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Several years ago I made a homemade bullet trap for use with my air rifle in the backyard. I was not making videos at the time. Now that I am, figured I would make one of the trap and share the info.

From a first responder standpoint, there are a lot of lessons to be learned here from the emergency management / planning side of things. It's actually surprising to see these issues pop up now, given that this isn't our first rodeo with pandemics. Things like not relying on "just in time" logistics model for mission critical items (such as masks), considering it's obvious even to the layperson that this sort of approach doesn't hold up if there is a sudden surge in demand, a sudden collapse in the supply chain, or in this case, both. It was never meant to. It's in the interest of national security not only to maintain a sufficient stockpile of these items, but also maintain the capability to rapidly ramp up production domestically so that if our main supply route from China is no longer available, we are fully equipped to deal with a pandemic with organic assets, including surges even more significant than what we're seeing with COVID-19. Where we do have domestic production, we find ourselves sorely lacking in the manpower and facilities to meet anything beyond predicted levels of demand. Single points of failure are not uncommon -- 85% of all the worlds IV bags are manufactured in a single facility in Puerto Rico, and severe shortages occurred after Hurricane Maria. There are also additional downstream effects -- prescription drugs that we developed that may have nothing to do with this (ie, blood pressure medication, medication for those with end stage renal disease, etc) are often made in China and India to save money, and we're seeing a shortage in those active ingredients. Healthcare providers will often not simply write you an extra months prescription so you can "shelter in place" / "self quarantine" because they're more worried about you selling your drugs on the street than hardening our ability to deal with unexpected situations (including natural disasters and pandemics). With the flu season being as bad as it has been, a lot of people have already used up their sick days and there is no "national crisis" exception protecting workers from punishment in case of a pandemic on top of that. Companies are telling people they can no longer call out sick, and considering most Americans live paycheck to paycheck they can't afford to anyway. Simultaneously they are not permitted to wear a mask themselves because of dress codes and the companies desire to maintain a professional face to the customer. Coronavirus may not be that deadly to the general population, but experience in Italy has shown that the vulnerable demographics can and will still overwhelm our ability to respond to them, with the result being hospital staffing shortages, delay of routine care that would ordinarily happen in the absence of the pandemic (surgeries, cancer treatments, etc) to repurpose those assets towards expanding ICU capability and staffing. In the end, this means mortality rates that would normally be pretty low because we're able to provide focused care to those who are especially vulnerable are instead significantly higher than they ostensibly should be because we're simply don't have the assets to give everyone that same level of care we're used to when the resources aren't saturated. Some of the anecdotes coming out of there are, conservatively put, unpleasant for both the populace and provider (ie, people arresting in ICU with no interventions made) Social Media is, of course, polarizing as it is with all things. "It's the end of the world", or "it's nothing at all to be concerned with"... and like most things the truth is somewhere in the middle, and depends on your perspective. Losing a loved one can certainly feel like the end of the world, and it's cold comfort to console them with the statistics that it wasn't very likely. The economic repercussions to the global economy stemming from a single person eating a single bat on the other side of the world turns out to be immeasurable and yet to even be fully realized. Our response to this butterfly effect, a tragedy of the commons. Perhaps ameliorated if we were all on the same page, but when have we ever been? The mainstream media is no help, they've long since dropped any veneer of being unbiased and left journalistic integrity by the wayside, sacrificed at the alter of clicks, views and ad revenue so they of course continue to sensationalize everything. I'm not as upset by that I suppose because that's what I've come to expect from them, and I'd prefer too much noise to too little signal, with the recognition that we as citizens should be equipped with the judgement and experience to be able to pick the useful bits out of the din where we can. So in a broader sense, it's not Coronavirus itself, it's what it represents and the illumination it's provided on some serious cracks in our ability to effectively to respond to natural disasters, including pandemics. Upon discovering these issues I can't help but get a sense of incredulousness. Are you kidding me? Many of them are entirely preventable and were simply policy choices. To find out with trillions spent this sort of thing has been going on decades, spanning administrations.... It's common sense to even the layperson, even if just in principle, that this is not the correct approach, and it was only a matter of time until these problems were revealed, if not through corona virus than something else. There are far too many people earning a comfortable GS10 and above salary throughout Government, the CDC, FEMA, DHS for this to be a thing. Yet here we are. We've all heard "when seconds count, police are only minutes away", and I often tell people that despite our best efforts, first responders cannot be everywhere at once and so as a sovereign individual you share at least some of the responsibility for your own well being until help can arrive. Even for those who espouse the state over the individual this is the case to at least some degree, yet the very thought is met with by gawking by those who has come to be utterly dependent on the state. This experience has only reinforced my understanding that the Government, even if well intentioned, is not a monolith acting as a single entity... it's instead a big ship to steer, and getting anything done through the bureaucracy can be a real challenge, with these delays measured in lives. Penny wise and pound foolish, hundreds of millions to tens of billions in expanding and hardening domestic infrastructure for surety sake is significantly cheaper than the hundreds of billions in economic impacts that failing to do so can bring, especially considering deadly pandemics have always been a matter of when, not if. Here's a recent thread from events in Italy: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1237142891077697538.html

One thing is certain. If the country does go on some sort of house arrest/lock down, there will be a ton of babies born in 9 months.

It kills me that I can't talk about my job here. When I say y'all should take this more seriously than some of you are....

I’d be thrilled to have anyone tell me I was wrong 2 weeks from now. Just do me a favor and make sure you’ve got a little bit of extra food in your pantry for when you’re right.

The NBA has just suspended its season because a player tested positive. If a grinding halt to a business with annual revenues in the billions doesn't make you think it's getting real out there and about to get worse, I don't know what will.

NBA just suspended its season after Rudy Gomert tested positive. Trump announced travel ban from Europe for 30 days. The average American may begin to take this more seriously. I’d avoid checking your 401k, but I expect we’re going to see circuit breakers tripped in the markets tomorrow.

Let's just say that I know a guy who works for an international medical company with an incredibly large workforce. They don't scare easily when healthcare topics come up, and they certainly don't spend capital budget frivolously. Because of their relationships with various tech giants, they manged to purchase and receive equipment within the last 10-days that normally takes 30+ days to obtain. It wasn't cheap and it's being used to expand their remote work capabilities far beyond what they previously were, and they were previously very adequate. Logical people might draw logical conclusions about our assessment of things. I mean their.

Here's something else to consider for folks that aren't inclined to think about the strict medical side of all this...how many folks can your work lose to sick days or quarantine before the organization becomes ineffective? The answer is probably well less than 100%. I'm sure not all of us are blessed with a work from home capacity, especially in manufacturing, retail, customer services, and other fields. Really, unless your job can be done on a personal computer or work laptop from home, this could impact you without you ever getting sick by forcing your job to enact unpaid furloughs, or having some service you rely on enact measures that restrict your day to day lives. Just a thought.

People have been saying that since they started pulling guns and ammo from stores long before the “assault rifle” hysteria. They may take small, temporary hit in value, but will end up thriving as the article clearly states based on past history. There are a whole lot more parents buying sports crap for their kids than guys buying overpriced “hunting” stuff.

How many folks here actually know someone who is sick with this virus? How many knew someone with SARS, Bird Flu or any of the others from the last 20 years? I do believe the media and others are making more of this than there is. Some countries are going to have more cases and more deaths do to how they act and react to the virus. Cases are going to be under reported as I believe it is in all situations like this. What is the effective treatment and does everyone with the virus get it? What affect has it had on your basic life style? If it is as bad or worse than some believe then what are your plans to stay safe and alive? I do believe it will pass as others have but to what extent will the deaths and damage be? Right now, I believe, it is being blown out of proportion and used for political and monetary reasons, and possible other reasons.

I have two, one in tan and one in black. I've have had them for years and they show no signs of wearing out. I got out to the end of them, but I’ve lost 20 pounds; only 30 more to go.

The World Health Organization has just classified this outbreak as a pandemic: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020 13-fold increase in the last two weeks in cases outside of China. 118,000 documented case. 4,291 lost lives so far. I'm sure some of you will discount the WHO for whatever reason they don't always reflect your political worldview. Fine. But, read this as the warning light on the panel going red. Some of y'all have tens of thousands of rounds set aside for a proverbial zombie apocalypse or whatever. Don't discount this. Take the time now - while it's feasible to make sure you're squared away for a few days/weeks. Check on people close to you. As a person of faith - this is a great time to really think about, "who is my neighbor?"

Since we've been battling the flu around our office for a few weeks before Coronamania, my job has already told people to work from home if symptoms of any kind manifest. The medical practice I work with is already coming up with contingency plans of how to keep essential services we provide going while just hitting pause on routine outpatient ones. Every shopping trip I'm buying a few more cans of soup and Dinty Moore to stock the cabinet. Since it's just me alone in my apartment, I don't need the absurd amount of toilet paper you're seeing folks leave Costco with. I'm not worried for myself. I figure if I get sick, I'll have some bad days, but it'll be over along the reported timeline. I do worry about my father. He's in his early 70s, and as a lifelong smoker, has a bit of a higher risk profile. As with any disease that spreads fast, the elderly will be hit hardest. I'm amazed that hand sanitizer is flying off the shelves while bars of soap are pretty much fully stocked. Our society has gotten quite lazy at the most basic of things.

I guess I am a bad person as I just don't care about this at all. Seems to me all of the impact is caused by proliferation of the apparent societal desire that only the worst possible outcomes will happen regardless of reality. Is it contagious, sure. Is it deadly to a few, yes. Is it going to stop the world as we know it, of course not. It's simply a self fulfilling prophecy which is being exacerbated by the media looking for the most sensational story possible. If this was 30 years ago we probably wouldn't have heard about it and probably would have been better off.

The real impact of this disease isn't physical, its economic. People are told not to go to work, others are afraid to go anyplace that could be crowded. Companies are losing productivity. Stores have difficulty restocking needed goods. There is a manpower shortage. People are neither making or spending money. They're just sitting at home, wringing their hands and waiting for this to blow over. Getting sick is just the tip of this iceberg.

Training your wife. That's the funniest thing I've heard in weeks!!! wait, is this the joke thread? Seriously though... in my experience, the best person to train your wife is someone else.

Does anyone think the number of people diagnosed is remotely accurate? A large number of those who have been confirmed to have the virus have reported relatively minor symptoms. What percentage of people who get a cold that's treatable with OTC meds see a doctor at all? I don't go to my doctor unless I've been miserable for at least a week. I'd presume I'm in the majority there. That leads me to believe that it's way more widespread than is being reported. Which also means the death rate isn't nearly as high as currently stated.

Scratched an itch I’ve had for a long time. I’ve loved these pistols since their inception.

I work in transportation. My customer is a manufacturer that makes toilet paper, hand sanitizer, baby wipes etc. We're already seeing major disruptions and they are running low on inventory. My industry alone has the power to bring this country to its knees. If even 1/5 of truck drivers get scared enough to stop coming into work it's gonna hurt. I know for a fact that J.B Hunt, Swift, Werner and few others are already working on contingency plans for sending employees home. My friend at Hub Group said they are making sure employees have VPN access. I've largely tried to downplay this virus but I'm now thinking that things are about to get interesting. I went out today and filled up gas cans and bought essentials.

As of now, they are relatively fine. No serious symptoms. But since some of the data is possibly indicating that the 50-60 age group is more susceptible, it is a watch and wait situation.

I am in for one.

Actually you are correct. The doctor was an optometrist who saw my wife after she had a stroke. I asked her to tell them she wouldn't be back for a follow up due to the sign. Unfortunately she just decided she would not go back. The fact is she doesn't need to go back in a year.

9 PM for the ET folks.

I want to like these. But I just can’t get into the whole “pistol round in a rifle” mindset. If I have something as big as a rifle for a “vehicle” gun; I want it to be in a rifle caliber. I already have .22 rifles for plinking. But as long as you guys enjoy shooting them; that’s all that counts.

Put me down for one.

This issue has been discussed here many times. There are those that believe if they acted legally they can’t be sued. I’m not an attorney and don’t play one on TV, but I don’t believe that is true. So, let’s look at the actual law… I don’t see any immunity from civil action. What I see is immunity from liability, and a clause that allows for a judgement for compensation of attorney fees, etc. after justification has been determined. While that is better than nothing; a judgement against someone that doesn’t have the ability to pay, really means nothing. You are still stuck paying the bills. I have always thought that should be changed and if the Judge determines that the attorney that filed the case knew, or should have known, the force was justified; they could be held liable as well. Of course, with attorneys making the laws, I doubt that will ever happen.

IF you case is adjudicated in your favor, then yes there is a law where a civil case cannot be filed. BAC not only is '0', simple act of taking a sip, or even on breath can march you down the path of possession of a firearm while consuming alcohol. If one has used deadly force in a legitimate fashion, then other laws that may have been broken are waived by the state. (ie, possession by a felon, sign laws, etc.) Don't have the citations at the tip of my fingers but noted in the law for each point.

Exactly what I've been telling friends/family, starting a month or so past. Don't panic but do be prepared. There will be those who panic and that will have supply/economic impact. And of course the MSM stokes the fire. On the local news today it was reported that over 50K hotel reservations in Nashville have been cancelled. Along with other factors, that's a $25M loss in revenue. The economic ripple of this virus will be felt. I'm not a world-will-end prepper but I do prepare in the same manner that I buy insurance, own fire-extinguishers and sensors, and CC everywhere I can.

I haven’t seen the online course, but… There is no law that would make you “immune from civil litigation” in so far as not having to get an attorney. You could be immune, but to the best of my knowledge that would require the DA saying you were justified (highly unlikely) or a ruling by a judge. I doubt the fact that you haven’t been charged will suffice. Also, without going back and reading it, I think it allows for a judgement against the person filing it (For attorney fees etc.). Good luck collecting that. Going by the BAC limits for driving a car is wishful thinking on some people’s part. There is no BAC limit stated in laws involving liquor or guns. If the DA decides you are justified in using deadly force; they won’t charge you with weapons charges. The course doesn’t talk about reciprocity because that’s up to the state you are in, not Tennessee. However, keep in mind in discussing all these questions; every case is handled on its details.

Don’t mess with mama bear’s cubs.

Too many questions, and I am sure there are more from yourself and others. That is why the CC permit is a terrible idea/product.

My wife just tells me my opinions......

I hope those of you who think this is just media hype are right. The graph that MacGyver posted isn't selling anything or trying to prop up Nielsen ratings, so you might want to consider that as well. While the media has seized this as the latest thing to connect eyeballs to advertising dollars, don't let that cloud your ability to think rationally and consider the way this virus is spreading exponentially. And even if the people who are most vulnerable are the aged and the infirm, the fear that is swirling around it is capable of crippling economies and already has done exactly that in other countries. In a few weeks, it would be great if we could look back at this and laugh about how wrong the believers were. In the meantime, I'd be making sure I had food, water, essential medicines, and other necessities required to be confined to my house for 2-3 weeks. I'd also be making sure my vehicle(s) had full tanks of gas so that if the petroleum supply chain is interrupted by a labor shortage, I still had fuel to get to wherever I might need to go in an emergency. Postscript note... I wish I could type more but I'm still on the clock from 0700HRS, making very unprecedented preparations for a company that doesn't spook easily when it comes to healthcare topics.

Someone else and preferably another woman who can understand her wants and needs for training and give her some reasons for training.

DING, DING, DING, we have a winner here!!!

Okay, we can shut this thread down, went to eyeball the boat and not what I was looking for. MacGyver there will be no pics, I didn't post pics of the guns lost in the previous boating accident either. Thanks guys, nothing to see here, keep on walking.

I completely believe the current number of infected or post infected (recovered) is easily an order of magnitude or more higher than the 120000ish cases reported. If the number is 1,200,000 that makes the “mortality rate” drop from ~3% to ~0.3%. Now, the older population is still more venerable to more serious complications than the average person. WASH YOUR HANDS!!!!!

I got my belt muddy yesterday and while cleaning it I realized I have never treated it with anything. It is at round ten years old I would guess and has a lot of scratches and scruffs. I put some mink oil on it and it still looks good.

A g19 "clone" for $349 with suppressor sights, threaded barrel, and optic cuts would be a pretty tough option to dismiss. I will wait and see what kind of reliability these things have but I know their ARs and AKs have been doing well out in the world.

Saturday, December 21, 2019 PayPal has acknowledged that we have discovered a new bug in their payment system related to automatically renewing subscriptions. They are working to resolve the problem and do not anticipate that we, or you, will be required to take any action to correct it. Here's what you need to know: This bug began affecting us toward the end of November and has continued since. It only affects those members who have chosen to establish a "Billing Agreement" with us through PayPal. It does not affect anyone who uses Stripe to pay, or uses a non-recurring PayPal purchase. As soon as PayPal lets me know that it is fixed, I will update this post and remove most of it so that people aren't confused. UNTIL THEN... If you notice that your subscription renewed on PayPal but did not renew here, let me know via a Private Message. Include the date on which your PayPal transaction occurred, if you know. If you don't, no worries - I can find it, it just takes a bit longer. Please give me a few days to get your account squared away manually. I am trying to check TGO daily until they get this fixed, but it may be slower during the holidays. Thanks for your patience! --David

G19X x OMG9K Space Force

QUESTION: I already have an active Benefactor membership. Can I upgrade for the difference in cost? ANSWER: YES! Absolutely. The forum software will give you credit for your existing Benefactor membership and only charge you an "upgrade" fee. :) Here's how to do it... At the top right of the screen click your name and then select the option for Client Area from the drop down menu. This will take you to the Store's client menu. Once at the Client Menu, click on the Purchases tab along the left-hand side of the screen. On the right-hand side of the screen you will see your active purchases. Click on the active purchase that you want to upgrade. In this example it's a 1-Year premium membership. Once you are viewing the active purchase, on the right-hand side of the screen will be several buttons. One of them is marked Change Package. Click it. You will now be shown a screen that has a list of packages (there may only be one, as in this case) that you can upgrade to. If you had a 6-month package, it would show you both the 1-Year and the Lifetime packages as options that you could choose. Select the radio button next to the option you want to upgrade to, and then click the Change To Selected Package button at the bottom of the screen. You can now proceed to the checkout. Once there, you should see that the cost of purchasing the new package reflects an "Upgrade" which only charges the difference between what you already had and what you're wanting to upgrade to. In this case the cost for the Lifetime membership has been reduced, taking into consideration the $35.00 1-Year option that the member already had. That's all there is to it. Sadly the process isn't as straight forward as I would have preferred but it's just the logic that the software follows when doing an upgrade. :)

KA4LB6c by Johnny Rotten, on Flickr

I’m going to hide the above post. I was hoping this thread wouldn’t go straight to conspiracy theory - simply because it will distract from needed focus to respond and prepare adequately. It’s worth noting that the Wuhan Institute was the first to identify and upload the DNA of the virus last year for public study. And, the Financial Times has published peer reviewed epidemiology studies showing no genetic mutations - meaning the strains of this virus have evolved naturally and have not been modified/weaponized in a lab.