Danger Rane

I've always had a love/hate relationship with REI and can't say I'm really surprised by this latest twist. When I was a young Army private getting ready to ship out for my first trip to Afghanistan our squad leader told me to go to REI (a store I'd never heard of up to that point) and ask an employee to help me pick out the appropriate layers and gear for a mountainous trek. He made sure to tell me not to mention that I was in the Army (as if the stylish high and tight wouldn't give it away) both for reasons of OPSEC but also because "they're a bunch of damn granola eating treehuggers that don't like what we do!" Treehuggers they certainly were, but proper advice on outdoor mountaineering I certainly got. I had to buy layers that could be worn underneath my issued equipment, which was at that point in the GWOT fairly ill prepared for sustained operations at high altitude. When it was all said and done I spent a little over $400 on a base layer, mid weight layer, my first of many MSR pocket rocket stoves, and a sleeping bag that was about two times warmer and four times lighter than my issued version.....all at the advice of a nice lady that smelled like she used hemp oil for perfume and probably had longer armpit and leg hair than I did. That was alot of money to spend as a young Private but it was worth every penny, and that pocket rocket stove got passed around my platoon like a joint at a Grateful Dead concert. Fast forward several years and I was no longer a private but a Platoon Sergeant trying to outfit my guys for a trip to another region that required specialized equipment. I was with our Supply Sergeant who had the credit card and the authorization to purchase 26 complete sets of gear for the platoon. As we were finalizing everything the Supply Sergeant did his due diligence to save the tax payers some money and asked if we could get a bulk discount and/or a discount for being a military/gov customer......this was at the REI parent store in the heart of liberal Seattle.... you would have thought we just told the manager and the several associates helping us that we just ate a baby for breakfast. Not only was there not a discount to be had, but that POS manager at that point started making things difficult to the point that if he could have told us outright he wasn't going to sell to us than he probably would have. Despite our baby killing temperament we left without incident and without spending a dime, leaving the triggered (that's what they were, despite the fact that the term didn't exist back then) associates to deal with the 13 overflowing carts of gear we had amassed. We promptly went to a mom and pop competitor of REI and after the discount that they were happy to give us came out paying about 1/3rd less than it was going to cost at REI, they even let each of our platoon members come in at their leisure and personally fit them for their gear. I did eventually figure out at least in part why the REI prices are so dang high on everything, they have a fantastic return policy that they have to financially account for. I've seen people take back shoes that look like they've walked the A.T. in its entirety and turn them in saying they didn't fit just right and walk out with brand new shoes.....I guess that's how tree huggers view recycling and conservation

Nice work, the sheath and the blade. We have some true craftsman in here.

Welcome to the group. I second the suggestion for Northside Gun Shop.

Welcome to the group Seabee!

Not sure where you are located but I'm in the Columbia/Spring Hill area. I have the cutting and welding capability but don't have a bender. If you come up with the parts we can work something out to get it welded up. If you are south of me look into Richmond LLC in Pulaski, they are my metal supplier but also have a full service fab shop and powder coat booth.

Welcome!

Welcome to the group M. I escaped the PRC (Redding area) back in the late 90's and haven't looked back. Been in TN about 7 years now and don't ever want to leave. You will like it here, the state and definitely this group.

The burn marks on the tanks look like it would be from API not tracer. I have seen and used APIT in .50 but have only seen/used tracer or API in 7.62x51, not aware of a 7.62 in the APIT flavor. IF it had penetrated, and IF he hit the tanks in an area that was vapor and not fluid, it could have been pretty bad.

Enough with the probing already, that's obviously what started this mess

I've got Raptors on a couple of mine and I love them. Watch Rainier Arms long enough and they have sales on them a couple times a year. I think I paid $60 for one and $75 for the other. I'm a lefty and I run my scopes kinda low.

Just signed up. Confirmation email came through right away with yahoo. Sent you a double tap pm on SN. Excited to see where it goes!

I'm sorry to hear what you are going through Ronald, and I totally understand your frustration and concerns. Our oldest is my 16 year old stepdaughter who up until this last summer has kept us on our toes. She's was never a bad kid, but she's always been the type to be influenced by the here and now, with little thought to anything else but how to be popular. We held her off from pretty much all social media until she was 14, at which point she got an instagram account. Even though my wife had access to it and checked her phone almost nightly (it had to be on its charger in our room by 9 every night), I could see her change from the sweet/seemingly innocent girl she once was to one obsessed by how many people were "liking" the occasional picture my wife wold let her post, and she constantly chafed under the restrictions my wife gave her about what she could/couldn't wear in said pictures. As she turned 15 we caught her lying to us about communication and interaction with a couple boys we didn't know. Thankfully she wasn't great at covering her tracks or aware that I had been not that great a kid growing up so I knew where/how to flush out what was going on. We saved her from making some big mistakes but in the end it was for not as she chose to go live with her biological father this summer after he told her she would get a Lexus and the newest iPhone for her sweet sixteen. Hard to compete with that, not that we would have. It's been very hard on my wife to relate and wrap her head around what's going on with her daughter as she (my wife) has legitimately always been a good moral, modest woman. The daughter is now on every social media known to man, including the real wolf in sheeps clothing, Snapchat. Total garbage, nothing good about that app but they market the hell out of it to these young girls with all the filters, streaks, trophys, etc....I'll catch my wife near to tears sometimes when she sees what her daughter is posting and wearing (or not) in her pictures. If you want to look into cameras checkout the 4 or 8 camera set by Nightowl at Costco. It will do pretty much everything you asked about in your OP and they run $300 and $500 respectively. I just helped my Dad install the 8 camera set at his church and they are super clear, and work great at night also. Sorry for what you are going through, I feel for you. As others have said you have to bite the bullet and get ahead of it if at all possible.

I bought myself several of these exact cans from academy at that price in November and they are as good as my military issue cans. Bought several more as gifts right before Christmas, all have been great quality, good rubber gaskets, and nice paint jobs. I paint all my cans black anyway so I bought the black and saved myself some time and spray paint money. Shame on you for bringing this up, now I need to get a few more before the price goes up.

I can understand your frustration at potentially loosing a source of cheap surplus ammo Dolomite, but I think it is a BIG stretch to think these sanctions are being done to screw over gun owners. And to say that you will henceforth be voting D to spite the Rs sounds pretty dangerous. A better policy might be to ignore the R, D, or XYZ besides their names and vote based on each individual and their track record. Its wild that even within our small group here we have those wanting to crucify the administration for colluding with the Russians while others are hating on the Russian sanctions. I love the freedom of options we have in our country, and I fully support each of you in your choices of guns and ammo. I for one have never owned an AK or purchased a round of russian surplus ammo. I've used them extensively overseas and as an armorer of soviet bloc weapons I know they are very reliable, but I personally have a hard time wanting to own/carry what our enemy uses, especially when our home grown equipment is (in my opinion) superior, albeit often more expensive. Just my 2 cents

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I've missed more Christmas' than I can count, so it was great being home with my family for this one. Couldn't have asked or wanted for anything other than that but my wife really went above and beyond and surprised me with a S&W Governor. She new that I'd been saving here and there for one but she did me one better and saved up a bit each month this year to be able to get it for me. I was completely surprised and feeling like a very lucky husband. I also think I better bring my A game for our anniversary in a couple weeks.

Breaking Bad and Dexter.

Powerful stuff, thanks for sharing.

Welcome to the group sir. I too found refuge in this great state after escaping Komifornia. I think you will enjoy it here.

Welcome to TGO!

I disagree that they still own the bolt action and shotgun market. There are certainly still a plethora of them in the field sure, but there are enough Remington competitors putting out the same quality or better at a similar or lower price point (and often with modernized features) that the Big Green is no longer the market leader and trend setter that it once was. As Dolomite mention, the aftermarket for the 700s is huge, as is the market for aftermarket 870 accessories, which is why you still see "Remington" mentioned in almost every add and advertisement. There are numerous established and upstart companies making models that are essentially improved copycats of the Remington design, which obviously speaks to the popularity and solid engineering it once had. I am a long time Big Green fan and my favorite rifle is a Rem 40x in .308, but I will be the first to say that I am disappointed in Remington for letting their creative juices stagnate. As for the relevance of DPMS and Bushmaster they are not Remington any more than Marlin and AAC are, they are siblings under the Freedom Group umbrella. While there are at times collaborative projects between the companies it is my understanding that they are managed as individual companies who's successes and failures do not really effect the others. One thing Freedom Group appears to have done somewhat successfully is get their claws into enough different subcultures of the gun market to somewhat counter effect a drop in any particular group. While they must certainly be feeling the effects of the post election buying slump that this year brought, the problems at Remington run deeper than that.

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Remington can try to blame their failings on the currently saturated market, but the reality is that they have not kept themselves relevant to he current gun culture.

It does look interesting, nice lines.

The insurance companies will make determinations based upon financial risk, not ethics. There is much to be taken from the adage "just because we can doesn't mean we should". While I theoretically could legally leave a pistol sitting in plain view on the dash of my unattended car in a parking lot would it be considered responsible to do so in modern times? If I still had any guns or ammo left after that tragic boating accident, no I would not want anyone dictating how I did or did not secure my personal defense tools in my own home. It is not a valid comparison of scenarios. These firearms being stolen in alarming quantities during these way too easy smash and grabs are not personal defense items at someone's home, they are inventory assets left unattended overnight at the owners place of business and they are insured to mitigate said owners financial loss. The loser in this situation is the public at large, as it's doubtful these stolen guns are going home with the thieves for personal protection or 3-gun matches. I truelly think we are closer in opinion than you think Whisper. My concern, which goes along with the OP, is that we WILL see attempts at overreaching policy that would try to effect us in our home, because of the lack of adequate precautions by a relatively small number of businesses. You know as well as I that the anti's would not limit their gaze to the security requirements of FFLs and gun shops. In my opinion these businesses are throwing the rest of us gun owners under the bus in the political arena, and saying screw you to the safety of their local communities.