The Rabbi

Darn tootin!

double tap

I had a customer with that exact problem. Changed mags, changed ammo, nothing helped. I took the gun out and it cycled flawlessly with cheap American brand ammo. The gun is unforgiving of limp-wristing. fwiw, it is the only Glock I have shot that I would consider carrying. My only complaint was the gap between the bottom of the grip and the mag. My pinky got pinched there, but I think different floor plate would help. Kahr makes a similar sized P45. Ask Kahrman about his. Anyway, whoever told you .38spc has the same ballistics as .380 doesn't know what he's talking about. For starters, which .38spc are we talking about? 158gr LRN? 158gr +P LHP? 125gr SJWC? There are dozens of loadings for the round, all of them different. That's part of what makes .38spc such a terrific round. The evidence, based on Ed Lovette's Snubby book, is that the 158gr +P LHP behaves about like a 230gr .45acp fmj. That is, pretty darn effective. But if you don't like .38 you can get the gun in .357mag or 9mm or if you look real hard, .44spc.

Then I must get pagan Scotsmen through the shop.

Well, that's a choice everybody makes. Keep in mind that if you are caught carrying without a permit it is possible you will never be able to get one. If, btw, you use the weapon in a justified situation my understanding is that we have a "safe harbor" provision here and you will not be charged with carrying illegally. Also, the argument that you have a "right" under the 2A (or the Tn state constitution, which also guarantees it) has been rejected by courts here.

So my friend and customer calls me tonight to ask about buying guns from an individual. Generally speaking it is no problem. So I ask what the deal is. Now, this guy works in a retail environment with a lot of, um, underclass people. So the deal is for an H&K 2000. Price $100. He asked the guy where he got the gun from and was told "that's my problem." I advised him to pass this one up. Trafficking in stolen guns is generally looked at unfavorably in the law-enforcement community.

Well, one time I was taking a gun on trade and something about it didnt smell right. So I ran it through TBI and sure enough it was hot. The customer was one of my regulars. After 2 days Metro came and took it. They asked me about the seller and I gave them all the info. I asked him about it the next time he came in, about a week later. They still hadn't contacted him, despite having his name, address, and phone number.

Nate, go check forums.officer.com and go to the state section. Go to TN and look at some of the threads of others asking the same question. My only question is: Are you out of your mind?? Every officer i have talked to is totally demoralized, mainly because of the chief, who has given me the impression of being an over-promoted frat boy.

Maybe a bill of sale referencing the make, model, caliber, and serial number. Also check and make sure the bills are clean.

Yeah, and let that be a lesson to the next guy who tries to "christian me down" on a price! No, actually that happened just before I got there. Apparantly the guy lost control of the vehicle and rolled it. There are two entrances to the parking lot btw and you could have gone around the back of the building. I will be open normal hours (11-6) on Mon, closed Tues, and re-open Wed 11-6. Come back. I don't bite. Honest!

Yup, Smith 642 loaded with Speer GD 135gr +P. I usually carry a Model 19 2 1/2" and have a speedloader for that loaded with whatever I happen to have around in .38spc, figuring it can reload either the 19 or the 642. I think it is gross overkill on my part. I love that 642. I just toss it into my pants pocket and go wherever I need and never know it's there. I'll mention I saw an article somewhere (IDPA journal?) where Ken Hackathorn mentions being at an IDPA board meeting. In a dull moment someone asked what everyone was carrying. Now the board includes people like Bill Wilson. Every one of them was carrying a J-frame of one sort or another.

Yeah, you just can't hit anything at 25 yards with a pocket gun. Anyway, yeah. A small gun like that is not much fun to shoot. You practice at 10 yards or less (more like 15 feet or less), load it and carry it around. I sure wouldn't recommend it for a first gun for someone who wants to learn how to shoot.

You've just described the PF9. Anything else will be more expensive, larger, smaller caliber, or a revolver. But you'd be doing yourself a disservice counting out the Smith 442/642 series of J-frames. I was walking with my wife on Xmas eve. I realized it was cold so I would have my coat. With the coat and jacket on I couldn't get to my regular gun on my side very quickly. So I took my 642 and stashed it in the coat pocket. Problem solved.

I don;'t understand what your issue is here. A kid (and the age of the intruder is irrelevant btw) clearly posing no threat cannot be shot. A kid clearly posing a threat can be shot. A kid where it cannot be determined readily whether he is posing a threat or not, can be shot. That's the presumption. It will be up to the DA to prove a reasonable person would not have felt threatened in that situation. As for unarmed, I do not know who is armed and who is not. Neither do you. Neither does anyone who has not done a strip search on someone. So I presume everyone is armed.

I like that sign. And I like that post. 100% correct and informative. A presumption is just that. It isn't an absolute, it can be overridden by particular circumstance. But in the absence of contravening evidence the presumption stands.

DaveTN, see my previous comments.

I'll clarify here: If we can get enough people I think we could use the range at Brush Creek on an off Sun and shoot a TNGO IDPA-type match. It wouldn't be that expensive. The stages should be fun and challenging. The rules would be loose enough to accomodate people just trying it out. I would be interested in coordinating such a thing if there's interest.

No, no. Let me clarify, again based on John Harris' comments at the talk I sponsored. The law gives the presumption of being in fear of death or serious bodily harm any time someone is in your house unlawfully. But it is a presumption. The prosecutor can overcome that by showing that the criminal was, e.g. down the driveway running away when you shot him in the back. But the prosecutor would have to overcome the presumption. This is as opposed to e.g. on the street where the shooter would have to prove he was in fact in such fear. The new law simply extends that presumption to other areas outside your house: the curtilage, a rented hotel room, your car. The law does not allow a free fire zone. Nor does it hamstring a homeowner from legitimate self-protection. It does give the homeowner the benefit of the doubt though.

He might be able to demonstrate it without being a super-ninja. Take a look at the pics of the older Rex Applegate. Anyone want to tell me they wouldn't take a class from this man? Being a good shooter/defense "operator" and being a good teacher are not synonymous.

The rule is: there is no magic bullet. The smaller the caliber, the more critical shot placement becomes. Someone told me, look what people who carry as part of their professional lives use. You never see them using junk like this. The Glaser safeties were developed for use in projects. If you plan on spending time in a project where you might have to shoot, that isn't unreasonable. Otherwise, no. Hornady, Speer, Winchester, Cor-Bon, and Remington have extensive facilities to test bullet design and research budgets. They probably know more about bullets than all of us combined. I would tend to trust them to put out a product that works well.

Funny. And of the Glocks I've shot, I liked the G36 the best. Almost enough to buy and carry one.

Bill Clinton jokes. At least Hillary's surge in power has some beneficial effects. You couldn't make some of that stuff up.

My limited experience with ARs tells me there is virtually no difference between them. There are about 3 barrel manufacturers. So whether it says Colt or Armalite or whatever you will end up with the same barrel. The only exception seems to be Colt, which delights in making things different, but not better, than anyone else. People go on about the Sabre Defense ARs. They tell me "oh, they're really tight." That's nice. Will the gun shoot better, last longer, or hit more accurately because of that? I really don't know. And it isn't worth what they're asking for me to find out. As for the OP, it depends on what you want to do with it. I think ARs are more versatile and fun to shoot, and more customizable, than AKs. I also think Mini14s are woefully undervalued for what they are.

I've had a number of them through the shop and so got to fondle them. They are the station wagon of handguns. Big enough to be full sized, small enough to be compact, grip that will fit most people tolerably enough, reliable, good capacity, cheap to service and buy parts for. In all a very safe choice. Yeah, others are sexier or will fit some people better, but for an all-around good handgun it's hard to beat.

So a potential customer calls me. He's got a Barrett. He says it's .283 caliber, do I want to buy it. I go to look through Barrett's catalogue to see what it is and nothing pops up. The closest is their AR clone in 6.8spc, which is what I strongly suspect it is. Anyone know anything about these? Anyone got an idea what one is worth? Anyone want to buy one?