TripleDigitRide

You obviously haven't priced insurance for yourself lately. The type of coverage many of us recieve from our employer is outrageous. Call a few insurance providers for some price quotes on plans simialr to that of the one you may get though your job. Employers get a slightly discounted rate, because they have several employees joining with the insurance company. This is the main reason State employee's have such great coverage, at such a low cost. The sheer number of State employyees allow Tennessee and the insurance provider to come up with a much lower cost than an individual or a smaller company could obtain. Simply based on the number of employees employed with Wal-Mart, their coverage and cost could easily be much lower. The difference being, Wal-Mart chooses not to pay as much of a share as some emloyers might. UPS pays a much greater portion of their employees insurance premium. of course, that makes it cheaper on their employees. I'm not sure of the exact figures, but I have fairly good insurance coverage though my employer. The cost to me is about $50/month, but the portion the company pays is several hundred dollars. They pay a huge chuck of the premiums. I can't say the same for our family plan. If I opted to add my daughter, my portion would increase by roughly $200/month. Instead, I opted for an indviduale plan through BCBS of TN. I went with a $60 plan. yes, that's cheap enough, but the deductible is $5000/year. Thankfully, she doesn't need a doctor very often.

My father, who lived way out in the sticks, tried Satellite Internet for roughly a year. His experience was not a pleasant one. This was about 2 years ago, so things could have changed for the better. Back then, the price was fairly expensive. He also had tons of connection issues. He expected the somewhat rare sevice interuptions during a heavy storm (similar to Satellite TV), but it ended up being much worse. Even if moderate cloud cover happened to roll in, the service was out like a light. This happened on a weekly basis with him. God forbid they had a several days or a week of rain in the forecast, because he wouldn't be able to use the internet for the entire time. Like I said, this was about 2 years ago, and I'd imagine they've made some improvements, but I can't say for sure. He also complained, because Wild Blue limited him to download and upload traffic. They base this amount on the plan you choose. if he ever got close to his limit, his connection speed was greatly reduced. The speeds were not fast to begin with. Faster than dial-up, yes, but nowhere near cable speeds. I think the speeds at that time were 1.5Mbps DL speed and 256Kbps UL speed. When that's your only option, I guess it's not bad. That's about all I can remeber right now.

Congrats! It's a pretty fun process. Picking out all the components is the hard part for me. I couldn't make up my mind. And ideas on the route you're going to take?

No worries, folks. I alone make up at least half of that 30.1. That figure is a bit deceiving.

Very true. I recently did this with the XDM. I just had to have that damn thing, but after actually toying with it for a while, I couldn't stand the thing.

Did you sell the one you have/had in shop? I figured it would go very fast.

Now I feel bad. You were kind enough to let me shoot your rifles, and I left you to clean them by yourself. I already have most of the cleaning and lubrication stuff. I use most of the same products for pistols. I will have to get a one piece cleaning rod. As far as oil goes, I'm a real fan of Militec-1 Synthetic Metal Conditioner. Being a dry impregnated lube, the first initial applications can be somewhat of a pain, but it really helps against so much residue build-up, which tends to make cleaning so much easier. You can use a hair dryer or heat gun to activate the Militec, but I usually apply the Militec to all parts, including the bore, then fire a magazine or two. This gets the everythig up to operating temps., which activates the Militec. I repeat this process 2 or 3 times. Now everything is self-lubricating. I generally repeat the process every 1500-2000 rounds.

You can use a Bullet Puller ( http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/BrowseProducts.aspx?t=82579&pageNum=0&tabId=1&categoryId=19947&categoryString=9315***731***8606 ), or take them to your local gunsmith. They will rid them for you.

I know little about anything other than Comcast, but I heard Dish Network is better than Direct TV, because Dish Network has customer service reps. who actually speak the English language. That's a huge plus in my book.

And yea, I guess I need to learn how to clean them if I'm gonna shoot them.

Hey, that's an idea! I've always wanted to see what the world of 'swingers' was all about.

Thanks! Yea, there were a few times that I needed to stop and think about it, but using the step-by-step instructions/pictures on AR15.com, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I'm still going to let an experienced ARer take a look at it before I start shooting. I'm pretty confident that everything is together as it should be, but I'd like for someone to take a look at the trigger group, just to make sure it's 100%.

Thanks to so many of you for all your help. I'm half way there. My finished lower half. Sorry for the crappy pictures, but I decided to spend money on guns instead of cameras.

That was quite funny. Thanks!

Well, except ACE didn't give me the top screw that holds the butt pad in place.

Yep! It was much much easier than I thought it would be.

Nevermind. I used the wrong (too small) detent. I fixed it.

Thank you. That's what I thought/did, but wanted to make sure. I wasn't 100% sure, because there seems to be a bit of play in the selector, especially when in the "fire" position. Not having much experience, I would have thought it would be a bit tighter. Actually, there seems to be just as much play in the "safe" position.

when installing the safety selector detent, does he pointy end point towards the safety selector or the spring?

Thanks to TPS -TNRobocop, I now have all the needed parts to finish the lower half of this damn thing. Wish me luck, cause here goes nothing.

I suggest everyone get a few duplicate HCP's, for reasons such as this. You can get as many as you'd like. I keep one stashed in both vehicles and work truck. To receive a duplicate handgun carry permit: You will need to complete an application. To receive an application by mail call toll-free 1-866-849-3548. Complete and sign your application. Mail the application, CERTIFIED PROOF of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Residency (no photocopies; documents will NOT be returned) and the $5.00 fee payable by check or money order to the following address: Tennessee Department of Safety Handgun Permit Office 1150 Foster Ave. Nashville, TN 37243-1000 You may also get your duplicate application at any driver license service center. The driver license service center cannot issue the duplicate handgun carry permit. Incomplete applications cannot be processed.

That would be the best thing to ever happen to gun shows in this area. I'm looking forward to that.

No, I got to the Pilot for my Lot Lizard shopping. With all the crack houses being right around the corner, there tends to be more of a selection. Not only that, but the toothless "ladies of the night" tend to hang out at the Pilot.

I would have to agree. I have the XD40, and although I mainly stick with WWB, I have NEVER had a single issue, with any ammo. It's been flawless.

You know you want that LCP. Just buy it.