leroy

I used ta use marine band radios in my work years ago. Later, I used VHF portables n handhelds in the train photo hobby. I like the radios as tools, but I ain't interested in talkin to anybody unless it's absolutely necessary. What I've learned from my radio experience ( VHF ) is that the best thing ANY RADIO can have is a good antenna. I've used Kenwood, Yeasu, ICOM, Standard Horizon, even Baoefeng. They all work well, and are worth worth what ya pay for em. Again, the antenna makes the radio, not the radio itself. I just never could get into the talkin to the world thing, but I understand the attraction. I also have looked at the HAM Study Guides. The radio and the electrical physics I understand; I just hate the HAM Radio jargon n definitions. " hamless " leroy...

Folks... Ya would be surprised what can happen in the blink of an eye while ya are minding your own business. About a year ago, I had a dust up with an idiot who thought I had taken a photo of one of his kids in a public setting ( I didn't). He threatened to drag me out of my vehicle and beat me to death. I calmly advised him that if he tried; bad things would happen, and he met my trusty little friend from SIG... Luckily he retreated and called the police... They dismissed him n told him to go on home. Yes, there are idiots n thugs out there that think slapping old geezers around is ok. They sometimes come out of nowhere. Us geezers look to be relatively easy targets. Some of us ain't. leroy...

Pop pop... Good Heavens Brother..! It can happen. I never don't have a pistola on me just because of what you just related... leroy.

I like the 40... Got a couple or three laying around. A Glock 27 and one of the long slide glocks ( can't remember which ). I like em with 180 grain slugs too. They are best, I'ma thinkin. Also, my bedroom pistola is a Glock 20 with a alpha wolf 40 sw barrel. I won't shill for em, but they are a solid round. Regardless of the windbaggery about other rounds, Nine hundred eighty fps with a 180 grain bullet ain't bad. As I remember, the old 38-40 ( 180 grain bullet, about 1000 fps ) wuz the third best selling Colt SAA behind the 45 colt n 44-40 right up to the end of the black powder days. That ain't a bad recommendation. The cheerleaders, gun influencers, and other luminaries in the gun galaxy have simply passed em by. Like we've opined, at this juncture in pistola history, the 9 mm is king, and for good reason. It's the ole marketing proverb of what can we hype n make money on today... leroy.

Wuz noisy, but no damage in East TN. leroy

I think this is so cool..! Congratulations... I'm sure ya know about the area just below the weir below Norris Dam. World class trout fishing hole. If ya would like a cool, shirt road trip; try the South Houston at their weir... Good luck..! leroy.

HEHEHE... Ya got the " madness " Brother... I love em too, but I'm a skinflint, therefore I don't own any. The first polymer frame pistola I ever fired wuz an HK 45. I fell in love then. They are as good as they get. Beautiful collection.. Admirin leroy...

I think the battery thing is a great idea. Like ya said, the battery technology will get there quickly. The next hurdle is price. When I worked for the TVA, all the old hydro plants had battery rooms with enough capacity to start the plant from solid dark. The idea has been around for a long time . The downside to our battery room is that they were giant lead acid batteries... leroy...

For what it's worth, ya might want to hand prime the cases in a hand Lee Priming tool. I started doin that years ago when we shot lotsa precision rifle stuff. The tools are relatively cheap and very handy. The advantage is that ya can actually feel the primer bottom out in the primer pocket. That's why we used em. good luck. leroy

Got an older cousin, now gone to his heavenly home, who used ta regularly carry one of these little beasties in his front pocket loaded with wad cutters. They used ta be pretty prevalent in the good ole days. They work very well. Time has just passed em by . leroy .

I like the Bersa sized guns, especially the 15 shooters. As I remember the single stacks are a Walther PP clone, which I like better than the PPKs. I admit to being a pistola horderer for the last 55 years or so, so I like em all. Most of the pistolas I carry are in that size range. I carry in owb holsters; except for the SIG p938 and the 238, which go in pocket holsters for easy carry. They are about 3 inches long. If ya got the room in or on your britches, there's nothin wrong with carrying these bigger guns. I tend to wear big clothes n untucked shirts, so carrying ain't a problem for me. As to the adequacy of the 380; they work real well, especially at close range. I re-remembered that a finished gunman about 70 years old shot a heckler graveyard dead in a movie theater several years ago somewhere in Florida His 380 worked real well. Sadly, I'ma thinkin they labelled him a psychopathic murderer and put him away for a while. leroy.

This is a great truth... In my former life, we used big diesel gensets for temporary power and for field heat treating operations. If ya have a unit big enough ta power everything in your house, that's a big machine, and it takes Lotsa fuel, costs Lotsa money, n makes Lotsa noise. Probably, the best compromise is a unit sized to keep the lights and refrigerator until the power comes back on. You need to install an automatic transfer switch - generator startup when the power goes down. Ya need a " real " electrician to install these switches and the genset as well. I also like the LNG ( tank or piped in ) setup for the gensets. It's clean n never gives trouble . If ya got the dollars ta spend and use reputable folks for the install it's a great idea. leroy.

I'ma thinkin one of the small moto tool type end mills, not a tool crib end mill, which I get is expensive. There may be some flat bottom drill bits out there as well. leroy.

If ya have a buddy with a Dillon primer pocket swagger, it should fix the problem... As I remember, one of the old lines reloading die outfits used to make a swager that worked in your reloading press. I'ma guessin ( and it is a guess ) that the primers were crimped in originally. Also, ya might find a flat bottom end mill cutter that would ream the full depth. Good luck, leroy.

HEHEHE ... Yesss . I used ta carry a Glock 26 in my overalls n big pockets Carhartt dungarees. I have tired a commander length 1911 like that too... All years ago. leroy...

For what it's worth, we used to regularly shoot the old M77s in walnut stocks back in the late 70/early 80s. I own and used to regularly shoot an m 77 varminter 308 topped off with a 16 power Leupold. We used ta mostly plink with these rifles. That said, a 12 ga AA shotgun hull didn't stand a chance when shot from a sitting position, a wrapped, adjusted sling, and a good back rest like a front tire of a jeep or pickup. We hand loaded using military brass, 168 Sierra or Hornady match bullets, and whatever the Lyman accuracy load wuz for powder. We experimented with primers till we found the best one... probably a Federal Match, but I can't remember. The rifle was " as is " no barrel bedding, no barrel free float other than factory, and no trigger work. I'ma thinkin that the technology has only gotten better in the last 45 years or so. The synthetic stock thing, pillar bedding, and CNC machining is all a plus that turns a $1000 dollar rifle into a $ 500 rifle that is better than the original. If they would make the ranch rifle in a 7x57 Mauser, I'd buy one today, and I'm a bit north of 78 years young. leroy

I'm old enough to rmwmber when this wuz cutting edge for 9mm, 38 super, n 45acp... Still got several hundred rounds of Hornady flat points in these calibers in the loading room and probably 700 or so hot loaded 9 mm. As I remember. none other than the USAF Nuclear Protection bunch pioneered these in 9mm... Cutting edge, early 80s, known by old time revolver men for ages as a swc... leroy.

Got his brother. These are the softest shooting 9 mms out there, no matter the ammo used. They are accurate, high capacity, n all steel. They are, indeed, a great pistola... GLWS.. leroy

I believe Greg is dead right about this. News sensationalism generates website clicks and media personalities... Them clicks generat advertising revenues . Look at Ryan Hall on UTube. I can kinda give Hall a pass, because I think he is trying to help and a super dooper weather geek. The local n national news outlets not so much. leroy

Some interesting stuff here. Historical weather data. https://preview.weather.gov/ohx/tntornadostats

I think there is lotsa credence to the 24/7 reporting thing. They miss nothin. As Greg has opined, building has exploded in Tennessee and other places as well. The population density has simply increased most everywhere. That said; sadly, tornados are not very rare in East Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. They are even more common to our west to the Cumberland Plateau. As for East Tennessee; I well remember two tornadoes, one in the early nineties that destroyed the Bull Run substation and almost blew our house away. We had lotsa damage to the roof and the picture window of a brick n stone home on the south side of Copper Ridge. There was a other in the late nineties that did considerable damage just across the hill from us in Fountain City. I saw baseball to softball size hail out of it; luckily it was pretty soft and tender to break apart. Recently, there have been several pretty damaging tornadoes just north of us in the Oneida, Sunbright, Smokey Junction, Norma area. In the old days, these storms blew down the woods and an occasional barn or outbuilding. Now they blow homes by the hundreds... It is a genuine tragedy, but not ultra rare... I'm sad for those who lost family n property in the terrible storms last nite. It's as bad as I've seen, even in North Alabama. leroy...

What we are hearing several folks say is there are lotsa factors involved in picking a carry gun. Old folks, arthritis, convenience, personal preference, etc. I carry a 380 from time to time, and feel well armed doin so. Before the 938 wuz purchased, I carried the SIG 238 every day. The 238 simply disappears in my pocket n weighs almost nothin when carried in a pocket holster. If I'm goin to my neighborhood Aubrey's or Burger King, I may tote my 238. I feel pretty safe as to the neighborhood clientele. The main thing about carrying a gun is to have one and to know how to use it. One of my mentors who was a truly lovely Christian man taught me how to shoot. He was north of 50 at the time. He carried a little I frame Smith 32 and knew how to use it. His testimony went like this: .. " I'm an old man; most anybody can slap me around if they take the notion. They just ain't goin to "... He meant it and he knew how to shoot well. That said, that was 60 years ago. There has been lotsa advances in firearms n bullet tec since 1965. The most of it centered on the 9mm. leroy.

I think this is the answer for the twenty first century... At this point in history, there is nothing better, ounce per ounce, than a 9 mm. The ballistic guys have optimized this cartridge better than all the others put together. TGODavid... ".There are too many small and reliable 9mm micro-compact handguns today for me to give a second thought to carrying a .380 ACP. The days of having to choose small cartridges to get small guns are past us. ". That said, there will always be situations where God intervenes, and a yahoo survives what should have been a fatal shot, no matter the caliber. I've got an uncle ( now long gone to his heavenly home ) who wuz shot 3 times in the belly by my aunt in an argument with 148 grain wad cutters. He sat down on the couch and called an ambulance. I worked for him for years in my college days. He wuz a WW2 vet and a bricklayer. Tough as they come. I'm 78, gimped up, and carry a SIG 938 or a 38 special LCP every day, unless I'm goin thru " Bouganville ", then I grab an extra 9 mm of some flavor, or something bigger. I believe there is no better round than the 9 mm for daily carry, and nothin better than two of em for dangerous situations. All that from a revolver and 1911 snob that has burned thousands of big bore rounds over the years, n carried em all... leroy..

YESSS..! A " real " pistola..! Kinda rare in nickel 8 3/8.... GLWS .. admiring leroy...

Ed... We've got two of em ( El Malo II ). They are handsome. They are better built than the gen 3 Colts ( we have several ). I've not handled the GW IIs, but I think they will be just like the El Malo. Slick finish, deep blue, beveled cylinders ( an old time touch ), pretty good chemical case. The timing and carry up is just right. I' m a big fan of the Piettas. leroy....