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Nashville Channel 17 was interviewing a couple of younger guys in the West Nashville area (around Charlotte at 35th if you know those hills up to the tall & skinnies). One of them said something like "we're from the northeast so we know how to drive on snow but this is all ice. We can't get out of our driveway." and I'm like . . . "yup".

Hello, fellow Mazda-nerd! Mazda Tribute, CX-5, and a Miata in my current lineup. I've had a 323, two 626s, and a Mazda3 hatch. The Miata is a garage queen, but I can't say I wasn't tempted to put the hardtop on and cut some donuts in the cul-de-sac last week

There used to be a commercial for the Beetles where the announcer asked “You ever wonder how the guys who drive the snow plows get to work?” Then it pans to a parking lot full of Beetles. I always thought that was pretty clever.

Snow is one thing. Bring your Yankee brethren here and show me how to drive in this ice hockey rink of a road I live on. Hint: it is covered in shiny ice, but is in no way flat.

I bought something like you are taking about with little screw heads insert in them they definitely helped

I'm not sure if I shared this but when we went to Finland in November our rental had studded snow tires. I was amazed at how much traction I had. They mandate snow tires there and do not use salt. They put down crushed gravel. Even the buses had no issue getting up and down snow covered hills. Never saw a single wreck. I'm a believer in studded snow tires. Took me 15 minutes to get my wife's car out of our driveway this morning even with traction boards. This storm taught me you really have to shovel the snow before it turns to ice. I won't make that mistake again.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share your suggestions. I went to Opry Mills Mall today and discovered there is a Merrill store in the mall. I tried on several boots and finally chose the Merrill Thermo Snowdrift 2 Mid Waterproof boot. It was $89. It came in Wide and I was able to add a wool insert that I were in my other boots. It was buy one, get two more at half off so I picked up a pair of trail running shoes for that felt great for $35. I plan to try them out tomorrow with a pair of SmartWool heavy boot socks.

That’s how I roll. It would appear my little nuts (kids) didn’t fall far from the tree either. 4wd is plan B. Until it is needed, I’m having fun with it.

I knew a guy who said that you should have 4wd on your truck so that if got stuck while in 2wd, you'd know it was foolish to be out in that kind of weather, and you could shift your truck into 4wd and go back home until weather improved.

My 2wd F150 is a low mile former farm truck. The 82 year old farmer I bought it from bought it new in 06 and managed to put 62,000 miles on it going to the COOP every Saturday for supplies and meds for his Hobby Herd or dump runs. He was a wealthy retired attorney who happened to have a 60~70 head heard of beef cattle. He got rid of his cows at 78 or 79 years old. Finally sold the Farm at about 82 or 83 and moved to "town". I bought the truck from him in 2021 with 62k miles. I do know he had never owned a 4wd truck in 50 years of owning and operating that farm, always 2wd F150 short cab long bed trucks. The couple of times he did get one stuck he just pulled it out with the tractor and went on about his work, no big deal I guess when you have a couple tractors around.

Easier to walk on than full spiked crampons

We try to pick out one vehicle for to drive while the roads are salted. That way I don’t have three to clean up afterwards. You are right about the change in vehicles. When I was a kid, every farmer I knew somehow got by with a half ton, 2WD pickup. Today it appears you need a diesel 4x4 just to drive past a farm. We had one neighbor who rented out his bull. That thing would get in and out of the truck bed by himself. I guess he liked his job. Lol!

I had a VW beatle years ago and had studded snow tires for the winter, never got stuck in that thing.

I worked at a full service service station while in HS (70-73), and I remember people wanting the studded snow tires, so the owner had to invest in a pneumatic gun that would "shoot" the metal studs into the pre-molded holes/locations on the newer snow tires. Could only do this on new tires as the studs would not grip good in tires that had been driven w/o the studs. Was fun to learn that task, but it got old very quickly, even for a teenager. I also remember hearing those studded tires "singing" at highway speeds similar to the "mudder" tires of today, and those days of doing nothing but unmounting regular tires, and mounting the snow tires for the upcoming season. This was before people bought an extra set of rims for winter tires. I usually would work at the service station on "snow days" when school was out, the owner would call the house and tell mom he was coming to get me as they needed the help putting on chains/snow tires and pulling people out of the ditches. Good times.

I think sun/shade makes a difference too. My neighbors that shovelled their driveway after the first day have remained dry and clear ever since, even after the rain. A friend of mine has a flamethrower. I would have been a hero with that thing.

I believe they are outlawed except in the northern territories due to road damage, etc.

I have had experience with the 22Mag rifle. We had cows and calves on a rented farm close to town. Dogs were killing and chewing off ears and tails diminishing their value. The farm caretaker told my father-in-law that he would call him when the dog pack came back to give the cows chase. We arrived, on this morning, 7 dogs, from the local neighborhood, were out early and had a just born calf down working it over. Our plan was for me to come at them from the roadside and FIL and Caretaker come in for the other. They opened up, with shotguns, on the pack and a very large Red Bone Coon Hound came running up the hill toward me. The dogs were in a small valley. When the hound seen me that thing came at me with gusto. I believe the dog would have attacked me the way he looked. As he loped up the hill, I leveled a scoped Marlin 22 Mag rifle and I decided to shoot him in the head. As I pulled the trigger his head came up and my shot hit the dog just under his head and struck him square in the chest. the dog dropped at my feet stone dead. As I looked at the 120-pound Hound that rifle had cleaned his body and blown his insides out his butt. I mean he was cleaned just like looking thru a stovepipe. I was amazed what that little rifle did to that dog. Much more powerful than a regular 22LR. We got 5 of the 7 dogs, 2 little ones got away, and never lost another calf. That bunch had killed 4 calves and chewed up 7 costing my FIL a bunch of money. That was 35 years ago. I am a 22 Mag fan. Have a scoped Marlin bolt action in my safe. It is a tack driver. My grandson has spoken for it when I let it go.

I live mid-way between Knoxville and 'Nooga, and my back yard is still a frozen wasteland, the snow is melting some during the days from underneath, not from the top down, so it's just like owl snot when I walk the dog. Previous footprints have melted/re-frozen several times, so that's all the traction there is. Dog with 4 leg drive even has issues. LOL. Our SD road has been clear for a couple days, but our drive was a solid sheet of ice until yesterday at noon, and I went out with shovel and was able to bust up the ice for the most part and it's now clear so we can get out if we want/need. We can see Hwy 68 from our house and traffic has been moving along pretty good for a couple days, but the driveway was iced over and I just didn't try to get out cause I didn't have to, so I didn't. LOL Temps to hit the mid 40's today, so everything will turn to mush from the melting snow, and then the 2-4" of rain coming this weekend will be different anyways. LOL

This Burris Eliminator IV is a rangefinding scope. Check it out: https://www.burrisoptics.com/riflescopes/eliminator-iv-laserscope-4-16x50mm Burris Eliminator IV LaserScope 4-16x50mm 4.8 out of 5 stars. "Just aim, range, and shoot. It's that simple. The new Eliminator IV features extended rangefinding capabilities out to 2,000 yards and enhanced ballistic calculator with more data and faster-aiming solutions. All this significantly increasing the distance at which you can make an ethical shot. New wireless remote laser activation of the laser rangefinder has been added to make it easy to range your target. As always there’s no need for a smartphone, app or separate handheld range finder! Prior to the hunt feed the Eliminator IV your cartridge’s ballistic info and the scope calculates perfect holdover at your exact distance, estimates wind drift, then gives you the perfect aiming solution (bright red dot) — all at the push of a button. Just aim, range and shoot. It’s that simple! Four tools in one advanced optics including: precision optics, an internal digital inclinometer, smart dope card, and built-in laser range finder."

Snow is one thing but this icy stuff, woff you need studded tires or chains

From the time I was around a year old until I was 16 we lived in Toledo Ohio, yes I have seen worse. But we aren't equipped for it here so those of us who can just stay home. I didn't know they closed school for snow until I was 16 years old. Blizzard that year . First got 6 inches or so then before the streets were cleared we had freezing rain followed by 17 plus inches of snow. It was a mess. I delivered the newspaper back then and not one of my customers missed a single copy. You just get used to it. Of course I was dragging my bag on top rather than carrying it as my weight went through the top layers to the ice. Perishables like milk were hard to come by for a few days and it took the National Guard a while to dig out the airport and some roads. The drifts buried an 18 wheeler on Airport Rd.. I could tell a lot more horror stories but y'all get the idea.

We have had three and they absolutely sucked in this stuff. But I sure would like another one.

Some states outlawed the studded snow tires. They really chewed up a summertime road. I had an extra pair of studded snow tires mounted on extra wheels and would change them if snow was predicted. They actually put a bumper jack in my 69 Chevy Impala. Could not get up the hill to my house without them. Lived on a 1 lane country road 1/2 mile long and just one other lived on it, in E KY. Those tires really worked.

That's funny that I was thinking about those earlier. They really do add needed traction on ice.

+1 to those. Yaktrax is another popular brand. They use coils or chains & cables, depending on how serious you want to get. https://www.amazon.com/stores/Yaktrax/page/6A1DA552-1ACD-4668-93BD-1C24EEE18432

Where I grew up, a 4WD was all but a necessity. i could easily get by without one now, but old habits dies hard.

Once again it's all where you were at. My back porch is stamped concrete so a shovel salt etc is a no no. I did however use the leaf blower and a broom to attack it that first morning. From that point a hit with the broom or blower every morning has kept it dry and clean. But the driveway is another story. If I had the rain sleet mix some of yall received my back porch would probably be an ice rink right now.

I dunno, Erik. I shoveled the patio clean and dry. Then it rained. It is the slickest thing around here now. Unless you just wanted the exercise, I think you might just be ahead this go round.

Not exactly the same thing as your ice dam, but have you seen this cool device for removing the heavy snow?

It sucks you’re n Springfield or I’d have bought it

My cul-de-sac has a decent grade to it and was still nearly a solid sheet of ice ice over an inch thick yesterday. When we left for church I slid to the bottom and barely avoided mailboxes on the way down. It was a lot safer going back up in 4WD than going down.

Pretty cool if you ask me!

There are numerous ranging reticles available on quality mid to high end optics. Most folks handle it in that manner. No electronics, no extra parts. Once learn the reticle and the math it is fairly quick and easy to range. The tricky part is having multiple rifles and getting the same reticle and/or scope for all of them. If you are primarily a one gun shooter, no problem. If you have a safe full of long guns putting optics on all of them or learning multiple reticles gets to be a more involved or expensive process. Most hunters I know run a separate range finder or binoculars with a range finder so they can scout and range without bringing their weapon up. Also allows them to use that item for multiple game, seasons, and weapons. That way if they are taking the bow, muzzle loader, rifle, or shotgun out they have one range finder to handle it all. Most target shooters I know don't bother with a range finder as they are typically dealing with known marked ranges or at least have a pretty good estimation.

Back then we were able to use them from Nov 1st to April something

Wow, I love that 1854 with the wood stock. Don't love the price so much, though.

So you are the one making ammo scarce in election years.

I have one of the EP9 pistols and have been very happy with it. No major issues at all. The mags in mine tend to go in a tiny bit too much and feed lips will block the bolt. However, if you get in the habit of inserting the mag and then giving it a slight downward tug, it works just fine. Probably just my gun. You should also add a forward grip of some type. After a couple of mag dumps the handguard tends to get a bit warm. Accuracy and reliability have been excellent. Overall, I think its a great bargain for the price.

I'm reloading for free. Dad left me everything and I'm going through his records. The last primers he bought were $9.95 per 1,000. There are 12 of those 5 packs in a large box. Got lots of powder, most is in 8# jugs and 16# kegs. I went to an auction in April, different brands of primers, 100 per pack were selling for $15 to 22. My 9mm and 38spl don't have a problem shooting cast bullets and I've got tons of lead. New problem, both my sons' 9mm don't like lead bullets. Looking online jacketed bullets are $16 to 22 per 100. Range USA has ammo for $15 per box. Need a source for cheap bullets in 115 or 125 gr range.

"EVERY TIME A POLITICIAN LIES" I do not think all the money in china will cover all them lies!

Little boys just don’t get cold. My parents used to beat my hind end just to get me to wear a jacket.

As of right now, the road I live on is absolutely the slickest substance I have ever driven on in my entire life! You simply cannot stand on it. You will be at best gently gliding in one direction or another.

Congrats. Great guns.

As much as a 1911 45 acp lover that I am, would go for the 9mm CZ. Short barrel 45's just don't get the velocity to expand properly. Yeah, the 45 is more energy, but would rather have the faster moving 9mm projectile which seems to expand more reliably. And heresy of heresies, I feel more comfortably carrying a pistol with the decocker as opposed to a "cocked and locked" 1911.

I've got a CZ P-01 and love it. It's not the smallest, nor the lightest, but it feels great in the hand and shoots beautifully. Probably not much lighter than the EMP, but capacity is better. The grip angle on both is pretty different, I'd shoot both if you can and see if you prefer one more than the other.

Why not just go for a CZ P-01 or even the P-07? Those are both a bit lighter than a full size CZ-75. I will also add that a good purpose-built gun belt generally makes heavier guns less of a burden to carry. I'm still a fan of TheBeltMan.net for quality EDC gun belts.