Mark A

And on the opposite side of the spectrum I got my first rifle at 8, shotgun at 10 and pistol at 12 for Christmas. I kept all 3 in my room and had ammo and everything. It is a wonder that all of my friends didn't die... Like Bkelm18 said it is all about respect and maturity. My dad took a shotgun out back and blew a watermelon to pieces when I was about 6 or 7. He told me that a person's head would look just like that if I ever shot someone. Maybe a little over dramatic but it made an indelible impression. Yes, you learn to handle your emotions as you get older (most people anyway) but I've got friends in their 40's and 50's that I won't let touch any of my firearms while my son got his first shotgun at 12 and kept it in his room. Age is not even close to the only factor in responsible gun ownership

Yep, I looked into one of those puppies once. I thought it would be nice to have a handbuilt gun. Then I looked a little harder and realized that the only thing they produced on that gun was the invoice. I can order parts and put them together as well...

Goldsquare, did you get the calf brace add-on for the ankle glove? It makes a huge difference to me in all-day wearability. I also finally tracked down an ankle safe. It makes it nice to have a second magazine with me. I think I'm going to get a loop of elastic sewn onto it so that I can loop it over the top of my spare mag as it sometimes works it's way out of the sleeve a bit. I can just see if skittering out if I ever had to take off in a dead run (ok, really agressive walk. Pretty sure my dead running days are behind me - except maybe the dead part.) Before I forget, congrats on the new gun. When you go to the range make sure you shoot it really slowly so that the 1911 fan boys will have time to grab a second magazine. Mark

Well, keep both... The baby glocks are the only ones I'm comfortable shooting. I just don't like the grip angle of the other sizes. I like shooting my 33 and it is carried at least 5 days a week in an ankle holster. I shoot it well but it is not an everyday range gun for me. I also have a 239. My preference for carrying it is IWB due to it's slimness. I've been a sig guy all my life and I am a big fan of DA/SA platforms for a lot of reasons. I just bought some more of the 8 round magazines from topgun supply so the round count difference isn't a big deal to me. I also like how the single stack mags carry in my pocket when I need to go light. Accuracy is about the same to me with a slight edge to the 239. Mark

That is an interesting article. I worry about setback when reloading but not from re-chambering rounds. I always make sure I have one FMJ set aside from practicing and that is what is loaded into the chamber after each session or cleaning. The rest of the mag gets the good stuff. When I hit the range I dump the mag, put one with practice stuff in it and fire away. No unloading and reloading with all the potential pitfalls… I guess I am giving up effectiveness in the first round but in general I’m pretty sure there will be another right behind it that will be the expanding variety. So at a maximum the chambered round will be chambered twice and that is only if it is present in the gun when it is cleaned. Works for me, Mark

1) Loved it when they loaded the bodies in the truck and as they drive off zombies arm falls off. Dead girl says hey wait, pops out and picks it up like a stick. It was just funny. 2) pretty sure car wreck girl is now not pregnant. Makes the storY easier going forward unless she is pregnant in real life.

I bought the Dillon DVD when I got my 550. Having never reloaded I had a lot of questions on the setting up of dies etc... I read all the standard books but I'm a visual learner. I stuck the dvd in a laptop and watched each step, paused the dvd to do it my self and then watched it again to make sure it was correct. Most are probably a lot smarter than me but this worked well for me. Mark

Of course, I was only paying about 1/2 attention when I MISread the title. I thought wow, you can buy an RPG parts kit?

.45

I did my first 3-4000 with varget. Used 55 & 62 gr FMJ. Switched to TAC for the next several thousand. Not sure I remember why. I think it was on sale. Both were completely satisfactory. I've loaded up some 75 gr PRVI and Hornady with BL-C(2). I really like this load a lot but it is a bit $$ for just plinking. Pretty sure I used 24.0 gr of TAC on both the 55 & 62 gr rounds. The BL-C(2) was 25.0 if I remember correctly Mark

I wish it would be easy to get data on the financial impact of people (like me) who refuse to visit Chicago, NYC and California etc. because of their approach to handgun laws. It is an almost universal truth that the areas that work the hardest to deny me my right to self protection are the same places where I need that ability the most. There are plenty of wonderful places in this country that respect my rights and by doing so earn discretionary spending by me and my family. Mark

BAM!!! customer service at G&L breaks out again... I drive past at least 3 other shops to get there although with as much as I've been working lately I haven't had much of a chance to get there. I love to stop at gun shops when traveling and I'm up and down I-24 quite a bit. It only took stopping and being ignored a couple of times for me to stop swinging in. Not particularly a G&L fanboy. I've even had a bad experience there. Once I made them aware of the situation it was addressed immediately and based on that I gave them another chance. I'm glad I did as they have been fair with me every since. I value honesty and fairness and that keeps me going back.

Pretty sure there is a John Boy & Billy Christmas song in there somewhere. Mark

I think guns and leather let's you shoot rifles at their indoor range

Might have to rent the movie Van Wilder 2 for more info... I'm usually pretty good at remembering previous roles and I totally spaced on the Chuck character

Yep, from what I understand he already had his crap packed...

Well, there are other benefits besides not carrying every day. (hopefully someday she will though) For my wife being able to meet me at the range with her weapon and loaded mags made it worth while. Also, the ability to legally transport my firearm should we be together and something happen to me is a benefit. I know you can unload everything and physically separate it and be safe but it is easier to not worry about it. As far as passing, if my wife can do it anyone can... Mark

The RCBS unit is nice. I like mine. I'm assuming you aren't going to be producing high volume correct? If you are going to be cranking out a lot of rounds there are other tools out there but it starts getting expensive... Mark

very nice, congrats...

I'm a pretty big fan of speer gold dots and ranger T stuff. I especially like the speer short barreled rounds where applicable. I also like the critical defense rounds, especially during winter. I have not done any testing so my choices are based purely on the reading I have been able to do and conversations with the various instructors I've taken classes from. There is also the theory of using what the local police dept uses as a potential way to slightly reduce liability in the event you have to shoot someone. Is that valid? I don't know but it probably wouldn't hurt... My thoughts are any of the premium ammo produced by the big boys will probably work fine and hold no more liability than others... Also, the box o truth site has lots of cool and fun info. The Box O' Truth - Ammo Penetration Testing Mark

I'm amazed that Chatt State has it's own force...

How often do you seriously train? I'm talking focused, objective based training with specific goals and drills in mind. I train pistol drills every week and carbine at least monthly. Shotgun? It just looks so comfy leaning against the bedroom wall... The funny thing is I like the shotgun best of all 3 Interspersed with this is 2-3 long weekend classes throughout the year. They may be advanced but I try to work in at least 1 fundamental class per year to keep my technique grounded in the right place. Mixed in are 2-3 1 day local classes. I think it is a decent balance but I would like to shoot outside a bit more Mark

Pistol = UC. I don't get to the range as often as I like but it is easy to dry fire, practice draw strokes, and reloads at home in my office. Carbine = CC. I practice loading (push pull or Pat will find you) and transitions but I don't dry fire as much as I should. Shotgun is where it all falls apart. Shooting and trigger manipulation are fine from all those years shooting birds and clay pigeons. Reloading is where I fall off the cliff in a bad way. I've got to remember to tape the reloading drills at the next class I take. I just forget the ins and outs of proper technique... Failure drills are ok on pistol and carbine. On shotgun I don't even own any dummy rounds. I need to fix that. I do find that if I don't shoot regularly my eyes fatigue at about 100 rounds in. Once I am worked back in I'm good to go all day. But at first, they get bloodshot and have a harder time focusing. Mark

I will be curious to see what folks say. I've only been reloading for about 1.5 years but to me that looks like added time. I use Hornady one shot and a couple of loading trays. Fill up the trays, spray the front side of the case, rotate the trays and spray the back side. It takes just a few minutes to lube 100 cases this way. Mark

I also went with the lighter spring but that is based on not planning to carry it. If I decide to carry it I will put the heavier spring in. I need to step my practice back up but right now when I shoot with it and aggressively prep the trigger I'm really close to torching a second one off every time. I love how the action feels now though. It is really nice being able to drop a few pieces/ parts in like that. I wish I could do that with my Sigs... Mark