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I thought that was one of the funnier ads I've seen, thanks for posting, it made me chuckle. Have you ever seen "Squidbillies" on Adult Swim/Cartoon Network? The ad immediately made me think of that show. Search Squidbillies if you haven't seen it, its stupid but funny.

I'm a plastic guy, I prefer mine either Comp-Tac or Raven Concealment Systems. I've tried leather (Don Hume, Galco, Mitch Rosen, Safariland) but Kydex feels, draws, and carries the best (for me).

"Have radical Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorist problems in your hood? Pay'em a friendly Christian visit with a plate of southern pulled-pork BBQ and a hip-slung UZI and they shouldn't be a problem. They'll go running like rats, or you can send'em on to Allah, the Great Rat Master."

Can't today, maybe tomorrow. Mark, let us know how it was.

I bought my Mosquito in Sept. 06 when they first came out. I had to experiment to figure out what ammo it liked. CCI Mini-Mags and Remington Golden Bullet HPs (bulk) work great in my gun. One thing that I found helps my gun run well is a thorough cleaning after each range trip as well as a generous amount of lube. I've actually been using grease and it's made me happy. When I shoot the bulk Remington ammo I get FTF/FTE about every 40-50 rounds, but that's about on par with other .22s I've owned.

Larry Vickers...whos that That's great news, that's definently a winning combo.

The wife and I had Ridgewood BBQ takeout. If you guys ever make to the Tri-Cities you gotta go to Ridgewood!

That's a steal of a nice gun, especially with the included accessories. I found one at a local shop for $799, used, with no accessories and 1-mag! You got a deal.

I formerly had an Arsenal SLR-106FR. It was the 5.56 version. I found it to be an awesome gun, accurate and was flawless. I caught the AR bug and sold it. The only downfall of the 5.56 gun was that the mags were expensive. I've been toying with the idea of getting an SLR-107FR, it's the same gun but 7.62X39 and takes tradtional AK mags. I say go for it if it's in your price range.

I go to Jacob's Creek up on Holston Mountain. It's just a public range much like Unicoi but not as maintained. I go on rainy, crappy days to do drills because it's almost always empty in bad weather co I can walk in as close as I want. I've thought about trying Kettlefoot Rod and Gun Club. I'd like to try Tac2 myself.

I'm 5'09" and 160lbs, close to your dimensions. I can and have carried a HK P2000, Glock 19 and Sig 229 in a Comp Tac CTAC. At my size with guns of that size (similar to your USPc) concealment is easy, even in a t-shirt. I've tried the pro undercover and infidel and I personally don't beleive they conceal nearly as well as the CTAC. I have no experience with the MTAC but have heard good things. If $50 is your limit look around (maybe hkpro.com) and you may find a used one. You can't go wrong with Comp-Tac, they even send candy with you order!!!!

Welcome!

Congrats, the 229 is my all time favorite. Looks like you made a good choice and at a good price. The CPOs are a deal. Don't worry too much about the grip fitment as some of the factory grips will fit poorly due to seam and mold lines. A light trim in certain areas may clean up the fitment a bit. As far as wood grips, http://www.topgunsupply.com sales a lot of Sig goodies and they'll have factory wood grips. Also, check out http://sigforum.com. A ton of good info there and some of us tngunowners roam there as well.

Okay, I'll take a stab at question 2. Note, I'm not an expert of any kind but I've owned and shot many Sigs and I currently own two 229s, a 9mm and .40S&W. To begin with, it's known that a 229 chambered for .357 Sig can be easily converted to .40 by simply swapping factory barrels, the same is true for .40 to .357 Sig. In respect to 9mm it's a different story. The slides on the 9mm and .40/.357 are different. If you put a factory Sig 9mm barrel in the .40/.357 slide and look at the space around the business end of the barrel you can see why it won't work, there's too much gap. Also the locking blocks in the frames vary between 9mm and .40/.357 guns. I know for a fact that Bar-Sto makes a conversion barrel to switch .40/.357 guns to 9mm. Bar-Sto's barrel is the same outer diameter as the factory .40/.357 barrel so it properly fits in the.40/.357 slide. My understanding is that the Bar-Sto barrel is semi-drop in meaning that is may drop right in and it may not. Bar-Sto will fit the barrel for a small fee (I don't remember exactly how much but I beleive it's very reasonable). I don't know why Sig didn't make it more modular as in one frame, one slide and barrels that would swap without the need to change parts, etc. Matter of fact, a .40/.357 mag won't fit in a 9mm 229 frame! I don't get it, but anyways. i hope this helped. I can't help you on the finish question. I have seen blue slides that were polished on the flats like a "Equinox" model but I can't begin to tell you what was used or how it was used. For all things Sig check out www.sigforum.com. There's a bunch of good, Sig specific info there. Goodluck.

Thanks, Spuds.

Is the $1 off coupon still available, and where on the web would I find one. Thanks.

I can't speak for TN but in my experience, the Commonwealth of VA has regional academies and then some agencies have there own academies. It seems that here in VA you go to the academy that is in your hiring agency's geopgraphical region unless those spots are full and your agency needs you trained so they might send you to another regional academy. In reference to "pre-employment" spots, they are available if there is enough room. My academy class was so large we didn't have any pre-employment spots available. Pre-employment is a good thing if you don't have a job and have the funds to go through. From what I've been told some student loans will cover the expenses. The training is the same for all but I beleive some portions such as driving and pursuit are not available to pre-employment until they are hired by an agency. I don't know if this a liability issue, equipment issue, or what. "Pre-Employment" folks usually get jobs quick because the agency doesn't have the time gap they would suffer to train a new officer/deputy. Our regional academy is in Bristol, VA.

I've seen gunrunners on gunbroker before as a seller. I drove by the location a few days ago. From the inside pics it should be a nice shop. Never can have too many good shops and us Tri-Cities guys are very fortunate.

Yeah, Gunrunners. I stopped by about two weeks ago and they weren't open yet. Looks like it may be a nice shop.

Is Monty's in J.C.? I recall someone telling me that they have an excellent gunsmith.

Guys, if you're in Bristol Uncle Sam's Loan Office is the place to go for transfers. $15 bucks before TBI. That's cheaper total than some shops charge for just a transfer! I though you guys would like to know.

If the 637 is what your after you may drive north and checkout Volunteer Gun Shop in Bristol. It's kind of a hole in the wall but the guys that run it have always been good to me and they usually have a good selection of new and used stuff. They seem to always have a 642 and 637 in stock. Byrd's is a great shop and Doug and Jason are top notch. They know thier stuff but they are kind. I particularly like to go on Friday and Saturday when they are both there. There's a lot of comedy with those guys! There is also supposedly a new shop just off of Exit 66 (I-81). I have hit and miss luck with Mahoney's. Their Glocks and Sigs are somewhat competitively priced if you compare to mail order and tally your transfer fee, shipping, etc. BUT, I went buy a S&W 442 and it was insanely expensive. I even asked if they had the wrong tag because it was priced closer the the Scandium revolvers. I guess that's why you gotta shop around!

I agree, I followed the Punisher (War Zone, War Journal, etc.) growing up and it's great to Frank Castle getting some exposure. Punisher Armory comic books are what "activated" my never-ending interest is firearms.

Marswolf - Thanks, we'll have to try to get an eastern, east TN GTG planned up. skwashdem - Thanks, I didn't realize Byrd's was so cheap. I'll have to look into. Jason and Doug are fine folks to deal with. gunslinger707 - I hadn't even thought about Uncle Sam's. That would be great as I'm about 2 minutes away from them.

I'm looking for a good FFL to possibly do a transfer in the Tri-Cities area. I know there are a number of good shops around and most are charging $30 to $40 for a transfer. Anybody have a recommendation on perhaps an FFL that doesn't charge so much. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks. P.S.-Sorry if the this is in the wrong section. Mods have mercy!