Romad7

So, flip the safety on while holding the bolt back? I'm not quite connecting the dots here.

I fired some cheap Federal and some 00 Buck and the Federal doesn't work. This is normal for my gun though, I need to do some polishing and port work to see if that will improve. Auto plug did nothing for me on the light stuff. I do notice a few points of friction resistance when manually operating the bolt so need to fix that. I do not like the Monster Brake! I didn't notice much reduction in recoil but I could have been distracted by the blast of warm exhaust in my face. I know about the back blast from muzzle brakes but I didn't think it would directed at the Shooter's face. This would be much worse with a shorter barrel. I also check the rear of the bolt carrier and noticed some impact marks, is this normal (pic attached)? I did have the Auto plug tightened way down trying to get the light stuff to cycle so I'll keep an eye on it during normal ops.

How does this work? Is the safety lever changed to interact with the BHO lever?

Now you tell me:) I actually learned about the plate while looking at videos while assembling my gun, ordered it immediately after that. I like the idea of a BHO but the execution is terrible on this gun. Definitely an afterthought. I am undecided on keeping it or not, I'll probably try to engineer my own or modify the existing one. We'll see how far I get before throwing the thing across the room and giving up.

Another thing I am doing is swapping out the shepard's crook for the retaining plate. That spring made me crazy when I put the insides back together. On that same note, I will probably remove the BHO all together, I never want to deal with that again and the "button" rubs my trigger finger. I might get the mag well to deal with inserting full mags on a closed bolt. It's all about finding the money now;)

In case the rumors of an import ban turn out to be true, I would get one sooner than later. Even if you don't do the work now and just store it for later, the prices might keep going up.

My bit was having trouble with that last hole so it needs to be drilled out completely before I can plug it. I may end up welding them at some point but probably will wait until I get a TIG welder. The other 3 are plugged. And yes I got most of my parts from CSS. The stock doesn't fold, its only collapsible (Tapco T6). After the basic build is totally complete I need to look into doing reliability work like you mentioned. I haven't had many issues though, gas holes line up and look good. I had problems with the Winchester universal before and after the auto plug but that's normal. I mainly got it so I don't have to worry about settings with different loads (and it looks cool). Still works good with some lower brass stuff but I haven't tested it very extensively yet. I had thought about the side mount but went with the UTG quad rail http://store.carolinashooterssupply.com/servlet/-strse-251/utg-saiga-12-quad/Detail?sfs=9eb6c817. It come with 2 top rails, short and long. I'll post some pics later but that is a great kit for $99, even came rail protectors (on my gun). I am still deciding what I want to use. I also got some glow in the dark paint for the iron sights from Glo Nation but it's clear. I am going to get the white pigmented paint for day/night visibility, we'll see how that turns out. I might go the SBS route later and cut it down to where the brake is up against the hand guard, that would be pretty awesome looking. It will help with the weight of that giant hunk of metal on the end of the barrel. To answer the other poster's question, I was reading that problems usually start developing around the 12" or so mark. Although with Dolomite's and others mods/improvements you can fix that with some minor gunsmith work (if you can do the conversion then it shouldn't be a problem).

This is my first firearm project and so far so good. I did the pistol grip conversion and more. I just wanted to if there is any interest in this and try to post some useful info for anyone who would like to do this and would like to learn from a newbie's experience. There are a couple things that I would do different but I'll wait to see if anyone cares:) Here are some pics, I'll gladly post a parts list for this project if anyone is interested. The only things that I have left is to get my barrel cut and the brake permanently attached for an 18" overall barrel length and possibly add a reflex sight (Eotech copy). Let me know if there are any questions or if someone in the Tri-cities area needs some help.

Good point, a permit is definitely my goal, I hate uncertainties this serious.

Found a related post to go with this. I guess just be very sure that it's worth the risk.

Let's take this train of thought a little further. The reason (in this situation) to be carrying a firearm unloaded with full mags separate in a legal fashion would be just in case something happened where you needed to use that firearm in self defense. I am pretty sure we aren't just talking about transporting from point A to B (gunsmith, range, etc) more a daily, regular thing. So, if you were to put the two pieces together in order to defend against a threat are you now open carrying without a license? Which, I believe, is illegal in TN. Does that sound about right? I also have this "friend" that just started doing this and the question came up.

Jonesborough is a great place too, 20 mins from the JC Medical Center and others. Came from CA looking for green open spaces and peace and quiet but wanted to be close to shopping, etc. We love it here. Medical jobs seem to be the main industry here so you are good to go there. The medical centers have a good reputation too. We used zillow.com when we were looking. It's not always the most accurate but gives you a good idea where to look. Also, when there are tornados in east TN all we get is a little rain and wind. We seem to be in a little bubble here from weather.

Thanks for the tips, does anyone have a specific gunsmith/machinist that does good work in the Tri-cities area. The guys at Shooter's Edge (Piney Flats) said that they hired a good gunsmith, does anyone have experience there?

So you're that guy, who knows what would have happened if you hadn't cleared that up:-)

Anyone know a good place to have a muzzle brake installed on a Ruger M77?

Well, I got the fireplace done and I am very happy with the work. I worked with Jeff at Leinbach Services and he did a great job. The price wasn't bad, similar to a quote that I got from a different company. Overall a great experience, I'll be calling them again if I need some work done.

Yeah, I am definitely not the grammar nazi on the Internet. If my iOS devices didn't have autocorrect then my posts would look very different:-)

Usually I don't say anything about punctuation here but I couldn't pass this one up:-) I have shot the Judge in 410 and it's a lot of fun. I now own the Raging Judge Magnum and love it. I bought it because it is a big ass handgun that can shoot a variety a rounds and capable of killing any nasty thing that might come at me in the woods. The camp is really divided on these guns. There are better guns for defense but for the fun factor of a shotgun in a pistol it's great. The ability to put a more serious round in the gun (one that you already use) is a great bonus. I got mine because I really liked it, thats all the reason that I really need in the end.

I'm from California and moved to TN about a year ago and love the gun culture here. I went in the back yard (big yard with a hill) to shoot my new Raging Judge Magnum and was wondering if it would bother the neighbors. Then I could hear that there were at least 3 groups of people close by doing the same thing, I imagine it's a Christmas tradition to go try out the new guns:-) I love this state!

I had one and really liked it until I had to disassemble it for cleaning. It was a pain for me and I didn't look forward to doing it every time I shot, that's not just a Kimber thing though its a 1911 thing since they all come apart relatively the same. I just figured out that it wasn't for me and I have a lot of other guns that keep me happy. That may seem like a small thing but since I have a slight case of OCD when it comes to cleaning (if it gets dirty/shot it gets cleaned) from my tactical training I want something that is at least as easy to take apart as my M9 was or it just gets annoying. If you don't mind that and want a 1911 style pistol you can't go wrong with a Kimber. If you haven't handled a 1911 then I recommend going to a gun store and have them show you what it is all about. I did get my money's worth when I traded mine though...

That's it! Thanks, anyone have any reviews for Miltec? Also, just got a kit for Christmas that seems pretty awesome. http://www.amazon.com/Otis-Elite-Cleaning-System-Optics/dp/B001QVR4K6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I37WJG32TIX2N7&colid=2PO5D6WZHEOJ1 I used a smaller Otis kit for my M4/M9 while in Afghanistan and I really liked it so I got the big kit to handle a large variety of calibers and types of guns. Good quality parts and well thought out kits.

I can't remember the name but there was this cleaner/lube that is supposed to be awesome and doesn't leave a slippery residue, used by the military, etc. Came in a white bottle. Not a major player like Hoppes but a smaller company. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Also, look at Mil-Com, it's not that. Thanks, John

+1 for OPEN DNS. Definitely start with this it's free and it does more than just filter. It also provides an extra layer of security and it's easy to use. PM me if you need help setting anything up, I have been doing this kind of thing for a while. Just started a side business doing this but I won't charge you or anything.

PM sent

Do you guys know of any good contractors in these areas: Fireplace installation Masonry Need a propane fireplace installed with direct vent piping and a block wall cut out for a window. I am new to the area and don't know who to trust. Thanks