MCSCOTT

The top part of the sign is what ticks me off. The bottom part, whether it's photoshopped or not, is really just an empty threat at best. That top part however is exactly the way alot of immigrants seem to think, and it's just something that strikes the wrong nerve with me. I shouldn't post too much about it on the internet, but if I were to ever come across someone in person holding such a sign, or even talked like I owed him something because I'm an American, then my reaction would most likely turn violent. I would try to remain as calm as could be, but it would still end up with that sign in a very uncomfortable spot for that guy holding it.

For all of that, I'd think you should only be trying to decide between the XD45 and the XDM45. I would say go for the XDM45, but I'm not sure about the aftermarket part for that one just yet. I just recently made one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make, and broke down and gave my dad my XD45 for his birthday. I miss it already, but at least it gives me a reason to replace it with an XDM45. On top of that, there are several others I'm wanting really badly here lately. A Sig P226 in .357 Sig, a Ruger Vaquero in .45lc, a Sig P238, and I still need a 1911. I NEED all of these, so I'm trying to make the tough decision of which one to buy first. Worst part about it is, those are all handguns, the list doesn't include the decisions I'm trying to make on long guns right now.

Call me harsh, inhumane, un-american, or any other names that come to mind, but my personal opinion is something much worse than simply rounding them up and giving them a free ride home to visit their family for a bit. Again I will say, at some point this country is going to have to make some very harsh examples out of people like this, or we will continue to be viewed as a weak nation.

I think the main reason we would say .308 is just so you would have more options in the future should you ever want to hunt with the rifle. The .223 is fine at those distances for punching paper or small game, but a .308 would give the option of larger game. My other reason is that you mentioned you already have an AR in .223. Personally my AR is just as accurate at 100 yards as any of my other rifles, so I would rather move up to a larger caliber for the new rifle.

Yup, what you're experiencing is pretty much how I feel all the time. This issue will NOT be solved by just getting one or the other. The choices can easily be narrowed down to just the XDM .45 and the 20sf 10mm though, if that helps ya any.

Definately check ALL of the WWB at any Wal-Mart location before you buy it. I haven't had alot of major issues with it, but out of several boxes that I've bought I don't think I've had a single one that didn't have at least one or two damaged or badly corroded rounds.

I gotta agree to some extent. He also mentions the 2 liter bottle in the movie Shooter, but doesn't mention the fact that in this particular part of the movie the rifle being silenced is a .22. I've never tried it, but I think the 2 liter bottle method on a .22 would do a decent enough job of keeping the noise down some.

Another vote for a Remington 700 in a .308. The .223 would be great for just punching the paper at that distance, but the .308 gives you the option to do more if you should ever choose.

I'd say it's definately a better way of invading one's privacy by giving a better sense of security to the people involved, whether their actually safer or not. Don't really know where I stand on the issue, but it would seem to me that if terrorists wanted bombs on planes, or to hijack planes, they would just train one of their members to be a pilot or maintenance man for an airline and convince the companies to hire them. I mean heck, they managed to convince the majority of the American population to elect a terrorist for a President, so I would have to think it should be just as easy to get one hired on for an airline. Personally I'm way ahead of you, in that I've already opted to drive everywhere from now own. Call me what you will, but with everything going on in this country these days I just don't care that much for venturing too far from home.

X2 For the most part if you see one in the woods while you're walking around in the woods then you should consider yourself lucky for the little bit of time that you get to see it, because there's alot of folks who spend alot of time sitting very still trying to get one to come in close so they can get a shot off at them. From what I've seen from my encounters in the Smokies is that the bears aren't much different either, except that the ones I've seen didn't run away they simply walked away once they noticed me. They're different when they have a cub with them, but this is true for any wild animal that has a little one with it so common sense should tell most people to keep their distance. Best bet is to talk back and forth with the people you're walking with, because the timid animals like coyotes will hear you and run away before you ever see them. If, however, your goal is to be quiet when walking so that you get the chance to see them, then I don't know if I personally would take the 2 year old along for that.

Don't forget FTE - Fail To Eject = Stovepipe And squib.... Also from your numbering I think Fail to Feed is Type 1 and Fail to Fire is Type 2.

Personally I wouldn't go from a .45 to a 9mm because of the cost of ammo as far as just target loads for range shooting. I do keep higher priced rounds loaded for defensive situations, but when I go shooting I usually just go to the Wally World and pick up some target loads, which pricing isn't very different on. Bought a box of 100 for my .40 just Saturday at $33, and their boxes of 100 for the .45 were only about $2 more per box, and there was plenty in stock. Best bet is to look around at all of the stores that carry ammo, especially the Wal-Marts. Find out who has the best prices, and also which store location seems to keep ammo on the shelf the most. I have a couple of locations that seem like they never sell any ammo, because their shelves are always full.

They were always in the area where I use to live, and this particular one wasn't a young snake. Just by the lenght of the rattles I would say it had somewhere between 7 and 9. From what I always noticed with them though unless they were cornered they would head the other direction if you got close to them, and when I took the step back this particular one did just that. It's definately not a situation that I want to be in again, but I do have a much better opinion of all snakes ever since that incident. The 12ga was only about 20 yards away just inside the back door as this happened in my barnyard area, but since he spared my life I was definately going to spare his.

Definately don't want to kill it. I've even grown fond of rattle snakes as far as the poisonous ones go, because they usually always give you a warning to get away from them before they strike. The one I stepped on years ago gave me a new respect for the fact that if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone and keep the pests taken care of. Once I realized I was standing on him, I took a step back and he crawled away without even rattling. He had room to move, so since I took my foot off of him I guess he didn't feel threatened. I was very lucky that day, but it really let me know that they generally wont strike unless they are cornered.

I've seen alot of tricky stuff from GA when I use to go through there all the time. I once came over a hill on I75 and noticed a car sitting in the median with the hood up. Didn't seem like anything other than someone broke down until I got close to it, where I noticed an officer stand in front of the car shooting radar around the hood. Just beyond that were 5 or 6 patrol cars lined up just waiting for their signal. They put enough thought into setting up this way that the distance from the car with the hood up to where the patrol cars were all parked was just right so that as you first started coming down the hill the car with the hood up blocked your view of all of the other cars. I couldn't help but be impressed by the sight, as well as the fact that the officer was standing out in the heat shooting the radar rather than sitting in his patrol car.

I have some experience with one in the 300 Win Mag even though I don't own one. I have no problem with the looks or the feel of them personally, and as far as shooting it has an excellent feel to it when you fire it. My issues are only with the action. The action isn't near as smooth as a 700, and for some reason I'm not too fond of the way the bolt release is because in operating the bolt on a couple of occasions I've had the bolt slide all the way out. Also with this rifle I noticed a few fairly deep indentions in the neck of the brass right behind the bullet after loading a round and then unloading it. Basically, they feel excellent to shoot when you fire a round, and are accurate as well. However, you would have to be the type that takes extra care to make sure the action is operated properly with each round you load, so I have to question whether I would trust it or not if a quick follow up shot was needed. Like someone mentioned, if you shop around these days you can catch 700's at close to the same price range, and it would definately be your better option. Just my .02

I've never done it myself, but if I remember right from a discussion in a h/s law class you can legally pass them if they are going under the speed limit and are in a passing zone. I'm not sure on it anymore, and even if it were the case then I know laws change, but I also believe it was mentioned that you could go above the speed limit to get around them safely as long as you reduced your speed once you got back in the normal lane. None of that is anything I would try, because doing so even if legal draws attention to yourself from the officer. Personally where driving is concerned I prefer to fly under the radar so to speak.

All very well said IMO.

You're still not grasping the point that rocks are weapons, and they were given a warning to stop throwing them. There was more than one person throwing the rocks at the officer, and the fact that he was on his own when this situation began only gives more reason for him to protect himself the way he did. You also seem to think that 14 or 15 year olds are still innocent little children, which I can definately say they are NOT. The fact that this boy already had a criminal record only proves my point on that as well. I would be willing to bet that if given the chance this poor little boy you feel so sorry for would have easily taken the life of this officer and never given it another thought. Had the officer not done something to diffuse the situation they would have definately kept throwing the rocks, and who knows what else. The boy was a criminal, who was doing crime back and forth across the border, which is exactly the type of thing that just keeps getting worse and worse down there. Personally, the only thing I can say on the situation is one down, however many thousand to go to help make our bordering states, and the entire country, a little bit safer for us all. That's it though, tired of talking to a fence post. I will never understand how people think that teens are all just innocent little children until they hit that magical age of 18 where they then might possibly become criminals. This innocent little child already had a criminal record, and would have continued his life of crime against our country.

Ok.....I want one!

I'd like to think that you're right, but strel gives us an example of how there are lots of folks who still view this boy as a poor little kid. News flash......a 15 year old is not really a kid these days and they are old enough to know exactly what they're doing. Bottom line: Border patrol officers caught people trying to sneak into the US. Some of these suspects managed to escape and get back across the border, where they then began firing their weapons (being rocks in this case) toward the US at the officers. The suspects were ordered to cease fire and leave the scene, but chose to continue using their weapons. The only logical thing to do was what the officer had to do to defend himself in the situation. It neutralized the threat, until the officers on the Mexico side showed up and threatened the US officers. The US officers decided to leave the scene before things got any worse, which personally I would think for Mexico's sake is a dang good thing. The Mexican officers then crossed the border without permission into the US, and picked up an object which was most likely the shell casing so they could place it next to the body in order to make our country look bad. I don't know that all of this is fact of course, but that's sure what it sounds like to me. I speak of the rocks as if they were guns, because any which way you want to try to look at it they were being used as weapons in this situation. Personally I take Mexico's attitude on this situation as an insult to our country, as they should be supporting our border patrol officers for keeping people from illegally crossing the border, and for neutralizing a threat such as this. The officers from the Mexico side should have been shot as well for threatening our officers, and then crossing the border. I would say Mexico is VERY lucky that those ignorant officers on their side did not fire on our officers, but knowing how things are in this country I'm sure our President would have just stood by and apologized to Mexico for the incident.

This should be interesting. At times I've seen my father shoot such groups with a revolver, but I wouldn't even bet $1 on him doing it as a challenge. I've seen him shoot a group at or close to 1", then reload and only get maybe 1 shot close to center for the rest of the day. I know for a fact there's no way I could pull it off.

That's what saddens me the most about what this country has turned into. People like me and you get angry about something like this happening, but the country as a whole is too sensitive to how that poor little Mexican boy was treated for just throwing a few rocks. Personally I think the boy got what he deserved, and was asking for, but I'm sure the rest of the country would call me a racist, inhumane, or some other because I think that way.

Maybe bigger rocks?

Don't know if this has been posted in here yet, but I thought it was fairly interesting. Kinda goes along with how hard it is for me to believe that what all has been tried is the best we can come up with.