JAB

Sitting at O'Charley's, drinking tea, about to have a burger, posting from my Blackberry. P3AT in pocket. All nice and legal.

Maybe this belongs more in the 'general' section but it relates to politics so I put it here. Of course, I have no problem with it being moved if need be. Thinking toward the elections later this year, I started considering which issues upon which I really want to know the various candidates' - especially gubernatorial candidates' - stance. Of course, their stance on the Second Amendment in general and handgun carry, in particular, are of great importance, to me. I don't want to be a 'one issue' voter and there are other issues on which I want to know a candidate's stance. That said, I believe that with all the various 'issues' at play in modern elections, it is impossible to know everything about how a candidate stands on every issue - plus, honestly, there are some issues that are 'hot buttons' for others that just don't really matter, to me. Therefore, I use a few issues - including firearms rights - as a sort of 'litmus test' of whether I want to know more about a candidate's views or not. In other words, if I agree with a candidate's stance on firearms rights but disagree with everything else, I probably won't vote for him/her - but if I agree with him/her on everything else but totally disagree with their views on firearms rights, that would also be enough to keep me from voting for him/her. I'm just wondering how others approach the voting decision.

Yeah, all this skateboarding and playing video games when they should be working 20 hours a day at their first job and 18 hours a day at their second! These darned kids today - how dare they try to get any enjoyment out of life?! How dare they feel entitled to do a little living along with their working? Don't they know that real men work their asses off - often without even knowing why - until they drop dead, are carried out feet first (having done very little living despite all that life they had) and are replaced by someone else who will be worked to death, as well? You'll notice I'm ten years older than that '28 and under' crowd that was cited. I also started my first job when I was sixteen (the minimum legal age at the time), have worked some jobs with long, hot and hard hours (Maremont making mufflers and tailpipes during 3 consecutive summers while in college, for instance) and went to college so I didn't have to spend my whole life doing work like that. I further believe that the generation cited has plenty of problems. Some of Straight Shooter's indictments, in fact, are probalby spot-on regarding some members of that generation. That said, I also think that a lot of folks in older generations are a bit jealous that they have spent all of their time chasing - something - that they never attained and never stopped to have much, if any, fun along the way. Of course, rather than admit that they wish they had done a few things a bit differently - that maybe, just maybe, their way was not the best way - they will criticize those who are doing things differently. See, I think that is the real problem - some folks resent that they squandered their chance to be young. I turn 39 this month. In some ways, I was born at 40 years old and it has simply taken this long for my body to catch up with my mentality. I didn't much like or understand kids when I was one - I always preferred hanging out with the adults. As I got older - into my teens and twenties - I usually tried to be more 'mature' than others my age. Hell, let's face it - I was a stick in the mud. I kind of regret that, now. In truth, I wish I had acted more young and foolish when I was, well, more young and foolish. It's a bit too late for that, now, but I don't blame the younger generation for my failure to take advantage of my youth. Things change and each generation must adapt to the current state of things. If things - and people - stayed the same, the human race would stagnate and die. I have a nephew who is 15. He certainly enjoys his video games, etc. and gets bored easily. The other day, I started talking about how I lived in the same area where he lives when I was his age. It is a rural area and there isn't a lot to do. I started telling him how when I was his age I would get out and walk in the woods and entertain myself. Then I realized that if he walked the paths I walked back then, he would be walking through the middle of three or four different yards/driveways where houses have been built on land that was just woods, then. This past weekend, I went with my mom to visit my maternal grandfather on Lookout Mountain where dad and I used to go hunting. Dad had known the people who owned the various pieces of land as his parents had also lived there since he was a kid. Now, just in the last few years, all that land has been bought and sold - some of it several times - and it is all fenced in and posted. Even there, you can't just go out for a walk in the woods without trespassing, any more. My point is, it isn't just younger people who are different. They haven't become who they are in a vacuum. The whole, damned world has changed - a lot - even since times as recently as the 1970s and 1980s. Funny thing is, I am writing this in defense of these people and I am probably one of the biggest misanthropes around. Seriously, I like my friends and family, of course but I just don't much like people, in general. I guess, though, that my viewpoint has made me see that these younger folks - useless or not - are really no worse than 99% of the other useless people in this world.

The only thing I really need is some ammo - I mostly want to find some 9X18 JHPs for the CZ 82 I recently got. Thought about attending the next show to see if I could find any but found some online yesterday with $12 shipping. If I can't find any from a local LGS, I'll probably just order those. I think that $12 shipping to get the ammo 'for sure', delivered to my door, is better than $10 to participate in a 'scavenger hunt' on the off chance of finding some at the show. I hope you folks that go have a good time and find some deals.

There is no doubt in my mind that the BP oil spill is an ecological disaster. That said, I guess ol' Assdumb...er...I mean Ashton missed how Obama announced plans to open more offshore areas to drilling - some for the first time - just a few weeks before the current BP fiasco started, huh. Obama to Open Offshore Areas to Oil Drilling for First Time - NYTimes.com I guess he also missed how the Whitehouse says that Obama's stance on opening more areas to drilling has not been changed by the current spill: Obama unchanged on offshore drilling despite spill | Reuters Seriously, why can't some people learn when to just shut up? I enjoyed Kutcher's performances in "That 70s Show" - but c'mon, he was playing a clueless idiot. How much of an acting stretch could that have been, really?

Great! Anyone else thinking that next year, after they have a chance to change the liquor laws, this will be changed to only allow carry in restaurants that serve? Not that it will bother me - I really don't frequent bars. Heck, I mostly want to be able to carry in the little mom and pop places that offer beer in their beverage choices on the menu. Not that I will turn down carrying where liquor is served, too! Now if the legislature can just get something passed so that I can keep a firearm in my vehicle while at work (would probably take changes to both 'parking lot' laws and 'school property' laws) - which effects me every Monday through Friday and not just when I go out to eat - I will be pretty well satisfied.

1. This: A late '70's Colt Police Positive .38 Special. It was my first 'serious' handgun (had a Titan .25acp before that.) It belonged to the father of a friend of mine (actually, his dad and I ended up being friends, too.) After I met him, my friend's dad fell and broke his neck. He was mostly in a wheelchair - although he was able to walk a little, eventually. I lived on East Fifth in Knoxville at the time and when they found out that the only handgun I had for home defense was a .25, they offered me the Colt at a good price as my buddy had his own handguns and his dad could no longer shoot it, anyway. My friend's dad - who has since passed away - reminded me a lot of my own late father. I used this revolver to stop an attempted home invasion not long after they sold it to me (no shots fired - the folks attempting to break in our front door saw the Colt in my hand - aimed at one of their heads - through the window in the front door and ran away.) The only way this one will ever go anywhere is if I sell it back to my friend who I got it from. I put the Pachmayr's on it to make it easier to shoot but I still have the originals. I made the holster that is in the pic last year - not that I carry it all that much. I don't even shoot it all that often, anymore. I just think that holster looks good with it. 2. My Ruger P95. My grandfather in law bought it for himself. Shortly after my wife and I were married, he and I were out shooting and he decided I liked it better than he did so he gave it to me and told me to consider it a wedding present. Those are the two handguns I am most attached to. Of course, I have a couple of long guns that belonged to dad and both the Colt and the Ruger would go before I would part with those.

I recall having seen it at Kroger's but I no longer live near a Kroger's and don't know if they still stock it. It was with the olive oil, grapeseed oil, etc. I haven't really looked for it at other grocery stores.

As far as the natural oils, I wonder how walnut oil would work. The reason I ask is this: My grandfather in law makes treenware (treenware is wooden spoons, bowls and other cooking/serving/eating implements like the pioneers would have used.) Colonial Williamsburg used to sell some of his work in their gift shop until their demand got to be more than he could supply (this was before his retirement when it was side work for him.) I am told that some of his work was (and maybe still is) used in some displays at the Smithsonian. Treenware, like most wood, needs to be treated/oiled with something. He uses thinner/lighter varieties of olive oil and has for years because it is natural, food safe and lasts so long without going rancid (he intends for his treenware to actually be used.) Another woodworker recently told him that, while olive oil may last for a long time without going rancid, walnut oil will never go rancid. He is sticking with olive oil, for now, but that is why I wonder if walnut oil would work on y'all's BP revolvers or if it would get gummy.

Maybe we should ask who else...er...I mean..who has the complete ensemble: The badge holder that can be worn either clipped to the belt or as a necklace The T-shirt and windbreaker set that both have an actual size image of the badge printed on the left side of the chest as well as a larger image of the badge that takes up nearly the entire back The cap with the badge embroidered on it The range bag with the badge printed on one side and the words "I have a handgun carry permit - make my day" printed on the other The HCP badge belt buckle and, of course, The lapel pin, tie tack and cufflinks - for those more formal occasions.

Good post. I'm not comfortable with OC except in limited circumstances and I don't broadcast the fact that I have an HCP but I don't treat it like some kind of state secret, either. If someone sees my handgun or my HCP, so what? I'm legal. If someone wants to cause me trouble, they can find out a lot more about me from looking at that stupid database the CA has online than by just seeing me in line at a store. To me, the best way to get society to accept that having an HCP and carrying a handgun is no big deal is to act like it is no big deal, ourselves. Of course, I don't mean to indicate that it isn't a great responsibility just that I tend to act like having an HCP and carrying a firearm are perfectly normal - which, I believe, they are.

I have a removeable insert in my wallet that is made to hold ID, etc. It is a small, bi-fold type thing. My DL is in one side and my HCP is in the other - both facing outward and visible through the clear plastic on their respective sides. Usually, when someone asks to see ID, I pull the insert out and hold it by the side that has the HCP, showing them the DL. The HCP is mostly blocked by my hand in those cases but I don't make a huge effort to keep it hidden. I don't 'flaunt' that I have an HCP but I don't treat it like a dirty, little secret either. Besides, I have decided that if I am in a traffic stop situation this would be the best way to subtly show my HCP to an officer. Heck, many of us have discussed the fact that we have an HCP on this and other Internet forums. We may not make our real names readily available but it really can't be that hard for a determined individual to find out who we are and there are a whole lot more folks with Internet access than clerks who will see my ID in my lifetime, no matter how long I live. In other words, if folks were really good and paranoid, they wouldn't ever mention having an HCP on the Internet. In fact, they probably wouldn't even belong to any firearms related forums.

I shoot my P3AT better than I shoot my P11 (the trigger is better, IMO.) My hands are pretty big so I found that putting one of the grip extending mag baseplates on helps me control it better. I had a Hogue grip sleeve on mine but with the 'pinky extension', I shoot it just as well without it. A piece of bicycle innertube also makes a good 'D.I.Y.' grip sleeve if you find that the sharp, little checkering bumps on the grip are chewing up your hand (checkering seems to be sharper on some P3ATs than on others.) Some folks just lightly sand the sharp peaks off. Some folks also lightly sand the flashing on the grip and inside the trigger guard smooth. Again, I think the flashing is worse on some than others. Just a few F.Y.I.: 1. These little things generally need to be cleaned often in order to function well. They also like to be well-lubed. This is a really good 'lubrication guide' for use with the Kel Tecs, especially the P3AT: http://goldenloki.com/gunsmith/keltec/lube.htm 2. When you have it taken down for cleaning, watch the ejector. It is a seperate piece that just slides into the frame, can fall out when the slide is off and is easy to lose. 3. A lot of Kel Tec owners also do a basic 'Fluff and Buff' which speeds up the break in process and aids in reliability. I don't think the newer P3ATs need this as much as the 1ST generation pistols did but the major points are polishing the feed ramp as well as polishing/making sure there are no burrs on the rails and making sure that the hammer interface in the slide is smooth. I think you will really enjoy the little fellah - especially if you plan to carry it. I don't often carry mine as primary - usually it is a BUG - but have used it as primary at times and will, again. With a good pocket holster, it disappears in a front pocket and is so light you can almost forget it is there. One final thing, the Kel Tec warranty is as good as you hear. I bought a NIB first-gen P3AT several years ago. This was back when many of them still had their 'problems'. Well, I didn't shoot it much until I got my carry permit in '08 and it was then I realized that it needed coaxing to be reliable (as I mentioned, I think this was more true of some of the 1st gen P3ATs than of the 2nd gen.) I would resolve one issue and it would have another until a few months back the hammer spring broke. I sent it back to Kel Tec, along with a list of the other problems it had encountered. KT has done several upgrades since the 1st gen. Also, the slide and extractor are completely different, now - and they don't have any of some of the 1st gen parts left. When I received my P3AT back, pretty much the only original part was the frame. They built me a brand new, 2nd generation P3AT on my 1ST generation frame - no questions asked and free of charge. My LGS owner sent it in for me with one of his shipments so I didn't even have to pay any shipping. Although I liked the way the 1st gen looked better, my 2nd gen has been 100% reliable, right out of the box with no 'break in' needed.

Heh, I like the Remington FMJ stuff. Too bad I've already just about drained my gun and ammo fund for the month. Still, if supplies of brass-cased .380 don't improve in the next month or so, I may have to come and see you. My wife and I like eating at the Gerst Haus in Nashville and its been about a year since we've been there. I think I could probably pull a, "Honey, let's take a drive up toward Nashville, maybe eat at the Gerst Haus. Oh, and since we will be there, anyway, let's run on over to Goodletsville so I can pick up some .380 ammo."

UPDATE: This thread (and remarks about the growing availability of .380 ammo) made me decide to stop into Gander Mountain at Turkey Creek on the way home last Friday evening. I almost didn't - not wanting to be disappointed, yet again - but decided to take the chance. Lo and behold, on top of their ammo shelf behind the counter (they keep the handgun ammo back there, now) was a big, ol' stack of my preferred .380 carry ammo - Federal 90 grain Hydrashoks. My inner hoarder wanted to buy several boxes but my more sensible side saw the $24.~ price tag (for twenty rounds) so I only bought one box. I don't blast through the 'premium' stuff just shooting targets so that box should do, for now. I don't know how the supplies fared over the weekend, though. We stopped at the Academy in Hixson on the way to visit my grandfather on Lookout Mountain. I wanted to pick up a few boxes of their Monarch 9X18 ammo and I hoped they would also have some .380 of some type. Well, I got the 9X18 ammo but there wasn't any .380 there, at all. Even their Monarch store brand was sold out.

I just might go ahead and carry my firearm in a restaurant that serves alcohol this weekend. It will feel good to do that and be perfectly legal. Oh, I'm not worried about the law not being 'official', yet because... I'm spending most of the weekend in Georgia and carrying in restaurants where alcohol is served has been legal there for, what, a couple of years, now?! Of course, I'll mostly be at my grandfather's place on Lookout Mountain (nope, not the ritzy part) and there aren't really any restaurants around there, period - booze serving or otherwise. Still, since mom will be with me and she has her permit now, too, maybe we should stop in somewhere to eat so we can get a preview of what kind of bloodshed and violence to expect in TN restaurants when this law actually goes into effect. I mean, after all, haven't you guys heard all of the stories of the problems Georgia (and the majority of other states) have had because they so recklessly insist on "mixing guns and alcohol"? Oh, and I hope Bredesen's left-wing, New Jersey (_|_) is so sore from having the veto shoved up it that he can't sleep tonight.

Well, everyone except Walmart, Dick's, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro - wow, okay, maybe everyone doesn't have it. At least not in this area (the Knoxville area) - though maybe your part of the state is different. I was in Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago and Sportsman's Warehouse and Academy were also all out of .380 of any kind. Last week, the guy at the gun counter at Dicks told me that they have received, maybe, ten cases of .380 ammo in the last twenty months. I've seen some in a few of the smaller LGS in my area but it is usually steel cased stuff (which I do not want to fire in my P3AT.) Also, when I do find some all I am seeing is FMJ - I have seen exactly zero .380 JHP anywhere I have looked. Even when someone in one of the forums to which I belong posts that so and so has some for order online it is always 'out of stock' by the time I check. I do think that some stores in this are are getting in small amounts of .380 ammo but I'm hearing that it is disappearing from the shelf just about as soon as it goes out.

Until a couple of months ago, I had never fired a CZ, either. Then my mom bought a CZ vz 82 at Frontier Firearms. I fired hers and liked it well enough that when I saw one at Farnsworth's that had been taken in trade, I got it. I guess they are heavier than most modern compact carry pistols their size - mine is noticebly heavier than my Kel Tec P11 - but aside from comparing them to plastic fantastics, I don't think they are all that heavy. The mag release and safety release are ambidextrous. It can be carried 'cocked and locked' but it appears to have a 'rebounding hammer' type design and is DA/SA so when I carry it I will probably go with condition 2. Both mom's and mine are impressively accurate with Wolf FMJ and Monarch steel cased 9mm Mak ammo - and since it is a 'commie' gun, I don't hesitate to feed it steel cased ammo. I bought it as much as for a fun gun as anything - and because I didn't have anything chambered in 9mm Mak - but it will get carried, some. Mom's was something like $246 or so before tax, etc. and came with two mags, a spare mag belt 'sheath', lanyard and a duty type holster. Mine was $199 before tax, etc. and came with just the one mag and none of the other stuff. Are you finding cheap Mak ammo locally to you or are you ordering it online? I ask because even the Wolf black box and Military Classic FMJ stuff is up to around $20 or more per box of fifty everywhere I have seen it. I haven't found any JHP at all, yet (but I've only checked a couple of places.) I do know that the new Academy in Chattanooga has ther Monarch brand in steel-cased, FMJ Mak for just under $10 for a box of 50 - about the same price that Walmart sells the Federal 9mm Luger FMJ for. I tried some of the Monarch in mom's CZ (before I got mine) and it worked as well as the Wolf, IMO. I plan on making a trip to Academy this weekend to pick up a few boxes. I'd like to find some of the Hornady JHPs to try out and honestly prefer to buy ammo in a brick and mortar store - but I will order online or by mail order if I can't find a local source or the price difference is enough to justify paying shipping, etc.

Personally, there isn't a restaurant (or other establishment) in the whole state - heck, the country - that I am so enamored with that I would pay $500 for the 'privilege' of doing business with them and giving them my money in exchange for their goods and/or services. To me, if a business posts properly then they obviously don't want honest, law abiding citizens with firearms in their establishment. I take that to mean they don't want me in their establishment and have no use for or need of my patronage. There are too many other businesses in my area that I believe won't post for me to want to give money to a business that treats me like I am somehow an 'untouchable' or a leper simply because I choose to be equipped to defend myself and those I care about. Besides, as someone else said, if they don't trust me to carry my firearm then why should I trust them to prepare my food? After all, the cooks don't have to go through a background check, etc. to be able to flip burgers. In the real world, I realize that there may be times that - in order to be legal - I may have to disarm, hold my nose and go into establishments that post. For instance, if my friends (who don't carry and don't really think about the issue, much) want to meet at a restaurant that is posted, I'm not going to pass up a now somewhat rare chance to hang out with my buddies. I will simply spend as little money in the establishment as possible. Of course, since when I meet up with them I am usually just leaving work (where I can't even legally have a firearm in my vehicle) it isn't like I will be leaving my firearm behind in the truck.

Why object? If the rule truly requires a 24 hour wait, I'd think the antis would just let the vote go on, let the override pass then wait until after this session is over - when nobody can do anything about it until next January - and get the new law declared 'null and void' because the proper waiting period was not observed. If they end up meeting again, tomorrow or Monday (meaning that having the rule pointed out would give the opportunity to wait the full 24 hours and then vote) the antis might actually be doing us a favor by pointing out the rule - if such a rule exists - because that would mean there would be no chance of challenging the new law based on that rule. Of course, it would seem that if today's session is the last, then the 24 hour rule wouldn't apply and it wouldn't matter, right?

Sorry, but to me that's like saying, "The Hindenburg crash wasn't really a disaster because it didn't kill nearly as many people as died in the wreck of the Titanic." Or maybe, "The Oklahoma City Bombing wasn't really a terrorist attack because it didn't kill nearly as many people as were killed in the WTC attacks on 9/11." Not "epic" and not as "epic" are two very different things, IMO.

Meaning that at least 50% of the 'danger' equation is alchohol. Further, I've never heard of anyone swerving into oncoming traffic and killing people because they were under the influence of a gun. Not that I am advocating Prohibition - just saying that it would be a bit difficult to argue against the guns and not the alcohol. Personally, I think that the whole 'guns and alcohol don't mix' thing is a bunch of crap. There, I said it. That doesn't mean I'm going to get wasted and head out to target shoot or even that I am going to have a few while keeping my gun on my hip (in public or not.) What it does mean is that I have consumed plenty of alcohol in my life (although not as much or as often, these days) and not once has it made me think, "Man, if I had a gun right now I'd shoot that guy." In fact, if my understanding is correct, some states allow folks to legally consume while carrying as long as they don't get 'drunk'. Certainly just being in the same room as booze while not consuming isn't going to cause me to start shooting up the place.

My point is, knives and other sharp instruments in the kitchen are dangerous because you never know when a 'disgruntled' fellow employee will go nuts and start hacking everyone up - especially when Demon Alchohol may be sitting just a few feet away, maybe even just on the other side of a thin wall. That means no cutting anything up in the kitchen, either. No peeling or chopping vegetables, no cutting up meat to be prepared and so on.

In the last few months, in China, there have been horrible, unprovoked attacks on children - some apparently as young as three. In at least one of these attacks, a knife was used and in another a kitchen cleaver was the weapon of choice. IIRC, the guy with the cleaver killed seven children and two adults and wounded eleven other children. One of the other instances saw an attacker stab 29 children and three teachers. These are numbers of dead and wounded as high as we have seen from attacks using firearms. That says to me - going by the real world evidence showing that attacks and even mass murders are successfully committed with such objects - plus the fact that 'disgruntled' employees have been known to attack coworkers - that such sharp objects create an unsafe work environment and should be kept out of these restaurants. Oh, sure, maybe the restaurants' kitchens couldn't function and the businesses would have to shut down (not just those that serve alcohol but all those that have knives in the kitchen) but shouldn't public safety take precedent?

That first chart shows both the .32acp (at 66%) and .380 (at 71%) as having better 'one shot stop' percentages than standard pressure .38 Special (65%). Heck, the .44 Special (at 76%) doesn't have the .380 beaten by much, according to their numbers. .38 Special +P (at 80%) actually beats the .44 Special. 40 S&W (94%) comes in just one point below a 30-30 (95%) - but would you think a .40 pistol would be as effective on a whitetail deer as a 30-30 rifle? Finally, I see that by the chart in question, a friggin' .308 (98%) is only about two percentage points higher than a .357 (96%). Now, .357 is one of my favorite cartridges but to say that it is comparable in one shot stop capability to a high powered rifle? Sounds like more data is needed. That chart says three things to me: 1. There are lies, damned lies and statistics and 2. Velocity and energy numbers don't always tell the whole story of what will happen in any given situation nor do those numbers necessarily have any direct correlation with how any one assailant might react (if I shoot once at an attacker and miss but the attacker stops the attack and runs away, is that not a one shot stop?) and 3. While taking 1 ad 2 into account, I still believe that a .380 or a .32 can be effective SD weapons.