TGO David

You can do it yourself with a soldering iron with chisel tip and lots of practice on scrap plastic.

It sounds like you and I had similar vacations. I spent last week wrapping up the bulk of the remodeling and painting around our house. If I have to paint a 6-panel interior door ever again, it will be too soon.

It's not clearly labeled at all. But when you click a photo to view its page, beneath the photo is a row of icons. One of the icons is this one: Click on that and it takes you to a page where you can check a box to delete the photo. This is probably one of the worst things about our gallery software.

He's been here a pretty good while and lost a lot of posts when we purged some things a while back. I did him a favor and bumped his access so that he could list his weapons.

This seems sort of contradictory. You admit that you don't know much about them but then say you'd go with the XD. I've had experience with and have owned both. I only own an M&P now. Draw your own conclusions.

UPS managed to divert my engraved lower receiver somehow and it was rescheduled to be delivered tomorrow instead of today. Regardless, I should be able to assemble the lower by the end of the week. I suspect I'm still a good 30 days away from hearing anything about the tax stamp but that's OK. Gives me time to stock up on ammo.

Well there are still several things not to like about it and if Glock would move to a changeable backstrap design, they could effectively bury the M&P line. The few gripes that I have with the M&P series are... Lack of a definitive trigger reset click / mushy trigger Horrible trigger over travel from the factory Stupid mag-drop issues Stupid premature lock-back issues Frame droop at the picatinny rail MIM sear block instead of CNC machined The first two of those are a pretty big deal to me, but I'm quirky. The next two don't affect all guns, just those built after happy hour apparently. When they do affect a gun, it's a really big deal for obvious reasons. The last two are minor quibbles. The M&P is still a very good gun. Not great, but very good. I don't think the Glock is great either so if that helps the comparison any there you go.

And in other news, while in the Middle East, Obama stopped in historic Bethlehem to visit the manger where he was born...

Hahah... I can't be too mean to Danny. He did offer a rifle also (thanks to both Todd and Danny, btw!) and well his rock thrower kept running even when the XD mags choked on mud. Next time, though, he needs to keep a camera on his person. With all of those trips back to reload while the rest of us were still shooting, he could have gotten some great action shots!

I forget... how long has it been since the Cowboys went to the Super Bowl...

I am very much into photography but it tends to almost be a seasonal thing for me. Fall, Winter and early Spring lend themselves well to really enjoyable outdoor photography. My current rig is built around a Canon EOS 30D but I've been giving some serious thought to upgrading the body to a 40D.

They are great pistols. For some reason, the .40SW versions run without a hitch whereas most of the people who have minor problems are having them with the 9mm versions. It is true that S&W designed the handgun around the .40SW cartridge initially, so that may have some bearing on why that is.

The Browns and the Red Skins.

Sounds like you guys just ought to nail down a day and do it at Owl Hollow. It really is the best range for shooting and socializing. Make sure at least one or two members are going to be present so that you all can be someone's guest.

Danny, I figured you would want to run a flintlock rifle in keeping with bringing a 1911 to the Defensive Pistol class.

All of these offers sound really good. I'll have a little bit of experience building my own here soon but would love to attend either / both / all of these to learn from the pros.

I really want to do this but I doubt I will have my tax stamp and upper receiver by then.

Brian, you will find a better signal to noise ratio in the posts over on M4Carbine.net in their "Other Rifles" forum. http://m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=7 Arfcom used to be good back in the day but it's grown past the point that the moderators are able to effectively police. If you want to read a dozen threads about what baclava looks most tactical with your Wiley-X tactical sunglasses, Arfcom's the place. If you want to read stuff with more professional content, try M4C.

They are some of the best. Installing them requires either the use of a DPMS Panther Claw delrin action block or modifications to the generic clamshell style upper receiver blocks used to clamp the upper in your vise. I have both, but the DPMS block is a better option. Most specialty shops will install the rail for free onto your upper as long as you buy the rail from them and ship your upper to them.

I helped a friend use some stuff that he ordered off of the Internet a few years ago. It was similar to the poly-resin that they sell at the home improvement warehouses but probably a little better. I'll see if I can get him to email me the details. We had to acid wash the concrete several times since his garage had already seen traffic, but I do remember that the instructions recommended doing the same at least once to new construction even. The prep work was essential for getting a good bond to the concrete. I'd avoid using the stuff with grit in it for traction unless you just put it in a few places where foot traffic is likely. It's not near as easy to mop up oil and other spills when you have the grit additive in the resin.

Flowers, cinnamon and puppies.

Smith and Wesson will sell you any part on their firearms as long as it's not a serial numbered part (i.e. receiver). If you want exactly what comes on the M&P 15T, call them up and order directly from them.

To answer your question, yes you can easily make your AR look like the S&W MP15T. All you will need are: Low profile gas block 11" quad rail forearm Flip front iron sight You can pretty much take your pick on the gas block. For the quad rail I would look at the Daniel Defense 11.0 "Omega Rail" as it's a super secure two-piece, free floating rail that requires no additional modification to the rifle and is extremely easy to install. I think S&W uses MI front sights but I may be mistaken. Again you can take your pick there. MI, Troy, ARMS, Yankee Hill, etc. Just whatever fits your budget and style.

Thanks for the kind words. I must admit that the growth of this site is due entirely to the hard work of our moderators and the wonderful folks who keep visiting and telling others about it. My part here is small in comparison.

Nice! How long did it take you to get your tax stamps back?