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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/citing-support-for-the-second-amendment-smith-wesson-will-move-its-headquarters-from-mass-to-tennessee/ar-AAP0cV3?ocid=uxbndlbing Smith & Wesson, which has been based in Springfield since 1852, announced on Thursday it will move its headquarters to Maryville, Tennessee in 2023, citing an unfavorable business environment in Massachusetts. “This has been an extremely difficult and emotional decision for us, but after an exhaustive and thorough analysis, for the continued health and strength of our iconic company, we feel that we have been left with no other alternative,” said Mark Smith, president and chief executive officer of the firearms manufacturer. The company said the decision stemmed from “legislation recently proposed in Mass. that, if enacted, would prohibit the company from manufacturing certain firearms in the state.” Those products, Smith said, made up more than 60 percent of the company’s revenue last year. The move will relocate 750 jobs to Maryville, Tennessee, a location picked in part because of “support for the 2nd Amendment,” cost of living for employees, and access to higher education institutions. “The strong support we have received from the State of Tennessee and the entire leadership of Blount County throughout this process, combined with the quality of life, outdoor lifestyle, and low cost of living in the Greater Knoxville area has left no doubt that Tennessee is the ideal location for Smith & Wesson’s new headquarters,” Smith said. As part of the move and consolidation, Smith & Wesson said it would close its facilities in Connecticut and Missouri. The company said the move will begin in 2023 and “not have an impact on employees’ jobs until then.”

I retired today. I've never not had someplace to be tomorrow. How did you make this transition?

I am an accumulator of Smith & Wessons. I say accumulator rather than collector simply because I can't afford collector grade guns. The guns I buy may have worn finishes, been refinished, modified in some way or otherwise imperfect. But they are still very serviceable and good examples of their particular model. I buy shooter grade guns and I do shoot them. Granted, some may sit in the safe for a couple years between being fired, but I do shoot everything I own. Ain't no safe queens in my house. I also tend to focus on a particular type or model. I find one that's interesting and begin a search for every barrel length or variation of it just to have a full set. I have several of these searches going at any given time. I dearly love the .44 Special cartridge and the guns that use it. I also love the early Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector revolvers. My goal was to get one of each of the named models made before S&W started using model numbers in 1957-58. Yesterday I completed this quest. Top left: S&W .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model. AKA the New Century Model, The Military Model of 1908 but most commonly referred to a the Triple Lock due to its unique third cylinder locking point in the crane. This is the only S&W to ever use this system. Factory letter states the gun was shipped May 21, 1910 to Birmingham Arms & Hardware Co., Birmingham, Alabama. Top right: .44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model: S&W eliminated the ejector rod shroud and the third cylinder locking point. Factory letter shows gun was shipped January 22, 1924 to Police Department, Joplin MO. Middle left: .44 Hand Ejector 3rd Model (prewar). Made in 1930. AKA Model of 1926 or the Wolf & Klar Model. At the request of large gun dealer Wolf & Klar in Ft. Worth, TX , the ejector rod shroud was brought back. Note: the 2nd & 3rd Models were produced simultaneously up until 1940. Middle right: .44 Hand Ejector 3rd Model (post war Transitional) aka the Model of 1926 Military. This new version of the 3rd Model now featured a passive hammer block safety, Magna style stocks and the "S" prefix in the serial number. Factory letter states this gun was shipped July 22, 1946 to George Lawrence Co. Portland Oregon ordered for John H. Young, Portland Police Dept. Bottom: .44 Hand Ejector 4th Model aka Model of 1950 .44 Military. Made in 1955. Just an updated version of the previous model with a few engineering changes. Later to become the Model 21 in 1957 when model numbers were assigned and continued in production until `1966. Now on to my next quest!

I retired from the military after 26 years. I've been all over the world and thought I'd miss it. Not!!! Then went to work as an interior trim carpenter and after 6 years ending up with my own company. I made a boat load of money but the 12 hour days 7 days a week nearly killed me...literally. A quad bypass convinced me to sell it and get out. By this time the missus got transferred to Arizona and I packed my stuff, left the house for the kids to maintain and went with her. We had an awesome 5 years in the southwest. Upon returning to TN I decided with what time I may have left I was going to lead a stress free life. I watched a YouTube video one day about knife making and thought "I'll bet I could do that". The rest is history. All this said my wife is my best friend and has been for 35 years....and I've had some totally awesome friends. If you're fortunate to have one that supports you you're half way home. The key is stay busy doing something. A hobby or something you have always wanted to do. Keep your mind and imagination going...just know when it's time to pack it in for the day and relax. Don't make it a second job. Don't be afraid to stop what your doing at the moment and have a beer or cup of coffee. Whatever you were doing will be there when you're finished. God bless you and wish you all the best with your new beginning...whatever it may be. It's not that hard really...if I can be happy retired anyone can...trust me.

They're moving HQ and their Massachusetts assembly plant here. This is a major slap at Massachusetts for proposing to ban manufacture of ARs. Also selling their Columbia, MO distribution site and relocating it to TN. Happy day, Whisper

Just announced! Smith & Wesson is moving their Headquarters to Marysville! Let's hope they start moving their manufacteuring here as well. https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2021/09/30/smith-wesson-moving-hq-from-massachusetts-to-tennessee-n50440

Growing up my dad always said when he retired, he would get a job a a small nursery selling plants and flowers because he loves to garden. Instead he got his Master Gardner’s certification and built a large vegetable garden to support a retirement and Alzheimer’s center. Then he got into bees to help the garden, and then got me into bees. He is almost 82 now and still trucking along.

And you make hella-good knives.

My oldest turned 18 today. We adopted 3 several years back. They are now 9, 10, and 11. The three young ones are all considered special needs. One is 100% dependent on us and meds. The youngest is probably around 60% normal. The 11 year old is 85% normal. My Wife and I have been out together alone 5 times in the last 8 years. Trust me brother....your doing well. Make dates with your Wife. Hug her every day. Make that time. It's okay if you want to leave the kid with someone every once and a while so you can go out. Make sure your kids know you love their mother. That's important.

While I am not retired, I do have a yard that needs mowing, wood that needs splittin and a few other things that you can do.

Just hope you don't wind up like a friend of mine who's partner said, "I married you for better or worse, not for lunch. Go find something to do." Congrats! That's a big deal. We're it me, I'd take some time to truly to enjoy it. Then if I were in your shoes, I think I would look at it in terms of, "I'm financially secure, healthy, and my kids are more or less out of the house. I'm also in the prime of my life. What is it that I want to involve myself in next?" You've got options and security. That's worth a lot.

I got married on 03 and I retired in 05 from the USN. Our plan was for me to be the house husband. We both had our own guns and motorcycles with plans to shoot and ride. I stayed busy with house work, yard work, vehicle maintenance and cleaning guns and handloading ammo. In 06 our son was born. Motorcycles sit idle most of the time and guns are locked in the safe. I am ran ragged doing what needs to be done. I cant remember how I got anything done when I was still on active duty.

Can't help as I'll probably retire when I'm dead, but congratulations.

Well, if you are talking about the mRNA shots, it's because they produce a spike protein that is like but not the same as the Coronavirus. Your body sees it as a threat, so it mounts at immune response (such as fever, snotty nose, etc). You aren't technically "ill", but your body turns on its defenses and for some people this is a more dramatic response than others. For most people, it seems to last 12-24 hours. My first shot was a cake walk, the 2nd one knocked me down for about 12 hours. After that, I was 100% fine. As far as "some people getting sick" after the shot, if you give the shot to 100 million Americans, surely it is possible that some of them were already sick or soon to be sick with any multitude of illnesses, including COVID-19, around the time that they get the shot?

A young girl armed with a rifle passes an abandoned Soviet ISU-152 in Budapest during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

Well...first off, look at their site: https://vaers.hhs.gov/ Look at 2. If you wanted to, you could report an "adverse effect" after receiving a vaccine. You could stub your toe on the way out of the clinic but that doesn't mean the vaccine caused it. But guess what, if 35% of people that get a vaccine stub their toe, maybe that means it affects their depth perception. I think I queried the data right on the site. After selecting vaccines for COVID-19, theoretically data for all three of them being used in the US would show up. Myocarditis shows up in 6 different places on the list, the "biggest" of the listings is 1,647. Pericarditis shows up 4 different places, the "biggest" of the listings is 1,082. 61 cases of hip fracture show up, and 8 cases of hip surgery. Heck, maybe we could just give the vaccines to people that need hip replacement, apparently it takes care of it for them. I'm not saying that the data isn't important, but seriously, query this and look through the list yourself. It's telling.

I got some very old primers and powder from a neighbor last spring. I took a random sample of the primers and loaded them into empty cases, then ran that through a handgun. I found that the small pistol primers were fine, the magnum primers were not. The powder is usually okay if it's dry, doesn't smell funky, and isn't clumped up. If you have the same powder in a newer bottle you can visually compare them. Powder tends to be fine so long as the container is tightly sealed, at least that's been my experience with some old powders. Unique is fast powder, but I think you'll be okay if you load some minimum 38 SPL loads and shoot them through your 357. That powder isn't as old as some I've used successfully, as evidenced by the plastic bottle. Score on the dippers, projectiles and dies! I love those Lee dippers.

I'm retiring myself on Dec. 3. I've had many, many guns over my lifetime but have never worn out a gun barrel. I plan to try. Cheers, Whisper

Greg, get the notion out of your head, that you have to do something, or nothing to do. Believe me there will be plenty of things pop up to do. In the mean time, go fishing, hunting, or whatever you never found time for. It'll fix itself.

You'll probably catch up on all the "things" you want /need to do around the house, but be careful, it can get expensive doing some of those "things" you have in the back of your head. Once all of those are done, you'll start finding other things to do, whether it's still mowing the yard, the leaves, new landscaping, etc. Remember, some can be $$$$$$. Eventually, you'll say to hell with it all, and just go to the gun range or for a bike ride. Everything you think of "to do", you can do it tomorrow, or the next. None of it is going anywhere until you do something about it. Enjoy

Beretta too!

That's murvul if you ain't from round here. I'll be curious to see how many of their current employees come too and how they compete with Denso, Clayton, and Alcoa for wages. Hopefully this goes better than the ammo plant and SCCY.

My mom told me that when growing up in Minnesota beef tongue was a special treat. Last year I was in Mexico at a nice restaurant and saw beef tongue tacos on the menu and remembered what my mom said. They were outstanding! I had 3-4 different types of meat that night and the beef tongue was the best. Y'all can keep the squirrel brains...

Yes, I live trapped a family of wild cats out of my Mom’s backyard. A can of tuna is irresistible to them.

There are hundreds if not thousands of people that would agree with this, had the shot not killed them.

I have lost two chickens over the years to possum's. They were silkies, which are know for being very gentle and tame. I actually had one of the "kills" on a game camera inside the coop. As for possums getting a pass because they eat ticks, not around here they don't. As long as they're raiding turkey nests, they'll get a rimfire round. I can't remember where the link was about them eating ticks, but what I read was it a controlled environment study. The possum was trapped and only feed ticks to survive.

Or if you just want 20 https://www.buffaloarms.com/9x57-mauser-cases-9x57mauser.html

All the advice suggestions are awesome with 1 caveat: you NEED to have it fitted to you. And when you throw a 7 & leave it to someone, THEY'LL need to have it fitted. I've run the gamut of quality o/u shotguns over the years & I've literally only found 1 that fit me properly & no way on God's green earth could I afford it here (they're kinda cheap in the UK, not so much, stateside) Emilio Rizzini. The only double gun I've ever picked up, ever, that didn't need custom fitting. I tried to find another for my first dove season here, but sticker shock killed me! The one I had in England, I sold for roughly 1/20th of what it would bring here! Right now, I'm stuck with an old 1187 that's as reliable as a hammer, ugly as a hang nail, heavy & ungainly. But it fits perfectly & I shoot it very well. I'd love to trade it out for a nice sxs, but I'm not prepared to sacrifice efficient accuracy for classy looks & feel. And I can't justify spending the money to have a fitting done.

I hate that you are being put in that position from your employer. As I’ve stated in this and a couple other threads, I think that at this point the mandates are less about them caring about our health and more about them seeing who can be controlled. I personally am choosing not get the vaccine for now, and I hope that many more that are willing and able can also hold the line and resist this gross over reach of power. That being said I would never fault anyone for wanting to, and would not support anyone trying to guilt someone into getting or not getting the vaccine. It should be a personal choice based upon your individual situation. If you have a Dr that you trust for advice great. I have become rather cynical in recent years, particularly in regards to “news” sources of any flavor. They are all biased in some form or fashion. I am not a Doctor but I am a medical professional, working primarily in the field with EMS. My wife is an RN that works at our local hospital and usually works at least one day per week on the COVID floor. Our observations are pretty different than what I see on any of the local or national news. We have observed that even the local health care systems have agendas, and at some level even some of the Doctors, Nurses, EMS providers have agendas, though often different from the hospital. The hospitals care about making money, period. Their big money makers are elective surgeries and common procedures that they can churn through and release the patients the same day. But some of the surgeries cannot be performed unless they have some available beds in case the patient has complications and has to stay overnight. If the beds are full of Covid patients it cuts into their profit from the money making procedures they normally perform. Which is why at the height of the hysteria last year hospitals were laying off staff left and right. Throughout the pandemic we have at times heard from the “news” that the hospitals are full….giving the impression that literally every bed is being taken by a COVID patient. While there have certainly been times of high COVID patient numbers, the bed capacity is more often dictated by the hospital staff or lack thereof. If a hospital has 200 beds, but only enough staff to care for 100 beds, they are saying they are full/at capacity when they fill those first 100 beds. For those that don’t know, most Doctors, particularly the ones in the Hospitals, get paid based upon the number of patients they see per day. Doctors in hospitals typically have specialties, many of which have nothing to do with what most COVID patients need. I do think that some doctors actually do still care about people, but I also work with a lot of them that seem to care about money and their misplaced self importance more than anything. With this in mind it is not hard to figure out why many of them are motivated to push the vaccines so hard. When you look at the nurses, and most everyone else in patient care, they make the same amount of money in their shift whether they take care of 1 patient or 20. Unlike the Doctors and the administrative staff they are the least effected financially (unless they got laid off) but they are most effected by the staffing shortages resulting in normal patient:nurse ratios jumping from 4:1 to 4:6-4:8, resulting in a LOT more work for the nurses, and reduced quantity/quality of care for the patients. So for Nurses and EMS providers their agenda is typically related directly to their increased workload and how to get it to return to normal. I realize this turned into a long ass post. I just wanted to give y’all a peek behind the curtain so to speak at some of the driving factors here locally, and more broadly at the national level. I can tell you that from what my wife and I have personally observed so far throughout the pandemic….mind you this is from me interacting with patients in their homes and as needed taking them to the hospital, and her taking care of them in the hospital. The overwhelming majority of people who get COVID do not go to the hospital, or need anything beyond over the counter meds. But of the ones that do require care, the vast majority are either morbidly obese, respiratory compromised, diabetic, or have renal issues, and or heart issues. I can tell you that even at my age of 41, if I fell into any of those categories I would probably get the vaccine. It still might not save you, but it does appear to lessen the effects. I’ve only seen a few people under 50 with bad enough symptoms to need our help, and they were either morbidly obese or in one case a skinny hardcore smoker, and in another case a skinny hardcore vaper. I hope this information can be helpful for you guys, I don’t mean for it to do anything other than keep you informed. Do what is best for you and let your neighbor do what is best for him. This is the way.

Racoon, not possum. I've studied this in depth through placing trail cams in my coop. I've also locked possums in my coop just to prove a point and have never had an issue. Possums are incredibly lazy, and have poor eyesight, making them lousy predators. They are extremely talented in finding carrion, also they aren't generally scared of people especially when eating. As such, it's common to walk up on a possum eating a chicken that a raccoon killed and left. Possums will eat eggs, and I wouldn't trust them around chicks. But, I have yet to see any hard evidence (videos) of a possum actively killing a healthy chicken.

I have been shooting primers lately that were stored in a non-temp controlled storage building for ten years and they are fine. I wouldn't use them for home defense or dangerous game hunting, but I bet both are ok. Try a few and see.

From years on the trap & skeet fields, the absolute best over/unders in the price range you are looking at are the Browning Citoris & Beretta 686s. I believe the Citori barrels to be better regulated than the Berettas (had a 28ga that shot shamefully low) but the Berettas fit me better, so that's what I shoot most now. Fit trumps all. But my Citori was incredible - over 10,000 rounds & still tight & reliable. Another one to seriously consider is the SKBs. Very(!) good shotguns for the money. Avoid anything that says "Made in Turkey". Avoid the Ruger Red Labels; they shoot loose too quickly, which is sadly disappointing as Ruger built their rep on rugged, strong guns that were a good value for the money. Somehow they missed the mark on these. One small suggestion - do NOT get a ported barrel model. The extra noise is a nightmare in the hunting fields.

Guns and a wood shop. The wood shop works better if you're not cheap. I figure you need something that will challenge you some like your old job. Can't replace building big radio stations with Harbor Freight tools. They're toys. You already know how to work the guns. You are better at it than me

The only meat I had in Mexico was beef in tacos. They didn't say which parts. It was great, mainly because of the freshly made tortillas. 10-4 on the squirrel brains. I can do the rest of the squirrel though, even if he died in my arms.

It needs neck anealing Brother. Google a bit and ya will find the " put the case in water " and tip it over method. The necks of the cases are work hardened from the neck being stretched. Ya will most likely need ta trim em too. leroy.

Awesome. Now we need to update our motto to: "The Smith and Wesson State"

Wow, They are sure proud of that.

Another vote for the Beretta 686 series. Just find the one you can't afford & buy it anyway. LOL! My O&U is a 20ga CZ. Love that thing & it cost about 1/2 of the Beretta. Of course, it won't bring 1/2 the Beretta on resale either but I have no plans on letting it go. Franchi is another brand that is better quality than its price level, IMO. My .o2

Beans, beans Good for your heart The more you eat ‘em The more you fart.

DON'T BUY ANY SHOTGUN UNTIL YOU HAVE HANDLED IT AND PREFABLY SHOT AN EXAMPLE OF THAT BRAND/MODEL. I would look at the Browning Citori (including the 725) and any of the Beretta 686 models first. Good time-tested over and unders. Go to any local shotgun range and see if they have any loaner/rental over and unders for you to try. Since you are in Maryville go over to Bud's and SMKW to see what shotguns they have in stock for you to look at. For pricing check out Jaqua's in Ohio and Joel Etchen in Pennsylvania. Nice people to deal with.

He wasn't up to it.

OK Fredo

Sure, but then it was only climate related, in 19' they found out the real money was in medical.

People need to have choice. It's NOT about the ones that make the wrong choice, as much as those that have the ability to make the right choice. Joe Biden is, at best, a low IQ aluminum siding salesman. I have no doubt that he believes that he is smart enough to make everyone's choice for them. His entire crowd believes that of themselves. Problem is that they are in the wrong damn country to do it to folks that won't put up with it. Now, when it comes to those unvaccinated ones that are sapping the resources of all our hospitals. They are a subset of the unvaccinated that probably made the WRONG choice. And wrong choices can have consequences. The majority of the unvaccinated don't get sick at all, like my brother's daughter. Or, the ones like my brother and sister in law that got sick, but will get through it with some meds. FWIW, my brother believes that the Ivermectin probably did help him with his fever. He no longer believes he had it before though. Stuff is nasty beyond anything he has had before. He's about over it. They aren't harming anybody, and should be allowed to choose.

You said my wife would be better in two days. It’s day 9 and she’s still sick. She was fine before the jab. I don’t think you know everything you think you know. We all have opinions. We should he careful when trying to present them as facts or truth.

Meanwhile yesterday, the first NCO I had at Ft. Campbell, James Ferebee, who became a middle school teacher in Clarksville after retiring, died after a week on a ventilator. He was posting about taking his daughter to the range last month and in no time he was dead. One of the strongest men I knew. Did not fall into the trap of getting out and getting fat. He was an awesome teacher, wonderful Tennessean, and a great Soldier.

My boys went with me this morning down to the Cumberland river where it wasn’t crowded. We caught some catfish and bluegills. Not much to brag about fish wise, bit they are more or less grown, and I don’t get to spent much time with them anymore. It was sure fun.