10-Ring

Avid coffee drinker here who recently began a mission for the perfect cup. I began my coffee drinking career 20+ years ago not caring about brands and would drink about anything. (Applied to more than coffee in those days) but when I began drinking coffee I consciously stayed away from cream and sugar and took it straight, my logic was there would be times that those things wouldn't be available. A drip coffee maker and pre ground slightly fancier than Maxwell or Folgers have always been my go to. The past several months I was using Costco Kirkland's Columbian coffee. Pretty good at $16ish dollars (3lb) with a bonus old school metal can. I recently got a French press and quickly after got a grinder. I'm actually on my first bag of whole bean, I went with Kirkland's Columbian Supreme. Very mellow, not bitter at all. I intend to branch out and explore other coffees as well, it's somewhat of a hobby at this point. It's also pretty much my only remaining vice other than junkfood as I gave up nicotine, alcohol, and green tobacco years ago. There is something about the ritual of preparing the cup of coffee I find enjoyable, just as someone may enjoy making a mixed drink. I recall Pre COVID, World Market in Murfreesboro has a variety of store branded whole bean coffee and you could grind it in store, it was pretty cheap but I can't recall how much it was. I may swing over there sometime a grab a bag or two. As you can see in the picture below of our coffee bar, my household takes our coffee pretty seriously. I got my wife the Nespresso machine a while back. I don't need with it much other than when I'm lagging and need an espresso to pick me up. She uses it about daily making her fancy coffee drinks.

I do, and it's in pretty good shape.

I'm speaking of money kept on hand for day to day purchases. For me that's a few thousand and wouldn't be life changing if it disappeared. I would be much more concerned about investment accounts and long term savings, which would be subject to the same risks and most of us probably have these types of accounts. The only way to get around that is to keep your money in a mattress or buried out back in a mayonnaise jar. Which brings on a whole other set of risks.

I find myself using cash less and less. And as time goes on, I find that the cash that I do acquire piles up because I don't use it day to day. Which is fine because the easiest way to get rid of that cash is to buy a gun. For day to day purchases I have an Amazon Chase credit card that gives me cash back on most purchases and discounts on a lot of Amazon purchases. I pay it off each month. I carry my debit card as well just in case something happens with my credit card. I've accepted and made electronic payments via Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, etc. for items I've bought and sold here, as well as Marketplace. As a seller I like this option better than cash because it eliminates the possibility of counterfeit money. The buyer transfers the money to me via the app, I get notification that the payment was made, and we're done. I also remember making a few trips to buy vehicles 20+ years ago with an envelope full of cash and hopes of not getting robbed. Electronic payment drastically reduces those chances. I dabble in crypto, but haven't used it to buy anything person to person, and honestly couldn't tell you exactly how to do that. But it's attractive to me. Say I buy $1,000 worth of "TGO coin" (I made that up) last week and it's now valued at $1,250 (this scenario happens all the time, and yes, it also goes the other way). If I buy a widget someone is selling and pay them in that TGO coin I bought last week, I basically just got a 25% discount. Truth is that cash is inconvenient. It's much quicker to simply tap that card on the card reader and be done than pay in cash and hope to God that the cashier is capable of counting back change. It's easier than waking into the gas station and standing in line to pay to fill up. It's safer because you have recourse if you are robbed, lose it, or it's otherwise destroyed. Truth of the matter is cash has very minimal advantage over electronic payment. Thank you for attending my TED talk on electronic transactions.

A couple of 275 gallon IBC totes connected to your downspout will be much less of a headache.

I've researched this in depth. It isn't generally feasible in our area. There are all kinds of diy digging methods that can be used in other areas where the water table is typically very shallow, but the majority of the time here that will not be in the case. Expect to go deep and expect to go through rock. Most ground water in our area will require a 240 volt pump to get water to the surface.

After talking to my wife's uncles, they recall the gun always looking like this. I'm wondering if it may have always looked like this? For the time being I think I will clean it well and do nothing. In a side note. One of the uncles told me that he had his dad's rifle that he captured and brought back, but didn't have any paperwork for it. He said that it is duffle cut and that his dad took it from a German officer. I suspect the P-38 may have belonged to the same officer. He didn't have specifics on the rifle, but I'm hoping to learn more about it.

Already out of stock

No, all of it is like that. I'm hoping to be able to get the story of who stripped it this weekend from some family. I'd say I could narrow down to 4 people. 2 are still alive, I suspect the culprit is not. You are correct on the markings. This is an ac45 gun. The ac45 markings are so light I'm scared to put OOOO steel wool on them. No doubt they would be lost upon rebluing.

12-14 years ago I had a place in Blount County (Happy Valley) (which is WAY out in the middle of nowhere) and had a range in the back yard which was totally safe. I was shooting one day and a deputy pulled up. He was friendly and explained that someone had called in that someone (me) was target shooting and he just needed to make sure I was being safe. He looked at my setup and approved. We then talked guns for a little while and he departed. Later found out from another neighbor that there was a guy down the road that made a practice of calling the law anytime he heard a gun shot. They showed up a couple of other times as well and I got the feeling that they were a bit annoyed about the call, but never gave me any issues.

I took care of mine about 3 years ago, I do my best to stay in the BBT Bad Santa spirit 365 days a year.

I recently inherited a P-38 that my wife's grandfather brought back from WWII. (Also have the documentation from the Army for the weapon) Unfortunately it appears that over the years someone tried to "restore" the gun which basically consisted of removing the bluing. I know that it is generally frowned upon to refinish historical pieces. But... I have no plans to sell so I really don't care about decreasing value, and I would personally enjoy the gun more if it looked a bit more presentable. I'm torn on what to do with this. The gun is 100% heirloom/conversation piece and may see occasional range use (I've never fired it but the trigger is amazing). Would I be committing blasphemy if I had it professionally reblued?

Enough to be considered a cause for concern in some locals and severely underarmed in others.

I was intrigued and as a Marlin nut I couldn't help but go down the rabbit hole. The Royal Canadians were produced in 1962 and 1963. They were produced in 35 Rem and 30-30. Multiple online sources substantiate the 270(35)/271(30-30) production numbers. Apparently, the Canadian government took offense to Marlin using the maple leaf without permission and sales ceased in Canada, the remainder were sold in the US. Marlin offered carved stocks as well, if yours is carved it may bring a premium. I don't see much collector value because of the Royal Canadian designation. However, vintage Marlins in and of themselves are hot right now. The problem is you have to find a buyer who sees value in the RC designation, if you stumble across a misplaced Canadian who is a Marlin nut you may get a premium for this rifle, but to a guy like me the RC designation adds no value and likely detracts value slightly. I find that Marlin values are high locally. Kind of strange but, I see stuff on here sell quickly priced substantially higher than similar Gun Broker listings, plus GB is going to add shipping, background, and FFL. If it were mine, considering the like new condition and making the assumption the you don't have the original box, I'd start at $900 if it's a 35, and $800 for a 30/30 and see if you get any bites.

Every generation has it's share of people who don't have a clue. We can blame the faults of this generation on the generation that raised them.

I'll take it

Tempted on the 9

Zippos are cool, but not worth their weight when you really need a fire. Same for flint and steel, it's cool, but takes up space and weight. 2 Bic lighters (just for redundancy) and you have a small and light weight reliable fire source. I've tried for years to add one to my pocket for EDC. I don't smoke and seldom actually need a lighter, so it always finds its way out of my pocket. I have made it a point to put 2 Bics in my boat, all of my vehicles, and my ATVs.

More often than not in the world we live in.

Pretty sure my face looks like this. Just had the TV on in the garage and it happened to be on.

Man I wish someone would steal mine.

That snail is carrying the ATF's mail.

GunBroker is a great indicator of what a gun will actually bring.

There was a run of 15-22s several years ago that had a defect that allowed them to discharge when out of battery. The ban is likely connected to that. Appleseed banned them for that reason.

I think Maverick is the best thing going on the cheap side right now. I have a 88 Security. Despite it probably being one of the cheapest shotguns I own I trust it. I've fired it a lot. It's seen a ton of truck miles and several hundred trail miles via ATV and SXS. What it hasn't seen is a lick of maintenance outside of wiping mud of it. It's never failed to go boom. If I lost it today I'd buy another tomorrow.