JAB

For handguns, being largely a revolver fan, I like the ones that go 'BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG'. Or 'BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG' in the case of five shots. When it comes to standard capacity semi-automatics, I like the ones that go 'BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG + BANG'. Now as for rifles, shotguns and such, I like the ones...aw, nevermind.

Some friends of mine had Straight Talk. They don't live as far in the sticks as I do and they recently swapped to Sprint because Straight Talk wasn't working out for them. They have said that Sprint's signal/reliability is much better. I am with Verizon but, because I think their price for unlimited data is too high, I may change to Sprint if it continues to work well for them as Sprint seems to offer a much better deal on unlimited data. Where I live just about the only option for high speed internet is via satellite dish and, again, that is way too expensive so I use my phone as a mobile hot spot. That is why it would be really nice to have unlimited data but all the data in the world does no good if the signal sucks where I live. I wish these places would have 'loaner phones' so a person could try out their service at home and see if the signal is reliable before spending $$$.

Remington used to have a V-Max load using the Hornady bullet. They still offer a round loaded with a polymer tipped bullet that they call 'Accutip-V' and those are pretty accurate in my limited experience. I'm not exactly sure if they still use the V-max bullet or if they developed their own but by them having dropped the 'V-max' from the name in favor of 'Accutip-V' I suspect the latter. CCI also loads a 'V-max' round using the Hornady bullet, I believe. I don't know that I have ever tried those - in my experience, in my firearms, Hornady WMR ammo hasn't proven all that especially accurate, in general. A few years back (when no one would ever have thought there even could be a rimfire shortage) my favorite LGS had accidentally way over-ordered Fiocchi WMR JSP ammo. He had apparently gotten a pretty good deal on it, too - even for the time - and was selling it for $5.00 a box. I bought a box to try it out and, after shooting it against several other WMR rounds I had on hand from my Marlin 925M, I ended up wishing I had bought $100 worth of it, at least. It was right up there with the Remington polymer tipped stuff for accuracy and - to my recollection (it has been a few years and I can't find pics I thought I took) - actually beat out Maxi-Mags (which were the worst of the lot), a couple of Winchester loads and a more 'standard' 40 grain Remington load.

I actually have noticed - yes, at Wally World - that the price of 9mm range ammo has actually come down by a few dollars per box of 50 lately. In fact, some brands are almost back down to the price they were before Obutthead was elected.

I have seen .22LR pretty regularly at a few, local Walmart locations. The prices don't seem all that bad, either, comparatively speaking. Of course, to those of us who can remember buying a box of 50 for something like $1.97 not too many years ago (and some on here probably remember much cheaper than that) paying a bit over $3 for a box of that 'same' ammo (same brand and type, that is) can stick in our craw. Then, again, when I first started driving 29 years ago regular unleaded gasoline went for .89 a gallon. Yep, eighty-nine cents a gallon. Now - even when prices aren't being gouged, er, increased because of natural disasters we are paying more than twice that. In some ways, I have to wonder if the price of .22 was probably not as high as it 'should' have been before the shortage (not that I am complaining.) Also, we have to keep in mind that .22LR ammo was difficult to find for around four years or so and that the price would have increased some amount in that four years, anyhow. I'm considering that, in most places I saw, 500 round packs had already increased in price to around $18 or $19 a box for most brands a year or so before the shortage. Because the ammo basically went away for four years I think part of the problem is that we didn't experience a gradual increase in price over that time. Instead, we got hit with four years' worth of what would otherwise have been steady, gradual price increases all at once on top of the increase in price that came about for reasons others have already mentioned. All that said, it chaps my hide as much as anyone to pay the 'new normal' price for .22LR ammo. The thing is, though, that .22 ammo is still a lot less expensive than pretty much any, other factory ammo. For instance, at the price mentioned in the OP one could buy 500 .22LR rounds or roughly one box of 50 .357 Magnum rounds. Heck, for the price of a box of 50 run of the mill .44 Magnum rounds one could pretty much pick up 1,000 .22LR. I know that I, personally, have not been shooting nearly as much since .22LR became scarce - and it has shown in my shooting ability across the board. Funny thing, I was telling people six months before the shortage that I had a feeling .22LR would get scarce when the (then) next shortage hit so I actually bought a little more than normal leading up to that time but I still didn't have enough on hand that I felt comfortable burning through a few hundred rounds every weekend or every other weekend the way I did before the shortage. Hopefully now I can at least start getting back into my habit of shooting more regularly. I have also noticed how much the price of a box of .22 WMR has increased now that it is starting to show up, again. The same stuff - such as CCI Maxi-Mag (not my favorite WMR ammo but one I have seen actually in stores recently) - that went for $10 a box (yes, at Wally) before the shortage is priced at $15 or so, now.

Possible. There would obviously have to be a lot of oversight and there would still be people who would find ways to abuse the system. Luckily, those 20 year olds likely couldn't buy up all the Beretta's and other handguns, at least - would probably have to be 21 for that (I get what you are saying, just had to be a bit of a smart alec.) It would still probably be better than the current system of stuff just disappearing or sitting in warehouses for years.

Well, I think we would have to have buying limits. Otherwise some uber-rich dude or group of dudes would swoop in and buy it all up, effectively cutting everyday, working schmoes out of the deal. I want to see more of a 'spread the wealth' program where every working American gets a chance to play (as we all chip in at least a little, in the form of taxes, to buy the stuff to begin with I think everyone should have a chance.) I would envision a situation where 1. only individuals can purchase, not business entities or investment groups 2. There would probably end up being a 'waiting list'. As such, there would probably also need to be a limit (pretty high limit but still a limit) on how much an individual can buy in a particular year and possibly 3. a restriction which states that an individual who takes advantage of the program has to wait x number of years (somewhere between 3 and 5, maybe?) before being eligible to buy, again with the exception that near the end of each budget year any, remaining items which aren't 'spoken for' will be opened up to purchase by those folks, too. I also don't want to see 'auctions' where stuff goes to the highest bidder or things being sold in 'lots' for several million dollars a pop. Nope, I'm talking about everything selling individually for a set price (except, maybe, those unspoken for, end of budget year items that might be bundled and/or auctioned.) I'm thinking kind of along the lines of the Civilian Marksmanship Program except without any need to be part of any kind of affiliated group or club - you only need to be an American citizen (obviously felons would be restricted from buying some of the equipment but not all of it.)

The IRS wouldn't be giving up anything. I'm talking about any amount of money that the IRS would normally have to send to me in the form of a tax refund (which, trust me, isn't much - but if I could get a $5000 to $1 excange rate in my favor I'd be able to get some nice things - especially if these arrangements were sales tax free.) Heck, I'd say the IRS would be all for it, in fact. See, when I load the back of my new (to me) Humvee up with my night vision goodies and a couple of cases of those Berettas and some, other goodies then get my FFL in order to legally sell all but the few I will keep for my private collection I will have to report any 'profit' I make off of my new (and temporary) business as a legal firearms dealer as 'income'. Even if I sell those pistols at a really, really good price the IRS will make a decent chunk of change off of the taxes owed on that income (and I am sure I wouldn't be the only one doing that.) So, rather than sitting in warehouses, gathering dust and being slowly lost/taken/stolen that equipment could be enjoyed by the American citizens who paid for them in the first place AND bring tax revenue back in to the government coffers. How could they not go for it? Heck, maybe $5000 to $1 is a little steep. I could probably settle for, say, $1,500 to 1 - as long as the value of the now technically used equipment involved is valued using real 'street' prices and not based on what the government actually paid for it (being that the government is notorious for doing things like paying $800 for a hammer or some such.)

Maybe I should head up to Norfolk and wear one of those black t-shirts that says 'Security' in white letters across it. I won't take much - I'd just kinda like to have a Humvee, a couple of those Berettas and maybe some night vision stuff, just for kicks. Heck, to the government that's like asking for a stick of gum or something - they won't even miss that stuff and I'd enjoy the heck out of it. You know, that gives me an idea that might help the national budget and give all this poor, homeless equipment a place to go. You've got surplus/decommissioned equipment you don't need and that is perfectly legal for private ownership? Well, tell you what - for, say, a 5000 to 1 exchange rate you can keep any tax return I may have coming and just give some of that equipment to me, instead (meaning I get $5000 worth of equipment for every $1 in tax return I am owed.) Sounds like a good deal, to me! Heck, all in all it would probably cost the government less to just give me that Humvee, a couple of pistols and some night vision goodies than it costs them to store and inventory it (or investigate where in the heck it went when they 'give' it away to someone unintentionally or just flat lose it.)

Let me guess - you took all of your guns out for a romantic day on the lake in a rowboat. Just when you were passing under some trees on the edge of the lake a water moccasin dropped out of a tree and into the boat. Your natural reaction was to grab the 12 gauge loaded with 00 buckshot that was sitting cozily by your side and...well, lets just say that 00 buckshot can blast right through a snake and still put a heck of a hole in the bottom of a rowboat. You tried to save them. Tried desperately to pull at least a few of them from the murky depths but, in the end, you woke up on the bank desperately clutching a spent 12 gauge shell and suffering terribly from all the rowboat-wood splinters in your backside. You don't even remember pulling yourself out of that watery grave and even the pain in your backside couldn't match the aching in your heart. Now, even though it is many years later, you still feel such a sense of loss that you can't even so much as look at a gun without breaking down. Even the slightest hint of the smell of gunpowder makes you burst into tears. Or something.

Yep. And we only ever bought 'those' magazines for the articles.

Yep, liked Angel, as well. Were you aware that - because he didn't really get to 'end' the series - Whedon did a short comic book series to wrap up Angel and show what happened after the rather abrupt, final episode? I came across it online a couple of years ago.

My condolences to you and the rest of his family and friends. You will miss him, no doubt, but you have 40 years of good memories of and with him to help ease your sorrow.

On the TV show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' from several years back (yes, I actually liked that show) the real monsters - vampires, demons, etc. - pretty much refused to go out on Halloween night without a very good reason. They said it was 'amateur night' and would always stay in. That is just about how I feel about going to the mountains, fishing, camping or anything like that on Labor Day weekend - and most of the time on holiday weekends, in general. I may not stay completely sequestered away this weekend but won't be looking to engage in those or related activities, either. My place of employment isn't closed on Monday so I will be working that day and won't be getting a long weekend, anyhow. Bersaguy, I absolutely love that you are planning to grill one of those steaks for your four-legged friend. How is Kasey doing, anyhow?

My understanding is that the revolver is simply the 'Nagant revolver' for a very good reason - Mosin had nothing to do with it. Leon Nagant alone was responsible for designing the revolver.

So all they have to do is slap up a couple of metal detectors or put a cop with a wand somewhere and any location can become a 'gun free zone' - even a friggin' public street? Wow, thanks a lot to our Republican legislature and buttwipe governor for 'promoting' firearms carry rights. God, at this point I can't wait to vote for a damn Democrat. At least most of them don't claim to be pro-gun and maybe the Republicans who run in the following elections will learn a lesson about blowing smoke up our butts and claiming to be 'pro-gun' while quietly making things worse. As far as the protests, themselves, I think a lot of the 'white supremacist' claims are an attempt to make the side that has valid points for opposing the removal of Confederate monuments shut up. I, personally, do not agree with removing such monuments, do not believe that the monuments or those who support them are automatically 'racist' and would, in fact, consider showing up to protest their removal, myself. Further, I believe that Trump was absolutely correct when he said there were good people on both sides of the issue. However, that doesn't fit the media narrative or the narrative put forth by some politicians as well as groups that are looking for reasons to be offended which wants to paint anyone who isn't ashamed of their ancestors fighting for what they saw as their country - the Confederate States of America - as 'white supremacists.' Honestly, however, I don't think that most politicians' support for removal of Confederate monuments has anything at all to do with slavery, racism or the Civil War. Instead, I think that those monuments serve as a reminder that there was a large group of people who, at great risk to themselves, had the cajones to rebel against a government which they saw as tyrannical. I believe it is that reminder that politicians really want to get rid of. Of course, George Washington and other Revolutionary figures did exactly the same thing which is why I won't be surprised if next there is a call to remove statues to those figures, as well, using 'but they owned slaves' as the excuse. Again, the media acts like Trump is crazy for suggesting that monuments to Washington, Jefferson, etc. might be next but Sharpton apparently already says the Jefferson monument should be defunded: http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/08/16/al-sharpton-jefferson-memorial-charlottesville-white-supremacist-violence-donald-trump People, this isn't about slavery or white supremacy. This is about erasing and rewriting history to help make all of us good, little sheep who will accept anything the government - especially the federal government - does as 'good and right'. It is about creating a populace that views even the thought of rebelling against that government - no matter how tyrannical that government may become - as 'evil' and something which no good, moral person would even consider. The jackhole 'white supremacists' involved are only serving to help cast this intent of erasing history as a 'moral' thing to do.

The last bumper sticker I put on a vehicle was back in the late '90s. It had a Confederate battle flag and said, "If the North is so great then why don't you go back?" I loved it - people who live near Tellico Village (and constantly hear people from the North talk about how the way they do things 'back home' is so much better than the way things are done in Tennessee/the South) would understand why but I have pretty much gotten out of the habit of having bumper stickers. As an aside, the only person who ever commented to me about that bumper sticker was a guy from Chicago. He said, "I love your bumper sticker and I feel exactly the same way. When other people from the North start talking about how they wish this or that was done here the way it is done there I tell them that I moved down here because I wanted to get away from the way things are done there and if they like the way things are done there better then they should move back and not try to screw things here up for the rest of us."

I think it is fair to say that, back when I worked out several times a week, I had a couple of guns. Sadly, I got out of the habit, haven't really worked out in years, had a couple of serious illnesses and now my former 'guns' seem to be more along the lines of NERF launchers. Very sad.

The apple butter will be part of my personal stash. You would probably have to throw in the small cider press and a couple of those triangle peg games to get me to part with any of it.

I actually thought the same and almost said that Benji is looking a little rough in that picture - or would that be ruff?

No problem. I don't care much for strawberry so I can save all of that for bartering. I may try to score some apple butter, grape jelly and blackberry jam for myself.

Only if you let those of us who raid the shotguns into your group and give us some stylish threads! I love that one dog in the pic. You've got what appears to be a Lab with a ready-to-please look on its face, a couple of regal looking Spaniels and then that one dog that looks like it just simply doesn't give a damn. It looks cranky and grouchy, like it would just as soon pee on those well-dressed legs as look at the people attached to them.

My dog might not be the same as a human friend but she is certainly at least as loyal as any human friend. I hope the vet visit goes well and any issue is a minor one.

Well, I placed a call to the restaurant where I ate last night asking if they found my knife. They said that no one who worked last night was there at the time but that they would check with those folks when they got there. Just got a call - they found my Resilience. I will go back and get it when I get a chance. I am glad they found it but would still like recommendations based on the criteria above if anyone has any. I like the Resilience and the D2 RAT 1 that I have been rotating for EDC lately but am kind of getting an itch to try some other (low cost) options. Thanks.

My Spyderco Resilience, that is. I had it in my pocket yesterday and it wasn't there when I got home. I really liked it for EDC and might just end up getting another one to replace it. However, I thought this might also be an opportunity to try something else. I figured I would post up my parameters and see if anyone had any suggestions. I also have a particular folder in mind as a possibility if anyone has any experience with it. First the parameters: 1. Not a tanto. Drop point preferred. Spear point okay. Clip point considered if overall knife is too hard to resist. 2. No serrations. 3. Blade length over 4 inches, preferably at least 4.25 to 4.5 inches. A 5 inch blade might work depending on how the knife is made, handle to blade ratio, etc. I know some folks consider the Resilience too big for EDC but the blade length is my favorite part about it. 4. Pocket clip. 5. Right hand, tip up carry whether tip up only or an option to reposition the clip for tip up. I might budge on this if the knife is otherwise perfect but really don't like tip down carry very much. 6. Cost the same or less than a new Resilience ($50 or less.) I don't want to budge on that very much. I know some of you folks carry high end folders but, to me, losing that Resilience is no different than having a $50 bill fall out of my pocket. It isn't unusual for me to lose a pocket knife so I won't carry anything more expensive and would prefer less. 7. 8Cr13MoV steel is fine. Similar steels are fine. Even something in a 440 series would be okay if it is good 440 and the heat treat is right, etc. Of course I would prefer D2 - my D2 RAT 1 would be just about perfect if the blade weren't so short - but I'm not holding my breath for a folder with a 4.25 inch D2 blade for $50 or less. 8. Ganzo, Sarenmu, Enlan, etc. would be okay if folks have hands on experience and can recommend them. I have never owned a knife from any of these companies (at least not branded as such) but would be willing to try them. I don't think any of those companies make a knife of the type I want in the blade length I want, however. If someone knows of one, let me know. Most knives in the category I am talking about, including the Resilience, are going to be made in China, anyhow. 9. One hand opening. 'Spidey' hole, thumb studs or even a flipper - although the flipper would be at the bottom of the list because I find them a bit awkward to use. Assisted opening is okay but would honestly prefer a manual. Have had assisted opening knives open in my pocket and I think that turning off the safety on an assisted and then opening the blade is slower and much more awkward than just a practiced opening of a manual as long as the manual is fairly smooth. 10. Full flat grind would be best but a sabre grind would be fine. Prefer it not be a hollow grind but would consider a hollow for the 'right' knife. I'll likely be putting a convex secondary bevel on it eventually - especially if it has the likely, factory v-grind secondary. 11. Would, of course, like a good, strong lockup with little to no blade play. However, locking style isn't a huge concern. Would be fun to try out an axis type lock, etc. but frame lock, liner lock, back lock are all just fine with me as long as they give a reasonably strong lock. I don't generally use my EDC folders to pry, etc. Mostly I use them for slicing and specifically for food prep as in slicing cheese, maybe slicing summer sausage, etc. slicing bread, peeling apples and the like at lunch. Yeah, I know that some would say that a large knife like a Resilience is a bit of overkill for that but I like to have a nice, big folder with a good, 'stabby' tip and a large, sharp blade just in case I ever did have to use it for SD. 12. Would prefer it not look ultra tacticool. That is something else I like about the Resilience - while it is somewhat 'tactical' looking I don't think it is especially so nor do I think it gives a really 'scary' image. The knife I mentioned earlier that I would like to know more about as a possibility is the Cold Steel Pocket Bushman. Does anyone have any direct experience with one of those? Thanks in advance!