chances R

If you are talking HD, don't shy away from the mossberg 500. For games maybe. I've seen em run for years in tough hunting situations with little or no maintanence. Also in home or apartment situations, number 4 shot will make anyone reconsider their intentions or worse while minimizing over penetration. Don't get caught up in all the bells and whistles and do take a course especially since you have no experience.

Count me in......

  Any trace of the brass rubs off........but as you discovered, everything moves with enough force :cool:

you can get brass punches pretty cheap, and they come in handy.  If you use a vice should move pretty easily.  Have done 1/2 dozen or so without damage. Put a little piece of tape over the end of the punch too.  Wouldn't waste my money on at sight press.

Well is price is a factor JFloyds in Sevierville has Shields for $339 !

  ^^ This is what my reads as well.

I can see both sides....maybe due diligence by Line-X thwarting a possible terrorist in one scenario.  Possibly a racist motive in another.  Could have all been handled a little better with a common sense approach and 5 minutes of getting to know you type conversation while doing business.

I would avoid anything that sounds like 'NO'.......too confusing to the dog during training.

Have not taken this class.  IMO, for the money, the Pistol courses offered by Tactical Advantage Corp. are excellent and a bargain.

I will give you my Buyer Beware Taurus story.  I WAS a big fan of the 709 Slim.  Almost identical to the S&W Shield.  I have had it for at least 6 years, so it was made before the firearms 'crunch'/panic period.  Shot it frequently and essentially flawless......until it had a misfire, then another and then to the point it would rarely shoot.  I thought it needed a new striker assembly.  Sent it back to Taurus (as I recall cost around $60).  Taurus kept it for 3 months telling me they had to order parts.  They replaced the barrel because the headspace was out of spec.  Still didn't solve the problem.  Then they replaced the striker assembly, which by the way they had to 'order'.  Another month goes by.  According to them that did not fix the problem.  They didn't know what was wrong evidently.  With a less than pleasant phone call, to their credit, they sent me a new gun.  I sold it, NIB.  My biggest problem is that of quality.  So the moral of the story is; I wouldn't trust my life to a Taurus.  Will they honor their lifetime warranty; yes, eventually.

Thanks for the replies.  I've used clays for years with shotshells, that's why I have so much on hand.  Not that much of an advantage loading shotshells with the price of lead now.  But, still very much a necessity and significant savings with the pistol shooting.

Well.........finally out of Bullseye Powder which I have used for my 45ACP.   That is the bad news, good news I have 12# of Clays.  Anybody have any pet loads for 225gr. LFN?  (just for the record, yes, I can and have referenced several of the manuals I own)

  Based on my poor memory, you are correct that initially they came from Spain, then later Mexico as I recall.  I think they were a common shells used in Argentina for a long time.  Not sure when they moved to TN, but again think it was around 5 or so years ago.  When try and find the actual version.

Yep, I shoot a lot of shotgun and has been a very common shell over the past 5 or so years......maybe longer.

Of course those are all very nice holsters, and most respectfully, why does it matter if it collapses or not?  Other than for practice, one does not usually draw and reholster except in the rare instance of an emergency.   Comfort would be my deciding factor.

Here and there.

I have yet to meet a competition shooter, or instructor (and that has been a dozen of so with me)  that didn't recommend dry practice exercises.  Even with Tactical/Personal Defense practice, the presentation and first trigger press can all be done against a par timer for increased speed, skill, and accuracy. Also mag changes and malfunction drills.  And all done cheaply without firing a shot. 

  ^  This

Hope you like ORANGE,,.........

You can get a lot of practice by simply using "Dry Practice".  Safe gun handling, presentation, re-holster,sight alignment, trigger press can all be done without firing a shot.  This all carries over to the range and maximizes your ammo when you can get to the range.  Don't short change yourself.....do it routinely.

teecro.........please re-read my post and point out where I supported MANDATORY training or state fees.

Open or concealed, someone who assumes the responsibility of carry should get some basic training.  Anyone who assumes that the HCP course is training is fooling themselves.  Problem is I don't trust the general population to act responsibly, as I have already seen how most who get their HCP end their 'training' there.

SHOWS 349  for me as well.

or here:http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/74804-taurus-and-im-not-happy/   IMO you can't go wrong with the M&P shield

I have to strongly disagree about ignoring the penetration issue.  Several studies in NY and elsewhere were used to move toward HP ammo.  In fact, some experts in court have brought up the issue of negligence if one ignores this issue.  Just recently saw a 45 FMJ shatter a bone, exit, and went who knows where.  But not saying HP wouldn't, but I bet it slows down more, and weighs less on exit.  In this case, good for the good guy as he was the one shot.  Missing with any round will not help your legal standing,......over penetration is another issue and always a consideration in weapon and ammo choices.