So,
I wandered into this thread because i t was one of the new posts and looked interesting.
Let's get some things out into the open right away:
1. I do not shoot handguns outside of work, I have no interest in them at all.
2. I have not and do not cast bullets.
3. I have been toying with the idea of casting rifle bullets for hunting or defense and to that end I have been collecting WW for the past few years. I have a 5gal bucket almost full now.
4. I currently own a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook which I have not even opened.
5. I currently own ZERO casting equipment.
6. I do have extreme concerns that, while we here take great steps to protect and ensure that our rights as gun-owners are not eroded, we give not the slightest care to our language and its erosion.
Now, all that being said, I am concerned that there is such discussion about the word "smelting". I have to agree that the word is being incorrectly used by today's accepted definition. I also have to agree that the language is fluid and once a word has received acceptance in the common vernacular, it is indeed a word. This is the process by which we have changed our language in my lifetime. I once thought that Coke was something you drank to refresh on a hot day. Crack was something you saw when the plumber's pants rode low. Cookies were something you ate as a light snack or a dessert in your lunchbox.
Since I know basically nothing about the entire process the most judicious method to follow seems to me to be gathering of opinions, vast and varied, weighing them each to give them merit, researching methods and processes, experimenting with what you have learned given basic guidelines. I mean, that's how I started reloading 30yrs ago. No internet forums, but various opinions through books, gunclubs, etc. And then real life experience using the basic guidelines taken from those conversations and instruction.
So, let's continue to allow an open discussion. Often I have engaged in a heated debate with more than one member here, and have come out of it a better man, having either stretched my thinking or solidified my own knowledge. It is always good to defend what you know against your peers. It builds character and, if properly conducted, can get you thinking outside of the box you may be in and lead to expanded horizons.
BTW, this thread took me several days to read and I enjoyed almost every post.
I was somewhat upset by the ### comment, and again by the fact that it remained posted. It certainly seemed like a fairly personal attack on a member whom I have come to respect for his sensible and logical posts (but since the true test of a man's intelligence is how much he agrees with you still holds here, I may be wrong
)
And I was more than a little put out by the Gunputz reference, it was more than a little condescending. If the author feels so strongly about this forum, perhaps he should be invited to leave by one of the moderators. I understand that there are many members on this site that have aggressive personalities that may not be backed with as deep a knowledge bank and post things that are not in keeping with the general body of knowledge or goes completely against it, but this does not mean that EVERYONE on here is the same and if you disagree, then man up and say so. Many threads are simply looked at by me and probably many others as not being worthy of comment since what I may have had to add had already been adequately covered by another member, or they just aren't worth the effort. We don't always have to chime in and normally won't. It took 8 pages for Ben or H4831 to pipe up, and I consider them to have a fairly extensive bit of knowledge on most subjects, and would not consider either of them a putz even if I have held differences of opinions with them.
Civility, ladies and gentlemen, should be the watchword we ascribe to as Canadian Gunnutz. This will allow open and honest debate of issues within this forum. Thanks.
