StPatrick

Numrich (http://www.gunpartscorp.com/) is probably a good bet; Brownell's or Midway might carry something for that rifle as well.

kj4xu,   Start here, with Jeff Cooper's famous 4 Rules of Gun Safety (typing from memory, so consider them paraphrased):   All guns are always loaded.  what this means is that until you, yourself, nobody else, has verified a weapon is clear, treat it as if it were loaded Never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot (sometimes phrased as "keep your weapon pointed in a safe direction at all times").  This is self-explanatory, and protects against failures to observe rule 1. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to hit your target.  This protects against failures to observe the first 2 rules, in that if you don't touch the trigger, no bullet from the weapon you were sure was clear will strike whatever you were pointing at for whatever reason. Know your target and what is beyond it.  Every round you fire, intentionally or otherwise, is your responsibility.  Know and understand where they will land before trigger and finger come in contact.   Observe those four rules at all times, and the likelihood of you ever harming yourself or others accidentally approaches 0%.  Once you have that down, you get to enjoy shooting however you like, with whatever weapons you enjoy, and if the shooters you associate with do the same, you'll have many good days out at the range.   Good luck in your progress!

I've already got those parts (except the LCI replacement - thanks for the link, mine will be here soon).  A couple years ago I spoke to a Ruger tech after multiple no-gos getting the mainspring to behave, and his little tricks made it happen in seconds.  I asked him why they weren't in the manual, and replied "man, we've been trying to get those steps in there for years.  I don't know."

I remember buying gas between '97 and '00 at anywhere between $0.78-$0.95.  Good times for a young guy without much money to his name, being a poor (in cash) student and all at the time.  Back then for me, today's gas prices would have been an existential crisis.  At least I've made it to a point where $4.00 gas is just something I manage and am not forced to make hard choices when it comes time to fill up the truck....no big deal.  Somehow I'm having more trouble accepting that $0.18 / round 9mm is gone, and $0.30 is the new normal.  Gas quadrupled, and I rolled with it.  9mm has increased by 60% or so, and it has had a much more pronounced effect on my habits.  Granted, gas is a necessity, but so are rounds if shooting is one of the few things you love to do, and especially if you consider it a skill that may save your life.  On the face of the whole internal conflict, I'd say my brain is not making much sense, and letting the heart and gut get in the way....either that, or the brain believes prices will continue to drop.  Who knows?  I worked a double last night, so it's time for bed.

  That's where I couldn't find a clear line between "sporting" and video-gaming in real life.  Were the cost to come down significantly, this is the kind of development that could help those who hunt to feed their families, along with any number of yet-undiscovered benefits.  I'd bet that hunters who feel like the tech takes away from the fieldcraft and skill required to take their game of choice will continue to hunt the way they always have, and will not be impacted by those with the cash to take advantage of Tracking Point's technology.   As far as whether the video was edited to prevent viewers from seeing any misses or bad shots, it's all conjecture.  I'd imagine we'll be seeing in-depth field reviews of the equipment from reputable sources soon enough, and then we might have a better idea as to how effective the system is.  TTAG did one last December, before the guns went to market: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/12/foghorn/hands-on-with-trackingpoint-precision-guided-firearms-ttag-exclusive/

I don't really have a use for one, but I find myself leaning strongly towards something in 6.5 Grendel, fixed stock, long SS barrel, and good glass.

I think it's interesting technology and will only get better as time goes on (much like the 3D-printed liberator, this is very early in the game), but that video made me feel uneasy.  I guess it's just too video-gamey to fit with what I think of when I think of hunting, but I can see some positives as well.  A fair number of kids got some protein in their diet, and the kills were all clean (that they showed, of course).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hflZbPI-qc   It's not really that bad...most the time.  Once you learn where the hammer and hammer strut need to be and how to keep the tension out of the mainspring it's a breeze, except for the times when it's not.

I've had good luck with a sightmark minishot.

  Sorry to get all pedantic here (not really, it's a bad habit I enjoy indulging), but regardless of it's cyclic rate, it would be a battle rifle, as it's chambered in .30 caliber.  I believe an assault rifle has to be a) capable of select-fire and b) chambered in an intermediate cartridge, e.g. 7.62x39, 5.56x45, or 5.45x39.

  You'll have better luck finding a four-legged black panther in North America.  I don't believe there's such a thing as a cheap '03 available these days that's not a wall-hanger.  Now that the CMP is completely out, prices are likely to remain high.

I'm really not sure whether this post should be in "ammunition & reloading" or one of the political fora, since it straddles both, and the company seems more about making a statement than selling things. That said, a company called Jihawg is selling rounds in many popular centerfire pistol and rifle calibers with a coating on the bullet which apparently contains some kind of pig extract, the intent of which is to prevent someone engaging in Jihad from entering heaven if hit by one. I honestly don't know what to think...it's a funny idea in a protest sense, but at the same time, I wouldn't keep any around, since it seems silly, likely to start conversations with offended people I don't care to converse with, and it's unlikely that I'll be forced to engage any jihadis anytime soon. One thing is for certain - when I saw that they existed, I knew I had to share my discovery with all you fellow TGOers. Below are a couple targets they sell, to give you an idea of what they're all about. Interesting? Funny? Unnecessarily provocative? Discuss.

I stand by my original assertion that this is a distorted market; said distortion created by the threat of government action.  Did the Senate want to go after ammunition?  Not this time, but their attempts at further restriction of firearms further accelerated what had been an already record-paced rate of gun purchases requiring NICS checks.  The rate of gun purchases has been increasing steadily since 2008, then Newtown and the NY SAFE Act lit a fire, and the rate increased even further.  There are more new or semi-new gun owners today in the U.S. than at any point in history, and they all want ammo to feed their new guns.  Demand for ammunition is likely higher than at any point previous - I don't have any data to support that, but I think most would agree that's the case from anecdotal information (and don't bother with "the plural of anecdote is not data" - I know).    Since every manufacturer of ammunition has basically made the same statement about shortages at this point, e.g. "we're running 24/7 7 days a week", our supply is what it is until new facilities come online.  Remington / UMC is building one now in AR which which will start production Q1 2014 (from TTAG).  Until production is able to meet the demand of both the horde of new shooters who would like to actually fire their new weapons, along with those who've been around through a political panic or two and know to keep plenty on hand, the current state of things is our new normal.   One other thing to note is that Russia has loosened restrictions on citizen ownership of .22lr firearms, so the demand for ammunition there has added an additional crunch.  Next time somebody says "I get the 9mm, .40, .45, .223, .308...but .22LR?"  There's a big part of your answer, with a heaping helping of brand new gunnies on the side.  Not all the new gun owners who went through NICS bought ARs or "hi-cap" (Standard Capacity!) semi-autos.  Many of them start out with the loveable little .22LR.   I hate the shortages of ammo and components as much as anyone who still has plenty of ammo (but no components...[sad face]), but if we get through this mess without more legislation, we're going to have literally several million new shooters who may end up pro-gun as a general rule.  I may be guilty of trying to find a silver lining here, but more guns does not only equal less crime - more gunnies potentially equals more people who do not see constitutionally-explicit personal rights as up for negotiation.  It's probably a stretch, but I hope that's the case.  My hope is that Barack Obama ends up being not only the best gun salesman in history, but the man who inadvertently woke up several million Americans who will now defend their rights as free individuals and disavow the nanny state.  Like I said, it's probably a stretch, but once you take on the responsibility for the defense of yourself and family...it has to be a paradigm shift for some folks.

  The only thing I'd add to the conversation is that the "profiteers", as you term them, are not the cause of the current problem.  They are simply taking advantage of the market distortion created by federal and state governments, where those two groups have heaped an enormous amount of uncertainty into what was a fairly stable commodity pre-Newtown, Senate action, NY SAFE Act, et al.  Anything, any object or service, is worth exactly what someone else is willing to pay, no matter how you or I feel about whether the transaction, or multitude of transactions, help or hurt us.  The market for ammunition will remain ridiculous until either the people willing to pay premium prices for ammo run out of money or the market distortion created by national and state government is removed.  Purchase limits at the retail level can help alleviate the symptoms of the ammo shortage problem, but until the root cause of the market distortion - government threat of action - is removed, the uncertainty will remain, and prices will stay high.  Right now, those who can get ammo are selling at a premium to those who cannot because those who cannot are willing to pay extra for a box today v. a box tomorrow at a lower price since there is no guarantee that the lower priced rounds will become available tomorrow.  Remove the artificial market distortion created by those in government, and prices will behave as they used to, or close, as there will cease to be a resellers' market for a commodity you can get from any normal retailer.

Kahr PM9.  That is all.

  Realized that right after I hit the post button.  "Sometims Im and id10t."

What are you trying to do, and what kind of rifle are you trying to do it with?

  A leaf rear sight that matches up with the ammo it was designed for is a pleasure to shoot at known distances.  I enjoy apertures as well, but I find that it's easier to get a "perfect" sight picture with a leaf-style rear, though I admit it is much easier and quicker to get a "good enough" sight picture quickly with an aperture.  My k98, CZ452, and M39 (you may remember it) all have excellent leaf sights that are spot-on at various distances.

  I've been holding off buying a press until primers are more widely available again...when that happens, what's a reasonable price to pay for small pistol, small rifle, and large rifle?

For me, Dick's is no longer an option.  Unlike CTD, who I learned were scoundrels before I started spending money on guns and ammo, I used to do business with them.  Anybody who had a business freakout after Sandy Hook is off my list in perpetuity, unless significant amends are made.

Another +1 for Slide Glide. 

I'm thinking something bigger than .223, but still flat and fast, so that leads me to think a 20" barreled in either .243 WIN or 6.5.  I haven't even started doing the reading, but all I really want is a fun to shoot at moderate distance (e.g. 200 yds.) rifle that could be used to cleanly harvest the occasional deer, should I choose to do so.   /note to everybody - when you take a 2nd shift job, make sure there's a 3rd shift...otherwise you may end up getting home real late and posting at 5:45 in the morning on the way to bed.  The More You Know...

My order was received 3/26, so hopefully by early June I can post up some pics.

  As I'm sure others have noticed, gun prices had started falling back towards what used to be considered normal before the failure of additional legislation - if you're inclined to wait, the market may be even more favorable two months from now than it is today, but I will add a caveat - the guns that weren't up for any restrictions, e.g. 1911s, revolvers, etc., did not have the same distorted price increases as high-cap handguns and semiauto rifles, so the prices may be more "sticky" for them.  National demand for handguns is also as high as it has ever been according to the last set of sales figures I saw, so that would need to be taken into consideration as well.

I've yet to find enough disposable income to own a pistol or rifle that I won't shoot.  That said, I keep my firearms in the best possible shape, because I appreciate them for reasons above and beyond their ability to poke holes where holes need to be poked.