wileecoyote

Thanks. I will have to ask my attorney to check on this, as I just can't see how a state that you don't live in can require you to license or register a utility trailer outside of their state. They can enforce traffic laws as you pass through, sure, but the presence or absence of a utility trailer registration for an out of state owner / driver has no bearing on their state revenues, safety, traffic, etc. so it just seems wrong. I realize this wouldn't stop them from pulling you over, and possibly erroneously ticketing you, but I would want to see their state code and discuss the constitutionality of it with my lawyer before I would pay them a dime.

Do you have a reference to the GA state code for this? I can't see any state being able to pass a law regarding titling or registration of a vehicle or trailer, that would be applicable to an out of state resident driving an out of state vehicle or trailer.

Amazing PSA deal, sure it won't last long... http://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/t/7248934

I recently asked the same question in another thread: http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/index.php?/topic/82124-Trailer-Registration-in-TN? Trailer Registration in TN? I concluded that other states cannot require an out of state resident to get a title/registration/plate for their trailer if their own state does not require it. So I am going on my trip without a plate, but will have proof of my state residency and ownership of the trailer, along with a copy of our state laws if needed.

There were several threads and separate posts here about numerous issues, and a few on other sites as well, so I won't go back over all of that here. The main thing was when they had 2 pallets (1000 bricks) of 22lr and they charged $80-$90 per brick. IMHO that crossed the line from capitalism to greed and price gouging, and their subsequent poor handling of hundreds of customer complaints was enough to turn me off. But to each his own. The Kahr guns are pretty nice. Enjoy it.

I have been to Nashville, Murfreesboro, and Lebanon many times and have staffed a dealer booth at more than a dozen shows in mid TN. I used to like the Nashville show but the parking killed it for me. The Murfreesboro show was by far the best, but last few shows had limited parking and AC issues, so if this continues to decline I may not go back. It's been a mystery to me why the Lebanon show doesn't do a lot better. It's right next to a major i40 exit, not too far for most mid TN residents, free parking, cheap food, indoor range nearby, pretty cheap for the dealers to sell at, and the fairgrounds have tons of room available if it grows. Yet attendance has often been low to average at best, thus many dealers skip it. I can only assume it's due to poor promotion, but if not that then I have no idea why. Maybe it will pick up if Murfreesboro drops out.

I love my Kahr cw9 and cm9 guns, but wouldn't buy anything from EW after their price gouging on the 22 lr and subsequent terrible customer service a few months back.

I have done extensive safe upgrades and customizations for many years. I have worked with nearly everything you can dream up. I've learned a ton and will gladly share some tips, but first I need to know more about your situation: Is it currently fire rated? Do you want it to be fire rated when finished? How many long guns / hand guns do you need to store? Any other content besides guns? Does it have a fire seal on the door? Is it wired for outlets or dehumidifier rod? Is this your only safe? Will it be bolted down? What floor is it on? (basement, 1st, 2nd, etc)

I've had at least a dozen prescriptions for very strong pain medicines and similar drugs over the years. Vicodin, Lortab, Percocet, Valium, numerous muscle relaxers, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, morphine, steroids (pill and injectable), etc. etc. Many times I was prescribed these drugs along with 2-3 other strong drugs in the same class, and since I'm a beer snob I would occasionally even drink a micro brew or two while on these meds. But in all these years I never once experienced anything pleasant from taking any combination of any of these drugs, other than partial relief of the pain or symptoms they were intended for, and even that was never completely effective. I certainly never experienced any sort of high, euphoria, or "great" pleasing sensations. Many times the really strong medicines made me feel nauseous, light headed, foggy, tired, etc. so it's actually a net bad feeling overall. So I was never even remotely tempted to keep taking the medicine or get / take more. In fact I have a huge drawer of all my old prescriptions, most of which are at least half full. I keep them on hand in case the condition comes back again later, thus saving me a trip to the doctor in the future. So I never could understand why anyone would abuse drugs like this, or what they get out of doing so. If I ever wanted to "detach" from the world for a little while, I would probably just go get drunk, but I've only ever enjoyed drinking when I was in a good mood and partying with family or friends, and these days I don't even like to drink too much then, because hangovers are harder when you get older. Now if they make Sam Adams, Rogue, Wells, Shiner, or other good beers a schedule II then you'd definitely see me bitching, and I'd be taking to the streets if needed for my occasional six pack or sampler case, but thankfully good beer is still legal and freely available. :-)

Well if I am ever in the Franklin area I would like to see how you install a barrel on an upper with 50-80 ft. lbs. of torque, using a small or medium vise that is not bolted down, and doing this all by yourself. Or better yet maybe you could post a video of you doing this. I am not saying it is impossible, and I do believe that you managed to do it twice. I am just saying that it is almost certainly a bit awkward and not so easy (especially for novice builders), and that it would not be as safe or as precise as using a proper vise that was bolted down. Even with my heavy vise mounted to the truck, I am careful to keep the torque wrench and barrel nut wrench aligned exactly right so that they will compress the weld spring and not slip out and strip the barrel nut or take chunks out of the aluminum handguard rings. I do agree with you that it doesn't require super human strength to generate 50-80 ft. lbs. of torque, as I have kids as young as 10 years old do it during my classes, but it is still a significant amount of force and in my opinion, based on hundreds of builds with all manner of guns and tools, that it is best to use a vise properly secured.

Good to hear that you got it done right! I have a Wheeler's wrench somewhere, and it wasn't bad at all, but I became spoiled after using the much heavier barrel nut wrench that US Military armorers use. It is much stronger and thicker steel, with a better insert for a 1/2" torque wrench, and it rarely slips unless the installer is not watching their alignment.

If you were able to get the proper torque to install a new AR barrel on a new upper, while manually holding an unbolted small or medium vise down on a flat table, you must have gotten lucky and only needed to hit the minimum 30 ft. lbs. Or maybe your vise was super heavy, or maybe your torque wrench and barrel nut wrench setup was not as accurate as you think (I would bet on the latter scenario). And you must have needed at least 2 people to pull this off, as the proper installation method requires both hands on the barrel nut wrench and torque wrench, and even then some people tend to slip and chew up the barrel nut nibs or delta-pack handguard rings.   When I first started building ARs, say for the first 20-30 guns, I used a small standard home shop vise but it was solidly bolted to a workbench made of 2x6 boards, which was in turn bolted to the shop wall. This worked but the vise was just barely wide enough to hold the upper receiver jig, and whenever guns needed the higher torque range you could see the 2x6 support boards bending and moving a bit.   Then I switched to a HUGE Wilton shop vise which weighs about 80-100 lbs. alone, and I mounted it to a 2" tubular steel hitch bar that is 2 feet long, and inserted this in my big 6,000 lb. truck with a hitch that is rated to tow up to 12,000 lbs. Even with this super heavy vise mounted in a very solid way to a very heavy object, we would still see the truck bed rise up from 1-2 inches when it was necessary to torque barrels into the higher ranges of 50-80 ft. lbs. I wasn't saying this to impress you, nor to imply that we were lifting the full weight of the truck or support system, as any fool would know that not to be the case, but thanks for pointing out the obvious. I was saying this to help others realize that the proper application of 30-80 ft. lbs. of torque with the proper tools during an AR barrel installation will most often generate a significant amount of force, such that it is not safe nor practical to do this properly without a proper vise and support method. And I certainly would not try to do it without a vise, especially when the proper tools are so easily obtained or borrowed locally.   I also know that there are quite a few "frankenguns" on the market which inexperienced builders threw together, often using incorrect methods and improper tools. I have worked on a number of these guns and it is not unusual to see the barrel nut unscrew by hand pressure alone, which means it was never torqued at all, and was only screwed in just enough to line up a nib for the gas tube. These guns might fire ok for a while or they might have cycling and firing issues, but obviously they are out of spec which is dangerous. So I rarely buy those frankenguns unless I am looking to part them out, and the first thing I do is to tear them down and inspect the work, replacing or rebuilding as needed. But to each his own. If you are satisfied installing barrels with a rubber band, a bath towel, and some duct tape then by all means please carry on... just let me know before you go to any range that I am visiting.  :ugh:

One is Kwik Kash Pawn in Lebanon. Great folks, very friendly, $25 total including TICS. I have a few others that have done it for me at that price, including D&T Arms in Goodlettsville and Yogeys Bunker in Lebanon, but both of them went out of business recently. I have a few others that have done it for that price or even less, giving me discounts for multiple guns per transfer, but I won't publish those shops because they are personal deals I have negotiated and I consider them friends, so I can't say if they would do the same for others. The best advice I can give you is to find a nice local shop, not too big, and visit them often enough to get to know the owners. Buy a few things once in awhile even if just ammo, powder, targets, accessories, etc. And befriend them, hang out and chat, take them some lunch or snacks, just be a nice guy. Then you will almost always get treated nice in return, and often you will make new friends for life. And be prepared to help educate any new dealers, or their counter help, as many folks don't know how to handle multiple gun transactions by doing them all on one form with an attachment and running all on one TICS through the website. This helps them save time and money, which will often result in a discount for you too.

I have literally built hundreds of ARs, as I teach build classes and have done many myself. I would highly recommend against using any homemade jig or improvised tools for mounting a barrel. The barrel nut needs to be tightened to no less than 30 ft lbs and no more than 80 ft lbs. Your actual setting will depend on how the gas tube lines up with the cogs on the barrel nut. Most seem to take anywhere from 50-80 ft lbs for a perfect fit. That's a lot of torque to apply, and it's usually somewhat difficult for most novices to do without slipping the barrel wrench even when they use my armorers tools and a HUGE shop bench mounted to my truck frame. The applied torque often raises my 6000 lb truck bed up about 2 inches. So I don't recommend trying to do this between your knees, on the floor, with C clamps, with a rubber snake, duct tape, dremel, etc. If you don't torque the barrel correctly bad things can happen later, so just be patient until you can find or borrow the right tools to do it right. If you are ever in the Lebanon area I can help you out.

Thanks eray and pain. Very helpful. My county clerk was right, that it was not required for me to get a plate, so I am NOT going to get one. I am going to carry the Tennessee State document with me in the event that I am stopped out of state, so I can show any interested officer that a plate is not required in my home state. If they stop me and ticket me anyway, telling me that their state requires me to have a plate, then I will fight that ticket because I don't see any states with a requirement for a non resident to have a plate on a trailer that is not titled within that state.

Do you have any specifics to back this up? I've been searching and can't find anything from any state which requires a non resident to have a license plate on a utility trailer, especially if their own state doesn't issue or doesn't require them.

Except it's not $93, it's more like $343 after paying the TN state sales tax on my out of state purchase, which they collect during the title process.

I would have the certificate of origin from the original manufacturer, plus a signed receipt with my name and address and the serial number to prove ownership, so I don't see why I'd need anything else to prove it was mine. I did find a AAA website page that summarized towing laws for each state, but nothing said anything about license plates or registration or titles.

I am going to purchase a 6x12 enclosed single axle trailer for hauling stuff. I will mostly tow it locally but maybe twice a year I'll tow into a few other states. I will most likely buy new but may buy used if a great deal comes along. So far I've seen nice ones in the $2200-$2800 range. Still looking. My question is this: will I need to register the trailer in TN and get a title / license plate for it? I called Wilson County Clerk and they said if it was just a utility trailer then I didn't need to title it or get a plate, but that if I wanted to title it for proof of ownership I would have to buy a permanent semi plate which runs $93 once plus the full state sales tax on whatever I paid for it. Sounds like throwing away good money for nothing, so I plan to pass on that. But I'm asking because I used to have a 26' travel trailer (with bed, kitchen, etc) and they had required me to title and plate that one, and pay the tax of course. Other than size I didn't see a functional difference since both are not motorized and are towed in the same manner. Also, I plan to tow out of state soon and want to make sure I won't be harassed by multiple LEO enroute. I have googled and couldn't find any federal, state, or local laws requiring me to have a plate for the utility trailer. But then I also couldn't find legal definitions for travel trailer vs. utility trailer, or anything talking about interstate towing regulations. As an aside: one retail seller in KY said he would have to charge me 6% local KY state sales tax even though I live in TN and could have it shipped here. This didn't sound right. Anyone know about that?

I'm waiting for the ACLU, Jesse Jackson, AL Sharpton, etc. to come in and play the race card. After all, another innocent young black man was shot by a white guy, after being driven to defend himself after months of being harassed and persecuted in the workplace because of his religion. And I love how the story implies this guy was LEO, which is probably why they are not playing up the good guy with gun angle. I know a reserve deputy can be called upon to assist LEO in a time of need, but they are generally just private citizens with guns and minimum training, like most of us.

If you buy a vice, make sure the jaws open wide enough to hold the upper receiver block jig with room to spare. I purchased 2 different ones from Harbor Freight that looked big enough but were just a tad too small. Third one I got off Craigslist and it was massive, worked great. I also bought a short hitch bar and mounting plate from Harbor Freight so I can mount the huge vice on my truck hitch when needed.

HIPOWER is right on the mark.   WILLIS68: I know exactly how you feel. I have initiated and facilitated literally hundreds of group-buys over the years for many things including amish beef jerky, amish smoked cheese, brazilian lump charcoal, guns, ammo, military surplus items, etc. etc. I have also planned and conducted a massive gun owner picnic in middle TN for several hundred folks with multiple dealer sponsors. In each case I spent at least 50-100 hours dealing with the planning, communications, sign up, payments, execution, and cleanup, and I did it all for the grand sum of $0.00, not even getting a free or discounted item for my trouble. In fact I usually end up being shorted on my own order because someone inevitably comes up short or complains about something and I give them something from my own order to make it right. Or in some cases I had to cover unexpected expenses out of my own pocket so I actually lost money on the deal. So it really sucks when you have invested so much effort and time (and perhaps some money too) for little or no personal gain, only to have the deal fall short in the final execution phase. At least in your case you are getting a few benefits from Pro-Tech for your trouble, and I hope that this is always the case since I fully respect the effort that goes into a deal like this.   There are a few things you may want to consider regarding this current group-buy, which might help to explain the lower participation and slower payment issues: We just recently completed a similar group-buy for the LG-101, so many members that would normally be interested may not have enough discretionary cash free to buy another high-end knife so soon. This is primarily a gun forum, so many of our members may have a limited interest in knives. This is especially true for high-end knives, some of which cost as much as a new or slightly used gun. Anyone with kids is likely still recovering from the back-to-school expenses and related expenditures such as clothing, sports, school events, fundraisers, second cars, etc. This Godfather knife is significantly more expensive than the recent LG-101, further limiting the audience including those who may really like it but just can't afford it, or those who aren't able to justify spending so much on a knife. Some folks may be reluctant to spend so much on a knife that they will rarely use, either because they don't normally carry a knife like this, and/or because these custom knives are so nice (and expensive) that we wouldn't want to mess them up by using them too much. I know that with my own LG-101 I love it and like to carry it / show it off, but I am loathe to actually use it for anything that might significantly damage or mar it, so it is mostly just a decorative accessory that will likely end up in my safe after the novelty wears off in a few months. TGO has also run a few other group-buys in recent past, including the CMT lowers in 5.56 and the soon-to-be-executed CMT lowers in 308. So some folks that might normally participate in a group-buy like this may have prioritized their funds for these other items first, and they can't afford to do them all. Some folks may be anticipating yet more TGO knife group-buys in the near future, and perhaps they are waiting for one of those models instead of the Godfather. Some folks may be waiting to pay until the absolute last minute, as they prefer to let their cash sit in their own back accounts until the deal is really ready to execute. I was in this boat until recently, and to be honest I only paid when I did because I felt that the deadline was really 9/15. If I had known it would be extended to 10/15 then I would have waited until the last week or so to pay. The delivery window is unspecified, only that we should have these before Christmas, and that is a pretty long time to wait for gratification after paying for an item like this. I know I am extremely anxious to get my knife already, and I was not too thrilled to hear of the payment deadline extension, because I had assumed that we would get the knifes much sooner than November or closer to Christmas. There are other factors too which I am sure would explain our current status, these were just the factors which came to mind quickly. So don't take it personally if the turnout and payments are not as high and as fast as you had hoped. Also, it would seem to me that Pro-Tech would be foolish to turn down the order even if we only hit 35-40 knifes total. That is still a lot of business and I am sure they are making a pretty hefty profit even at these reduced prices. But if not, and the deal falls apart for any reason, then you should still be satisfied knowing that you did everything possible to make it work. My hat is off to you, and I hereby volunteer to help you with coordinating, planning, communicating, and executing this or any future group-buy.

  I agree that firing the Slide Fire stock in rapid fire mode is different than firing in semi-auto mode. I never really noticed the need to keep the rear of the butt stock "just-so in the shoulder", however, as the Slide Fire buttstock does not move any more or less than any other stock, and the recoil when firing rapidly keeps it firmly in place. So I never focused on anything different, other than to push my weak-side hand (holding the forearm) forward whenever I wanted to fire, and holding it forward whenever I wanted to fire bursts. When I say novice shooters, I am meaning mostly brand new shooters that have never or only rarely fired any guns at all, and in many cases my AR was the first and only rifle they had ever fired at the time. I have had a number of younger kids try it too, and all that I ever told any of them was basic safety rules, how to stand and operate the major controls, and then to just use the weak-hand as the trigger and push forward when they want to fire, or hold forward for bursts. With that short bit of instruction, every single one of them to-date have been able to fire single shot, bursts, and full mag dumps without any special practice. So I wouldn't call it difficult by any means, just different.   Regarding accuracy, I would not expect any novice (as I defined above) to get all their shots within the head area even at short distances, unless they were firing from a supported position such as a bench, kneeling, sitting, or prone. This is because the rifles are fairly heavy, especially for young kids, and they are not used to recoil or proper sight alignment / follow-up / rapid shooting of any kind, so in my experience the new shooters firing from the standing position (without a sling or support device) are pretty accurate with their first shot and then subsequent shots start to roam a good bit, whether semi-auto or rapid fire. For more experienced shooters, or for new shooters that have just completed a rifle class, I think it is entirely reasonable for them to be able to keep all their rounds within the torso area during rapid fire, either through use of the Slide Fire or just rapid fire in normal semiauto mode.   But I get what you mean in that benchrest or precision accuracy will certainly suffer significantly when firing rapid fire, so if you are firing for a high target score or you are a sniper taking out a bad guy holding a hostage then obviously the Slide Fire is not for you. But I would not hesitate to use my Slide Fire on a home defense gun, where ranges will be short, and where my skills are sharp enough to keep them all in the same general torso area. I don't think any shooters should be going for a head shot in defensive shooting scenarios, unless they are very highly trained, and even then I think the head shot is only necessary in limited scenarios, and a very highly trained shooter could likely keep them all in the head even with the Slide Fire stock (or real full auto mode) at short distances.   Also, while I wouldn't consider the Slide Fire stock or any full auto gun to be unusable for self defense, I generally don't find them particularly helpful either, as most defensive shooting should be over very quickly with only a few rounds fired, and in those cases you should be able to easily solve the problem with proper use of a standard semiauto action. So I am not recommending use of the Slide Fire or full auto mode for defense, just noting that it is certainly possible and could work just fine provided that the shooter had at least basic instruction and was firing from short distances.

I have more than 30 years of shooting and gunsmithing experience, including hundreds of custom AR builds and complete tear downs. I also own and have used the original slide fire stock on more than 6 different ARs, with dozens of shooters of all ages and sizes. Based on my experience, I have to disagree with most of these points above. The slide fire stock doesn't make the gun more difficult to aim, as the gun still uses the same sights. The rapid fire and resulting muzzle climb might initially make it more difficult for a novice to stay on target, but most novices that tried my slide fire stock were able to keep most of their 30 rounds within a human silhouette pattern at distances between 15-20 yards, and then with just a little training and practice they got much better, especially when using several short 3-6 round bursts. Even a small 9 year old kid did it fine with no prior rifle instruction other than proper safety controls during his run. Nobody had any trouble learning how to shoot it, with most shooters learning the proper forearm trigger control method after just 2 or 3 short bursts. While a 30 round mag could be used up quickly, and more rounds are always welcome, the typical civilian defensive scenario with just 1-3 attackers at short distance isn't something that would require more than 2-4 short bursts anyway. The super large mags and belt fed guns are mainly for military combat use, where they will have dozens or hundreds of adversaries and be shooting for extended periods at longer ranges, and laying down suppressive or covering fire. And the statement about bump fire being hard on the gun is just false. Most if not all of the modern ARs are built to meet and exceed military specifications, and often the civilian parts are made by the same military contract suppliers as the more expensive guns. I have torn down and rebuilt more than a dozen Colt M16s from Vietnam, and those guns are not magically better or more durable, in fact they had a few older inferior parts that have since been improved, and they used thin pencil barrels that would overheat faster than most modern heavier or fluted civilian barrels. I have run at least 300 rounds through a cheap parts kit AR in less than 10 minutes and it fired perfectly with no harm done, other than the barrel getting super hot and of course the usual fouling in the action. And if you run the slide fire on a modern piston action then it actually stays cooler and cleaner than those old military guns ever did. I do agree with JONIN though that the slide fire stock is primarily for target shooting and fun recreation, as most people (just one or a few guns and little or no recurring practice) wouldn't need or benefit from using it in a typical defensive scenario. But then again it can always be switched to semiauto mode, so the argument would be why not just have it, just in case?

Lol at knife vs. gf/spouse comparisons. Very funny, but also true. :D My former wife was initially critical of all my gun investments, like most spouses tend to be. Until one day I found a great deal and purchased it, then she was admonishing me afterwards so I said well I'll sell this one and you can have the profit for shopping. It sold instantly for a decent profit which she gladly used to buy clothes and jewelry. So from then on she never questioned my gun purchases, realizing they were as good as money in the bank, and in fact she would often ask me "why don't you buy some more guns, then sell one, so I can go shopping"...