The Rabbi

I had this conversation with one of my customers about hunting. How many guns does a hunter really need? The answer is basically 2: A Remington 870 12ga and a bolt rifle in .308 or similar. You can hunt just about anything in North America with those two. That doesnt stop people (nor should it) from owning multiple rifles and shotguns. As they say, variety is the spice of life. For myself, I decided that I wanted to be good with the handgun(s) I have. Those are primarily Smith Model 19s in 4 and 2 1/2 varieties. I have a Remington 870 Mariner for home defense and the tiny amount of skeet I shoot. I also own a couple of semi auto handguns, mostly for teaching purposes and a couple of .22s for the same reason. Also an AR just because they are so much darn fun. I think the minimum is probably one handgun in decent caliber. Better than that is one full sized handgun, one airweight Jframe revolver for daily carry, one 12 ga pump for HD.

Actually their web site lists 1296fps out of a 4" barrel for the 147gr stuff. My next question is whether that is really going to be more effective than a +P+ 9mm. Logic would suggest that more mass + higher velocity = more wounding. But it isnt necessarily so. Every bullet has an optimum velocity. Too slow and it wont penetrate and expand. Too fast and it will overpenetrate and fragment. Double Tap (and Buffalo Bore does the same thing btw) has taken a bullet designed for 9mm subsonic and accelarated it beyond what is was designed to do. I have not seen any unbiased studies of their ammo. And obviously personal comfort with the caliber and the particular round will be the deciding factor. I just think that while .357SIG is a fine enough round it doesnt do much that can't be done already with existing 9mm loads. Sorry for the hijack. Mikey, enjoy your gun.

I shot a P239 in .357. It was nice enough. But I cannot understand the appeal of the cartridge. In the Gold Dot, it is a 125gr .36cal bullet going about 1350 fps. The Gold Dot 9mm +P+ is a 124gr .36cal bullet going about 1300 fps. So what has anyone gained going to a more expensive caliber that offers fewer ammo choices?

Mikey, you woulda been better off with a SIG P226 in 9mm.....

Sounds like the joke about the homosexual necrophiliac undertaker. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

At least in dating myself I spend money on someone I love. Anyway, as for this bill, it suggests that the guy has a re-election ahead and is anxious to show some legislative achievement he can boast about. I'm not sure this is it though. But it does have the virtue of being a sure thing. I mean, who is gonna go on record as opposing it? What bugs me is that they raised the sales tax to cover the deficit 3 years ago and now that we have a surplus they had to pull out all the stops to lower the tax on food only by a whopping 1/2%.

I was hoping to avoid the jokes but I guess its inevitable. So here's a chestnut from my undergrad days at Vanderbilt: A student from UT, one from MTSU, and one from Vanderbilt are walking along a country road. They come on a pig that has tried to get under a fence but has gotten stuck with its rear end out. The UT student looks and says, "boy I wish that was Farrah Fawcett Majors." The Vanderbilt student says "boy I wish that was Gina Lolabrigita." The MTSU students says "boy, I wish it was dark."

I am happy this law didnt exist when I was in college. Some of the girls I went out with--I'd be doing some serious time.....

I was reading the Tennessean this morning and it had an article about the achievements of the legislature this session. Park carry did not make it. But they did pass another interesting law. It is now ILLEGAL in the state of Tennessee to have sex with an animal. Yes, you might have thought that our legislators would have better things to do than interfere with what two consenting mammals do in the privacy of their own bedroom, but no. Now, bestiality has been around for a long long time. I would have thought this was already covered by statute. So what prompted this particular bill to be introduced and passed, even ahead of more pressing legislation? You gotta wonder. Also among achievements, it is now illegal to use pigs for fighting. When was this ever a problem???

38 S&W is still production ammo with Remington. I have a Centennial Top Break that my wife keeps in her car. I have a couple of boxes in stock but it isnt hard to order.

The lowers built in Dirkadirkastan are much better by far....

If this is the fellow I think it is then he is an A-OK guy. I'll vouch for him, for whatever that's worth. I dont expect anyone to make exceptions just on my say-so but if it comes up he has my endorsement.

Now, you know we're more than just friends, Mikey.....

I guess your friend didnt hear that he's supposed to comply and that he runs greater risk of harm if he resists. A good case for having a gun. Shoulda shot the low-life.

Off topic but stil valuable. One of my customers directed me to a Supreme Court decision regarding Thomson Center. Apparantly at one time they shipped a carbine conversion kit along with their pistols, allowing you to add a stock and longer barrel. So the ATF maintained this was a SBR and subject to tax and regulation under NFA. The issue was whether the combination constituted a SBR even without being assembled as such. The Supreme Court affirmed the appeals' court decision that because the items did not necessarily have to be assembled as such, the kit did not constitute a SBR. Apparantly Justice Scalia asked the ATF if every household with both a shotgun and a hack saw was then in violation of the NFA. They didnt have an answer. Read the decision here: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/91-0164.ZO.html

If size isnt an issue I would take the Bersa hands down. I have talked to numerous Bersa owners who tell me theirs is reliable as a hammer. And to me, reliability is the most important characteristic for a self defense gun.

I had someone buy a RaceFrame lower frame for his Glock. That might just qualify.

I fail to see the attraction of rails myself. I tend to think, you want a gun, buy a gun. You want a flashlight, buy a flashlight. I especially dont see a purpose for one on a compact, like the Smith M&P 9c I got. Little tiny rail. But once you stick a bulky light on it, it isnt compact anymore.

Agreed. I fail to see the real advantages in the gun over what they have right now. SIG is terrible about this, coming out with a "latest and greatest innovation" every year on a design that is probably 50 years old. I think it's a great idea to have a mag release that can be switched around for a left-handed shooter, a feature that everyone except Glock seems to offer. Having one totally ambi like the Walther, well. OK. I dont have feelings on it one way or another. If it works for someone, great. The new Smith M&Ps are completely ambi, with a slide release on both sides.

A guy would have to be an idiot to buy a Kel Tec PF9. Nah, I'm kidding. You could get the best of both worlds: Taurus 905 9mm J-frame size revolver, loads from moon clips. I had one that I sold and it was a compact little package. I'd feel fine carrying it. Otherwise: Kel tec PF9, Kahr PM9 (about twice the price), the little Polish P64 chambered in 9Mak is a nice slim package. A little heavy maybe and the trigger spring needs to be replaced but otherwise an outstanding value. I would avoid the Skye or whatever they are called. I just saw too many complaints on their own board. Bersa is making a compact version of their .380 Thunder called the CC or something. Those are light, reliable guns.

I predicted right after Zumbo's ordeal that he woul re-emerge into the public eye as "Mr. EBR" in a career-saving move. Here we go....

I am sure the Senator was really really impressed by your argumentation:rolleyes:

We have a winner. Yes, the clerk's job is to help the customer. That's it. If he does a good job helping, the customer will naturally become a good customer and buy things there. The clerk does not have to "sell" the product because if he does a good enough job helping the customer undertstand the product then the customer will buy it, assuming he is ready to. Making the clerk feel good, showing the customer how much the clerk knows, demonstrating the superior tastes and talents of the clerk are all not part of the job description.

Yup. Sort of doubt Ron Paul endorses that kind of thing. But you are known by the company you keep.

Because he hadnt done anything to me. There is, unfortunately, no law against being a moron, other than the business law of the jungle. In any case he picked up an accessory that I had wanted to get rid of so it wasnt a total loss. But he also made comments about my shop and was well on his way to having the door pointed out to him. I really try not to do that because it just isnt constructive. The most I would probably do is tell someone, its obvious I'm not meeting your needs and you're wasting your time in here.