luvmyberetta

I'm just now getting my '88 Ranger back on the road & will eventually put A/C back in. A few years ago I was having it customized & we installed a V8 stroker, electric fan, & fender mounted electric water pump (so I could use an electric fan & Mustang Cobra lower profile pullies). The V8 install went smooth as silk, but the guy that was doing the custom frame & body work was used to mainly working on older "hot rods" & he yanked the whole A/C & heating system out & molded a piece of sheet metal on the firewall where the heater core used to be. I haven't decided whether to grind off the sheet metal & try to install a factory style system or save up & buy an under the dash hot rod A/C-heater system. Either way that part's gonna suck, but dang that trucks a heck of a lot of fun to drive.

I got into building light sabers a few years ago. The one in the top photo is made from an actual HR & MPP camera flash parts like the one used for Darth Vader in the original movies. I still need to locate a flash clamp & it will be complete. The bottom photo are two I made using sink, camera, & misc. electrical parts. (Sorry for the poor quality pics. Camera flashes don't cooperate well with chrome) I'm working on a Ep. IV "Graflex" light saber like the one given to Luke in the original Star Wars film, but it's taking a while because parts are hard to find or are too expensive.

+1. I think Ruger started shipping them with the the new guide rod shortly after they released the LC9S. Mine was manufactured March of 2016 so it has the new style guide rod. Ruger's CS is great. They're always quick to take care of problems.

I welcome & respect your opinion. That keeps life interesting. A few of us went to the range a couple weeks ago & we enjoyed trying out each others firearms. In fact, while we were there, a young couple walked up & asked us about our handguns & some advice about firearm safety. It turned out they were newlyweds in their early 20's & it was their first trip to a range. He said he had only fired a gun once in his life & had just bought a SCCY & was bringing it to the range that evening to shoot it for the first time. By the time the range closed he got to try out my SIG P229, SR9, LC9S, my friends' Shield 40 & Colt AR15, & my dad's LCP. He said it was more fun than he ever expected & they were grateful we were willing to let him try so many guns. We all exchanged info & will probably get together again sometime.

Thanks for Thanks for the kind words. I just checked the news on our local radio station for updates & they're stupidity astounds me. It turns out the pellet gun was a replica of a Beretta/Stoeger Cougar. The idiots on the local radio actually called it an "realistic-looking air-assault pistol", & that's a direct quote. Now they're going out of their way to bring the word assault into the news story to describe a pellet gun. Of course they also said the police shot the suspect with an "assault rifle" so they managed to fit it into the story twice.

WBIR & WVLT both have videos online. They said it was definitely a pellet gun. Here's a photo from the news. Ours is the white van & the suspect's vehicle is the black SUV next to it (parked to the left of our van). You can see the pistol (pellet gun) & suspects black baseball cap on the ground at the rear of the van.

We've been hearing rumors of both so I didn't want to speculate if it was a pellet or real handgun. Either way, I agree it was a stupid move for the guy to pull it.

Yes. It's the same size as the Shield, but IMHO has a better grip & trigger. I agree that other caliber offerings would be beneficial. 9mm is the smallest caliber that I'm comfortable with for self defense. Here's a good comparison video by Hickok45 if you're interested...

My wife went to our local Walmart this afternoon to pick up some groceries. She had been inside the store just long enough to get a shopping cart when she said she heard what sounded like a couple firecrackers go off in the parking lot. Shortly afterward employees came running through the store shouting for customers to go to the back of the store because there had been a shooting in the parking lot. A few minutes later, an announcement went across the intercom for the driver of a white Dodge Grand Caravan to come to the front of the store. We drive a white Grand Caravan so my wife went to the front where police officers met her to escort her to the parking lot. There had indeed been a shooting, but it happened right next to our van. When my wife got to our van there was a large knife on the ground underneath the driver side door & a semi-auto handgun on the ground under the driver side rear bumper. The police needed my wife to back the van out of the parking spot to inspect it & the area & take photos & put up traffic cones. The passenger side door of the black SUV parked next to our van was still open & waiting to be searched by police. It's still early, but from what we've gathered, there was some kind of domestic dispute. A knife & handgun were pulled by two people. An off duty LEO happened to be there & tried to control the situation. He was forced to shoot & injure one of them. The injured person went to the hospital & the other to jail. Hopefully there will be more facts & an update soon. They said the officer was the only one to fire any shots & no one else was hurt. Our van did have a small spot of blood on it & a good size scratch on the rear where the customer's pistol hit it. I can tell you that that's a strange feeling & makes you count your blessings. My wife's a little shaken up from the "what ifs", since this happened just moments after getting out of her vehicle & inches from our vehicle. I can't wait to explain this one to our insurance company tomorrow.

I sold my only sub compact a few months ago & was left with nothing but full size or large compact handguns in my collection. Carrying full size hasn't been a problem, but I wanted something easier to conceal that would give more carry options. I used to own a LC9 (hammer fired). It was the perfect size, had great ergonomics, & a smooth trigger, but the long trigger pull affected my accuracy. I've been hearing a lot of positive things about the LC9S' trigger for a while now so I finally ordered one in "flat dark earth". After shooting it at the range I have to agree 100% with the positive reviews. The LC9S' trigger is at least 1 1/2 lbs lighter than the LC9 & about half the pull length. It's not fancy, but will fill an empty slot in my carry rotation.

I went yesterday. We got there a few minutes after 11:00 & the parking lot was full, but no line or waiting at all. I left a little after 1:00 & the parking lot was half empty. I found a few really good deals, but not on what I was looking for. Brand new SR9 (not the 9E model) & SR40s were going as low as $399. I saw a couple SR9Es for $339. LC9S models were selling as low as $329, but not in the color I wanted. Ironically I saw more than one older LC9 (not LC9S) priced at over $500. I found a few Berettas & M&Ps with average prices, but you always have a few vendors pricing them $100-$200 over MSRP. Pistol magazines were insanely high yesterday so I ordered some for a lot less online after I got home. When it was said & done I drove 150 miles round trip & only went home with two buckets of Quaker Steak & Lube hot wings so not a total loss.

My local gun shop charges $60 for handgun transfers ($50 for long guns) & a private FFL I used to use no longer does transfers so I'd have to make a drive out of town either way. A guy I've been talking to on the Ruger forum recently posted his LC9s he bought at one of the Knoxville R&K shows for around $330 + tax. I figured if I can find a deal anywhere in that range or even a little more (or hopefully get lucky & find a FDE model) I'd be as well off, plus I'd have the excuse to pay a visit to Quaker Steak & Lube for some wings afterwards.

I haven't been to any gun shows in a couple years & I'm in the market for a LC9s & am considering going this weekend. Have the lines shortened much? I remember a couple years ago when lines stretched all the way down both sides to the parking lot. With sky high local prices it may be worth the 150 mile round trip to the Jacobs Building.

I missed out on it, but someone got a deal on this Beretta Cheetah for $530. Anything under $650 for one in good condition is a bargain. http://bid.taysauctions.com/cgi-bin/mnlist.cgi?tays130/105

I'm going to Knoxville tomorrow, but won't be at the show. I tend to prefer the Expo shows over the ones at Chilhowee anyway.   On a side note... WBIR news was talking recently about protesters showing up at the Chilhowee show last month & probably more this month to try to get the show banned. Did anyone even notice them there last month?

Dang! Prices on a lot of those handguns are already higher than buying brand new at a gun shop & still several days left in the bidding.  :doh:

The roads here are really bad. It's been snowing since before 9:00 this morning & we now have about six inches on top of what was already there. The city said they aren't treating or scrapping it this weekend so I'm staying home. It's movies & video games with the wife & kids this weekend.  :waiting:  

  +1. 50 rnd boxes of Perfecta & Tula Brass Maxx are good quality & made in Italy by Fiocchi. I avoid gun show reloads (or any reloads for that matter) like the plague.

I have a couple Ed Brown 19 lb. competition 1911 main springs I can send to someone. They're brand new & have never been installed.

  It's funny you brought that up. I actually called FedEx first to arrange a pick up & was told by the rep that FedEx cannot ship firearms unless it's FFL to FFL. I asked the guy to double check for me & he told that he "didn't need to look it up" because he already knew the rules. That's the main reason I went with UPS in the first place. Some of these companies need to concentrate on training & customer service.

  The above is why I'm going to let a FFL handle everything in the future when it comes to shipping. The HUB is a 3-4 hour round trip for me so that's pretty much out of the question. My local UPS drop off point is at a drug store. The fact that overnight was going to be well over $100 had me in shock since I've heard guys say that shipping averages $35-$30 in most cases. I even had to drive 100 miles round trip to an out of town post office to get the "U.S. Postal MO" cashed because all three of my local post offices claimed they didn't have enough funds for it, which I know was B.S. That's one of the problems with living in a remote area.

It's been in use for over 100 years & is really great stuff. I've always used it on every gun I've owned & it's safe for ALL gun surfaces, including wood, polymer, brass, copper, & plastic. Ballistol's water soluble so it's not actually water proof, but it's a great leather conditioner. Triple K suggests using it on their holsters on their website & I've used it for years to soften & shape leather holsters. I use it everywhere & like the fact that it's 100% safe around pets & kids, unlike many other products. Under the hood of my car, on the door seals to keep them from freezing shut during winter months, & on the internals of all my guns. It's the best product I've used to clean black powder firearms as well. It just melts the residue away. Some people don't like the smell, especially of the aerosol version. It's not a terrible smell, but can be a little strong if using in a confined space. If you can find it, the liquid bottled version has less odor since it doesn't get atomized into the air during use. I'm always going to use it & highly recommend it. Here's more on it's history... http://www.ballistol-shop.de/History-of-Ballistol:_:86.html?language=en

Thanks for all the replies. Before listing another handgun on a forum besides TGO, I'll check with a few other FFLs to see how much they charge to use the USPS in the future. I used UPS & when I told the clerk it was a handgun she said they would have to open it once it reached the HUB to inspect it, which is about 60 miles away. I said that they shouldn't have to open it for a second inspection. She said they usually just mark them as "tools" & suggested sending it by 2-day air, which was $42. Overnight was going to be $114 after tax & the store's drop off fee. Gladly, it made it safely to it's destination, but I was stressing about it the whole time. If I ever have to ship again it's going into the hands of a FFL I trust to take care of arranging shipping for me.

...what shipper have you used & which do you prefer? For the first time I recently shipped a handgun & will probably have to sell a couple more & may have to ship them too. I hear guys talk about being able to ship overnight for $30-$40, but UPS & FedEx have quoted me more than double that price. So far UPS & FedEx estimates for overnight run anywhere from $70-$100 & 2nd day air runs around $40-$60 to most parts of the country. My local gun shop & a local gun smith offer shipping through the post office, but charge an additional $25 fee on top of the actual shipping charge. What do you guys suggest?

I prefer Paypal because it's so convenient & I use it for most of my purchase anyway. I buy more things online than from retail stores. I rarely go to a store for anything other than groceries. Paypal "smart connect" is basically a low rate electronic credit card anyway.