Guys, ya need to keep the political aspects out of the conversations. I have removed those that were. So please, let's keep it that way.
GDJMSP, Moderator. Allow me to disagree with your view. By removing "political aspects" out of the conversation, but retaining a very powerful political statement, the Browning Bar II Safari 30-06 Rifle, you are not dealing with this matter impartially. As an ordinary member, I have to accept a Moderator's point of view, but I can only do so reluctantly, and whilst disagreeing with your decision.
@GDJMSP did the right thing here. The question on this thread is what else a person might collect, not why. You and I decided to add voice to the "why" based on our personal feelings.
But that's just it, showing a picture of that gun, or any gun, is not a political statement. It is only by discussing ones opinions of it in a political way that makes it political. And while you are allowed to disagree and not like the rules, they are what they are and they shall stay that way whether you like them or not.
Moderator, I object to @Alegandron 's gun on the grounds that it is too cool and I'm jealous I don't have one. Here are my range toys... And to "make it legal", I did discover that coins display nicely with guns. Now you can't say this is not coin related. Here's my Philip I tetradrachm that @Cucumbor gifted me a year and a half ago... And here is the reverse along with a loaded magazine for my 9mm pistol. And just so I can't be accused of making a gun promotion post by killjoys, here's another fossil. This one is a rare Trilobite species, one of the earliest species of Trilobites known, and it was a species which lived in the depths and was blind....that's right, a Trilobite without any eyes. This is my second Trilobite fossil ever. The spines on the fossil, the coloration, and the fact that this is one of the earlier Trilobite species, dating back to the middle Cambrian period, makes this a cool fossil to own. The coloration is natural and due to oxydation of iron pyrite. SPECIES: Hamatolenus Vincenti AGE: Middle Cambrian LOCATION: Tinjdad, Morocco FORMATION: Jbel Wawrmast Formation SIZE: 1.5" long (not including spines)
@Sallent Love the trilobite. Since I live in PA and that's the state fossil, well you know. I don't have one like that but I do have a non polished, right out of the earth and dust it off trilobite about 5" high and 4" across. I need one of those to go with my trilobites.
LOL, yeah, I collect firearms too. Have several Glocks as my handgun of choice, but I also love Rugers (357 Mag and the below little gem. ) Ruger Super RedHawk 44Mag... added Hogue Grip, nice little sight. Plan to hunt wild pigs sometime... Saiga, Ishmash Factory AK47, that I further tricked out with rails, sights, other accoutrements, etc. This a gem to shoot. My Army Son-in-Law had never shot an AK (I was surprised!), and he was ga-ga over it when we shot at a range at Ft Benjamin Harrison. I shoot better with the front grip folded flat.
Another fine selection @Alegandron . I don't really collect firearms, but I do have two .22lrs besides my main rifle and 9mm pistol. I use these .22lr for plink shooting, which is a blast. I'm sure you'd recognize them easily. One is the versatile Ruger 10/22, and the other is a Ruger MK III. And @Collecting Nut , I've enjoyed seeing your collection, and sharing my collection of fossils with a fellow enthusiast has been quite the treat for me. Here is my Scutellum Trilobite, which dates to the Devonian Era. This was my first Trilobite ever...not bad for a first, right?
Not 100% sure I'm following what you're trying to say, but I did visit a small bog in the mountains of southwest Virginia while I was a college student. The folks who know how to find it keep rather quiet, because they don't want people disturbing it by trampling through it, but the topo map for that area does show it. Bogs are cool.
@Sallent-Thank you. I too have enjoyed seeing a portion of your fine collection. You have truly wonderful fossils and your first trilobite is fantastic. It has been a pleasure sharing some of our collections. Here's another group: A white starfish, a crystal geode from Morocco and 2 Orthoceras, both from Morocco. The black is from the Atlas Mts. and the brown is near the desert. I wish I could find one of my Hemitite Moroccan geodes. I'll look for it. They're really different. Not sure you can see the detail but I got the best photo I could. The one side (obverse?) is hard enough to see but the reverse is very faint but present to the naked eye when in hand. Maybe you know this one. It's a Nummulite for a mini Fera from the Egypt pyramids. Some sort of a marine fossil. Obverse first: Like I said the reverse is difficult but you can see a little bit.
Nice Browning...Browning makes fine weapons...I have 3 Brownings', 45-70, 223 and 12 ga. I believe the muzzle break on your rifle makes it illegal in New York State. While I was working for the Department I witnessed many a fine weapon go into the furnace and come out the other end a mess of twisted metal...sad.
Your 44 Mag will get the job done, I have one in a Smith and it is one powerful handgun. I also have Rugers, Colts, Springfields a few other makes but my Rugers are some of my favorites...I carry a Springfield 45 acp under my HR-218 Federal carry permit it also is a powerful handgun but small enough to carry without being obvious.....enjoy your hobby it is fun when done with safety in mind. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice. I don't have any nummulites, namely because they are much younger than the fossils I'm collecting at the moment. I'm finishing pre-triassic invertebrates now, and will soon be shifting focus to vertebrate animals through the Cretaceous period, and eventually one day move into modern animals (65,000,000 BCE through present). In other words, I'm working my way through from primitive lifeforms to the present, one step at a time. @Collecting Nut , your crinoid collection did inspire me to buy another crinoid. You are going to love this, just got it this weekend. SPECIES: Scytalocrinus sp. AGE: Carboniferous (Mississippian) LOCATION: Crawfordsville, Indiana FORMATION: Edwardsville Formation SIZE: 4" long on 5.3x3.6" limestone Sweet, 350,000,000 BCE and it looks like it just died yesterday. Compared to my other crinoid fossil, the 3D detail on this one blows it away. Not that I don't love my Cambrian crinoid, because I sure still do...especially when you consider that it is a much rarer species which is almost nearly impossible to buy these days in the marketplace due to the quarry where it was mined in 1976 being shut to the public for various decades, and the fact that it is 155 million years older than the one I just purchased. I even know who discovered it in 1976 (and the month and day of the discovery), so that kind of provenance is worth more to me, and I'm sure it will too to whichever custodian purchases it from my estate after I'm dead.
@Sallent What a beautiful fossil!! After I got over the initial shock of how wonderful it is and the great condition, I looked at it and thought how much it resembles the human hand. That made me Think about the member that wanted a human bone collection earlier in this thread. He should collect fossils like these and use a little imagination to fill his dream. His wife can't argue about it as it's not human. Glad you were able to add this beauty to your collection!
If you like cephalopods, and I'm sure you do based on your collection of invertebrates, I'm reading at present a pretty interesting book on cephalopod evolution. Although I'm only about 25% through the book, so far it shows great promise... However, I'm also looking for a good book on Cambrian and early invertebrate evolution. I'll let you know if I find a good one. Sadly not a lot of books out there, and most seem to be expensive texts, but Ill keep searching and hopefully something will turn up soon. Compare that to dinosaurs, hundreds of books that basically repeat each other over and over. But try to find anything on mammal evolution or the evolution of pre-dinosaur reptilian groups, or invertebrate life, and all you hear is crickets. I shouldn't be surprised, as the general public simply knows about dinosaurs and nothing else thanks to movies like Jurassic Park.