Sheepdog

Just chipping in my $0.02... I've lived outside the Chattanooga city limits for about five years. For five years, I've been getting "bills" from the local volunteer fire department, oh...every couple of months or so. And I have uniformly disregarded them. Not "forgot" to pay them. Disregarded. Filed in the circular file. Tossed 'em. I read about Mr. Cranic's plight last night, and had a brutal "come to Jesus" moment, in which I was quite honest with myself. Yes, I was spinning the wheel, thinking that the odds of a fire were quite small. Lived damn near 40 years without a house fire, have quite a bit of experience as an adolescent (extended) pyromaniac, have learned some good, painful lessons about how to be safe with the hot stuff. Didn't think it would happen to me. But then, I thought, what if it did? It was then that I had to admit that yes, I would have expected somebody to show up. Somebody with a big, expensive, shiny truck with flashy lights and squirty things, to save my home. Some people who would (hopefully) risk their own asses to pull mine, and my wife's, and my kids' out, if we were trapped. And I'd be expecting them to show up out of charity. Nevermind any expectations of getting paid after the fact--people who lose their houses and all their stuff have priorities for getting their lives back together, and it's a damn good bet that replacing the 60" Plasma TV is going to come before paying the bills of the guys who showed up, uninvited, to create a lot of water damage. Especially if they were too damn cheap to pay a much smaller amount beforehand. So last night, I dug through a stack of old junk mail, and found a bill for the local VFD. $108 to provide fire fighting services, when needed, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. I sent a check electronically right then. And I'll continue to do so every year, until I am incorporated by the City of Chattanooga, and then I'll go back to bitching about my increased property taxes.

Much thanks to David for making the forum Tapatalk compatible!

The front sight keeps falling off of my P22. One of the magazines has lost the "loading button" on the side of the magazine. It's the part that you slide down with your thumb to facilitate loading, and it also lifts the slide lock when the mag is empty. Other than that, it's worked perfectly well, when loaded with good ammo. Mine like CCI Mini Mags.

I wanted to buy one of those years ago, but put it off. When I finally had the spare cash, they no longer sold it. Wish they'd make them, again, because I really hate tossing my CR123s when they're no longer strong enough to give me full power on my SureFires.

Things were more civilized when you were allowed to slug some young punk for mouthing off.

Light meters? Huge waste of taxpayer dollars! I got pulled over (for speeding) back in the 90's. The cop checked my level of window tint with a laminated paper card, white on one half and gray on the other. He put the white part behind my tinted window, and if it was darker than the gray half of the card, it was a violation. (Mine was legit...)

It *is* a nice sticker, Bronker! You making anything else? @KaNuckles, actually, it doesn't take that long. I use a Q-tip dipped in thinner to remove the oil from the metal. Then I use another Q-tip to brush a thick layer of paint over the engravings. Let it dry overnight, and dampen (not soak!) a gun cleaning patch with a little Hoppe's #9. I run that lightly over the paint until it just starts to soften, then rub with an old cotton T-shirt. Alternate between the patch and the shirt until the only paint remaining is in the engravings, and you're pretty much done. The longer the paint stays in the engravings, the harder it is to remove, and after a while, even cleaning with Hoppe's #9 won't easily remove it. Here are a couple of pics of an XD45 I did. These were taken about 3 years ago, but the paint still looks great.

Post 'em up! I've got a few more I'm working on, and if there's any interest (well, okay, even if there isn't), I'll show 'em off here.

The wife paints her nails. The daughters paint their toes. I paint my guns. Anyone else still doing this, or am I hopelessly out of fashion?

Just got it. I went to TOOLS --> OPTIONS... --> SECURITY --> BLOCK REPORTED ATTACK SITES, and unchecked that option. Works just fine, now. Oh, I'm using Firefox 3.6.10.

Either you didn't watch it, didn't get it, or are a member of the National Criminals Guild... ***EDIT*** Or it just took you a minute...

I've got both, and MUCH prefer the Ruger. Why? (1) The Ruger has a much better trigger out of the box, and can be easily upgraded with with mail-order parts. The Mosquito's pull is too heavy, too long, and too spongy, and I am not aware of any aftermarket triggers for it. (2) The Ruger--or at least MY Rugers (2 of them)--have fed, fired, and extracted nearly every round of every flavor of ammo they've been fed (except for CCI CB Longs and shot shells--but...duh!). The Mosquito has been a more finicky eater, loving the CCI Mini-Mags, but choking on some cheaper types of ammo. (3) This may be a function of trigger pull, but I score far more bullseyes with the Ruger than the Mosquito. (4) The Rugers are built like tanks. I have no doubt that my Rugers will still be excellent shooters long after the Mosquito gives up. (5) There's a lot more aftermarket love for the Rugers, as far as triggers, sights, and (for some models) grips go. (6) Many Rugers are drilled and tapped for scopes. Don't think it's currently possible to mount a scope on the Mosquito. (7) The round, fixed bull barrel of some Rugers is easier to attach a home-made suppressor to, after you've filed the proper BATFE forms and paid the $200 tax.

Daughters are God's way of punishing men for having been boys.

Every major gunmaker has had a bad batch of guns come out of their factory. Ruger recalled all LCPs that had the serial numbers 370-xxxxx. Sig had a problem with their P238s that had the numbers DA000501 through DA003216 on the frame. This company is no exception. If the characters S-T-E-R-L-I-N-G are etched into your slide, the gun is a lemon.

The iPhone 4 is the most awesome phone in the world, as long as you hold it right... Totally loving my DroidX, though. Bigger screen, better voice recognition, better coverage. Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

Post the ultrasound pic. I'll let you know...

How about a S&W M&P15 (or other AR-15 with an adjustable stock)? What? Technically, it *is* a .22... She was 7 at the time, too...

I'm waiting patiently (futilely?) for a Springfield XD10. Of course, I got to handle the G20SF at our new Academy store in Chattanooga, yesterday...and was sorely tempted...

Maybe if I repeat myself often enough, I'll get my wish. The only new XD I'd be interested in would be an XD-10...

Nothing personal, but it still has the same snide tone that hoplophobes display whenever they gleefully point out instances where gun ownership didn't save the victims. I carry concealed, but I don't think anyone should be ridiculed or belittled for carrying openly. It's their right, and their choice. Absolutely. A gun is not a magical talisman against evil. Sounds like the victim here forgot that.

I make dry-ice bombs on New Years and the 4th. Sometimes, I don't put enough dry ice in, and you get a bottle that's stretched tight, but doesn't blow. These can be popped with a strong BB gun. I'd guess that you could do the same with any suspicious bottles you might see in your yard, or in your mailbox. Just remember to wear safety glasses--and that goes for anyone watching. The BBs can ricochet, and plastic bits can be blown in any direction.

I don't "flaunt it." But I do use it as ID, occasionally. And I don't care who sees it. A few months ago, I showed it to some people at work, and found out that 3 of them had permits, too, and got two other ladies interested in getting theirs. I've since taken those two to the range, and now, they're planning on buying guns of their own. +1, to Patrick Henry's opinion.

I've got one. Posting from Beijing, right now.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World The Incredibles

I vote for the 9mm. For your purpose of having it as a "range gun", the cheaper ammo makes it more useful. If you decide that you like it well enough for carry, then the 9mm is sufficient for defense, when shooting with good hollowpoint ammo. Also, Bud's Gun Shop has these on clearance for $399.00, delivered--hell of a bargain, that.