molonlabetn

I'm rather partial to classic blueing and wood... but there's something just so awesome, rugged and utilitarian about parkerized metal and polymer.

Well... the folks on the other end of the shipping didn't really have their ducks in a row this week. They told me today that they would send it on Monday . I just can't catch a break when it comes to having a firearm shipped... Serves me right for bidding on this thing spur-of-the-moment in the middle of the night. Never again. I'm sure once it arrives I will be happy with it. I've got a case of 7.62x54R though... It beat the rifle here, and I ordered it several days afterwards.

If there is no such thing as a human right, a right to life for example, then why are genocide, plague, slavery and famine such tragedies? People created in the image of God don't all have an equal claim to existence? It certainly cannot be proven that we don't.

I think it's safe to say that we learn something every day

I guess the bottom line is to simply use common-sense, and only ever use the minimum level of force that is required in order to stop the threat.

The only one of us who was actually there felt threatened enough by the situation to warrant displaying his weapon. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Now you've done it...

In some situations, yes, but regular citizens have no less right to defend themselves... bringing up the reaction of a professional trained in response is relevant, because it illustrates what the obvious reaction to an incoming threat should be... Go randomly run towards a police officer without acknowledging their challenge, and see how close you get before waking up (if you're lucky) in the hospital. Is your point that we somehow have less of a right to stop a perceived threat? I'll grant that it is not our duty, but to ignore the opportunity for prudent preparation for deterring harm is senseless. 100yd with a scoped rifle is ridiculous... unless the other person is equally armed and taking hostile, potentially harmful action towards you.

Contesting the 'establishment' is only irresponsible if the status-quo of the establishment is acceptable. It is not. Diplomacy is desired, all I want is to be able to abide by the law without harassment. Indeed, responsibility and positive influence are the most important parts of exercising any right... but I have no responsibility to pander to ignorant bias.

And comparing OC to the KKK will? Okay, well lets bring it closer to home for you... Public demonstration of some religions which are in the minority, makes some people 'uncomfortable'. Is that a good reason to single a particular religion out and prohibit their public observance? OC is certainly not a religion, but it is a small portion of the whole issue of gun-rights... just like Judaism, Hinduism, etc are all individual religions which are (supposedly) uniformly protected from government interference. Pick your Amendment, but the prohibition against interference is clear... Nitpicking about how some individuals choose to exercise their rights, if they are different than yours, is less than constructive. I would hope that gun-owners could stand together on this.

Why not? They pull their weapons for lots of other reasons... And even if the person was initially too far away to be a threat, that makes no difference because he is rapidly moving towards you, and soon will be close enough to be a threat if he is not deterred.

Please explain? It's a very similar argument as saying that, although we have a right to 'free speech', it is not illegal or irresponsible to do so in public, regardless of how it makes other people 'feel'. Do you not recognize that there is an element who wishes to take away the right to gun ownership altogether, not just carry or open-carry?

If this scenario had happened to a LEO, what do you think the LEO would have done? Waited for the guy to run up to him? Run away and hide to wait for backup? The only error in judgment by either party, was by the neighbor running towards an unknown person, ignoring the commands to 'stop'. It doesn't matter to me how the gun was displayed... if he got very close, he's lucky to (as Hyaloid so aptly put) still only have the same number of holes that God gave him. If a fella I didn't know was running towards me across my yard, and ignoring my challenge, he'd be facing a muzzle and a rather territorial dog before he came within 10yd.

If gun ownership gets to be a problem, as they see it, it is just as likely for them to enact legislation to restrict our 'right' to own guns... Not a good reason to avoid gun ownership, and likewise not a good reason to put down doing so openly. Acceptance of legitimate gun ownership/carry is not a matter of degree, either we have that right, or we don't. I agree that we should promote doing so responsibly... but responsibility cannot be legislated.

I've OCed nearly a half-dozen times in some VERY public places in Knoxville, including the mall, and in one instance walked right in front of one of Knoxville's finest, making eye contact (smile, nod, etc...). He didn't say anything, much less slam me into the ground. Now, there might be some loose cannons out there, but in TN, OC is not an arrestable offense... so they should be handled the same as would any law-enforcement with misconduct. It's just as much your duty to know the law, and stand up for yourself by it, as it is the police officers'... and since it's our asses on the line, I'd suggest knowing what is reasonable and what is a breach of your rights, so that if one of us does get slammed into the ground, we don't think that we somehow deserved it and fail to correct the misapplication of force by the LEOs. Stories about harassment while OCing tend to get a bit exaggerated... usually there's something else behind the story, if it goes down badly. Most LEOs are cognizant of the law, and do their best to abide by it.

[maniacal laughter] So glad you've joined us! [/maniacal laughter]

Their lineup will be complete when they finally bring the .357sig model to market, and incorperate the optional manual safety in the 9mm/.357/.40 frames... also, they need a compact .45... Fine weapons. Perhaps not worth replacing my XDs with, but competetive, nonetheless.

Welcome to TGO Ross! What do you hunt, with that nice shootin' iron?

I swung by and got to touch this exquisite machine this afternoon... I shouldn't've done that, now I want one! Congratulations... Hope I get to shoot it this weekend.

Saweet! Can't wait to check that bad boy out. I'll be up there later today, anyways... buddy of mine wanted me to show him the best place to buy stuff.

There are many manufacturers who produce 1911s (or clones of 1911s, as it were...) S&W is one of them, they make excellent 1911 pistols, as a matter of fact... generally, there are few functional differences between 1911s from different manufacturers, just that some are more refined, or use different materials/processes to manufacture them. Nearly all 1911s can exchange parts with one another. The 1911 action is nothing at all like the Glock. The most obvious difference is the exposed, pivoting hammer on the 1911 which is held back under spring-tension by a sear, whereas the Glock has a linear, internal 'striker' which is held back under spring tension by a disconnecting trigger-bar. The method for firing the two guns is similar (rack slide to cock the action, and pull the trigger), making both of these weapons effectively single action from the point of view of the user... though, the methods used to accomplish it differ widely. If that is what Wiley meant in his article, then he is correct. The combination of the manual and grip safeties on the 1911 effectively lock the pistol's action and slide when engaged, rendering the pistol very safe, even when loaded and cocked. The Glock, on the other hand, has no active safety... and the only passive safety with any user interface is on the trigger itself (so, anything which pulls the trigger will cause the weapon to discharge). The Glock is very safe in the event of droppage, due to a couple of internal, automatic safeties... most 1911s do not have these, relying on the manual and grip safety to keep the action from causing a discharge. Some 1911s (designated 'series 80') do incorporate an automatic firing-pin safety. These are found in most modern Colt 1911s, Kimber, and a few others). The grip safety is unobtrusive, and instinctive to use. In my opinion, it is an excellent design which prevents discharging the weapon unless the user in intentionally gripping it.

Well, he obviously wasn't paying attention to you verbal commands... availing oneself to the next level of deterrence sounds pretty reasonable to me, can't be too careful these days. I bet you buddy's neighbor won't be asking for help again, ever! Glad everything turned out alright.

I have one... as mentioned, it's for sale (details here) It's a great shooter, very accurate... I also like the grip ergonomics and the ease of carrying it, being rather slim. My reasons for wanting something else are simply that I want to get away from traditional DA/SA triggers, and I want more capacity... I also want the same or better quality. I'm leaning towards an H&K P2000 LEM. I still carry the Sig nearly every day... and I will until somebody wants it more than me. It's dependable.

Welcome to TGO, Ron. Glad you've joined us!

I know for a fact that weekend I have to work and go to my future brother-in-law's graduation... The only thing I don't know is when those things will occur, and whether I'll have time to send some lead down-range beforehand. I will know by this time next week. As to ammo... I've got a butt-load of 12ga bird-shot and buck-shot, probably enough to supply all of the contestants, so don't worry about that. I've only got a couple boxes of slugs... but I don't know if those will be needed (they are a couple years old, so I might pop them off afterwards just to get rid of them, if we don't use them)... If you really want to buy a bulk pack of 12ga from Wal-Mart, that's fine with me.