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I just bought a new Maverick truck and paid $1100 extra to get a straight gasoline engine instead of a hybrid. I am too old to be the one experimenting with new technology. I don't even carry a smart phone, I'll just finish out what time I have left living in the past.

My grandson called me tonight and told me he and his sister went hunting today with a school mate. They harvested a squirrel and a dove. They are cleaning them and his mother is going to cook them for the kids and his friend. He said his friend goes to school with him and his father has a farm in the Charleston S Carolina area. I gave Parker a Mossberg 20 Ga pump and Chloe a Ruger10 22 rifle. Parker is 13 and his sister is 11, but very small. She can out shoot Parker. His friend could not believe the guns Parker has which I gave him and his sister. Son-in-law said the friend is eat up with hunting and fishing so it is my hope Parker and Chloe will gain a greater appreciation for the shooting and hunting thing. Their dads took them out today and spent 6 hours out with them. Parker's dad said ammo was really expensive. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT! Maybe SIL will appreciate what I gave them last year. I have another load of guns I am going to take to them next month. Giving my guns away, to my grandchildren, before I pass on.

I know two FedEx pilots who were about to invest millions to produce every component to construct AR15’s. I owned a gun shop at the time and advised them to be very careful as this market was so volatile. Up one day and down the next. Well they didn’t take the risk and it payed off. Turns out a few months later Obama backed off some of his crap and everyone had AR’s and they were cheap. They would have lost their butts. Please be patient. I’m 65 and seen the gun world go up and down too many times.

Expressly political topics unrelated to the second amendment are not fit subjects for conversation here. Thank you for your cooperation.

I'm 78, and by the time electric becomes commonplace, I won't need one.

I just received a message from Midway USA and they have Accurate No. 7 Smokeless Gun Powder available at this time. It is a 8lb jug and they want $211.99. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/2183542088?pid=542088&utm_medium=email&utm_source=service&utm_campaign=product-arrival-notification&utm_content=product-description-link

No need - most lefties know that dumping the mag with the trigger finger is better than reaching with their thumb.

Man, the more I read about this, the less excited for it I am. It doesn’t actually seem to be a HiPower. It just looks like one. It’s not compatible with OG HiPower magazines or any of the aftermarket upgrades on the internals. It really seems to be a wholly different gun wrapped in a vaguely HP looking shell.

No. This is what a HI-Power is supposed to look like. Not that abomination.

Talk about a can of worms! Look on YouTube for a short film on making primers. The cost will be very high, the over site by Uncle Sam will be high, the dangers of the primmer compound will be high. Then try to get insurance. Not to nag, but you should have stocked up.

I asked a buddy of mine that very same thing. He said it would be an EPA/OSHA nightmare of unimaginable proportions. He has a strong background in mfgr, specifically at an aluminum plant in Waverly decades ago. He thought between the ventilation, drainage of the floor, filtration systems, etc, it'd be millions of dollars before the actual mfg equipment got purchased. That includes the bldg as well, of course. Then there's the limits of getting the actual primer chemicals to make them. There's a reason almost all primer plants are outside the US these days.

Someone is bored in retirement...

I dug my VP9L out of the safe while looking for my Colt Commander in .38Super. (Time for it to take a turn in my carry rotation.) I can't remember about the holster, if it came with the gun or I found it on an internet search? It's a Comp-Tac holster, just a plain jane polymer holster but leaps above the Fobus holster level. Made specifically for the VP9L, so it fits like a glove & not a "universal" fit. The mag pouches are Blade-Tech, a fav of mine. I have multiples of their holsters & mag pouches. Their quality is top notch & their pricing is very friendly to my budget, something not always easy to find, IMO. I see David is mentioning a new Walther in the post above. I see it comes with a decent mag well & threaded bbl. While nice to have at a match, the mag well is a wee bit too big should one want to carry this particular gun, IMO. I don't use optics, so the plate cut-out is a wash for me. If you don't own a suppressor, the threaded bbl is more of a minus on a fast draw of the gun. 18rd mag capacity versus the VP9L 20rd capacity. But Walther makes darn accurate guns. I own several of them, all of them in .22LR caliber. They also make Olympic-grade firearms, so they're by no means a mid-tier brand. As you mention, lots of very nice choices. I would urge you to hit several gun shows before you make your decision. Shows would allow (hopefully) one to handle all the models you're thinking about getting. If so, you won't have to drive from shop to shop to shop to compare them. All of the upper tier models are going to come with a lifetime warranty, good sights & quality mags. Some brands may be a few $$ higher on their mags, some may be a few $$ less. It is what it is, IMO. Holsters for all these may take a bit of internet hunting as they're all going to be somewhat new (VP9L) to not even out yet (Walther PDP SD Pro). So there's that to consider as well. One other thing: if you get to see a model you like, be sure to have the salesman break it down for you like it would for cleaning. Some models come apart much, much easier than others. Some guys don't like the way some brands field strip, that's a personal preference. Pics of my VP9L below, with the mag pouches. Were I wanting to get into a SHTF situation (hurricane relief security, urban emergency, etc), I could carry 100rds of 9mm +P on my belt. Coupled with 2-3 mags for my PS90 in 5.7 @ 50rds per mag, that's 150rds for the rifle. I would have no issue walking around anywhere in the US with that load out, IMO.

Nope, nope, nope. I don't like it one bit. Ya don't go just changing up a true classic. I think FN has screwed up big time. I will be buying a SA-35 as soon as I can find one. But I want nothing to do with this new FN abortion.

Until we secure the voting process, it is a dangerous game proposing a Convention of States, where they can vote to abolish the 2A instead.

I realize their pistols are more complicated than Glock for example. But my workplace uses Glock since they are very simple and reliable. I guess this has carried over to my personal choices. I like my pistols to be as simple and less complicated as they can be , except my Beretta 92 and CZ75. They have many parts but run like a well oiled machine. But dang , this high Power version is just wayyyy expensive.

Oddly enough, I am starting to evolve my thinking about how essential an accessory rail is on a handgun. I still want a rail for a weapon mounted light but I also think that the variety of weapon lights makes the process of finding a quality holster incredibly challenging.

https://fnamerica.com/products/fn-high-power-series/fn-high-power-ss/ Here ya go, folks. Ambi controls. Easier takedown. 17rd magazine! OG definitely returning for the throne. Still would have liked a rail tho.

I was told $1K, right about where they were when Browning dropped them. While my heart leans towards a FN, my wallet leans towards SA.

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/10/04/The-Marine-pilot-and-navigator-of-an-A-6E-jetfighter/9063434088000/ It's amazing what can be found online these days. I witnessed this plane crash up close and personal like as it damned near killed me that day. The plane blew-up to the front of me so closely that my face and body felt the heat from the blast. I would have been killed had the plane's drop tanks been full. Fortunately, they came from El Toro and had been flying enough to empty those tanks. One landed a few feet to my right, and the other a few yards to my front. A piece of circuit board landed right next to my right heel. We were on a training exercise where my unit was playing the Russian aggressors. The plane experienced a FOD (Foreign Object Destruct from a rock or bird strike), as it came off of a bombing run a few miles away. They had blown the canopy to eject about a mile from us, but we who lived it, (and the investigators who interviewed us), believe that they saw us down the road and held off ejecting until they were above us as the momentum would have carried the wreckage beyond us. By that time it was too late as the plane turned on its side, and they ejected into the side of a granite hillside that are so common in 29-Palms, CA. I never mounted a 5-ton as fast as I did that day when the Lieutenant told us to go to the wreckage. When I got to the impact zone I was first struck by the desert being on fire from the fuel. When you kicked it then it just lit your boot on fire. I ran up the mountain where the cockpit was to search for what I don't really know, (bodies, I guess), to find the nose and joystick there. I came back down just to be told by an Army Brigadier General that had been flying in a Huey nearby when the crash occurred to climb up a hill to retrieve the pilot's helmet's to identify them quickly, I had been told that one of the men's head had been mostly cut-off and rolled up in his skin to his groin, and that the other one had his head ground off. When I got to the second helmet I realized that I was walking through the guy's grey matter as I went to pick-up the helmet. Fortunately, the helmet was empty. For years I have denied having PTSD from this incident. Why? Because many others have dealt with far worse in combat, and I felt like a pu$$y for thinking that I'd have it from something like this: however, my wife pointed out a huge difference: It was peacetime, and because of that I wasn't prepared for such a horrifying experience like I would if I were going into a combat zone. TO this day I do not like planes flying above me. My son lives in the landing path of planes taking off and landing at Nashville airport, and I can only stand being at his house for a short time before I'm telling my wife that we have to leave. I live in an area where the instructors from Murfreesboro airport take their students to practice. Apparently, part of their training is to turn off their engines and then restart them. I can't tell you how much this bothers me. I finally decided to tell the head-shrinker at the Murfreesboro VA that I think that I have PTSD from the experience. I hope others may read this and decide to take action too if they've suppressed their feelings as well.

Yeah ive learned a lot living in a righties gun world lol.

IDK, Maybe you should buy one. Keep it unfired, NIB and tuck it away. 30 years from now it'll be worth a fortune because so few were ever sold.

Here's another photo of the new FN. As usual, click it for a higher resolution look at them. PS: Anyone who says they don't like the way they look is nuts. IMO.

You 2 are just catching up to where I've been for a while

I kick it old school.

Not 26 sized, but 365 sized. Daddy likes.

Making a small fortune by manufacturing primers is real easy. First thing you do is start out with a large fortune! Seriously though between all the initial investments and governmental regs. unless you've got some intel on raw materials that nobody else has figured out then you may be on to something.

Today though is a Gen 1 RMJ Tactical Utsidihi

Here’s my 01 Alox Soldier. Thing just slips into the pocket effortlessly and you forget it’s there

While I don't totally disagree with you on the pricing, the 509 series pricing is pretty good, IMO. Take the run of the mill FN .45 & it will shoot rings around any Glock with the factory barrel. Some people (like me) are willing to pay a bit for much better accuracy.

You wouldn't think it would be all that hard. Primers are simple devices, just a couple pieces of pressed metal with some chemical compound. But the licensing, hazmat etc. might be a nightmare. Great question, though, and something I'll bet has been considered by people who could make it happen. This is a brief explanation: A primer cap is a stamping made from rolled copper-alloy sheet. The sheet is fed into a small stamping press where a multiple die set produces more than a dozen caps on each stroke. The caps are often nickel-plated. Primer caps are made in different diameters for different applications. In manufacture, the primer caps are filled with primer mix using a method called "rubbing." This process begins with a thin steel plate containing several hundred holes. The plates are placed on shaker tables and primer caps broadcast over their surface. The shaking motion causes a cap to fall into each hole. Next, the plate is sent into the primer "rubbing room," a heavily built and spotlessly clean room where plates sit on a metal table and wet priming compound is hand-rubbed over the surface to fill each cap.

Nice-this is what mine is like- I added the adjustable sights-new trigger-EGW leaf spring-

No offense to FN fans but FN seems to think their pistols are made of gold when it comes to their prices. Even their polymer .45ACP pistols are crazy high priced. I wanted one but got a Glock 21 at $200 less.

I find it hard to not like the Walther line! I was hooked after my first session with the PPQ.

Good morning. Glad you like PDP I am going to look for one at next gun show in Knoxville RK show last of January I have heard positive thing’s from everyone I have spoken to I like may PPS but my be time to trade up

Thanks brother for the link. But approaching 1400 msrp? Gotta pass on that. Still SA-35 for me.

Totally a fair point. But my light choices are fairly pedestrian. Make a holster for the gun + X300 and I’m a happy man. Also, I’ve settled into my holster choices as well. T-Rex Arms Gen 2 Sidecar or a Safariland. I’m easy and not always looking for the new new. I’ve found what works for me and am happy to now slide into curmudgeonly crustiness.

Just had a quote to replace the fuel injectors on my wife's car, $2800. Just the fuel injectors. What do you think it would cost to replace an engine in a late model car? I had an engine replaced on a new car about ten years ago. Thankfully it was still under warranty, the bill was over $8,000. 32,000 miles on the failed motor, just under the 3 year / 36,000 mile warranty at the time. If I had driven it a few more months before failure I would have been paying that out of pocket. There is already a huge market for the used batteries. There are resourceful people starting businesses that refurb the packs by disassembling them testing the individual cells, replacing the failed or failing cells, and selling the refurbed packs to EV owners. You know sort of like engine builders who will sell you a refurb engine, take back your bad core, and refurb it for the next customer. Again the solutions for the problems EV's face will not come overnight. It is constant development. Not enough range... Battery tech, motor efficiency and control efficiency is constantly improving. Not enough charging stations.... The network is ever expanding and will continue to due so. Charging is slow... again battery tech is ever evolving, as is charging tech. Battery cost is high... Economy of scale, when the demand for them begins to approach the demand for IC engine components you will see battery cell costs plummet. Batteries are no more environmentally friendly than gasoline... I will admit this is a tough one. We have a long way to go to improve all aspects of battery production from mining of the elements to recycling of the spent cells. This alone is the biggest hurdle to continued development but we still have significant environmental issues extracting crude from the earth and refining it. Massive oil spills, spills from train wrecks, pipeline issues, a few pesky wars, and some genocide have all plagued oil production. To think that the environmental issues surrounding batteries are a deal breaker to their development/use is to wear blinders and maintain ignorance of the issues that surround oil/gas use.

Update Monday 18-JAN-2022 I received an email overnight from "OTC Batch Processing" at Smith & Wesson stating that they had received my M&P for repair and providing an RMA case number to me. I suppose that means the gun is now officially in their queue for repair.

Well done Sir. We gotta keep the sport alive for the next generation.

Yes, I would like to try the K12, but the price was a bit high. Should have jumped on it when first released. I think it was right around the 600 mark, possibly less. PDP 9 is great! As is the PPQ. Had a PPQ in 45, but found it too harsh for me. Recoil was pretty bad. Had both generations of the PPS. Same as the 45, just didn't like them.

Not as much as you would think. That round actually does pretty good all the way down to about 8 inches.

HK aside, I think you would be doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least give a Q5 SF a look. Or, wait for the new Walther PDP SD Pro and see how it stacks up.

I thought it was Det. Andy Sipowicz in NYPD Blue????

It was King Solomon in the book of Proverbs.

Thanks! It started life as a blue carbon steel gun. STI's bluing is sometimes iffy and I apparently have alien acid sweat. After six months of hard use, it looked like a WW2 Remington Rand and I sent it to STI to get hard chromed before it completely rusted away. When it came back and I opened the box, I just about lost my composure. Some have thought it's just a safe queen, but it has 20-25K rounds through it and has won eight or ten IDPA ESP division titles. In some other thread I think I said a Glock 34 is my all time favorite handgun. I may have lied...

I've gone down that road, and while it worked you are right - it's a bear and to get to final furniture (even rustic) grade. If I can figure out the pic attachment it has a crotch figured rustic walnut table I built. This slab was done with my Alaskan mill and 36" bar, and while it worked, left a lot of finish work

Think I got the dot sighted in. 89/90 rounds in the center circle at 25 yards standing, 9/10 shots (it broke the circle, I say it's 10/10) in the head circle at 10 yards standing. I'm pretty happy with this thing