mav

Anyone want to take a guess who this jackass was? Good review. He sure does like to write.

Great looking knife. I am interested. Thanks for posting.

Well said, 6.8. Ya know what I find so funny is how so many in the media question Palin's intelligence. If I remember correctly, Jimmy Carter was supposed to be near genius in intellectual ability. He was valedictorian in his high school and graduated in the top 10% from the Naval Academy. Based on that little bit of information, I would say Carter was pretty dang smart. However, he was a disaster as president. One's political or business acumen or their intellectual pedigree doesn't necessarily mean they will be a good and/or effective leader. What we need (and the only thing that will save the country) is plain ol' conservatism and commonsense in the WH and Congress, which is one of the reasons Palin, Bachmann, and Cain are so popular amongst the everyday folks. Assuming Palin runs, I will be voting for one of those three in the primary.

Another display of the media's animus for Palin. I remember the deafening silence from the media when Obama talked about going to 57 states with 3 to go. Everytime I read or hear some elitist or beltway-type criticize Palin for whatever it just makes me like her more.

I would look at one of the STI 2011 in 9mm. I have a 9mm Nighthawk Custom Talon w/FLX upgrade, which is basically a suped-up STI (made on a STI frame). It is my favorite handgun. The reason I recommend the 2011 over the 1911 in 9mm is capacity. I can hold just as many rounds (17) as the typical SD handguns, but I also get all the advantages of a 1911. The downside to STI 2011s is the price; they aren't cheap. My ideal carry gun would be a STI Eclipse 2011. STI International - The STI The only reason I haven't bought one is because I am not ready to dump another $1600 down on a handgun.

Nothing beats a light crisp pull of a SA 1911. SAO is by far my favorite choice in triggers. I can't stand DA/SA and DAO triggers. The DA trigger pull is usually abhorently heavy. I own only one DA/SA gun, and it will soon be sold or traded. I really like the Safe Action on Glocks. While they aren't fantastic out of the box, you can easily and cheaply manipulate them to make them much better. You can also buy trigger kits and make them fantastic. My G34 with a Vanek trigger has around a 2 lb trigger pull. While it isn't a wise choise for SD, it is a great range/competition gun.

You got that right. I won't attend again unless there is some confirmation that others will show up.

I would be interested in that if one could skip the 2-day basic section on Thursday and Friday and attend the advanced running on Saturday and Sunday.

Hey folks. I just back from doing some weekend training with Suarez International. Theclass I took was AR/M4 Gunfighting taught by Randy Harris (a.k.a.CruelHandLuke). This is my third class this year with Randy, and it certainlywon't be my last. We also had an assistant instructor, Chris Upchurch, who isalso a Suarez instructor in the South Carolina region. As I have stated in my other review threads, Randy is a top notchinstructor. Both his skill level and knowledge is immense. You often run intopeople who have a tremendous amount of knowledge and/or skill, but they don'thave the ability to break things down when instructing those of lesser ability.With Randy, that is the opposite. He has the ability to explain or demonstrateconcepts to those of us, myself included, with a lower skill set or limitedknowledge. Before I get into the review, I would like to discuss my ability andfamiliarity with a rifle, and in this case, the AR-15. As some of you may know,I am still fairly new to firearms. I bought my first gun almost 2 years ago,and only got serious about shooting the last year and a half. I bought myfirst, and only, rifle late last year. I would like to thank Willis68 andWarbird for recommending the LWRC, and JeffsSig and Raoul for recommending thePMC Bronze ammo. Both the rifle and ammo ran perfect during this class. After I had purchased my rifle, I bought a nice EOTech HWS and 4X magnifier(you can find my thread somewhere in the Show and Tell section). From the timeof purchasing my rifle to this past Friday, I had only shot approximately 200rounds through it. That is not a whole lot of trigger time on a rifle.Basically, I have a very expensive rifle that is nice to look at and show topeople. I wanted to discuss my background on the rifle for two reasons. The first isto show where I started from. The second reason is to assuage anyone's fearsthat they may not have the skill for such a class as this. Considering mylimited ability with a rifle, if I can make it through this class and do well,then anyone can. Onto the review. This class once again took place on Sand Mountain. The start of the class was typical. Wehad a safety briefing, and there was a brief presentation on the history of theAR platform. The lecture then moved into an informative show and tell whereRandy showed us varying models and/or modifications to the AR platform and someancillary gear. There was a brief discussion on direct impingement and gaspiston ARs, which I still do not understand. All I know was everyone had directimpingement ARs except me. If you looked at everyone's dress and gear, I stuckout like a cue ball on a pool table. I was sporting a polo and jeans with aNighthawk 2011 on my hip. It is typical for me to be the odd man out. After the lecture we then grabbed our rifles and started working onreloading techniques while moving. Doing this while moving was very awkward forme since I have never done this with a rifle. The next technique was shoulderto shoulder transitioning with and without movement. This really wasn't too badfor me since I feel equally as comfortable holding my rifle on my left shoulderas I do my right. While I was feeling good about the shoulder to shouldertransition, Randy then up the bar by working in reload drills while performingshoulder transitions. This was very tough. But, after the second day, it wasn't too bad. The next segment was the absolute worst. We started working on transitioningpositions while maintaining the lowest possible profile. Basically, we wererolling around on our stomach and back trying to keep our sights on Randy whilehe walked around us in a circle. The part that made it suck was we were rollingaround in the grass loaded with twigs and pinecones. Afterwards, I itched forthe next 20 minutes. What can I say, I'm a pansy. After the romp in the grass,we then were shown various shooting positions and various states of readinessto be utilized on the range. After lunch we made our way down to the range. The first thing we needed todo was zero our rifles. Since my rifle has never been zeroed, nor did I knowhow to do it, Chris helped me get my rifle ready. I was quite surprised that ittook so many clicks to get my HWS zeroed. After all of the rifles were zeroed,we then put into practice some of the techniques we learned during the previoussegment. The biggest difference was that we were now using hot weapons. All of the shooting was at fairly close range. Keep in mind that this is nota sniper course; it is a fighting course. This course is not designed to showyou how to take someone's head off at 500 yards. We continued practicing thesetechniques as well as some new techniques for the remainder of the day. One thing I would like to point out is that if you take this class, buy acouple of AR mag pouches and a mag dump bag. They aren't required for theclass, but they make it a lot easier. Thankfully, Randy was nice enough to loanme a dump pouch on the second day. It was a lot easier than trying to shove anAR mag into a pair of Levis. The next day we worked on some of the techniques we learned on Saturday.This time we were moving while utilizing those techniques. A lot of the techniquesand drills were very similar to what I did in the Close Range Gunfightingclass. I view these drills and techniques as building blocks. Eachdrill/technique is building upon each other until it cumulates to the point inwhich you are gun fighting with the rifle. Later on in the day we started incorporating our sidearm into the fight. Ithought the way Randy and Chris showed how to transition to your firearm wasgreat. It is fast and very easy to do. It is something that I will remember andutilize if I am ever in a situation where I need to transition from my rifle tosidearm. The next to last lesson was malfunctions. While I didn't have anymalfunctions with my rifle, I found this section very helpful. Imagine you arein a gun fight and your weapon ceases to function. What do you do? Do you say,"Oh sh*t, I'm gonna die?" If you don't know how to diagnose and fixthe problem quickly, then that is exactly what you would say. I have to admitthat this is something I don't really practice even with my handgun. Hardlyever having a failure with a firearm can be a curse if you don't practice thesemalfunction drills. The day ended with a scenario in which we would utilize most of thetechniques taught over the last two days. We started in a prone position at 100yards and worked our way down towards the target stopping in increments of 25yards changing various positions while utilizing cover until we were close tothe target with our rifle empty and then transitioned to our sidearm. While nota tactical or real life drill, it was a good drill to show how all of thepieces (techniques) fit together. Overall, I had a great time in this class. I wish some people from TGO couldhave made it. It would have been nice to put faces with avatars (no, I don'tlook like John Belushi). Considering where I started from, I learned a hugeamount in this class. Before this class I could have asked you if you wanted tosee my really cool and expensive rifle and that was about it. Now, I feelconfident that I can demonstrate to you how the rifle runs, even though I stillhave a long way to go to be proficient. I feel confident that I could take outa would be bad guy at least 100 yards in multiple positions from eithershoulder. I am very confident in my transitioning from rifle to sidearm. I amstill a little iffy on shooting someone fast while moving if I am > 15 - 20 yardsaway. That will just take some practice. As a final note, too all of you armed services people who have to carry abunch of gear as well as your rifle with you all the time, God bless you. I didit for two days and I am tired.

Oh, how I love this forum. Nice review. The Ruger is a nice gun, but I won't buy one. With one on the way, I have enough 1911s.

Dude, you killed my fitness thread. Seriously, nice job. One of the good things about starting an exercise program is you will see rapid results initially. I would not be surprised if you shaved 6 - 7 minutes/mile off your time over the next several months. Keep it up. Your shoes look similar to mine. The only shoes I wear to run in are Asics Nimbus.

As long as you don't look like a party favor when you sneeze, you should be okay.

Man, I can't believe you guys are hatin' on the prez. Y'all must be racists.

We had a black man walking up and down our neighborhood yesterday try to sell carpet cleaner. He was wanting to come inside to demonstrate its effectiveness. Could have been legit, but I was rather suspicious.

+1 I would same the same thing about Rashad Evans too.

It doesn't bother me either way.

It is a good thing. I wish everybody thought that way.

I like Glock as well. If you don't like the trigger, it can be easily and cheaply remedied. I just bought a G26 and the trigger was ok. I put in a Wolff Competition Pak (around $9.00 minus shipping) and the trigger is much better. That is one of the advantages of Glocks; there are a ton of aftermarket parts available.

Man, I can't believe this thread caused such a fracas earlier. I thought it was pretty neat that we are going to have another firearms manufacturer in TN. I wish them the best of luck. I think the guns look pretty good except the flared mag well.

Just trying to add some humor, but I typically fail at that since very dry humor doesn't translate too well over the keyboard.

I was perusing the newest issue of American Rifleman and I noticed a new 1911 manufacturer in Gallatin, TN, Maximus Arms. Home | Maximus Arms, LLC Anyone familiar with them?

What class are you planning on taking?

That is the problem. The vast majority of people I talk to on the matter weren't really serious and will more than likely not purchase a gun. If they do purchase one, they will probably never shoot it or practice with it. The chances of them actually going into a gun store with a range and renting several models to try is pretty much slim to none. I think it is a pretty fair assumption that most people who own handguns hardly ever shoot them. I don't buy into the safe action either. As long as my finger is off the trigger, all of my guns are safe action.

I was driving off of Sand Mountain this afternoon near Trenton and I couldn't believe how loud they were. As I was driving up I-59, one would splash against my windshield every 20 seconds or so. I felt like being in Gulf Shores, AL during a love bug infestation.

Nothing special. I just happen to deal with a lot of chemical salesmen/vendors, who like most people are not participants within the gun culture. Everyone I know within my industry pretty much knows that I am into firearms, meaning they know I have more than one and I shoot frequently. While just talking in general before actually getting to business realted discussions, I might get hit with a question like, "I have thought about getting a handgun over the past couple of years. What would you recommend?" While I understand where you guys are coming from in not recommending a Glock as a first handgun for an inexperienced person, I disagree. If someone follows the golden rules of firearms (treat all guns as they are loaded, keep your finger off the trigger etc...), I do not see a Glock as anymore dangerous than any other firearm.