peejman

Yes, most home-owner's (or renter's) policies have a blanket value coverage for firearms. If you want more coverage for something specific (firearms, jewelery, art, tools, muscial instruments, ....), just ask your agent. I've talked with mine and it's simple... $X amount of additional coverage beyond the standard number costs $Y more per year. Mine didn't want/need any other info. A personal inventory of high value items is a good idea. I had one years ago but I'm sure it's very outdated. I've read that simply walking around your house with a video camera, verbally describing items, and reading/showing serial numbers as applicable is a good idea. Burn a DVD of it and put that DVD in a safe deposit box or something like that. I'll add that to my "to do" list.

Con: I dislike the lobbyist arm (NRA-ILA)... I dislike lobbyist groups in general, but I guess it's a necessary evil in our current political culture. Con: Will you get regular mailings soliciting donations beyond your annual renewal? Yep. I throw most of them away without opening. Pro: Does the NRA support tons of worthwhile causes and activities in ways that we, as individuals, couldn't otherwise effectively do? Yep. Push: Will the American Rifleman magazine have at least 1 article worth reading per year? Yep. At the end of the day, I think they do more good than harm.

Have a look around this site to get an idea of what can happen when things go wrong.... BadTattoos.com : Tattoos that just arnt good tattoos! Choose your artist very, very carefully.

I doubt you'll find much worth renting at Gunny's in Maryville. The range itself is ok. Coal Creek Armory has quite a selection of rental handguns. Rentals fees go toward purchase if you buy that day. Coal Creek Armory Indoor Shooting Range CCA also offers a variety of training courses that are reasonably priced. Your wife (and you too) need to spent lots of time surfing this site: Cornered Cat While written for women, it's packed with useful info.

If one of you guys has a big wad of cash to send me, I'll be happy to find out what the limit is at my local store(s). Until then, 1 or 2 boxes is all I ever get. I don't recall seeing the 6 box limit signs recently, but then I don't look for them either.

Glad I'm not the only one.

Do it anyway... she won't mind, trust me.

I'm gonna have to call pic fail on this one. You went shooting with a "cute as can be woman" and thought we wanted pics of the target?

I used Bill's Outpost in Maryville ($20+TICS) recently. Quick and easy, nice guy.

Yep, likely from some inconsiderate moron hiking with their dog and not cleaning up after it. If you've got a dog, you know what domestic dog poop looks like. Coyote poop will have more stuff in it (berries, bones, furr, feathers, etc.) so you can distinguish it. Their tracks also look a little different, though it's hard to tell. Coyote Tracks and Sign I have a 2 yr old that I take hiking as well and wouldn't worry too much about coyotes snatching him off the main trails. I'd be far more concerned about snakes, wasps, and such. Perhaps a little more concern deep in the back country, but still very unlikely.

What do you like to do... boating, hiking, swimming...? While Douglas Lake is a nice area (as is Cherokee Lake, just to the north) I'm not sure you'll find much other than the usual hotels and such. Perhaps some cabin rentals here and there. You'll find tons of stuff in and around Sevierville and Gatlinburg. There's also Boone Lake near Johnson City and South Holston Lake near Bristol.

Ammo availability has improved considerably in the last couple weeks. I think maybe the hoarders have finally decided they have enough. The same 400 rounds of .45 WWB has been on the shelf at the local wal-mart for 2 weeks. It wouldn't sit there for 30 minutes 3 months ago. They've got several thousand 9mm on the shelf. My carry gun is also a .45 (PT145) and while I shoot it at every range trip, I put twice as many rounds through my 9mm (P85). So my advice is to find a 9mm to practice with and keep the .45. As long as the guns are similar, I don't think it makes much difference. And for the record, I love the XD45C and would really like to have one.

Definitely have her shoot an airweight before buying. My wife loved the feel of it, then rented one and hated it. She had a blister forming in the web between her thumb and forefinger after 15 rds. She said she'd rather shoot my subcompact .45.

Myrtle is nice if you like the big-time touristy stuff. My family used to stay at Ocean Isle Beach, NC (just across the state line) and really enjoyed it. It was very quiet... while on the beach, you wouldn't be within 100 yds of the next family. If your 8 yr old likes to play in the surf, you need to be aware that there is some hurricane debris (mostly large hunks of asphalt from the old beach road) in the water. Just go out a low tide and you'll see where it is, it's not really a big deal. There were big tidal pools and water is quite shallow for a long way out.... waist deep for a good 150yds off the beach. We've also stayed near Charleston and liked it too. Folly Beach, Sullivan's Island, and Isle of Palms are all good family destinations. Lots of neat stuff to do as well. Visit the Yorktown and the Hunley. We took our 2 yr old to Hilton Head for his first beach trip in May. Other that having some difficulty finding stuff on the island (no signs and all the buildings are behind trees), we had a good time. There's a lot of marsh/wetlands so we had a boardwalk to the beach, but the resort had a shuttle. I think my son liked riding the shuttle as much as the beach itself. We also found it to be a bit less expensive than other areas. The beach was nice and somewhat busy, but nothing like Myrtle. Continuing down the coast... Savannah and Tybee Island are also nice. Not as much to do as Charleston, but still some entertainment to be had. I'd say the advice to call first and possibly negotiate a bit on FL stuff is spot-on. If you believe the news, they're dying out there. We stayed at St. George Island, FL with my wife's family a few years ago. While not cheap, it was a very quiet, family oriented area as well. White sand beaches that were nearly empty.

The one Taurus I own and the few others I've shot (not a 709) have all had reasonably good triggers after a bit of break-in.

We have a drill doctor here at work and the machinists tell me it works pretty well. We drill holes in things like titanium, inconel, and hastelloy so sharp bits are a must. MacGyver's statements above regarding temper/anneal are correct. When you overheat a drill, you anneal (soften) it and it won't hold an edge. You could try the blacksmith heat-treat methods, but honestly... (steel) bits are cheap.

I took my HCP class at the Unaka Rod and Gun Club . Other than being a tad chilly shooting outside in February (I was prepared), the class was good.

Racking the slide is easy when you do it this way.... Cornered Cat - Rack the Slide My wife can rack the slide on my subcompact .45 relatively easily using this method. Most women I've talked to about it are "afraid they'll hurt the gun". So they try to pull the slide back slowly. Once they're convinced they won't (can't) hurt it and drive the gun forward aggressively, they'll say... "oh, that was easy." When done properly, the whole motion occurs in a blink.

Golf balls at 45 yds, wow! I think I could hit the milk jug at that range fairly regularly, but to pick the golf ball off the top... that's very, very impressive. If he seems the type that would be a good instructor, offer to cover his ammo costs for some lessons. I also like the advice above in using a small portion of a big target for practice. I try to do that when I go to the range using the standard sillouette. Shoot the X out. Once it's big enough that you can't tell where the bullets hit, then shoot out the #7 at all 4 clock positions (12, 3, 6 ,9). Then give it a smiley face. That gives you 6 targets a couple inches across for 6 different distances w/o having to change paper.

There have been several recent threads on this topic. First, she needs to shoot the gun before buying it. Pocket guns can be unpleasant to shoot. Best of my knowledge, most all the .380's can have some reliability issues. Some break-in and or minor mod's may be necessary before it'll work well.

+1.

I'm a no-talent hack on the guitar. And that's not just your typical musician modesty, I really stink. Though I'd like very much to get better. I play mostly for myself and my 2 yr old. I have an older Ibanez electric with full Floyd Rose and a cheap acoustic.

Be careful when polishing large, moving surfaces with a dremel. It's possible to end up with a bright, shiny surface that isn't flat. Using a stone to to the bulk of the work and keep the surface flat. Only use the dremel for the "final polish".

I actually typed "legal system" first then changed it to justice system. My hope was if we return to referring to it as a "justice" system, eventually it might actually become that again. Yeah, I'm a bit from time to time.

The hot wire is the best tool, depending on the type of foam. Some foams cut nicely, some just melt into goo. If you're cutting with a knife, instead of using 2" thick foam, get 2 pieces of 1" thick. You can cut completely through the 1" foam and lay another uncut piece under it. A few dabs of glue will hold the two pieces together. Again, you have to find the right glue as some glues with dissolve the foam.