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I'm going to go with the Dave Ramsey advice: Save your money until you can afford to buy it. To me it sounds like you are losing money with each 'trade'. Maybe I'm wrong, and I hope I am. But I see a lot of people who buy a nice firearm, then decide they want something else and sell it (or trade it in) to buy the new one. They buy a pistol for $500, then trade it in for a $500 rifle, but have to put up $200 cash plus their trade-in. Later, they decide they want a shotgun for $500, and again, get $300 trade-in on the rifle and have to put up $200 more in cash. At this point, they have spent $900 and only have one $500 shotgun. Not to mention they have also paid for three TICS checks ($30) and given the State $85.50 in sales tax. This makes no sense whatsoever. If you don't have the cash to buy something, you cannot afford it.

If reelected, I believe the Democrats will focus on getting more and more citizens onto the public dole, thereby ensuring perpetual reelection of their party.....much the same plan as the Republicans have. These two groups put on a public show for you, and sit back and laugh as you swallow it, hook line and sinker. I don't see how more of you can't see this.

Honestly, if Obama wins a second term it is pretty much over. Our debt at the end of an Obama second term will well be past the point, if it is not already, of recovery. At current rates, our debt will exceed $22 trillion at the end of his second term. The federal government will have spent more money during those last eight years (2008 - 2016) than the aggregate amount since the founding of this country. We will probably enter into a couple more large scale military skirmishes during his second term which we can't pay for. Obama will probably nominate a few more justices to the SCOTUS, which is very important because they will declare all of those executive orders that he issues in his second term as constitutional. Most clear thinking individuals believe that Obama's first term has been a disaster. With nothing holding him back during his second term (i.e. an election), his second term will make his first look like chicken s**t. The only way out of it that I could think of would be the states exercise their authority through nullification, or possibly call for a constitutional convention. However, there is inherent danger in calling for a new convention because what you might end up with could be worse than what we have.

They haven't been commies for like 20 years. The U.S. Military does training with multiple nations.

Satisfaction IMHO comes from within. Chasing jobs, money, social status, none of those things are worth a damn in the grand scheme of things. The things that really matter are are much simpler, friends, family, a sence of community, personal interests and hobbies. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't make the mistake of letting a given career path define who you are and where your going. Good luck with whatever you choose.

The open carriers were doltish themselves.

Close Range Gun-fighting, Randy Harris, Instructor, Suarez International As close to an un-biased review as possible. About Me: I am 44 year old male and have owned and shot handguns since I was 21. I in what most folks consider a nice, safe neighborhood. It mostly is, other than a recent auto break-in, but had my son actually LOCKED his car, based on what was stolen, the kids would not have risked the sound of smashing out a window, it was crime of convenience. We have a pretty effective alarm dog and I do not have an arsenal of weapons. I acquired a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun a little over 4 years ago. I became serious about every day carry June 2008. During my waking hours, I carry my handgun 90% of the time. The other 10% it is within arm’s reach. Thanks to the encouragement, mentoring and coaching from my best friend, I can shoot my preferred handguns pretty well out to 15 yards and hit the target out to 25. I have competed in one IDPA match and didn’t finish in last place. I enjoy shooting and have the advantage of a private outdoor range 10 minutes from the house. I have never taken any type of professional handgun training and realized I needed to do something / anything to improve my skills beyond where I was. Why and How I selected Suarez International: I participate on the TN Gun Owners Forum and Randy Harris had posted to establish interest for any of the SI courses in my area. As I had the place, I thought this may be a good deal for me. So I checked out Suarez and Randy. The internet has a lot of information, but I am pretty intelligent, can decipher fact from opinion and competent enough to make a sound decision. Facts: Gabe has a “pastâ€; SI is still in business; SI has repeat student business; Randy Harris has an excellent reputation; from my class – SI does train current and former military some of whom do or did special stuff in service as well as LE-types. My biggest concern was the teaching environment; while SI promotes the attitude of “we are always looking at new ways of doing things to get better†you can still get a closed-minded Type-A instructor When Randy and I communicated regarding when and where, if the property itself was suitable, etc, he seemed pretty low-key, so I committed and we set a date. Why Close Range Gun-fighting: Speaking with Randy, this is the course he recommended when I described my skill level. On-line reviews were favorable and what I wanted to learn was in the course syllabus: learn to shoot better and learn how to put rounds on target while moving. Pretty low expectations, but this was my first-ever professional training, if my instructor was insane and teaching stuff I would never do or use, I wanted to get something out of it. Randy is NOT insane, he’s a pretty cool dude. Gear I ran my EDC gun, a CZ 75B Omega. Flawless operation shooting 700 rounds of 115gr FMJ Sellier and Bellot / WWB / Federal Champion. Other handguns represented were S&W M&P, Glock, SA 1911 and Ruger. Calibers: 1 - .45, 2 - .40, 5 – 9mm Bonus: I brought an extra handgun on Day 2 and ran it through two drill strings (3 shots x 5 times) to function test (it’s new) and try my new skills on another platform. One of my classmates swapped between a 1911 and SR9. What I learned: bring a mag loader, you will have the opportunity to shoot a MINIMUM of 500 rounds; if you run a 1911 – bring a lot of mags and practice reloads. I used my 5.11 Tactical Casual Leather belt; do some research, find one you like in your budget and get a good quality belt if you don’t have one. My EDC holster is a N82 (Nate Squared) Tactical. For my body shape and carry position, this is an awesome holster YMMV. Holster has a leather body shield and could be made better with a combat cut. I used a Galco double mag pouch. For training, I do not recommend using mag pouches with Velcro flaps, it will slow you down. For the most part, my classmates used what appeared to be their primary rigs and wore “street†clothes. Common-sense tells me that’s what I want to train with. Bonus: If you have other carry holsters you want to “testâ€, go for it, I used an alternate on Day 2 as did some of my classmates ON TO TRAINING Here’s the deal, this is close range gun-fighting, meaning the threat is 5 yards or MUCH closer; this training focuses on the close threat. The BG needs to get close to you to get your stuff – money, jewelry, women, etc. It’s not likely he’ll gun you down from across the street and then take his time looting your bullet filled corpse. SI preaches MOVE – MOVE - MOVE and I like it! Trading rounds with a BG like in the Old West or exchanging blows like Rock’em-Sock’em Robots is probably not the best survival tactics to employ. Randy has put together an excellent article entitled “Pests Eat Fast†An easy acronym for avoiding and if it goes bad, a good way to survive an up-close personal attack. I suggest future students read it prior to class; once you see it in motion it makes perfect (and common) sense. So far into training, we have not fired a gun. We are spending a lot of time on how to be pro-active in recognizing a potential threat and learning multiple levels to prevent anyone from drawing / employing a weapon all from Pests Eat Fast. Then we did some shooting. The focus was on “back-to-basics†including proper grip, sight picture, alternative indexing, draw / ready position mechanics. After lunch we then applied what we learned to moving and shooting, both one handed and two handed drills. End of day recap and departed range. The gang met at a local restaurant for dinner, which I missed, thanks to an escaped dog... Day 2 started with review of what we learned on Day 1. Today’s goal is to put it all together. A lot more shooting… I want to say at this point Randy is a great instructor. I had two safety violations, one muzzle and one trigger. Randy quietly came up to me and said, “I know the gun is empty (which it was) but let’s not practice ANY bad habits.†If anyone else had a safety violation, I am not aware of it because Randy handled it the same way, without embarrassment or ridicule. Randy also broke the class into 2 groups of 4 which allowed him more time to provide individual and personalized instruction and observe who was doing what on the firing line. End of day recap and we all departed with new friends. So was it worth it? My expectations were met, here’s some stuff I learned… I can shoot better and I can shoot on the move My skill level shooting one handed with either hand has increased dramatically I am better prepared to identify and avoid potential attack I am more confident of surviving a close encounter of the bad kind I am better prepared to protect my family I liked my instructor and his teaching style / training methods The skills I gained has increased my confidence to participate in more IDPA matches I learned that cover is like a smelly friend, it’s better from 4 – 6 feet away. Knowing what I know now, I will lean towards carrying a hi-cap handgun whenever possible. Malfunctions can kill you; keep moving while you are trying to clear! An empty and/or jammed handgun can be very effective when smashed into an attacker’s face. The temps were in the low 90s with high humidity, future classes will be spring, fall or winter. I will take another SI training course with Randy Harris

Having a set number written in the law is the only way its even remotely fair,how is one suppose to know if they are breaking a law when there is nothing set in stone on how you actually go about violating it, to me its about the same as if there were no official speed limits and cops just made them up as they went day by day.

If you want to work for the FBI you need an accounting degree. That is about the only degree that means anything to them. If you are wanting to work in any other law enforcement just about any other degree (besides CJ) is fine. Plus it gives you somewhere else to go if you burn out of LE. MANY LE leave to do something else before they become cynical, divorced, and crazy. You are correct that Parks, Wildlife officers etc. usually need a biology degree of some sort. Learn to be content instead of "satisfied". "Satisfied" usually equals complacency and that will eventually catch up with you and hurt you. Here's a good quote: " Contentment is being happy where you are, while you work towards where you want to be." Never stop aspiring to be better. If even if you stay in the same field for 50 yrs. always strive to be the best.

I'll drink to that! However, we do have a multi-party system; the Greens, Communists, Constitutionals, etc. Corporate America and the wealthy elect to support one or both of the two major party's, and we all know power is rooted in who has the most money. It's totally ludicrous to spend millions of dollars, much less hundreds of millions of dollars for a political office that pays a salary that is meager by comparison. In my mind, only two types of individuals would want to hold high political office in these modern times. Those that want to participate in the plunder, and those that want to stop the plunder. Those that want to stop the plunder will never get elected because they would have to accept campaign contributions from big business and lobbyists. And they don't give that money out of the goodness of their hearts, they demand something in return, more plunder and access to some serious ear bending. Another thing I've noticed since the Eisenhower presidency. It seems to me Americans vote by looks (both physical and projected), spit and polish, and not the character, substance and message of the candidate. That has become very apparent during all the presidential debates and is capitalized by the liberal media. And these days, who would argue with this fact? Americans WILL vote into office those that promise them the most plunder, not what's best for the country as a whole. The JFK mantra has now become; Ask NOT what you can do for your country, ask what the country can do for YOU! Seams we've become a nation of me, me, me? IMHO. We are well on the road to becoming subjects, come next November it will most likely become official. It's a sad state of affairs ladies and gentleman. Soap Box / OFF

mud:_______________ I carried a 629 in a maxpedition purse for a time (...that's the only way ya can carry it...). It was a four incher. An "N" frame smith, great as it is, simply aint a consealed carry gun. Its a field carry gun that ya can only cary owb or shoulderholster. They are heavy, over 40 oz. Fourty ounces is 2 1/2 pounds. As others have said, if ya want to go armed and have a consealable firearm, keep your present firearm and save up for an "N" frame smith or ruger redhawk. leroy

http://www.forbes.co...ake-a-comeback/ and and If you want to believe that, then ok. Just like we thought we defeated Communism here, we still have them in the USA. http://cpusa.org along with plenty of Socialist organizations http://www.dsausa.org/ all of which never were truly defeated. They just laid low and went back to the drawing boards to plan a new attack from the ground up! So sorry, but I don't trust Russia. They might not be the hard core Commies they used to be under Stalin, murdering their own people, etc., but they're still corrupt as hell and still have enough Communists to still be dangerous if they get a strong majority of Govt positions and control. So training with them, sharing satellites, military technology, etc., is a big no no for me!

What better way to control the locals but with a nonamerican force. I belive the US forces would not take orders from a goverment that has orderd taking firearms from people and putting people in jails. Call me paranoid.

Perhaps I'm allowing my personal beliefs that medals for valor awarded by our Military and Congress are of an official nature and, therefore, the wearing of such devices is fraud.. I'm 100% for freedom of speech, but the way I interpret the wearing of valorous awards one didn't earn is not as I lie, I believe it is fraud.

I think it's possible to be reach contentment without becoming complacent. Self-improvement and ambition don't have to be tossed out to be content with what you have "right now".

Well, you might find yourself hated (and threatened) by people you've never met. Worked for me!

Yep.. makes sense.... this wasnt meant as acusatory at all.. was just wondering why people want to off these things.. And I understand that if you have dogs or other animals.. they come first. We had a cat bit by a snake.. his head looked like a football for a week.. suprised he didnt die from it I have animals.. and we used to have chickens and guinea fowl and turkeys... they where free range during the day and they did attract a lot of snakes. poisonous and non-poisonous....I hated it because they would try to get into the coops. we used to get quite a few rat and blacksnakes on our property... and we chuck those under the house here to get the mice and rats. We also used to have pleny green tree snakes and now you do not see any.. maybe one a year on the road.. dead. same with box turtles. Iwould hate to see someoens dog or even kid get bit by one.So I get the kill on sight thing.. I would do the same thing.. I just think even the small gartersnakes or glas snakes and whatnot are to neat to just off..lol

Point is, though, that ATF doesn't have to prove you made a profit, only show by preponderance of evidence that you intended to. On even one gun. The ATF is shown to care about conviction rate, so they prosecute the ones they think they'll win. Somebody turning 10 guns a month or more mostly year round would seem to be right in the radar range if they want to make the effort, would seem to me. Maybe even five. - OS

Great fun, guys - really sorry I missed the tanning class! You're all welcome up this way anytime.

I'm sick and tired of the name calling, the group classification, the lying and the division that this administration has be doing for the last 4yrs. All of these fricking libs need to get out of our government and move to Egypt and reform their government.

Pelosi speak with forked tongue. They're all lying some, but she's an over-acheiver.

Recommend that you read and study The Federalist Papers.

It's fraud, not freedom of speech. Every story I've seen where folks have been charged for stolen valor have been benefiting monetarily for their fraudulent representation of a hero. Last time I checked it was illegal to impersonate a member of the Military by donning an official uniform with the intent to impersonate: http://corpuslegalis...-health-service I'm personally aware of an individual prosecuted under this law in addition to other offenses long before Stolen Valor came along. Hell it's against federal law to impersonate a member of the Red Cross: http://corpuslegalis...tle18/red-cross Funny how these laws have been around for 50 years and no one cares, now suddenly that sh*theads who are trying to make a dime off the sacrifices of REAL MEN are suddenly victims and are having their 1st Amenment rights trampled on.... hooey! EDIT: And just to illustrate how often this happens, here is a recent case (May 2012) of some POS in KY who is facing charges for impersonating an Army Officer under Title 18 USC Section 702.... Stolen Valor is Section 704. But hey, Stolen Valor is SUDDENLY a problem with the 1st Amendment. Hooey. http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Man-charged-with-impersonating-a-military-officer-150804705.html

If you have never recommended, presented or received an award for wounds or valor - - - there is no way you can understand how Disgusting, Repugnant, and Sickening this ruling is. The founders' idea of free speech was to speak truth to power. It was not to protect those who LIE!

Here's my view on this, if you have a carry permit and a carry gun then you've made a decision to carry said handgun for the purposes of being legally armed. So why would you want to trade away your carry gun for a 6" N frame S&W 629 that you can find another copy of at another time? I doubt that this is a once in a lifetime deal so what's the hurry? My experence is that sometime's it's best to pass on deal's like this one.

I have a feeling there are some frequent posters in the FS threads that may end up with these guys down the road. Remember, it is up to the ATF to interpret and perceive what constitutes violations. Be careful guys. It's like the IRS. You don't want to be on their radar.

It's obvious whats going on in the video. It's not rocket science. The cops gave them what they wanted. The cops look like the dolts they are.

Not sure about the law, but the dealers will do strange things sometimes. I once bought a gun in GA at a show by having the GA dealer "transfer" it to the next booth (tn dealer). I have no idea if this was legal, they both said it was, but they wanted money and I wanted the gun....

Please explain to me how cooperating with the police means I don't support the 2nd Amendment; I am so curious to hear. Last time I checked I have just as much right to cooperate as I have the right not to cooperate. I get to make choices that are right for me. If you don't want to cooperate with an LEO that is your business. By no means does that put you on some kind of a pedestal above the rest of us in regards to our belief in the 2nd and 4th Amendments. I make my voice heard through the votes I cast, NRA membership and letters to my elected officials. I see no logic behind the theory that my cooperation with LE somehow negates all that.