doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT ... other hobbies besides shooting

I had an idea that maybe many of us would enjoy hearing about hobbies forum members engage in other than shooting. Over the many years here I have picked up on many sideline interests members here engage in, such as old cars, wood-working, clock restoration, etc. I, for one, would love to hear of others' other interests and hobbies. Maybe, if you would care to share some info about it, you would give a little background and talk a bit about your hobby. Pics would be great, too.

Mine is billiards . . . . pool. When I was a teenager I was told by my Dad to stay away from pool halls. Unfortunately, or fortunately, that just made me all the more interested. So, when I got my first dependable car and was able to drive to school I would occasionally stop by the one local pool room and shoot a few games. I loved the aura, and the game. When I left home and went to college I found a huge pool room in town. It had numerous pool and snooker tables. That became my "second home" until I finished school and moved home, got married, and started the real life. The real life did not lend itself to billiards as there were no longer any pool rooms open in my area. So, my love for the game languished for many years until my son bought a table and put it in his office. It came with four "house" cue sticks and one fiberglass two-piece cue, a Scorpion, named for Johnny Archer who grew up just down the road from me. The old flame was rekindled and I began shooting again in earnest, and began to improve my game.

Whether shooting rifles, pistols, shotguns, or pool, I always had a fire in my belly to get better, to improve, to beat the others, to be a winner. Eventually, I bought a used Meucci custom cue stick in a pawn shop and my game took another step up. I now shoot that same cue plus I use a custom carbon fiber breaking cue made by CueTec. I have always been drawn to competitive sports that cannot be perfected, thus sporting clays and pool. They have so much in common. A follow through in both is essential. Balance in the shotgun, and in the cue stick, is vitally important. Focus is paramount, and techniques have to be practiced to become ingrained.

So, that's my story. What's yours? I sincerely hope this stays genteel and non-political. Please share your passions with us.

Best, SRH

Stan, when I went out to Karachi in 1975 it was the first time I actually had a house; I had space, wasn't married; how to contact the locals and create relationships which is what diplomats do? I took a pool table. Every Friday night for almost four years partner 8 ball at my house became the place to be for generals, diplomats, businessmen, rich near-do-wells....

took another out to Brazzaville, same result. The Chinese military attache would partner with the Soviet (Relations had become really frosty in the 1970's which Kissinger exploited) but the expression on their faces showed the pleasure...and you can drink whiskey and talk during the games. I discovered that virtually every country in the world plays a variant. Billiards is so important in China now that a recent bribery scandal roiled the whole sport.

(I had a senior officer come out from Washington...I was supposed to show him the communist era road blocks set up all over the city after 7:00PM. He hung out at my house and to pass the time we played 8 ball - I beat him in something like 11 games straight. He was so mad he refused to leave the house and shifted to 9 ball...I finally had to let him win a number of games and when we hit the streets about 10:00PM for some reason in a first, the roadblocks had been lifted).

I think the action of the cue is similar to a golf swing or pulling a trigger. Same inner calm, same concentration and focus, same smoothness. But to have a space for a full size pool table is daunting. You need 19' x 15" free standing room. I had that abroad. I don't have it here but if if could convert the basement to a pool room...that would be first choice.

Since I finally quit traveling last year - I've had time to play golf consistently for the first time since being a teenager. Can't do it more than twice a week but. . . Gene Williams

1978 in Karachi at the Friend's house who bought the table:


Islamabad 2006: (still using that stiff-shafted Cleveland driver)

I restore old cars. Harder to do in Alaska.

I collect Postage and Revenue stamps. I especially enjoy those older stamps prior to the 1960's, U.S. possessions, and overprinted issues. Have a hard time picking a 'favorite' country or area. Anyone else?

Thanks for the replies so far. Great!

Gene, I 100% agree about the inner calm and concentration needed to be a good pool shot. There's a great interview, on youtube, with Johnny Archer. Johnny still shoots a lot but is past his prime. He is a serious competitor still, but was 9-ball World Champion three times in the 90s. I followed his career as closely as I could, and have met him and gotten the chance to talk some. He shoots occasionally in Augusta where I go to shoot a lot on the big tables, which I love. He also loves golf and was asked in the interview which of the two required the most skill. He thought a moment and replied that in his opinion pool required a higher level of mental skills, but that golf had the higher pyhsical skill requirements. This is the interview with him. There is a series of these and another really good one is with Earl (The Pearl) Strickland, one of the all time greats. My wife doesn't want to give up a guest bedroom in our home for a big pool table, but I have a project in mind that would convert an old 10,000 bushel grain bin into a two story structure with a pool room on the bottom level and a farm office above it. The bin is on a thick concrete slab and is 24 ft. in diameter, circular of course, and would be a very roomy place to shoot, 100 yards away from our home and next to my farm shop.

Great pics of some very nice cars and trucks, Mike. I've always loved vintage muscle cars, having bought a new '69 Camaro SS as a teenager. Before that, though, I had a '56 Chevy 210 two door that i customized. I have regretted selling that car to get the Camaro ever since, and am currently looking for a partially completed one to finish up myself. I can only imagine the effort involved in getting parts for vintage cars and trucks where you live.

Thanks, Hal. Got any pics of your faves?

Interesting thread.

I have two other sporting interests/hobby.

I really enjoy getting out and about in my 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint DHC.


Me and the Elan with Clive Chapman, son of Lotus founder Colin Chapman.

I and my wife also enjoy racing an International Dragon class yacht, most weekends from March through to November.


Here we are, for once in the lead!

Tim

Very nice, Tim. And thanks for the great pics!

Stan, like you I loved playing pool. It started in 11grade and continued until graduation playing after school and at nights in the local pool hall/bowling alley. My favorite was straight pool but I could never get beyond running 25 balls. It was always fun to set up the last shot to get into position for that ball to break up the rack. I continued playing in the service while stationed in Germany. I still play occasionally but eyesight now is not good for pool. We played on standard 8'x4' and 9'x4.5' tables and every once in while went to a different town that had snooker or we called them billiard tables that were 10'x5' with no pockets. What I miss is the ivory cue ball, it seemed that the english applied to it really did wonders and that was using house cue sticks. Never owned a take-down cue until later in life and that was noting really special.

I aslo had taken up taxidermy with two brothers when in middle school and practiced that for many years but always on birds, from woodcock to pheasants. Woodcock were very hard to mount because their head was so big and their skin so thin and turning it inside out like a sock if not kept moist was sure to rip.

Fly fishing and fly tying, rod making from blanks back when graphite first came out and the rods were very expensive so bought blanks and leaned to wind eyes on and make the cork handles when you could find AA cork rings.

Woodworking was another passion. My wife and I got interested in Shaker furniture but at the time in the 80's and 90's was out of reach for us so I started making chairs from size 0 to #7 with bent back rear posts with mortised slots for back slats and rockers. Steam bent the back posts and slats, all made from maple and used curly maple when I could find it. Also went to a class on how to weave Shaker style baskets from Black Ash splint. There is a ratio to use for weavers and slats (not the right term) and all were done on forms. Made a few candle stands out of Cherry and oval boxes and lids with the Shaker fingers made out of maple also.
Made other furniture, Shaker style desk with drop down writing table with cubbies and small drawers that were dovetailed, cherry dinning table, with 8 Shaker style chairs with woven seat, etc.

Haven't made any Shaker furniture lately, the last was a 8' x 36" curly cherry table and benches I made for my son and daughter-in-law. My wife keeps asking me when I will make something again and maybe this coming year I will. Now 78 and my physical strength is not there much for shooting these days since Covid and having both knees replaced in 2021. We will see.

Does reloading count as a separate hobby? How about bullet casting? DYI repair and light gunsmithing?

Ok, my turn. I built a bunch of Santa Fe style furniture to use in my home while in grad school and was too poor to buy it from NM makers. I still have it and use it. Some pieces are better than others and it was quite a learning experince.

My current "hobby" is renovating and then maintain old abandoned country cemeteries in our county. I put together a group of 6-10 guys who help me. We flag Confederate warrior graves and we renovate (kill/clear brush, reset/level fallen monuments) the whole area if there is a Confed in the cemetery. The largest area to date is 2 acres and we are currently working on our 15th.
Pictures to follow if I can figure out how.