StPatrick

I change mine up every once in a while, but I really like this picture, so it might stick. Google Rick monday for the story behind the photo.

You don't tap your foot when playing the violin.

I'll give the "teacup" grip a try. I have to apologize to other posters, as I've wasted some of your time by not being more specific about how I practice. My primary practice gun is a Ruger MKIII, which I shoot thumbs forward from a modified (right leg set back 8" or so, right handed shooter) isosceles. I can't afford to shoot more than 100 rounds of 9mm at a time, so then I switch to .22LR. The Ruger .22 and my larger 9mm pistols, group tightly, around 4" with the .22 at 15 yards, and 6" or so with the 9s. Please note that I am not trying to be dickish in my response - I genuinely didn't mean to waste your time, and should have provided enough info in the OP to prevent you from spending your time telling me things I already know. Peejman - I've spent a good deal of time dry-firing, and the front sight barely moves. That's one of the reasons I can't find the root cause of this problem. It's really frustrating. Honestly, the recoil on the PT709 is very manageable on top of everything else, so I am sure that I'm not doing something right. Hopefully, changing my grip from "thumbs forward" to "teacup" will fix this. Thanks again for all your responses. If I ever figure out how to master that little pistol, I'll post what I learn in the process. If not, somebody might get a deal in the classifieds.

M. mcurrier, I love you. Not in a gay way, NTTAWWT. Seeing the 14th amendment revived and given life again by virtue of precedence, by a man whom the left can't attack on certain points (now that he's actually on the court), tastes like whatever schadenfreude tastes like in a man's happiest thoughts. And yes, the historical list that Scalia laid out identifying the times Stephens found rights where they were previously undiscovered was as fun a read as any legal decision ever. Antonin just helped him into retirement with a well-written boot in the ass. StPatrick

I've received no mail, despite an HCP and NRA membership.

The background: I have a fullsize and compact 9mm (XDm service and P229) that group well, out to 15 yards (farthest I've tried). I'm not the best shooter, but beyond the occasional flyer, nearly all my shots (10-20 round groups) end up in a 6" circle at that distance. I recently purchased my first "mousegun", a PT709, which you all know is chambered in 9mm. I first attributed my inability to shoot any kind of group to the tiny grip and sweaty hands, so I put a Hogue grip sleeve on it. While twisting in the palm area during the trigger pull was greatly reduced, accuracy hasn't really improved. I'm still shooting "minute of bad guy", but I want it to be better. I figure that putting very high demands on my accuracy while I have time to think about shooting pays dividends, should I not have time to do so someday (God forbid). From past experience, I know that it's 99% likely to be me, as I have yet to find any gun that wasn't more accurate and precise than me. What advice do you have regarding techniques to improve precision with a tiny gun? Specifically, what should I be doing with the "slim" that differs from shooting a larger pistol for accuracy? Much obliged for the feedback, as always.

I saw this on hotair.com, and had to share. Whoever did the voiceovers sounds just like the guy from The Talking Heads: For those too young to remember, here's the original for reference:

All my favorites have been mentioned already, so I thought I'd throw this in: "Tears of the Sun" was very enjoyable. I'll fourth "Band of Brothers", of course. I would also add the more recent HBO / Tom Hanks produced miniseries "John Adams". While not everything was perfectly historically accurate, I challenge anyone to watch it without feeling seriously and ragingly patriotic.

And hopefully he for real next year.

In spite of this success, this program will be cancelled in 3...2...1... RIP Airborne Laser. You were awesome while you lasted. THAAD, sleep with one eye open.

From easiest to hardest: Bolt-action .22LR Rem 870 in 12ga Quality bolt gun in .243 Win Mid-level 1911 i.e. Springer Loaded or similar Basic AR with good holo sight, magnification if I'm feeling froggy M1A The ability to disassemble / reassemble my MkIII pistol with no issues...priceless.

Win. Excellent work on the grips as well; that is a SHARP pistol.

Closing time varies based upon month - as the days get shorter, closing time comes earlier. Monday through Saturday, they're open 8 a.m. till close, with 7 p.m. being the latest closing time. The range doesn't open until 9 a.m. on Sundays. As LagerHead mentioned, they are closed the first full weekend of every month. On the plus side for area shooters who currently use TWRA ranges, they're open on every holiday that doesn't fall on the first full weekend of every month. I don't know about you, but I used to hate having a Friday or Monday off work with nowhere to shoot (for a reasonable price). I highly recommend the place. If you'd like to check it out as a guest, send me a pm. It's only $5.

I've been reading here before I ever bought my first gun, so I've managed to avoid any truly negative experiences. Here's what I've experienced: Guns and Leather: Friendly staff, but crowded (albeit for a reason: everyone seems to like them). The range is nice, and the HCP class is reasonably priced - Mark Crabtree is just as decent as they come, and manages to make the classroom portion bearable. The one time I traded, I got what I felt was a fair value. The gunsmith, Jeff Walle, is also very friendly, and will install sights at no charge, while you wait, if you buy them from the store. I'm sure others do this, but it's still a nice feature. Guns for America: Again, friendly staff. It's a small shop, but they'll do whatever they can to meet your needs. A big plus for them is that if they can't do something, or aren't sure how, they tell you so outright instead of selling a compromise. That kind of honesty is something I respect, and I'll keep going back. Lock Stock and Barrel: I've only had some gunsmith work done there, but it was professional and fast. The Markers seemed very friendly and knowledgeable; for a small shop they have a lot of very interesting inventory, especially if you're interested in older lever guns or pump-action rifles. The pistol selection was very wide, especially if you're looking for used items. I'm looking forward to finding a reason to visit the shops that have gotten overwhelmingly positive comments in this thread at some point.

My line of work doesn't lead to many skills TGO members would want to acquire, but if you need assistance helping little Jane or Johnny with their math / science homework, let me know.

I question the methods for making the list. First: why are all the "cheap" guns listed? It's as if the city wanted to put a de facto ban on the ownership of handguns by people of lesser means - surely the city of Chicago wouldn't create a system rewarding people of privilege and money more than others, as they're known to be a city of egalitarity, right? Second, what on Earth is wrong with a Sig Mosquito or Walther P22? They're fairly reliable, fun to shoot, and encourage practice. Guns like them offer an inexpensive entry for the novice pistol shooter to improve their skills and their ability to defend themselves. And they say sarcasm is a bad thing...Occam's razor still holds true, when you consider how easily both questions are answered once you guess at the motives behind the list. I don't like cheap guns, I don't own cheap guns, and I won't own cheap guns. That doesn't mean Joe Blow shouldn't have that option. He, I, and we are all facing different circumstances. If all you can afford is a Lorcin, well, that's not the best, but you use the tools you have available.

I apologize if it was unclear...I thought the aggressively sarcastic tone used while defining racism, in the terms of fever swamps such as dailykos.com, the DNC, NAACP, or even the media (but I repeat myself), should have been enough. Let me boil the whole thing down to the lowest common denominator: grab 100 tea partiers. Then, grab 100 US Senators from 1958 till a couple weeks ago. Only one group is guaranteed to include an Exalted Cylclops of the Ku Klux Klan. Again, perhaps political philosophy plays a large part in the NAACP's definition of racism, based on the above. For easy interpretation, here's my original post, in one simple clause: NAACP says Tea Party = Racists. The NAACP accepts the presence of a racist in the Senate who supports their political preferences for the latter portion of his 58 years. Thus the definition of "Racists" can be inferred as those who disagree with the NAACP's politics. Better?

How is calling for a group to "disavow racism within the group" not an easy hit-job on the whole group? While they didn't call the tea party movement racist, they certainly implied that racist elements were present with at least tacit acceptance by leadership and membership of said movement. Does this activism work independently of the political goals of the NAACP, or is it perhaps more nuanced? Let's consider one potential example: What if you pulled 100 tea party activists out of a crowd, and had rules for the selection of those 100 folks that would, according to popular and accepted beliefs, suggest the individuals were predisposed to racist sentiments? What is the probability that you would manage to find a true dyed-in-the-wool racist? What are the odds that you'd find one that had taken action of any kind based on those beliefs? Those probablities are impossible to calculate, but stop now and consider what the percentage might be if you were to take your best guess. ... ... ... First, let's set the rules for selection; most would agree that this would be a very good way to find a racist, based on what we know of who is likely to be a racist (as defined currently; that is, a white person bigoted towards nonwhites): 1. Caucasion by race 2. American by birth; at least 3rd generation with no immigrant parents 3. From a state that was part of the confederacy 4. From a rural area 5. Born at least 15 years before the passage of the Civil Rights act in 1968 - this allows for actual memories and experiences during legal segregation, which should help reduce sentimentality among young racists for a world they never experienced. Anyone born 1943 or earlier, fitting the above conditions, will have seen firsthand the reality of government mandated racial discrimination, and could then be inferred to hold an opinion of those policies, be they for, against, or neutral with respect to those policies. Now, research the histories of these men. There has been one survey that does this frequently, but it includes a handful of women and minorities as well. Their impact is, of course, minimal in a quick investigation like this, since they don't fit the criteria, being too female, too northern (and I know there are racists in the north, but let's deal with the most popular and easy to find racists), too black, or too young. Out of 100 respondents over nearly 60 years, 1% of the respondents were easily identified and unequivocally classified as a racist. Since 1% of 100 is 1, clearly we're only talking about one individual. This person is male, white, from a southern state, 3rd generation immigrant or later, and over the age of 67, indicating personal experience with both Jim Crow and segregation as an everyday normality. Based on our classification system, he fits the profile we're seeking. Having espoused, in public, opinions on the inferiority of blacks, their inability to serve honorably in the military, and in fact having held the post of "Exalted Cyclops" in the Ku Klux Klan, and having romanticized his early dealings with that organization, we can safely say this man is an avowed racist. So, we must ask, who is this evil man? How could such a person walk among polite company without shame, or even lead a normal life? Surely, such a bad person would never be accepted among decent company. Well, since you're all waiting for the answer: the "survey" I mentioned is the roll call of the US Senate since 1958, and there's only one known mutant who fits the above description. Since 1958, this creature, allegedly a "man" has been known as the (recently deceased) Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV). Thus, I now call upon the NAACP to pass a resolution requiring the entire US Senate, and especially the Democratic Caucus of which former Senator Byrd was such an esteemed member for 52 years, to disavow the potential racists in their midst. The the above show that the Senate has had racist members in the recent past, ergo the Senate may contain racists today. I'm sure a proclamation from our Senate Majority Leader is in the works. Warning, Dems: the easiest way to cheapen and blunt the claim of racism is to hurl it at everyone who disagrees with you, while ignoring the bigots among you. Eventually, there will be a real wolf, and there won't be anyone to come help, as the young shepherd cries too frequently.

Saw a man at CHMR last Sunday who had the Norrell job done; it was a mean little fire-breather. His was SBR'd, but had a synthetic "traditional" stock.

Mine went for Kegger - his 1911 was just ugly in the "carried every day" mode, which I guess earned my sympathy. Make it pretty again, at least for a while, GunTroll!

Because I'm really interested in 6.8 SPC. Since the two rounds behave nearly identically in terms of energy and velocity (though .243 is generally a 100gr while 6.8 is 115gr) at 200 yards, I was hoping he had some input. Well, he sure had some of that. For the sake of background, he owns a decent-sized spread in northern middle Wisconsin - it's very very very flat. He is also a very serious amateur marksman, so combined with our past history, I believe every word he says. /Interesting, but not associated: he has spent his entire professional career, when not teaching classes, living with and speaking with the Canada goose. Too bad he didn't learn to speak 'yote. Here's his thoughts on .243: XXXXXXX, What a pleasant surprise to hear from you. As to .243, I've killed over 190 whitetail and mule deer and antelope with mine, and lost only 2. I highly recommend it be used only with 100 grain spire point boat tail bullets, if you reload, or if you can find them prepackaged. Any 100 grain non hollow point will kill cleanly and quickly if placed in the chest cavity. I've used mine out to 575 yards with known hand loads. They still kill, but I only do that if it is a last day, last chance to fill the license issue. On large deer they may not exit, so there is little blood to follow but again they rarely go more than 50-125 yards at worst. In moderately open country I usually watch them fall. I've seen the same loads kill elk, though I think a bit light for that. It was an interesting read for me; I really like the idea of the 6.8 SPC, but it seems like ammo is only available in FMJ or Sierra MatchKing, which is HPBT. So: it appears .243 is perfectly acceptable for deer well inside the ranges hunters would encounter in TN, but 6.8 may not be until more bullet offerings are available (though with the shorter ranges since nuttin is flat around here, that may be moot). With the increasing popularity of the AR platform, I would not be surprised if that ended up being the case. Has anybody had good experience with .243 and/ or 6.8 for deer that could provide reinforcement?

Somewhat OT, as this is about Ruger pistols, but the local Wally World has been selling Win "333" cheap, and it has cycled reliably in my MKIII...it's my limited understanding that the MK pistols and 10/22 share very similar actions. I can't say much for accuracy, since I have yet to be better than any pistol I've owned, but these seem decent. I'm not anything approaching a good shot, but I can get 20 shot strings that can be covered with my (smallish) hand at 15 yards. I do appreciate the fact that they're jacketed, B/C as you all know, taking a tight MK pistol apart for cleaning can range from easy to awful. Mine wasn't shot too much before I got it, so it's more on the awful side. At the rate I'm going, it should be easy soon enough. /back to original thread Thanks to everyone who posted info on bolt-action .22lr rifles - my next goal is to learn how to shoot a rifle well, and .22lr is where I intend to start. Your feedback has been very helpful.

I'll cop to ignorance...what caliber / make are those rounds?

Looks like I'm good for 27...with everybody here, I think we should find this pack of mincing castrati and burn them down. It's for the children.

Yeah...if it didn't shoot you in the butt, it's not working.