***What Are You Smoking, May 2025?***

[gord]

C&D Billy Budd in a Celebi Meerschaum with a cup of Nettle tea.
View attachment 391291

Nettle tea . . . haven't had that in a long time. Have to fix that this early summer. And that's a beautiful meer. Recent aquisition? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[gord]

View attachment 391314
It’s been a while since I’ve posted.

At the tail end it this bowl of Mac Baren HH Acadian Perique in an Andreas Bauer silver spigot meerschaum with 9mm filter.

Well, it's good to see you! Hope things are going well. Thant's a beautiful meer for sure.

 

[Scottmi]

My life is insane right now. Never thought retirement would be busier than "real life" but it is proving perhaps worse lol. A bit of time this morning to post this and catch you up on what's going on. That virus thing (yeah, apparently that's what it was in combination with allergies) is waning fast. Tastebuds back to about 90+% - all but subtleties are detectable now, and that bit of tonguebite is waning too, but I remain a bit undiscplined and it is still there. Two shots to show you with text underneath. Won't have time to post anything but Highlight Smokes and Skippable Drivel for a while, but I've had a lot of these lately. Smoking when I can, chewing when I can't.

Highlight Smoke: (actually, two . . . )

A day or two ago, but for me an important one. I'd mentioned a couple of times that I was thrilled with the performance of my Falon bantam bowl with Navies and Englishes, but not as high on them for aromatics. Realized I hadn't really given them a whirl in my large custom briar bowl, which is fully broken in, I thought I'd give it a try.

Because the Standard Falcon is a key tool in my travel kit, (I'll picture that soon, whenever that is), I gave the remainder of the plastic baggie that buddy Stu gave me of CAO Moontrance in the Falcon Straight, Large Briar Bowl a whirl with most excellent results. A later bowl with TobaccoBarn's "Cimmeron", a wonderful aro in my top ten, proved equally fine. Case closed.


View attachment 391209


Skippable Drivel

it's getting down to crunch time for my upcoming public participation demo early June in Field Target at the PG Rod and Gun. I'm planning a demo in pistol, rifle, and a new category I'm trying to introduce to CAFTA (Canadian Airgun Field Target Association) as a permanent fixture, Stocked Scoped Pistol. Reason? Although this year I've attained average competence with a handgun, this discipline in any of its forms is really a young mans' game. Us old farts don't have the eyesight and one (or even two) arm strength to hold a heavy 4 pound target pistol steady for very long. I wish I had learned to shoot pistol 25 or 30 years ago, but I didn't, and I don't cry over spilled milk. (That's different than whining, IMHO lol)

Here are the results of two consecutive 5 shot groups I shot at 5 yards in my indoor range 3 nights ago. Technical stuff below the picture.


View attachment 391211

I shot the bottom group first, and no, it's not larger, but I made a slight one click sight adjustment on the scope. I wanted the group about 2-3mm to the right of the dot, because I'm a left hand shooter and will tend to pull the group to the left minutely if I don't follow through on my trigger pull. The upper group was shot immediately after (and is actually six shots which you can see in the tip impacts if you look closely), and is what I was looking for. Two subsequent almost identical 5 shot groups confirmed. I'll move the target to 10 yards today to check the trajectory - it should impact about at the bottom of the dot (which most Field Target guys, and frankly a lot of hunters, too, prefer shooting at rather than the circular gobbledygook on expensive printed targets. I actually shoot at a pellet hole on a piece of 8.5x11" bond, which accounts for the 6 shots in the top group.

I shot these groups while buddy Mike was over. He's pretty much deaf, and spends a lot of our smoking time watching YouTube stuff with his bluetooth hearing device. When he got up from the couch to get a coffee refill, he looked at the groups and said something that I wouldn't even print. My response was that I could think of at least 4 guys in the club who could better that, and I know of a few guys on this forum who could probably do so as well. My friend Daryl is one of them. He currently holds the NA Airmail Match 1000 yard Muzzle Loader record, a 5 shot sub less than 6" group, He's incredible with an airgun, too.

Competition these days in both airgun and benchrest is measured in 1/1000th of inches. I ain't there.

Next project is establishing the trajectory at 10 yards, which as I said will probably touch the bottom of the dot, and then at 15 and 17 yards, at which the group will be bang on. And no, they won't be much, if any larger. Largest groups will be at about 7 - 8 yards, where the pellet stabilizes.

I'll post again tonight on a highlight smoke, and try to catch up o!? the emoticon and comment circuit. Cheers and have a great weekend.

Gord, one hole group is ace in my book! I love FT but only managed to get out to one competition years ago. My FT rifle has not been shot in...nearing a decade!?

 

[Scottmi]

Molto Dolce in the SMS Big Bent Lattice Meer.

 

[Scottmi]

Andersen by Shalom Israel Burl Briar w/ some 5 Bros View attachment 391261

That's a really striking rustication!

 

[JimInks]

Did a little low calorie snacking, and have passed the first third of this bowl of Wilke Hearth of Galway in an undated smooth straight medium brown made in France Saillard Lord Clerit lumberman with a black vulcanite saddle stem. Feed our cats, and all the ferals except for the absent Abner the Eager.

 

[gord]

Took an evening off and had a puff with a friend. Thought it was time for a long overdue smoke in my big Peterson System Standard P-Lip. Loaded it up to the top with Smokers' Pride Vanilla Cavendish, for my once in a while long evening smoke with an aro. And I do like this blend.

Tastebuds still not there 100%, but neither was the company while I was still investigating the Mariana Trench after he'd finished a pipe then a cigar and a pot of mint tea. Pretty sure this is the biggest bowled pipe I have, but my Sav Avorio might contest that honor.

The Peterson is a remarkable smoker. But I lost interest in the diminishing taste of the tobacco and didn't feel like rooting up the trench and going another 20+ minutes with scorched burly. Sure wouldn't be without at least one P-Lip. Balm for tongue bite. Altogether successful night, though. See re-assigning this wonderful pipe with Englishes, which I smoke quite a bit of. Skippable Drivel below picrute of pete.






Skippable Drivel:

Rounded up my travel kit to photograph from 3 corners of my house. Rabbit, grouse (Sept 1), and fishing season approaching, plus shooting duties outdoors at the range.

I always take day trips, never overnighters, because in this country you don't have to. I usually take a smoke break after I set up (start fishing about noon usually), take a late afternoon break while fishing, and get back out on the water from about 6pm until dusk, which can last until midnight June 21 up here.

So my procedure is usually 2 pipes, and a cigar, and maybe a cigar break on the water when I get tired of catching fish. Seriously. You wouldn't believe the fishing up here. If the trout are slow, the whitefish or char are on. Outdoor paradise!

I will select two pipes from the group, (depending on what I feel like smoking that day), add a couple of cigars, and a few home rollies from my "Skragg" tailings and rolling machine, and I'm good to go. Pack the tobacco in empty 35mm film canisters, and fit the whole shebang into a pencil case.

Works for me!



All the cobs are new, by the way. The last year's models have been given away to starving students and other riff-raff.

 

[Roach1]

Starting Saturday with OJK in an Irish Seconds System 302.

 

[JimInks]

Now smoking Wilke High Hat in an undated black sandblasted straight made in France Silvermatch Canadian with a tapered black vulcanite stem. Ice water and bergs is my drink. Working and listening to The Adventures of Superman from my radio collection.

 

[TubbyInTweed]

On the menu for my last smoke of the evening was a mixture of 5 brothers and C&D Yorktown loaded in my Thayne 33 paired with an iced tea.

 

[Roach1]

Haunted Bookshop Cake in a Pete SPD 2011 69.

 

[JimInks]

Now smoking Wilke No. 515 in a smooth dark medium bend 2021 Peterson Heritage Brown POTY 4AB No. 45/500 military mount with a silver cap and a tapered black vulcanite AB stem. Finished work for the day, and will check on the ferals before long.

 

[dino]

I'm still not caught up on this thread since the Chicago Show.
But I thought I might at least mention my smokes at the show. Friday night in the tent I sat with a bunch of friends and smoked Samovar in my Peterson Sherlock Holmes Hudson.
Saturday evening, late, I sat with some of my fellow club volunteers and smoked my Castello Sea Rock kkkk rusticated 49 filled with my own "Dino's Mixture".
It was a terrific show and while sitting at the club table I met quite a few of the folk from this Forum who stopped by to say "Hi"! Thanks guys.

 

[JimInks]

Passing the quarter mark of this bowl of year 2014 Edgeworth Ready Rubbed Match in a late '80s, early 90s small bend medium brown smooth, unbranded Nording pot with a couple of small rusticated spots, an amber colored acrylic ferrule and tapered stem in the military mount style. Fed three ferals, and am reading baseball box scores. I should be able to end the day with this smoke.

 

[JOHN72]

Smoking the first third of mb# Capstan Gold, in this magnificent pipe given to me by our good friend TheironMonkey. Always grateful. A pipe that smokes really well. I wish you a happy saturday. May God bless and protect you always.

 

[Roach1]

OJK in a Jirsa 210.

 

[PaulRVA]

C&D Exclusive in a Nuttens Bing and Coffee ️ on the side

 

[Duane Cartmill]

Hearth & Home Viprati in a Pete SS303

 

[judcole]

Low Country Natural Virginia/Burley in a Mark Twain.

 

[Roach1]

Haunted Bookshop Cake in a small DM Stanwell Freehand.