TGO David

Ankle holster? SERIOUSLY look at a J-Frame.

RAMADI, Iraq - Once Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt realized he could wiggle his toes and fingers, he had one message for the insurgents who wounded him - defiance. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Michael Burghardt signals defiance at his Iraqi attackers after being injured by an improvised explosive device near Ramadi. Attending to the Marine were Nebraska 167th Cavalry members Spc. John Adams (far left, in front) of Hastings, Neb., and Pfc. Darin Nelson of Fremont, Neb. Burghardt, of Huntington Beach, Calif., started his third tour in Iraq trying to beat the insurgents to the IEDs - improvised explosive devices - and disarm them before the insurgents could set them off. As is often the case, Burghardt and his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were accompanied to a bomb site Monday by the First Platoon, 167th Cavalry of the Nebraska National Guard. One IED had blown up a Bradley fighting vehicle and killed a U.S. soldier. As often happens, the insurgents left behind more IEDs. Burghardt disarmed two bombs that were found - quick action that probably saved the lives of several Nebraska soldiers. But he couldn't get to a third. When word spread that the third device had been found, 167th Capt. Jeff Searcey of Kearney, 1st Lt. Matthew Misfeldt of Omaha and their men hit the ground as a blast exploded skyward. Burghardt was wounded. But with two new young Marines in his ordnance disposal unit - and the insurgent attackers undoubtedly looking on - "I didn't want them to see the team leader carried away on a stretcher," he said. So after the Nebraskans tended to wounds that reached from his boot tops to the small of his back, Burghardt rose to his feet and reached back with a one-finger salute for his attackers. "I was angry," Burghardt said. IEDs - which can be roadside bombs, car bombs or other booby traps - increasingly are the weapons of choice for the Iraqi insurgents. Unwilling or unable to attack U.S. forces head-on, the insurgency has used the hidden explosives, often detonated by remote control. Some analysts have estimated that nearly 12,000 IED incidents occurred in Iraq in 2004. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal units are assigned to locate, identify, disarm and dispose of IEDs. The Nebraskans alongside Burghardt's unit provide security at the scene, guarding the perimeter while the EOD teams do their dangerous work. The 1st Platoon has been on 80 such missions, including some false alarms, since the 167th Cavalry arrived in Ramadi about 90 days ago. Working together, the ordnance disposal Marines and the Nebraska National Guardsmen have developed a mutual respect - there's no Army-Marine trash-talking here. "The biggest threat to us in Iraq is IEDs. We love working with them. They make us better soldiers," Misfeldt said. Burghardt, an 18-year Marine with 15 years' experience disarming explosives, returns that admiration. "I feel part of this Army team," he said. "They take care of us like brothers." Burghardt received the Bronze Star during his last tour of duty for disarming 64 IEDs. This week's incident was his first injury. Burghardt, 35, wouldn't accept painkillers when he was brought back to camp by the Nebraskans. He knew he might need them later. And he's not looking to leave Ramadi for five more months. "I don't want a ticket out," he said. "I want to stay here so we can take as many people home as possible." Soldiers all the way up to the brigade's commander, Col. John Gronski, viewed a photo of Burghardt - on his feet, arm extended and middle finger raised - as the embodiment of the American warrior. As for Burghardt, he said he wanted to send a message to the insurgents who failed to kill him. "I knew there was somebody disappointed out there."

.38spl J-Frame ... end of thread.

I was going to mention it to my wife but we're still looking for a polymer 9mm for her, waiting on the M&P JG to come out. This is a smoking deal though, so someone should definitely pick it up.

Part of why that thread over on the M&P forum fascinated me is that recently I had the same epiphany that many others here have in that it occurred to me that (a.) handguns don't typically offer one-shot-stops, (b.) that shot placement is far more critical than caliber and (c.) the guy who runs out of ammo first is likely to be the loser in a gun fight. As much as I dearly love my Wilson Combat 1911, eight rounds of ammunition is not enough in my mind. It doesn't matter to me that I am very accurate with it. It doesn't matter to me that I train to aim small and miss small. What matters to me is that eight rounds means I only get to pull that trigger eight times before I have to reload... and that should be while shooting on the move and I'm not that good at shooting on the move yet. So what gun do I carry more now? My P2000 .40SW because it has 12 rounds capacity. This is also why I am entertaining the idea of a Glock 19 as it adds an additional three rounds of ammo in the exact same size package as my HK P2000 AND I know for a fact that the recoil of a 9mm is negligible enough for me that I can hold it on target and deliver follow up shots with precision and brutality. I'm still working toward that with my P2000 and struggle still with the excessively long trigger reset on it. SO... this fascinated me because here I am looking at a 9mm for carry and prior to this "enlightenment" I would have more or less looked down on the 9mm as being less than desirable for a self defense cartridge. Now I'm looking at it in a different light. Enough of my ramblings for now. Just thought it was interesting.

I made a small change today that might improve the transmission of emails from our server to other servers on the Internet. We'll see if this makes any difference, good or bad.

Screw the squid... I want to see the size of the cup of Saki that it would take to wash that calamari down!

I've edited the poll to add notes regarding holidays in May.

We wouldn't be able to make it on Memorial Day weekend. Got family things going on all weekend long.

By the way... the 17th would work better for us since it's right around payday. That makes it easier to scrape together ammo.

Snappy Tomato wasn't bad and there were ample accommodations for the size group we had this past weekend. The only sticking point with Snappy Tomato is that they do serve beer, which makes carrying in there illegal. The alternative is to leave your carry weapon in your vehicle. Other than fast food, there aren't too many restaurants in Spring Hill that don't at least serve beer. Cracker Barrel would be the exception and it's at the opposite end of Spring Hill from the range. I will say this about Owl Hollow: If it rains before or during the event, bring rubber boots if you plan on shooting at the handgun pits. They really need to dump some gravel all the way up to the foot of the berms on those pits; my boots were absolutely caked with mud by the time we were done shooting.

I carried SOB back when I first got my Kentucky carry permit back in the early 1990s. It was comfortable as long as I was standing, but really sucked when I sat down. I really wouldn't recommend it.

Hornet Handler has one of those and I got a chance to shoot it a while back. It's a very nice gun. The Pachmayer grips make it a little thicker than I personally prefer, but it's a nice gun none the less.

My wife's from Williamson County. Married one of them thar snooty rich girls.

You heard correctly.

You suck.

Well, normally I hate them... but we've got it set that way over on the car forum because of some idiot kids.

Here are some of the snippets that I thought were thought provoking...

Well crap. I'll repost some of it here then.

I saw this thread on another forum and thought it was worth linking you guys to as well. Very good information on all fronts. Especially the posts by member ToddG. http://mp-pistol.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=13364&hl=

No, she normally reads over my shoulder at home. I'll mention it to her tonight and see if she'll sign up.

Old Gregg is much better. Can I interest you in a Baileys?

I think the most shocking thing -- to me at least -- is the lack of popularity for the .40SW round in this poll. If I were to have guessed I would have predicted that the .40SW would have been more popular than the 9mm. Interesting.

She might browse now and again at home. Really that'd be about it since she doesn't have much web access at work.

The more my wife talks about wanting a 1911, the more I keep thinking about that particular gun. Got any pics? Price?