OldIronFan

So the answer to the question that probably no one asked... Where has Oldironfan been? I mean He has not posted in close to two months and only visited once or twice to read the goings on. I bought a new bike and took off for a few weeks to ride. I had been planning a fly and ride trip over the Spring. I knew I had some time to take off work around the first of June so I was looking at big bore adventure bikes in Texas, Colorado, Oregon, California, and even a few in the northeast. The plan was to fly out and buy a bike then take the long way home over a couple of weeks. All that went out the window when I found a bike about an hour and a half down the road near Cookeville, TN. I picked it up near the end of May and promptly tore it apart to set it up for my needs and wired in some accessories. I then quickly revamped my plan for a ride during my time off. Should I go out to the east coast and places like Cape Hatteras? Nope, the weeks following Memorial Day and the official start of summer beach season would mean traffic and tourists, lots of them. That was out. Should I go south to ride the Florida Keys. See above plus it was going to be hot and swampy down there. Should I go West toward the mountain passes of the Rockies and the deserts of Arizona or Nevada? Maybe, but the heat would probably be high in the desert and my comfort level off road with narrow mountain passes on a new bike might be an issue. North was the only option that made much sense so off to Canada and the Great Lakes it was. I decided I would ride around the perimeter of all the great lakes. I did make the executive decision to ignore lake Michigan and Michigan all together. Too many trips to Detroit, Grand Rapids, Benton Harbor, and Chicago for work made spending much effort on seeing Lake Michigan seem pointless. I needed to dip a toe in Superior, Huron, Ontario, and Erie. So June 1 I set off and headed for the west side of Lake Superior. About 10 days later I returned home with an additional 3200 miles in the bike and a bunch of memories to go with the pictures. My route was Nolensville, TN > Rockford, IL > Stone Lake, WI > Thunder Bay Ontario CA > Wawa Ontario CA > Manitoulin Island Ontario CA > Wiarton Ontario CA > Kingston Ontario CA > Niagara Falls Ontario CA > Erie, PA > Cleveland PA > Columbus PA > Nolensville, TN (home). Through it all I managed to get in about 250 to 300 miles of gravel and forest service roads in Northern Wisconsin and Canada. I camped a few night, stayed in a cabin and a bunkee a couple nights, and hit a few hotels on the way up and back. Also had to hit a hotel in Niagara Falls as there were not many camping options close by. Also snuck in a ferry crossing although it was not as enjoyable as I would have hoped due to rain and upper 40º F temperatures. My steed for the ride and my new commuter is my '05 BMW R1200GS that my wife has nicknamed Tucan. In addition to the 3200 miles on the trip I have put a about 1800 miles on locally bringing my total for the summer to 5000ish miles.

Hello and welcome, Darrell is correct. Nashville is heavy in health care and health insurance with several major players being headquartered and having a large corporate presence here. My wife works in Healthcare IT and has worked for several of them. The greater Nashville area is pretty much awash in hospitals, specialists, and large specialty practices. Get out side of the metro area and things get more difficult. There is a real problem with hospitals, clinics, and rehab centers being closed down in rural counties, often leaving behind huge gaps in available care for residents to navigate. I will add that Tennessee is not necessarily a milder climate we just shift our extremes the other way. We may not get the cold and snow you do but our summers (sometimes our springs and falls also) can be brutally hot with ridiculously high humidity. If you can tolerate 90+ degrees with 80%+ humidity better than you can snow and cold then it might be for you.

Antioch is going the same way as all Nashville neighborhoods, gentrification and development. They are spending millions in Antioch right now. Very steadily pushing property values up and those so called "undesirable" elements out. I am in no rush to move to the area, mostly because it is Davidson County, but I worked, ate, and shopped in Antioch regularly up until about two years ago. Never once had an issue and saw some of the early signs of the reclamation and redevelopment of the area.

A polymer 80 Glock clone takes me about 15 to 20 minutes. The first one I did I took my time so it probably took closer to an hour. I work in the firearms industry as an engineer, I was a machinist for many years, and I play around as an amateur gunsmith on the side. I built dozens of AR platform weapons from billet, 20% forgings, 80% lowers, and stripped lowers before I did a polymer 80 build. The P80 stuff is dead simple and can be done with hand tools in a matter of minutes. Fret cutters or end cutters similar to the ones linked below really make the job easier. A rotary tool makes things easy as well. https://www.amazon.com/KNIPEX-68-01-160-Cutters/dp/B005EXO6TO/ref=asc_df_B005EXO6TO/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312003160272&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16580136110054556434&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013095&hvtargid=pla-454741761013&psc=1

Many times I drove straight into Mexico without a single LEO, agent, or official glancing my way much less stopping anyone to check documentation or cargo. There were not even any gates or stops, just rolled right on through. There was far more scrutiny when arriving by air. Getting back into the US is a different story. Even learning the tricks, times of day, and best locations it was usually a 45 minute to 2 hour ordeal with a ridiculous line on the bridges. Add in that at least 30% of the time our vehicles were pulled to the side and searched and it is pretty clear who is somewhat serious about border security. I could have driven a truck full of weapons, ammo, and explosives into Mexico at anytime as long as I came back with an empty vehicle. Man I do miss the tacos though...

Slightly unusual I know but if anyone still has one of the TOZ 35 Single Shot 22LR Free Pistols kicking around unloved in your safe please let me know. I am interested in picking one up. Hoping to find one locally before I go through the risk and hassle of finding one out of state and doing the transfer. I am in Middle TN but would make a bit of a drive toward the east or west side to get one, especially if it is a nice day and I can ride the motorcycle. Would really prefer the full kit but if you have the pistol only or pistol with some parts and no box we can talk.

Your internals and major G3 components are compatible. Things like grip plugs, flared mag well inserts and grip overlay textures are not compatible. There are P80 specific versions of those available from some sellers. There is some slightly difference geometry in the grip. Most holsters are fine or at least have more than enough adjustment in the retention adjustment screw (kydex type) to accommodate the P80 frames. I did one of the SC (26) P80 frames some time back and there was one spring that was not compatible with the off the shelf 19/17 kits but that was likely due to the subtle differences between 26 and 17/19 internals not P80 vs OEM Glock.

In general exposed rim cartridges don't feed or load all that well in box style magazines. Traditional cartridges' and shotgun shells from the period of transition from percussion fired weapons (powder, patch, ball) were typically straight wall and with an exposed rim. These feed just fine from a tube magazine and a lift mechanism or could be easily extracted/ejected from a break action. As higher power "modern" cartridges came into play things shifted. Now there was a concern that the modern jacketed and point tip bullets were not safe in a tube magazine however with their traditionally rebated rims they would load and feed in a box style magazine. The spring loaded box magazine lends itself to bolt action as the bolt will compress the magazine spring when closed and then strip that next round from the magazine when cycled. You can do this with a pump action but there would need to be a rotational aspect designed into the action, such as a cam, to rotate the bolt and lock the lugs into the barrel/extension since you do not have the manual rotation of the as you would in a bolt action.

Yep, The tear in my right knee started aggravating my left knee, my right hip, and my lower back. I have never had back issues like so many friends and family members so I was concerned. After fixing the knee and getting everything strong again it all went away. Years later and no lower back pain, no knee pain, and no hip issues. I was surprised at how much hip strength and flexibility affected knee function. I did not really think of them as all that related or connected until I started focusing on my hips in physical therapy to strengthen the upper leg and knee. The big trigger for me to finally break down and have the surgery was when my knee would just buckle at unexpected times. All those other muscles that are compensating for your injured knee can just basically give up for a moment. It really liked to do it when I was going up stairs. I dropped my motorcycle once when I put my right foot down and the knee buckled. Parked the bike, started physical therapy, then scheduled the surgery right after that.

Tore my meniscus and fractured the head of my tibia running more than 10 years ago. I had to wait for the fracture to heal up before I could contemplate the meniscus repair. Once I had waited the knee felt ok'ish enough that I put off surgery. It continually got worse though and it began to limit me in my daily activities. I still tried to avoid surgery with about 8 weeks of physical therapy. Of course that did not help since meniscus do not repair themselves so I finally had the surgery. It was instantaneously better. Very little pain after surgery. I had it done on a Wednesday and was in physical therapy again that Friday. I was on crutches for 7 days but they were slowly getting me back bearing some weight through that week. By the following Wednesday I was off crutches, walking 1+ miles a day, and hitting physical therapy 3 times a week. I could have gone back to running inside of a month if I had wanted to. My take away points; Do as much physical therapy (strengthen and stretch the knee supporting muscle structure including your hip) as you can before the surgery. I firmly believe it greatly reduces recovery time and complications. Do as much physical therapy after surgery as you can. Same reasons as above. Do not wait to have the surgery any longer than you have to. My biggest complications were lots, and lots, and lots of scar tissue that had to be removed from previously unaddressed injury. I was also compensating for the weakened knee causing misalignment and increased strain on other supporting muscle and structure. I should have done it as soon as my fracture healed. I went to Vanderbilt Bone and Joint in Franklin. Surgery took a few hours and was outpatient. I was home in my own bed that afternoon. The surgeon that did my repair is no longer there at Vanderbilt but I still have good things to say about them in general. I have been back to a different doctor for a hand injury and they are very thorough and efficient.

I was all set to upgrade this year after holding off last year until things settled down. It appears I will keep holding off until 2023 or 2024. I have a low 2006 F150 with only 80k miles on it. It was not the truck I really wanted though as it is 2wd and the extended (supercab) not supercrew cab so no rear seat. I wanted the true 4 door, rear seat, and 4wd but I got this one so cheap I could not pass it up. It has served me well for a few years but I always thought it would be a temporary place holder. Now I am thinking of spending a bit more on some preventive maintenance, detailing, and some new tires to keep it going for another few years. I have a car that gets decent mileage and will haul 4 people comfortably, 6 in a pinch, so I wanted to get rid of it and the F150 so I could replace two with one nice truck to cover all my needs but I refuse to pay $50k+ for a used truck and $60k+ for a new one. I have been seeing $40k+ for trucks with over 100k miles, just insane.

Quit my six figure job that had me working 50+ hours a week with 75%+ travel. I was on the road 38 to 42 weeks of the year. Great corporate gig with good pay, great benefits, solid company with no signs of potential failure at the next economic down turn. It was still worth it for me to take a pay cut and a role with a smaller company that had less than stellar benefits. The pay has worked out fine since I have seen more in bonuses and perks than I did before. The benefits have not been an issue since my stress, blood pressure, and general health is much better these last couple years. There was certainly some risk involved in the change but my family is better off as a whole because of it. On the other side of that is my wife still works less hours in a week, works from home 100% of the time, and she makes twice as much as I do. She is certainly smart, experienced and hard working so she did not get the role just handed to her but I still look back and wonder how I managed to decide to get into engineering and manufacturing when I could be doing software development from my home office right now.

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Military designation will be 6.8x51 Sig has a commercial version that is .277 Fury

PM inboud

That entrepreneurial initiative is exactly what drove the creation of the 80% market. There has been multiple fairly large and profitable business ventures based almost exclusively on 80% receivers. Back when I started machining AR lowers from raw forgings (what came to be called 20% receivers) there were no readily available 80% receivers and certainly no easy jigs that would tooling kits that would let you finish the work with a common wood working trim router. Then you get into the Polymer 80 craze. No one fronted the money for the tooling to produce those if they did not expect a significant profit on the back end. The 80% market exploded and it was made "easy" for the common handy person to complete one. The entrepreneurs created the reality that the ATF is fighting back against now. The same thing is happening with Form 1 suppressor kits. There was a legal avenue to produce and register your own suppressor. Entrepreneurs saw a completely legal window of opportunity to create products that while incomplete/non functioning could be completed by the end user easily. It is really no surprise that a percentage (debatable how large) did not care about the legalities of ATF form 1 submissions and purchased their products with zero intention of every following those laws. It is also no surprise that some people see and 80% receiver and related parts kits as a way to produce firearms for profit or for illegal markets regardless of the laws.

I also believe this to be the case. I read a comment thread on a popular AR building discussion board regarding the original poster seeing a table at a gun show where a non licensed (no FFL) seller had a table full of completed weapons built on completed 80% lowers. When he was asked about it he claimed that it was perfectly legal for him to sell them despite the fact that he was clearly doing it as a for profit venture. This was followed by multiple posters claiming they had seem similar sellers at gun shows in a number of areas. Several of the posters confirmed these accounts by claiming they were at the same show and saw the same sellers. If there were a handful of accounts of this happening out in the open at a gun show you can bet there is far more of it going on on the "street". I have been asked multiple times to complete 80% lowers and build complete weapons from them for individuals once they found out I had the machining capability to do it. Those inquiries normally came from people without knowledge of the laws regarding 80% receiver builds and usually sprouted from random conversations at the range. Usually off hand comments when checking out one of my builds along the lines of "so how much would you charge me to build one for me?". I am absolutely positive there are plenty of builders out there who would throw out a dollar figure in response rather than turn them down as I do.

Would have been nice to ride but I was knee deep in a hole with shovel and an axe chopping roots and planting trees. Well after mowing the yard and tilling a new bed that is. To much rain this month to not spend a nice day working outside.

I really like my two. I had just about given up in IWB. I am a touch "Wide" and the bottom of the holster was always digging in to the top of my hip. I was constantly adjusting my old leather "gun" belt upward and tighter but seemed to always be either too tight or too loose, it was between belt holes. These are more rigid, stable, and far more adjustable with the ratchet system. Now the holster just does not move and if I feel I am a touch loose or had a bit too much for lunch fine adjustments are easy. I ended up grabbing a black and a tan tactical version with two buckles. Ordered on line as they always have at least a 10% off coupon going. I think I paid just over $100 for two belts, two buckles, and the belt hanger.

Went out Monday and did not hear or see a thing on my normally productive land. They have been logging 600 acres across the road and it has really affected the patterns. Probably headed back out Friday if can get a few things off my plate before then. Only thing positive I saw was 4 deer out mid day including a very large bodied doe and a fairly large bodied buck, maybe a three year old, in a spot I had been thinking of putting out a food plot this year. I did just about take out three jakes with the car last Wednesday. If I had not been slowing to turn into a drive they might not have made it, blind hill in a slight curve and they crossed at the worst spot.

Yes it absolutely makes a difference. Do Not use that muzzle brake on a 9mm if it truly has a .350 I.D. Your muzzle brake diameter needs to be .020-.030 over the bullet diameter. That would put you at .375 to .385 I.D. There are a few out there that run a little tighter to the bore diameter (~.015 clearance) but you need to make sure you are using quality components regardless. I have seen some really horrible muzzle threading on cheap barrels before. Total concentricity and perpendicularity of ~.001 -.002 is required especially if you ever hope to mount a suppressor to the weapon.

My extremely athletic 80lb standard poodle thinks he is a lap dog. He can just about look me in the eye when he stands on his hind legs, I am 6'3". I can't imagine what 110+lbs of lap dog would be like. Leroy says Hi!

And the letter has landed. March 24, 2022 Open Letter to All Federal Firearms Licensees The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) recently examined devices commonly known as “forced reset triggers” (FRTs) and has determined that some of them are “firearms” and “machineguns” as defined in the National Firearms Act (NFA), and “machineguns” as defined in the Gun Control Act (GCA). These particular FRTs are being marketed as replacement triggers for AR-type firearms. Unlike traditional triggers and binary triggers (sometimes referred to generally as “FRTs”), the subject FRTs do not require shooters to pull and then subsequently release the trigger to fire a second shot. Instead, these FRTs utilize the firing cycle to eliminate the need for the shooter to release the trigger before a second shot is fired. By contrast, some after-market triggers have similar components but also incorporate a disconnector or similar feature to ensure that the trigger must be released before a second shot may be fired and may not be machineguns. Both the NFA and GCA regulate machineguns. “Machinegun” is defined under 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b) and 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(23) as— Any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. (Emphasis added.) ATF’s examination found that some FRT devices allow a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger. For this reason, ATF has concluded that FRTs that function in this way are a combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and hence, ATF has classified these devices as a “machinegun” as defined by the NFA and GCA. Accordingly, ATF’s position is that any FRT that allows a firearm to automatically expel more than one shot with a single, continuous pull of the trigger is a “machinegun”, and is accordingly subject to the GCA prohibitions regarding the possession, transfer, and transport of machineguns under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(o) and 922(a)(4). They are also subject to registration, transfer, taxation, and possession restrictions under the NFA. See 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841, 5861; 27 CFR 479.101. Under 26 U.S.C. § 5871, any person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of the NFA may be fined up to $10,000 per violation and is subject to imprisonment for a term of up to ten years. Further, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 5872, any machinegun possessed or transferred in violation of the NFA is subject to seizure and forfeiture. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2), any person who violates § 922(o) may be sent to prison for up to 10 years and fined up to $250,000 per person or $500,000 per organization. Based on ATF’s determination that the FRTs that function as described above are “machineguns” under the NFA and GCA, ATF intends to take appropriate remedial action with respect to sellers and possessors of these devices. Current possessors of these devices are encouraged to contact ATF for further guidance on how they may divest possession. If you are uncertain whether the device you possess is a machinegun as defined by the GCA and NFA, please contact your local ATF Field Office. You may consult the local ATF Office’s webpage for office contact information. Alphonso Hughes Assistant Director Enforcement Programs and Services George Lauder Assistant Director Field Operations

Oh it will get there for sure. Getting it to actually hit the target is up to the skills of the user though. That was taken the first time I had an opportunity to shoot one. I did not own one at that time. We were only shooting it about 150 ~ 175 yards that day so not nearly as much of a challenge.

600 yards is about the longest so far. I was primarily a pistol shooter before getting into some rifle shooting/hunting so I am working my equipment, my knowledge, and my skill level up to my goal of 1760+. When you never had anything more powerful than a 3-9 optic on a small bore rifle the step up seems a bit steep at first.