mousegunner

Black powder rifles are starting to sprout up regularly now in the Times Free Press classifieds. I see today there is a Remington 700 muzzleloader with a Nikon scope for $300. Also a .45 Pedersoli flintlock for $300. http://www.mouseguns.com/class/sept2008.htm

I picked up a nice 30/30 Glenfield Marlin a couple of years ago for $175 in a local pawn shop. 30/30 ammo is holding at about $12.97 per box of 20 at Walmart in either 150 or 170 grain bullets.

Go ahead and thump your Bible, SP!

Please carry your gun to church. When you do, you make it a little bit safer for everyone there. On the other hand, if a bad guy comes in, please be very careful to shoot him, and not a fellow church member!

Open carry in WalMart is not the rite of passage for new HCP owners! If you do that, you will have the cops called on you right quick, and shown the exit! Nope, the rite of passage is to carry concealed in Walmart, while walking around munching on Cheetos.

This trigger mod question is discussed often on the S & W Forum. The majority opinion is: leave the trigger alone. You may make it lighter, but not by much. You may diminish the reliability factor. If you use the gun for self-defense, your mods may look bad to a jury.

Yes, a Ruger 10/22 from good old WalMart is the best place to start. I would suggest using a better grade of .22 ammo, for example "minimag." It is popular and not over the top on cost, but not the cheapest either. It is reliable and accurate ammo. Remember too, a .22 rifle is a 50 yard gun. For a second rifle, you might want to get a Marlin lever-action in 30/30 caliber. The 30/30 is a 100 yard gun.

The purpose of Chrome is to attack Microsoft. At present, our personal computing, and business computing, is "desktop based," not "browser based. We do our stuff on the computer, and one of the things we do is use a browser to go online. We run applications that are physically located on our hard drives. We use MS Windows or Mac or Linux PCs. We write with Word or Works, and we draw with Paint or Paint Shop Pro, and we do this and that with applications/software that resides on our hard drives. Google is trying to start a new paradigm. Under the Google plan, you will no longer need Word, or Paint, or Internet Explorer, or Windows Media Player, or whatever software you now have. All those programs will be created or hosted ONLINE by Google, and you won't need them on your pc anymore. You will immediately go to Chrome when you turn on your computer, and from that point on all you do will be done with one of Google's online applications. Chrome is a baby step in that direction. Not much attraction to home users, but to business users there is a big attraction. Businesses will no longer have to update applications on all their computers. Google will update the single central application, and everyone will automatically be updated. Businesses will be able to cut back on their computer tech departments. They will not have to spend money on a thousand licenses for some application. Etc. etc.

If you just want a store of value that is easily converted to cash anywhere, and is easy to carry around, even out of the country....then the watches are better in that regard. But that's a very nice rifle! Kind of an heirloom to hand down to your son.

I agree that people need to speak up. All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Here's the email I sent to info@cblproperties.com... I have been informed that I am now forbidden by your signs to shop at Hamilton Place Mall, since I am legally certified by the State of Tennessee to carry a handgun. (As you may know, everyone in Tennesse who has a permit to carry a gun has had extensive criminal background checks done on him/her, has taken classes on handgun law and safety, etc.) I will respect your wishes and stay out of Hamilton Place Mall, and spend my money elsewhere. I hope you will reconsider, as your mall postings are quite illogical and short-sighted. Only good law-abiding citizens will obey your "gun free zone" signs. Anyone intent on causing trouble will ignore your signs, and have free rein to do his dirty work, because your signs keep out those who might have a chance to stop him. The criminals will still carry guns where ever they wish, and will not hesitate to do harm to any one who would get in their way. Your signs have just made it a little bit easier for criminals or nuts to kill large numbers of people unopposed. I will stay out of Hamilton Place Mall, and your other properties, because you have made them dangerous places to be. A large percentage of Tennessee residents have handgun carry permits, and I will warn those I know that only criminals are allowed to carry guns in your malls, and that law-abiding citizens should stay away. I learned about your new policy on the internet, and I'm sure the news is spreading rapidly. For those of you who care what the Bible says, consider Leviticus 5:1... "If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible."

The Walmarts in Chattanooga have just re-arranged their sporting goods departments. As far as I can tell, they still have the same number of rifles and shotguns, but they are now lined up behind a counter, and not in those rotating carousel things they used to have. They still have rifle and handgun ammo, and are beginning to fill the aisles with shotgun shells, as they do every fall.

The last or next to last Shotgun News had a thorough review of the Polish Tantal, and it was all good. The ammo is less expensive, and I wouldn't hesitate at all to get one, if I had the money, and one was available. Go for it!

Get a nice AK for under $500, and spend the rest on several thousand rounds of ammo. AK's will be banned again next year (got my prophecy hat on!). Get one while you can. And you can never have too much ammunition.

You left out Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. You don't HAVE to vote GOP or DEM.

I like it, and $385 is a good deal on any AK these days. The MAK90 is well known for quality workmanship and a good trigger. My advice is to learn to love the stock. If you switch it out you will end up changing all kinds of things to get the "right" number of USA made parts, which means you will have to dump the fine Chinese trigger. If the thumbhole is a bit the wrong shape for your hand, just file it out and revarnish.

Nope: Lots, but not the most. Communists/atheists/Nazis have killed the most in the 20th century. Hundreds of millions. Not that "religious" folks haven't done a lot of bloody killing. Shame on them! Living in a garage won't make you a car, and going to church won't make you a genuine Christian, either.

Hey WestwindMike, In my opinion you got yourself a REALLY REALLY good deal. I've seen the gun alone selling in Chattanooga for $499. And the WASR10 is about the least expensive AK you can find anywhere these days.

Here's a whole page of links I've discovered on the topic. An overflow of information! http://www.mouseguns.com/cba.htm

There are three Kel-Tecs that are possibilities for pocket carry. I presently own and carry a 1st generation p3at (.380 caliber), and it has been 100% reliable since coming back from Kel-Tec two years ago. The PF-9 and P-11 are both excellent guns. The PF-9 is flatter and lighter, and better for front pocket carry. The P-11 holds more rounds, but is thicker and heavier. In my judgment, the P-11 is just a bit too much for pocket carry, but excellent for an iwb holster. Also, the P-11 trigger is quite a bit tougher than that of the PF-9. Both the PF-9 and P-11 can be reliable (or not). If you get one that is giving trouble, Kel-Tec is famous for good and fast repair work. The only semi-auto pistol I know of that is "super reliable" is a GLOCK. You might check out these links: http://www.mouseguns.com/ideal.htm and http://www.mouseguns.com/pf9rev/pf9rev.htm and http://www.mouseguns.com/ideal2.htm Good luck in your choice!

Mine was reliable, but not very accurate. But good enough for up-close self-defense, which is really what it is for, anyway.

No Safe Places by Don Myers Recently, there were two Christian musicians who were leaving a recording studio and were murdered for two dollars and their car. Initially, I paid little attention to the news reports nor did I listen to the names of the two victims. Three days later, I received an e-mail from a woman friend who had received her CHL by taking my course along with her son and daughter. The e-mail read, "Hi Don, my son, Steve, was murdered Thursday. His funeral is at...." I sat there stunned. Steve had been licensed through my instruction. I had been to a couple of activities that he and his mother attended - in both cases they were armed. I knew Steve's mother believed as I do that you never go anywhere unarmed if it is legal to carry in those places. I did not know Steve as well as I did his mother, but I found him to be very likable and smart. In fact, I later discovered that he was probably a genius. Of course after getting that terrible news, I couldn't help wonder if he was armed that night. I assume that he wasn't because of the deadly results of his encounter with two heartless thugs. Both criminals were captured the next day. A television interview showed that one of them was almost proud of what they had done. Apparently, he is feeling good about being a "gangsta" now." I attended Steve's funeral wishing that I could ask if Steve had been armed that awful night, but knew it would be totally inappropriate to ask such an insensitive question. After the funeral service was over, I watched as the ushers allowed the family members to leave the sanctuary first. I couldn't help notice that Steve's mother and sister were carrying handbags made of nylon that were an odd shape. Of course, it was obvious to me why they were carrying those bags and what was in them. I waited my turn to give condolences to Steve's mother. Then as I approached her, she said in a voice that was a mixture of crying and disbelief, "Don, Steve didn't have his gun! He always carries his gun! When he comes to my house, he has his gun on him under his shirt. He doesn't go anywhere without his gun! Don, he didn't have his gun! In fact, when the police were telling me about the shooting, I asked them where Steve's gun was. They said that they had not found his gun so I told them that the criminals have it. Later, we found it at his home." I was sick. The tragedy was bad enough, but for him to be killed on one of the few nights where he had forgotten to take his gun seemed to rub salt into the wounds of those of us who cared for him. I am always amazed at how many people who have taken my CHL class do not carry all the time. Some almost never carry a pistol. And yet, here was a case where someone who practically always heeded my advice to be armed at all times was killed while the others who continue to walk around in an un-armed condition, in a mental state of white, don't pay the price that Steve did. No, I don't want those others to pay that price. It's just that they are more likely to be hurt or killed than those who do carry where it is legal. The irony cannot be ignored. One of the reasons that I became a CHL instructor was because of a conversation I heard during my first renewal class. An elderly gentleman asked the instructor, "I live in a nice neighborhood. My wife and I go walking nearly every evening. Do you think I should take my gun with me?" Incredibly, the instructor replied, "Well, that's a personal decision that you will have to make for yourself." I wanted to scream, "Of course, you should! There are no safe places!" In fact, I was so stunned at the stupid answer that I didn't say what I was thinking. I still feel guilty about not speaking up. However, I do speak up now. Throughout the classes that I teach I use examples, many of actual shootings, to show the need to carry all the time. One such example is an appeal to logic. I ask the students if you could turn off and on your fire insurance at will, would you ever turn it off because there was little chance of a fire on a particular day? Of course, you wouldn't! But, that's exactly what you do if you decide to leave your home unarmed. You have chosen to let yourself be vulnerable to a mean world that can take you or your loved ones from this world for two dollars or for your tennis shoes. There are no safe places! One woman who took my class has for many years worked as a contractor in federal housing, i.e. high crime areas. Unfortunately, her employer will not let her carry her gun in her car (she can't go in the federal buildings armed), but she has never needed a gun in those high crime areas. On the other hand, she has needed a gun for protection three times in "safe areas." She started carrying a gun at seventeen because the police would not believe that she and her boyfriend had been robbed and that she had nearly raped (she said that she was in her menstrual period or she would have been raped). The police did not believe her because at that time there had never been any crime in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens (this occurred in the 1960's). This "safe place" soon became a hot spot of rape and murder during the following year causing it to be fenced and closed at night. Fortunately, the gang of youths were caught and convicted of multiple rapes and murders. Those of you who are instructors have probably had many stories of similar need for a gun for protection told by your clients. I use real life stories as much as I can, but I am still frustrated at how many people have the "it won't happen to me attitude" and don't carry all the time. I have finally decided that few people really take to heart my cajoling and warnings. Fortunately, many have, but I want to be even more effective in getting that point across since not only are they safer being armed, but we are too. Since many of you who are reading this newsletter are instructors, I invite you to e-mail me if you have found effective methods to get the point across that it is important to be armed. Hopefully, there will be enough information that I can pass it on to others via this newsletter. If you have something that will help, please e-mail me at happydad1@sbcglobal.net. If I do write another article on that subject I will give you credit for your ideas. I truly believe it is important for us to teach our clients and friends that CHL holders should be armed whenever possible and this safety advice is just as important to teach as it is for us to teach conflict resolution and the use of deadly force required by the state. I hope you agree. Be armed; be safe. Don Myers Texas Concealed Handgun License Instructor North Richland Hills, TX 76180

My Kimber 1911 is the most accurate pistol I have ever shot. But the appeal is (in my opinion) that it is all metal, that it is precisely machined, that it has some "heft" in your hand, and that it's beautiful to the eye. And that it has nearly 100 years of history behind it. Having said all that, it's not the gun I choose to carry.

Ditto on the above. Put an original 10 round mag on it, and you are good to go. If you insist on hi cap, the Tapco 20 rounder is supposed to be the most reliable aftermarket magazine, but you may have to do a little wood carving to get it to fit. I still think the original 10 round mag is best.

Investing in guns is like buying rental property. You have got to get a good bargain on the way in. For example, if you get a nice almost new GLOCK 19 for $375. Hang on to it. It will never be worth less. It may double in price in five years. But the key to guns as an investment is getting a good deal at the beginning.

Here's my story of my Chattanooga permit class... http://www.mouseguns.com/permit/permit.htm I suggest any 9mm GLOCK or Ruger, or a revolver (not a snubbie). It's not hard at all.