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I thought I'd show off some work that I had done to a spare grip module for my Staccato C2. A gentleman named Zach, who posts as "Grip-It-Customs_" on Instagram (do note the trailing underscore in his name) did this for me last week and I couldn't be happier. Not only is the texture that he laid down perfect for EDC use, but a byproduct of removing the factory grip texture is that the overall circumference of the grip is slightly reduced. Since I'm a size-medium glove wearer, this translates into making the gun really fit my hand better than it already did. And for comparison, this is an old photo of what the gun comes with from the factory... I really couldn't be happier. And since the grip modules on these, while not exactly inexpensive, are replaceable it's not like I have permanently altered the gun in any way. Anyway, I feel like this is an example of plastic surgery gone RIGHT. Lord knows we've seen some stipple jobs on TGO that, no offense meant to the owners of those guns, looked like someone's dog had chewed on them for a few hours.

This handgun dates to 1985. It has a 2 power Leupold on it and is sighted in at 50 yards with 190 gr hard cast. Included are 2 speed loaders from 5 Star and the original rear sight. I am using the 10 mm for hogs so this one doesn't get any exercise $800 I made a very bad decision years ago and let a Bisley in 44 mag go with a bear hunting friend. He will not even think about replacing it. Always interested in one, Just in case. Open to trade offers, just don't know what I think I need

It is sad we have been conditioned to hate anyone who took risks, worked hard, made sound decisions, and became successful. Every political speech and every newscast now seem to lump us into separate groups and urge us to hate one another. I’m about ready for us all to become Americans again.

They actually owned quite a bit. They didn't starve and recovered, but they sure didn't get richer. Nothing personal, but I just get tired of 'the rich" whoever that is, generically being the boogeyman. There are people who would probably think you and I are rich.

And be better off.

Think about it like this. Let’s assume a borrower wants to buy a house with a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage and 20% down. They’d like to keep their payment to $2000/month. A year and a half ago before rates started rising, that couple could have gotten a mortgage at 2.25% and would have been shopping for a $520k house. Today, at 7.09% that same buyer with the same fundamentals is looking for a $330k house to keep their payment at something they can afford. So that couple’s budget has been cut to around 63% of what it was before rates started rising. That same kind of math applies in a different way when banks bundle up big packages of mortgage and sell them as mortgage backed securities. They’re suddenly holding something that was worth less than it was last year. Importantly for this story they have it on their books and this have to account for losses in value. For the average homeowner, it really doesn’t matter so long as you’re not planning on moving anytime soon. If you bought a house in late 2021 and then needed to sell it because your job got transferred or whatever - then you might well find yourself underwater.

Restored classic light upland shotgun. Made in 1936. Modified Choke. $450 Face to face in Franklin.

This is a VERY limited-edition commemorative. Remington produced only 1500 copies in 1981. The rifle is almost flawless - it does have a small nick on the right front of the pistol grip. Fancy-grade walnut, gold-filled and gold inlaid engraving and a high-polished deep blue finish. There is a .30-06 case head inlaid in front of the magazine on the bottom. Built on Remington's well-known semi-auto action, this custom-shop edition would look good in any collection. $1500 cash, no trades. FTF in Murfreesboro

I though I’d post this here just to put a stake in the sand, because this may turn out to be one of the most important charts we’ll see this year: What you’re basically looking at on this chart is unrealized losses in the hundreds of billions. Mortgage backed securities (remember the other time in recent memory where you heard/learned this term) are trading way lower. The underlying cause is essentially that mortgages closed in 2020 and 2021 are now basically trading at 65 cents on the dollar. It turns out that interest rates go up, too. And, a lot of our venture backed business models simply don’t work when money isn’t free. There are a few “bloggers” who have been talking about this. A lot of people read their newsletters. You probably saw Thursday that a a few venture capitalists told their portfolio companies to move their money from one of these banks and caused a bank run that wound up collapsing the 18th largest bank in the country - Silicon Valley Bank. Panics are a funny thing - and I think there’s a non-zero chance of seeing some much larger collapses this week. Ought to be an awfully interesting week. I hope I’m wrong.

SIL and G-son, they sent me movies yesterday where they went to indoor range and burned 400 rounds of ammo. Had a Glock 19 gen 3, a new max 9 Ruger SIL just purchased last weekend, and a practically new Remington 1911R1. Said nothing burped and all went well. I gave grandson the new 1911 and Glock last year. They had trouble with the 1911 first time they took it out. Told them to clean and lube it good and take it back. They live in Mt Pleasant S Carolina and mom was out of town. Them boys are really getting into hunting, fishing, guns and the outdoors. Grandson has his own boat, 16' flat bottom fiberglass, with a 50 HP Honda motor. Mom's boss gave it to Parker. Said he did not use it any longer. Dad has a 27' sea worthy Carolina fiberglass w/ a 150 HP Yamaha. Doing it together. You gotta love it. They fish Charleston Harbor for the giant RED Fish. Grandson caught a 38-pounder last season. Makes me wish I was young again. Got 5 more visits with Cardiac Rehab for me. Will have finished 36 visits. Looking forward to getting finished. Really sapping my energy, for sure, since I am on a no carb diet. Lost 8 pounds so far and need to loose 40 pounds. Edited to add; grandson is 14 now. Being bullied in school because his ears are large. Wouldn't want to be a kid now.

Tell your grandson to ignore the haters. My kid got called fat a lot. Anyone who has met my kid knows that he's anything but fat. One day he'll be their manager somewhere. life has a way of doing that to jackholes

I read this kinda like the walking dead meme, but got: "Cheating Garage, Wife Sale"

It's a common theme on TGO.

It's certainly not perfect, but the alternative absolutely sucks.

Quite possibly. I don't consider myself rich, but I am comfortable. Sadly, lots of folks can't manage that these days. We have the best government money can buy. Its just out of most of our price range. Those that can afford it make the most of it. And yes, they are the boogeyman.

Looks like the same ol speech. Dementia patients do that ya know

Frank was on the board of the other bank that went under late last week, Signature Bank. Not sure about any Chinese firms at either, but wouldn't shock me. They have to bank somewhere for their interests in the US. https://apnews.com/article/signature-bank-fdic-barney-frank-silicon-valley-6ad86262d9945675a42d735b66ace4f2 Frank said this was meant as a warning to crypto banks. While I'm guessing the Fed and Treasury weren't sad to see a bank that changed its focus to crypto customers go under, this doesn't appear to be anything besides a normal bank run. It seems Bitcoin does not "fix this" just yet. The FDIC also guaranteed deposits in excess of $250k, once again changing that limit to infinity. No tax dollars at work...yet. The FDIC funding can still cover things since the assets of the bank aren't junk.

I saw good ole Barney Frank (of Dodd Frank fame) sits on the board. Allegedly, SVB was also favored by Chinese tech firms as a source of capital. Tax payer dollars soon to be at work for the greater good?

There are some peculiarities to a bank where a lot of equity investors keep bringing in dump trucks of cash and they’re not lending a bunch out. Matt Levine (whose newsletter you should probably read) put it really well:

Talent

The problem is: The bank borrowed money from depositors at 1% with a 2 year CD. They then loaned the money to you for 30 years at 3%. That gives them a 2% profit for two years. The catch is now they have to return the money from that two year CD and borrow the balance owed on your 30 year mortgage from a new CD investor that they will have to pay more than 3% for. Now they are in the hole and it will get deeper as rates rise.

The key word is trading here. The real number value of the mortgage payments are still what it was closed at. But in 2020 and 2021, a lot of people buying homes did so under some very favorable interest rates, and more people were on their heels to refinance. That's a lot of money locked in a the low end of the spectrum, the value of that money having gone for a roller-coaster ride in three years. With inflation eating away the value of the dollar and interest rates going up, holding those assets is at best money in a tar pit, and at worst, seen as a loss when adjusted in real terms (ie: after inflation). So, if a financial organization wants to get them off the books and free up capital for better use, they sell them at a discount to entice a buyer and move on. After all, who would buy a mortgage no matter how secure returning 3% when you can buy a T-Bill that is the safest investment on the planet returning 5%, or a corporate bond above that even. They're doing this because money isn't essentially free to borrow anymore, so they have to gin it up from their own assets and returns. Think of it as selling a gun you bought during a Republican administration that was cheap, but you're not using it anymore, to get money that partially funds your next purchase when a Democrat is in the White House, and guns are more expensive. That's about as TGO friendly a parable I can use for this situation, but it's a bit imperfect. Last year the big deal was inflation gut punching the consumer. For at least now, the big deal is inflation gut punching the financial institutions. Corporate bonds are probably on deck for valuation hits.

If you don’t have eggs, it doesn’t matter what happens to the basket!!!!

Rausch is neither a lawyer, a good police chief, a scholar, nor a student of the Second Amendment... He is, however, a boot licking opportunist, hoisted on us all via the Haslam Enterprise. David Rausch's only discernable talent ( . To me, at least .) is being bought n paid for by Bill Haslam and rewarded a KPD chief's job; and later with the directorship of the TBI. He is in the same class as McNally; only a bit below, as he was never elected to any office. He is, however, very adept at bootlicking n saying "Yousah Boss"... The citizens of the State of Tennessee deserve far better than this " civil servant "... despisin leroy... Watcher of the foxes in the henhouse...

SOLD

Withdrawing Sale

SOLD Started this cool build about the same time I picked up a Wilson Combat upper and lower and finished that one first and really don't need two AR platforms so.... Here is your chance to pick up a solid start to an AR with ability to finish out caliber and accessories of your choice. So here you have it SilencerCo bare upper SilencerCo lower built with, CMMG parts kit, CMC 3.5# flat face trigger Palmetto buffer tube and spring, and Magpul grip and stock. (Total in parts with no tax - $700) Lower was attached to the WC upper for one mag to function test, zero issue. Feel free to PM with questions. $550

I haven't ben there, but I've driven by it many times. I shoot a match near St Robert almost every year.

Picked this up a couple of months ago to see what the hype with the brand was all about and put about 100 rounds through it. It's a perfectly functional 1911, turns out I just don't want to stock yet another caliber for only one gun. The gun itself is the "upgraded" 1911A1 version with better sights and a commander's ring hammer instead of the standard spur. Comes with an actually pretty nice hard case, two mags, takedown tool, and other little bits and bobs inside. $350 FTF in the Nashville area, no trades please. Edit: I will also be traveling to Memphis 3/14-15 if anyone around there is interested.

Sold, thanks TGO!

Eggs is something I'm qualified to speak on, since I buy them all the time. I got 18 large for $2.97 at Kroger on Friday. Picked up another 18 large today for the same price. They are coming back down!

Might get those fire starters to replace those near useless tweezers. I'll also order the toothpicks. I need to replace the others. I do use those.

He did an excellent job.

That's the best stippling job I've seen. I might could even go for that.

Looks fantastic

Very clean, I like it.

I've got one just like it. It's a fun rifle and runs well. GLWS

Early week bump

Bump for an interesting .22 pistol.

Nice gun. I have Winchester Pump 22 and it is also a very accurate gun.

Yep, however, banks and credit unions work with both long term and short term investments (and loams) for managing the balance sheet. The other thing they look at is churn, how quickly consumer loans payoff and reset. In credit union land, indirect auto loams sticks about 28 months, mortgages are about 7 years (across all terms and types) I have a sub 2% mortgage at my credit union, I joke with our VP of Asset Liability Management he's gonna have me for the life of the mortgage.

The Gruppen Fuhrer's and the brown shirts or should I say brown nosers.

“Ahm with you fellers”… Seriously amen to what Leroy said.

I literally have $600 Titanium armored, reinforced leather gloves that are supposed to protect me from ludicrous levels of impact & unforeseeable drama. I have $350 reinforced leather rechargeable heated gloves that are supposed to provide insane abrasion protection. I have & actually use daily $5 goatskin gloves that fit my medium sized hands with fantastic comfort and as Leroy said- Dexterity. I’ve met Leroy and can tell you that he is the man when it comes down to his body of knowledge. No matter the glove, they are a sacrificial garment, an expendable commodity that you can’t design or price your way out of. (BTW, that’s my second set of titaniums-even that doesn’t outlast everything and $5 goatskins in medium on up are available at harbor freight -including the hardy brand ones in my photo).

In the mortgage biz, over 30 years in financial services. Cost of funds is the driver for your specific question. If you have a mortgage at 2.5%, the lender borrowed at say, 1.5% Today, cost of funds is 4.5%(ish) Mortgage rates are tied to the ten year Treasury, it was over 4 on Friday, under 3.5 this morning. It normally moves on .125 increments.

Don't be tempted....this is a steal with the trigger and rings added in

Define the rich. I know a couple people I consider rich who lost their asses in 2008-09.

Dear TGO Members... Tennessee Gun Owners is your organization. There is absolutely no need to seek administrative approval to organize local get togethers whether it be a trip to the range, lunch somewhere, dinner, a backyard BBQ, or whatever. We want you folks to get together in safe, friendly environments. Invite your non-firearms enthusiast friends! Bring your spouse, your kids, your significant other (but not at the same time as your spouse!). Get folks involved! The only things we ask are that: You assemble peaceably and in a legal fashion. You try to keep the event "Family Friendly" ... i.e. not at the local nudie bar You take pictures and post them in our gallery so everyone else can enjoy your fun! Please remember that if you assemble as TGO members, you're in essence representing this community. Do your best to put your best foot forward in the spirit of promoting a positive image of firearms owners and enthusiasts in the great state of Tennessee.