TripleDigitRide

I've heard stories to back up this statement. Unfortunately, most shops don't operate like G&L.

I understand your point, although comparing a stereo to a gun is not a very good comparison. After you're around the world of firearms long enough, you'll notice that most gun owners are quite anal when it comes to the care they give their guns. They are generally treated very well. That being said, you still need to know what you're looking at to determine if the gun has been taken care of. Saving the money you'd spend on taxes and background check can sometimes be a very fair deal. Of course, this is probably only the case when looking to purchase a very gently used or never been fired gun. On a $500 gun, that could be a savings of $60. That's a pretty good savings in some situations. Of course, the more expensive the gun, the greater the savings. Plus, some folks prefer not to have a gun that government can track back to them quite so easily. And they're sometimes willing to pay for that luxury. It's all about what YOU'RE willing to pay. As I said before, do your own research, and don't take it personally when you run accross a price that you think is too high. Just pass on the deal and keep looking.

SA XD40 and Comp-Tac MTAC.

Nice choice! You decide to go with the Nitron finish?

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I send my condolences to his family and friends.

Oh, and you menioned "haggling". I'm with you on that one, I hate to haggle. You will hear about people who haggle when purchasing a gun, whether it be from a retail store or an individual. I don't haggle, and that's why I price shop. Either you have priced at a price I'm willing to pay, or you don't.

First of all, getting your prices from a gun show is not a good idea. Especially right now. Many sellers really jacked up the price once Obama was elected. Some have since dropped a bit, but some folks are still attempting to lure those uninformed buyers who are willing to pay the inflated prices. Based on what I've seen, the MSRP is almost always higher than the actual retail prices. This may not be true for firearms that have recently been released to the marketplace, or a select few "special" guns. MSRP is a joke, and when a retailer/seller mentiones how they are selling an item below MSRP, I immediately disregard the statement, because it's little more than a sales ploy. A vast majority of items almost never sell for MSRP, and if they do, it's only when they are first released to the public. Once the initial buying frenzy cools down, the price will drop to something a little more realistic. Shop around! Like you, I tend to look for the best price I can find on many items. Sometimes it pays to spend a few extra bucks, but not very often, IMHO. In the gun world, you will hear alot about paying extra for good customer service. Well, as far as I'm concerned, good customer service should not come at an extra cost. Plus, when dealing with firearms, if you have trouble with it after the purchase, the retailers do not warranty the item. You have to go through the manufacturer. That being the case, I see little reason to pay extra for customer service that doesn't include fixing a problem that I may encounter after the purchase. Sometimes you'll find a shop that may attempt to fix the problem if it's very minor, but it many cases, you'll be forced to ship the item to the manufacturer. All this costs time and money. Time and money you'll likely not save simply because you spend more money with a retailer who claims to give better customer service. Based on my experiences, many of the shops that claim to have superior customer service also have the higher prices. Again, you shouldn't have to pay for good customer service, but looks like that's just the American way. Buying and selling firearms is no different than buying and selling anything else. You have to do your homework. It's just like buying a vehicle. You shop around before making the purchase. You may look at 5 identical vehicles, and there could be a huge difference in prices. One guy may be quite a bit high because he didn't do his homework when deciding to sell. Or, maybe he paid more than what it was worth in the first place, so he's only trying to recoup as much as he can. Then, you may find the next guy has his vehicle prices considerably lower than everyone else because he's desperate for money, and must sell ASAP. You never really know why someone has priced an item at the amount they have, but if you spend a little time doing some research, none of that really matters. After doing the research, you should have a pretty good idea of what a fair price should be, and that's what you shoot for.

Welcome to TGO, Justin! You made a fine choice in the XD40. I have one, too. Enjoy your stay!

Congrats! I'd like a newer truck, but I don't want a payment, and I don't have several thousand dollars sitting around to pay cash.

Who else could come up with something so good? Gotta love The Onion.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it is extremely unlikely anyone could get close enough to Obama AND have the means to do him serious bodily harm. I would imagine the Secret Service is beyond prepared.

Charlie, over at CHMR is probably one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. Charlie was an amazing help while teaching my daughter how to shoot. He really knows his stuff. It's well worth the $40/year.

Congrats on the build!

The bike had to be lifted off of him. His legs were pinned under the bike at least part of the way down the hill.

I found this on another forum, and because I know some TGO members visit "The Dragon", I thought I'd share. So how well does a Hog float? - KatRiders.com I headed off to ride the dragon from CROT (Deals Gap Motor Inn at the cross of 129 and 28) on our own for our first scout run. Took our time, and went all the way down to tabcat's bridge at the north end. There is a large, newly paved pull over spot there and we stopped to stretch and chat for a moment before heading back south bound on the dragon. Great ride! Shortly after we stopped, a fully dressed Harley comes down the hill headed north... and pulls in to turn around. As he pulls in, he gets too close to the edge of the paved area and his front wheel dropps off. Now, this paticular spot is pretty thick pavement, and the dirt shoulder is slightly slanted downhill as well. So when the front wheel hit the dirt... his engine bars hit the pavement and that pretty much bounces the bike to roll over. No way he could have stopped it at this point from rolling over, but the guy trys and ends up in the saddle as it rolls over on top of him. Did I mention this shoulder is also only a few feet wide before a near sheer drop?

Where does he live?

So, we should't consider taking away your HCP and DL when you turn 65 or so? You know how those ol' blue hairs can be.

I also heard a story about a woman who spoke at one of the town hall mettings, and claimed she couldn't find insurance coverage because she had Hepatitis-C. Come to find out, she was lying, too. She currently has Blue Cross Blue Shield, and has had for quite some time.

I would drink it, but Project-Water gives me serious heartburn.

NRA-ILA :: Clearing Up the Rumors: The Truth About The ?Gun Tax Bill? Clearing Up the Rumors: The Truth About The “Gun Tax Bill” Friday, May 29, 2009 In the last few weeks, NRA-ILA has received hundreds of e-mails warning us about “SB-2099,” a bill that would supposedly require you to report all your guns on your income tax return every April 15. Like many rumors, there’s just a grain of truth to this one. Someone’s recycling an old alert, which wasn’t even very accurate when it was new. There actually was a U.S. Senate bill with that number that would have taxed handguns—nine years ago. It was introduced by anti-gun Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and it would have included handguns under the National Firearms Act’s tax and registration scheme. This has nothing to do with anyone’s Form 1040, of course. Fortunately, S. 2099 disappeared without any action by the Senate, back when Bill Clinton was still in the White House. We reported about it back then, just as we report about new anti-gun bills every week. Now, it’s time for gun owners to drop this old distraction and focus on the real threats at hand.

His name is Ozzy.

Patiently waiting for the last straw.

Statistics and Research: Driver License / Handgun Data

You are 100% correct. I should have chosen my words more carefully. Unfortunately, the Constitution means far too little to far too many. Even more Unfortunate, too many of them are in power. With a country so devided, the chances of any of this changing in the near future are almost none. Not peacefully anyway.