JAB

I also thought 'miniature parang' when I first saw the shape.  I guess that having the general shape but not really the size makes it kind of a paraparang.  "PARAng", maybe?  Or maybe "Parapara"?  That has kind of a cool, exotic sound to it.

  It really is kind of odd.  You folks in West Tennessee seem to be having less and less trouble finding .22LR ammo and often even at reasonable prices.  From what I have read on this forum, Middle Tennessee is similar.  Based on posts on other forums to which I belong, things seem to be getting better in most parts of the country.  East Tennessee, however, still seems to have seen no or at least very little improvement in the availibility and (often) pricing of .22LR at brick and mortar stores be they big box chains or mom and pop establishments.  I honestly have no clue why that is.   Now, I haven't been chasing .22LR ammo like a hound after a rabbit lately but it doesn't sound like y'all in West Tennessee are doing so, either, nor does it sound like you have any reason to.  Instead, it sounds like you can walk into a store and have at least a reasonable expectation that there will be .22LR ammo available.  Here, it is sort of like fishing. It seems like when I go and am not getting many bites there are always a couple of older guys there telling me that I should have been there yesterday when they were biting like crazy.  Similiarly, I go to the ammo counter at Walmart, etc. and I always hear how they had some ammo yesterday (or last week, etc.) but I missed it and they aren't sure when they will have more.

      It has been over a year since I have seen .22 ammo on any Walmart shelf in this area.  Sporting Goods associates are still saying they only get a little in at a time and that is only once or twice a month.  Gouger Mountain is usually sold out, too.  Was in GM here in Knoxville week before last and all they had on the shelf was the high-dollar (even before the inflated Gouger Mountain price) target rifle stuff.  Academy in Knoxville is hit or miss.  The mom and pop places will sometimes have .22 ammo but prices are usually a bit steep.  Bulk boxes of .22 ammo?  Heh, it has been so long since I saw one of those in a store that if I didn't still have a couple on my ammo shelf from before the scare I probably wouldn't even remember what those are.

So I was at Academy in Knoxville yesterday and noticed they had a couple of different brands/types of .22 ammo behind the customer service counter.  Along with the Aguila that is around $5 a box and the target stuff that is probably even higher, they had a decent stack of American Eagle .22LR ammo for $2.19 a box.  That seemed like a decent price so I picked up a couple of boxes (two per customer being the limit.)  I was looking at the boxes after I made my purchase, in the parking lot on my way to my truck, and thought the boxes seemed smaller than usual.  My first thought was that maybe they were really stuffing the rounds in there in order to save on packaging but on further inspection I found that (in tiny, little print) the label said they were 40 round boxes.  Huh?  Why?  I guess that still isn't a bad price in today's market but at $2.19 that works out to about 5.7 cents a round and would be roughtly $2.73 for a 50 round box.  Not really that much difference in price for ten more rounds so why not just stick with 50 round boxes and sell them for$2.70 or even  $2.75 or so?  It makes no sense, to me.  Anyhow, just thought I would alert my fellow TGO members to watch for such things when buying ammo.

  Honestly, I think the worst part of the whole ordeal, for me, was having to wear that ^*&$ colostomy bag.  I am so glad to be rid of that thing.

Thanks to all for the kind words and well wishes.  They are appreciated.   My dad was probably the toughest individual I have ever known.  He survived several things in his life, any one of which would probably have been the end of a lot of folks.  It was stomach cancer that got him in the end - but even then he lived for 7 1/2 years after his first surgery despite the doctors saying he probably had two years or so and despite having a heart attack in the midst of that 7 1/2 years.  I have said that he almost had to die of cancer because nothing else could kill him.  My ex-wife (who is still one of my best friends) has been there through the first three things that tried to kill me in the last dozen years or so.  When I told her about the gall bladder thing being number 4 she just shook her head and said, "You really are your father's son."  That is one of the best compliments anyone has ever given me.

For some reason - I think it has to do with the deep finger grooves not being placed/spaced right for my fingers - the regular line of CRKT Minimalist knives feel awkward in my hand and I don't really feel like I get a secure, solid grip on them. I find that I get a much more solid grip on the Cold Steel Mini-Tac knives (I have their Skinner and Beavertail versions.) That said, I do like the way the CRKT Minimalist S.P.E.W. (Small Pocket Everyday Wharncliffe) feels in my hand. The lack of finger grooves, in this case, actually seems to improve my abiity to grip it. I think it looks pretty nice, too - especially the handles. I am not the world's biggest fan of the modern, fighting style interpretation of the Wharncliffe blade but I do like this one and have thought about getting a CRKT Dragon, as well. The S.P,E.W. comes with a molded sheath that can be set up for neck wear (with the included cord) or used with a belt clip (also included.) One thing I like about the CRKT Minimalist knives is that the knives/sheaths generally have a much smaller 'footprint' than the Cold Steel Mini-Tacs even thought the blade sizes are generally similar. If CRKT would offer the rest of their Minimalist line with grips more like those on the S.P.E.W. then I'd likely buy a couple of them.

After six months of chemo I am apparently cancer free (the same lymph nodes that have been showing up all along are still showing up but have neither grown nor shrank so have been relegated to 'keep an eye on them' status.) So, back on August 20 I went in for surgery to reverse the colostomy that I have had since having a blockage - a cancerous tumor - removed from my colon late in October of 2014. Also on the schedule was having the venus port (which was used to administer my chemo) removed. As an extra, added bonus the surgeon said he could go ahead and remove my gall bladder while he was at it. My gall bladder had acted up and I even had one pretty severe attack that lasted for a few days right before I started chemo but it wasn't removed at the time because that would have further postponed starting chemo. After I awoke in recovery and as I was being wheeled out to go to a room (in ICU), I noticed that my surgeon was making a phone call at the recovery room desk. It must have been to the other partner in his practice or at least to one of his colleagues since I heard him saying, "You just missed the worst gall bladder I have ever seen," as I was rolled past the desk. He later told me the same thing and said that he actually wouldn't doubt that it was the worst gall bladder anyone had ever seen. The anesthesiologist said it was certainly the worst one he had ever seen, as well. I guess you could say that I had a 'zombie' gall bladder because it was dead. In fact, it was rotten and still rotting - literally. It was gangrenous and had rotted to the point that it had holes all the way through it in places. The vessels and so on serving it were dead and rotten, as well. So there is the fourth thing that has tried to kill me in the last dozen or so years. The surgeon had planned to do everything in my abdomen via laparoscopic procedures. He was actually able to remove my gall bladder that way - although it apparently took two hours or more since it was so rotten that it came out in pieces (the surgeon said that such a procedure normally takes a half hour or so under normal conditions.) When it came time to reverse the colostomy, though, he ended up having to open me up, again. My colon had gotten twisted and there were several adhesions that had to be separated. He had planned on using some kind of stapling device to reconnect my colon but ended up having to stitch it back together by hand, instead. Removing the port must have been pretty straightforward because he barely even mentioned that afterward. I didn't even have stitches where it was removed - the surgeon just 'super glued' that incision closed. In the pre-surgery consultation the surgeon indicated that he expected the whole shebang to take three or four hours, tops. In all, I was in surgery for roughly ten hours. I was in the hospital until the 25th. I followed up with the surgeon on September 1 and one of his nurses removed the staples from my various incisions (well, most of them - seems she missed one that was actually in my navel and I pulled it out, myself, last Friday.) I still have steri-strips over the incisions and there is a small but deep place where the colostomy was closed that is still open and has to be packed with a strip of packing gauze which needs to be changed daily. I returned to work today (yeah, on Labor Day.) I don't necessarily feel like being here and could probably have used another few days or even another week to recuperate but between the surgeries and so on last October and all the time it took to recuperate from those and this recent surgery and time off my FMLA leave has run out so I had to come back whether I was ready or not. Mine is pretty much a desk job so at least I can manage, I guess. And that is my latest health saga.

I am pretty well stocked on first aid supplies and beyond that I wouldn't have the medical knowledge to use anything much more advanced.  I don't have a huge food supply but do have a decent amount of 'shelf stable' foods and there are rabbits and squirrels around where I live (I figure that in a true SHTF scenario survival trumps hunting seasons.)  I have some drinking water on hand, we are on a well (although I need to get another well bucket we can use to manually retrieve water from the one shaft that no longer has a pump over it - although I could probably improvise something if I had to) and we live close enough to a (public) body of water that we could retrieve some from there if necessary.  My mom is my neighbor on one side and my sister is my neighbor on the other.  That is pretty much it for immediate family.   Unfortunately, there are certain, prescription medications that I have to take and that there is no way to really stock up on.  So, for a short term SHTF situation - say a week or two, maybe even a month or so - I could probably get by with the supplies I have.  If things went on too long, though, my heart function would drop, again, and I would die from congestive heart failure - assuming something else didn't get me, first.  It might take a few months or even a year but eventually I imagine I'd be toast from that.  So, with that in mind (as I probably wouldn't last long-term, anyhow) what am I missing?   Short term:  I need to replace a fuel line on my generator and stock some fuel for it.   If things went long term (meaning I'd probably be dying, anyhow):  Several cases of good beer and a big sign for my gate that says "Go the [eff] Away!  Trespassers will be shot.  Survivors will be shot, again."

I have had Rossi revolvers in both .38 and .357.  Both of mine were the snubnosed models.  I liked them both just fine - but if buying again would just go for the .357 as it is stronger, holds six rounds as opposed to 5 in the .38, etc.  Personally, I prefer revolvers to semi-autos but In your grandson's situation, I would probably continue carrying the gun I was already familiar with and maybe pick up a S&W 642 or similar lightweight j-frame as a backup gun - maybe to carry in an ankle holster, etc.

This book not only explains the importance of filtering water and gives information on how to do so but also has pages that, apparently, work as part of the filtration system!   http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/drinkable-book-cleans-murky-water/ar-BBlN4Lr?ocid=ansmsnnews11   According to the article, it seems that one page can destroy bacteria in up to 100 liters of water.  That is about 26 gallons for those of us who prefer a real measurement to that metric nonsense.  Further, the article says the book, as it currently stands, could filter enough water for a four year supply for one person.  The book seems to still be in the testing phase but, assuming it is eventually available, this gives me some ideas.   What if, instead of being designed for mass water filtration, the book took a more 'short term survival' type of approach.  Here is what I am thinking:   1.  A lot of folks seem to like to carry notepads, etc. when they go into the woods, back country, etc.  Well, the first twenty pages or so could be made of the type of weather-resistant paper that many such pads use - and the book could come with a 'write in the rain' type pen.   2.  There is already edible paper (and printing ink.)  These are used in cake decorating and the like.  So I am thinking that maybe there would be some way to infuse, say, twenty or thirty sheets of edible paper with enough vitamins, minerals and calories that each sheet could - in an extreme emergency - act as a meal replacement or at least a supplement to gathered food.  There could be twenty or so pages of that.   3.  The next twenty pages or so could be paper that would be specifically designed to act as good fire-starting material.   4.  Finally, in the back of the book, the last twenty or thirty pages could be made of something like a strong, absorbent toilet paper.   5.  The way the book's 'cover' would close would make it waterproof and keep the contents clean and dry.  Put a couple of pouches on the spine to hold matches/ligher/firesteel and the previously mentioned 'write in the rain' pen.   Just some thoughts I had.

  And probably be arrested for a 'hate crime'.

Oh, yeah.  Now that is a nice handgun.

Personally, I think the right color of Ceracote could look good on that revolver.  Maybe something like:   http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/H-237Q/tungsten/   or   http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/H-151Q/satin-aluminum/   or something a little closer to the original look like this:   http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/H-185Q/blue-titanium/

The way you described it, I expected something that looked like it had been through a wood chipper.  Based on the pics, however, I don't think it looks too bad - especially for an old, military rifle.  I'd pretty much leave it alone.   That said, who gives a flying flip about ruining the monetary value?  You aren't planning to sell it, anyhow, and right now it doesn't belong to your grandkids - it belongs to you.  If making it look like a brand new gun would cause you to enjoy it more then that is what you should do.  Such a full restoration would then become part of the gun's family history when you pass it on.  Yeah, maybe it is a piece of world history, too, but it isn't like there weren't many Mausers made. I mean you aren't talking about converting the original cylinder on one of Sam Colt's first revolvers to shoot .45acp.  I don't think I would do more than a good cleaning - especially not with numbers matching - but it isn't my rifle.  It is yours.

I don't have a P94 but I do have a P95 and I think they are pretty similar, right?.  In fact, I own two P95s and that is the only make/model of gun of which I own two (they are a little different - one is newer, has a short 'rail' for a light under the muzzle and has a safety decocker while the other is a little older, is decocker only and has no rail.).  I also recently bought my first 1911.  1911s are fun but myself, - for a defensive pistol - if I had to choose I'd take one of the P95s over a 1911 any day of the week and twice on Sunday.  I just don't believe there is that much difference on the receiving end between modern tech 9mm JHPs and .45acp JHPs.  I am largely a 'revolver guy' so from my perspective one of the main things a semi has going for it is higher capacity - which with a 1911 really isn't that much higher than one of my six shooters.  The 15+1 in the P95 (and, unless I am mistaken, the 9mm version of the P94) is significantly higher.  Further, I personally prefer DA/SA over 'cocked and locked'.  Of course, I have also owned the P95s longer and am more familiar with them.

  My mom (remember I talked about the Pinto she had when I was a little kid?) had a Yugo back in the '80s.  Honestly not a bad, little car for basic transportation - except that a couple of times she put the key in the ignition and it just wouldn't turn (and not because the wheel needed to be moved around - it would just lock up, sometimes.)  That Yugo was one of the vehicles I learned to drive (and to drive a stick shift) on.  She eventually traded it for a Hyundai - back when they were 'bargain cars'.  It did pretty well, though, and she has owned two more Hyundais since then.

My mom drove a Pinto when I was a little kid in the early 70s. Always got us where we wanted to go. Guy in a big boat of a car ran a redlight and hit us in the front side and we walked away unharmed. I've always thought Pinto's got a bit of a bad rap. In fact, I might not mind owning a Pinto today - as long as it was like this one:

Sounds like congestive heart failure, to me - at least that sounds like the symptoms I had when I was in congestive heart failure except I got to the point that I couldn't sleep, at all, because I couldn't breathe laying down and had a hard time breathing even in a recliner.  It is scary but don't worry overmuch right at the first.  My ejection fraction was down to 15% at one point (70% - 75% or so is normal for an adult my age.)  I was retaining so much water that once they got me in the hospital and on I.V. diuretics I lost 30 pounds in about three days - just in water.  Yeah, that is a whole lot of peeing but it was amazing how quickly just getting the excess water off made me feel better.  My cardiologist said that the heart cath showed my blood vessels to be completely clear and later tests showed no signs of arrythmia or anything else.  My ejection fraction pretty quickly got back up to around 60% which led my g.p. to tell me that it might have been caused by a virus.  I still have cardiomyopathy (weakened heart) and when I was in the hospital last year (cancerous tumor blocked my colon and it ruptured when the surgeon went in to take the tumor out) my ejection fraction was down to about 38% but I haven't had any more congestive heart failure even with what my body has been through during cancer treatment.  The point is, even if this is congestive heart failure, there is still a good chance of bouncing back normal or close to it with meds and other adjustments.   Hang in there and keep us up on how things are going!

  I regret that I have only one 'like' to give this post.  I'd 'like' it fourteen times if I could.

  I do not agree that we need any more 'special class' citizens.  Rights that are 'good' for one adult - any adult at any age - should be 'good' for all adults.

My #1 gun related law I would like to see would be the stupid signs losing the weight of law.

  That 18 year old doesn't have to be in the military to be charged as an adult if he or she commits a crime.  That 18 year old is expected to sign up for a (very unlikely) draft and can be told that he has to go and fight/kill/die.  If they are held to the same level of responsibility as an adult on other matters then they should have the same rights as an adult - including being able to purchase alcohol legally and obtain an HCP.  Otherwise, the government is saying, "You are an adult when it is convenient for us but not when it comes to having all of the rights that come with being an adult."  That doesn't wash, with me.   Besides, unless I am mistaken, an 18 year old can legally own a handgun (just can't buy one from a licensed dealer/gun store) and the way the 'car carry' law is written that same 18 year old can legally carry in his or her car.  Allowing them to legally go the next step and get an HCP really isn't that great a leap, IMO.

  Ummm, from the article linked in the OP:     So, yeah, looks like the drone was over his property when he shot it.

So far I have only loaded for .38 Special.  I don't load to +P levels so both my 642 - which is +P rated - and my GP100 get used.  My Police Positive not so much - although my loads should be safe for it, too, and I have shot some of my reloads from it.  I don't necessarily load to get the most accuracy out of each gun, individually.  Instead, my goal is to find the load that is the most accurate across all of my guns in the caliber - giving up a little accuracy in the individual guns in favor of across the board accuracy in all of them.  I am actually still working toward that goal.