MacGyver

Whenever I see huge chunks of lead like that, my immediate gut reaction is radiation safety. It might not hurt to hit it with a geiger counter to make sure it's not hot.

To do it right, you're definitely going to have to spend some money. And, you'd be foolish to think that you could even come close to approximating the work of someone who has had the opportunity to learn from years of experience. That said, I'm an engineer at the genetic level. The process is often worth as much to me as the finished product.

It's not cheap, as you have a fair bit of tooling cost in addition to thecost of quality parts to consider. A 1911 requires a lot of hand fitting, and to do it well, takes some knowledge and the experience that comes from having screwed up a fair number of parts. It's doable, though. Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's not worth the effort.

While it doesn't hurt to report them, there's not going to be much that law enforcement is either willing or able to do about it. Especially since you didn't actually suffer any loss. We do have some dirty tricks in our forensic book to use against them, though. Download the Special Information Tone indicating that a number is "out of service". Play it at the beginning of your answering machine message or voicemail followed by your regular message. Any human on the line will think it's odd, but go ahead and leave a message once they hear your message. An autodialer, however will think it has screwed up and dialed an out of service number. It will drop your number from its database, and when it updates, mark your number as out of service thus removing it from everyone else's database, too. Their greed works against them. Since calling your number, whether anyone answers or not costs them a few cents, they want to minimize their loss to bad data. Leave it on there for about a month or so, and you'll find that you don't get solicitations of any type anymore. Remove yourself from the Matrix, so to speak.

That is pretty cool.

In year preceeding and the four years following September 11, 2001, I probably spent a combined total of three weeks at home. Looking back on those times, I'm thankful for the experience, but wouldn't want to do it again. It's what gave me both the capital and the voice to start my own firm, but it's also the reason we turn down cases that required that much travel. There's stuff that's more important. Houston, incidentally is the worst city in the Union.

Man, I'm so sorry. We'll keep you guys in our prayers. Let us know if there's anything we can do.

I'm lucky that I have a Kimber Warrior that I got from someone who was determined to shoot the finish off of it. He was unsuccessful in the endeavor, But, as such, I don't feel the need to baby it in the slightest, and both carry and shoot the heck out of it. It is a pleasure to shoot and has been completely trouble free. The Wilson is a better pistol, hands down. But, you could almost have three Warriors for what you're going to pay for one.

I really think that our grandchildren and great grandchildren will look back on this time, right now as the moment in time where a major change occured. There are so many forces at work right now that all have the potential to do a lot of harm. We're at a definite fork in the road. We have to choose whether we will languish as we go down the road to a European style debt-laden serfdom, or whether we the people in this great American experiment will actually think and innovate our way forward to something even better. I think it's too early to tell which way it's going to go, but like you I am encouraged by some of the people, especially the young people who are starting to take notice and want to do something about the problems we face. If there's anything good to come from this most recent administration in Washington, I hope that it is that people realize that they can't base their hopes on one individual, but rather they have to get involved and be the catalyst for that change. The next generation is poised to do some fundamental work and some heavy lifting that will shape this country's future for generations to come. In some respect, they're lucky, too. There are some great problems to work on, and some great tools available. While I'm comfortable in my late 30's, part of me would love to be graduating from college today. The world is ripe for innovation! Freedom and liberty, 10th Amendment issues, gun rights, taxes, governement spending - there's a whole host of issues on which there is really exciting work to be done. We need to bring good voices to the front. This isn't a partisan issue. Rather, it's a matter of needing intelligent representation on both sides of an issue. The liberals seem to have found their voice, or at least an audience of late, and the conservatives need to be able to counter them with reasonable arguments. Our whole political system seems to be stacked against reason right now, but in our two-party government, it's exactly what we need. Whether it's Cato or somewhere similar, we need strong reasonable voices out front. We're pulling for you, man. Have fun out there.

I've never seen anyone experience it, and a lot of people have shot mine over the years. I could see where it would be possible with a poor grip. The hammer seems to be the issue for more people. I think this is the case with the PPK as well. With the snappy recoil of the 380, extended sessions might leave a mark. Personally, with hogue grips I've never experienced either. The offer to shoot it stands anytime. Likewise, I'll be over in Oak Ridge closer to you the week after Christmas. Let me know if you're still undecided and I'll bring it with me.

I'd probably get some Hi-Temp Lab-metal from Alvin Products and do the first part myself, though any good epoxy filler would probably work so long as it could withstand the heat of curing Cerakote. The guys up a Hero Gear did a great job coating a 1911 of mine. I don't know why there'd be any difference coating a lower, except that at this point it's an NFA item. Are you going to coat the upper, too?

There's a sticky at the top of each subforum that has SMEs indicating the experts for that particular forum. I like this suggestion, "bringing intelligent voices to the front" was exactly what we were going for with the SME designation. The more information we can put out there the better. But, I am not sure of how it would be implemented in the forum software. Maybe the particular SMEs could change their user titles that show up directly below their names in their user profiles. I expect we could publish a master list, too.

No problem so long as their name, serial and location remains untouched. I'd leave the caliber designation as well.

I couldn't bear to watch much of his video, but that Faliaphotograhy chick who was in the margin next to him reviewing holsters - I could watch those all afternoon.

At 10, I vote for something in .22LR. One of the things that has stuck with me from my time learning to shoot as a kid is that I had to buy my own ammo. It taught me trigger discipline when I was saving my allowance to buy the rounds I shot. No one will ever outgrow a good .22LR revolver. Any of the quality ones should last a lifetime and then some. But, with the price of .22LR, he can reasonably shoot all he wants. My vote would either be for an old S&W model 17 if you can find one or a new Model 617. I've got J-frame sized 351C in .22mag that I absolutely love. I think the equivalent .22LR is the 43C.

Lester, one thing that I've learned in the years I've spent in my career is that while everyone is entitled to due process, when you've got a lot of money, you get a lot more "'due proess". When I worked the Enron case, I passed Jeff Skilling on a running trail in Houston almost every day for two years. It was infuriating. It's unfortunate, but I think there are more specific dangers for the rest of us in trying to rush the process. He'll get his sooner or later.

My 230 did not like the original Federal Hydra-shoks. If you remember the round, they had a very sharp, flat conical bullet. I only shot one box of those before moving to the more rounded Speer GoldDots. It shoots any JHP made in the last 10 years just fine.

Sig P230 was the first pistol I ever bought. Bought it a few days after my 21st birthday. Carried it for years before the modern lineup of pocket pistols came out. They're sturdy and well built. With big hands, like any of the PPK sized weapons, hammer bite can be an issue. The only other thing to get used to is the European style mag release located on the bottom of the grip to the rear of the magazine. Magazine removal is a two handed operation - both to operate the release and to slide the magazine free of the weapon. While I like my blued P230, the option of night sights on the P232 is desirable. If you're ever over this way shoot me a PM and you're welcome to put some rounds through mine. It will either cement your need to own one or cure you of the desire.

You know that you're onto a good product when you've never seen even a single example on the secondary market. That Co-Ax single stage is a great press!

That's what those old H&R Pardner's were meant for, right?

Hey, congratulations! There are two things in life that I truly appreciate, and am always conscious of that appreciation. Those things are seeing someone get to do something they love to do, and as a direct follow on, getting to watch and as a consequence learn from someone who is absolutely on top of their game. I don't care if you're a master orator, shooter or plumber. If you're on top of your game, I relish being around while you're doing it. We need more voices of reason in Washington from folks who actually have the stomach for it. It's easy to lose heart amongst the incompetence and indifference, so I'm glad to see you getting back in the saddle. Good luck and Godspeed. Check in with us from time to time. You've always got friends here.

Went shooting with my dad this afternoon. Went to the Varsity with my family for dinner tonight (this probably is only meaningful to people from Atlanta). Big dinner with family tomorrow whose company I genuinely enjoy. I am truly blessed. And thankful.

Some things are more appropriately done in private. I know David's been busy at work, and his time on here has been sporadic this last week. It's hard to remember that people have lives apart from the Internet sometimes. That said, when things are brought out in public, it has a way of being damaging to everyone by hardening all sides involved. You can't really be selective about what gets judged at that point. The funny thing about having a bad friend is that it always seems like you to try and give them the benefit of the doubt up until the point they drag you into their troubles, too.

You're absolutely right. A member has every right to back out of a trade when half of the trade isn't up to par. However, that doesn't appear to be what happened here. Neither the communication with the trader, or with our staff once the deal came to our attention indicate anything about a poor quality item. Instead, we got excuses, delays, lack of communication and when given considerable opportunity to make it right, a lot of misplaced arrogance and indignation. Had it simply been a case of a trade not being up to par, by all means he could have communicated exactly that and that would have been the end of it. I don't like to ban anyone from this forum, nor do any other moderators. However, this whole system in our trading post is built on trust. It only takes a few people breaching that trust to cause this whole thing to fall apart. We have a good reputation that we value and will go to great lengths to protect. We will not become another fraud-riddled gun owners club. I'm not entirely sure why this message, as well as your trade feedback this morning is out here on the public forum as opposed to being sent via PM. Nonetheless, however inappropriate it may be, I'm happy to discuss and back any action I take as a moderator publicly. Sunlight is in fact a great disinfectant.

I smoked two turkeys on Saturday night for a big gathering. I'll do another one on Thursday. All this turkey has me wanting some ham, though. Christmas is coming, I guess.