Mark A

Very nice...

Glad you have a good place to do business. They sound like good people and it is good of you to recognize that fact and continue to support them I don't want to pay high prices but I am all about supply and demand. I guess I just don't have the time or energy to complain about prices. It is either what I want and I can afford it or not. I wonder if all these people that are so outraged over prices are going to go to the gun store and give the owner money when he has no product to sell. He still has business and personal bills to pay that don't stop just because of panic buying. So what will they do when they can't get any product to sell for months at a time? It is entirely possible that in a few months time we will have a lot fewer locations to go shop at. What do you think prices will be like then? Eventually the system will balance and then new people will get into the market and offer choices. This is how it has always worked. Prices will come back down and we will all spend a ton of energy to save $5 on a $500 purchase. Choices are great and the system works when left alone. These events are entirely predictable and easy to plan around. You just have to be about 10% aware of what is going on around you. I think the best plan is to develop a relationship with someone you like and share values with. Supporting them consistently will pay rewards in the long run. The OP has a good thing and good for him. Mark

Prag, you mentioned putting an O2 absorber in the jars. Is there any reason they couldn't be vacuum sealed instead? I have had pretty good luck using my lid sealer attachment.   I think I will order my dehydrator tomorrow.   Mark

Yep, since the 6.0 in 03. My boss had one of the infamous bad injector motors. We went to the service department to get something out of his truck and it was in about 4 different places. I haven't laughed that hard in years. I've always been a ford truck guy but I love my dodge diesel. In about 2 years I am going to pry my wife out of her truck. Someone is going to get a 7.3 with about 175k on it. It will be a steal of a truck for someone. Mark

In 08 I decided I had to have a Sig 556 right when all the fun started. It had nothing to do with the panic; I just found out about it at the wrong time. So I got one, paid market price ( not gouged, just not cheap) and marked that one down in my life's book. Since then I've been working hard to get ahead. My panic started not this past Friday but the morning after the recent election. Once I got done being sick to my stomach I ordered enough pmags and mags for my 220 to last through any crises. They were already planned for, I just got off my rear and got them in. I wish I had room to store more powder but I don't. What I need to do now is really start cranking out finished rounds so I can free up some storage space. What I did really fail to do was order spring kits and spare followers. I completely dropped the ball there. Most of my mags are in good shape and I think by the end of January spare parts will be reasonable so I will deal with it then. Other than that plans for incremental upgrades are on hold for a bit. I would like to find a T1 or H1 for my 556 pistol. For now, the Eotech will do. For those that are in the beginning of their journey, I feel for them. They just had the misfortune of bad timing. It happens. I don't feel bad for those that are panic buying. There have been merchants separating those kinds of people from their money for thousands of years... Mark

Now that I have the canning thing pretty much down I am looking at dehydrating. I pretty much know what I am going to can next year and about how long it is going to take to put back the amounts we need/ want. I've been reading about drying and it looks like if it is properly dried and then vacuum packed that the shelf life is just about forever on most things. Plus the space requirements are great. A bonus is that for whatever reason there are lots of fruit that I don't like fresh but do like dried. My plan is to read a bit more then start to practicing to see what I do and don't like. I want to dry things and then use it in recipes to see how it tastes. I have 2 goals: 1) to develop a menu of things that I can put together in buckets for long term storage. It would be nice to put 7 days worth in one bucket so that I would only have to open one bucket at a time. 2) drying fruit when it comes in season. I have proven to myself that I will apparently always be a snacker so I might as well snack on something healthy. I am curious as to others experience, Mark

I put a GPS locator on David's truck. I will now always have a source to feed my addiction.

Possibly Internet understatement of the century Mark

  Thanks David. That is a very nice offer...   Mark

that is extremely cool...   Mark

Fantastic... Anyone can order something from Amazon.   True caring shows up in things like this...     mark

David, I agree. I'm going to keep an eye out for a G20 as it was my first choice. We aren't going until probably in July so I have a bit of time.   In the meantime I thought I would begin some testing in case I don't find what I want. I'm also considering something in .41 mag although that is much more of a wish. I need to stay practical if I can...   Mark

Thanks DRV, I will check it out Mark

My wife is a great girl and except for saying yes to me 20 years ago usually makes good decisions. She also is a go to the grocery store 3-4 times per week person. It used to drive me crazy but I quit trying to tilt at that particular windmill a long time ago. A while back I asked her to help me start storing a few things like emergency water etc. Her response was to make sure I always had a case of bottled water. About a year back she got blindsided by some unexpected health issues and we made the decision to buy as much locally grown food as possible and to quit buying canned food as much as possible. That led us to shopping at the local farmers market and then led us to learn about canning and other forms of food preservation. As a result we are eating better food and slowly growing our reserves. No one would ever confuse us for preppers but we have a couple of months of good food available and now only go to the store a couple of times a month. I was piddling with some project yesterday when my wife walked in and asked me if we had enough water stored for a reasonable emergency. I told we did not. She then asked what was I planning on doing about it? I just smiled... We will be in much better shape by this weekend. Mark

Most everyone I work with is a gun owner. They are also apparently poor planners. They beat a steady path to my door all morning asking what they should do. What I wanted to say: I told you people when the craziness ended after '08 to buy as much as you could then buy a little more... I told you I was going to learn to reload and that you could use my press and even leave your components at my house. I told you to teach everyone in your family to shoot and to have all that were eligible to get their permits. What I did say: yes, I think they will try a new ban. No I don't think they will get their way. And yes, it is going to be frustrating and expensive to get what can still be found. I so wanted to say I told you so but I didn't. I used to go out for lunch every day. I used to take vacations. The only discretionary time I have taken since 08 was to attend training classes. That was the only way I knew I could get ready for what I was seeing today and this past weekend. I am blessed that I have a wife who is conservative in her daily life and is willing to support my habit. She saw how unhappy I was in 08 and told me to make sure I learned my lesson. I did and I am about a million times better off now. I read everything I could to make informed choices and bugged the fool out of some of the members of this forum so that I could use their knowledge and experience to jump start my own. Today it feels really good to not have a sky is falling attitude. Preparedness is comforting even if I still have a long way to go. Mark - not even close to a leper...

Last year I traded for a nice Sig 220. For various reasons I haven't had much time to put in it. I did buy several different types of fmj and jhp rounds just to test for proper functioning but then it was put in the safe where it has been resting. Next summer we are taking a trip to Alaska to celebrate our 20th anniversary. My goal is to acquire a g20 before then but if I don't I will carry something I already have. Looking around I decided the 220 is what I will carry on our hiking trips. With that in mind I decided I needed to test a few fairly heavy loads. I ordered in some Buffalo Bore 255 gr hard cast. While I was at it I decided to order something for 2 legged creatures as well. I got a couple boxes of 200 gr Hornady TAP. Although I shoot a fair amount of 40 I mostly train with 9mm and my carry pieces are .357 Sig. I've always been part of the flat and fast club. Sitting here inspecting the rounds I have to admit these big lunks are a bit mesmerizing... Can't wait to get to the range on Wednesday. Mark

I went to public school and did ok... My son went and did ok as well but it was a while ago. If I had a young child now I think I would home school.   I'm hoping our family can home school my 2 young nephews.   But, if this were an alternative here I would donate time. I have the rest of my life to work. The business can do without me a couple of days a month...   Mark

edited...

It is times like these that I really hate that my wife is a teacher. She represents all that is good about the teaching profession and her family has a long history of teaching back to the beginnings of the 1900's. We've moved a couple of times and part of the motiviation is doing the best we can to keep her in safer schools.   She also is a shooting enthusiast. I don't know if she would have what it takes to pull the trigger or not but it really is a moot point since she isn't allowed to even have a weapon in her truck. She shoots and trains with me and takes at least one class per year.   But, this isn't to be political... I can't imagine the horror for the kids and first responders. The feeling of the parents? I don't know that I will ever have a frame of reference for that...   Please take a moment to offer a prayer for all involved.   Mark

They are pricey but I like the new Trijicon HD's. I prefer a orange/green combo. It seems to help line up in a hurry in dim light.   Mark

So I guess the party I had when he said he was retiring was wasted? I hope we can find a decent conservative candidate to run against him... Mark

[quote name='Patton' timestamp='1354229389' post='852566'] My mom graduated in 80 and my aunt in 83, what year was this done? I heard about it before. [/quote] Damn... It is like a reunion tonight. Patton, I probably know your mom though we did have a big class...

[quote name='peejman' timestamp='1354194152' post='852354'] It was indeed. [/quote] Peejman, when were you there? I graduated in 1980 Mark

Man the desire for a 308 AR is growing higher and higher for me. I just bought a bunch of primed 308 brass from our favorite reloading pusher here. Wonder if my subconscious is trying to tell me something? Mark

[quote name='Jonnin' timestamp='1353331461' post='848094'] The main reason I bought the thing was because it is technically legal to carry on your permit. [/quote] Ding ding ding! I am on the road a lot and cover a pretty big territory. My sig 556p fits nicely in a regular day pack and no one is the wiser. I have a single point sling and if you adjust it where it is tight when you push the gun out you can use the sling for a check weld. I am not as accurate at 30-50 yards as I am with a carbine but it is way better than a regular pistol. Mark