Jonnin

  ?  I have several older lever guns with safeties.   This is not too unusual.   Seems like a silent safety would be preferable in a hunting gun to racking the lever and alerting everything in 1/2 a mile or trying to manually jockey the hammer (a frowned upon practice for single action revolvers, 1911s, and such which is about the same design..).    One fellow explained to me how you squeeze the trigger first, then thumb back the hammer so you don't alert the deer....  /facepalm.

I don't know much about boats... had to use one during my last job but mostly we stayed away from others.   I never would have considered 100 feet to be "too close" to pass by someone.     Probably, neither would 90% of the folks out there.   

... it should be "close" to linear,  (please, please get a 2nd opinion here).   That means that if you interpolate linearly between the hardness of copper and the hardness of pure lead,  and interpolate the load data in the same ratios, it should be close enough to get you to the "tweak from here" level.   Its been a while and I am a little rusty ... anyone confirm that I am on the right track?

  Consider reloading.  Surplus is very cheap, probably about the same as making it, but reloaded will be non corrosive for the same price and better general quality. 

what type?  There are generally 2 broad types of competitive shooting...  accuracy, and  "combat/multigun".    For example bullseye pistol / conventional is about accuracy,  as are long range rifle shoots,  while IDPA and 3-gun are about shooting fast at huge targets and while on the move, combat style.    You also have silhouette (accuracy again),  and the oddball stuff like black powder / civil war reenactment competitive shooting.     Accuracy is MUCH more expensive than combat shooting.   However you can do a lot with a little and unless you plan on doing the sport to win money.  Just depends on what you want to do, how good you really are, and how much money you want to sink into it.   a $5k 1911 won't do you one bit of good if you can't nail the target every time you pull the trigger, whereas well selected starter gear can carry you a long, long way.   My souped up ruger mark 2.5 (its a 3 that was turned back into a 2, specifically) is better than I am, so I don't need to spend big on replacing it.  

the fish... there is no good answer.   I gave away some of mine, and sold some back to a store that I had a good relationship with, then emptied it all and moved it all, and bought new fish.   The other option is to move it FAST by itself somehow...  method 1 is to set up a new home for them at the destination with everything ready to go, and then haul the critters over.   Method 2 is to try to break down and set up all of it in one day -- even more difficult for salt water due to the fragility of those fish.    Its hard even across town.   Going long, long distances is nearly impossible.   Ask your fish store if you try to move them live ... you can buy drugs that calm them and help them to survive the trauma.  Worse, for salt water, it is highly recommended you keep at least 1/3 to 1/2 the old water for them.  That is a lot with a big tank!  

nice collection!   rust...  get it off, with the least destructive approach you can but it has to come off.   Chemistry can do it, careful use of mild abrasives can do it, there isn't really a best way depending on where it is located.    Going forward: wipe the guns down with oil.  Spray can of rem-oil is a great protection and cleaner (it fails pretty badly as a lube, though).  Keep the guns in as dry a place as you can, a heated safe with water absorb chemistry works great.  Do not let them get covered in lint, that wicks the humidity to the metal and rusts up fast --- if not in a safe, keep them in a (dry) case of some sort.  Clp is probably as good but it foams up and is harder to work with.   There are a bunch of other things that work just as well, the key points being a thin oil wipe down and keeping it dry and protected.  You don't need cosmo... that is for decades long storage without maintenance.  Put any rustbuckets on a schedule (that is, guns that are prone to rusting) of a once a month wipe down.  Takes 5 min once a month.   Consider a nondestructive coating on exposed metal.  For example those junky blue-touch-up pens you can buy will prevent rust somewhat and does no harm to the weapon (it can be removed without much effort and no damage).

  The difference between those and the sig or shield are fractions of inches in any given dimension.    Weight is another story -- the lightest vs heaviest is nearly double, and worth a mention.   However, even the heavies are 1.3 pounds fully loaded maybe... any real belt can hold that much, even a cardboard cheapo can do it for a while.   The bigger stuff is sort of "advanced" pocket carry for folks with massive pockets and a texas sized belt and "pocket or bust" stubborn streak (guilty!).

  get the biggest, heaviest, toughest thing you can afford.   The major brands produce good quality but the price points do mean something -- space, fire resistance, theft deterrence are all going to go up with price (not necessarily linearly, but better is still better here).    Make sure to have some room for a few papers and other valuables.    A good safe can last generations... think of it as a heirloom of sorts as well --  barring someone trying to saw into it or a fire, there is no reason one would not last 500 or more years;  mine is my dad's ... from the 80s, looks like it was bought yesterday (its a liberty).  The one I have is the presidential series, which is still their top line I think -- looks like a good $5k for one these days.   That seems like a lot  --- but in the grand scheme, what would it cost to replace 20 rifles and 10 or more pistols?  At average price of $500, that is ... $10k.   If you have valuables in there, that can double fast with some bling.   Throw in a few irreplaceable items.  Suddenly you are really talking about a 5k one time buy insurance policy on 20, 30K bucks worth of stuff.   Better, some insurance (home) will cut you a small break (yearly) if you own a safe.  Think about it, but my advice is to save up and get a big one.

  I use the 938 and have the 238 as well.  Both are excellent, 9 is a tiny bit larger, has more recoil (the 380 is very mild, the 9 is low-moderate).   The shield is really good. if you can pocket a p-11 you can pocket hundreds of models.  Cz rami.  Various bersas.  Makarov and similar milsurp 380ish stuff like feg etc.  Colt defender or mustang.  And those are just a few of my favorites... there are, again, a BUNCH that are no bigger than the p-11 in a variety of shapes and styles.  I converted my Makarov to a single action... one of the most accurate guns I have ever owned.   But that isn't really something easy to do nor carry friendly, its just a good target pistol now (complete with custom grips).       If you only want single actions, look at the colts or the smaller (some older, discontinued) para models and a number of other "1911ish" guns are out there, some quite old.  

you have 3 main choices. 1) a long, heavy triggered DAO ... there are over a dozen of these, but they are all about the same to me since I can't shoot any of them.  That does not meant they are no good, it just means hand problems & heavy DAOs don't mix too good.   Personal opinion, heavy trigger isn't good for women, old folks, or wimps like me.  2) shield, which is excellent (sorta the glockish variety).  3) colt mustang & clones (includes mine, the sig 938) which have short, light single actions (micro 1911 style).   I love my sig.  Can't recommend it enough.   It has an ambi safety, which helps me as I am a lefty.  The safety has a ball-spring indent system so its not likely to slip.   Bonus: external hammer ... cock it, then rack it, and its really light on the slide that way.  Pulling the hammer back with the slide is harder.. the recoil spring without the hammer isn't bad.   You literally only have to rack this gun once per cleaning -- shoot it empty, hammer is back, repeat... safety up when done.   The cz rami is not quite small enough for pocket, but its pretty small.   I carried one and very, very large pockets, you can do it (think men's dress pants) but its really a small end compact as far as sizes go.   Also an excellent gun, since you mention the cz 75, its the same thing in a reduced frame.

  I have one of those... it can't work thru a whole mag without a problem and that's without the "special" treatment.   A shame, its a tiny little thing, kinda cool looking, but totally worthless.  More parts than fullsized guns ... probably part of the problem.

a few options...   you could just push them out, they should not go off if you do not use a lot of force.  You could shoot them as blanks, seems like a lot of trouble to me.   You could take the decapper out and see what happens...  if the necks are ok, this might work.   I would just push them out, though, they really should not go off but you will ruin most of them for reuse if they are tight.  If they pop out easily, you might save them.

I had my GB out but I can't begin to relate to your condition... I felt so much better after the surgery I never noticed the healing process;  it had been making me feel kind of bad all over without realizing it.    Glad you are on the mend, prayers sent.  

  Anyone coming here (this forum) probably does not need the "advice" ... agreed.   That does not mean that the retirees are not coming here to live off their millions (sell a home in some of the anti gun places, become instant millionaire) where cost of living is low ... they are.   And they vote.

  Or bought too far away to go get it (online purchase) and transferred to another dealer, and you could OPT in to run a person to person buy through a local dealer so the gun and buyer go through the system if you feel something is "off" and want the gun's serial checked.  LIke if I bought from a shop in Bristol online, it would just be easier to have it mailed in and pay a transfer on it. 

sportsmans warehouse has mid grade spotters and a variety of other telescopes for a variety of purposes.   Its not always with the gun stuff, some of that is in a special optics area with binocs & all kinds of other things.   If you have one in Nashville, I am guessing its likely without looking it up.   Be sure to get a good camera type tripod for it.   Being able to put it on the target and have it still be there when you look through it later is very useful.  Mine is almost as old as I am so I have no input on what is out there today.   Or you could just go overkill scope on the rifle and look at the holes with your gun :P -- only half kidding but you should be able to see the hole with your rifle's scope IMHO.  

 soft drinks are acidic and can clean metal pretty nicely.   But a switchblade might have some nooks that gluey sugary mess will clog up (just like wd40, which also becomes nasty after a bit).   Gas works for the first pass, if there is no plastic on it.   Kroil might get it loose inside.   But looking at it, it needs to come apart, get a detail cleaning with a wire brush ... probably a brush on a dremel...   if possible.    If not possible, chemistry might work but beware damage to the handle with harsh stuff.

  pretty much what they said... I would do it slowly, change address, let that get through the system, then buy it.  Saves any potential hassles that could be created if your address is still reading out of state to the system (which you can get fixed if you are in a hurry, but again, its a bit of a hassle).

Odds are slim that it will actually work after cleanup... but you never know.  As above... clean it up, see what you have.  If the spring survived and if the release and lock work, it might make it.

  a book might set your gun fund back $50 but in the long run, you might be better off.   The web has the info but if you are *serious* you will want it in a better format than hunt & peck.  Start on the wiki page and gunboards.  Then get a book recommendation there (I am no expert, I studied the one I own and only a touch of the others).  Then read it.  Time you do that, youll have the money saved up to go buy it.   There are a number of experts here too, of course.   The reason to hit the other site isn't the people (far from it, actually) but the historic threads upon threads on this topic ... you could read them for a month solid and still have stuff left. 

  The worst that can happen to a legal permit holder is an aggravation from having to show your HCP to the police, assuming you are behaving like a normal human being.   There is about a 99% chance no one will notice.   I make a game of looking for them when out and about for fun, but most people wouldn't notice if you were stark nekkid and on fire ... their head is jammed up a cell phone or they have the observation skills of a rock.   Given cell phone, tablets, and other whatzzits people stuff in their pockets or on their belts etc, no one notices, for real, hardly ever.   If you work at it, minor printing simply won't be detected.  It would take a massive gun totally outlined to catch the attention of the 1% that actually is looking around and observant.  And of that 1%... most are fellow carriers.

  physics works against you.  The smaller the gun, the shorter the internal level *can* be and the stouter the hammer spring must be.  And there is a minimal amount of force needed to pop a primer.  Add to it, the cylinder must also rotate, extra force for that small as it is.  Almost all small revolvers are going to have, at best, a moderate trigger pull that will be long and heavy.  MOST revolvers of ANY kind can have the "return" spring (this is the spring that pushes the trigger back to reset position when you let go of it) lightened significantly... many pistols have 5 or more pounds of wasted force tied up in compressing this spring.  Polish the parts, replace the spring with the lightest one that will work, and you will have a major improvement.  If that isn't enough you can often lighten the hammer spring, depends on the design and model.  This can lead to light strike problem if you take it too far.   All told you can get the trigger down to around 3-5 pounds over a huge travel distance (often over 1/2 an inch) for many models with just a spring replacement and touch up polishing (reduced friction, less return spring needed).   Bigger frames can get it even lower; wifes full size 357 is right at or below 3 pounds (and it light strikes on some primers set up like that, but its sweet to shoot using soft primer reloads).

sig 938 user here.  Hard to beat an easy to use trigger in a small package, thumb safety as requested, had no problems and Ive shot it a lot.  Moderate recoil, mostly due to thin frame vs hand with stout 9s it can get to you after a box or two at one go.   Two minor negatives... it can strip a round ejecting a loaded mag, and the grips really, really need a little locktite :)

If your gun is going off when holstered, you should replace it.   Your carry gun should only fire when the trigger is pulled.  A few guns can go off without this, those are not safe to carry and usually involve antiques, home-grown-gunsmithing, worn out weapons, or other similar things none of which are safe to carry loaded in any way whatsoever.     If you gun does not fire when holstered,  you should be fine no matter what part of your body (and everyone else's) it sweeps while being worn.  I pocket carry... when I sit down, the muzzle points at other people in some places.   Its almost impossible not to have the business end point at someone (include yourself) sometimes if you are moving around being a human.   Bend over too far IWB and there it  is, near horizontal to the ground... pointing at who knows what.  Life happens.   So that means it is your responsibility to ensure the gun can't fire when holstered and in its carry location on your body.   This means working it out... practice draw / fire / reholster.   Impact test it.  Unload it and prove to yourself that it is safe.  IMHO that should be done for every gun, every holster, every change in location, etc.    You gotta know its safe.