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    I bought a $60 plate carrier on Cheaper Than Dirt (this was in 2010, before they decided to gouge people with no remorse) for my contracting gig.  I think it was a Condor as well, but I can't remember for sure.  I wanted it for flights from Kuwait to Iraq so I wouldn't have to use an Army issue vest.  I didn't use it more than a few times, but for $60 I didn't feel bad about the purchase. I brought it home when I left Kuwait.   A year later, I used it all the time to fly around in Afghanistan.  I was traveling about 40% of the time and that cheap plate carrier held up like a champ, doing the same exact job one that cost 3x as much did for others.  It was so worn in that the shoulder pads were in a permanent arch from carrying the weight of the plates while on my shoulders.  But the stiching held up just fine.   Would I have wanted it if I was still in uniform, no.  But for my needs it was just fine.  I felt I had gotten my use out of it and bequeathed it to another FSR instead of bringing it home.  I sort of regret that, but helping out a co-worker lessens that regret.  Since I can't see myself buying ballistic plates on my own dime, I will probably just put together a LBE style rig someday for ammo, water and other field stuff to use for the range and bug-out purposes.   Moral of the story is, unless you're going to take it to combat, you don't have to blow an entire paycheck on kit you are most likely only going to use at the range.  Beat the hell out of that vest and you may decide you are quite comfortable with it and don't need a more expensive one.

  How do you think it would handle low hanging tree branches?  There is a tree that hangs over the fence to the townhouses behind me and is almost touching the ground.  I want to clear everything out as high as I can reach.  I figured I might need a chainsaw for those, but do you think the hedge trimmer would work?

      I have the Kobalt battery powered lawn mower.  I can't say I would recommend it for large lawns, but it serves the purpose quite well for my needs.  Not having to deal with gas, oil, storage of it and all that jazz was worth the extra money.  I'm seriously considering the hedge trimmer and chainsaw for some clean-up work in my backyard if the landscaping companies don't return my calls.

  A lot of political noise has been moved to Facebook, blogs, forums and other places on the internet.  It's just the times a' changing.  Elected officials still look at who shows up to vote more than anything else.  A poll of likely voters is taken very seriously.  If you're ever asked to participate in one over the phone, that's a good way of having your opinion heard.   Communicating with an elected officials office is still the best way to convey the message you have.  They can ignore it, but if they get enough heat on an issue, they will consider their vote a lot more carefully.  Sometimes they know what is good politics in their districts by instinct and it's the way they would vote anyway, other times public opinion can sway their vote.  Also, consider sending a thank you letter to a member of congress when they take a vote that you agree with.  Too often, they only hear the negative side after voting and we risk letting that volume drown out the conversation.   As all this relates to gun rights...I can tell you with no doubt whatsoever, that the pro gun crowd is more adamant about this issue and represents a greater amount of single issue voters than those who want gun control.  Politicians who directly vote against gun rights are held to account for those votes- the usual suspects like CA, NY, MA and such excluded.  There are Democrats representing pro gun districts that would never dare put their name as a "Yea' on much gun control.  Background checks are about the only issue they are willing to consider.  Voters who consider gun rights a priority issue have made this so.  On the other side, gun control isn't as hot a priority...unless it's general bitching about things.   Our state legislature is a bit different.  Since there is a Republican trifecta and nobody really trusts a Democrat with pro gun issues, the powers that be aren't in any hurry to take on pro gun issues.  Hopefully the 2015 legislative session is a productive one.

  Like all things, a potential confiscation would go down on the side on whoever puts forth the most effort.    As to the question of who would fight, it's easy to take down a house when you have a 5 or 10-1 advantage and can cut the power, along with the water to weaken resistance for a few days.  I highly, and I do mean highly, doubt that most gun owners would barricade themselves in their homes with barrels pointed towards the door waiting for the breach.  They would let their homes be searched, give up their guns and would go back to sitting on the couch watching crap shows on cable TV.  The might post some outrage onto Facebook, but that's where it would end.  If it's just you at home, you might take your chances.  But for all those with spouses and kids in the house too, are you willing to let them take your risk?   New Orleans is a perfect example of it happening in our lifetimes.  The lawsuit that went against the city will be ignored in the future if a Mayor or Governor feels the need to control a situation again and mandate confiscation.   The only hope to fight it would be the Bundy Ranch scenario.  Brining enough folks to meet an armed group and take their weapons will be a lot harder.  Mass gatherings to make the police have to come in en masse would be the only worthwhile resistance.  And even then you have to hope they won't take the step of using military style force to solve the problem.  Though by that point, we would be beyond the looking glass, IMO.     What he said.    I have no doubt that majority of LEO's at the local, state and federal local will follow the orders given, even if in contrast to the Constitution.  Like us, they enjoy creature comforts and need to provide for their families.  I'll use the Bundy Ranch again as an example...anybody think those guys ready to go in heavy and quash resistance were far left liberals who think the state should control everything?  Don't ever think somebody's next meal isn't worth violating the law to get.  You may be disappointed otherwise.

Well, it's been 3.5 hours since this thread opened...so no reason the GF should still be around.  If you think you can win her back, or she will come to her senses, sorry man, this situation is beyond salvaging.    As to her online heartthrob... Document everything you can then notify the local police where he lives about the death threats, email/fax them copies of his threats. Then submit copies of your documentation with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.  Let a the background check process catch this asshat if he tries to get a gun through a vendor.  Won't stop him if he's serious enough, but taking away one avenue isn't nothing.

I voted on Wednesday since I had the afternoon off.  Early voting is a win for me and I hope it never goes away.   If you haven't done so yet, get out there.  For those who think there may be some issues...registration needs to happen 30 days before an election, so if you moved counties, your out of luck for the current election. But if you moved and you're still in the same county, you have until five days before the election to get the change filed with your local county election commission.  I can help anybody that needs it find out where they need to be to make this happen, send me a PM if you require help.   Few excuses to not get out there and cast a ballot. 

That calls for a Carlsberg, for sure.  Carlsberg is good beer, a local beer store here in Murfreesboro imports it and it's in my rotation.    Their run ad's like that a lot in Europe.  Here's a longer one about putting friends to the test; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs1wMp84_BA

  Read this and you'll see they could care less about anything gun rights related.  Also, Maryland's proximity to the teat of Washington D.C. ensures enough work.   It's a shame they have such restrictive gun rights and other negative factors.  Some of the land up there is truly beautiful. 

TGO, if Taylor Swift is considered "hot", "desirable", or any variation thereof...we need to have a serious discussion on what those words should really mean.

  Well, you can show the new requirements to your old sheriff.  After all, you were the one to give TGO a convenient .pdf ot the law that says he must sign within 15 business days if there isn't a prohibition on the purchaser. :)

The .gov can sense the prevailing winds on this.  Smoking weed is loosing its stigma as a trend nationwide.  Even those who don't care for it are adopting a live and let live mentality regarding it.  NFA items aren't there yet.    Next, you get into the revenue aspect of things.  Weed wasn't bring in one cent for local, state or the federal governments as a prohibited substance; that's beginning to change and will be a big factor in keeping it legal where it is now and expanding its legality where it currently isn't.  Take away NFA restrictions and those checks of $200 a pop stop going directly to the ATF coffers.  It's not an insignificant amount when you do the math.   As far as the general consensus around NFA items go (we're not part of "general consensus"), SBR's would be the first to come of the NFA list.  There is growing acceptance of them as casual sport shooting with them and more companies are selling short barrels that function well at affordable prices.  Not all states with NFA restrictions prohibit them.    Suppressors (which are still popularly called silencers to show you how far the needle has moved on that one) and automatic weapons will be harder to get, with full auto being the hardest.  Even I have reservations about making automatic street legal.  I'd want a sunset provision when allowing full auto to see how it goes and bring up the debate again later, but would vote to allow it on general principle.

  I have one of those and agree with Garufa, the PSA stamp on there lowers isn't bad at all.  They also have the SAFE/FIRE ones if the bullet pictorgram isn't your style.

Just got back from Terry Walden's.  My early evening plans got canceled, so I put together a quick range bag and drove down there on a whim.  I was the only person on any of the ranges shooting, which was awesome.  While I could see Terry's getting a little crowded during peak hours, for the price and area to shoot, you can't go wrong.  The two pistol ranges looked nice (I only shot my AR) when I went to check them out as well.   Overall, I'd give Terry Walden's my recommendation if you are within what you consider reasonable driving distance and want to send some rounds downrange.  As with all things, those you share the range with account for a large part of the experience, so your mileage may vary.

Glad to hear the news for those in our state who will get a job from this.    I'll be excited about factory seconds if Walther moves its US plant from Springfield, MA down here. :)

Now all you need is a PEQ-2 or PEQ-15 to go with it. 

  Since the 'Do Not Call List' doesn't apply to campaigns, I'm surprised you aren't getting some now.  The state and federal primaries are more contended than the general elections in Tennessee.  Robocall or volunteer call, campaigns are calling now that early voting is open.   Campaigns use the number on your voter registration (which is a public record any party can get) when they call, so if you have an old number on there, that may explain it.

Thanks for sharing this!  I'll hope to be there.

  Yes, resistance is futile.  Think of the children and comply, slave, err, sir.  :angry:

  He was (mostly) joking, but he is an Aimpoint loyalist.  Nothing wrong with either brand, I just wanted to get some dedicated time behind an EoTech to see if I like it over time since I've never owned one.  If not, I'll sell it to fund an Aimpoint PRO, so yeah, I do want to keep it in good cosmetic shape for a bit.    Though I won't comment on pros/cons, ect of the two brands...I don't want to get that debate started... :)

  I thought about just bringing a towel to lay down for next time, but yeah, a blanket like you say would work better.  That picnic table at the end of the rifle barn was filled with peoples things.  I just figured it was for the shooters on the end and others had the tables behind them.  EIther way, I needed to go down to the smaller ranges and dial in my sight.   I'm not afraid to have my AR get its wearin scratches...I just figured between it being my first time firing it and with an EOTech right out of the box that I may get bored with a sell someday (my friend says I'll want an Aimpoint within a year) I should at least take better care.

  I would think the up front pricing for an annual membership would keep the jabroni's away more than a background check would.  Unless someone has a criminal record or pops up on a web search you wont find much about them beyond the privacy settings of their Facebook page without passing the task onto an agency who deals with such things.  I'm a privacy nut, so giving up information and submitting to a background check makes me feel weird.  They may have a method to handle them that I can't think of...or have someone plugging names into a database they aren't supposed to use for non-official business.   I was at OK Corral Saturday late afternoon until closing time.  Though the rain made my day less fun than I had hoped- I liked what I saw.  It felt like a good place to shoot and I plan to go back this week or next if the heat isn't too oppressive.  I can see myself there a lot during my winter break between fall and spring semesters when I have over a month off in December/January and everybody thinks it's cold outside.  :x:   While I'm not in love with their long range, it does serve the purpose for ones needs.  My only gripes would be that they use shooting positions for the long range that are concrete (I put a blemish on my AR...yeah, that's on me) and you can't lay prone to shoot since you can't go out past the covered sitting positions.  I went down to their pistol range and dialed in my EOTech from a kneeling position to a respectable degree as best I could.  I only read about their assault rifle/shotgun pit today and will check it out on my next visit.   For the absurdly low cost of $5 per person, and as friendly as their staff were to me and my lady friend, they will get my business again.  I also plan to check out Terry Walden's range sometime.

  I wouldn't be surprised if it's upwards of 70-75% for complete firearms on gunbroker.  It seems every firearm I look at on there comes from a small store somewhere in these United States.  It's just the modern way for them to let people window shop and buy if they see something they like.

Keep it up, Joe.  There's no downside to quitting smoking.

      What these guys said.  Tennessee has more than enough hot as f**k days during the summer- and even during spring a fall.  A few cooler days with some rain to keep the grass and other things that grow in good health is a good thing.   I was making calls for work yesterday sitting on a porch while enjoying the nice temps and light breeze at 6pm.  That's a novelty this time of year and I loved it.