hey guys, as you know I thinned out my toys because of medical problems and you know I had shoulder surgery back in november, well I had my neck fusion done on monday, so far so good. I will have a check up at six weeks and if the neck is healing good the doc is going to fuse my lower back. I'll be glad to have this over with so I can start the rehab and get back to shooting and hunting. Thanks for all the support you guys have given me along the way and as the pain meds decrease I'll be back on line more.

Good to see you back Rod! I've been praying for you.
I got your email & will write soon.

Good to hear Rod, get well soon my friend.

Hey Rod--Wish you the best with that back fusion. Had my L3-4 and L4-5 done 2 years ago next month and as of to date, not much better. Workers comp has put me on permanent partial disability. Dont want to discourage you but I really wish you the best of luck. You know what they say about backs. Will be prayin for you at this end.

Hang in there Rod!!

Keep it up, and hurry up and recoup! My brother's had multiple fusions and he is better-not back to what it was, but he has no pain. He can live with the stiffness, but it was killing him not being able to get around. I loosened his back up by making him carry my 30-378 and big Leuopld around on a deer drive. That stretched it right out. He's only 42, so he has that going for him. His Doc was a stickler for agressive rehab and my brother thanks him every day. Don't baby yourself, but do learn your limits.
Thanks for the great deals on the stuff. My son loves the .44 I got from you!

Hope everything works out for you Rod

Thanks guys I appreciate the thoughts, the neck brace is starting to drive me nuts but I'm making myself do what I can. I loaded up some new 475 rounds and took my 500 back to open sights, i had thoughts of shooting them but then I opened my mouth to my wife and that ended that. She is probably right though, the jarring of those boomers probably isn't a good idea 5 days after neck surgery. I have to say this neck thing is a lot easier to take than my last back surgery so I'm not looking forward to the next and hopefully last back surgery. The nice thing is that when it's all done and over with I'll be able to get my business up and going and get back to a productive life. I sent a resume in to halliburton for the heck of it, I figured a year or two in the middle east would really build the bank account back up but that did not impress my wife. Thanks again guys and Happy Easter!!!

Update: I'm off the hook for now on the next surgery, the news is good and bad. The doc is going to treat the symptoms because she would have to do two seperate fusions each one with three levels, this would leave me pretty much completely disabled. So now I have to be a good boy she said I can't do any lifting or pulling but she didn't say anything about no shooting. The hope is that with my age we can buy enough time for disc replacement technology to advance enough for it to be a viable alternative for me. I just have to be very careful because I'm on the very edge of having to have the fusions, the discs are deteriorated and bulging but so far the spinal cord is only irritated but not being damaged. So now I get fight with workmans comp and SSI.

Hnag in there Rod, do what ya can, and DON"T do anything you aint supposed too.

Hey tigger, I'm trying to be good. so far I've only got two things that are questionable, one being I hate this stinking neck brace so I don't wear as much as I'm supposed too, but my doc threatened to insert her foot somewhere that would not be real comfortable, ( she is the coolest doc I've ever had) and second is I havn't been able to stay away from my boomers, I've been shooting my 460, 500, and 475s', they don't seem to bother me, I have stayed away from my long guns even though I need to do some load development for my 300RUM and sight in my new Leupold VXIII Boone and Crocket and I've loaded some 350 gr soft points for my 458 Lott, I figure I better avoid those two for a while as I know they twist my back pretty good. I just loaded 300 rounds of 475 Linebaugh this evening so I'm going blasting this weekend, gotta get ready for taking my kids hunting just in case I get a shot at that 30"+ mulie with my little cannon I'll be packing, I'm going to set up balloons at various ranges and shoot from hunting positions of course it is interesting shooting with my neck brace on. We ought to put together a western mulie hunt for the guys that can make it, the area I hunt the mulies and elk is a conbination of small open meadows and timber so it should work good for handgun hunting, the farthest shot I've made on a mulie in that area is about 100 yds with the closest being about 15yds.

Might be time for a few new toys with less recoil. Something to keep you in practice and cost a little less to shoot. Then break out the big cannons for hunting.


In a few years a western hunt would be great. I just might take you up on the offer Rod. This year is already scheduled and next year my brother and I are going on a PD hunt.

just let me know, it is on a draw here but I hit it every third year. your probably right on the recoil, i'm thinking on taking my single six 17 HMR out.