tnguy

All this stuff should have sunset provisions where it goes back to being fully legal anyway (not that it should be restricted in the first place but let's not make screw-ups permanent).

Handy if you want to talk to the guy running your offshore accounts in the Caymans, possibly. Ham radio would probably be more useful for most of us.

I think part of it is the whole "hearts and minds" thing. But there's so much cognitive dissonance there that I'm not even going to try.

I actually think it should be legal everywhere. But like it or not, there are social mores and how we get from here to there is quite important.

All you'll need for the lower is the wrench for the castle nut, an Allen key for the bolt catch screw and a boxcutter blade or other thin metal for holding the pivot pin in. Probably a punch if you plan to stake the castle nut also. Plus whatever for the grip screw.   For the upper, a wrench for the barrel nut & flash hider/whatever, some roll pin punches (depending what your setup is), possibly some Allen keys, a torque wrench, a hammer, a vice and a block or other thing for holding the upper itself. I have a clamshell one and neither the TGO upper nor the pistol one fitted properly but some judicious remodelling with a sharp chisel got me there. You may also need some pliers for the little circlip on the dust cover pin but I was able to insert it as-is before I put all the barrel stuff together. You'll also need some grease. I went with one that wasn't specifically for the job but supposedly matches the spec and was available cheap. (If you plan to dimple the barrel, it looks like you'll need drills for that also)   Finally got around to ordering the parts for putting my TGO upper together last night. I did end up going with a 16" barrel. I think all but two items of what I ordered were back-ordered so I could be in for a wait. But there doesn't seem to be much way past that if you want to get what you want and not just what's available.

They uh...

  'Xactly. It's all about knowing what's right for the situation. :)

  What's so wrong with walking around naked?

I think we all know the quote...

It's like with most things in life. There are often not real limits on stuff, only that we realize that to get along with others, we have to have some self discipline and restrict our actions voluntarily. I could take someone else's lunch without repercussions from the fridge but I don't. If I did it a lot, clearly there would be repercussions. It seems that Obama has stepped outside of that "honorable person" zone. Well, rather he did that a while ago and now it's just disappearing over the horizon. I am on tenterhooks waiting to see what happens.   :popcorn:

I think the three main ones were that the buffer retaining pin goes with the thin pin bit pointing up and the pin for the bolt release lever has the thin bit inside the spring and the one for the selector has the flat bit against the spring. These are fairly obvious but I have had "fairly obvious" bite me in the ass badly before so I want to be sure. I can't remember the videos and can't check here but this is the parts list which was helpful to be sure. I could probably do it almost blindfolded after having done it once though. That diagram has the pins aligned how they should go with the springs. Oh, looking at that, a couple more things of varying obviousness: The trigger and hammer pins don't care which side that groove is on (?) and with the magazine catch button, the grooves are supposed to go on the outside (that is one I got wrong as it seemed obvious the spring was supposed to sit in the groove). Also, there is a high probability you will launch a pin so consider some way to contain them (plastic bag, whatever). I managed without though I did launch the pivot pin once but got lucky finding it. And one more thing... The Magazine catch button is single threaded so it will be possible to have it either 1/2 thread high or 1/2 thread low if you get it the wrong way up. It might be possible to tell with close inspection of the thread which way up it needs to go or you could just redo it if wrong or just leave it if you don't care. Actually, the guide itself has this picture and lots of diagrams of the install. It's probably more useful than the videos to be honest. http://www.ar15.com/content/guides/assembly/lower/

Screw a rail to the top and it can be "tactical" too.

I know Phil Valentine has said something about only 42 republicans supporting efforts to oppose Obama's use of unconstitutional executive orders. So why wouldn't he?   (Note: Tried searching for citations for that but no luck finding any).

  It is really simple if you take it step-by step, particularly with the CMT lowers. I mostly followed videos but also found a parts list from an ar-15 forum as at first, it wasn't obvious which pin went where with which spring and which way around (the videos often didn't help with the person just picking up the pin and putting it in without showing alignment).

Thinking of trying out the Krav Maga at Nashville Krav Maga. I'm a little skeptical about martial arts in general and Krav Maga seems like it may be a little faddy but I'm thinking it would be good to get some training in *something* and it sounds like it might be a more "realistic" kind of deal. Just wondering other peoples thoughts on it (and on the Nashville place in particular if anyone has any experience, either first or second hand).

  There may be others but they might consider it not prudent to post it in a public forum.

I'd like to hear when you do. That may count as advertising though.

  Under-promise, over-deliver.

Maybe we should take to writing something on the bottom of our credit card slips when we pay. "Thank you for not posting" with a little smiley face.

Good luck. And remember that good customer service is all-important.

I find rubber doesn't always wear in a graceful manner and can be slippery when wet. It may just be a quality issue though

Yep. One of those. I think I'll go with the leather handle.   Though it's next-in-line either behind the Leatherman Crater or the Gerber Obsidian. I'm not sure which to go for. I like the style of the Gerber better but it has some iffy reviews whereas the leatherman is a bit more spendy. I may get both and let them fight it out.

That is true. I don't think that there is not enough straight edge there. Though I'm still thinking of going for the full-size ka-bar in straight-edge. Or maybe not. The page that Amazon had it on for $55 is gone and now only available for $68 Never mind. Found it for a similar price elsewhere.

  I don't think I've ever wanted a shorter sharp edge. A longer edge means longer, fewer strokes. That's just my feeling about it though

Heck, get both and a fully serrated one as well. :)