Grayfox54

Rain and thunderstorms predicted for all next week.

Not as far fetched as you think. In my career I have repaired large booms on various pieces of equipment by welding and plating the damaged areas. Same principal on a bigger scale.

Local news just announced that the Coast Guard has re-opened river traffic. About 1000 barges are now moving again. Good news as the Mississippi river is a major agricultural product pathway. There is also talk of a temporary repair to re-open road traffic until a permanent repair can be planed and scheduled. But nothing solid as of yet.

Luckily for me, both my vehicles are about 3/4. I don't get out much. Hopefully I can make it till things settle back down.

I watched the news a little while ago. They say that beam is 24" X 30". That's serious load bearing stuff. They also say that there are already over 200 barges sitting half a mile upriver waiting for clearance. News is that clearing river traffic is the first priority. Unlike a road, a traffic jam on the river doesn't just sit still. Things have a tendency to drift towards each other and don't do well if they meet.

Thanks Garufa, that gives me a much better idea of the scope of the problem. Its bad. Real bad! And that is most definitely a clean break. It snapped all at once. Just a SWAG, but when was the last time a string of barges hit that bridge? That would be my guess.

Wish there was something in the pic to give it some scale and a wider view to show exactly where it is. Would also help to know the thickness of the steel. Fairly clean break. Looks repairable to me. How long would vary depending on the actual size of that beam. BTW: I'm not seeing rust streaks that would indicate a slowly growing crack breaking over time. That looks like a clean break that happened all at once. And that bothers me.

I've been saying for years that this country's infrastructure was in major need of an overhaul. I'm actually kinda happy Biden is interested in this. But, like every other democratic proposal, they want to pass a bill to spend trillions of dollars and maybe 10% of it will actually go for the intended purpose. All the rest will be used to fund the totally unrelated liberal wish list.

OH CRAP! I just reread the article and realized that they closed river traffic as well. I can't even imagine how much cargo runs up and down that river every day. Not good! Not good at all!

Local news can't seem to get it straight. There's a crack which is bad enough to close the bridge, but local TV seems to think it'll be repaired in just a day or two. Really? I kinda have my doubts about that. The news also reported that 100,000 vehicles cross that bridge every day. The I-55 bridge, which normally sees half that, will now have to take the full load. Downtown Memphis is a mess. Traffic is barely moving. For those who don't know, Memphis and all the Mississippi river bridges have been on our enemy's primary target lists since the early cold war days. Drop those bridges and you effectively cut this country in half.

Thanks for the comments guys. I think I will sit on most of this stuff for a while. I've got plenty of ammo on hand and having components will give more flexibility to future needs as I may choose to change bullet weights, powder charges or something for a particular caliber. Never really know what tomorrow may bring?

Your house, your rules.

Gary, I also had one of the Crossman M1 carbine BB guns and still do have a Marlin 99M1 rifle. These were my first guns growing up. Quite possibly that's why I'm such a fan of the M1 Carbine.

I've always kept a pretty good supply of reloading components on hand. I currently have a good supply of both factory and reloaded ammo and don't really need to reload at the moment. However, I do have components to make a very large amount (thousands) of rounds of ammo in various calibers. Since I do have loaded ammo on hand, I've just been sitting on this supply just in case. I suppose if push come to shove, I could sell off some bullets, primer and powder. But honestly, I don't really need the money. Likewise, I have no friends in dire need either. I could go ahead and load this stuff up which would contribute considerably to my own supply. However, I wouldn't be able to sell any of it. And then that opens the questions of when, if and how much to resupply? Is it foolish of me to sit on and basically hoard these components or should a just go ahead and load 'em up and have shootable ammo ready to go?

I have two. An Inland and a Standard products. But I signed up anyway. Depending on price and condition, I'm open to another one. IDK, Italian Police in storage since the 1950s? Makes me question their condition. CMP goes through, checks and repairs as necessary. These may well be "as is" and luck of the draw. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I do believe it will eventually. However, I am really starting to question how long that's gonna take. Its already gone longer than I expected and there's really no let up in sight.

Interesting. I stand corrected. But then I haven't been specifically looking for one either. Honestly, I prefer the standard stocks. That price does sound about right. Them things ain't cheap. Good luck in your search.

Look at your son and say these words: "Bubba, Ya done good!"

if you set a day and time that's as good as your word. Be there! Unfortunately, if they don't show, there's not much you can do about it. If you both belong to the same forum, I guess you could leave negative feedback if available. But I doubt if a post calling him out would fly. Personal attacks not allowed. I've had a couple of no shows over the years. One guy actually did have something come up. He apologized later and we rescheduled. The others never replied to my messages. Never heard from them again. All I could do was be pissed. Were you buying or selling? Buyers almost always show up. But occasionally, stuff happens. Sellers sometimes get a better offer, blow off the deal already made with you and won't to tell you. To me, that's dishonest.

Are you talking about getting a regular M1A or are you specifically looking for one already customized with the Sage International combat stock? New Springfields in all versions are out there. However, a used Springer M1A is kinda hard to find as those who have 'em, tend to keep 'em. I've bought 2 used Springers, but that was just dumb luck. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But like everything else, prices are way up. People who build rifles using Sage stocks also tend to go all out on other custom and accuracy work. They ain't cheap and they don't get sold. I don't believe I've ever seen a Sage stocked rifle for sale. The smart option would be to put the rifle back in a regular stock and sell the two separately. That Sage stock is close to $1000 by itself. I think if you go looking for a used Sage Custom, you'd have better luck finding unicorns. Another thing to consider if you're looking into M1As is that even before the current shortage, the supply of cheap Mil-surp 7.62X51 ammo was already starting to dry up. It ain't like it used to be. I love the M1A. Its my personal choice in a MBR. But these days they ain't cheap to buy or shoot. Nope, not for sale.

No change for me either. I learned my lesson many years ago.

The .38 Special is likely the most common handgun cartridge in this country. Low supply + huge demand = high prices. Even those folks who only have the one old revolver stashed away in the sock drawer are realizing that ammo is scarce. They're out there looking too.