Branket

I took it at Austin's Tennessee Firearms School in Oak Ridge, and is run by Phantom6 here on the boards (I'm sure you can PM him with any specific questions, I did). The class is a combination of the NRA Basic Pistol Course and the TN Carry Permit Course and as such runs a little longer than the state requires, which I was ok with. I believe the website says 10 hours, ours was closer to 11 but it was all very worth while. The class cost was $110, and after seeing the results I got I would have gladly paid more. For more information check out the website http://www.firearmsclasses.com/ or PM Phantom6 aka Mike. Hope this info helps some.

Hah maybe someone should make a thread to bump every time it happens . Oh and congrats on the XD...welcome to the family.

On Non-Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Centrist (49). On Fiscal Issues, you rank as a Moderate Conservative (62).

Today I participated in the range portion of a NRA basic handgun/TN carry permit class run by our very own Phantom6. I plan to do a full write up of the class for the reviews section tomorrow when I'm not so tired. So to make a long story short I shot 460/480 and qualified, not bad considering it was my first time shooting a handgun in my life. So now comes the hard part, submitting my application and waiting for that piece of mail. BTW I love my XD.

Well as of yesterday I own an XD-9 service so I suppose I should check in as well.

Guess it's time I get an avatar.

Well I finally bought one. I went with the XD-9 in 4". Everything about it just feels right to me. On a side note, today I participated in the class room portion of a basic pistol/HCP class taught by Phantom6. We were supposed to go to the range but the weather prevented it. Overall I found the class to be extremely informative. We had almost 9 hours of classroom time and I left with my knowledge of handguns increased infinitely. After I participate in the range portion later this week I will do a full write up of my thoughts and experiences in the class.

I haven't seen any H&K's in any of the shops I've been too, are they really that rare or just not many vendors.

I'm not sure of the exact stats of where I live in west knox, but I'm confident that it's safer than where I lived one year ago. 10 Mile and Evergreen 2 miles north of Detroit, MI. I know several people that were mugged at gunpoint in the parking lot of the building I lived in.

Sure does, thanks.

I haven't been there and I thought I had been to most gun stores in the area. Where is it located at? I'm taking my basic pistol/HCP class next saturday so this is a good time to find out about new shops.

I don't mind banner ads, but hate the type that scroll down the page with you. If that is avoidable I would appreciate it. While I don;t post here ofter I read the new threads sever times a day and Wouldn't want anything to obtrusive, that would make gathering information from the site more difficult. P.S. I concur with no pop-up's

OK, I need to know if his is a typo or if the scouts have changed since I was in them.

I'm 20...

I apologize if either of my posts came off as angry or disgruntled. I certainly wasn't trying to turn anything into a "pissing contest", just trying to pass along some information. Sorry if I offended anyone, its hard (for me at least) to convey emotion through text.

I see no reason that a gang couldn't use any one of those things as a way to symbolize membership. They aren't just going to wear a shirt that says "I'M A MEMBER OF XXXXX STREET GANG!!!". They use subtle symbols that seem unsuspecting to the average observer. Maybe it's just because before I moved here I lived in Detroit, and maybe the scores of gangs there do things differently than they do in Memphis, but as far as my experience goes (and I'm admitting it is limited) I would see no reason why any of the listed objects would be off limits for a gang selecting a uniform.

I'm sure the gang-bangers themselves aren't interested in any aspect of the sport, however the signs that they would use to show affiliation play easily into nascar apparel. The dominant color of a drivers car can just as easily be used to show gang affiliation as the color of a football team. Not to mention if they are clever enough it could even be the drivers number, or even one of their sponsors. The schema of nascar advertising plays well into gang related clothing for a variety of reasons, it doesn't mean that the person wearing it has to be a fan of the sport. Just my .02.

I don't have some hot deals lined up or anything, I can certainly wait a few more weeks and know that everything is legal. I just found that there was some ambiguity in the laws I was reading.

So basically I could buy from a private party but not from a licensed dealer, or I am misinterpreting that?

Here's a new question. How old do you have to be to purchase a handgun in Tennessee? Everything I could find online says 18 but all the shops I've been to say 21. Is there perhaps a difference between buying from a store and buying from a private party? Or is this simply a store policy that most stores seem to have? I searched through the state legislature and statues but could not find a definite answer.

I can find plenty of carry classes, but I can not find just a basic pistol safety class. I don't know what kind of instruction the carry class contains but I'm under the impression that I would need at least some knowledge of a pistol before I took it.

Well I just got back from handling about 12-15 different handguns, and if I had to make a purchase based solely on how it fit in my hand it would be a close call between a Springfield XD9 and a Sig P229. I know the Sig is out of my original price range but I figured I would look at what I could get for a little bit more money. On a side note I still have not been able to locate a basic pistol class in the Knoxville area, coal creek armory offers them but they said they will rarely get enough people interested to warrant giving the class. Well the search continues I guess.

Wow, I go away for a weekend and my little thread becomes a monster lol. Just to give everyone an update I'm going to go to several gun shops around town tomorrow to at least see how a lot of the different firearms feel/fit in my hand. I'm also going to try and locate a basic pistol safety class, and hopefully get into that as soon as I can. Thanks for all of your help so far.

Well I don't gamble and I don't do drugs so it looks like I'm good to go. Also notice that in my last post I stated that I fully intend to take a basic a pistol course, just looking for recommendations on which one if anyone from the area is familiar with a particularly good instructor. I realize that perhaps I stated it poorly, but I'm typing a paper for an ethics class at the same time that I'm posting here so forgive any little mishaps in my wording.

Wow, thanks for all the quick, yet informative, replies. Lots of good places to start my search. I just want to let everyone know that I fully intend to purchase the gun that feels right to me. I just want to see what some the more popular choices are, because in most cases they are going to be popular for a reason. That is one of the main reasons I'm asking this question so far in advance of my purchase date, I don't like to be rushed into making major decisions and I like to have a well thought out buying process that ends with me getting what is right for me. I think everyone can agree that the handgun market is quite large and to a beginner like me it is quite overwhelming, so again I thank you all for your help. I live in the Cedar Bluff area so I will have to see if I can locate that shop. That is another question I meant to ask what are some opinions on taking a beginning pistol class or something like it. I had planned on it anyway, I feel that the more training I get the better, and db99wj's comment helped reinforce that notion. Any other opinions, different class, where to take it in the area, etc.?