JAB

The way it was explained to me is that some stores are considered 'hunting' stores while some aren't (this was from the Sporting Goods guy at the Turkey Creek store.) He said that only a certain number of stores in an area will be 'hunting stores' and still sell firearms. Probably means the same thing but makes a little more sense, to me, than 'country' and 'city' as the Madisonville store no longer sells firearms and hasn't for a couple of years (other than muzzleloaders, sometimes) while the Athens and Lenoir City stores do. Hard to get a much more 'country' location of Walmart than Madisonville. Of course, the monkey wrench in all this is that, although the Madisonville store hasn't sold firearms in some time, they still have a much larger ammo section (behind the counter) than the Lenoir City store (which does sell firearms) and generally seem to receive more ammo. Also, this past weekend, the Maryville Walmart on 411, which doesn't sell firearms, had Winchester PDX1 ammo in .40 and .45acp. I bought a box of .38 +P PDX1 there a couple of weeks ago. I've only ever seen the .40 at the Lenoir City store and they haven't even had it in quite some time. I have heard from other Walmart employees that selling firearms or not is sort of reflective of the general strategy that Walmart is going with, now. Some stores will sell firearms and most others in their area won't. Some stores will, for instance, still have a fabric section in the craft department while the others in their area won't - and so on.

Looks like snakes are going to be plentiful this year. Sunday, my wife was standing at the top of the steps, talking to me, and she just stopped mid-sentence. I looked to see what had disturbed her and saw that there was a black snake on the steps. My wife is very phobic of snakes, so that one had to go in a manner that hopefully ensured that it will not return. That one was probably just under three feet long. I think it was molting - the skin on its head looked pretty flaky. Earlier today, when leaving for work, I noticed that one of the cats was swatting at something on one side of the driveway, at the bottom of the steps leading up to the house. We have had baby birds trying to learn to fly in the last week or so and I didn't know what she was after so I blew the horn to run her off then pulled the truck over closer to see. It was another snake. This one was a little bigger than the one that had gotten in the house. It was brown with a black stripe down its back - I think it was what I have always heard called a 'rat snake'. It certainly must have been a pretty docile snake because I never saw it strike at the cat although she was aggravating it. At any rate, I don't believe it was venomous so I just left it alone. I have lived there for seven years and prior to this year I have seen a grand total of three snakes on the property. I have seen two in the past three days - and one was in the house. I wonder if all the rain is driving them out.

This is what we get when Tennesseeans elect a politician who grew up in New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts as governor. IF today and not yesterday is the deadline, having a previously signed veto delivered at the eleventh hour while he is out of the country would be the height of pettiness. I wouldn't put it past him, though. Of course, it is right at 1:30 a.m. on the morning of the 19th in China right now. Not that this makes any difference if he signed a veto before he left. On the other hand, I would have thought that he would have wanted to hold another 'photo op' press conference so that his masters in the more left-leaning factions of the Dem. convention could see what a good little lapdog he can be so he might get another political job once the governor gig is up. An 'A' rating from the NRA my acetabulum.

D'oh! You are right, of course. I guess I let my wishful thinking get the better of me. Okay, now it is 1:01 a.m. here - so NOW it is past midnight in Nashville.

Well, I've got two minutes 'til midnight (Eastern) so I guess that is two minutes 'til 1 a.m. over in Nashville. My boss' daughter lives in China and from what she has said, unless I am mistaken, they are twelve hours ahead of us - meaning that it is noon on Tuesday the 18th, there. So unless someone has other info, it sounds like Phil didn't want his heinie handed to him, again, on a veto. Maybe he just let it pass into law without a signature. EDIT: Well, the posting time stamp says it is actually after midnight, now.

It may have been 'co-opted' by the dealers but I remember seeing shoes hanging from wires like that way back in the '70s in very rural areas where the only likely drug was the occasional bottle of Jack Daniels (and maybe someone's home-grown pot patch.) I think it is just something silly that people - especially young people - do.

Well, different people have different experiences and react differently. One of my wife's co-workers was bitten by a copperhead while working in her garden last year. The hospital certainly didn't just give her an ibuprofen and send her on her way and it wasn't just a minor thing. Her arm (where she was bitten) swelled to two or three times it's normal size and turned black in places. The docs told her that it could take six months or more to return to normal and that even then there might be permanent neuromuscular damage. I don't know how my body would react to a copperhead bite. It could be just a minor annoyance, as your experiences indicate. It could also be severe pain, permanent damage or even death for all I know. If I see a copperhead on our property, I will assume that the latter is more likely and act accordingly. If I do get bitten, I'll take my chances with wasting the doc's time. Heck, even bee stings can be lethal to some people - luckily I am not one of them.

Yep, that is the non-TWRA, non-legal '.org' site I was talking about in the OP. But there is also this (taken from Michie's): so as snakes aren't 'big game', it would seem (and IANAL) that no permit would be needed or required to destroy a snake in such a situation. There is also this, which allows for even endangered or threatened species to be 'dealt with' (albeit with a permit): Are there any snakes in TN that are considered endangered or threatened? Of course, this doesn't even consider 'self defense' situations.

It is not my intent to make light of anyone else's concerns. However, as dang near every Mexican restaurant, Chinese restaurant and Mom and Pop restaurant in my area seems to list beer among the beverage choices on their menu, I go to restaurants where alchohol is served (to eat, not drink - drinking at home is cheaper and I usually have better beer) a whole lot more often than I go to the emergency room - and I really hope it stays that way. Mike .357, do you see that many circle/slash signs posted now? That isn't a rhetorical question - I really want to know. I can only think of two that I have seen in the Knoxville area. One was at Ray's ESG and the other was at Wild Wing Cafe (both after Bonnyman legislated from the bench...er...overturned the law, meaning they were legal places to carry, anyway.) I don't go to either place more than once or twice a year and could easily survive without going to either ever, again. Maybe I am being overly hopeful but I sincerely doubt that many places will suddenly post once this law changes. As I have said, before, I doubt that many business owners were aware that the circle/slash wasn't already a legal posting - yet I haven't seen those on many doors, at all.

I looked at the folding version at Gander Mountain yesterday and the lack of a pocket clip was the only thing that kept it from coming home with me. I still may change my mind and get one, anyway.

I'm not sure about the legalities of carrying it in a vehicle. Personally, I don't think I would do it on a regular basis. I would feel okay with it in the vehicle if I were going camping, etc. but that is just me and IANAL. FWIW, I've looked at the KABAR version in person. Seemed plenty strong and sharp but is made in either China or Taiwan, can't remember which. Of course, what isn't made in China or Taiwan these days?

But doesn't the TN statute specifically mention 'butterfly' knives as being illegal, too? It really doesn't make much sense to me that HCP holders can be trusted in public with a concealed weapon capable of wounding or killing at some pretty long distances, can legally have a loaded (but not chambered) rifle in our vehicles which could possibly be lethal at a distance of several football fields yet we still can't carry a stupid 'butterfly' knife.

"In mah belly!" (to quote Fat B*st*rd from the Austin Powers movie.) Not all at once, naturally. I probably wouldn't have to worry about it, though. I'd have to win, first.

I decided to start this thread to avoid further hijacking of a thread regarding open carry in one's yard, etc. This arose from discussions of use of a handgun for self-defense from possible non-human threats. The post I quote from Jamie, here, is from that thread: I will generally leave them alone unless I believe them to be venomous - or unless they are 'destroying property' on our land (state law allows animals to be killed for that reason, too - regardless of season, etc. although 'big game' requires authorization from - I think - the local Ag officer.) We've found non-venomous snakes in the chicken coop, in the nests, gorging on eggs. Those had to 'go'. I have heard/read that the reason you don't see as many venomous snakes where there are nonvenomous ones has as much to do with food source as anything. Most snakes eat small critters, mice, some frogs, etc. If you have nonvenomous snakes that eat those critters then there isn't as much of a food source to attract venomous ones. I have asked this in other threads and received no answer, so I am asking again: Can anyone tell me the specific statute or rule that prohibits killing snakes in TN. Are we sure that such a rule is not simply an urban legend? I ask because I can find nothing on the subject through Michie's, can find no mention of it on the TWRA website and have only ever seen it on a website that is linked from the TWRA site but apparently has no official connection to TWRA and is not a government or law site. It is a '.org' site that seems to have some connection to the Tennessee Herpetological Society. Not that I would suggest that they would 'fudge' when talking about such things in order to help protect the animals in which their society is interested but it is kind of odd that I haven't seen that anywhere else. As I have said, before, I'm not going 'hunting' for snakes and seeing them on public land would be a different situation. I would, however, want to keep poisonous snakes away from our yard/house.

Decided to move this post to a new thread to avoid further hijacking this one. Apologies to the OP.

I'd like to add a sixth candidate to that list. Remember Col. Van T. Barfoot, the 90 year old Medal of Honor recipient whose HOA tried to make him take down his flagpole a few months ago? Well, when all of that was going on I looked up his MOA citation, out of curiosity. Here is a the citation, telling what he did to win it: Taken from Medal of Honor Citations So, he single-handedly took out three machine gun nests with just grenades and his Thompson SMG then, later the same day, single-handedly faced down (and removed from the fight) two enemy tanks with only a bazooka and his Thompson - and basically scared a third tank into turning away (can you imagine standing on a battlefield, staring down three tanks and winning?), trashed a German field piece, THEN helped two wounded men to safety all while killing and capturing double digits worth of enemy soldiers along the way. Heck, pretty much anyone on the Medal of Honor recipient lists at the link, above, are genuine badasses - and make me feel like a helpless infant, by comparison.

No. People do dumb things. Some simply try to use being drunk as an excuse. Alchohol might lessen your inhibitions but it won't "make" you do anything you didn't want to do, anyway. You are still 100% in control of (and responsible for) your actions. At least that has been my experience.

I work at a satellite campus of a private college. Of course, this means that having a firearm in my vehicle is probably against the law in addition to being against my employer's policy. While not very likely (I will have worked here five years this coming September and it hasn't happened, yet) there is always the possibility of someone calling in a 'bomb threat' or other type of threat, etc. Were that to happen, we'd obviously have LEO with dogs searching around. Those dogs would likely hit on my vehicle, anyway, simply because I do have firearms and ammo in it, sometimes. I don't need the LEOs finding a firearm in my vehicle under such circumstances. Again, maybe not very likely but I named one circumstance, just as you asked.

Well, obviously if I have the choice I will step back out of the way - then draw, aim and fire (sorry, I'm not taking the chance on stepping on the stupid thing the next time.) I'm not going 'hunting' snakes and obviously it would be different if I were on public land but I'm also not taking chances on getting bitten in my garden, etc. A couple of years ago, before I started carrying a firearm around the yard, I was walking up our concrete driveway, minding my own business. There was a (fairly small, black) snake that had apparently been hiding in the grass near the end of the concrete and it struck at me as I walked by. I hadn't poked at it, aggravated it, stepped on it or even seen it before it struck. I just happened to be carrying/walking with a walking stick that I was working on (was actually walking up the driveway because I was headed toward the workshop) and managed to move it between me and the snake so it struck the stick, instead - and hard - before crawling away. Since I didn't see it until it was in the process of striking, I doubt I would have been able to step out of the way quickly enough and getting the walking stick in just the right spot was more luck than anything. IMO, the idea that 'if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone' is a bunch of hooey. Maybe it was getting ready to shed its skin or something (their eyesight is clouded by the molting skin over them.) Honestly, I don't really care 'why' - my concern is the possible outcome of being bitten. That one probably wasn't poisonous but I still don't want bit, regardless. The fact that it struck unexpectedly, from cover, when I wasn't all that close to it (not to mention that I wouldn't have had time to draw much less shoot before it bit me) doesn't exactly give me a warm, fuzzy feeling about letting a poisonous snake hang around where I live. Yeah, I know - corn snakes look a lot like copperheads except corn snakes lack, well, the copper head. Cottonmouth snakes can supposedly be identified by the fact that the inside of their mouth is white (hence the name.) However, many (most?) snakes supposedly have a white or whitish color to the inside of their mouth. Water moccasins supposedly don't live in East Tennessee. That said, mountain lions have been spotted and photographed for years in states where they supposedly 'didn't live' (not talking about Tennessee.) King snakes - which are actually said to kill and eat poisonous snakes - look a lot like coral snakes. Green garter snakes are quite pretty, IMO, and docile enough that they can be interesting to pick up and examine before letting them go. All that said, if I have what I judge to be a reasonable fear that the presence of a particular snake poses a threat of death or serious bodily injury to me or a third party then I'm acting in self defense - and my threshold for doing so would be a lot lower with a snake than with a human.

I was thinking more of rigging it to carry on the back with the handle at or just above the shoulder, sort of like people sometimes mount them to backpacks when hiking, etc. Still might get in the way, I don't know. I think your shotshell idea is a good one for those whose location allows it. When I'm working in the garden, etc. I OC my Heritage with .22 WMR in it. I carry it on an old belt on top of my regular belt, not in the belt loops, in a homemade 'cowboy' style holster (for quick access - an angry copperhead isn't going to give me much time to draw, aim and fire and even with that setup I may not be fast enough) along with a fixed blade knife (in a homemade sheath) and the first round up is a shotshell followed by four 'regular' rounds. This would be my method of snake/varmint taming but we aren't inside city limits and although we have neighbors they aren't close enough for that to be a big deal. Critters are more of a concern in that situation than people, though - hence the single-action .22 instead of something bigger.

When they first started stocking the RWS it was 16 bucks and change per box at the local Wallys. I noticed that it came down to 12 something in the last week or two. My 'onhand' supply is mostly Blazer Brass but I don't think WM is stocking that, anymore. The Federal is about the same price (and is the same ammo in a different box, from what I hear) but the WMs I go to never seem to have any on the shelf. I hope the stock catches up, soon, because my onhand supply is dwindling. I went to the new Academy in Hixson last Saturday and the Blazer Brass/Federal 9mm ammo at Wally is cheaper than the Monarch Brass stuff at Academy (which was $11 and change per box) and pretty much as cheap as the steel cased 9mm Monarch ammo (I avoid steel cased ammo in my Kel Tec P11.)

When the Lenoir City Walmart recently remodeled they moved the Sporting Goods department to a different spot in the store. They also moved the ammo from behind the counter and put it in a locking stand-alone case in a regular aisle in the Sporting Goods department, at the end of the aisle where the rifle slings, scopes, etc. are. Thing is, when the ammo shortage really got going, they moved the ammo down to half that case and put the pocket knives, multitools, etc. in the other half. They also pretty much ruined the store, in general. They built this huge store just a few years back but with the remodel they cut some of the shelves down to half shelves (supposedly for 'security' reasons) and now don't have as much stock. They also got rid of some things, entirely (for instance, they don't sell fabric, anymore), reduced the size of the Sporting Goods department (which was already smaller than WM Sporting Goods departments used to be) and the electronics department is now a sad and sorry excuse for an electronics department.

Most of the Chinese restaurants I go to have beer on the menu among the beverage choices. Even the little Chinese restaurant in Sweetwater and the one in Madisonville (the non-buffet restaurant which has better food) have beer. They don't have bar areas and I rarely see anyone having even one but they offer it so obviously carrying my firearm there would cause it to go rogue and start killing people left and right. Most of the Mexican restaurants in this area have beer, too. Same with most of the barbecue joints and many of the mom and pop 'American' food joints. In fact, it can be difficult to find any place around here that doesn't offer at least Budweiser along with sweet tea and Coca Cola. That is why I find the 'no carry where alchohol is served, period' law to be ridiculous and overly restrictive. Those 'hole in the wall' Chinese, Mexican, mom and pop, etc. restaurants are the types of places we eat out at the most and, as I have said in other threads, those are the places that I most want to be able to legally carry so I don't have to either leave my firearm at home while we are out, period, or leave it unattended in a vehicle. Further, I figure that those places will be the least likely to post a sign to prohibit carry. Exactly none of the places that serve alchohol and that we visit the most posted last year. I could be happy with never stepping foot in a TGI O'Applechili's, again, and none of the larger chains (Texas Roadhouse, for instance) that we like posted last year, either. The fact that Wild Wing Cafe posted was a disappointment but we don't go there more than a couple of times a year, anyway - I make pretty good chicken wing/tenders sauces, myself. If places post, I will simply avoid them - and if I still 'need' to go there for some reason (for instance, if my friends want me to meet them there, etc.) then at least disarming will be the exception and not the rule.

Being that it is against the law to use deadly force to protect property I wonder, in the event that the homeowner ended up having to shoot someone, if such a sign could be used to show intent. It would seem perfectly reasonable to have a nice, long machete, etc. in a sheath on one's person while working on one's own property, especially since there is clean-up, etc. going on. I'd rather use a hoe than a machete because of the extra reach but the machete you have with you is better than the hoe in the tool shed. That might provide an alternative in situations where shooting a snake wasn't entirely feasible.

I only got a -5 in the 'assault' quiz. Would have had a -15 except that I use ATMs at night, sometimes. Thing is, though, it would seem to me that such a question would be a bit difficult to quantify. After all, using a well lit (drive up) ATM in Loudon after dark is hardly the same as using an outside (walk up or drive up) ATM in Nashville, Memphis or even Knoxville or Chattanooga after dark - and a heck of a lot different that using an outdoor ATM in some city like L.A. or New York after dark. Heck, Loudon doesn't even have police substations much less ATMs in them. My 'murder' score was 21. It would drop to 14 if I didn't work in Knoxville and could base the 'population' question on the city where I live.