Melgamatic

I recently bought a set of XS Big Dot sights for my G34. They changed my random pattern to a tack driving pattern. Shot 100 rounds at an 8x10 target at 20 yards this weekend, only three were outside the big ring, only 8 out of the 10 ring. This was completely different than previous times, when 100 rounds would pretty much form a random Monte Carlo pattern over the whole target. In any case, the XS Sights came in an "Express Set" which included the nylon punch and nut driver to remove the factory sights and install them on my own. It took me less than 20 minutes, being very careful, and watching the XS installation video on Youtube multiple times: James Yeager also has one, but he doesn't do it the way the factory would have you do it. In any case, 20 minutes later I was done, had the sights installed, shot better with that G34 than I ever have. I got the GL-0001S-6, the 24/7 Std. Dot Tritium Express Set, which fits the G17, 19, 22-24, 27, 31-36 and 38 models. Bought it at Midway because XS themselves were out of stock. -Melgamatic

Tip's Hardware has 15-round Magpul PMAG magazines in stock. They are $40 each. I winced a little and bought 3, but it turns out a good price for a Magpul brand PMAG 20- or 30- round magazine is around $25, so I'm willing to pay $15 to get them modified. They are plastic (very nice, thick, cool plastic), shortened units. -melgamatic

My town appears to take around 30-40 days. They aren't holding up anything on purpose, and claim that any delay at all comes from the state domestic violence records search. At $2 each for handgun purchase permits, I am just going to order 2 new ones every 90 days when they expire, and if I end up not using them I'm out $4. And I've learned never to order just one; at $2 more just order 2 at a time. Why not have one in the pocket anytime you're in the toy store? On a related note, it's actually been close to 10 years since I got my FID card, and the same 10 years since I got my one handgun purchase permit. I've heard that every 5 years they take a new set of fingerprints when you go for new permits; can anyone confirm, or is that just the local custom? =Melgamatic

> I've been a customer for over 25 years. Yes, and the blue jeans you ordered in 1984 are waiting for you on the rack!

On a typical range visit I'll shoot maybe 10 clips of 8 shots in my M1 Garand, then perhaps 6 15 round magazines in 2 223 rifles, which brings me up to (8*10) + (2 * 6 * 15) = 260 at the rifle range. Then, move over to the pistol range, and I usually shoot one 100 round box of 9mm, bringing me to 360. Then, if we're feeling good and it's not too late and there's nothing going on at home, we'll plink with the 22's for a while, so thats 360 rounds plus anywhere from 50 to many hundred 22's.... I shot less M1 this past weekend because even after the first shot I could feel my shoulder aching, so I probably only shot 40 30-06 rounds, and I stuck with the surplus/CMP/Lake City rounds instead of using our nicer, slightly lower load reloads. -melgamatic

I know it won't be ideal, but are there pump action 12ga shotguns which could be used reasonably effectively for both trap and 3 gun competition? I need it to be pump for 3-gun... Or do they require completely distinct qualities? Melgamatic

I heard about the backlog on Colt AR's and decided against them because of the timeframe. Then, walked into BulletHole in Belleville, said what's that, and it was a Colt Match Target HBAR Compensated 20", or MT6700C. They had at least two of them (one new one on display, mine new in the box in the basement, might be more). Walked out with it at MSRP. Shot it last weekend, probably my favorite 223. I was planning to do high power matches with my M1, but I think the MT6700C is going to get the first pass. -Melgamatic

I bought my M1 Garand from Tony Giacobbe "The Garand Guy." http://www.garandguy.com/index.html I didn't know a ton about the M1, but Tony showed me a lot of different quality rifles, and I picked the "Super Premium Grade" with the Criterion barrel, which cost $1050 minus an "instant $100 rebate" for $950. It is stunningly beautiful. I get nothing but complements and appreciative glances at the range. I have put around 500 rounds through it, and it is wonderful. Shoots great, makes me smile, "pings" after the 8th shot. I sent him an email, he responded very quickly and we met the next weekend and sealed the deal. Very friendly guy, easy to work with. He is also an FFL, and I don't know his fee but I suspect it would be very reasonable and he wouldn't give you a hard time. He is in Rahway, and is associated with the NJ Firearms Guild, but has most of his stock at an alternative location. -Melgamatic

Took a trip to Gene Salomon's this past Sunday. They have strange hours, and the only time they're open on the weekend is sometime on Sundays. They're on Yellowbrook Rd in Farmingdale, but I don't know the phone number and they'll be the last place on earth to get a website. This place is a fascinating place. It is small, like the Bullet Hole, except that the entire middle part of what would be the open part of the store is full of a giant pile of crap. I'm talking a clothing display with 15 pairs of bell bottom bluejeans with 20+ years of dust, a few ratty coats from the 1940's, etc. The store is dark, lighted by perhaps 3 20 year old 20 watt flourescent bulbs. They don't take credit cards, don't give receipts, and add up your order on piles of scrap paper. It is musty and dusty. They have around 12 old sad looking rifles and shotguns on one wall, all used I think, and around 6 handguns (there were more last time I was there). On the other hand, they actually have reloading supplies, primers, bullets, powder, etc. They seem to have ammo as well. We bought a bunch of Hornaday bullets at very good price for reloading last time, and they've had the powder we needed. They were out of IMR4895 on Sunday (or almost out), but they seem to be getting more in stock. On the other hand, if you ask for powder one of the guys disappears for 15 minutes to get it and find out if they have it in stock (I'm not exaggerating on the time). They have a good selection of dies, lead balls, etc. So, GOOD ==> bullets and powder for reloading in stock. BAD ==> the dirtiest, murkiest store you've ever been in. I'm not kidding you when I tell you that 30 minutes with a trash can and a vacuum would change this place drastically, but I think the old guys running the place don't care. They seem to be doing a great business in the few hours a week they're open. I've also heard they'll order the guns you want and charge a reasonable price, but I have no direct experience. They also seem to run some kind of trap shotgun league in the field out front. There were a lot of guys shooting when I was there, and seeing the fancy cars (two Porsche's, etc) parked in front of the rotting cement block bunker that is Salomon's makes me laugh. -Melgamatic

Took a long drive down to Tip's Hardware this past weekend. They are in West Creek, here is their website: http://tipshardware.net/index.html It's a pretty big hunting/fishing store, with quite a few guns in stock. They had more evil black rifles than I've seen in one store in a long time. The pictures on their website firearms page is true; the one case probably has 6-8 rows of 5 EBRs each. Many used, some new. A 24" DPMS panther with the SS barrell, a few new various Colts, etc. Maybe a S&W MP-15, etc. I talked with a nice younger guy, mid-20s with a big arm tattoo. They had the percussion caps my buddy wanted, but no powder in stock. Medium selection of new handguns, but I didn't check them out too carefully. They had the ammo I wanted (the 100 loose boxes of Winchester "range" 9mm) at a reasonable price. They also had, wonder of wonders, 15-capacity AR mags. They are shorted Magpul magazines. Very nice quality, completely NJ legal, exact 15 shot length. Very slick, really nice. They only problem, they were priced at $40 each. On the other hand, Magpul PMAG's seem to MSRP for around $25, so paying $15 for the labor (and maybe new spring) to convert to 15 shots seems pretty reasonable. I also have some "lanced" magazines, but these are absolutely and clearly NJ legal. I used them this weekend, and they worked absolutely perfectly. So, thumbs up on Tips. Amazing EBR selection, tons of shotguns, etc. If I was looking for another AR-15 style rifle, they would be very high on my list, especially if I was interested in a bargain on a high quality used one. -Melgamatic

Hi. I found the forums through a random google search with some combination of "gun stores" "new jersey" and "forums" but not sure of the exact search. I've been looking for a place to discuss NJ gun issues and stores; this seems great. -Melgamatic

I bought one of the S&W MP-15 rifles they had. It was shockingly priced at $1818. I bought it anyway, having AR-15 money with me. Turns out that was actual exactly MSRP for the model selected, which included F&R Troy Industries folding BUIS. Most stores are friendly when you give them close to $2000, these guys were not particularly. I guess it is common in some stores, but paying $15 (I think that's how much it was) when buying a $2000 rifle seems greedy to me, but that's the way it goes. Prices for new guns appears to be MSRP. Pricing for used guns seemed very high to me, but I am not an expert there. They have a decent ammo selection, reasonable sight selection, lots of misc gun stuff (bought a Lula loader for AR-15 mags). Hunting supplies galore. Trying to get counter help at lunch times appears to be impossible. They do not appear to be so anxious to help people they do not know. -Melgamatic

I have bought 3 long guns from the BH recently due to the guns being available. One for around $500, one for around $1800 and one for around $2300 (all at approximate MSRP). And then another $500 of ammo and stuff. The same family members are there each time. And yet they treat me like another stranger off the street. I don't expect them to know my name, but there ought to be some recognition, no? The transactions have been smooth. No additional cost for the FID check (although at the price levels I've been paying it's clearly embedded in the price). Willingness to start a sale at 8:20pm and get the phone call to the state done before the 8:30pm deadline. I just wish for a little more friendliness. I guess all gun store staff are just completely busy all the time, but I buy coffee at a starbucks which has got a 10+ person line for 12 hours a day, and they still manage to be friendly... So, I'd buy another gun there. If Firearms Guild in Rahway had the same thing at the same price (or even close) I'd buy it there to promote my relationship with a more friendly shop, but they're ok. They have silly restrictions on ammo purchases now, but I guess some stores do. As for their range, it's a nightmare in my opinion. I've been there twice, once each to test out new .223 rifles. One time was at opening time on a weekday, the other was an hour after opening on a Saturday. The Saturday was bedlam, with a line of people waiting, various people shooting guns they had very little experience with in slightly scary ways, overwhelming range officers (but given the audience I don't blame them), 30 minute sessions that last around 22 minutes, etc. There were some young men working (probably 15 years old) that were friendly and polite, but the "Guns for Hire" crew were not so nice. Even on the weekday morning, the range went from pleasant to crowded and strange quickly. Forget about your brass. They have an off duty officer sweeping your brass into the collector gutter as fast as you can shoot. They have a bunch of 55 gallon drums full of your brass outside the side of the store, and I bet they make a very nice profit off that. (I understand that most of their wannabee gangsta and CC qualification folks probably don't need their brass, but they ought to make it at least possible). In summary, buying guns ==> OK, full MSRP, decent selection, various interesting AR-15 guns in the last few weeks. Buying ammo ==> not great, decent selection, purchase limits, high price, highest price on CMP 30-06 ammo I've ever seen. Range ==> great if you are an off duty LEO who is friends with the owners, not so great otherwise. -Melgamatic

Unlike the managers of many other NJ gun shops, Joe actually recognizes his customers and is friendly and polite. It was only my second visit to the store when I felt like he at least knew roughly who I was and that I was a potential future customer. He was slightly remote the first visit, but after my companion bought a handgun, he realized we actually buy stuff. I've bought a lot of ammo there (they seem to get regular shipments of the ammo I need) at completely reasonable prices. Their long gun prices seem slightly high, but handgun prices seem completely market correct. I've also had the wonderful experience of having a salesman briefly stop a very long running handgun purchase transaction to quickly help me buy something at the register. With gun purchases often taking 30+ minutes, it doesn't take long to completely use up the three or four salespeople when they're busy. Having salespeople occasionally able to do very quick, interrupt-driven transactions makes the whole store flow better.