TGO David

I'm probably going to be in the minority, but I can't stand him. I agree with many of the things he has to say, but just can't stand listening to his show and feel that his "beat you over the head" approach to financial matters is a huge turn off.

Have you tried that with Tennesspeed? Our firewall shouldn't let IRC packets through.

Welcome! What firearm did you recently purchase?

I've bought a small chat program that I use on another forum with good success and will be installing it here today. This will let folks who wish to do so, the ability to chat with each other in "real time" ... good for nightly BS sessions.

Welcome, fellow Smyrnanite.

Welcome! Glad to see you made it over here from XDTalk.

I carefully chose to use ammunition in my handguns that is identical to what many local and non-local law enforcement agencies use in their own. If the worst ever happens and my lawyer has to defend me, I want him/her to be able to clearly state that I use the same ammo as XYZ police department does. It sort of steals the opposition's thunder.

PS: That little diatribe wasn't meant to discourage anyone from defending themselves. Despite what I've seen firsthand, I'd still be very much inclined to defend my own life and the lives of my family members using whatever means was available and appropriate. We'd just have to play the cards we were dealt as a result, with as much intelligence and patience as possible. As for what training I think is appropriate? Gun safety classes. Classes regarding the legalities of defending oneself. I'd also recommend volunteering with organizations like the NRA, and getting involved locally with the political party of your choice as a volunteer. Rubbing elbows with those in power is a wise move. Having friends in high places can never hurt.

Chances are we'll see a pretty clear division between two prevailing schools of thought. On one side will be the people who consider things like what a jury might think and try to make prudent decisions designed to help their case should the unthinkable actually happen and they have to use deadly force against someone. On the other side will be the "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6" people and they will argue that they want every possible advantage at their disposal should the SHTF, be it training, military grade tactical equipment, etc. I would hazard a guess that not too many of the latter have actually done time in prison, otherwise they might tone down their response somewhat. From what I have heard, prison often makes one rethink whether it is a fate worse than death or not. I'll go a step further. My dad, whom I admire and love greatly, made a pretty stupid mistake about 12 years ago and was sentenced to a few years at a minimum security prison in Kentucky for white collar, non violent crime. That's a fact that not very many people know about me because I don't advertise it. Who would? His incarceration cost my family a ton of money. Had it not been for my grandfather's practice of saving far more money than he spent his entire life, and having had a sizable nest-egg to draw from, the legal fees and the cost of keeping my mom and brother's heads above water while my dad was incarcerated would have bankrupted the family. As it were, it depleted my grandfather's savings and investments to nearly zero. That's a lifelong investment and savings strategy reduced to near nothing. How much money do you have set aside??? Granted, my dad was in the wrong. He deserved jail time and he got it. He may not have deserved as much time as he was railroaded with by the crooked judicial system in my small old hometown, but that's what happens when you lock horns with the good ole boy system. And that brings to bear another point too: While incarcerated, my dad became very good friends with another inmate. An older gentleman who was a grandfather himself. This fellow was formerly the US Postmaster for his small town, and he was in prison because he defended himself with deadly force against a vicious attack by the town's mayor's son. The mayor's son assaulted this gentleman with a baseball bat. He attacked him, forcing him to retreat to his pickup truck, being beaten every step of the way back into the vehicle. When he finally got there, bloody and battered, he retrieved a handgun and shot the mayor's son dead. The court, rife with good ole boy politics, sentenced this man to prison for what they said was manslaughter due to use of excessive force. He's out now, but he will also be a convicted felon for the rest of his life unless he receives a highly unlikely gubernatorial pardon. Could he have sought a change of venue for the hearing? Maybe so. Could he have appealed? Yes, but you can only continue appealing with your high dollar attorney until you run out of money. And then you're left to public defenders, and they generally aren't the best there is nor do they have the same interest invested in your case that your previous attorney for hire did. So, just because you're ethically in the right to use force to defend yourself, you need to understand and accept the fact that the system can and sometimes will screw you over and bury your bones beneath the courthouse. Is it truly better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6? Maybe, maybe not. My answer is still "Yes" but that's a decision that each of us has to make for ourselves.

Let me think. Um, no.

Welcome, Boomhower! I've owned several XDs and really like them, but recently the new Smith & Wesson M&P 40c (compact) won my heart. If you haven't held one of them, give it a try before you commit.

Well I learned something new today. I didn't think you could buy a firearm of any sort in another state without having it transferred to an FFL in your home state.

You're living my life in reverse it seems. I want to move out of our subdivision to a place where I can pee in the yard and shoot out the front door.

Glad to see you over here! We don't crank out a ton of threads or posts every day, but so far I'm happy to say that the ones made are good stuff.

If someone tried to break me of my shooting style these days by jamming their thumb into my closed eye, I'd probably shoot them on the spot. But I'm temperamental like that.

I'd forgotten this thread. Oops! I've fired about 50 rounds of the CCI Blazer aluminum through my XD45 Compact, the Kimber 1911, the wife's XD9 Subcompact and now my Smith & Wesson M&P 40c. All of them handled it very well and experienced no failures to fire or eject. The ammo burned clean and didn't foul the guns up any more than other target ammo that I have used.

Hey Chris! Good to see you make it over here.

This past weekend I found myself wondering if it could work out to have middle Tennessee (aka Nashville and surrounding areas) TGO members get together one Saturday morning each month for a breakfast somewhere, and then follow it up with a journey to one of the local shooting ranges. Now that warmer weather is upon us, the range on Hobson Pike might be a good place. Is anyone interested? I don't know that I could make it every time, but I'd try.

That is one of the coolest things I've seen.

Thanks for the heads up, and welcome! We'll remove the other account if it's still lingering around.

Well crap.

Welcome! Nice choice of sidearm, too.

HAHAH... we had spies following you around, Len. If you had bought one, there would have been pictures posted here of money changing hands and of you giving furtive glances around as you quickly put the badge in your pocket.

Same here! Plus it keeps my nicer t-shirts from getting ugly pit stains on them when I wear a white t-shirt under them.

I was selling them.