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Gateway to Cades Cove is #1 on my list for Townsend. Otherwise for me its shaping up to be an extension of jeep rentals, moonshine BS, and all around nauseating tourism that now defines the smokies. But the CC loop is still nice. Hope you make a time of it regardless

I lived about 15 miles from Townsend for a few years and spent some time there. It gets a little more touristy each year. Townsend is a nice place to base out of while you check out other things in the area. I highly recommend Dock's Motel on the River. It's older, but family owned, the owners Ron and Sharon are super nice people. The rooms are clean and the cabins are nice. I despise most everything in Sevier County, as I suspect you would as well, so I won't discuss the money pits over there. I'll never get to spend enough time in Cades Cove. Go during the week, early in the morning, this time of year is perfect, it won't be crowded. Park, get out, and check out the buildings. There are other neat things to see in CC as well like the Alum Cave, Cable Mill, and the Gum Swamp. River Road between the Wye and the Sugarlands visitor center is a nice drive with lots of nice views of the river. The road was originally a railway for the timber industry. Check out The Sinks. It's about half way down River Road. Loggers attempted to clear a log jam with dynamite and created a large rapid, hard to explain, go see it, it's worth it. Not far from Townsend and a short hike from the parking lot is Lookrock Tower. It's located half way between 321 and 129 on the Foothills Parkway, which is worth a drive as well. Cherokee North Carolina is always fun for people watching if nothing else. Fontana Dam is roughly an hour from Townsend depending on how fast you can get through The Dragon, Highway 129. Fontana is the tallest dam this side of the Mississippi. You can access the top and bottom though they are a few miles apart by road. More to see at the top for sure, but you practically have to pass the bottom side to get there, pull in, take a gander. If your are extremely lucky the overflows will be open. This is extremely rare, I saw it 2 or 3 times while living there. It's a big deal when it happens, of I recall correctly overflow from the lake side goes though 2 tunnels maybe 12 feet in diameter. It travels over 500 feet to the bottom side of the dam, then hits a ramp and shoots up 150 yards in the air and lands 400 yards down stream. I went once in the dead of winter and there was snow and ice on everything arrived the bottom of the dam, but nowhere else. Really cool. Cherohala Skyway can't be beat if you are into scenic drives. Lots to see along the road and by taking detours. Bald River Falls is a great waterfall and Green Cove is a really cool remote off grid fishing community, not much to see there if you aren't fishing though. Indian Boundary Lake is really cool and you can split from the Skyway there and take Citico Road along Citico Creek (more fishing opportunities, but requires a specific permit). If you go all the way to the end of the Skyway Tellico Plains had some neat shops and restaurants and whatnot. Hope I've mentioned a thing or two that may be of interest.

I really enjoyed Rich Mountain Road that splits off Cades Code loop. https://www.smokiesguide.com/rich-mountain-road/

Tuckaleechee Caverns opens March 1st, if you can get excited about a big hole in the ground. You can also float around on a tube for awhile along the Little River starting Memorial Day weekend. Other than that, keep your head on a swivel for the town's LEO--and you better keep it at or below 45 mph.

With apologies, all discussions of subjects on this matter are being kept located in a single thread inside the benefactor lounge.

Mint condition. Includes original box and 2 mags. Purchased from GR8Smiles. I’ve never fired it. Asking $625.

So I finally had some time to go to the range this weekend. I needed to sight in the Holosun on my G48. This is the first time I have shot this gun since I bought it. Right off the bat I started having extraction problems. I would have 3-5 failure to extract per magazine. Only had one brand of 9mm with me but did try several different magazines but nothing helped. I was able to shoot it enough to get the Holosun zeroed. Now I just have to figure out the extraction issue before I carry it. So I get home and take slide off. I start inspecting the extractor to see if it is chipped or broken. As I am rubbing it with my finger I notice it is loose. I can move it. Stripped my other G48 to compare it to and as expected the extractor is nice and tight. So time to completely disassemble the slide. Pull the back plate off and take out the firing pin. Start to pull the extractor rod out but it will not come out. The spring pulls off the end of the rod and just the nipple the spring attaches to is sticking out of the channel. Gently grip it with needle nose pliers but it will not come out. As I am sitting there staring at it I realize that the right screw for the Holosun is directly over this channel. I back the screw out a couple of turns and the rods falls right out like it is supposed to. So it looks like the screw was not allowing the extractor to move freely. I checked and I did not have any shorter screws. So I got my dremel out and very carefully started grinding down the screw. Now the screw is in nice and tight and does not effect the movement of the extractor. Hopefully this fixes my problem. Now I just have to get back to the range and shoot it some more.

That's not a bad thing. One of the coolest things that I've ever seen:. December 9, 2014 cool, overcast day. A photographer friend and myself decide to go to CC, get off the beaten path, and take some wildlife pictures. That was the day I learned exactly how the 2nd phase of the rut worked. Apparently the deer were right at the peak of the 2nd phase. This is what made it so amazing. Most of the does are bred during the first phase of the rut. By the second phase hot does are few and far between. Two different times that day we found a hot doe bedded down and got to see 2, 3, even once 4 bucks fighting one another to get the chance to breed her. I still have those pics somewhere. I'd never seen anything like it.

If you like hiking to see waterfalls then middle prong trail is excellent. There are waterfalls all the way up the trail.

The times have changed. https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/cades-cove-vehicle-free-days.htm

All about timing with the crowd. We've walked the entire loop countless times throughout the years but a change by the NPS killed that. Not sure when you are going but Wednesdays are closed all day to car traffic. Bicycle and foot traffic only. Or take in Abrams falls inside the loop if you're into hiking. Plenty to do if you're into nature.

This looks promising! Never heard of it. Thanks for the speed limit heads up! There are some waterfalls up that way we’d like to check out as well.

Nice gun

I saw that many vendors haven't repented yet of their price-gouging. There were plenty of primers available at $100 per thousand and one guy had the guts to ask $80 for a pound of Hodgdon Titegroup. Heck, even Russia couldn't keep up the fight for long at what the scalpers were wanting for Wolf ammo.

No one wants to see that. But a more relevant comparison would be a tricked-out custom M&P. Get out your turd polish!

I remember buying mounting screw from Battlewerx when I fitted my G45 with a Holosun. They do a whole range of screws for different applications.

I should really read more carefully. I would have seen that you solved it.

Thanks. The Dremel with a grinding stone took care of that yesterday. I just need to get back to the range and verify if this fixed the issue.

Apparently folks are having to shorten the optics mounting screws provided by Holosun so that they don't impact the extractor assembly. I saw this mentioned elsewhere recently, and I don't recall where it was. Probably Facebook or Reddit. I'll see if I can find more info.

I was finally able to get some range time this weekend with pistol. I started off with the 9mm barrel to get the Holosun sighted in. This gun is on the heavier side and with the 9mm there was hardly any recoil. It was a pleasure to shoot. The only issue I was having was FTF. I had several in the first two mags I ran. So i decided to switch magazines. That is when I realized I was using the 7.5 magazine and not the 9mm magazine. Once I started to use the correct magazine I had no issues. Got the holosun sighted in and then switched the barrel and spring over to 7.5FK. I now see why the gun has some weight to it. The 7.5 round is stout. Not as bad as 44 mag but close. Even so the ergonomics of this gun made it very easy to control. Had tp adjust the zero a little on the holosun and then moved the target out to 15 yards. Unfortunately that was the furthest I could shoot yesterday. Here is my first 10 rounds I shot offhand at 15 yards. 8 out of 10 rounds in the 10 ring. Not to bad for these old eyes. I now need to get it outside and shoot some steel plates at 50, 75 and 100 yards to see what it can really do.

I'm re-reading one of James Fennimore Cooper's novels, "The Prairie", written in 1827,, and in it one of the characters makes a comment about his time spent with a military unit: "I made a forage or two among the Cherokees, when I was a lad myself; and I followed Mad Anthony,[10] one season, through the beeches; but there was altogether too much tatooing and regulating among his troops for me" At that time, 1827, "regulated" didn't mean what it means today. More important, I think, is Scalia's analysis that the first clause of the amendment simply stated one of the reasons for the second clause. Had the first clause been the entire reason for the amendment, there would have been no need for the second at all.

Nice! Wish my Glock-45 looked like that! know most don’t like these kinds of finishes, but I do. I have 2 Sigs with what they call distressed stainless steel finish that I love. One is a 1911 We The People and the other is a P-365XL Spectre.

I think this one really does apply to me. Didn't really change my activities or lifestyle. Stayed the same old reclusive hermit who lives on the keyboard and buys usless S*** from Amazon and EBay. Still doing it. Is that wrong?

That thing is ugly and I would take it in a heartbeat. It has “character”.

Nobody has a damn clue what to do. They know the masks don't work and never did. It's a Wuflu and if there is a good vax for it, nobody has found it yet, or wants the public to have it.

I’ve killed more deer with the front end of a semi than I ever did with a firearm.

Politicians like to use word meanings only when it's applicable to their needs- Well Regulated does not mean today what it meant 200 years ago-

Always a good thing to maintain one's insanity.

The axiom "Innocent people have nothing to fear from the police" is currently being looked at by the axiom review board.

It will always have that as RK just sells tables to anyone. As long as I'm not set up near a stun gun aficionado I can maintain my insanity to look past it

Right. The tar on the car was on far. Y'all.

I hate this line so very much. Just let them listen to your calls, what's the big deal if you are doing nothing wrong? Just let them search your car, what's the bid deal if you are doing nothing wrong? Just let them pull you over and try and find something on you. What's the big deal if you are doing nothing wrong? Just let them read all your messages, what's the big deal if you are doing nothing wrong?

BattleCock not BattleCroc

It’s a Glock. What else do you need to know. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

Sounds like you have a life and plans to go with it. I don't. I merely exist.

I actually like the look for some reason. I'll see myself out.

"This Glock 19 might win over the die-hard 1911 types" Not hardly, Bubba.

Well you had me at “Wanna see my Glock?”.

I bought a can of pork sausage at the grocery store a while back. Best I could tell, it was just relabeled dog food. I hope your canned bacon turns out better.

I get it, but that’s kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison and not exactly a slippery slope. Following someone on the highway for a couple miles is in a different zip code from searching your house or scanning your emails. At least SOMEBODY is doing something near the border.