Handsome Rob

I would take prison rape over goats. No goats. Not now, Not ever. For srslys. Also, you're not allowed to ever speak to my goat-enamoured wife. Ever.

If any of y'all know how the hell to get rid of buttercups without spraying, I'd be all ears. My pastures are completely yellow this year. It's drowning out the grass I sowed in the spring & my horses are having to fight through the damn stuff to feed. On the up side, the bees are going nuts for it.

I picked up a stock on ebay that needed a BUNCH of inletting, but I get bored & it was cheap. I stripped the bolt & fired up my forge, beating the original bolt handle into a nice, elegant spoon handle. Terry Walden spent far too long drilling & tapping the scope mounts, but he mostly got it right.....& I mounted an old Weaver K6W, television view fixed 6 power scope. I need to get to the range & sight her in, but man.... she points like a fiiiine shotgun!

A few months ago, on here, I picked up a basic, sporterized Turkish Mauser in one of my all time favorite-but-never-owned calibers; .257 Roberts. Well.... I did a little work, spent a little cash & frankly, I can't not love the improvement!

Not in the least. The safety on the maverick sucks, but in my opinion the safety on the 500 sucks & at least the 88 can't skin your thumb! They're both solid, workhorse shotguns. They rattle for a reason & the reason is good. You can't get one wet, dirty or cold enough to seize it up. I have an 88 for pigs in areas that centerfire isn't allowed & mostly home defense. It's got an ATI adjustable stock & a cheap red dot & with slugs & #4 buck, it's more than accurate enough out to 50yds.

How do you intend to carry? Belt holster on your pants, belt holster on a pack, chest holster....? My preference when i head west (bigger bears, bigger gun) is a single action Ruger SBH, 5" in .44 carried in a chest holster. Having researched a LOT on bear encounters, if a pissed grizz charges & i'm not aware it's there, pretty much nothing can be raised quickly enough to be effective. If there's an inkling that there's a big predator in the vicinity, I've already got the gun in my hand thumb on the hammer. If i'm seeing a bear, that hammer's aaaall the way back. Chances of more than 2 shots before an attacking predator hits you is well south of 1%, regardless of the gun. Around the southeast, i'd be far more concerned about 2 legged threats than 4. When i'm in the backcountry around non-grizzly country I carry a simple DA .38 in a low riding (cowboy style) belt holster, loaded with hot hardcast 180s. I know it'll drop a black bear or hog & it's small & light enough that it's not a burden. Out of your choices, locally, i'd feel happy with either, but I think the 1911 probably edges out the revolver in this case.

I mean, I guess if you want god or the aliens to know if your kid has a peepee, or whatever....... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9503111/Gender-reveal-party-explosion-rocks-US-towns.html

Welcome to the Best State (that isn't Wyoming)! If you can do the ECP, do it. The benefits definitely outweigh the restrictions of permitless carry. As a Non Immigrant Alien (with 12 years tenure....) I'm limited to permitless & while the restrictions for most folks aren't THAT big of a deal, the interstate reciprocity & park carry alone are worth the little hoop jumps. I can, as of July 1st, strap up in state (which for me is a huge deal) but the minute I hit the KY, GA, AL, AR, MS or NC state lines, I have to revert to ammo in the trunk, gun in a lock box. A TN permit would prevent this & it'd be absolutely worth doing. Were I you.

My brain is saying that 2 or 4 o'clock 'look' to be the most comfortable and concealable (right now, that's my no.1 concern) but I guess until my 365 gets here & I can demo a few holster options, I won't know.

I actually bought a super stable carry belt a few years ago. I have carried openly whilst in Wyoming (the second best state) & whilst hunting & its supported several different holsters with various very heavy, full sized pistols & revolvers with zero sagging. The holster is confusing. Soooooo many options!

So...... jack if experience here. Can y'all talk me through the pros and cons of different IWB concealed carry positions please? 2 o'clock, 4/5 o'clock, 11 o'clock appendix etc. Most pertinent for chubby guys with love handles. I'm not a carry guy & i'm probably not going to be a 7 day a week carry guy, but there have been & will be times when i'd have been & will be more comfortable with than without. I've read online articles ad nauseam, but i'd really like personal opinions from folks I internet know & have faith in.

I started giggling at "Pi-hole" & completely disregarded the entire rest of the post!

Thanks for that clarification. Legalese is far from being my first language!

Ok, so...ummmm dumbass question here: I've been kinda on and off following this, not expecting it to pass. Does the passing of this bill mean that everyone who can legally own firearms carry, or only those who can legally hold a carry permit, carry? I ask, because as a non immigrant alien (i'm sorry if y'all are all sick of this by now) I cannot get a carry permit, but I CAN legally purchase & own firearms (NFA excluded) I want, rather, need to know if this bill means I can legally carry, or if i'm still prohibited.

Unfortunately, ITAR regulations prevent me, legally, from even looking through NV or thermal scopes! Just in case i'm a spy. Seriously. Q: Is Night Vision / Thermal Legal? A: Yes, here in the United States, citizens may own and use Night Vision and Thermal Optics. However, it is against the law to take these devices out of the country for any reason. It is also against the law to allow a non-U.S. Citizen to look through these devices. Night Vision and Thermal devices fall under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR for short. To make a long story short, the goal here is we don’t want these powerful devices to fall into the hands of our enemies. If you have questions on any of this information, we will be happy to discuss and clarify.

Unfortunately it's both fiscally & legally beyond my capabilities!

Man, i really want to dip a toe in this night hunting! I reckon if I had skin in this game I could really nail a few.

I've still got a .458 win on my 'need to build' list.

Thanks! It's actually a Sears brand, budget model 70. The Supergrade swivels we're an expensive lesson. I didn't realize there were 2 sizes available: the original, pre-64 half inch & the later 'Uncle Mike's' size. Both mounts are about the same price at $60ish per pair, but the sling swivels?! Yeesh! $10 for good quality Uncle Mike's. $150+ per pair for originals! I ended up gambling $200 for 2 sets of swivels & selling the spares on ebay for $172, luckily!

Yessir, good eye! Sears Model 52. I considered changing it the safety for a winchester, since there are no markings on the action, but I figured it made it just different enough that folks might question it. That's a damn good catch, XT!

I started a thread ages ago about a guy wanting me to take his rifle to the range to zero for him..... Well, long story short, I ended up with it because I had an idea & apparently i'm an idiot with far too much time on my hands. ER Shaw, trued the action & installed a new 20" barrel. I had them copy the factory profile & chamber it in my favorite 6.5x55 Swede. The barreled action & all metal parts were then sent to GTs Customizing in Casper WY for polishing, bluing & color case hardening. I tackled the Ebay stock. Removed years worth of grime & spar varnish, hand sanded and polished it then applied the hand rubbed oil finish & installed a recoil pad. Then I shipped it to Ahlman's in Minnesota for hand checkering. I finally got a damned grip cap screw & put it all together today!