juveniles are worth an adult read; I am especially fond of "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel", "Starman Jones", "Farmer in the Sky, and "Red Planet". Among his adult novels, Glory Road and Double Star are another couple of favorites. My judgement is that he did his best work before 1980, "Friday" excepted. I did not enjoy his later work as much as his earlier books.
DeleteClose, night vision amplifies available light. It can work without an illuminator, but it doesn't work as well.
ReplyDeleteNight vision development stagnated about 20 years ago and the only improvements it is seeing is in cost.
Having said that, there are many reasons that thermal is the way to go. One of them is that it has multiple uses and can be used in daylight, especially in cold weather.
But don't buy cheap - a $700 scope won't do much or last very long. A decent usable thermal scope will be well over $1000. The cheaper ones have low resolution and don't handle recoil well.
An alternative I'm working on is to use a thermal monocular as a flip in unit with a red dot, like what is done with a magnifier. This potentially gives short range performance at a lower cost.
Jonathan
Try jaykeyservice.com. They are in Springfield, MO. -Tom
ReplyDeleteIMO, Best three Heinlein books are Stanger in a Strange Land,
ReplyDeleteStarship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. FWIW, Last of the Breed is probably L'amour's best.
For Heinlein books I recommend one of his short story collections. "The Past Through Tomorrow" was stolen from me twice, so that ranks it highly, "Green Hills of Earth" is also good.
ReplyDelete"Tunnel in the sky", kids get surviving is as close to "Last of the breed" as I can recall.
ReplyDelete"Glory Road" is one of my favorites and "The Moon Is a Hard Mistress" is always worthwhile. Thinking about it maybe it's time I visited with Manny, the Professor and Sherlock Holmes smarter brother again?
My first Louis L'Amour book was "The First Fast Draw", still a favorite! But any of the Sackett books will do :-)!
A toss-up between Glory Road and The Moon IS a Hard Mistress (for a first Heinlein).
ReplyDeleteTunnel in the Sky might be a decent third, for a first Heinlein, followed by Starship Troopers. It all depends on the personality of person reading it for the first time.
After that, I think Time Enough for Love is the best.
Modern night vision (using the PVS-14 as a reference) does not need a powered illumination source, as stated above. the 14 does very well with available light, but does not give the same capability as thermal in no light or obscured conditions. The most recent developments combine both thermal and night vision and provide an overlay on the image of the objects detected.
ReplyDeleteMaybe "Farnham's Freehold"?
ReplyDeleteAlso, for varmints, an inexpensive ir rifle scope with an illuminator is both cheaper and has better resolution than thermal. Thermal, however, is much better for spotting the critters. I use a thermal spotter when deer hunting and its like magic - the deer literally glow. But you have to be careful because I'm pretty sure the deer get spooked by the reflection off the front lens, which is blueish (the color deer see best). I use a sunshade made of an old cardboard tube to cut down on the reflection.
I liked the Sackett series better than last of the breed.
ERJ, at least for me, it also depends on what your friend's preferences are in books. I have not read any of L'Amour, so I will leave it to better minds than myself to make recommendations based on him.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I think Starship Troopers is a pretty good introduction to Heinlein's worldview set in an engaging and understandable world. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is also a good one, if one's mind is more of a political bent.
If he is a Golden Age Science Fiction sort of person, I have vague memories of The Puppet Masters and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel being enjoyable (but to be fair, years since I have read them).
Try "Car Keys Express". They set up occasionally at Costco. They have made 2 fobs with keys for us. 502-323-6201
ReplyDeleteNitro-spring is the way to go with pellet guns, but I still would not mount a good scope on one. A .22LR rifle has been my choice. Longer range, more accurate and more durable. I have and still use the single shot .22 that my grandfather and father used to get rabbits during the Depression, and it still shoots where it points.
ReplyDeleteA simple bolt action 22 with 22 shorts is quieter than a air rifle and quite enough for small pest control.
DeleteAside from that air rifles need a air rifle scope as they damage normal scopes as they recoil backwards from the spring piston or nitro piston.
I expect a ir scope or thermal isn't designed for an air rifle.
Michael the anonymous
I saw a video of a guy using a nightscope, with a camera, using an air gun to take rats in a grain storage area.
DeleteNo problems with the stuff attached to the air gun that I could see.
Thermal scope on a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) .22 air rifle works very well for me. Unfortunately, the pellets have been lethal only out to about 50 yards in my nighttime experience, on racoons. Fugettaboutit for coyotes here...
DeletePrecharged PCP air rifles do not have the reverse slap of the spring Or Nitro powered piston. So, I expect you'll have zero issues with that thermal scope.
DeleteA lethal hit on a tough Trash Panda at 50 yards aka 150 feet away is a pretty stout 22 PCP.
Brand Please of both rifle and pellets your using, I might want that also under the tree.
BTW Please tell us the Brand so we can see if we can find it under the Tree soon. Thanks.
Rob I'd love to see that video if you can forward the link, please.
The reverse recoil of the piston doesn't immediately destroy a decent scope's Lense seals, but will do so eventually and BTW void the warranty as I found out.
Benjamin marauder Lothar barrel .22 regulated, 10 shot magazine, performance tuned, Crossman 14.3gr domed ultramagnum pellets. It does take an extra pellet or two to finish off the target. quiet as a breeze
DeletePropylene glycol is generally considered safe for dogs in regulated amounts, as it is classified as a "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) substance by the FDA. However, it is not safe for cats, and the FDA has banned its use in cat foods due to potential health risks, including Heinz body formation and reduced red blood cell survival.
DeleteFrom Airgun depot data your 600.00 plus before scope tuned airgun is a tad louder than a breeze.
DeleteBut then again that model comes in only at 177 and 25 caliber, so maybe yours is a superior and discontinued model?
A simple 22 bolt action and 22 shorts have shown themselves nearly silent as I can hear the firing pin strike the round.
Regarding anon at 2:58 - reports from like-minded neighbors in the area indicate they hear the lead hitting a hard target, never the shot itself, at about 100-500 feet away from my property. .22 short shot from a 'regular rifle': the report echoes throughout my target area and byond, so it is definitely louder than what I have. I can hear the report from neighbor's suppressed .22 LR, though it is like a small dry branch breaking. I put my rig together from AirgunRevisions bargain block a long while ago, at a very attractive price. So yes, it can get spendy if one goes for new these days. That's my experience, others will likely be different. One can certainly go on the shopping hunt to configure a suppressed .22 shooting rig for the same amount of money for a projectile with more mass, with the consideration of where it will be used. I am very rural, surrounded by forest service. Suburbs, near neighbors, karens, HOA environments would be more challenging considerations for this sort of activity.
DeleteHrmpfff! I’m not even fluent in the night vision stuff Joe. I don’t get it: the squaddies are running around with those flip down goggles on their helmets… so how do they shoot…? IR lasers, I suppose..?
ReplyDeleteI’m another second on Starship Troopers. But the only way you can go wrong with Heinlein is with his old stuff for young adults - the kids will still love them - or the last stuff he did in his final years when he started losing his marbles and hacks tried to finish his incomplete work.
There's a key store in Frandor that might be able to do it. If not, there are ebay vendors that provide key cutting service.
ReplyDeletehttps://ebay.us/m/gzCPhu
If all else fails on the key front there is always the option to replace the switch. They come with two keys and depending on bike model can be had for anywhere from $12~$60.
ReplyDeletewes
wtdb
My favorite book of all time is Starman Jones. I agree with Filthie that Heinlein lost his marbles in his later years. One of his books in that time frame is Friday, a pretty decent read.
ReplyDeleteStarship Troopers is a pretty good start if your friend is a veteran, but you need to warn him that stink'n movie has little to nothing to do with the actual book.. Glory Road, Tunnel in the Sky, Starman Jones are all fun too. Job, a Comedy of Justice makes you think and the woke cancellation early in Friday hits a bit too close to home now.
ReplyDeleteI think you should really consider Shotgun's personality and values BEFORE recommending any Heinlein books. Some of his writing is sexually liberal. It may be offensive to people with a socially conservative POV. I've enjoyed all of his books that I read, but some of them were more entertaining in my younger years. Older me knows that the hedonistic lifestyle portrayed in some of his writing is destructive to a stable society. YMMV...
ReplyDeleteGlory Road is closest to LL stories. Starship Troopers is a great book also, your friend needs to totally disregard the movie.
ReplyDelete"Last of the Breed" is one of the best novels I have ever read. Much as I love Heinlein's work, that one likely eclipses the Grand Old Man. When I picked it up I could NOT put it down.
ReplyDeleteERJ,
ReplyDeleteWe jumped into thermal a few years back to get after nocturnal predators. It was a frightening leap at that price point, but worthwhile. We got a dedicated scope with 12um sensor and a 640 display resolution. Good but not top of the lone at the time. It is still good but no where near top of the line now.
Decent thermal scopes can be a bit heavy. They all suck batteries fast, especially in the cold. Hot swappable batteries is important. The ability to plug on a USB external battery is very useful.
Knowing what I know now, I would NOT get a dedicated scope. Instead I would invest in the best thermal clip on I could afford and pair it with a decent low to medium power variable day optic. This adds a lot of versatility for the “one rifle man”. Such is the nature of experience: you get it right after you first need it.
Thermal is great for targeting. It is awful for movement because the refresh rate is very slow (another key parameter of selecting a device). Uncle Sam gave us helmet mounted PVS and IR lasers for living the vampire life. That too has limitations. Life is full of trade offs, especially on a budget.
If just starting out, get the best thermal sight your conscience will allow, then explore PVS or composite thermal PVS systems. There is a lot to learn before one plinks down hard earned cash for these tools. Coyote bounties aren’t as high as they used to be.
Already mentioned but Tunnel in the Sky is an excellent Heinlein and plumbs the same depths as Last of the Breed. Both tales of survival with minimal equipment in an unknown environment.
ReplyDelete