John Wall

Fact is, you guys are letting Hollywood influence you. Even Judges, Juries and Attorneys are influenced in what happens in a scripted gunfight. The main reason Hollywood gunslingers draw their firearm and rack it, generally near their face, is so the camera gets a shot of the "hero" and the firearm at the same time. As you have noticed, Hollywood firearms advisors are not what you would call Operators. Most of them would not last long in real world training. Please do NOT use anything you see on the Silver Screen.

Dear Packin Sometimes this is not an option. There are fools on the road who will tailgate and try to run you off the road regardless of which lane you are in. Several years ago, an idiot repeatedly rear ended me on Interstate 40 near Robertson Road. It was the busy time of day, all lanes were going about 35, there were construction cones on the shoulders, and there was no where to go. A cop was parked on the side of the road when we passed him. The idiot wound up paying about $2000 in court fines, and the insurance co. totalled my car. He told the cop he did not see me. The cop did not believe him. I was in a Cadillac, belted in, and was not injured. Luckily for both of us, I was not forced to pull over and deal with the madman who had destroyed my car while trying to run me off the road. I never DID find out why that happened. I make a point to wave at them or just smile when they pass, while they are waving their IQ finger at me.

I tell no one when I am carrying. Not family, friend, Pastor. I carry my firearm in a professional, but totally discrete manner. If I am ever asked by Law Enforcement, I will respond truthfully, as required by law. NO ONE ELSE HAS THE NEED OR RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT MY LEGALLY ARMED STATUS. In case of a lethal confrontation, I cannot expect anyone to come to my defense. One's home is NOT a safe haven. Home invasions are all too frequent in Nashville. The chances of me going to a person's house who does not maintain a firearm and training to protect his family and insisting that I disarm myself before coming into his vulnerable household is non existant.

The plastic follower is frail and easily broken. One of the few replacement parts in my 870-P is a bright orange metal follower.

Under TCA 39-16-301, Criminal impersonation, among other offenses, is "Causing another to believe that the person is a law enforcement officer". This is a Class "A" Misdemeanor, which can get one fined $500 and a stint in Jail for almost a year. There is a good chance this individual did this. However, I have worked and trained with a few active duty and retired cops who should NEVER have been given a badge.

Pre fragmented ammo has proven to under penetrate in ballistic gel and in real shootings. The quickest way to lose a gunfight is to use ammunition that cannot deliver sufficient penetration. My personal favorite and one that comes out at the top of the list is the Remington Golden Sabre. The Speer Gold Dot is good, as well.

What are you looking for? GFA is the new kid on the block. Their prices are going to make some of the other shops flinch. As far as Gun City, they are very convenient, have an indoor range, gun rental, and repair on premise. They do the carry class. You generally pay for convenience. They are always friendly to me. Come to think of it, I do not remember a shop I have gone in for the last couple of decades where I was NOT treated well.

Years ago, I performed warranty service and repair for Remington, among other brands. I will say the Remington autoloading center fires, 740, 742, and 7400 are less than stellar. The 7400 is the best of the lot, but that is not saying much. The Browning rifle is 100 times the gun. I NEVER had a Browning autoloader in for warranty service or any repair. EVER. Keep them squeaky clean, use fresh commercial ammo. Make sure the chamber is clean, buy and use a chamber brush. The 270 built its wonderful reputation on the 130 gr load. ALWAYS load the rifle from the magazine. DO NOT put a round in the chamber and let the bolt slam shut. It will damage the fragile extractor. The hot tip on magazines is to use the pump gun mag. The magazine follower is the bolt stop in the auto rifle, and the gun will beat the magazine to death. The pump gun mag will not hold the bolt open after the last shot is fired, but will last as long as the rifle. I will second another opinion from a 'smith that there are better rifles out there. For the 270, a good bolt gun is hard to beat.

The main difference between the 308 Winchester and the 7.62 Nato is the headspace of the firearm. Chances are, if your firearm were checked, you would have more than the 1.631" chamber. This is only .001" more than the minimum specs for the commercial 308 round. Without getting into very small numbers, most all modern 308 rifles have 7.62mm chambers. My Ruger All Weather and Browning A-Bolt II have identical 1.634" chambers. This is actually excessive for a commercial 308 chamber. This is 7.62mm spec. Both were bought new, and are typical. This is good. The 7.62 chamber is a little looser than the 308. The person at Springfield Armory has it backwards. I once had a Remington 40-X with a 1.631" chamber. It would not chamber some military ammo, including Lake City Match. :^( For your M1-A, use ammo with bullets lighter than 180 grains and you will be fine. There is little reason to use expensive commercial hunting ammo in these guns. Also, the "Light Magnum", "High Energy", and such higher velocity loads should not be used. I shot a S. A. M1-A Natl' Match rifle often enough at one time to need an annual rebarreling. These guns do their best under 300 yards with the 155 gr Sierra Match King, up to 600 yards with the 168 gr match bullet. Longer ranges will do best with the 175 gr SMK. Remember, the 7.62 is not a Magnum. At long range, this round drops many feet and the wind will push it around quite a bit. The 223/5.56mm issues are different. The chambers are about the same, but the throat on the 5.56mm is longer. My Browning A-Bolt II Varmint is marked "223/5.56mm" and has a faster than normal twist. It will shoot in the high twos with the 60 gr Hornady V-Max. Reloading the M1-A is easy and straightforward. Accurate 2520 powder and the 168 gr Match bullet with most any non magnum primer will work well. CCI may work better in military brass. I use 44.7 gr with commercial brass, and 42.5 gr with the heavier military brass. Load the round to 2.810" Over All Length (OAL) Military brass will work well in your rifle up to 300 yards. It is actually made to closer weight tolerances than commercial. Neck runout is a little more in G.I. brass, but out to 300 yards, it works well.

The owners are good folks, the store is easy to find, and prices are very good.

If the headstamp is Winchester, it is the 50 or 55 gr Ballistic Silver Tip. This is the Nosler Ballistic Tip with moly coating.

Why not just shoot the gun you are going to carry? Also, you will get pertinent info about a Private Citizen carrying and using the firearm.

Call Daniel at Guns and Leather and see what he will do for you on the night sights. Ask about installation. IIRC, there is a TGO vendor who will do some free work on Glocks. Look around on this site.

I would say that the 308 is suitable for 1000 yard shooting, by one well versed in reading the wind. A ten mph crosswind will move the 308 over nine FEET at 1000 yards. This is in addition to the 35 or so foot drop at that range. The 300 will drop around 20 feet and have a five foot wind drift at the same range. The 264 will drop about 2 foot more and have about 4" less wind drift than the 300. The 264 IS a barrel burner. This round needs a 28" barrel. I am using Berger VLD bullet info for this. Sierra Matchkings will have more drop and more wind drift, because they will lose more velocity at long range, and will take longer to get to the target. Lilja makes a barrel with a proprietary bore configuration that can increase barrel life by 30%. Wind doping is a vital part of long range shooting. The faster round simply makes things easier for the beginning long range shooter. Been there, done that with long range shooting. It is getting hard to find a 1000 yard range these days. I know of two, and they are not close by. If you read on the Internet of someone making incredible shots with a 308, just remember the word incredible means "so implausible as to elicit disbelief".

Shooting at 1000 yards is a different world. I am thinking the 45X Loopy Competition scope with either FCH or 1/8 min dot. The Remmy XCR Long Range in 300 Win Mag is about what you want. The 40-X in a single shot model is another, better option. You will need an offset mount to be able to sight the scope in at that range. You may not be able to sight your rifle in closer than 300 yards or so. For best results you will HAVE to load precision ammo with all that entails. If you are going to shoot factory ammo, you will not get the results you want. PERIOD. The 300 Win Mag has been in the winner's circle at 1000 yards many times over the years. If you are interested, I have some experience in shooting the 300 Win Mag at Long Range. Fed 215M, Reloder 22, and the 190 gr Match bullet is going to be what you wind up using, more or less. Start looking at a Dillon digital scale for bullets, brass, and powder, Redding Competition dies for sizing and seating, Redding Comp Shell holders, Wilson Case Trimmer, long inside neck chamfering tool, primer pocket uniforming tool, flash hole deburring tool, and more. The RCBS Rock Chucker press is the standard, since it flexes less. A Dewey coated cleaning rod will be needed as well. Butches Bore Shine or Shooter's Choice bore solvent work well. Stay with one, and do not mix them. Brownell's has ALL brass bore brushes that cannot scratch your bore. You will need to buy at least 500 new factory hulls to start with so you can segregate by weight. I recommend Winchester. They are thinner and hold more powder. At 1000 yards, you need a day's supply that weigh within .2 gr of each other. The same weight is better. I am talking two parts in seventy THOUSAND for weight. Buy bullets in some quantity so you get the same lot. The Berger 190 Very Low Drag will shoot flatter at 1000 yards than the 190 Sierra Match King. There is a difference in price. A more aerodynamically designed bullet retains more velocity and gets to the target quicker. The quicker it gets there, the less drop, and more importantly, the less time wind has to work on it. Everything with the Magnum is centered around getting the bullet to the target as quickly as possible. This is done with expensive boat tail match bullets and LARGE quantities of slow burning powder. This is going to pricey to set up, pricey and VERY time consuming to load and shoot. I had what you wanted up to about a year ago. I had a Browning M-1000 Eclipse in 300 with the 45X Loopy. What a high performance rifle will do at range will surprise you. The Magnum with heavy bullets will KICK, even if the rifle weighs 10+ lbs. I forgot about an adjustable rest for the forend and a sandbag for the rear. A 2 oz trigger will not be an option. Ad infinitum!

Don't forget Collection Connection, in Murfreesboro. Call Grady Jones at 890-8204 and tell him John sent you. Hopefully, he will not charge you extra. Grady has most supplies, is a savvy shooter, reloader, and great guy. He also does superior recoil work. He has great deals for the young and not young shooter.

One does not have to have a trainer with you every time you go to the gym. One session to tell them your goals, one session for them to talk to you and demonstrate the program. One can go to the Internet and devlop a good routine. Work for tone, flexibility, and endurance. Brute strength is good if you are young, but if not, you will likely suffer injuries and set backs. If you have flexibility and endurance, you are likely to come out on top. The average street thug may have an overpowering strength because of drugs, but has no endurance. If you can last 30 seconds, the average bear is OUT OF GAS by then. Then, it is your turn to kick keister if needed, or disengage if possible (the smart thing to do).

Get a good program, be faithful to it, and remember that your diet (what you eat as a lifestyle, not the diet you are on for a while) is at least as important as your workout. Look up the Mediterranean Food Pyramid. Five hours a week at the gym is the accepted minimum. Cardio is vital. Get checked by your Doctor and get the green light to train. CARDINAL RULE! You get in shape to run. You do NOT run to get into shape. Running is an advanced exercise! You must be in shape to run without injury. I am sixty-ish, 5'10", 157 lbs and have 12% BF. At any age, your fitness must be a life long committment. I suggest a gym membership, as you are more likely to get the workout done once you get to the gym. A home gym has many distractions. I go to a HUGE gym for $369 a year. It is open all hours during weekdays. You are doing this for yourself. Get a seasoned trainer to get you started, and tell him what your goals are. YOU are the customer. Also, get into a self defense program. I do not advise formal Martial Arts BECAUSE THERE ARE RULES. There are NO rules in an assault on you or your loved ones. You NEED to learn the escapes, arm killers and the one strike stoppers. You will never see these in a dojo. You must have strength, balance and endurance to defend yourself. A firearm is not always appropriate. Chemical sprays often fail to work. The Taser also fails on occasion. If the offender's pain receptors are not working due to drugs, you must be able to quickly eliminate his ability to harm you. If he cannot breathe, walk, or lift his arms, he CANNOT HARM YOU. These are NOT lethal strikes. Don't forget regular, court defensible training with your carry arm if nothing else works. Things might get strange after this election, regardless of who wins. You cannot defend anyone if you cannot defend yourself.

One should get familiar with TCA Title 38, Chapter 9, considering Civil Emergencies. At the worst, one would need written permission to be lawfully "on the street or in public places during a civil emergency". On duty medical personnel would be exempt from curfew. Curfew may be during "hours of the day or night the chief administrative officer of a municipality deems necessary in the interest of the public safety and welfare". Also, the chief administrative officer may "Issue such other orders as are necessary for the protection of life and property." This COULD include restrictions on possession of firearms while on the street or in public places during a civil emergency. "Municipalities may provide by ordinance that any person violating the provisions of orders issued by the chief administrative officer pursuant to this authorization during a proclaimed civil emergency commits a Class C misdemeanor." Do not shoot the messenger, and prepare for what may happen if things go south for a day or so after the election. Staying home may be the best policy. I understand many of us may not have that option. Realize a Civil Emergency may already be in effect by the time it is announced by the media. Several things could cause this. Not just disgruntled voters, but (2) “Civil emergency†means: (A) A riot or unlawful assembly characterized by the use of actual force or violence or a threat to use force, if accompanied by the immediate power to execute, by three (3) or more persons acting together without authority of law; ( Any natural disaster or man-made calamity, including, but not limited to, flood, conflagration, cyclone, tornado, earthquake or explosion within the geographic limits of a municipality resulting in the death or injury of persons, or the destruction of property to such an extent that extraordinary measures must be taken to protect the public health, safety and welfare; and © The destruction of property, or the death or injury of persons brought about by the deliberate acts of one (1) or more persons acting either alone or in concert with others, when such acts are a threat to the peace of the general public or any segment of the general public; (3) “Curfew†means a prohibition against any person or persons walking, running, loitering, standing or motoring upon any alley, street, highway, public property or vacant premises within the corporate limits of the municipality, except persons officially designated to duty with reference to the civil emergency, or those lawfully on the streets as defined in this chapter; and (4) “Substitute officer†means an official who shall act in the absence or inability to act of the chief administrative officer as provided in this chapter. Each municipality shall by ordinance designate a “substitute officer†for the purpose of this chapter. Careful reading of this Act will tell you that a state of Civil Emergency can be proclaimed "at the drop of a hat". Title 58 is concerning Military affairs and Emergencies, and is proclaimed by the Governor or his designee. This act allows more draconian rules, (1) Suspend the provisions of any law, order, rule or regulation prescribing the procedures for conduct of state business or the orders or rules or regulations of any state agency, if strict compliance with the provisions of any such law, order, rule, or regulation would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with the emergency; Also, private property may be seized. (4) Subject to any applicable requirements for compensation, commandeer or utilize any private property if the governor finds this necessary to cope with the emergency; Be Aware, Be Prepared.

In Nashville, Gun City is pricey, but very convenient. Guns and Leather is a bit of a drive, but is cheaper and has a better range. Call them and talk to them. They are both one day classes. Both trainers are old heads and good at what they do. Gun City might still do two four hour nights. The range matters little. You will shoot in a particular order, and get your certificate. You are not going to move in to the range. Get your permit, then find a trainer to work with in developing your basic and intermediate handgun skills. Every phase of the class is mandated by the State. Taking a two day class is basically a waste of time.

P.O.S.T. creds will broaden a trainer's horizons when working with problem shooters, but a good one will have civilian training. A retired cop does not necessarily make the best trainer. Armed Citizens have a different set of "rules of engagement". Law Enforcement trainers must be certified through the Tn Dept of Safety to teach and sign off on the Handgun Carry Permit class. They should have the Dept of Safety credential for each individual trainer and one certifying a training school in their training room.

Using a Model 760 mag is the hot tip on these guns. The bolt catch is built into the mag on the 742, and the gun literally beats the magazine to death. The 760 mag will not hold the bolt open on the last shot. It will also last the life of the gun. Gun City might have one.

Don't forget, Guns and Leather also has Armed Guard classes. Take the firearm you are going to carry, and an open mind. If you do not have a suitable firearm, I imagine the folks there can solve that minor problem for you.

Boys and girls, I have trained with Greg. He walks the walk. He goes forth and performs good deeds. If you have the need and the opportunity, take his class.

Dennis and the gang at G&L is on my short list of friends. Good prices, good service, GOOD FOLKS. Get well quickly.