JAB

  I think he is referring to the Cyndi Lauper song, "She Bops."  I also like many of her songs - but that one sucks (IMO).

  Just about the only way to make any Rage Against the Machine song tolerable would be to have someone else cover it.  Their music might have been okay.  When the band got together with Chris Cornell to form Audioslave, they made some pretty good songs.  I have heard a few tunes that Tom Morello has done under the pseudonym 'The Nightwatchman' and really liked them - especially the one he did with Ben Harper (Harper is one of the best musicians currently out there, IMO.)  I can never tell how good the music is (or isn't) on a Rage Against the Machine track, though, because I can't get past Zach de la Rocha's yelling.  Not singing.  Not even rapping.  Just yelling.    There are plenty of bands/songs I don't like.  However, if I think of a song that I absolutely 'loathe', the first thing that comes to mind is Rock Lobster by the B52s.  I wish that song were a person so I could punch it in the face.

  One of the worst songs of all time, IMO, is Clapton's craptastic, pseudo-reggae cover of Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (the Dylan version of which remains one of my favorite songs.)  Dylan should kick Clapton in the nuts - repeatedly - for that.  Then he should kick him one more time for his (Clapton's) cover of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright."

  That is the way I felt/feel about 'The White Stripes'.  Most Overrated Band Ever.  I actually kind of like some Nickleback songs.  Sometimes.  As long as I don't have to hear them too frequently.

  I see what you are saying.  The table doesn’t specifically say that buckshot is illegal, it just doesn’t say it is legal.  In fact, buckshot isn’t really mentioned, at all.  My guess is this is an oversight more than anything else as I seem to recall (although my memory may be faulty) that the reg’s book has been much more clear, in the past, that only slugs/solid balls are legal for deer hunting with a shotgun.   Of course, there is also a chance that the regs have changed.  I was kind of surprised when they dropped the four inch minimum required for a handgun length last year (but that probably had a lot to do with it being legal for HCP holders to have their carry weapon on them while hunting.)  I will be interested to see what kind of response you get to the email.   With the confusing hunting regs we have in this state, if they reply that buckshot is okay, I'd want to print that email and carry the printout with me if using buckshot to hunt.  Several years ago, it was unclear as to whether or not it was legal to use treble hooks for catching catfish.  The reg book wasn't clear on the subject so I emailed TWRA.  The response was that they are, indeed, legal so I printed out that email and kept it in my tackle box, just in case.

  My problem is that most of the pawn shops I have been in have prices that are just about double what I would expect the 'sticker price' to be.  For instance, in various pawnshops in the area, I have seen:   No-name or 'budget' model (Sears, etc.), single shot shotguns with at least some cosmetic wear priced at $150.  I can get a brand, new Pardner single shot at Walmart for just about that price.   Some used handguns priced as high as (or, sometimes, even higher than) new versions of the same gun at my LGS.   A 10/22 with a bad, home-made 'camo' job that looked like it had been dragged behind a truck for a mile or two down a gravel road priced, literally, ten dollars less than a brand new one at the Walmart that is less than two miles away.   That is kind of what I am saying - I can't even find a pawnshop with prices reasonable enough to be a decent starting point for haggling.  Oh, and now I am jealous of that Ruger GP100 purchase.

  Just to avoid confusion for those asking questions who say they know 'next to nothing' about shotguns, I want to point out that using a choke and achieving a tight pattern for hunting deer is moot in TN as buckshot is not legal for taking deer in this state.  Unless the rules have changed drastically in the last year or two, slugs are the only option for legally taking deer with a shotgun in Tennessee.  Seems kind of odd in a way - after all, it is called 'buckshot'.

  I think it is funny (as in odd, not comical) that, as an HCP holder, if I were so inclined I could legally carry so many firearms on me at one time that I could barely walk, can legally have (if I wish) multiple loaded long guns behind the seat of my vehicle but could be arrested and jailed for carrying a switchblade or a knife with a blade over 4 inches in length.  Are knives even more prone to jumping out and going on a killing spree, all on their own, than guns?   I think the whole switchblade thing comes from the same, senseless 'legislating by emotion' place that makes some moronic politicians want to ban firearms just because they have features which make them 'look' scary to some observers.  It has nothing to do with actual functionality, potential lethality or potential for misuse and everything to do with switchblades upsetting some nervous Nellies' sensabilities.

  It has been my experience that every, single pawnshop that I have ever visited in our area is overpriced on most everything.  Not just ammo, not just guns but most everything.  Just for curiosity's sake, next time you are in a pawnshop look at the price they have on, say, a 'well-used' (as in nearly worn out) lawnmower or other piece of power equipment.  Generally, you could buy a new piece of equipment for just a few dollars more.   Some guys on other (national) gun forums talk about finding deals at their local pawnshops but I haven't seen any around here.  Heck, even Gouger Mountain might be ashamed of some of the pawnshop prices I have seen.   Is the pawnshop you are talking about the one that is in the old Leo's Pulled Pig barbecue restaurant location?  If so, the first (and last) time I was in there, they had a Rohm RG .38 Special that had a lot of holster wear and looked like it had seen some rough treatment in their case.  The price they had on it was close to $300.  This was when they first opened a couple of years ago, long before the gun/ammo craze - when you could still find police trade in S&W model 10s for less than that in local gun stores.  I know folks say you can usually 'haggle' with pawnshops but when starting prices are roughly double (or more) what the item is worth then there is really no point, IMO.

  A few weeks ago, when one of the local Wally SG employees was telling me that they see the same people buying up all the ammo and that some of them come right out and say that they are doing it to resell, I opined that Walmart should stamp "Walmart" along with the current price right on each and every box of ammo they sell.  The employee said that he thought that was a great idea and that he was going to 'bring it up' with his supervisors.   I really wish that they would do so.  That way, at least folks who are paying ridiculous prices for Walmart ammo out of naivete will be able to see how badly they are being screwed.

  I have an uncle who has taken a deer or two with his Super Redhawk in .44 Mag.  I own a Super Blackhawk, also in .44 Mag, and really like it.  I haven't hunted with it (yet) but when I decided I wanted a .44 Mag I figured that anything I would be likely to do with a long barreled (mine is a seven inch barrel) .44 Mag I would probably do in single action, anyhow - and I found a used SBH at a price I could deal with.   I wouldn't mind having one of the short barreled Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskans in .44 Mag - I'd probably carry it, sometimes - but my gun funds are pretty low at the moment.  Good luck in your search!  Just be warned that a revolver in .44 Mag might make you want a lever gun to match it (I ended up getting a older Marlin.)   Oh, and you wouldn't believe how much fun and pleasant .44 Specials are to shoot out of a large, heavy .44 Mag revolver.  I have a box of Remington LRN .44 Specials that was in my late father's things (apparently, he owned a .44 at some point but I don't remember it.)  I fired off one or two and they put a big grin on my face.  Of course, they aren't any cheaper to buy than full .44 Mag rounds.

I was going to suggest Fort Morgan (mikegideon beat me to it.)  Also, I see that no one has suggested eating at King Neptune's.  I would definitely put them on the list.   Along the road that leads to Fort Morgan, there is a parking lot for a nature trail.  We didn't get to walk the whole trail but we did walk to the shore from the parking lot.  There isn't really a 'beach' there, just a narrow strip (if the tide is out) but it was nice - we were the only people there.  I saw a small ray swim right up to the edge of the water.   If you like to fish, you might check in to what species (if any) are biting around the pier.  They have an extremely long pier that juts out into the ocean - it is pretty close to the entrance to the state park (but on the other side of the road.)  You have to have the proper license, of course, and there is a fee for even walking out on the pier.  The only time I have gotten to fish there was the day before Hurricane Ivan hit (we actually had to leave that afternoon because Gulf Shores was evacuated.)  We really didn't catch anything of note, probably because of the storm - the surf was already getting rough.

  Maybe this, particular guy isn't a scalper (per itchytriggerfinger's post above) but they are definitely out there and it would make me smile to think they were going to end up losing their shirts because of their profiteering.  Personally, I'd love to see ammo scalpers posting ads stating, "Hungry.  Will trade ammo for food."         I mostly agree with your post.  After the last ammo shortage, I decided to build a small but 'solid' supply of a few calibers that I shot the most.  I don't usually have the expendable cash to buy pallet-loads of ammo all at once but decided to buy a box or two extra per month.  Over the past, few years (up until the current shortage started) I have done just that and even bought a little 'extra' .22LR along the way - not enough that I still feel comfortable shooting as much as I was before the current craziness but enough that I am not desperately searching for ammo at any price.  Thing is, I have decided that when/if things go back to 'normal' I am going to concentrate even more on .22LR and .22WMR than I was, before.  I will probably also try to build more of a supply of buckshot and slugs for my shotguns.  I recently started reloading so if I can stock up on enough supplies to keep me in .38/.357 and .44 (the two I currently reload) then that should cover my centerfire needs in an 'emergency'.

  Looks like great minds think alike - and post at the same time.

  More like October 26, 2001.

If I were closer, I would suggest just letting me fondle that Walther.  After that, by the time all the drool was wiped off, the pistol would be clean.  Then you'd just need to oil and shoot it.

Wow.  I generally do not think that semiauto pistols, as a whole, are all that attractive (I think revolvers look much better.)  Functional, yes, but not attractive (as a general rule - there are some nice looking examples out there.)  Further, I think that the Tokarev may well be the most boring (in appearance), plain-jane looking pistol design ever.  When I see one, it always makes me think of a T-square - no personality, at all.   Then you come along and turn one of them into a thing of beauty.  Seriously, that pistol is gorgeous.  Oh, and with those colors I like the muzzle brake.  I think it adds to the 'custom' look and helps to further break up the 'T-square' lines of a standard Tokarev.

Growing up, my paternal grandparents as well as my maternal grandfather and step-grandmother all lived (within about a mile and a half of each other - maybe less) on Lookout Mountain. The way we would go to visit them usually involved getting off the Interstate at the Rossville Boulevard exit and going through the Chickamauga Battlefield. When I first got my Mustang a few years back (it was used when I bought it) I went on a kick of wanting pics of it in some of my favorite places. One was Cades Cove. Another was at different sites in the Battlefield. My favorite of those was one that I took of it parked in front of the visitors' center when there was no one else there (almost like the VC was my house and the Mustang was sitting in the driveway.)

  When I decided to build a little onhand supply of 9mm - even after the price increase from the last ammo shortage - the Wally World price on most 9mm ammo was no more than $10.xx per box.  Before that increase, I was buying Federal and Blazer Brass 9mm FMJ at Wally for $9 per box (or less.)  Heck, during the last shortage I shot a 50 round box of American Eagle 9mm FMJ that I had bought at an LGS sometime around 2004 that still had the $7.99 price tag on the box.   Yeah, I realize that there is inflation and all but that doesn't explain the price of 9mm range ammo nearly tripling in less than ten years' time.

  I believe OhShoot was making a play on your misuse of the word 'deft' when you obviously meant 'deaf'.  'Deft' generally indicates that a person/group of people are adept at something or, as the online version of Merriam-Webster puts it, "characterized by facility and skill."

  Was that the LC Wally?  Just curious, what time of morning was that?  I ask because every time I am in there they are wiped out on pretty much everything but .240, .270 and 7mm rifle ammo and (sometimes) a few types of shotgun shells.  I need to go by there tonight or tomorrow to pick up a couple of prescription refills so I'll have to check the ammo situation.   I learned my lesson during the last ammo shortage and began keeping a few boxes of various calibers on hand.  While I am not exactly 'hurting' on .22 ammo (and certainly not enough to pay scalper prices) I don't feel comfortable shooting my .22s as much as I was before the current shortage until I can replenish what I shoot.

As far as I am concerned, you didn't really need the, "when it comes to firearms," part of the thread title.

From the article:       Oh big, friggin' deal.  They are citing the case of one elected official.  One.  What percentage of regular Americans are the victims of murder or attempted murder on a daily basis?  I would bet it is a heck of a lot higher percentage than the percentage of 'elected or appointed officials' that realistically face such a threat.

Well, I thought I had taken a cell phone picture or two of the great beast (once I got it out of the toilet, of course - taking a picture of the inside of my toilet bowl just seemed too weird.) Last night, I found those pictures on my home computer. So here is a picture of the monster in all its awful glory. Trust me, the shotshell did the trick - it looks much more 'lively' in this picture than it actually was at the time. Notice how - just a little ways back from its head - its body is 'bent' rather than 'curved'? Well, that is where the snake shot hit it. (Warning: Women, children and those with weak hearts should excercise extreme caution as, like the basilisk of legend, gazing too long upon the fearsome visage could turn the feint of heart to stone.) Yeah, like I said - probably just a little ol' rat snake. Or maybe a marauding garter snake. If encountered in the great outdoors, I'd just watch it go about its business and probably smile about it. Still, that is not the kind of thing I want near my privates when I am using the bathroom.

  I used to think all that was needed to fish for trout at Tellico was a regular fishing license and the Tellico permit.  I never realized you still needed the (extra $18) state wide trout stamp along with the extra Tellico-Citico permit until I was buying license one time and the person at the counter told me.  I actually doubted what she said and tried to confirm or negate by carefully reading the fishing regs book - to no avail.  I ended up calling the TWRA and the person who answered the phone couldn't answer the question, either - she had to put me on hold while she found out the answer from someone else.  Yeah, real clear regs there, guys (not to mention sticking it to someone who would like to engage in an activity like fishing that should be both simple and affordable.)    So, one day of fishing at Tellico can cost:   Hunting and Fishing combo license:  $28 Statewide Trout Stamp:                     $18 One Day Tellico-Citico Permit:           $5.50   That's a total of $51.50.  Of course, all but the $5.50 Tellico-Citico permit are good for more than one day but still I could buy one heck of a fish dinner at Red Lobster for $51.00 - and I don't even like eating trout all that much (but they are a lot of fun to catch.)   Honestly, if I wanted to discourage 'regular' people from hunting or fishing I'd probably start with the system of confusing regs and multiple-license expenses we have here in TN.