Leaderboard

It’s no secret that it isn’t easy being a New Jersey firearm owner. We battle gun control activists, all branches of our State government, and most recently, ourselves. With the reduction of permissible magazine capacity from 15 to 10 rounds, firearm owners, Second Amendment advocates, and others have voiced concern from “the sky is falling” to “so what?” I’m not in either camp. I do not believe the sky is falling, nor am I indifferent to the new restrictions on our constitutional rights. That said, powerful voices within the Second Amendment community are seeking to warn that the sky is falling. Many call this fear mongering, and I agree. It may be an attempt to rally the troops, so to speak, but I don’t think that is the outcome or the intent of the warnings. Members of the pro 2a community have seen warnings of varying severity as of late. There have been warnings of mass raids on those who own firearms capable of accepting large capacity magazines. There have been warnings that Governor Phil Murphy must conduct raids for fear of political retribution. There have been articles posted speaking of searches of homes without probable cause (during a search for terrorist bombers). There have been threats that people are facing consecutive 18 month prison terms and aggregated sets of $10,000 fines totaling 115 years in jail and a million in fines. Let me say that I disagree with the new restrictions on our constitutional rights, disagree with recent court opinions upholding these restrictions, and support the advent of a system that would allow from the permissible carry of firearms in New Jersey. Full disclosure, I can’t call this legal advice as I can’t predict every scenario, but I can offer some perspective and try and quell some of the fear that has been heightened over the last few days. That’s not to say that there should be no fear, the government has just infringed on our constitutional rights and our Governor and Attorney General are hostile to our cause, but the onslaught currently occurring, is making people think tomorrow is the day my local PD raids my home because I own a Glock 19 or a Beretta 92fs. As we stand here, on the eve of many of our friends turning into criminals for doing nothing more than inaction, and we stand here having had our constitutional rights limited, illegally and against our will, I thought people could use another perspective. A perspective on seeking to help some of us figure it out, and not scare some of us into hiding or moving out of state and reducing the size of the community here to support the Second Amendment. We, those of us on discussion groups and forums, are among the most educated gun owners in the State. There are hundreds of thousands of gun owners in the state, but Facebook groups and forums have 2,000 to 10,000 people participating in the discussion. Quite honestly, I’d expect Joe Schmo gun owner, who got a pistol after watching the expendables because it looked cool, who really has no idea about the mag ban or his Second Amendment rights, to run afoul of the law before any of us do. That said, I hope, that any person who unknowingly or mistakenly brings a “large capacity magazine” to a range or gun club, is told to take it home or throw it out, and not have the police called on them. I can’t imagine any range that did that would be in business long anyways. I have a hard time with someone, especially someone knowledgeable, suggesting that the simple act of owning a gun that can accept large capacity magazines, is grounds for large scale raids. That IS fear mongering. Raids require search warrants. Search warrants require probable cause. Probable cause has to be determined by a Judge, yes a New Jersey Judge, but a Judge nonetheless. It’s not some willy nilly standard. There have to be proofs of the illegality, descriptions of the items they are seeking, and enough facts, specific facts, to overbear your fourth amendment rights. I have participated in a large amount of search warrants, from the drafting of the affidavit, to appearing with the officer in front of a Judge, defending search warrants on motions to suppress, and challenging searches based on the fourth amendment. I would not approve an officer seeing a judge, nor would I ever expect a judge to approve a search warrant based on the following: “John Doe is a resident of New Jersey. In 2009, he purchased a Beretta 92fs, a 9 millimeter pistol. That firearm is capable of accepting a magazine that contains more than 10 rounds. Based upon the previous, we believe that we have probable cause to believe that he has a large capacity magazine.” Even in New Jersey that isn’t going to fly. It’s probable cause to believe, not a hunch. Without more, that’s simply a hunch. That isn’t to say that information won’t be part of an application for a search warrant, but there must be more. Someone witnessing a large capacity magazine, posting photos of their large capacity magazines to social media, or bragging about keeping them or using them could certainly further the quest to search a home. What I find sad, is with specific knowledge of what is required for a search warrant, people are still stoking the fires of fear regarding mass raids. A general understanding of New Jersey sentencing law, or even common sense demonstrates that no one is actually facing 115 years in jail or a million dollars in fines for possessing non compliant large capacity magazines. That doesn’t mean that those sentiments aren’t being floated around the 2a community. The law prohibits the possession of magazines over 10 rounds just like it prohibits possessing hollow points outside of the limited exceptions of title 39 of our criminal code. Not even New Jersey would allow for punishment per bullet, a 50 round box allowing for a maximum sentence of 75 years or a super dangerous box of 525 .22’s hollow points allowing for a maximum sentence of 787 years in jail. Similarly, simple possession of 50 large capacity mags will not get you 75 years. With very limited exception, fines other than mandatory ones are not doled out very often in Superior Court. I’d say I’ve seen 10 defendants receive discretionary fines in my career of thousands of cases in Superior Court, and never, ever, have I seen the maximum fine levied. That said, with no record and being a lawful gun owner, possession of a prohibited device such as a large capacity magazine is a fourth degree crime, which means that there is a presumption of non-incarceration. Having no record, a person is more likely to have pretrial intervention or probation than face the grim prospect of 18 months in prison, let alone 115 years. I’m in no way saying I agree that it should be illegal, but likely punishment potential needs to be kept in perspective and not allowed to run amok. A suggestion was also made by a prominent voice that exigency would allow for warrantless searches of homes. In support, an article was cited Related to the 2013 Boston bombing, though oddly making no mention of the bombing or the search being for the bombers. To place that into context, several people, including an unsuspecting law enforcement officer were murdered. Hundreds were maimed, hurt, and mutilated. The police were on a manhunt for a terrorist who literally blew up part of Boston, not an illegally retained Glock magazine. It’s pretty imbecilic to think that their ulterior motive was to nail unsuspecting gun owners. Instead of stoking the aforementioned flames of fear and telling people to prepare for mass raids for non-compliant magazines, It might be more instructive to inform people, many whom do not posses sophisticated knowledge of the law, with some of their rights. If Law Enforcement Officers show up and ask to see your weapons or gun safe, you are free to say no. That is your home and the fourth amendment guarantees that you shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures in it. Be careful though, as well trained Law Enforcement are very slick. They will try their hardest and may say anything to get into your home if that is their mission. They can’t arrest you for not consenting, but they sure might bluff. That’s all it is, a bluff. If Law Enforcement ask you questions such as “do you have magazines that are non-compliant,” you are free to remain silent. Don’t lie, just be silent and say I don’t wish to speak with you. It is easier said than done as police are instructed on how to manipulate targets to get them to allow searches, waive miranda, etc. If the Police threaten that they will get a search warrant if you don’t consent, tell them ok. They have as much a right to attempt to obtain a search warrant as you do to deny their request for a consent search. It’s an absolute they will get in and search if you consent. It’s not absolute that they will be granted a search warrant, and if they do, you can challenge it later in court. If people are worried about parts of the law, they should speak directly with a lawyer about their particular situation so that they can get accurate advise. That’s my 2 cents, feel free to disregard, I won’t force anyone to do or believe anything, I just want you to know their are other informed opinions out there that aren’t total doom and gloom.

I used to say, “I can’t appendix carry because I have a gut.” After believing this for a few years, and from living in a state where it’s nearly impossible to get a Concealed Carry Permit, I was almost fixated on “small of back” carry. On the few occasions when I could carry (out of state), I always carried in the 4:00 or 5:00 position, primarily for comfort reasons. I recently spoke to several other “heftier” gun owners (including a good friend who calls himself the “largest pound for pound firearms instructor in America”) and I received some recommendations on holsters and how to manage, particularly when you’ve got a beer gut rather than a 6 pack. After watching a few videos and testing with some of the holsters I already own, I came upon the Crossbreed Holsters Reckoning holster system. Crossbreed has always had a great reputation with their SuperTuck IWB holsters, but those always seemed on the large side for an IWB holster. The Reckoning holster seemed like a good compromise between size, comfort and conceal-ability. As I had recently picked up a new Glock 48, I figured I might as well try a new holster. I obtained the Reckoning holster system, along with the Accomplice mag carrier. The Glock fits in it perfectly, and the retention is great. The Reckoning holster is adjustable by tightening or loosening screws. After fitting it, I checked the Accomplice mag holder. Unfortunately, the mag holder is really set to hold a double-stack magazine, and while it’s adjustable, there are rubber spacers on the screws to keep it in shape, and I did not feel comfortable with removing them. I removed the Accomplice mag carrier instead. Left – Glock 48 Magazine Right – Glock 19 Magazine I adjusted the belt clips so that the holster rides lower on my body – this is a key factor for those of us with a bit of a belly. This way, the holster is comfortable when standing, and does not dig into you when you are sitting down. When wearing an undershirt, the holster fits nicely in the appendix position, and does not dig in. It conceals nicely without printing. Appendix Carry Carrying at the 4:00 position, you do need to be slightly more aware, as the magwell of my Glock tended to print ever so slightly. It may not be as prevalent with smaller guns, but the G48 is more of a compact size frame (albeit slim). 4:00 Carry Even if the magazines did fit properly in the Accomplice mag carrier, I do not think I would use it in either position – it adds too much to the size and footprint. If I were to carry more at the 5:00 or 6:00 position, it may be something I might look into, however, it’s still not really an optimal location to carry a magazine for how I practice carrying. After some adjustments and testing, I believe I may start actually carrying my G48 in the appendix position with the Crossbreed Reckoning holster. It’s more comfortable than I expected and I like the dual clip system. A single clip holster may be easier to use, but they do not fit me well and dig into my beer belly. After trying several different pairs of pants/shorts, the dual clip system did not interfere with my wardrobe at all. In conclusion, the Crossbreed Reckoning holster is an excellent choice and definitely lives up to the Crossbreed name.

Well..... I am quite excited. I guy emailed me last year that he was writing a book about muscle cars and was interested in photos of my GTO. So I emailed him quite a few photos, and then pretty much forgot about it, thinking it was either a joke, or I didnt make the cut. He emailed me tonight, and said my car made the book. So I ran out to Barnes and Noble and bought it..... I am pretty stoked... https://www.amazon.com/Detroit-Muscle-Factory-Lightweights-Purpose-Built/dp/161325301X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510885602&sr=8-1&keywords=detroit+muscle

(This was originally posted at An American Thinketh) Like President Trump or not, he has exposed how truly powerful and motivated our media is. They have the power to mold public opinion and are motivated to get eyes on websites and clicks on pages to earn their ad revenue. No longer do many media companies earn their income by paper sales and advertisements, but by online advertising, clicks, impressions, banners, pop-ups, and who knows what else. With that being the basis for advertising revenue, journalism has shifted from he who breaks the biggest and most important story, to he who breaks todays clickbait story (often involving the terms MAGA, Trump, or Conservative). No longer are facts checked, sources verified, or the smell test even applied. Media sources, major ones, now run with a story of an unverified source from an eighth rate, high school drop out blogger for fear of missing out on the clicks. It is a model that breeds...and excuses negligent journalism – so long as eyes are on the page. They can always print a retraction on page 17 of their paper which no one reads anymore, or at 3 am in a list of retractions no one will ever see, or at a page on their website that has no way to access unless you type it in directly to your browser. The current overhyped media train-wreck deals with the republished Buzzfeed report about white, MAGA hat wearing teens harassing an American Indian war veteran. It seems an odd premise to begin with, but it went from Buzzfeed to CNN to MSNBC to Huffpost to Mother Jones to The New York Times to the Washington Post to hundreds if not thousands of other media outlets, and even Fox News. The perpetrators, according to the media, were a bunch of MAGA hat wearing, private catholic school attending, white children from Kentucky participating in the March For Life, a march that the media gave no attention to until MAGA got involved. A clip surfaced showing a young man named Nick Sandmann and a now known, professional protestor, Native American, and Veteran Nathan Phillips face to face. Phillips banging his drum in Sandmann's face and Sandmann standing firm with a smile on his face. Immediately the media went nuts on the White, Male, MAGA hat wearing, Catholic teenager from Kentucky. How dare he? Who is he to smirk? Legislators, actual legislators, called for a ban of MAGA hats for teenagers. A sitting US Congressman actually said "I am calling for a total and complete shutdown of teenagers wearing MAGA hats until we can figure out what is going on. They seem to be poisoning young minds.” He has since attempted to walk this back as an actual joke, but his tweet sure didn't seem jokey to me. Judge for yourself: Eventually, after millions of people visited media websites for hours and hours, watching the edited video of the altercation, did the full video come to the public. A new set of videos people could watch on the same media websites for more clicks and impressions and whatever else you call them. This video now showed those students and others, including those participating in the Indigenous Peoples Rally, being subjected to the ire of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group of the most racist people around. In law school, I was subject to their verbally harassing street attacks and have had several friends experience the same. They hurled racist insults at many in the area. Then came the showdown, as all we had been privy to previously, was the video of young Nick Sandmann smirking in Nathan Phillips face as he beat a drum. We were told he walked up to Phillips and blocked his way. Of course, the video told another tale, the truth. Phillips walked up into the face of the teenager and began to chant and bang his drum in his face. Im glad that Nick had the self restraint to sit there and take it, because a lot of people would have pushed the drum away, pushed Phillips away, or worse. But not Nick Sandmann, he stood his ground, as a teenager, in the face of an adult professional protester hoping to evoke a response. To see what a real disrespect to an elderly protester looks like, this was video taken during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Please don't get me started on the mass of fake news spewed during that fiasco. Before this, Buzzfeed put out a report that the President directed his now disgraced Attorney, Michael Cohen to lie to Congress. This was spread around the internet and social media, to the point that Robert Muller had to have a statement drafted, refuting the claim. CNN even had the Buzzfeed editor on to discuss how he would stand behind this story, despite any lack of credible corroboration. But hey, how many eyes got on pages, how many clicks were made, how much in advertising revenue generated during the one to two days this was sensationalized. Let us also not forget about Jim Acosta and his series of broadcasts that he thought would demonstrate how safe our border is. Each video showing the serene sunsets, the local restaurants, the shuffle board courts, and no migrants trying to enter. He did this, and chose these locations to show a lack of people trying to get in, to create fake news that there are no illegal crossings occurring and thus no need for any wall. Of course the nation mocked him and even called out his nonsense, including President Trump who comically tweeted: This all isn't to say that mistakes don't happen. Look what Fox News broadcasted earlier today... Shortly thereafter, an apology was put out and an admission made as to their mistake. What can be taken from this? It's part of that continuing need to be first, whether correct or not. He who breaks the story first, often gets the greatest exposure. No one should be surprised that the media wants to prepare for this. Think how fast a teenager from Kentucky and a Native American beating a drum filled up every social media news feed, whether you are a news addict or the most uninformed social media user in America. Now imagine a 3rd Supreme Court pick for President Trump, being able to replace a relatively liberal Justice with someone center to right. Every conservative will be celebrating the President's ability to nominate, every liberal lamenting the passing of one of their Judicial heroes, fearing the next nomination of the President. This is big, big, big bucks to the media. I make it a point, when I see a sensationalistic headline, to not believe it until I verify it. Part of that is to read the article, yes the whole thing. Far too often, headlines seem to be from outer space, preaching the worst, the craziest, the scariest notion, to find nothing about the headline in the article. Once upon a time, we lived in a world where we could trust the honest journalist trying to break a story. Now, we are often left with half stories, edited videos, unconfirmed sources, and sometimes abject fabrication. Our media frequently tells us what to be mad about, what to care about, what to discuss, and on and on and on. This isn't done out of the goodness of their heart, their desire to be transparent media, or their desire to inform the masses. Journalism is a business, and while the tangible paper may be dying, the online business is booming - and dependent on your eyes and mouse using their product. Be smart and vigilant in what you believe. Misuse of the 1st Amendment is every bit as dangerous as misuse of the 2nd Amendment. Just ask Nick Sandmann, the subject of death threats, doxxing, and attempted derailment of his future. Oh, and proposed violence from former CNN religion specialists...

When I first got into shooting in the mid 2000s, I quickly became interested in long range shooting. At that time, the standard recommendation for most shooters was to pick up a Remington 700 Police or a 700 VS and if your budget does not allow that, a Savage model 10FP, both in 308 Winchester. Generally, both of these guns would allow you to shoot around 1 MOA or better with match grade ammunition. In either case however, you were recommended to get into reloading if you wanted to get as consistent results as possible. Once you get above these hunting turned target guns, you were looking at very high end offerings such as the Accuracy International chassis systems or essentially custom guns by well known rifle builders such as GA Precision. Unfortunately, as great as these high end platforms are, they are out of reach for most gun owners. Fast forward a decade and today we find a massive rise in popularity of both long range and extended long range shooting. Most impressive is that you can find plenty of videos of gun owners shooting milk jugs from 1,000 yards to over a mile away with stock guns! So what's changed? I believe there are a number of key drivers which gun owners have to thank for the plethora of options available to them at price points of $2,000 and less. These drivers are both growing demand AND the availability/supply of firearms. From the demand perspective, I think we can thank two drivers for this, YouTube and gun games such as 3 Gun and the practical shooting inspired PRS, which is if you can imagine, an IDPA or USPSA match however you are moving and shooting with a precision rifle, shooting at targets at out at 1,000 yards or more! Fortunately, with all of this demand, manufacturers decided to pour in resources and we now have numerous products at the very competitive price point of $2,000 or less. Best of all, these guns are generally created to be accurate first, rather than being a firearm designed for hunting remarketed as a precision gun. Today, gun owners have such firearms as the Ruger Precision Rifle, the Thompson Center LRR, the Howa Oryx, Mossberg MVP and Savage 110 which use the latest manufacturing processes to produce factory rifles capable of sub MOA shooting (1" at 100 yards, 2" at 200 yards, etc.) The overriding theme here however is that I don't believe this would not have happened if it was not for the "Trump Slump." During the Obama years, manufacturers were able to sell basic $500 AR-15s for $1,000 or more. It was only after President Trump was elected and the fear of imminent gun control no longer drove sales, did manufacturers truly innovate and create such firearms at these very affordable prices. This is of course not just anecdotal evidence but can be seen in the sales data. For anyone who has been reading my "NICS Data" research on Seeking Alpha knows that long gun sales are at decade lows. At the same time, PRS and extended long range shooting is quickly growing. The main benefactor here being "chassis guns." The other major change enabling the success in long range shooting is the mass market appeal of new cartridges such as 6.5 Creedmoor. Why? In the simplest terms, the newer calibers such as 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 300 PRC, 6mm Creedmoor, and 224 Valkyrie were designed with different SAAMI specs, predominantly around a bullet with a higher BC (ballistic coefficient) in a larger cartridge with more powder. In short, better bullet, bigger cartridge, more powder giving you faster velocity and a bullet that is far more tolerant of wind. Yes, it is time to settle the debate... 6.5 Creedmoor is an all around better cartridge than 308 Winchester and is quickly becoming the go to norm for gun owners entering this category. After more than 10 years we can start admitting, it is likely not going away, especially as with stock factory ammunition, a shooter can effectively increase their range from around 1,000 yards out to 1,400. Bottom line, are these guns somehow going to put custom rifle builders out of business? No... because there is always that crowd of people who will be looking at a gun that can shoot 1/4 MOA and is willing to pay $4,000 or more on the rifle. If you are happy with .5 to 1 MOA with a gun that you can purchase for around $1,000 and don't need to reload for, then this is certainly an exciting time to be a gun owner. If you have not done so yet, do subscribe and follow my Precision Rifle series on YouTube where we take a look at the latest and most popular precision guns at $2,000 or less!

As the euphoria of the 2016 presidential elections is wearing off, another feeling is starting to creep in on gun owners throughout our state. That feeling is one of great concern for the few gun rights we currently enjoy. As Governor Christie's term is coming to an end, gun owners have to start accepting that in the near future, the few gun rights we currently enjoy are going to come under almost certain attack from politicians in the state. Don't get me wrong, while Governor Christie has done nothing to improve gun rights in the state, at the very least he prevented more bad legislation from taking effect. As the thought of a Liberal Democratic Governor is an utmost certainty, Democrats are going to have free reign over screwing over further restricting gun rights and enacting harsh legislations that will hamper the 2nd Amendment. But wait... there is a chance, there are two Republicans running in this race, you say. Let's be realistic. First, over the last 100 years, only once has the incumbent party kept the Governor's office for a third term, after a Governor termed out. That occurred in 1962 when Democrat Richard Hughes won office after two terms of fellow Democrat Robert Meyner. Secondly, does anyone in their right minds think that a Republican can win after the "BridgeGate" Scandal and Governor Christie's close association to President Trump? In either case, neither of the Republican candidates have the financial or the political capital to compete with Phil Murphy. (who is having ex VP Joe Biden fly in for a campaign visit) Short of a miracle, NJ residents better get used to the idea of Governor Phil Murphy. So What Does A Governor Murphy Mean For Gun Owners? The idea of a Governor Murphy should frighten any gun owner in the state, wishing and willing to give anything to have a "moderate" Sweeney over Liberal Murphy. To get an idea of the gun agenda, we take a look at what Phil Murphy has on his website, Murphy4NJ.com, The website further goes to point out the legislation that would prevent persons on the various government watch lists from being able to purchase a firearm. While this is the most "sensible" legislation, it failed for one key reason, there was ZERO due process for person's on those watch lists. People on the no fly lists, such as Senator Ted Kennedy, Congressman John Lewis, and CNN reporter Drew Griffin would not be allowed to purchase firearms. Beyond that, it would mean Phil Murphy would sign legislation that would confiscate guns from people accused of non-violent domestic issues and limits on the firearms that you may own, including lower magazine limits To take the ridiculous to the next level, Phil Murphy proposes the following, Required Gun Safety Training As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. These good intentions seem "sensible" to the common resident of New Jersey, but they are surely hell for any gun owner. Look, I am ALL FOR gun owners having safety training and technological improvements that would be helpful for those looking for it, HOWEVER, since when can the government restrict a God given right? Are people required to take a public speaking class before talking to anyone? Perhaps they should be, but just like free speech, and UNLIKE driving, the right to keep and bear arms.... is a right, and not a privilege. Are gun owners who do not take the "mandated gun safety training" to be considered "un-trustworthy"? If so, prior to the 1938 Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons in Nazi Germany, Jews were disarmed by the police on the basis that "the Jewish population 'cannot be regarded as trustworthy'" On that basis, who is to control the educational requirements? Who sets the agenda? Do we have the same educational requirements before we go buy a bottle of Vodka or a kitchen knife? Are gun owners who do not complete this education requirement going to be stripped of their guns and GUN RIGHTS? More importantly, who is going to pay for this training? As much as I am all for gun owners taking gun training classes, I do not see anywhere in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights anything related to being "educated" before practicing a right. Smart Guns The problem here is what is not told. The NJ Smart Gun laws would REQUIRE every gun sold in NJ to be a "smart gun" once one is commercially available. Yep.... so unless they repeal the existing law, this should be a non starter for ANYONE. Beyond that, do we require every grocery stores to carry certain items? Why should gun store owners and operators be TOLD what they HAVE TO offer. Gun Sales Tax How do you make sure you keep poor people poor? You keep on taxing them. One thing that I have learned over the last 9 years with NJ Gun Forums is that gun owners in this state comes from all demographic groups. For every affluent gun owner, there are 20 people who love shooting but have to scrape up every cent they can save in order to fund their new gun purchase. Any firearms sales tax is only going to hurt gun buyers, and more importantly will hurt the vendors in the state. The ONLY people who will be winning are the gun dealers in PA and Delware who will be more than happy to sell their guns to NJ gun buyers. Required NICS and Gun Registration Hold on there... didn't the municipality and the state police just do the extensive background check when they issued that FID and those brand spanking new pistol permits? I think it is a good idea to do a NICS check anyway, but it is yet annother financial burden and expense. There is a $15 nics charge in NJ, because NJ gets its grubby paws on it, rather than the federal NICS system used in most of Free America. Are NICS checks going to be free for everyone in NJ? Gun Registration? The state police and the municipality already have those records every time a pistol permit gets sent in. But in any case... you know who also had mandatory gun registrations? Hitler, Stalin and Mao all enacted gun registration and subsequent gun confiscation before they murdered millions of political dissidents. (all under good intentions of course). Ban on 50 Caliber Rifles Seriously? Again? Can any politician give a realistic reason to ban all 50 caliber rifles? When was the last time that a criminal committed a crime in NJ with a 50 caliber... flintlock, 50 Beowolf, 500 Nitro Express or muzzle loader.... those are after all more likely to be in someone's gun collection than a $5k or more expensive Barrett 50 BMG. Heck, why not go after 600/700 Nitro Express, 500 S&W, 50 Action Express too. The biggest risk to airplanes (the commonly cited 2010 case) is not a guy with a 50 caliber rifle, but rather the broken infrastructure all around. Bottom Line "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - John Acton A democrat in the governor's office and a democrat controlled legislature is grim news for New Jersey and anyone concerned with gun rights. What's different this time is that it is a top item for Democrats eager to do anything to act out against President Trump. There are many gun rights advocates in the state who will say we have to rise up and fight. Unfortunately I don't think it will make any difference this time for the simple facts that the powers that be both do not understand gun issues, nor CARE about your rights. For those that can leave, it may be opportune to do as @Pizza Bob says in every post "adios." For everyone else left behind, hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride. -Maks For further reading and discussion on this topic I recommend, While we typically do not have political topics out in general discussion, @67gtonut has set up a special section dedicated to the 2017 NJ Gubernatorial Race, We look forward to seeing you there. https://www.njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/forum/189-new-jersey-gubernatorial-election-2017/

So I will backtrack a little.... So I sold the 88 GT in 1999, I just was not driving it, in fear of someone scratching it, or anything. The car was depreciating ...... I decided it was time for look for my first classic muscle car. IT was between 2 of my favorites.... First choice was a 67 Pontiac GTO, ever since I was 13, I had fallen in love with the looks of the car, and at this point, I learned to really appreciate the history and feel of Pontiac. Another thing is ..... if anyone knows GM history, was that Pontiac was known for their interior appointments, especially their dashboard layouts. My back-up choice if I came across the right one was a 69 Chevelle SS 396. My grandfather worked at a Chevy dealer when I was little, and had a 68 Chevelle 4-door...... so, just sort of a connection to that body style. I was married for 3 years at this point, and I was given the blessing from my wonderful wife to try and fulfill my dream.... so the search began.... For 2 years..... for a few hours nearly every night.... My requirements: 4 Speed NO A/C Power Steering Either White or Silver Clean driver that could be enjoyed right away, did not want a resto project. I would search the internet.... looking a normal classifieds and also Classic Car dealers throughout the country. The neat thing was, most of the Classic Car dealers had an inquiry feature, that if you did not see what you want, you submitted a request, and they would contact you if they came across what you were looking for.... At this point in my career, I was a Finance Manager @ Saturn of Denville. Well, one day as I came into work, my Used Car Manager came over to me with a note. It was regarding a Gray 67 GTO. He said this must be for you….. The message was from Debbie Greene from Greene’s Classic Cars in Knoxville TN. And she had the car I was looking for, a Gray 67 GTO. I thought it was a joke….. For 2 reasons. One, of all the dealers I had searched online, I could not recall ever going to that website, second reason…. GTO’s were not available in Gray, the closest would be a color called Silverglaze. But I called the number, and Debbie picked up, and quickly realized, this was real. I had to ask…. How she got my name and number…. Well, it seems I had just contacted an early Internet Hacker, she said she was able to infiltrate other dealers websites and look at their inquiries from customers…. To this day…. I have no idea how she did it. The next topic we covered was the color… She said it was indeed Gray, not Silver. She said it was a Special Order Color car. The original owner ordered the car 67 Buick Riviera Charcoal Gray. More detail followed. It was a numbers matching car, very original. Car was there on consignment from 4th owner. Had tons of documentation. Price was $15,500…. Which was about $3000 over my budget, but I asked her to send photos for me, which I included below. That night the wife and I looked at the pictures and noticed the name of the selling dealer matched her last name….. little spooky for us. At his point, I ordered the PHS documents which is a service that validates on how the car was built. It helps to see if the car is actually what the seller says it is. The info came back validating everything…. It was a true 1967 GTO that was equipped with the rare HO engine option and was also ordered under a Special Paint code…. Little background on Special Paint code cars…. Back then you could order your GM car any color from the GM palette. IF you ordered it a Pontiac NON-GTO color, the data plate on the firewall would have a “1” where the paint code would be stamped. IF you ordered a NON-Pontiac color, the data plate would be left blank. My car’s data plate is blank… So after a short discussion with wife, I left a $500 deposit on the car. That weekend, I hopped into my truck to drive to Knoxville to see the car in person. I arrived and it was waiting for me on their showroom floor. I spent at least an hour going all over that car on the showroom, and then they put it on a lift, where I spent another hour….. and then took it for a ride. I loved it, it was what I had been looking for. I called the wife and we discussed the over budget issue…. Her response…. “ If it's what you want….. get it” I will not hide the fact it was a very emotional moment for me….. I committed to the car, and Debbie Greene had a guy with a trailer on speed dial…. And within 2 hours… I was following my dream car home on Rt81 North… The car came with so much documentation it was amazing…. Original Window Sticker, Protecto-Plate, Deposit receipt when original owner ordered the car, receipt when owner picked up the car. EVERY service receipt from the Pontiac dealer when the car was serviced, from 1966 till 1986 when she sold the car at Carisle Fairgrounds. Now that I had the car in my garage, curiosity got the better of me, and I made it my mission to track down the original owner and talk to her…. So with the power of the internet and using the Service receipts, I found she was still living in the same house she lived in when she sold the car in 1986. I wrote her a letter and enclosed a current picture of the car. A few weeks later, she called. We spent an hour on the phone. I got all the details on the way she raced the car, and why the color. It was a great conversation… I asked why the color? She said she was on her way to Pontiac dealer to order the GTO and passed by a Buick showroom, and in the window was a Buick Riv in the Charcoal Gray, and fell in love with the color. You can see on the window sticker it was a $83.20 option for Special Color. She ordered the car Oct, 23 1966, I had just turned 1 year old the day before, and she picked it up right after Christmas. If you look at the window sticker, you can also see a few rare options. The most important one to me, the HO engine. Of the 80K GTO's built that year, only 12K were ordered with that engine. The Opera lights and Power Antenna were also considered rare options. I asked her if she remembered who she sold it to in 1986 at Carisle, but she could not recall, so that was a dead end. So I decided to work my way backwards. I reached out to the 4th owner, who I met at the dealer in TN when he brought down the title...... He said it he bought it from 2 brothers that buy and sell GTO's and other muscle cars as a business..... I was able to track them down. I wanted to find out who had restored the trunk pan and taillight panel. Once on the phone, I asked the guy if he could give me some information..... he curtly cut me off saying they had bought and sold so many GTO's over the years, he would never remember the car..... I said it was a 67 GTO in Charcoal Gray. He stopped dead cold and said..... Oh man, I remember that one, We NEVER should have sold that one..... We continued with a short conversation regarding the car. I will say, the 1st photo below makes the paint look better then it actually was in real life, as you will see in my next segment. The car at least 2 partial paint touchups, One was when the tailpanel was replaced and another one to help the painted surfaces that had faded over the years. The most original paint was near the front of the car below the pinstripe. In the sun, the car was 3 shades of Gray..... The interior was original..... nothing had been done, and it really could be left alone, if I wanted to, but I never leave anything alone....LOL At this point, my goal was to try and keep the car as original as possible, but making it enjoyable to drive..... for reasons that I will mention later, those thoughts changed.... I think that pretty much sums up this entry..... More to come

Since learning to shoot about 15 years ago, and more particularly in the last 10 years since starting New Jersey Gun Forums, I have been blessed with the ability to shoot a wide variety of firearms and accessories, everything from entry level handguns to rifles and shotguns which can purchase a decent house somewhere in the Mid-West. One constant in the gun world is that much like in every other hobby, there is, within a certain segment an equipment race, to have the latest and greatest gear that you would find going into war zones. While I am generally not opposed to spending more money to get a well crafted and reliable gun like a Knights Armament AR, optics in particular is an area where I feel 95% of gun owners would be spending money on features they will never use. Trijicon ACOGs, NightForce, Elcan SpecterDR, Aimpoint, you get the idea. Yes, they are brilliant optics with great quality glass and ruggedness to withstand a war zone. The question is, for the non-military buyer, do you need to pay for the ruggedness when 90% of the time the gun will be in the safe and 9% of the time the gun will be at the range? Do you need to spend thousands of dollars for the slight chance that you will drop the gun in the middle of the lake in the 1% of the time you are out boating with it? (boat, gun, lake joke). What got me thinking about this question is doing some testing with the Sightmark Wolfhound 6x Prismatic sight. I subjected the scope to the advertised specs and it passed with flying colors. I drenched the optics with a bottle of water and even dropped the rifle (on purpose) to see whether it holds zero or still works. I then escalated the test and dunked the optic in a contain of water and left it there, running, for over an hour. This would surely kill it, right? And the optic continued to function. Sightmark compares this to the ACOG 6x optic and at no time do they ever state that it is a better optic. They do however point out that you are getting comparable features for a whole lot less. Yes, the ACOG does not use any batteries and instead lights the reticle either via the fiber optic strip or tritium. The Wolfhound uses a battery. In either case, if the battery dies, you still have the reticle, it just won't light up red or green. The ACOG is also made out of 7075 aluminum versus the 6061 aluminum used in the Wolfhound. The ACOG is also submersible to 328 ft of water versus just 10 ft on the Wolfhound. The question is then the following, rather than spend thousands more on buying ruggedness that you will never likely use, is the gun owner better off buying a "good enough" optic and investing the difference in ammo and training instead? Here is the video review of the Sightmark Wolfhound 6x44 Prismatic and Mini Shot M-Spec Reflex Sights

Remember when you acquired your first firearm? For most gun owners, that time was both exciting and scary! On one hand, you acquired your first handgun and had hopefully gone to the range. At the same time, let's admit it, unless you were in the military, you were at least a LITTLE bit afraid, either of scratching up that shiny new bluing, not being able to put it back together after cleaning, or even leaving it unattended. After a while however, you become accustomed to it and it becomes "yet another gun." Much in the same way, I look at "going to the range." It is the near universal experience of gun ownership. You purchase your gun and then you end up going to the range to shoot at least once or twice a week for the next 3 to 6 months. Every trip is exciting as you become more and more proficient with the gun and discover your passions for different firearms. At some point however you average day in the range goes from 4 or 5 boxes of ammo to a mere social event and 1 or 2 boxes of ammo becomes the norm. Simply put, going to a typical range and standing in a port and shooting at a bullseye or a zombie target was no longer fun or appealing. If you are at the range, it is typically to function check your gun, chrono your loads or just to make sure the gun works and remains rust free after that unfortunate boating accident. This is why I believe in and encourage community members of all experience levels and interests to go out and try some form of matches, whether it is steel matches or one of the practical shooting sports such as IDPA or USPSA. Not only is it fun, but it is also a great way to take your shooting skills to the next level. But what if you can't do that? I recently came across some targets made by REFactor Tactical. The company is a veteran lead business catering to military and civilians, offering products and solutions for on and off the battlefield. One of their solutions is their line of shooting targets which I have come to call "Targets With a Purpose." There are 4 that I have come to really appreciate. The first target is your standard USPSA/IPSC Practice Target. Generally I am a fan of using the thick cardboard targets for nice clean holes and the ability to paste them. This lets you use use the targets for quite a long time. Unfortunately there are a few downsides. First, a pack of 25 or so has some weight and they take up quite a bit of space to store. Secondly, it is not so easy to use the cardboard targets at many indoor ranges. The challenge is, with a cardboard target, you are attaching the head next to the carrier, so unless you want to risk destroying range equipment, a good portion of the target is unusable. The REFactor Tactical target is printed on paper with wide margins. As such, you can easily use them at an indoor range or outside with wider target stands. When it comes to rifles, my favorite target is the Hitman Target. The target comes complete with a grid overlay which is extremely helpful for sighting in a rifle with a new optic. Once dialed in, the left side of the target has bullseye target grids ranging from 1" to 3" boxes. They are great to use for 1 MOA groups out to 300 yards. The right side of the target features similar triangles and a bullseye target on the bottom. Even though it is meant for rifles, this target is also great for handgun training at close ranges. The other two targets are meant for "gun work," or targets designed to work on the fundamentals of shooting. The IQ Target is a full sized target made up of a combination of shapes, colors, numbers and letters. This allows the shooters or instructors to create a variety of shooting problems to solve. IT could be simple as "on command, draw and fire 2 rounds at the Square 2" or "on command, turn, then draw and fire 2 rounds at all of the green circles, reload and fire 2 rounds at all of the blue triangles." To make the IQ target even more effective, REFactor Tactical offers playing cards/shooting decks which contain various exercises ranging from static shooting to more difficult turn, draw, move and reload ones. At a recent range day, I really enjoyed practicing with these targets and the cards. What is quite eye opening for me was finding out that despite not having difficulties with accuracy, I had real issues shooting triangle shapes, typically shooting just below them. Perhaps to make it even more challenging, I practiced with a completely different handgun than I am used to shooting, a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm versus my go to 1911s and CZ 75 SP01 Shadow Custom. To make it even more interesting, I alternated the magazine between my regular match loads and Speer Gold Dots +P ammo. (Or perhaps I just happened to leave my gun game guns at home and the M&P was the only handgun in the range bag with some ammo.) Finally, the other target that I believe would be of great interest and benefit to gun owners is the Essentials Shooting Target, It is a full sized target of various sized squares and circles, along with a bulls eye. It was designed around a 150 round drill which covers multiple aspects of pistol marksmanship including slow aimed fire, strong and weak hand shooting, target transitions, speed changes, drawing and reloading. You can find the drills in their book, the "Essentials Shooting Guide" or simply create your own drills. Bottom line, these were some of the best targets I have shot in the last 15 years. Factoring in that you are supporting a veteran owned company who produces the targets in the United States at very reasonable prices, there are no reasons why a few of these are not in your range bag for your next trip.

There's dry fire training, then there's next level dry fire training! That's where the Mantis Laser Academy and Mantis Blackbeard come in. Dry fire training allows you to practice your firearm handling skills at home. You can practice holster draw/firing/re-holstering, reloading, strong hand firing, weak hand firing, malfunction clearing, and more. When dry fire training at home, you should always remember the fundamental rules of firearm safety, and ensure that there is no live ammunition around. The older Mantis X systems use a picatinny rail mounted laser that works in conjunction with the MantisX smartphone/tablet app. You can print your own targets and trace your muzzle movements and shots. Mantis released their Mantis X training system several years ago, and I got to test this out at SHOT SHOW 2020. The next level is the Mantis Laser Academy. The Mantis Laser Academy comes in 2 versions - the Standard Kit (shown below), and the Portable Kit (which is actually included in the Standard version). The Standard Kit costs $149 and the Portable kit is $99. The Portable Kit contains: Pink Rhino Laser (Caliber Specific - available in 9mm, .380 ACP, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 SIG, and .223/5.56) Set of 5"x7" Smart Targets (w/ blue reusable sticky putty) Mini Tripod & spring loaded Smartphone Holder Laser Cartridge Extraction Stick (a wood dowel) Carrying Case The Standard Kit adds on: Large Tripod & screw-adjust Smartphone Holder Set of 8"x11" Smart Targets Target Stand Holders (5) Both kits contain a Pro access code to the Mantis Laser Academy App. This is extremely useful as this grants you access to the full suite of drills, including multiple target drills and even 2-person Duel drills. Mantis Laser Academy Standard Kit While the Laser Academy Kit does not come with many instructions, setting up the app is extremely straightforward. You can see which drills are included in the Free version vs the Pro version. Once you create your account and unlock the Pro version using the code included, you have full run of the app. Mantis Laser Academy App I setup a couple of targets and started testing them out. The first gun I used was my SIG P226 with the RXP slide with the SIG Romeo 1 Pro Red dot sight. I found that the Pink Rhino laser was not quite the same as a laser boresighting cartridge - it was not quite lined up with my sights/red dot. This is adjustable by using the "shoot to calibrate" option in the settings of the app. I found myself using this a good deal as I tested the cartridge in 5 different pistols. Besides the P226, I tested this system using a Beretta M9A3, Walther PDP w/ Holosun HS507C, Glock 19 and Glock 48. Handguns used for testing: Sig P226, Walther PDP, Glock 19 Gen 5, Glock 48, Beretta M9A3 I setup a couple targets using the stands as well as my phone using the tall tripod. I found that the tripod and phone holder were nice and compact, but the angle adjustment was a bit rough - either my phone was usually pointing too high or too low - not directly at the targets. When extended high, the phone would tend to shake especially while being used - so it was a little hard to hit buttons and adjust. This was definitely because the tripod has such a long center pole that it's fairly unsteady at full extension. Once you are adjusted, however, it's not bad - this is where the Start/Stop control target comes in very handy so you do not have to touch the phone. Mantis Laser Academy App and 2 targets. Practicing Close Contact from Holster drill. The drills had a great variety - I especially enjoyed the holster draw drills. Unfortunately, with striker fired guns you have to slightly rack the slide after each shot, so I tended to stick with the 2 hammer fired guns - the M9A3 and P226. They were easier to shoot multiple times without having to rack each time - I just had to deal with the long heavy double action trigger pull. A couple things I've noticed is that the app sometimes has an issue with reading targets if the lighting is not adequate. I also recommend measuring your distance to the targets, and calibrating the shots to that distance for maximum accuracy. Sometimes the app would not recognize some of the targets. The middle left target is not highlighted in blue indicating a target area. it still detected targets hung sideways. The calibration options in the app are excellent - and some are fairly needed. The shot calibration is key. I also played around with the shot detection feedback (the app would tend to hear shots when none were taken). For drills with repetitions - you can adjust the reset time - the time needed to re-holster and make ready. You can also change the number of reps and the countdown timer. One nice setting was that you could change the shot sound from normal loud shot to suppressed. With multiple targets, you can create your own drill. In this, I shot each target once, then cycled through each again. The shots on multiple targets are color coded per target, and show your score and time in between shots. The Mantis Blackbeard ($219) works well as an addition to the Laser Academy. It contains a special unit which replaces the Bolt Carrier Group and Charging Handle on a standard AR15. This is the self contained laser unit as well as the mechanism that resets the hammer on your AR15. The battery that triggers the laser and reset is conveniently located in the magazine portion, that is shaped like a 20-round magazine. The kit comes in a nice travel size case and includes a micro-USB charging cable and Allen key to adjust the laser. This is extremely important as you will need to sight in the laser. The switch on the unit changes the laser from momentary (when you pull the trigger) to always-on for sighting in. The battery has 5 LEDs which light up when charging, showing you the charge level of the battery. On full charge it should last about 10,000 "shots". This is a nice hefty battery - it took overnight to charge to full power (when it arrived it was at 2 lights - less than half charge). The Mantis Blackbeard Kit The AR I chose to install this on is my New Jersey legal Non-NFA "Other" firearm. The bright red color of the Mantis Blackbeard shows up nicely so you can tell at a glance that it's setup in training mode. When dry firing the Blackbeard makes a clicking type sound - you can hear it actuate and reset the hammer. The trigger feels exactly the same as if you're firing live ammo - the pull and reset are exactly as I expected. When I sighted in the Mantis Blackbeard laser I had to take the height over bore into serious consideration. With a 50/200 combat zero, the dot should end up 1.9" below the actual point of aim at 10 yards. If you use an AR15 for home defense - this is something you need to remember and train with, and the Blackbeard does help you visualize this in a way you normally can't do while pulling the trigger in your own house. Another benefit is that you can train with your AR platform firearm through simulated room clearing or check the potential areas of engagement in your house and see where your rounds will be hitting vs where you're aiming. Mantis Blackbeard installed shows up nicely with the red charging handle/bolt carrier/magazine to make it easily recognizable that the firearm is setup for training. The larger 8"x11" targets from the Training Academy made it much easier to engage targets with the Blackbeard from a longer distance. I was able to get 7 and even 10 yards of distance in my basement which worked out fairly well. The targets are meant to be engaged at a fairly close distance, but with the height over bore issues with a rifle, you really can't do that very well. One slight nitpick is that you can't easily transition from an AR with the Blackbeard to the Pink Rhino laser on the training academy without making some concessions for laser accuracy - you can only calibrate the app for accuracy by position for 1 laser, not multiple. Shots are clearly visible at range It's very easy to just pull the trigger and keep whanging away at the targets since you don't have to worry about changing mags or ammo costs. With the multiple target option in the Training Academy app, you can shift targets easily as well and still keep proper track of your shots. This also makes you quite aware of your trigger pull weight - as many shots can wear down your trigger finger! This AR is using a standard mil-spec trigger group. An upgraded trigger would definitely make a difference. Engaging multiple targets at 7 yards range. I thoroughly enjoy training with the Mantis Laser Academy and Blackbeard system. With these dry fire training aids, you can keep your skills sharp, and make a marked improvement on your skills without spending thousands of dollars in ammunition. Practicing concealed carry draw, holster draw, and practice engagements or room clearing in your house are all practical training you can't replicate at home with live ammo, and this is the next best thing! Visit Mantis at https://mantisx.com/ The Mantis Laser Training Academy and Mantis Blackbeard were provided for testing purposes by Mantis.

If you’ve ever looked for biometric quick-access gun safe, you’ll know there are many options out there. Each has it’s own pros and cons. I currently use a SentrySafe Quick Access Biometric Pistol Safe QAP1BE as a drawer safe and wanted to test out some more options. I obtained the WINCENT Biometric Gun Safe for Pistols V2.0 to test out and compare. The WINCENT Biometric Gun Safe for Pistols V2.0 is a fairly large quick access biometric safe. There are 3 methods to get in to the safe – biometric via the fingerprint scanner, number code via the keypad, and keyed lock using the override key. This is the standard for biometric quick access type safes. One nice feature that the WINCENT safe has is an emergency USB-C port. If your safe runs out of battery (It takes 4x AAA batteries, which are included), you can plug in a USB-C cable connected to a battery pack or charger to gain access without having to find the override key. The safe offers the standard pre-drilled holes to secure the safe to a drawer or another location, as well as a security cable. This actually comes in quite handy if you were to use the safe for travel. The WINCENT Safe is both TSA Approved (it’s a hard-sided locked container), and a CA DOJ-approved firearm safety device. The WINCENT Safe is larger than the SentrySafe by a good amount, yet it’s slightly lighter. WINCENT Safe Dimensions: Exterior Dimensions: 13″ Wide x 10.2″ Deep x 3.2″ High Interior Dimensions: 12.5″ Wide x 6.9″ Deep x 2.6″ High Weight: 9.6 lbs (weighed on scale) SentrySafe QAP1BE Dimensions: Exterior Dimensions: 12.1″ Wide x 9.9″ Deep x 3.2″ High Interior Dimensions: 9.7″ Wide x 6.7″ Deep x 2.2″ High Weight: 11.9 lbs The size difference is more noticeable when you place pistols inside. The WINCENT can hold 2 full sized pistols with some room to spare. The SentrySafe can only hold a Full Sized pistol and a subcompact – and it’s a tight fit. The differences become more apparent when you look at the safes when they are open. The SentrySafe has a single latch while the WINCENT has 2 latches – this makes it more secure and less easy to open by brute force. The hinge is also internal on the top edge on the WINCENT, while the SentrySafe has a gas piston inside, which takes up additional space. The SentrySafe gas piston has also been a known issue – they have been known to go bad (however SentrySafe will send a replacement unit if this happens – mine has been replaced with the upgraded version). The WINCENT safe opens to a full 90 degrees, but takes a second to open while it swings up. The gas piston on the SentrySafe opens slightly faster, however the door does not open a full 90 degrees. Another nice feature of the WINCENT safe is that it has an internal LED light which provides some illumination of the contents. Comparing the methods of accessing the safes – the WINCENT safe is extremely quick and easy to access. You simply place your finger on the scanner, or enter the code on the 5-number keypad, and the safe will open. The SentrySafe is slightly more difficult. The fingerprint scanner is the swipe type – you have to move your finger down the swipe reader vs simply placing it on the square. It’s also a 4-button combo pad – which does not have numbers, so you need to remember the pattern. The biggest issue I have with the SentrySafe is that the safe goes to “sleep” – you must actually press one of the buttons or swipe your finger on the biometric reader for the safe to “wake up” then accept a finger swipe or the button code. This can take a little more time if you’re not used to fumbling around for it in the dark. Both safes have a backlit fingerprint reader and buttons that light up after a fingerprint scan or button push. Unfortunately, I found a slight drawback to the WINCENT safe – requires a good amount of room around it to be able to open. In my drawer, the SentrySafe is nestled up right against the corner and is touching the sides. The design of the door has it opening without issues. With the WINCENT safe – the design requires about half an inch of space on each side of the safe, or it will not open fully. The door rubs against the side of the drawer and the hinge needs space to open. The override key location is also on the front of the unit, and the USB-C Emergency port is on the right side. The override key is a straight-key design which will require some clearance on the front in order to access it if necessary. . These drawbacks are not a show-stopper. The WINCENT Safe is meant for general access while the SentrySafe is designed to be used as a drawer safe. I actually prefer the WINCENT Safe’s security and capacity. I will be using the WINCENT safe for general access around the house as this has the capacity and ease of access that I prefer. The ease of use of the fingerprint scanner and keypad is another reason to keep it around in the house and for travel. The WINCENT Biometric Gun Safe can be purchased directly from WINCENT.

We have an astounding ability as humans to progress, apply yourself for one month and the results become noticeable, 6 months can be substantial, 12 months? Limitless. Subjectively speaking, January 2018 I was just another "gun guy" who bought guns, gear and entertained myself with endless amounts of gun media, January 2019 I was attending SHOT show as an "industry insider" media creator. If you told me a year earlier this would happen I wouldn't believe you, but stranger things have happened. With pure luck I connected with a media mogul of industry early 2018, I contributed content to his media platform, becoming a writer in the industry as result. Late summer 2018 I was asked about attending SHOT to be at the forefront of the industry for 2019. Candidly it never crossed my mind being new to the industry, but in the weeks following I'm still digesting my first experience and which direction to take my writing. I came to the mecca of gun shows without expectations, from my interests I didn't anticipate seeing game changing products, but to educate myself further on what exists. Arriving in Vegas with a realistic mentality, my objectives were to meet existing industry partners, companies I intend on starting relationships with and find nuanced products. What I experienced was beyond my imagination....... Opening morning: RUNNIN' WITH THE BULLS Words only say so much about participating in a bull rush of 50,000+ gun loving attendees the opening morning of SHOT. When I walked through the doors to the main showroom it was immediate sensory overload, my eyes quickly and rapidly focused on different signage for brands within the industry I loved. With all of my nerves awakened and senses dialed in to the moment, entering SHOT show for the first time was one of life’s seldom moments you felt alive. I found myself surrounded by many well established and respected people in the industry. My naiveté in preparation for the event resulted in underwhelming interaction time with companies I planned to do business with, finding myself surrounded by bigger names and others who were better prepared for the show I perked up like a high school senior on prom night hoping to "fake it til I made it" in some cases it was successful, others not so much but nevertheless able to begin a rapport and exchange contact information. First and foremost I headed to Windham Weaponry, my “career” started with a review of the WW-308 and I wanted to meet the team who I only exchanged emails with prior. I praised their quality work up in Maine and shared the positive feedback from my review. Since published strangers have become friends thanking me for providing insight on a company who makes quality rifles at budget friendly prices. Having a voice in the industry remains unreal, if not for Windham Weaponry that voice wouldn’t exist! "Innovation" I realize I gravitate towards black guns and majority of my time invested at SHOT was spent attending booths in that demographic. Visiting LWRC, Daniel Defense, Knights Armament, Geissele, Trijicon, Nightforce, Magpul and other companies you'd expect; my mission was to see as much gear in person I normally wouldn't. Finding new, exciting products require a fine blend of creativity and hard work when looking at endless amounts of AR's, AK's, Handguns and their accessories. I can't say I discovered a plethora of new exciting products, however I found some that were noteworthy. Lee Armory is a quality American AK Manufacturer, assembling rifles from ROMARM parts Making A2 rifles great again One of my early stops was to Daniel Defense, discovering the new Omega Rail 7.0, a 6” drop-in rail which effortlessly converts A2 style AR15’s to a free float barrel. Offered in M-Lok and Quad Rail, the Omega installs using a front hinge and rear set screw to secure the rail while attaching to the existing delta ring. Notably both models bridge the gap over the ring and upper receiver with an additional inch of Picatinny rail space at the 12 O’clock position, providing end users with an additional 7” of real estate to run accessories. Converting an entry level rifle to a free float barrel can cost substantial time and money, Daniel Defense gains creativity points for inventing a cost evasive solution. The Daniel Defense Omega Rail makes converting A2 style AR's effortless Digital Action The Franklin Armory Providence directed plenty of traffic to their booth With a reputation for antagonizing the ATF and anti-gun states, Franklin Armory makes what seems an annual event to bring attention to their booth by releasing a new loophole defying firearm for SHOT show. The 2019 edition is the Providence Carbine and Pistol: the non semi-automatic, 1 bullet per trigger pull firearm chambered in 9mm. The Providence features "digital action" meaning your finger (digital) manually chambers and extracts each round. In absence of direct impingement or blowback operations, the firing sequence begins in Condition 3 with the bolt forward, chamber empty. The pull of the trigger extracts a round in to the chamber, the release of the trigger fires the round, your next pull of the trigger ejects the spent shell casing while chambering the next round Repeat until you're empty like shooting a revolver. The platform remains in early prototype, currently designed to accept Glock 19 magazines with future plans include modularity with Sig, Colt, HK magazines and caliber conversions to 10MM, 45, 40 S&W. Having dry fired the weapon, the trigger pull is heavy but if you live where semi-automatic guns are vilified, this is your work around! I found Franklin Armory's previous releases to be novelty items but if executed properly, the Providence shows promise. Currently legal in 49 states (not California, shocking) the Providence could be a great solution for those in other ban states who desire an AR-Pistol or full featured rifle. There's no set release date but for reference the Reformation which premiered at SHOT 2018 wasn't available until late 2018. Quality & Affordable red dot? In 2015 Leupold entered the Red Dot market with the LCO which is one of the best reflex sights on the market, but with a MSRP of $900 and a street price around $700 turns many customers. Leupold listened to the market and made further strides with their new Freedom RDS reflex optic. The RDS has an MSRP of $350 and anticipated street price of $250 with Leupold quality glass becomes affordable for the masses. I predict the RDS will push competitors to lower their prices, making a quality red-dot a "must" on every AR. REAL INNOVATION Bolt gun with AR technology, the Daniel Defense Delta5 is the complete package "Innovative" is a word thrown around liberally at SHOT often leaving yourself questioning if company representatives know what the word means, but when you hear it from Daniel Defense in regards to the Delta 5, believe it. The excitement opening day prevented me getting within 50 feet of the gun, day 2 I was able to spend an hour learning more about SHOT's most buzzworthy product. The chassis made by Daniel Defense is remarkably ergonomic with adjustable cheek rise and length of pull. True to their AR Roots, the Delta 5 is a modular, user friendly rifle. Chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor or 308 Winchester, swapping calibers is accomplishable by anyone with an armorer's wrench and hand tools to loosen the barrel nut. The only part not made by DD is the custom Timney trigger with an adjustable pull and has an extremely clean break. I don’t have much experience with bolt guns so I won’t elaborate further. What I do know is many black gun owners are becoming interested in bolt guns but may be unsure where to start, Daniel Defense is a familiar name they'll trust. Beyond "tactical" customers, the DD rep I spoke with mentioned another attendee, an avid hunter in a European country where they're tyrannically limited to 3 guns was ecstatic about the ability to run one chassis with multiple calibers. With an MSRP of $2200 and future plans for further modularity, the Delta5 offers a lot of gun for the money. The Daniel Defense Delta5 is the complete package RANDOM THOUGHTS, OBSERVATIONS I may have hiked through SHOT with fanatical focus, but wasn’t completely oblivious to my surroundings. My ADD makes it difficult to recreate every experience through words properly, but here's random observations I made in my 2 days: Magpul unveiled the new D-50 Drum magazine for AR-10’s on a Knight’s Armament SR-25. Not just any SR-25, one equipped with a Nightforce ATACR 1-8, Surefire Scout light, Law Tactical Folder, Magpul Pro Offset sights, Magpul Bipod, Magpul D-50, Magpul SL-S stock….with an $8500 configuration one of the most expensive guns I’ve held. It blew my mind the amount of people who attend SHOT just for the free swag. I easily saw attendees by the thousands loot the booths, filling their roller carts full of stickers, patches and gun paraphernalia...annoying when walking through a crowded showroom floor. If I get to the point I only go to SHOT for free stuff, that’s when I stop going, don’t be that guy. The best free thing from a booth? Hand sanitizer. Exhibitors take note, buy an economy pack of hand sanitizer so attendees can clean their hands, I'll stop by your booth every year, so will everyone else. If you plan to attend SHOT in the future, bring your own Hand Sanitizer and back load on Emergen-C a few days prior. Unless my previous point changes the future of SHOT. Best gun I held? HK MP5 in Flat Dark Earth Most unique gun of the show? The Q Mini-Fix “pistol” Coolest piece of swag? The Magpul 20 Year anniversary sticker and the gold Magpul Favorite Exhibitor? Knights Armament, if you’re an AR enthusiast and see them at a expo, strike up a conversation with any of their reps. You’ll learn a lot of history about the AR-15 and pioneers of this industry. They may not hand out coupons or swag, but you’ll gain a greater appreciation for America’s gun. Final Thoughts This wasn't a business trip it was a pilgrimage, now an annual routine as an industry "insider" to incubate new ideas for the gun world. Popping my SHOT show cherry was exciting, overwhelming, exhausting but importantly a positive experience. Attending SHOT wasn't a vacation to Vegas as a gun fanboy, it was a test of how well one can think outside the box, the willpower of a rookie to stand out in a league of gentlemen and put those ideas to work. My interests rapidly change, come January 2020 they may be different and I'll be taking on SHOT show differently. I’m unsure what those will be, but I'm eager to find out. The Q Mini Fix "Pistol" $8500 gun, no big deal

Well, I have been involved with this forum for quite a while now, and judging by my screen name, you can see I am an automotive enthusiast. I figured this would be a great way for members to get to know me better and experience my passion for cars as I grew up. I will start at the beginning and work toward present day.... I remember my Dad walking with me, and saying..... " you will grow out of this" ..... boy, was he wrong....lol I will include in this blog entry, my 1st car..... mostly because I have NO pictures of it, which makes me sad because it would have an obvious influence on the future of my hobby..... I bought my 1st car 6 months before I had my license ... It was a 1976 Pontiac Grand Lemans - It was Black.... It was 4 door, and it had a little 260cu in V8.... As all Pontiacs were known for, it had a beautiful dash layout and I did, of course, take it out for trips around the block before I had my license and when parents were not home.... I was a Senior in HS and once I got my license, my friends piled into that car and went everywhere..... but it would not last long. I beat the hell out of that car, and it was getting to the point where my parents wanted a more reliable car for me to go to college with..... so 6 months after I started actually driving the car..... it went away..... but it left a lasting impression on me, as you will see in my future rides....

Figure I would do a current entry.... I have been dealing with a No Start, No Crank Issue at times with the car. Seems to happen after longer drives, obviously with everything getting heat soaked under hood.... I would go to leave a Cruise Night and I would get NOTHING...... when it happened last year 2-3 times, there was not even a click from the starter. I already had a Powermaster Mini Starter, but I bit the bullet and bought a new one, and sent the old one back to Powermaster to have it rebuilt. Fast forward to this year...... thinking I had the problem solved. I went to a cruise night in Flemington 2 weeks ago.... 90+ min drive. Got there, started to rain..... went to leave after about an hour and No Start, No Crank....... crap. After a few minutes like always, it cranked fine and I headed home. Pulled into the garage, turned it off and tried to restart..... Click...... crap. Frustrated, I headed into the house and would deal with it in the morning. Well, as usual, it started fine in the morning, but I check battery voltage.... 13.2v sitting, and only dropped to 10.5v while cranking, not bad for a 15+-year-old Optima Battery. So I felt battery was not the issue. I highly doubt the new starter was an issue. It was time to look in other directions..... wiring and grounds... Well, I removed the positive cable that runs from Battery to Starter..... this was a nice fancy Steel Braided 4ga battery cable. Well, it looked like hell now, with plenty of green corrosion coming through the steel braiding, plus I found upon searching..... 4ga wire might be good for today cars, but will not carry enough amps for older muscle cars with larger engines. So instead of trying to find larger gauge battery cables the correct length..... Time to learn another skill. So I went ahead and made up my own battery cable. and then made up an additional ground cable. The new cable is very high grade and is 2ga. Just got done installing it...... Now, lets hope for the best....

Gun Retailers Brownell's - Brownell's is continuing their 3 coupon codes, offering discounts + free shipping. Faxon Firearms - Up to 50% off select parts for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, 15% off M&P Slides/barrels. Natchez Shooters Supplies - is offering 4 promo codes for Cyber Monday. 10% off $49.99+, $15 off $150, $25 off $250, and $35 off $350.  Promo code "DO181122. "Alternatively, there is Free Shipping on Orders over $150 or Free Hazmat for reloading components. (FH181122) Palmetto State Armory - Perhaps the best deals to be had this season! Whether it is ammo deals we previously discussed or $170 AR-15 uppers, this is the place to shop. Looking for an AR for under $350? Buy this kit and use your lower or add one! (and pin the stock, change out flash suppressor). A LOT on sale. Rainier Arms - If you are looking for something a bit higher end or more unique, Rainier Arms' Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale may be worth a look. Sportsman's Guide - Is offering up to 50% or more on many items. The caveat is, the best deals are only for members. If you are not yet a member or a customer, you can use a $20 gift card with $100 order, or $50 off $200. There is also the "Big Bang" event with savings on new firearms, ammo and optics. AR Parts Aero Precision - Cyber Monday Doorbusters & 15% off everything else! One such deal is the M4E1 lower with lower parts kit, $99 versus $174 regular price. Ballistic Advantage - Offering up to 35% off various parts such as their Sub-MOA guaranteed barrels. Free onyx patch with every order. Plenty of blem and closeout parts for extra savings! Other Stuff Amazon - While we buy a ton of stuff on Amazon, we generally don't think of Amazon for gun related purchases. I was thus pleasantly surprised to find some really good deals on reloading accessories like the Hornady brass tumbler, just $27.99, 63% off of the retail list price of $74.81! Best of all, it comes with 100 Free Bullets, by mail, from Hornady. We discussed this deal yesterday here. Other big savings deals are items like the Caldwell Lead Sled, Lead Sled 3, and GunVault Biometric Speedvault. AR500 Armor FREE Shipping on orders over $99 excluding targets Tiered Discounts 10% Off @ >$100 20% Off @ >$200 30% Off @ >$300 30% Off with Coupon Code: CYBERMONDAY Can be combined with Free Shipping Up to 40% Off + Free Shipping Plate Carrier Packages Armor Packages 50% Off all Targets 7 New Products 4 New Carriers 2 New Plates Tactical Stockings Link To Sale BerettaUSA - Cyber Monday Savings at BerettaUSA.com! Spend $250 Or More And Get 30% Off Your Entire Purchase Using Promo Code: BF18! Offer Valid 11/26 Only. One triple dip promo was on magazines, which we discussed yesterday. CrossBreed Holsters - Is having their biggest sale of the year with 20% off everything or 30% off and free shipping on orders over $150! LifeProof - LifeProof is offering 50% off Bluetooth Speakers, 50% off all clearance and 25% off all other cases and accessories. Add in free shipping! Bottle Breacher - Remember that cool bottle opener you saw on Shark Tank? There are Cyber Monday deals! Can make a good gift or stocking stuffer for non-gun people.

Well, the weather finally broke today..... and I decided to at least get GTO set-up to make next change.... This will be another chapter in upgrading brakes.... Car was originally a 4 wheel manual drum car..... that was quickly changed years ago to what was basically a 1970 Front Disc setup.... still no power assist. Result was not acceptable, but I drove it for a few years like that. What was wrong is that I used a 7/8" bore master cylinder which came recommended by most forums/threads/project threads to be the proper size. Well...... although a 7/8" master will put out plenty of pressure, it lacked pushing enough fluid volume for the big piston front disc brake calipers, result was a mushy pedal that in the end did not deliver enough braking force. After a few years of driving it that way.... and a few close calls. I made the decision and broke down and added a power booster for added stopping force. Now everywhere I read says that with Power Brakes.... go up to a 1 1/8" Master cylinder bore. Plenty of fluid flow and although gives less pressure, that will be made up by the booster. So that is what I installed ..... a 9" Booster and a Wilwood 1 1/8" Master. Result: Car stops VERY well now, but still wont lock brakes, so there is still more improvement to be had.Plus the pedal is very hard with very little movement. The other issue is, the Wilwood Master is a beautiful piece but is really not designed to work with a Power Booster since on a GM car the booster makes the whole setup angle upward. With the design of the Wilwood master, you cannot fill up the reservoirs past halfway. After speaking to a Wilwood rep, he agrees, their masters are better suited for manual brakes where the installation is horizontal. But I drove it this way for a few years keeping an eye on the fluid level. But now its time to give me a little piece of mind and replace the Wilwood master with a normal GM/Delco master that I can fill up properly. I am also going to go down from the 1 1/8" to a 1" bore master. This should give more pressure then the 1 1/8" master but still give me enough flow to work with the GM Disc caliper setup. This should also soften the pedal up a little to allow for more modulation under spirited driving.... So this afternoon I setup car on my lift and got her ready for surgery tomorrow....

Pictures will say it all... With the roof done, it was time for the main color. All I can say is the painter wanted perfection. He even did the right side over, because he was not happy with the first application.... Enjoy the pictures...

So here I was in my early 20's and making some money now working full time after dropping out of college and about to make my 1st major car purchase. This is where my car hobby hits a turning point, and in hindsight, I make the wrong choice, but I still have no regrets... I was a car enthusiast but really just a wheelman, I enjoyed driving…. Fast and aggressive… but at this point had NO experience with getting my hands dirty working on them, and this would influence my next purchase. I was about to spend a decent about of money on this next car, so that opened up my choices..... The year…. Somewhere around 1985. Smokey and the Bandit came out in 1977 and of course influenced a lot of us car guys, me included. So one of the cars on my list was a 2nd generation Trans Am… The other car on my list was a 1969 Camaro Z/28…. And what is now a car that is valued at over $60,000+ for a clean number matching car, could be bought for low to mid teens in 1985…. Here is where I might have gone wrong. A few of my fellow car buddies reminded me that car was very temperamental to be used as a daily driver. I was told the dual point distributor would alone be a headache to keep in tune. So with my very limited technical knowledge, I removed this car from my list….. So Dad and I went car shopping, with me looking for a mid to late 70’s TransAm. On a little side note, during our shopping on car dealer row on RT22 …. I took at a 76 Corvette 4 speed… and proceeded to scare the crap out of the poor salesman…. And here is where my Father’s influence came into play….. remember, he was not a car guy… So if a 77 TransAm is nice, then a 3rd generation 1982 TransAm MUST be better…. And since this car was about to be financed by the bank of Dad, I listened. So my 3rd car was purchased, a 1982 TransAm. It was a beautiful car, but the anemic small block chevy 305 was no Pontiac 400 that I was hoping for… 160 rip roaring horsepower. Of course, I cannot leave anything stock, I proceeded to do things to this car. Custom rims were a must, and also a decent stereo. The biggest mod was having T-Roofs cut into it. Cost me $1200… and yes they leaked a little, but worth every cent. One of the other things I had done was having the rear window tinted, and at this point, not many tint guys could work with that window, it was one of the most complicated pieces of glass ever installed in a car. But I found a guy who could tint it with 3 strips vs. other tinters using many more. Most guys were just installing louvers, but I wanted to be different. The biggest problem was that these early TransAms were not very durable, and with me trying to get every ounce of those 160hp to work for me, I ended up blowing up the rear twice and that weak Turbo200 trans once…. It was a great looking car…. Rattled badly, and was slow, but I still miss it to this day…

Well, after purchasing the GTO, I was not about to dump a lot of money into it right away. I had to sort of just enjoy it, until I could work up further funds for projects. So, I just keep it to little things, or some small items to keep it on the road. The first thing..... Whitewalls had to go, so for now, had them turned around to blackwall. I then had to have the radiator re-cored, but I knew that was coming, and I also installed a 180deg T-Stat. 2002 season was a little more productive. Replaced the shocks with some KYB's, and sold off the 14" Rally II wheels and purchased a set of 15" ones and bought a set of BFG Radial T/A's. As you can see in the photo with the 15" wheels, the 3 different shades of gray really show up.... Just something I was going to live with, I figured a paint job would not be for many years. A few other mods for 2002 - Replaced the leaking Ram Air exhaust manifolds and modified the distributor with a Pertronix Ignition module to get rid of the points... The highlight for me in 2002 was the winning of the Presidential Trophy at the GTOAA Regional Show. What made this special is that the guest speaker at the show gets to pick the winner of that trophy. The guest speaker was a Paul Zazarine, a renowned author, and Pontiac Historian. He was walking the show and came over to my car to talk about it, we had a great conversation about the documentation and history of the car. I had him sign the inside of the trunk lid and thanked him for the conversation. Later that night during the awards dinner, I was shocked when he came up to give his award and said my name..... I was speechless, and will always be one of my highlights of my life... Few links regarding Paul Zazarine http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hppp-1106-paul-zazarine-tribute/ https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjGhfG3s4vUAhXD5xoKHYy2ApoQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.findagrave.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Ffg.cgi%3Fpage%3Dgr%26GRid%3D129733982&psig=AFQjCNEylzU4-uGcuU7Mb_SSbOpPztMHng&ust=1495813977120484 At this point, being a member of the local GTOAA Chapter, I would be working my way to becoming Treasurer and then VP of the club, and also being a Concours Judge for future shows.... More Later.....

Hey y'all! After Researching for months i have decided to start my build So Heres a Blog On My First Part of my Build :-) Parts Installed: Anderson Lower Receiver CMMG Lower Parts Kit Magpul Polymer Trigger Guard, Flat Dark Earth UTG AR15 Ergonomic Pistol Grip, FDE AR-Stoner Buffer Tube Assembly 6-Position Mil-Spec Diameter AR-15 Aluminum Black Magpul Stock MOE FCS Fixed Carbine AR-15, LR-308 Carbine Synthetic Phase 5 Weapon Systems Inc Extended Bolt Release V2 First i bought the Anderson AR-15 Stripped Lower Reciever. Then I Installed the Magpul Polymer Trigger Guard, Flat Dark Earth I Bought the CMMG Lower Parts Kit And since i am going for A FDE Theme, I Decided to paint the Mag catch, Mag Release Button,Safety Selector and the Take Down pins. 3 Coats of white primer. Then after 24 Hours dry time i painted them with Master Model enamal Paint in Flat Dark Earth Then I color Filled the Markings on the Lower Receiver. After All the paint had 24 hours to fully cure I started installing the Lower parts kit into the lower Receiver After Installing all the lower parts kit and the CMMG Lower Parts Kit, Magpul Polymer Trigger Guard, Flat Dark Earth,UTG AR15 Ergonomic Pistol Grip, FDE, AR-Stoner Buffer Tube Assembly 6-Position Mil-Spec Diameter AR-15 Aluminum Black, Magpul Stock MOE FCS Fixed Carbine AR-15, LR-308 Carbine Synthetic, Phase 5 Weapon Systems Inc Extended Bolt Release V2 Next Onto The Upper Part. If you like it so far stick around to see it finished. Thanks for reading my first blog. :-)

So, in preparation for me going to college, my parents wanted a more reliable car. So halfway through my Senior year in HS, we sold the Lemans, and I somehow convinced my parents to allow me to buy a car with a standard transmission. Not an easy sell, since neither of my parents were car enthusiasts. I had self-taught myself how to drive a stick by a co-worker at my job, letting me take is 70's Ford Pinto around the restaurant in the wee hours of the morning as we were cleaning up for the night..... So the next car was 1979 Toyota Celica..... little did my Dad foresee how much I would mod this car.... So much for me "growing out of this" ..... Yeah.... I went nuts. I will admit, I had very little hands on mechanical training at this point, so most of the mods I had done by shops. I had all the emission controls removed off of the 20R engine, then had a Weber Downdraft Carb installed, a Hooker header and full ANSA exhaust. I am pretty sure I did Koni's and sway bars all the way around, larger wheels and tires.... Front Air Dam, headlight covers, fog lights, sunroof and all the other required bolt on crap that was available back then... That car handled VERY well and scared quite few of my friends on the local back roads. My best friend also had a Celica, his was a 78. We spent a lot of time on my driveway cleaning and polishing these cars..... good times. Well, college did not really agree with me, and once I dropped out after Freshman year, and started working fulltime, the increase in income allowed me to look at getting into my 3rd car.....