Outdoor Writer

Howa has been around a very long time. Several decades back, I owned an M1 carbine knock-off made by Howa. I never shot it, however, and traded it off for something more versatile.

See this thread for some info... about new portal

Today's installment...

I had a turkey tag in 1963 and wanted to use a rifle. Only one I had was a Marlin 30-30. So a friend loaned me his 40X, heavy barrel in .222 Rem Mag. I about completely blew a tom to smithereens with it, but lugging that gun around was a royal PITA.

Too old now to reap any benefits from another book. Besides, I fully retired over a year ago. About the only thing I sell is a photo if someone contacts me, but I don't solicit business. The Coues book was sort of labor intensive, so to speak. I wrote it, edited it, scanned many of the photos and did the actual layout of everything including the cover and all the inside photos. A lot of folks helped with their contributions, of course. Now....you don't need to be a good writer to do a book; you just need to hire a good editor. I know one. 😉

Just one complete book -- HOW TO HUNT COUES DEER - but have also contributed to many others in the form of chapters and/or photos. I've never really had the appetite for books because they take a lot of time, and the rewards aren't that great for outdoor books. Heck the same goes for articles. The major magazines are still paying the same rates as they did when I started selling to them in the early 70s. Likewise goes for photos. The most I've been paid for one was $1500 for a Gander Mtn. MasterCard. This was the photo:

Apology is accepted. I knew you'd come around as soon as you discovered the error of your way. 🙄 In college I majored in both biology and journalism. The latter provided my beer money, even though we could drink only 3.2% in Ohio. Several of my dorm mates depended on me to edit their papers. I charged them $4 per double-spaced page. That was in 1960, so with inflation it would be a lot more now. Obviously, I could become a millionaire just on this site alone. 🤣 That said, I rarely comment about grammar and spelling in posts on the web because I don't expect folks to spend a lot of time writing prose. And I certainly don't go over my posts with a fine-tooth comb. About the only time I do make a comment is when someone questions another's post for grammar while making their own error in doing it. So now, in the interest of full disclosure, you and I both missed a not so obvious error in that USPS paragraph. See if you can find it.

Ouch. That ain't good. Now, the questions are: Did she send it via USPS? If so, did it actually arrive at the Dept. of State?? Or is this a complete unknown who done-it? 😂

Nah, somehow you are all mixed up. Maybe you needed to look at the original?? Here it is: Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any movement on your package. The response we get from the last facility where your package had been scanned, is that they are experience massive delays due to the record high package volume received this year. And personal shortages do to COVID-19. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done until your package receives its next scan. If you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date. You can file a claim through the Mail Recovery Center at USPS.com, under the HELP tab. Sooo....... The response we get from the last facility where your package had been scanned, (no comma) <no comma necessary unless you like to overuse commas> I said NO COMMA, and then you said the same thing! Duh! 🤪 If you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date. You (no period; a comma plus lower case Y) <this was correct as originally typed. Your edit created an incomplete sentence. The comma after USPS.com is unnecessary.> No, it wasn't correct as originally written, which was: (dependent clause>>)If you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date. (independent clause>>) You can file a claim through the Mail Recovery Center at USPS.com, under the HELP tab. The first part is a DEPENDENT clause -- also called a sentence fragment -- and requires an independent clause to form a complete sentence. The second part is that independent clause, which is normally a complete stand-alone simple sentence. Writing the two properly (my edit: You (no period; a comma plus lower case Y)) results in a correct COMPLEX sentence that should read: If you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date, you can file a claim through the Mail Recovery Center at USPS.com, under the HELP tab. You can usually pick out the dependent clauses because they start with words like because, after, if, when, while, etc. In the case above, the 'if' is the tipoff. To verify, just remove all the extraneous stuff beyond the noun or pronoun and verb. You wind up with "If you do not receive" which obviously makes no sense as a stand-alone sentence. The same would be true if it was written as: Because you do not receive... When you do not receive... While you do not receive... Since you do not receive... Lastly, no comma is needed between the two elements (<<independent clause) (dependent clause>>) if the complex sentence is written with the independent clause first as in this sentence and as in: You can file a claim through the Mail Recovery Center at USPS.com, under the HELP tab (<<independent clause) (dependent clause>>) if you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date. In addition to the 'do' to 'due', I could have corrected the 2nd part, which is also a sentence fragment. ...package volume received this year. And personal shortages do to COVID-19. It should read: ..package volume received this year and personal shortages due to COVID-19. Lastly, I agree that the comma is unnecessary in this part: USPS.com, under the HELP tab.

I'm headed to Walmart. Do you need anything?

We had just the opposite experience with Amazon. I ordered some special sheets for my hospital bed and bulk packages of two different sized plastic food containers on Thurs. Dec. 17. Because the order was more than $25, I opted for the free delivery, which was scheduled for Tues., Dec. 22. They came on Sat. Dec. 20 instead, likely from the distribution center here in Phoenix. Given the season, I was somewhat surprised.

Other than the non-sentence I let stand as is, I doubt you'll be able to edit my editing. But I'm still waiting to see your versions....

I was going easy on him.

Let's see 'em.

Right. I thought it was spam. 😂

Did you mean to write "must BE?" 🙄

Great. Send me three please.

Mine... I'm tired of this bullsh!t.......

Still the King... elvis.mp4

I dated her in high school. 🤣

And another...

That's why I started it and said this in the first post: Okay, folks, this is meant to be a fun thread where someone posts a somewhat goofy or unusual photo to be captioned by the masses.

Do you have anything left that is sold???

A close look at the response I posted reveals that it was mostly their standard form reply except for the one paragraph that appears to have been added by the supervisor. It had a slightly different font plus a few grammatical errors, in red below: Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any movement on your package. The response we get from the last facility where your package had been scanned, (no comma) is that they are experience (experiencing) massive delays due to the record high package volume received this year. And personal shortages do (due) to COVID-19. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done until your package receives its next scan. If you do not receive your package after thirty (30) days from its expected delivery date. You (no period; a comma plus lower case Y) can file a claim through the Mail Recovery Center at USPS.com, under the HELP tab.