Vistar

Just climb into a taxi (or Ubber) in any large American city and you'll get a cultural tour of the world.

Loudon. Sorry for arriving late to the party.

This linked news release may be of interest to the techies among us. https://medium.com/@usnistgov/building-a-firearms-toolmark-database-43f207adeb4d#.jfy0zt7as

+1 At least my tinnitis sounds like crickets. It's really kind of soothing 24/7.  I noticed significant middle tone hearing loss in my early 40's and it seems to have stabilized since I started wearing "real" ear protection (also early 40's - before that - spent cases when available). Doc asked if I had ever been around load noises like a punch press, deck gun; shot pistols, shotguns and rifles. Ya think? I still don't wear protection with shotguns or hunting rifles. That's almost impossible in the field. But, I can't hear poop after a few rounds have been fired.

Forgive my rant about Midway 22 Mini-Mags I've finally had it with Midway USA. Turkeys sent me a flyer by snailmail that arrived today with CCI Mini-Mag 22 RN ammo touted on outside wrapper at $6.99 per hundred. I called them and of course they were out of stock - no possible back order. So I let 'em have it. I've had Mini-Mag ammo on backorder since November of 2013. So, obviously they had to have some inventory to cover the direct mail promotion? In answer, supervisor explained I ordered 5,000 rounds and they can't ship that made up of 100 round boxes. I'm sorry, but that's not a good answer. The 100 round plastic sleeves don't package separately. They pack into large cases. Some number of cases would add up to 5,000 rounds. This is bad customer service. That's it for me and Midway. As far as I'm concerned, they can sit and rotate.

For my wife's first day firing a handgun, I thought a Sig 250sc 9mm might be a good fit. She didn't like it. She asked to try my P226 also 9mm - there went the 226. The E2 grips worked well. She enjoyed the outing but is more comfortable firing the 22 cal conversion. Hey, if it helps her develop knowledge about guns, safe handling and marksmanship - she can shoot all the 22 rounds she likes. 3 or 4 of those rounds spot on target will take care of most defense issues.

Please refresh my memory. Before there was HCPing, wasn't it okay to open carry a handgun or unloaded long gun / shotgun in Tennessee (Knoxville specifically)? I seem to recall in Knoxville in the 60's being told by a LEO it was okay to strap on a six-shooter and walk down Gay Street (that's the name of the main business street in Knoxville). Am I dreaming? I think this Bill simply sets things back to the way they were. That said, I am all in favor of a minimum age and hunter safety / gun safety training as long as it's reasonable. Some states have gone beyond reason with unnecessarily long training requirements that discourage new hunters and keep people who should be trained out of classes.

This AM, received email notice of arrival of long, long backordered bulk Rem Thunderbolt 22LR - 500 rnds for 20.99. However, between order placement last Nov and now, shipping and handling has increased. For this one item, they want $15.79 for shipping plus a $3.00 special handling fee. I think not. So much for a few moments of happiness before I saw new details and hit "cancel."

It sure looked Russian or Romanian (note domain country where animated gif is stored)

How hard can this be?   1. Pull the pin   2. Throw as far from boat as possible   3. Use dip net to pick up dead and stunned fish   The guys shown in link below missed step 2 and are favorites for a Darwin Award       http://img.fae.ro/9e9f04.gif  

If you're mainly working west Knoxville, you might consider Anderson County (if you have kids in school) or Loudon County if you just want acreage and some wide open spaces. Knox County will work as well but price per acre is starting to get pretty crazy even in the far west Knox boonies.

That may be the final outcome. Galco's holster instructions certainly encourage trying to make it work - plastic bag sheaths, twist the gun in holster - be patient, keep working on it. I think we're about at the end of it. It shouldn't be harder than breaking in a new baseball mitt - and this has been far more challenging. If it isn't fixed tomorrow, I'll call them.   04/05/2014 Update: Water bath worked. Used warm water as instructed and pressed pistol, covered in plastic trash bags, into moist holster and left 48 hours. Seems to fit and release perfectly now. Leather is still a little moist so will open carry on this bright sunny day while working on boat. That should set the leather and complete this project. (And likely raise eyebrows among fellow slip renters.)  

Did the water thing last night with two layers of trash bag. I do have a can of SnoSeal (great stuff for boots you're really going to wear outdoors). I'll let you know how it works tomorrow. Going to give it time to really dry and take its form.

Mike   I found a similar product by Mitch Rosen - Leather Lightning. It's priced in the same ballpark, about $15, so I'll use your suggestion. After reading a review of the product, the writer emphasized do not do anything that will soften the holster (ie alcohol). The review noted that without a thumb release, an open top holster needs to remain stiff. Draw-Ez is something to help out until the holster finally wears in - and it was explained, this can take a long time if the gun is not carried often. That will be the case with the 226.

Yes, water is within the budget. Good first step. I'll do that tonight.

I appreciate the suggestion, and this is the kind of suggestion I was hoping for, but Wow! Did you see the pricing on the Amazon link? I could save $280.31 on 1/2 ounce - Who wouldn't jump on that? It had better smell like French perfume. This is a good starting point, but maybe Draw-Ez is a little over the top. I'll dig around online and see what's competing with Draw-Ez.

I bought a high end Galco molded leather holster designed to fit a P226 with rail. The mold profile looks perfect, but the darn thing is tighter than Dick's hatband. Yes, I read instructions and have been sheathing unloaded gun in multiple trash bags and pushing deep into holster and drawing as often as I can over the last month. The rig sleeps with the trash bags, yet the holster remains tight as heck and drawing the pistol requires two hands on the grip and a cord through the belt loops that I have to step on to remove gun. Okay, that's a slight exaggeration, but the holster is sticky and very tight and it's not improving with repeated stretching attempts. Any ideas as to what to do next? Saddle soap? Bear grease? My wife says she stretches leather shoes by wetting with rubbing alcohol. I'm open to proven methods that won't injure the gun.

Misfires (FTFs) have been a growing problem with my Remington Model 51 in .380  - but I forgive it. It's nearly 100 years old and I suspect its pin is about tuckered out. The trigger action, grip safety and all other mechanics work beautifully. Regarding the grip safety, if the R51 follows the original design, you can hear it click if you squeeze r e a l l y slowly, otherwise, it's so smooth, you'd never notice it at all. It's pretty intuitive. The trigger action on the original Rem Model 51, if offered today, would be scare manufacturer lawyers. Like many old pistols, it's a short action with maybe 3 pounds of pull (if that). Like the grip safety, just think about firing, and it does. I haven't held an R51, but I seriously doubt it's anywhere near the original pistol that was one heck of a gun.

As you can spot from my avatar, I'm mainly a SIG guy. I highly approve of their mechanical designs, simplicity and accuracy. But, gotta tell ya, if SIG had Beretta's customer service, SIG could win many new friends. SIG customer service is better described as "customer's servitude." I'd willing pay 2x to have a SIG repaired locally rather than ship it into their bottomless black hole. Hear that SIG - watch and learn from your competitor!

Everyone's mileage may vary, but I am totally impressed with Beretta USA service. I purchased a nearly new Nano from a fellow TGO member and the pistol began to misfire frequently with every kind of ammo in my bag. I called Beretta on Mar 24 and immediately was provided an RMA with UPS pick-up notice. I packaged the pistol and waited for UPS to arrive next day with prepaid waybill. Poof - pistol is in the air to Beretta. This morming, received an email from Beretta with tracker. Tech notes indicate there was a sticky grease-like substance in firing pin channel obstructing pin travel. They disassembled, cleaned, lubricated and test fired. Denting cartridge now makes it go bang. No cost for service. Pistol will arrive tomorrow. Man, that's impressive. Glad to welcome Beretta to Tennessee.

Perfect day for it.

By far the best breakfast sausage known to man comes from the wild hog. The loins are terrific and hams smoke up well. My son in law had a interesting experience over in SC in early January. He and two brothers were asked by a farmer friend to reduce the hog population on his land. They set up a pen trap and wound up with three 200+ lb very angry animals. Not wanting to kill and dress the hogs themselves, they got the bright idea to wrestle and hogtie the beasts and truck them over to a fellow who was more gifted at meat preparation. These are three pretty big boys who at that moment forgot their age and lost their good sense. So, I had to ask, "Did anyone get hurt?" Gotta love the answer. "Not seriously."  In understated mountain talk that means those hogs kicked their butts, but the boys won without breaking any bones large enough to need a doctor's attention. "Would you do it again?" "No way!"

ORSA is on my to-do list.Loudon FOP is a convenient and uncrowded outdoor range on most weekdays, but jammed on Saturdays (must arrive early or plan on waiting). FOP is also closed on major holidays. 100 Yd max distance and a nice hike through the woods to change targets. Cost is minimal - $50 per year to FOP Lodge #21. I'm not aware of any restrictions on firearms. This is our local LE range. 

We still have a couple of the hand grass trimmers and an old push-type edger (another instrument of the Devil). All I can tell you is I hope if you're pushing a reel-type mower that #1 you have no gopher holes #2 you have no twigs in your lawn and #3 you don't wear dentures because if you encounter #1 or #2 you will break #3. Can't tell you how many times I knocked myself silly with handle hitting jaw while abruptly ceasing to turn blades at trotting speed. If you have Bermuda grass (what I liken to crab grass with butch wax) you'd best be a wizard at sharpening mower blades because the tough stuff dulls blades very quickly. You also need an oiler (old fashioned oil can) and lots of lube. It's impossible to put too much oil in a mower. You get the idea. There are easier and less dangerous ways to get a workout. Chopping wood is easier and 10x more fun.   Funny though, Mom was worried and vocal about me risking putting an eye out with a BB gun but never expressed concern I might bite my tongue off. Maybe that held more promise for the Mom of teenager than threat.

TankerHC -- Well said. Your story is much like mine. For probably 10 years during my forties my doc told me I was a borderline diabetic. His comments should have been clear warning shots, but I felt I was healthy and to me "borderline" sounded like a near miss - doesn't count unless it's a hand grenade. Those warnings should have been taken seriously. I now spend out-of-pocket close to $1000 a month on levemir insulin (injection), cheap metformin, fancy bydureon (injection), invokana ('nother fancy thing to help control glucose level fluctuation and assist weight loss), and a handful of blood pressure and cholestrol meds - some cheap and some priced beyond comprehension. I now believe, because weight is coming down and so is my A1C, that much of this could have been avoided when doc told me I could sidestep diabetes if I would just trim off 20 lbs - 20 years ago. Today, it's like Obama money, it's not 20 lbs - now to get the same effect, it's at least 40 lbs and losing 60 would be better - and I'm not shaped like a walking bowling ball. It's hard to lose the weight, but not as hard as diabetes with constaint related issues including frequent viral infections -including bouts of shingles inside my mouth and throat. Unfortunately, once the blood sugar goes over the top, diabetes won't ever go away. Please, if you hear "borderline" hunker down and execute a strategy to avoid diabetes at all costs. That's your last chance to take aggressive counter action