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After a short wait, I finally picked up my M&P 2.0 C.O.R.E. a few days ago. I’ve been a fan of the M&P since the original 1.0. I continue to be impressed with the refinements made to the 2.0 line. Now that Smith is finally pushing out the 2.0 C.O.R.E. in non-Performance Center models, the M&P 2.0 C.O.R.E. is everything the M&P 2.0 should have been from the start.

What I have to share may mean little to nothing to most, but please allow me to share a moment in my life. My dear mother, Frances from Chattanooga, died in November, 2017 after a fall and a TBI. Mom loved her home in Chattanooga (the only one I ever knew) and she hated leaving it in 2012 after breaking her hip. Mom moved to Nashville and lived with my wife and me after selling the home in Chattanooga. Mom was "happy" with us in Nashville, but her heart remained in Chattanooga at the "old home place." In celebration of her 87th birthday in 2017, we took mom to a cabin in Monteagle where she fell and was life flighted to Vanderbilt. Their valiant efforts stopped the bleed with no guarantee it would not restart, which it did a week later. There was nothing more that could be done for a severely ill 87 year old woman. Mom went to hospice on Thursday and died peacefully on Saturday. Mom was cremated (her request) and we had a celebration service for her life in late November, 2017. In 2018 we spread some of her ashes in Monteagle because she loved the place so much. Years before her death she wanted some of her ashes spread in the Smokies because we loved vacationing there. This will occur this week when my wife and I go back to the Smokies for the first time since her death. At some point we will go home to Chattanooga and spread the rest of Mom's soul at the house she loved so much. Today I offered some ashes at our home, the last one where she lived. I'm not asking for sympathy or sad remembrances. I am 64 years old and as I look back over my life, all becomes full circle. I humbly ask that all of you consider the relationships that mean the most to you while they are alive, cherish every moment with the hope that when those times end, you may remember them all with a smile. Tonight in honor of my Mom, I'm having her favorite drink: a Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice). As much as I loved Mom, I always had to make the drinks, because when she made them, they were about 95% vodka and 5% orange juice. Thank you for allowing me to share.

I know several of you are already familiar with Marko Kloos and have read many of his works. In case you haven't seen this before, I thought I would post it here. I take time to read it from time to time to reinforce the magnitude of carrying a gun for SD. https://munchkinwrangler.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/i-am-bullet/ I am bullet.I am lead and copper, brass and nickel, powder and primer.I am chemistry, metallurgy and physics.Load me into a chamber, and I will fire when struck by a firing pin, no matter who pulls the trigger, and no matter where I am aimed.Once I am fired, you cannot recall me, or redirect me. I will freeze your decision, right or wrong, in the very fragment of time it takes for you to pull that trigger, with no way for you to undo it.No prayer, no regret, no bribe can alter my path.I can pierce air, paper, drywall, wood, and flesh.I can take everything away from a person: their thoughts, memories, hopes, fears, and dreams. I can take everything they were, everything they are, and everything they’re going to be.I can take a life, for whatever reason: good or bad, right or wrong, intentional or accidental.I am a piece of metal, mindless and inert. I have no morals, no intentions, no desires, and no ethics. I take on all those values from you when you launch me out of that barrel.Do not pull that trigger lightly, because you are responsible for the path I take, the target I hit, and the damage I inflict.Pull the trigger with respect, with resolve, with trepidation, or even with dread if you must–but you must never pull that trigger lightly.

A lot of the trade in metals is done "off the books", and in cash only. People have differing reasons for this, at least some of it is due to tax issues. When I was most active in trading "junk" silver (older US coins with silver content, whose collectible value is equal to or less than their melt value) the internet as we know it now did not exist. At that time you traded mostly at coin, stamp and other collectible shows which operated much like gunshows. There were also known area dealers in metals, coins and other such commodities, most of that was done word of mouth. With junk silver, we traded mostly in "bags", which was by definition $1000 face value, i.e. 10k dimes, 4k quarters, 2k half-dollars, etc. The price of a bag of junk silver varied daily by the spot silver price, you had to know both that and the percentage of pure silver contained in each type of coin to correctly price a bag for either buying or selling. As with other things, the internet has made both pricing and marketing easier, with instant nationwide, or even worldwide exposure.

Maybe this will help with the lube job.

I hope this is the correct way to do this as I am new to posting in any forum much less this one. I am a long time resident of the state of Tennessee and am a retired nuclear power instrument tech. I am partially disabled and I don't get out much except for doctor visits, grocery shopping, and to go to the range and shoot my FN handgun. I have been interested in firearms since I was child and have owned many types of firearms. My main interest now is handguns and I thought it would be fun to join a forum.

bumping this back up from several years ago since I feel it's worth repeating.

What are the odds that Ruger comes out with their pistol carbine in that caliber that takes the same magazines as the 5.7 pistol???

Through the Firearm Blog and Ammoland, I've been aware, not only did they decriminalized minor theft, the shifted some felony level activity down to misdemeanors. It's a good deal for the law breaking, illegal immigrant community. The CA guv is also adding $1.4 Bil to the budget to combat the homeless problem as well.

I just finished reading Tom Givens new book. It was my first time reading the new one. It is a great roadmap for someone starting their choice of adding the ability to protect one's life and the lives of loved ones with a gun. It has a lot of good information for the beginner to set goals for productive beneficial training so one will do it with the goal of bettering themselves rather than just going to a range and bustin caps while punching paper and plinking. Also gives good all around advice on how to be aware while we concealed carry, and establishing a proper mindset while gaining the skills to be effective with your chosen tools. Gives recommendation on hardware and selection of one's chosen tools. I thought the line he had in it about concealed carry, "You need to realize that when you strap on a gun you may be forced to kill someone with it," (Paraphrasing from memory) was a very important statement. Goes a long way with cultivating a proper mindset. I highly recommend the book, even for old timers because we all need to be reminded of the seriousness of what we do when we carry, and the responsibility we incur because of that very personal decision. We owe it to our families, loved ones, and ourselves, to be trained to use our tools to the best of our ability. Tom said, (again paraphrasing) "When you hold a gun in your hand, you possess the power over life, over death." That is a huge responsibility, and It's not to be taken lightly by any. Serious stuff guys, as most of you know.

I totally agree. I, like many other TGO members, purchase from SGAmmo and subscribe to their newsletter. In the most recent newsletter they mention the fact that ammo, especially bulk purchase, is at a 13 year low. But they also mention that several companies will be increasing their pricing this year, and of course they mention the unpredictability of an election year and the equally unpredictable response of the public. The majority of us only too well remember the wild swings and shortages of the past 15 years. It's definitely a buyers market right now. How long that lasts is anyone's guess, but this year and the next should prove interesting.

Decriminalizing minor theft. That’s honestly the first I’ve heard of this. Brilliant idea, everyone! I can beat that, though. THERE WILL BE A 0% CRIME RATE IF WE DECRIMINALIZE EVERYTHING. This will end well, I’d say.

I’m a handgun guy, never owned a long gun. Now in my 40’s I’m getting gun-curious. I swapped my 4.5” M&P 45 ACP for an AR15 with a few add-ons and a case today. I’ve never even looked at one, just seen lots of videos of people enjoying them. Seemed like an ok deal so I went with it. Now, when i say new to the AR....... I mean I had to look at how to cock it and make it dry fire. Then I figured out how to separate the upper and lower. That’s about where I’m at. Lol. i went and picked up some 223 to go shoot Sunday, it’s a 556 so no issues there. The AR is dry, so I’ll need to lube it up and look up where all I need to put oil. If there’s anything I need to know to prevent issues I’m listening.... Here’s some clickable thumbs of what I picked up.

@Luckyforward, thank you for posting this, and for the admonition. Based just on her secret recipe for screwdrivers, she sounds like someone worth knowing! Take care.

A toast in honor of your mom and a life well lived.

Please allow me to offer prayers of love for you all. A few years further back when my Mom was lost. Some similarities in the situation...a fall, moving in with us, declining health. So my offer of understanding and empathy is a bit of sharing as well. I can hear and feel she raised a good son who has done right by her during and after her life. Blessing be upon you.

As I get older, one of the things that impresses me the most is seeing people handle end of life care with integrity. It seems like y’all have really honored you mom at the end of her life - and have continued to do that after her passing. I’m certain she would be so proud.

Moms always hold a special place for us. Prayers for you. There will be good days and bad days ahead.

Sometimes I really hate being right when I make an assessment of things like this, but...

Just picked up mine up Friday and I like the looks of it much better than the FN Five Seven. Gonna try to get some rounds through it and my Banshee pretty soon

Yep. I ran across a video, linked below, on that subject regarding the Python. It echoes what you said. While guns aren't obviously cars, there are some similarities to the improvements over time. Most of us are old enough to remember muscle cars of the 60's to early 70's and how fast they were and the good handling. Not sure any can hold a candle to what's available today. Yes, the higher price reflects that to some degree. Back to guns, semi-autos in the beginning weren't near as reliable and ergonomic, etc as they are today. We need to remember, while the good ole days can apply to many things, I think cars and guns are better today setting aside the nostalgic value of the older stuff IMO. https://youtu.be/I1bB8upFLdU

Great graphic, thanks for posting

I think it's a good idea, but like others, I don't FB, have a profile, I assume it's been idle since ought 8. Regarding HPs in nylon and deadly accurate with an AR...y'all trying to hurt my feelings? I also like the term slacktivism... remember, is what you're doing making you feel good or are is what you're doing actually doing good? My experience is 20% of the client base produces 80% of the business.

It's been interesting watching this group. The entire purpose of the group is to form a committee in each county and for that committee to advocate that their county become formally recognized as a sanctuary county. A few observations that I've made (thus far, I've only observed and have not participated in any discussions): - the group has drawn over 15k members in less than a month, supposedly all Tennesseans (impressive!) - as mentioned the purpose of the group is to increase the number of sanctuary counties. - people have an incredibly hard time staying on topic, many members seem to think that the purpose of the page is to overthrow the government. - the Fudds are very present. Reading through comments I just imagine that a good number of these people OC a Hi Point in a nylon holster. - looking at it from a pragmatic, unbiased position it seems that there is a minority of intelligent, professional people, setting out to obtain a goal in a logical fashion, while the majority of the group mass responds to an intelligent post with something of the likes of "I have an AR-15 that I'm dead accurate with at 100 yards and I'm not afraid to use it." It's been fun watching it play out.

Don’t mistake holiday sales and factory rebates for the norm. We currently have the lowest ammo prices in a decade but that might very well change by the end of the year.

I’m sure precious metals and coins are fine for bartering if you’re trading with someone of the same mindset. Liquidity on the other hand is an entirely different matter. If you want to turn it into cash you are not going to get what you think it’s worth.

This is my concern as well...liquidity. I bought gold eagles and silver eagles a few years ago just to get into the precious metals game and to have an investment to hold in my hand. I bought them through Apmex.com and they ship them directly to your house. They will repurchase them at any time at a slight discount from the spot price that changes daily, and people buy/sell them on eBay as well, but in both of those cases you have to put the coins in the mail and arrange for payment. Local “gold buyer” shops will also buy them but, like you said, that would be a negotiation and I expect it would be about like selling something to a pawn shop...not a good price for the seller. In a SHTF situation I think the smaller weight coins or bars like 1/10 oz and 1/4 oz would be more practical than the 1 oz or larger sizes.

Last month I looked at the 9mmEZ and I was impressed. As a gunsmith, I kept thinking, they must have done more to the gun than meats the eye of just a light recoil spring. Feeding Must be as slick as can be since auto loaders with a full mag when even slightly sticky will hang up feeding with such light pick up energy. Like an AK, generous bolt face over travel past the rim pick up point is essential for added reliability. S&W has all ways had pretty good R&D in building guns. Should be a good seller.

Report: Well this one was a total bust. Some new promoter, The Cloe Group. They called it a Gun-Con. But apparently didn't bother to advertise much. Only one of the small Fairground buildings was used and it wasn't completely full. Normally shows here take both buildings. The crowd was small. At times there were more vendors in the building than customers. Nobody was selling much at all. I seriously doubt most dealers with more than just a couple of tables even managed to cover their rent. I only sold a few small items. My partner sold one .22 rifle. After figuring gas and expenses, my total profit was $5. I'm not going back tomorrow. The usual promoter for Dyersburg is Grand American. They normally use both buildings. While not a great show, its generally decent. So if you hear about a gun show, check the promoter. If its The Cloe Group or they refer to it as a "Gun-Con", don't waste your time. On the bright side, it did get me outta the house on a rainy Saturday and I had a good visit with my friend who I don't see much.

Used to be that shipping costs offset the sales tax paid buying locally. That is no longer the case. However, online shopping in quantity is often still of the best option from a price and selection standpoint. Check out the offerings from SGAMMO.

It'll be like living on the frontier in the 1870's.

Really can’t imagine shooting +P in my LCP. It’s not fun to shoot with regular .380.

I love that case harden color! Very sharp!

https://palmettostatearmory.com/sig-sauer-romeo5-1x20mm-red-dot-sight-black-r52001.html

Thanks for the kind words but I'm no connoisseur, I just stumble along & go with my gut. I believe that owning PM's, bullion & coins is good insurance against inflation & always has been & always will be a great store of value. The illustration of buying a gallon of gas with a silver quarter is the same today as it was back in the 60's, actually a silver quarter will buy more than a gallon of gas today. A silver quarter is worth $3.26 @ todays spot price. I've never been a coin collector & I see that going down in popularity as many collectors are getting old, just like the vintage gun collectors, interest is waning.

I'd prefer a carry handle.

These have been under development for a long while now very cool knives

Thank you all for the welcome. I think I might LIKE doing this. I'm new to it, but not new to shooting. I've owned guns for most of the 68 years I've been on this planet and shooting is the most fun you can have with your pants ON. :=)

Good thing they started copying, then.

That was kinda what I took away from photos as well. I hoped I was wrong once, but I was just disappointed...

Welcome. You don’t glow in the dark do you?