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Sometimes the ones you shoot the least are the treasures of the collection. The struggle is real.

So, I don't like making this argument, and I don't have time to do it this morning (because I'm too busy actually running a small business.) But, as someone who has filtered practically every business decision they've made in the last decade through healthcare, it is where we are right now. I'd be willing to make and support the argument that providing a basic medicare-type option for everyone would actually cost us less nationally - and be far outweighed by the economic benefit received than the system we have right now. I run a small business. I factor the decisions I make through insurance stuff. It weighs on every decision I make. I'm pretty privileged. I know folks push back against that word, but here's what I mean by it in this context. I have the support structures in place in my family and community to allow me to pursue this business without going into persistent, potentially generational poverty if I get something wrong. Everybody who has ever run a business knows you make some bad decisions every now and then. Mine are unlikely to put my children and grandchildren in poverty. I know a lot of us want to push back against this idea reflexively - because free stuff, socialism, whatever. Frankly, I'm in that camp, too. Or, at least I used to be. Here's the question I would ask you consider. How many people do you know who would love to start their own business - or would maybe like to change careers - or would like to leave that toxic workplace where they feel stuck - but don't because they need insurance? What economic opportunity are we missing out on because people with dreams stay somewhere making $14/hour instead of going out and pursuing their dreams, creating jobs, and making the economic pie much larger? Empire is hard, and late stage capitalism pretty much demands that companies take all the money off the table they can. Our broken system is running as it's intended. The problems are architectural in nature - even if you forget the ethical piece. This is a case where market solutions can maybe slow the bleeding, but they're not going to fix the problem. The empire is simply too big, and the companies in the space don't have our interests at heart - they have their shareholders to report to every 12 weeks. Like I say, I don't necessarily like making the argument, but it's squarely where I am now.

This is why I enjoy building them, especially the weird and different ones. It's just exciting pull the trigger for the first time on something you've machined, welded, formed, etc wondering if it's going to work or if you have to go back to the drawing board.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/07/19/armys-new-machine-gun-will-blast-like-battle-tanks.html The Army’s new weapon will look like a light machine gun, but will put M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank-style blasting power literally at the fingertips of U.S. soldiers. The new light machine gun will weigh less — and yet shoot farther. It should make U.S. soldiers even more lethal and enhance their speed and mobility while improving their safety in future combat. he Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle (NGSAR) may replace about 80,000 SAWs (the M249 squad automatic weapon). The well-known and loved M249 SAWs were already beasts — now the Army’s light machine gun is going to get even more powerful. Armed with the NGSARs, soldiers will have the confidence of knowing the new weapon can be relied on for stopping power against sophisticated adversaries who arrive to fight in advanced body armor. The aim is for the NGSARs to fire bullets at pressure levels similar to those achieved by tanks when they fire. Rounds will smash through advanced adversary body armor even at a distance, allowing soldiers to accurately shoot while maintaining a safe distance from the threat whenever possible. Read more.

No matter if he had a HCP or not, got to use common sense.

I mix pecan, apple, and cherry in equal parts soak overnight. My brother gave me some pork rub, but it’s not necessary. I tried something new new the other day, i smoked a LB of fresh pork sausage. Now that was some kinda good.

Have you tried something besides shooting cans in the creek? Try practical pistol shooting, USPSA and or IDPA. Great bunch of people you're shooting with and it's like plinking with a lot of others. That's where I went when I got to the point you are. That was about 17 years ago. Have been having a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, got a lot better with a gun too.

Really?

I have full confidence that if elected Blackburn will do nothing to address the spiraling cost of health care and the tragedy of the opioid problem. She has already proven that by siding with pharmaceuticals on the latter.

I don't shoot much anymore. It's part laziness and part lack of free time. I also have two safes full plus several stashed about. I really don't have the room nor a sane reason to buy much more. You get tired of anything if you do it enough. To tell the truth, I don't find much enjoyment in anything anymore. I guess it's part of getting older.

Or if it’s going to blow up, lol.

There is a reason many places don't want a voter ID law, and it isn't because they can't afford a free ID, or can't get a ride to get one (they go everywhere else).

Yep, perfect example here. When I lost my UTK gig in 97, I had to seek my own policy for 18 years, which was in short an expensive nightmare. Just before I became an Official Geezer, was paying about 7 K a year for what amounted to essentially a "catastrophic policy". About all it did was get me the "insurance price" on services as opposed to "street price". Total out of pocket NOT including premiums was around 10K. That means that most anything of any significance would cost me 10 thousand bux, and I'd better get it all done in the same calendar year or it could be that much more again if treatment spanned to the next. So my example, had a bum left elbow. Broke and dislocated it when I was a kid, did same again in my late 40's (and just before I lost the primo insurance). Then when 63 or 64, really bad dislocation while on an urban trek after a pratfall on a muddy sidewalk. So it just bugged the hell out of me through those years, would pop out of joint doing the oddest things, etc. Worse, had to compensate for it in golf, so basically became a bogey golfer instead of single digit handicap. Heck, through all the years even a MIR would have cost me well over a grand, with operation in the 25 grand range or more. (needed the Tommy Johns surgery) So finally on Medicare, had MRI done, 75 whole bucks! And the operation would have been around 300 bux! But ya know what, the surgeon talked me out of it. Said would be happy to do it and could tighten it up good as new, but the odds were that it would cause chronic pain, as arthritis had set in to the point that things would rub and stay somewhat inflamed and whatever. Fact that it was "loose" was reason that even though unstable, it didn't hurt. Said basically I had waited too long to have it fixed. I know there are a ton of examples like this, where folks forgo quality of life on non life threatening issues just due to high cost of the insurance, high deductible, and high out of pocket. And ducking some potentially life saving tests, like colonoscopies and whatnot. - OS

Bottom line is all officers went home with the same holes they started their shift with and two worthless thugs are off the street. I'm good.

Walther has recently put this pistol on the market. I've had a hankering for this since David posted about it some months ago on Shooters Nation. The RMSc is a compact version of the Shield used on larger pistols. Walther mills the slide at the factory, comes complete with RMSc mounted, plus a plate to use if you need to remove the sight. Your standard iron sights will co-witness with the RMSc installed. The PPS M2 RMSc is the same pistol as the PPS M2. MSRP is $699, tho you can get it a few $$ less from a dealer. My problem is, haven't been able thus far to lay my hands on one. I want to see if this will work for me. My old eyes aren't what they used to be, as far as focusing on iron sights. Possibly the red dot will help, maybe not. Reviews on the Walther forum from those who have bought one, really like it. We'll see,......if I can get my paws on one for a few.

Let's hear some recipes please.

Well, she has at least one felon.

Sorry, no mouthwatering recipes, but Happy Birthday anyway.

Biggest thing is watch your temp. Low and slow is the way to go

I also like to do smoked pork belly burnt ends. Remove the skin. Score it just through the fat layer in inch squares. Use a good rub of your choice. I like to smoke up to 203F. Then I’ll pull it and let it rest. While doing that, I’ll open up the air on the smoker and bring the temperature up to around 400F. About 30 minutes before serving, I’ll cut it into inch squares, toss it in a sauce and put it back on the grill to caramelize the sauce. It probably needs a surgeon general’s warning. I did a 22lbs belly in the 4th that was gone in about 20 minutes

Brisket West Texas style: Trim hard fat. Rub half and half with salt and pepper. Smoke around 225-250. Use a water pan. I like to pull it out of the smoke around 4 hours and wrap it in parchment. Expect it to stall for while. A bigger brisket might stall around 160 and again around 185. I usually pull mine around 203. I let it rest in a cooler for a couple of hours. That’s important. If you’re on YouTube, Aaron Franklin is the master.

I've got plates that I shoot at in the back. Dry firing after dark. The only match I go to is at ORSA in Oak Ridge once a month. There are other clubs that hold combat matches, I just don't want to travel any farther. Having a belly full of ulcers from being special layout in a sheet metal shop made me sit back and think of what it would take to settle me down. I started wondering which side of the grass I was going to wake up on.

Cover meat in spices and cook long time over low heat.

I use the DeSantis Super Fly on my LCP the shape looks like a wallet when it is in your pocket. The square part is Velcroed on if you want it smaller. I think I spent around $30 for mine so shop around. https://www.desantisholster.com/super-fly/

Is she hot? Asking for a friend.

I have the same problem. Since GGC closed up, I don't have a good place to go any more. I squeezed off a few rounds back in May at GnL Hendersonville, but I just don't enjoy indoor ranges as much as outdoor.

I use to shoot every week but that was because BT was going to the range so I had someone to go with. Since he has passed away and the range we use to use closed down I just can't get motivated to go any more. I keep telling myself I need to go just to stay crisp. I did put a range briefcase together a few days ago so I might go burn some powder at a buddy house one day next week. He has a range in his back yard and I think he said he will be home all next week and he said he also needs to shoot some. It's a little road trip but will be nice seeing him again anyway.

Correct, Sir. I just posted in the thread on auto calibers in revolvers, and several of my really nice(to me) guns are in that catagory. I don't have anything of a really high value, that I'm aware of anyway. I buy very few as "investments." My tastes are eclectic to borderline bizarre, but I only have a few that were truly a mistake to purchase. The little Walther PK380 probably is number one on the current mistake list. Anyway, my "treasures" are Dad's guns, and some I just wanted. I have a few goodies. lol Not bad for an old fart who started out buying Taurus from shop guys when I was a parts seller.

You have no idea. This is just a fraction of the phones I have. A lot. We always have to buy the newest phones when they come out for test devices. We never do service contracts so we have to buy them at full retail. I spent a little over 2K just this week buying 4 phone versions we didn't have. It never ends. Just a cost of doing business.

How many thousands of dollars does that represent?

You buy a lot of phones...

I find myself shooting less and less as well. Most of my money is being diverted to other hobbies/projects etc. There are a ton of guns I would love to buy but I had the realization that it will just be another object in my safe that only gets shot once or twice a year.

I'm sure there's probably places where that happens, but I worked the polls for 12 years and in that time both parties had control at one time or another. It was always my pleasure to work with honest hardworking folks at every election.

I think it's just the deluge of smaller EDC firearms have left some of us a bit jaded. Twenty years ago if you wanted a small EDC, you had only a couple of choices... the KelTec P11 in 9mm and the KelTec P-32 in 32 auto. Since then, every manufacturer has started making smaller, single stack, easily concealable firearms. It was exciting for a while, but now I'm a bit burned out, too.

That's quite the contradiction there Donald.

A few years ago I bought a Remington Model 11 (16 gauge) from an older fellow who claimed he didn't hunt anymore. Since he didn't need the shotgun he decided to sell it. Th shotgun looked very nice, like it had been carried and used only very little. When I removed the forend to start the clean and lube process I got a very nice surprise. The factory paper bearing the instructions on how to position the steel and bronze friction rings for various loads was still attached to the forend. That paper was crisp and the printing was sharp and legible. This was the only time I have ever found that document inside a Remington #11.

The healthcare market has been severely distorted by the dual controlling interests and government regulation. Right now there are very few actual healthcare consumers. There are a lot of healthcare users, but no consumers. The user has been divorced from the payer in the market. This creates an excessive demand on providers and no reason to acts as competitors and striving to increase service while decreasing prices. It’s not so much a marketplace as a model for wealth extraction. If you want to bring health back to the healthcare market, you have to make users into consumers.

You and I believe in the same economic theory in principle. The problem is the system that we have in practice - and where we've got the political capital to go. For all their free market talk, if you look at the healthcare lobby's spending - the GOP takes the bulk of the payoffs/campaign contributions from the industry. They're the ones benefiting the most from keeping the current system broken. All of this is fun to talk about. The sad part is that the system is still broken and likely to remain that way.

Et Tu, Brute'?

This is an odd thread. I'd nearly think it wasn't serious but by all accounts you seem serious. It seems the simple thing to do, if you wish, is simply pickup the phone and call the local non emergency number for the police. Tell them you'd like to report suspected theft, drug use, and felony possession of firearms. I guarantee you that if they aren't who you should talk to, they will very quickly transfer you to that person... All in all...be careful.Personally, posting about it on a public forum in my opinion isn't the best thing to do.

And, that should be a criminal offense.

I think the problem is that members often post an ad - and then just disappear for a while. I wish there was an easy way for us to do this. We used to expire ads after 30 days. It kept things clean - but made it hard to go back and research price history.

They do the same thing at the VA.

I kind of like Trump's agenda myself !!!!!

He had a lot going on and the trouble he had in changing the mag was understandable. Been there done that .

I agree completely. I do not recall the last time i voted "for" a presidential candidate.

Marsha!! According to an article in the Tennessean, Bredesen was "recruited" by Chuck Shumer. Not good.

Just 3 words Practice, Practice, Practice With enough you can hit at 30 yards with a pistol. Caliber is your pick, I carry a 40 S&W Glock when I am out on my place.

What kind of accuracy are you looking for? Pocket pistols, subcompacts, .380’s, are not target pistols and 30 yards is not self-defense range. With practice you can hit something at that range with a Mustang but it would be luck. There is no one size fits all pistol. Range and accuracy is going to mean a faster bulllet, 9mm minimum (but .380 is just fine for self defense) and bigger gun. The market is flooded with sub-compact 9’s.

Here's my take on this: The notion that firearms related "flair" on your car increase the odds of it being broken into, seems to have been around on the Internet since the first gun forum opened its doors. I've searched the Internet for actual cases where police reported that there was a direct correlation between a car being broken into and the gun stickers on the outside of it, and could only find a few cases where it was suspected. I've been able to find far more cases where cars were broken into because of the car-audio related stickers on the outside. This seems to be one of those commonly held truisms that are rooted more in feasibility than actuality. Sort of like the idea that if you open carry into a convenience store, you're the first guy a robber is going to shoot when he comes in to hold the place up. Could that happen? Sure. But my own experience has been that while open carry is dumb for a variety of other reasons, the majority of folks are so preoccupied with themselves that they rarely notice you. And I've seen enough surveillance footage to believe that stick-up artists are so nervous and focused on the clerk behind the counter that they're probably not paying too much attention to the guy with the 1911 on his hip at the back of the store browsing the beer cooler.