Jamie Jackson

Didn't Groucho Marx once say: “I don’t want to belong to any club that would accept me as one of its members.” ? And no secret decoder ring?! Balderdash!

When I was 11 years old (1965) I had, what would now be considered a full time job...40 hours a week. A Mr. Mitchell Curry owned a Western Auto store in my small town. He had an H&R 16 g single shot for around $30.00 or so. I convinced him to let me put it on layaway, brought him a note from my mother, and paid off the gun in about 4 weeks. I only made around $15.00/wk. I had to be frugal. I had a 50cc little motorcycle, rode down, picked it up, along with a box of shells and headed for a local gravel pit. Times were different I guess as this wasn't an unusual event back then. I still have it. I've killed rabbits, squirrels, dove, predators (foxes and a couple of coyotes) and my first deer with it. Couldn't part with it for anything.

I'll second the SCCY. They are actually good little guns and reasonably durable...but if he doesn't practice with it the small safety could be an issue. Good Luck.

I'm bumping this one back because it has several great suggestions for various podcasts and to recommend another: Civilian Carry Radio Civilian Carry Radio is hosted by a group of three people, Baraka James, Allen Sams and Karie Thomas. They offer a solid format, simulcast on YouTube, and have had a phenomenal list of "guests" to interview thus far. Their focus is, as you may have guessed, Civilian Carry and the topics discussed are actually related to us mere earth walker everyday carry type folks! Here's a link and I hope you folks will give them a listen. https://firearmsradio.tv/civilian-carry-radio/

I would keep my OEM barrel personally. What would be the purpose of the stainless barrel if I may ask? Factory or OEM Glock barrels are "generous" in that, while not match accurate, they certainly allow most to spec rounds to feed readily and reliably. I have a couple of Lone Wolf barrels and have to carefully tailor my handloads to them for reliable feeding. The Lone Wolf barrels are very picky as far as feeding SD ammo. I've read the same of KKM and other aftermarket barrels. But I also believe KKM will tweak a barrel for a particular load for a fee. I only carry with an OEM barrel...others opinions may differ. But I wouldn't sacrifice the known for the unknown...not saying you would. I have between 50-60 K rounds through my G 19 barrel and it still quite serviceable. Gunbroker lists a few OEM Glock barrels fwiw. Just a WAG but they may be replacing a barrel they sold ...

These are indeed "Golden Times" for shooters.

Good on you Bersa, all the way around! Being proactive just makes sense. We lived in SW MS near New Orleans at the time of Katrina. As we had a window unit and generator we were able to maintain a "cool place" during the 6 weeks we had no electricity. It was a valuable lesson learned. We've been in Knoxville since 2006. We purchased our current home in 2007 and installed 2 window units in our home in 2008. We have a single central unit and it services 3000 sq feet. We put reflective tinting on all of our windows around the same time as installing the window units. We literally cut our electric bills in half once we did this. We keep a generator serviceable to run the window units and freezers ... just in case. I can always dress with more warn clothing in the winter...but darn! You can only get just so naked in this heat and not be arrested!

I'm glad to hear you've joined the AK crowd David. I wonder just how many of us were honestly influenced by this?

That's a great book to own! I remember only too well...way before the interwebz...when if you needed to do any non-local gun business, you had to subscribe/consult "The Shotgun News", purchase the "Shooter's Bible" and utilize what's referred to as snail-mail...why we even made phone calls back then! Oh yeah, you needed to subscribe to Brownells catalog as well, and know how to decipher the wholesale pricing...I had an FFL back in the late 80's to early 90's and these were the essential sources. I sure do miss the $5.00 Hazmat fee of those times.

While I've never trained with Melody Lauer or John Johnston (Ballistic Radio), they do offer a class along the lines that you're asking about. They have a training organization called Citizen's Defense Research and the name of the class is Contextual Handgun: The Armed Parent/Guardian. The reviews and AAR's seem pretty positive. Hope this is of some use to you. http://melodylauer.com/2016/04/contextual-handgun-the-armed-parentguardian/ AAR from P&S: https://primaryandsecondary.com/citizens-defense-researchs-the-armed-parentguardian-aar/

Thanks Taylor. Just an add-on for the handloaders here. X-treme bullets is having a July 4th sale with 10% off plus free shipping. http://www.xtremebullets.com/

That sucks K. Sorry to learn of your loss. Have you considered doing a "3 Sisters" planting? We only planted tomatoes so far this year as we've been out of town and having to do OT at work. But a few years back we planted pole beans mixed with butternut squash with some corn. I learned you have to let the corn grow for about 4 weeks first, otherwise the beans can overwhelm the corn. If you time it well I've found the beans to actually support the stalks and can help mitigate the wind damage. Speaking of beans...have you folks ever planted dried red kidney beans (like you buy to soak and cook from Walmart)? They are hand's down the most delicious beans I've ever eaten! They are a bush bean, and as I use raised beds, so they take up a lot of my space...but I'll darn sure be planting some in August!

I've not been to SIA yet. But I obviously need to quit procrastinating about it. I have a place in my hear for S&W revolvers, more so as shooters than a collection piece. So 100 % originality isn't an issue. I certainly do admire the bluing they did back then.

Very Nice! I'm envious! Congrats on the acquisition. Did you pick it up locally?

I ordered a SWAT-T Tourniquet...actually 2 of them. One for myself and one for work. Since I carry a gun, I accept the fact that violence could happen. If God forbid violence does happen, it's good to have the means to treat the aftermath. The CAT or SOFTT-W are my 1st line preference. But the SWAT-T fills a niche that needed filling. Options are a good thing... http://www.chinookmed.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=500470PA&source=nextopia

Welcome to TN and TGO! Glad to have you aboard.

Sound advice as regards the search engines above. I generally purchase from SG Ammo as they run frequent sales, Sportsman's Guide is decent if you are a member, and I've recently purchased SD ammo from BoneFrog Gun Club and I've been very pleased with their service and fast shipping. http://www.sgammo.com/ https://www.sportsmansguide.com/department/ammo-shooting?d=121 https://www.bonefroggunclub.com/collections/ammunition

True that. Which is why it helps to consider a place like Lehman's beforehand. https://www.lehmans.com/

Good discussion folks. fwiw I've spent the last few days in a very rural area of MS with no cell nor net access, so I'm catching up... I believe what you guys are referring to is "Normalcy Bias". You guys probably are familiar with the concept, but for those that aren't it's essentially the belief that nothing bad will happen and things will continue as "Normal" even when confronted face to face with the event....because they always have... Even Wikipedia states: "With a normalcy bias," writes one observer, "we project current conditions into the future. Normalcy bias is a form of denial where we underestimate the possibility and extent of a looming disaster even when we have incontrovertible evidence that it will happen. We assume that since a disaster never has occurred, then it never will occur. Consequently, we fail to prepare for a disaster and, when it does occur, we may be unable to deal with it." This is an unfortunate yet prevalent phenomena, especially with such a low probability event that could bring about such a dire state. I certainly hope, and Pray, such an event never comes to pass. But, imho, if we work towards making ourselves as independent as can reasonably be expected form the various systems of support, have and/or learn various skills such as gardening and canning/food storage, have the necessary equipment to live day to day and get us from point "A" to point "B" then we are less negatively impacted by even a local or regional disaster. I have no desire to live in the mid 19th century...none! But I plan to maintain the best quality life that I can for as long as I can.

Thanks for the additional info FrankD. Having small ones, and even "non-gun" people obviously requires various options, and consideration of quick access vs security. My wife is "non-gunny" but keeps a .38 revolver in the living room with her when I am not at home. It's the firearm she's most comfortable with. Having a non-lethal or less-lethal option readily available might also be a consideration. I have OC spray near the various entrances to our home. Not setting out in the open for kids to grab, but accessible. I have very little trust in even professional grade fingerprint scanner devices. We use one at work for accessing medications. As I wash my hands dozens upon dozens of times per day, I have unreliable fingerprints... DPS had a heck of a time obtaining a set for my original State issued handgun permit back as far as 1990. I had to change to a password key-in at work as we simply couldn't make it work for me. This machine dispenses narcotics and other controlled substances and supposedly has "state of the art" scanning equipment. Many of my coworkers have to moisten their fingertips to make the device work. We also have access areas that require a numeric push button keypad and they work as long as they have electricity. I am not saying that the recommended devices are not sound choices, just cautioning you to try them under varying conditions to develop a trust level you are comfortable with. A previous instructor of mine, Bill Jeans, used to keep an 870 above his door frame when his kids were small. I did similar when my son was very young. But never slacked on the ongoing education and training with him. I guess I'm fortunate in that when I met my wife 30 years ago I carried, so she's never known anything different of me. Good luck in your decisions and please keep us posted as we can learn along with you.

Does anything prohibit the wearing of a handgun while in your home? We live in a multilevel home and do have firearms accessible in the bedroom and always on me...OK...not in the shower...but darn close! fwiw we have no small prying fingers in our home.

As mentioned you are GTG. Louisiana has long held your vehicle as an extension of your home (Napoleonic law influence), many years before they became a Shall Issue State or offered reciprocity. As someone who has hand a handgun stolen out of his vehicle (while at work there back in 1995) I would strongly recommend a secure lock box, and in your trunk, if possible. And of course secure it while away from prying eyes. There are miscreants that make a living stealing out of folks hotel rooms and vehicles and video surveillance is of little to no deterrent. It's a great City and there's lots of good folks. But it is a "city"... Have an enjoyable trip and sample some of the great eats while in N.O. edited: sorry, you did mention a truck...but the lock box recommendation still holds. I still have one in my truck because of working there... just shackle it down good. There'll be easier pickings for the skellls...

I agree that the devastation potential would be remarkable Erik. It seems that I recall reading some time ago that our military did initiate a "hardening" against such a potential, but moved away from it as the Global War on Terror grew in size. Perhaps some of our more recent military members could chime in on this. Regardless I personally wouldn't count on Government assistance. Our personal experience with Katrina demonstrated what a Charlie Foxtrot that would be on even a regional event. Low probability potential for sure and currently off the radar for many folks as the Stock Market is booming and jobs are starting to come back. As regards our dependency on technology... We had a disaster drill at work very recently...moulage, triage and injuries related to a weather event. I was surprised by the number of medical professionals that mentioned something along the lines of "I have an app that would help in this type of scenario".... Really? Even in a regional event loss of power and cell service disappear relatively easily, definitely quickly. Kinda nice to have a plan, knowledge, and skills ahead of time...

Well now...if this isn't something to wake up to this morning... https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-dreams-of-turning-out-the-lights-1496960987 While I believe we would all acknowledge this is a low probability event, especially compared to a personal or natural disaster impacting us, it's still food for thought imho. Obviously I thought of Forstchen's "One Second After" and myriad other post apocalyptic fiction novels. But even the WSJ acknowledges that a relatively low level nuclear yield , crudely delivered, could have a pretty nasty impact on our electric grid...which we (the U.S.) should have hardened long ago. It doesn't hurt to have food, water, medications, and some alternative means of accomplishing every day tasks at hand. Garden? Medical gear and the knowledge to use it? Quality safe water...a Berkey perhaps? It's all things we need everyday anyway. Low probability for sure...bad consequences if it happens.

It'll take quite a bit of time, if ever, for Walmart to shake the distrust they've earned regarding .22 ammo these past several years. I was at the Turkey Creek Walmart this morning and did see some Federal Automatch at $17.++ per box, and a lone 100 rd box of Winchester Super X for just shy of $9.00. At least it's popping up with greater regularity in East TN.