Jamie Jackson

Awesome. Congrats Norma! :up:

    I personally have handloaded 115 gr 9mm JHP from several manufactures using "generic" data for them. As always I start low and slowly work up watching for proper function, accuracy, and signs of pressure. As recommended a chronograph would be very useful.   Be mindful of OAL. If you have access to any factory Winchester JHP in 9mm, that may be a useful OAL reference. Maybe someone here at TGO has the info..   Good luck to you.

Thanks for the head's up on "Apocalypse Drift"...I almost ordered it a few days ago.   Looks like it needs to go onto the "to buy" list. :pleased:

I do as mentioned above.   And I have e-mailed the specific powder companies (you can find the contact info at their websites) and asked specific questions about specific bullets and powder combinations, and for suggestions.   Alliant has been particularly helpful. They even provided load data for the 9mm 147 gr lead FP I wanted to handload that wasn't yet listed on their website, nor in any manuals or websites I had searched.

I appreciate your viewpoint Smith, and my response is in no way a flame and is respectfully submitted.   On instructors: It is our obligation to choose wisely. I agree that some classes are indeed just fantasy gun camps with an over abundance of Walter Mitty types. And some instructors simply don't possess the background, or teaching abilities they may profess. I have been fortunate that the majority of training venues I've attended contained serious adults with realistic goals and expectations, taught by competent and gifted professionals. But I did the footwork first...   The greatest value I personally gleaned from professional training was the realization that "I didn't know what I didn't know". So for me it is an ongoing venture from "unconscious incompetence" towards "conscious competence" and maybe, just maybe, one day "unconscious competence". It's merely a personal goal.   We are extremely fortunate in this day and age to have many learning opportunities available to us. There were only a few "schools" when I started this journey.   To repeat myself (I getting old and old people do that sometimes...)...It's our responsibility to choose wisely where we spend our hard earned dollars. But investing in yourself is never a bad idea, imho.   We are also pretty darned fortunate to have some talented professionals as frequent contributors here at TGO.   :2cents:

Thank you jaredsterry. Good post...and welcome as well.   imho, training, professional training, and incorporating the information from that training into regular practice is one of the most necessary, but neglected aspects of firearms ownership. I'm not meaning to be disrespectful to anyone...as Robert pointed out, there are folks that collect or amass firearms, and folks that own firearms with the purpose of self defense in mind. Nothing wrong with either group.   Investing in professional instruction is investing in yourself. To me that is the best possible investment that can be made. That said, your training must be recent, relevant, and realistic...I am remiss in this and hope to improve upon myself in the coming year.   Thanks again for the thoughtful post.

Welcome Gothic. :hat:     I live in West Knoxville and have been a member at ORSA since I arrived here in '06. It's a great facility with a lot of good folks, especially at the matches. I'll post some links below.   A buddy and I were shooting at Norris this past Wednesday It's another great option. The permits for Norris are handled by the Norris PD, in beautiful downtown Norris. As mentioned it's only $40.00 June to June, or $20.00 for a single day...kinda of a no brainer really.   The Norris PD are some good folks A bud of mine works there. Very gun friendly from my experiences.   Each place has it's pluses and minuses...but for a total of $160.00 per year combined? It's hard to beat short of a private range.     http://orsaonline.org/   http://orsaap.com/     I'll be "baby sitting" the indoor range at ORSA this afternoon. Unfortunately I have to stay in the indoor range after I open the doors. But if you know a member that can escort you in, you are welcome to come shoot some handgun with us. The rifle range will be open after noon..but until you are a member, you'll need to be someone's guest.   You can attend the matches without membership. Hope you'll check them out.

I started with a Lee single stage press and still use it with regularity. It's been going strong since the mid 1980's. While I use my Dillon more often, the Lee allowed me to develop an understanding of the mechanics of handloading. As was mentioned above, there is a lot going on at one time with a progressive press. But that familiarity allows you to pick up on the subtle changes, and through experience, to intervene or alter your process as you go. It's not complicated or anything like that. But you do have to understand what you are doing and why. I always planned to get an RCBS big-dog press...but I can't seem to wear out my Lee. :pleased: Please forgive the clutter and mess in my little corner of the basement...but here's a pic of my humble setup. It serves my needs well. btw...the Dillon is from either '89 or '90...it won't wear out either. :cool:

They are legion...   But two that immediately stand out are:   Very early production laser for a Beretta 9mm...only slightly smaller than a howitzer...and not even close to visible past 3 feet in daylight...   Scherer aftermarket Glock magazines during the Clinton Gun Ban era...great for malfunction practice...but that was about all. Thank God for OEM, KCI, and Kahn Glock mags.

Great company!   I picked up several of the $8.99 mags, as did several folks I know...Heck, they threw in some free mags to a couple of guys. I received a Magpul AR grip with mine. Priority mail shipping as well.   IMHO they are GTG. :up:

Too darn funny!  LOL.   I couldn't catch that sucker either KahMan. :pleased:   Thank you RoadKill.

I'm an admitted fan of the "Holding Their Own" series by Joe Nobody.   It looks like book 6 is only out on kindle as Mark A mentioned... I like books...that's just the way I am...bit of a neanderthal, but wtf. :pleased:   The 3 reviews on Amazon are a bit mixed. But I can't imagine it being anything but good, as the last five have been.   Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GO43Z9E/ref=dra_a_cs_mr_hn_it_P1400_1000?tag=dradisplay-20     Anybody have a handle on the physical book release?       And, since I need to pick up a few more books...any thoughts on the quality of the "Dark Grid" series?   http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=dark%20grid%20series&sprefix=dark+grid%2Cstripbooks%2C244   TIA folks. :hat:

  Yet  :cool:

I have cared for people shot with 230 gr 45acp Hydra-shok. They had excellent penetration and expansion. Very impressive. That's the round I've carried in my 1911's for a long time.   .380's can be very finicky about feeding hollowpoint ammo...very finicky in my experience. I had an AMT .380 Backup that a friend throated and polished the feedramp for me (mid 1990's) and it feed the Hydra-shoks well...but would only reliably feed ball ammo prior to that.   IF your .380 feeds them reliably, you should be GTG. :up:

  Thank you Sir.   This is my experience with the majority of peace officers I know, especially in my area. A couple are "shooting buddies" and are quite knowledgeable and respectful of the Constitutionally protected Rights we all possess.After all, they are civilians as well, and many are prior military and believe in and hold the same Oath many of us have taken. There are buttheads and duffuses in every profession..and good solid people as well. I judge a person by their actions, not the actions of another...It happens to my profession as well...     I've carried a "Truck" gun or "trunk" both here in TN, and back home in MS and LA for nearly 20 years and have never had an issue with it. I use one of the tennis racket bags like I posted above, or something quite similar to store the long gun in my vehicle...just low profile.   Common sense...something not always common (LOL) goes a long ways. If I am having to hoof it home because things are so bad I can't drive, I'll go as low profile and off the beaten track as possible.   Like tnguy posted...there are a lot of varying potential situations that could happen. Adaptability is a must.   :2cents:

I like Oh Shoot's idea. I keep the below in my truck, along with my Glock, spare mags, and GHB. 20 miles is a good distance to cover, and do so low profile. Spots made a great recommendation in a similar thread about having the gear in your GHB stored in thick plastic bags, i.e. contractor type bag. When you must cross water, and that's highly likely in TN, you can float your gear across. There are some solid ideas and good discussion going here. :up:

I put "On Combat" into my "wish list" on Amazon. Thanks Chris.   Along that line, I would also recommend "Sharpening the Warrior's Edge" by Bruce Siddle. Very informative imho. [url=http://www.amazon.com/Sharpening-Warriors-Edge-Psychology-Training/dp/0964920506/ref=wl_mb_wl_huc_mrai_3_dp] LINK[/url]

A book I've read and re-read numerous times is "The Principles of Personal Defense" by the late Lt.Col. Jeff Cooper. LINK. I hold it in the same esteem as Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" or Musashi's "Book of Five Rings".   Although I don't see eye to eye with Gavin DeBecker on several points, I do find his book  "The Gift of Fear" to be well worth reading. LINK.   "Mindhunter" by John Douglas was pretty interesting as well...at least back before every TV channel started running series on Profiling... :cool: LINK

Well, I just finished the Joe Nobody "Holding their Own" series. Excellent! Thanks for the recommendation folks. :up:   I received book 3 of the "Going Home" series, [url=http://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Home-The-Survivalist-Series/dp/0142181293/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y] Escaping Home[/url] and will start it tonight.   Does anyone know when we can expect any more Joe Nobody books in his series? I also haven't seen anything more on the "299 Days" saga...anyone?     I'm considering ordering "The Eye Of Moloch" by Glenn Beck that Robert mentioned...I hate to start another series when I have 3 of them going already LOL.   Any new thoughts or opinions folks?

I am totally in agreement with you regards carrying non-factory mags for self defense hipower. I only carry factory Glock mags in my 19, 17, & 26. I apologize if I came across contrary as it was not my intent.

I just came back from Walmart at Turkey Creek. They had a few 50 round boxes of .22 at $3.99/box. I didn't have a need...but it's good to see and hear of it showing up again, even sporadically.

I agree 100% on the carrying of the KCI and Khan mags hipower.   That's why I said "[i]That doesn’t mean that I would carry the KCI or Khan mags as a part of my EDC. I’ll stick with factory (OEM) Glock mags for that…just because I don’t plan to tempt fate.[/i]"

    ROFLMAO!   Sorry Dude. That's funny!       I hate you guys couldn't make it. The setup looked great when I was out there last week.

I can appreciate what you're saying UncleJak. :pleased:   I have a bunch of OEM Glock mags I purchased when the "Sunset" happened on the Clinton ban. Being a shooter throughout that ban era make me want to "hoard" my OEM mags LOL.   I don't personally know anyone using .40 cal Korean mags. Has anyone else had the same .40 cal Korean mag issues as UncleJak?

I Really wish I could have attended this match...alas, since we like to eat, I had to work. :yuck:     It sounds like a great match, and match concept...and definitely for a worthy cause. :up:       Any first hand reports?  At least then I could live vicariously...   Brazil? Spiffy?