King of the underworld

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Over the years I've lost count how many guns I have had...A lot is probably the easiest way to quantify it. I've bought, owned and sold many in the last 28 or so years and whilst I've valued them all, like I do with everything I have, some I have forgotten about altogether.

I currently have many guns, rifles, shot guns and handguns all of which perform different duties; Some are competition guns and other for the purpose of taking life, some for fast run and gun purposes and others for precision shooting at long range. It is those that hold a special place in my heart because despite shooting in many different disciplines it is long range shooting I love the most, and best at doing.

There's nothing quote like getting a bullet onto a target that the naked eye can't even see and I love the challenge of the physical act of it, the breathing and trigger-pull, but also the science that allows me to make what may seem like an impossible shot.

All of my long guns, my long range rifles, hold a special place in my heart, simple tools yes, but ones I know intimately and have spent a long time with and so...I name them.

This rifle my wife is holding was built for long range shooting but it's a little different because I wanted to use it for culling, animal control, also.

It is based on a stainless steel Finnish made Tikka CTR in .243 and sits, professionally bedded, in a custom-made carbon fibre stock which makes it incredibly lightweight. I've fitted it with an APN Gen II "little bastard" muzzle brake, Atlas bipod and the glass (scope) is a Kahles 624i 6-24x50 1st focal plane scope with the SKMR3 reticle (MRAD).

To me it's Tuoni though.

The name is Finnish, because the gun is, and it refers to the King of the underworld, Tuoni. I figured that was fitting as it's a life-taker. Now, I'm not Finnish, and so the translation may not be exact however it worked for me and that's what I called it. The rifle carries its name on the top of the barrel in bold white writing just below the scope.

There's also a phrase there on the barrel, which the top red arrow points to...That's a Finnish phrase I liked and seemed fitting for the competition aspect of the rifle.

The phrase reads Ahkeruus kovan onnen voittaa which translates literally to diligence vanquishes hard luck. I take this to mean that diligence to the job, take the actions required to do it, will overcome bad luck.

I carry this ethos into competitions with me but more importantly I apply it, diligence, in practice and training in preparation of equipment and when making my ammunition. That way, when hard luck visits on competition weekends, I'm more likely to have mitigated its potential to cost me points and placings ahead of time. It reminds me to work hard and not cut corners in any aspect.

Below you can see the phrase carried on the top of the barrel of the rifle.

It may seem odd giving the rifle a name, but in truth I don't see it that way. I spend a lot of time behind my guns shooting and they feel like close companions to me.

Giving my long guns a name gives them an identity and because this particular one is a life-taker what better name than King of the underworld?

The phrase it also carries is a constant reminder that it is the little things I do, the diligent preparation, that brings better results, not just the act of shooting straight or fast. It's a motivational phrase I suppose, and helps me apply that attention to detail, to fine-tune every aspect of preparation for competition and to continuously seek to improve every day even on those days I don't feel like it.


Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default - Tomorrow isn't promised.

Be well
Discord: galenkp#9209

Join the Engagement League by following the link and asking Asher to include you. It allows you to track your hive engagement statistics without lifting a finger, and compare yourself against the best in the business weekly. It's a good way to get your name out there and amongst some of hive's best engagers.



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61 comments
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I like to read about your guns. I am able to learn from your post about it. Thanks for sharing the well detailed write up.

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No worries. I'm glad you get something from my gun posts; I guess it can be difficult for people to relate to if they don't have guns themselves, but I write for me and if a person finds some value that's a bonus.

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I just dey see you every where bro... you dey motivate me like mad

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My favorite machete needs a name and slogan now, perhaps "Coconut Killer" and "Once you chop you can't stop."

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That's a good idea...Works well. I have a machete in the shape of a Roman gladius. It doesn't have a name though. I might need to think up one.

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You are living the life sir. This is what my people call living la vida loca.

The phrase reads Ahkeruus kovan onnen voittaa which translates literally to diligence vanquishes hard luck.

This quote is too nice. Diligence and determination will definitely remove hard luck. The law of averages will also set in.

You and your wife are so cute. Does she also shoot too??
Hades would have been my own name for the gun..

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Hi mate, thanks for your comment. Yes, my wife shoots. You can see a post about it here: https://peakd.com/hive-139358/@galenkp/my-shooting-partner

Hades might have been a good name too, although I wanted to go with something Finnish as that's where the rifle comes from.

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This is so cute. I will add shooting to my bucket list of things to do...

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Yes, it is for sure. Add it to your list and drive at it with passion, persistence and tenacity. It's how we should approach every goal in our lives.

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It is very interesting every day to learn something new, for my part the experiences I have with knives is the amount of knives I have in my kitchen to make different cuts 😜

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Yes, knives can come in very handy in the kitchen i think.

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His passion for arms is truly admirable and best of all, is that he was able to find his general soul that accompanies him in this passion dear friend @galenkp

It is incredible how many weapons you have had throughout your life, and that you get emotionally involved with them, that each of them have a name to remind you of their purpose.

Excellent dear friend, I admire your passion

I wish you a beautiful afternoon

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Google translate didn't do a good job on this translation, but I get your meaning. Have a great day.

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Haaaa...! The count was 6.66 on the Hive amount. Bad luck or myth.? I quickly voted that fucker away!

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Thanks mate, I was spawned in hell though so 666 doesn't mean too much...Still, it's fucking hot down there so I prefer it up here. Thanks for the vote and I hope you're truckin' with passion.

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Rollin...... The dotted lines on the highway are like Elipses

Things are going to Hell quickly on this side of the planet. Search "George Floyd" for details and to watch a city burn... SMFH

Warning...

It is fucking disturbing.

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Yeah, it's teeing off up there bro. Fucking mental.

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Thats a nice scope. Naming a gun is a fine idea. I name allnsprts of things that aren't aware they have names.

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(Edited)

It's a great scope...The glass allows maximum light in so in low-light shooting situations I am able to still pick up my targets. It also has an illuminated reticle...When turned on the reticle lights up red (the reticle is the black cross hairs thing) allowing for shooting in different light conditions. It's pretty nifty.

I name people all sorts of names that they are not aware of too. Just a hobby of mine.

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Sounds really awesome, but not cheap. My brother just picked up a rifled shotgun last season. Wouldn't need a fancy scope for that since it is useless after 100 yards, but an impressive weapon for the forest.

Private names are good fun. Especially if you reference them directly and they are like, who?

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(Edited)

It was pretty costly...$4000AUD. that's a lot here. But I have a buy one, cry once ethos and with rifle scopes they need to be good or they simply won't keep up with the range. It's about the glass, but also about how it tracks as elevation and windage is dialled in. 0.1 MRAD needs to be exactly that all the way through the 28MRAD of adjustment. I wrote a post about it several days ago. I sold a rifle to buy that Kahles scope, and my Nightforce ATACR scope too.

Rifled shotty...That would be some fun. I shoot a little shotgun stuff but mainly I have it slung on my back when I go pig hunting as a backup. (My scrub gun.) Never fired a rifled one though.

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I'm still upset that I didn't hear you saying "ethos" last night even though you were all basically talking about it given that it's been in almost every post XD there it is again!

It's not odd at all. My computers have all had names and my last four phones have had as well (once they got to a stage where they were capable of doing appreciably more than just make phone calls and do texts in a way that wasn't gimmicky).

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Was good to chat last night huh, although you were a little difficult to hear. Still, was a bit of fun. I can't believe I was around for that long although I had a phone call in the middle so was gone for a bit. I completely forgot to write brb in the text though. Silly me. So uncool.

I don't name a lot of things. we named a couple cars, but two out of 45 or so isn't much. I call my Landcruiser Big Dog though. Seems to fit.

So, give me an example of a computer or phone name...

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Not sure of the quality of the mic on my tablet (it's a Cintiq Companion Hybrid, basically a drawing tablet on top of an Android tablet), I'd maxed out the input on Discord but I guess it didn't really help much. Should probably have used my phone but I was curious after finding out I did actually have unexpected webcam and mic attached to my big rig XD

Explanations after the fact are perfectly fine, sometimes things happen unexpectedly and you need to deal with them right then and there and there's no time to tell people you're afk XD

My last computer was ajana (because it had three "eyes", the built in monitor as it was an iMac, another monitor and the Cintiq, and I'd misspelt/misread ajna) and the last phone that J currently has was megaphone (because why are phones so damn big these days, was a Samsung S something or other), and I once had a tiny Macbook (a 12" G4 Powerbook, when they actually came in tiny and before they were called Macbooks) named dragonfly.

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Pretty cools names and good reasons for them...I know right? Phones are so damned big and yet, they don't make pockets any bigger! What's up with that?

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If you ever wear women's clothing, watch out for the fake pockets. I don't even know why that's a thing but one of my friends got caught out.

I usually wear cargoes (though they must be out of fashion or something as sometimes I struggle to find new ones when I need them) so pocket size isn't much of an issue (unless the cargoes are stupid as sometimes happen and the cargo pockets are a useless size or the flaps don't do up properly because they're made for some idiotic "look"). As I think I've mentioned previously mine mostly travels in a bag since I started needing to carry a first aid kit around XD

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It's unlikely I'll even wear women's clothing, I'm just not that guy, however I'll file this information away just in case I do. Lol.

Yep, you said you wear cargo's a lot. I do too actually, mostly from 5.11 but also plain old workman/tradie style also. They have pockets and all, which I often fill up with stuff, sometimes phones.

I think a lot of clothing is simply designed around look rather than function, and so if I happen to find something I like a lot, is utilitarian and just plain old good, I look after it because there's no telling what will be around next time I need something.

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You never know when you might need to go undercover XD

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Well, I have to say, you make an excellent point, and if I was ever to have the need to go under cover this is exactly the way I would do it. I think I'd probably not have the moves, but would have the look for sure!

(I like this movie...I know, I'm a big kid.)

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All you have to do is shake your booty right XD

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I guess...Seems easy enough, you'd think.

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I find it actually more fun to find nicknames for stuff. An inscription adds to the emotional value of the object.

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I think so too...Although, I guess I don't name too many things though...Just my long-guns mainly and I have a few names for Faith, (my wife.) I also call my 200 Series Landcruiser, big dog.

I name people though...I mean, let's say you look like a meerkat...I might call you meerkat Mary. I know someone who looks like Nemo (from the cartoon Finding Nemo) and so I call him Nemo...To his face. Lol. He doesn't mind, it's his nickname now.

Australian's are good at making up nicknames...Usually the complete opposite of what you might think...Someone with red hair might be called Blue, or Bluey. for instance. Someone tall might be shorty and someone skinny might be Hercules of something like that...Muscles maybe.

It's all in good natured fun though, and here, like in some other places around the world, if you gain yourself a nickname it's because you're liked. We don't pick on people we don't like...Much.

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I think nicknames are so cool if they come from a place of admiration. It requires some creativity and knowing a bit about the person to be able to come up with a really good one. When you speak about australian people I instantly think about the joyous spirit of Steve Irwin. I loved that guy and I grew up watching his show on Animal Planet. He had quite an accent.

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Crikey! 😂

Yeah, he had a funny accent...We don't all speak that broad an accent though. His daughter just got married actually, Bindi. He died doing what he loved I guess...A bit of a loss. He was a good bloke.

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(Edited)

He was one of my idols, I loved his enthusiasm. His children are amazing, Terri proved to be such a strong woman. Definetely a good person to represent Australia, even if he is no longer now, his legacy is kept alive.

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Yes, he was a pretty excitable chap. Did you ever see the movie he and Terri made...It was absolutely terrible but funny. You might be able to get it on YouTube.

I've been to his zoo...Was pretty cool, but then I grew up here so it would probably be better for a tourist who may never see those particular animals in their own countries. I'd recommend to tourists to check it out for sure.

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Diligence vanquishes hard luck. That's quite the statement, and it's meaning seems rather fitting for what this rifle's been conceived for. It's certainly a neat touch to have this on the gun, not to mention how menacing it can be to have it named after the King of the Underworld.

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I had some other names for it but figured to go with something Finnish would be nice.

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You know what would go well with your Finnish rifle? An equally Finnish, Nokia-Sako box of ammunition. Yep, it's made with that Nokia in mind, the one that made phones, and I believe this relic is a pack of .308 rounds.

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I like the warning: Keep out of the reach of children.

Oh really, shit, thanks for reminding me.

These are pretty cool. Collectors item maybe? I never knew they produced these.

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Definitely not safe for children 😆! I saw this as a joke a while ago, and I thought that they'd photoshopped the Nokia logo onto a box of Sako rounds. Apparently they're real, and pretty much an out-of-date relic. I think they might do well as a collector's item.

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I was going to say that they may be quite rare...Wold be cool to own some.

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I've learned a couple of things since I wrote that. In 1983, SAKO merged with Tikka, and the both of them later merged with Valmet, a Finnish state-owned firearms company in 1986. The ownership was split with Nokia at the time, hence the name. Then, the whole partnership was sold to Beretta in 2000, which they still own today!

I tried to find postings of these cartridges being on sale, but alas, I failed.

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I own several Tikka firearms (very good quality) and one Sako, (even better quality, and more expensive by a long way). They are both quality guns. Those Finns know a thing or two about shooting for sure.

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(Edited)

They definitely do. I guess that comes as no surprise from the Finns, given that it's the homeland of Simo Häyhä, "The White Death". Back in the Winter War of 1939-1940, he's had over 500 confirmed kills on the Soviets... In temperatures ranging from −40 °C to −20 °C. It's the sort of weather where I might need a bonfire under my balls to keep it from shrinking inside out! He had a SAKO as well, and it was apparently a modified Mosin-Nagant. He was later wounded by an explosive round by the Soviets, as it hit his lower jaw... Ouch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

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Yes, I've read much about him, certainly one of the best military marksmen, and to do it all in those conditions. I've been to Finland, my family live there, but never in the winter...But I've been in the snow and it's cold. I shot a competition here in once, a long range one over a weekend, and on each day of competition it didn't rise above 1 degree until around 10am and then only to around 9 degrees. lIt was very difficult to shoot as the body doesn't react the same and the rifle does different things. Of course, his rifle (and ammunition) would have been set up to deal with the prevailing conditions.

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I don't think I've ever been to temperatures in the single digits, let alone the negatives. I'm starting to appreciate the sweaty humidity of the tropics now 😶

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I'm sitting at my home office with a polar-fleece zip up jacket and a beanie on right now...Admittedly I have all the doors open for fresh air, but it's cold! It's about 12 degrees outside here. Right now in Far North Queensland where my brother lives it's 28 degrees and 56% humidity...The contrasts of Australia huh?

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Such a huge variance in temperature, definitely! Too bad where ever you go here, it's just hot. You can't escape it!

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I just put the heater on and closed the doors...Bloody beanie wasn't doing it for me! Lol.

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At least it'll keep your noggin warm, eh?

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15 and sunny here today. Nice day for a walk. Going to park on the city fringe and walk to the hospital to visit my dad...Get some exercise.

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Exercise is always good, though it's 32 degrees here. How's your dad doing, by the way? Not feeling too bad, I hope.

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I was just in the hospital with him an hour ago. He was transported there last night. He is not very well, didn't know I was there despite waking up when the specialists came to see him.

He has no circulation in legs (blood) and one is worse than the other. A small sore on his foot that developed 10 months ago is not healing. Tendons are showing through it and the wound is growing. he falls almost daily and is in a lot of pain that the oxycodone isn't really dealing with. Amputation is an option but due to the fact he has no blood circulation it may mean they end up chasing the blood up his leg in multiple operations going higher each time and that would be bad. He is too fragile and I'm told he would probably not survive the process. I wouldn't approve it anyway, as his power of attorney and enduring guardian.

So, it's pain relief and a waiting game. He is probably palliative at this stage and if that happens will probably end up on morphine. The strange thing is that sometimes he is quite lucid, still has no memory, but can hold a conversation. Not at the hospital today where I sat there and watched him scream in pain, push out tears and scream at the doctor. He looked like someone that wanted to see an end of it all. Not really a pleasant thing for me to see in my dad I suppose, but that's my lot in life as I'm the only one here to deal with it.

So, nah, he's not going so well. Cancer, blocked arteries, poor blood circulation, dementia...I would have shot myself long before now.

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Oh dear, I'm very sorry to hear all this mate. It's not easy to see someone you care about suffer so much pain, and it'll likely never be easy until they rest for the last time. I only wished there are ways to make it less painful for the both of you. It might be difficult, but I'm sure that despite all what's your dad's been facing throughout all this, I'm sure he's happy to know that you're there for him for all that. Watching and caring over him, even if his memory might be fading, there's still some Galen in there.

Stay strong and take care, always ❤️.

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Thanks mate. It's a pretty shit situation to be honest but we're working through it, doing what we can for him and hope to bring some dignity and comfort to his last moments here. Thanks for your message, much appreciated.

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What a fitting name. "King of the Underworld," -badassery. :D Plus, that phrase is powerful, "diligence vanquishes hard luck." I may have to quote you on that in the future.

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I can't pronounce the Finnish words really, but the intent is there and it works for the rifle both the name Tuoni and the phrase.

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