dkd83

Submitted my paper work today. Still have to set up my finger-painting appointment but I am well on the way. Thanks go out to Phantom6 for the great NRA Basic/TN carry class.

jfglock, I need to check out Guns and More sometime soon. Does it have a range?

I have visited CCA many times during the last 4 months. Their staff varies as the staff does at most businesses. Two employees there are friendly, knowledgeable, and extremely helpful. There are two more that I loathe and avoid when I enter the store. Prices are steep (think Gander Mountain) but there are not many choices within Knoxville proper. I had a set of XS Big Dots installed there a few weeks ago. Turned in my pistol and XSs on a Thursday and picked them up on the next Tuesday. Work perfectly with no scarring or blemishing of slide etc. They apparently have a large backlog of smith work and only one smith who is onsite only a few days each week. As far as groups of BSers within the store, I have encountered some there but I do not believe this is generally the employees. Range is dim and wait times can suck unless one of the two great employees are working the range counter.

Thanks highshot, I am sure I will.

I am interested in the "get-together" and am free most week ends.

I am a Ph.D. student in history at UT Knoxville. I teach at Pellissippi State and Walter's State and receive (minimal) retirement pay from the US Army. So, this means that I barely scrape by.

Welcome jcs...

I am amazed to hear that the news of this hideous series of crimes never made it to the entire state of Tennessee. Just goes to show what is important to some/most people means little to most media outlets.

I have stated on the other thread why I do not carry (just beginning the permit process) but I will add here the reason that I want to carry. I initially toyed with the idea 10 years ago when my medical retirement from the Army became official. Until that time I was not concerned about my personal safety but because of my then-found new disability I began to have some. However, I never actually took the measures necessary to acquire the carry permit though I did keep firearms in my home for protection. The carjacking and horrific murders/rapes of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom early this year 1/6/07 brought these concerns back to front of my mind. I really am not concerned about my personal safety but I will NEVER allow this to happen to my wife or any other woman that I know, no matter what the personal consequences.

As of now I have a 20-25' length of 550 cord and an assortment of odd towels. I have never set out to form a true survival kit though I would like to. I particularly want to get together a basic emergency kit for my and my wife's vehicles.

I presently do not carry because I am just beginning the process for getting my carry permit. Upon completion I will carry wherever and whenever I am allowed by law.

A belated welcome from K-Town.

I believe the main problem comes from how we identify these types of protests/protesters. It is a common fallacy seen from all sectors of the modern American political scene to associate these movements (i.e. Code Pink and others) as Liberal social movements. They are very far from Liberal in their mind-sets and their goals. A more apt designation for these groups is Socialist at a minimum or Communist at the extreme. Ideologically the Republican Party of today is much closer to the Liberal movement heralded by John Locke in the 17th century, Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, and Thomas Jefferson in the 18th century and further expounded upon in the 19th century by John Stuart Mill. A general lack of understanding by all parties involved leads to the confusion when properly identifying these "fringe" groups. With all this considered I must agree with Len's estimation that: "3) These people are not representative of liberalism as a philosophy nor the Democratic Party as a political organization." However, the continuing movement by prominent members of the Democratic Party towards these groups decreases their attractiveness to many members of the electorate. Anti-military rhetoric coupled with anti-American sentiment enrages me personally but more importantly it is indicative of the complete lack of effective leadership, from all parties, on both the national and local stages in today's America.

As do I Phantom, as do I.........

Glad to hear it Phantom! Look forward to seeing you then.

Hey Pahntom6, Are you Austin? I just registered for the basic pistol and carry permit class in Oak Ridge for April 14th.

Guncraft Sports Inc. is now Coal Creek Armory. I am unfamiliar with the other places listed for the Knoxville area but, it appears some of this info might prove outdated.

Phantom, Thanks for posting your check list, very good information. Thanks to everyone else for your comments and suggestions.

Thanks db99wj, I was thinking of the old "dime/washer/dowl" drills I used for marksmanship practice while in the Army. I suspected the XD tolerated dry fire because of the necessity for it during disassembly but wanted more input.

I posted this earlier on XD Talk. I would also like all the TGOers input. I am new to pistol shooting. I have recently purchased an XD9sc and need to get in some serious practice/training. I particularly need to work on trigger control. To this end, I want to begin dry firing exercises to correct/identify my trigger shortcomings. Are there any specific methods that I should use when dry firing an XD? Is this practice particularly damaging to the firing pin or other mechanisms on the XD, etc.? Thanks in advance,

Welcome to the site. Out of curiosity, what part of PA do you hale from? (not from there or anything just nosy)

Thanks for that insight drewi, I figured that would prove the difference between the small/large dot sizes.

I have looked over all of the web sites, thank you drewi, and i believe the XS sights look good to me. However, I have one question regarding size. What are the pros/cons of the Big Dot vs. the Standard Dot sights? I would appreciate feedback from anyone who has used either or both.

Welcome Branket, Coal Creek Armory off Lovell Road has a good selection of pistols to rent and a relatively cheap indoor range you can shoot in to test them. You would have to call to get any age restrictions. I recently purchase an XD9 sub compact that I am very happy with. Look around the forum and you should finds lots of help from the posts/posters.

My .02: As an Army sniper I used to carry an M9 for close quarter use. Though I was not an extremely proficient shot with the pistol, I felt good having something I could sight with when the chips were down (10 power scopes suck at less than 300 meters). So it strikes me that sightless shooting is a valid though obviously less accurate method of opening up new breathing holes in an opponent; however, I intend to focus on rapid sight/target acquisition before moving to less assured methods of fire. Each to his own, but the random vitriol seems more misplaced here than the question in debate warrants.