Jamie Jackson

    I was the old goat running the timer...it can induce a bit of pressure can't it? :pleased:   You did very well JReedEsq. It was a pleasure to meet you train with you. The same for all that attended.     I always enjoy training with Randy and gain a great deal from each and every class. I appreciate Randy's skill and ability to impart his knowledge so effectively.I have much work to do after this weekend. .     Yes..the FAM COF can definitely be humbling...but it gives a measurable focus for skill development imho.     Pleased to meet and train with Timcar86 as well. Great shooting and gun handling skills Sir. :up:  My apologies for enlarging the groups on the targets we shared. LOL     Prag aka Jamie

First: Thank you GTG for hosting this class and allowing us to train on your family property, yet again. You are a gentleman my friend. My appreciation to your family as well Sir.   Excellent info and a great group of folks to train with. The students had various levels of experience, from multiple training classes to first time attendees. One student had just purchased his AR prior to the class…it ran like a top! The majority of the class, that is all of them except one odd-ball ran AR’s…I ran an AK…makes me the odd-ball I reckon…but not the only “unique-gun”…one student ran a Hi Point 9mm carbine. I was impressed…that sucker ran perfectly, nary a hitch. Sweet! :up: Several of the students were running various chest rigs, several used belt mounted Kydex magazine holders/pouches, a couple ran mags from there pockets.   A very salient point Randy made was the context within which we would be putting our long-guns to use in our homes….this was not a SWAT Call-Out Class. We will most likely be responding to a strange sound, perhaps breaking glass, or a scream…we will generally respond rapidly, and will “grab-n-go”. Rarely will there be time to don our “tactical gear”, but even more rarely would we need to fire that 30 round bang-stick in the confines of our home…we are in East TN after all, not Mogadishu! I keep my AK within reach in my bedroom with a shoulder bag beside it containing 2 extra AK mags, two pistol mags, a BOK, and an extra flashlight. I may or may not have time to grab the bag…situations will dictate that. (I will be adding active hearing protection to my kit.) Randy suggested a mag coupler for the AR guys…if you can’t deal with the problem with 60 rounds…you are probably in deep derp!   Randy also told us about a very useful application for an unmounted light used within your “safe room” or bedroom…but you’ll need to train with Randy for that particular pearl. :cool:   We did a good bit of dry fire work. Dry fire is probably the most unappreciated expenditure of training time in existence. It is invaluable imho. It doesn’t require expensive ammo, can be done in the confines of our own homes, we don’t have to contend with the distractions of muzzle blast and recoil, and we can do it frequently enough to have those movements and manipulations fresh in our brains if the SHTF! I picked up several iterations I will definitely incorporate into my own dry fire training practice.   We worked from about 7 yards to 20 yards. Practiced malfunction clearances, reloads, reloading while moving (the chewing gum and walking at the same time concept), transitioning to the non-dominate side, and transitioning to sidearm.   It was a “bit” muddy out there at the “farm”. So we didn’t do any prone. That you for that Randy! It’s appreciated. :pleased:     A couple of the primary purposes of training are to identify your weaknesses and learn to turn them into strengths, and build on the strengths you possess already. I've done little but "bench shooting" of a long gun in the past 10 years. I identified many weaknesses in my "real world" long gun shooting abilities...but now I have the information to correct those thanks to Randy. Much obliged Sir.     Hat’s off to Randy for a safe and very informative class! :up:       Prag aka Jamie

I certainly concur hipower! "Dies Irae: Day of Wrath" is very well written and way too plausible. Makes you think...especially about "not so obvious" agenda's.   I've loaned this book to a couple of friends and got the same response: "This could actually happen!"     I per-ordered the sequel to "One Second After" by Forstchen..."One Year After". It looks like a September 2015 release date. Looking forward to it!   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765376709/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just an FYI everyone. The rifle class starts at 0900.   No worries Randy...I think I have a couple of extra empty mags lying around... :cool:

    I wish you could too my friend. It'd be good training with you again.   We have something in the works... :pleased:

    That's what the tall guys are for...lightening rods... :cool:         David...I'm running AK's and Glocks this weekend...Mud is good! :up:

Mere hours away folks! I have my mags loaded and gear ready to do some training.   Rain or shine...   heck, we're in East Tennessee so probably both. :pleased:   Come on out and join us folks...we still have a slot open I believe.     Thanks to GTG for being a gracious host for these classes! :up:

You're a good man whitewolf and have my respect for the above post. :hat:   I'm glad you had a chance to meet John. He's a solid guy. Only met him once, but liked him. He ain't a sissy. LOL

That would be incredible. And Fun!   btw...Freedom Munitions is doing a lot to promote our culture, gun testing, and offers a darn good product at a fair price. Good on them! :up:

Much obliged...mine's kinda old...about 10 years old...   Got a new one requested. :pleased:

Thank you Gary.   Have you happened to have chronoed that load yet?   I hope to locate some and try it with 9mm rounds in the 124-130 gr range...but I do like 147's as well.   Much obliged.

Nice! Congrats pops! Nice shooting as well! :up:

Caster made some good points.   We have no trouble scrounging free range brass, and thus far free lead...so it's only the investment (money-wise) in powder and primers.   The current shortage has forced me out of my comfort zone as far as powders go and I've developed accurate and affordable loads using several powders I've never tried before for 9mm. That really increased my options and eased the strain of not having my historically preferred powders available.   Monetary cost is still markedly less than .22 RF ammo.   Time investment: not really an issue as I enjoy handloading..it's my "Zen moment". :pleased:  or I can pop in my ear buds and listen to an episode of Ballistic Radio...with my current Dillon setup that works out to about 300 rounds per 45 minute episode. I'm happy with it.

Handloading has many advantages...and a couple of disadvantages... Locating affordable components, in particular powder, is not easy at this time. But you can tailor the ammo to your specs and the components store a mighty long time.   If, as Patton mentioned, you purchase in large enough quantity to offset HazMat fess, and if you either cast your own bullets or purchase in large enough bulk quantities on sale, you can certainly keep your costs down.   We, our local group, cast-powder coat-handload- and group purchase bulk quantities...so it works for us.   This tool might give you an idea of your costs: http://handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp   musicman...I see the same that Patton has seen in the Knoxville area. The Prefecta 9mm is going for $11.97/50 rounds iirc at my local Walmart. If I could have picked up several thousand rounds at $140.00/1000 I would have too!     Another option or addendum is a good dry fire program. :pleased:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGyHcb-eIk

Gordon's post (#15) is spot on imho.   I recently read that there are 650,000 Peace Officers in the U.S. That works out to 1 for every 480 people if my math is close.   I too believe we would clearly see a divide in the military and among Peace Officers between those that hold true to their Oath, and those that have no moral compass nor integrity.   When the line is finally crossed, and I pray that day won't come, but I fear that it is close, it'll be a bloody mess. It's the guerrilla aspect of that looming conflict that I believe those in power severely underestimate.   I've interacted with, and done (legitimate) business with, those in the III% community and have found them to be intelligent people with a solid moral compass. Not a bunch of bubba's...

This is gonna be an excellent training weekend folks! ...and just a few days away.     Private Close Range Rifle Class on Saturday and Enhancing Combat Pistol Skills on Sunday. It just doesn't get much better than this. :up:   http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/87000-private-rifle-class-knoxville-area-with-a-couple-of-openingsdont-miss-out/

Well...it's out of stock at Graf's now...but was there yesterday LOL. Just as sign of the times I guess.   Graf's: http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/27126   Alliant: http://www.alliantpowder.com/products/powder/be-86.aspx   Lohman's lists it...but they'll slip you a backorder if not in stock...I'd call them before I'd order...fwiw.:   http://www.lohmanarms.com/product_p/hcbe868.htm     But has anyone had an opportunity to try it out in 9mm yet? Or any other caliber for that matter?   Alliant lists it for a broad range of pistol calibers. It's burn rate is very close to Unique, and the charge weight related to bullet weight is very similar to Unique as well.   Thoughts and/or experiences?    

I wish I was local...I'd be all over that 8 pounds of Unique for $139.00!   There's a decent Unique load for most handgun rounds and I've even loaded some lead .30-30 "plinking" rounds with Unique.

Dolo made a great point. I only fill my tumbler, a 25 year Dillon FL 2000, about 1/2 full of media. I usually run it for about an hour with 500+ pieces of 9mm brass in it with a cut up dryer sheet. I haven't experienced any dust issues. And I am impressed at how well it polishes the brass, and I haven't ever try adding NUFinish or Turtle Wax yet...but certainly plan to give it a go.   https://www.dillonprecision.com/#/content/p/9/pid/23658/catid/8/Dillon__039_s_CV_2001_Vibratory_Case_Cleaner

Bass Pro carries quite a bit of AR oriented powders...kinda pricey. Around $30.00-$32.00 per pound. But if you have one near you, you can order it online and have it shipped to the store for pickup. Save that HazMat fee.   I just checked and they have H335. My AR's love that stuff with 55 gr bullets.   http://www.basspro.com/Shooting-Reloading-Supplies-Reloading-Powder/Type-Rifle-Powder/_/N-1z0usuuZ1z0waci   I know it's not a brick and mortar store...just an option.

Noted jonathon. I'll give it a try. But in my limited experience with lizard litter thus far, I find a couple of dryer sheets to be of some help as far as the dust goes.

I've seen Lizard Litter recommended here on TGO a couple of times. I handloaded about 14,000 rounds of 9mm alone last year, a few thousand .38's and a few thousand 5.56...all range brass......my tumbler media got nasty!   We use Amazon Prime for many things, so I looked on Amazon and found Zilla Ground English walnut shells desert blend as recommended by Gordon aka Dolomite. As usual, Gordon was right! :up:   $10.39 for a 10 quart bag. 1/2 the bag filled my Dillon tumbler appropriately. This stuff works great. It's at least 1/2 the price I paid for the last media I purchased, and with the Amazon Prime the was no shipping.   Give it a try the next time you are in the market, I think you'll like it.       http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11678-Ground-English-10-Quart/dp/B000OQRGF2/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1428447145&sr=1-1&keywords=lizard+litter

I received that e-mail flyer too. Man, that is tempting.   Several local Departments are switching from .40 Glocks to 9mm Sigs (320 iirc) in a couple of months...the training has already begun or will be starting soon...so quite a few more will be hitting the market...carried a lot and mostly shot only a little...   I guess I better start saving my pennies. :pleased:

Sorry to take such a long time to reply.  Crazy busy at work... :squint:     Feel free to PM me for additional info if you'd like. Come join us.

Congratulations to you both! And may you be Blessed with many, many more years together.   It truly is the people in our lives that enrich us.