hardline_42

I find it ironic that the guy who cried "child abuse" didn't have any problems diving onto a 4-year old kid, stepping on half the passengers' backs and then climbing onto the bus driver and almost choking him out just to try and save his own skin.

I have both. The Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 Express are comparable. The 870 Wingmaster and Police are head and shoulders above the Mossy in fit and finish. That being said, the Mossberg is much more user-friendly. All of the functions (safety, slide release) can be operated with one hand without disturbing your grip. Loading is also much easier because the shell lifter is in the 'up' position when the breech is closed, allowing for snag-free loading with your weak hand and healthy, glowing thumb cuticles. I usually have to turn my Remies upside down and hold the lifter out of the way with my other hand to avoid getting my thumb or gloves snagged.

My brother just recently got his FID and the girl at Staples told him it that laminating his FID would void it. I'm sure that birth certificates and the like probably shouldn't be laminated, but I've never had issues with my laminated FID so I told him to have her do it anyway.

Metal Injection Molding

I understand what you're saying and I don't think it's unreasonable. I honestly thought your comment was thinly veiled disapproval of my choosing a rifle as my primary HD tool with the usual "facts" about rifle over-penetration as the reason. With regards to minding the safety of those around me, I think it's an important consideration, no doubt. But I also think it needs to be tempered with my primary objective for owning a gun, which is to keep myself and my family safe. If concern over my neighbor being the victim of my stray bullet was my primary objective, I wouldn't own a gun in the first place. Granted, that doesn't preclude me from doing everything in my power to prevent that from happening (shot placement, training, ammo selection, training, establishing safe "shooting lanes" on my property, training, etc.).

So, I didn't read through all that, but basically it says that bad guys will drop like dominoes at the sound of me racking my shotgun loaded with "non-lethal" ammo, right?

That's centimeters of penetration into ballistic gel after penetrating a wall. Basically, the worst case scenario: you miss the target, punch through an interior wall and hit something/someone on the other side.

Not sure if this is what you're referring to: I'm not sure about a pistol caliber carbine. You might be right, but with all those gov't agencies switching from 9mm SMG's to an AR platform, it makes you wonder.

Who's safety are we talking about here? Because when I'm in a situation where shooting an attacker is even an option, then my and my family's safety is my number one concern, and that means using the best tool for the job. I've heard plenty of "stories" on how a shotgun full of 00 buck will spread out into a 3 foot cloud of death within 6" of the muzzle, mow down all the bad guys lined up in your hallway and then plink against the far wall of your living room and fall to the floor. A .45 will cut anything in it's path in two, leave a wound channel the size of the Holland tunnel and then turn mid air to find the nearest wall stud to embed itself into. And you never miss because a 4" sight radius with a 2 foot eye relief held steady by arms pumping with adrenaline is deadly accurate. But, the second you mention a rifle for home defense, all of a sudden a .223 will zip right through your target, all of your kids, your grandmother, your neighbor's grandmother, a pet shop full of puppies and an orphanage, then boomerang back around and tag you in the nuts. The bottom line is that any round capable of stopping an attacker will penetrate walls, and, with most ammunition, man-stopping shotgun and pistol rounds penetrate more than a .223. So when I say that over penetration is "secondary," I mean it's a moot point when in comparison to the benefits of a rifle for my particular HD needs vs. other platforms that are supposedly (but not really) more "neighbor-friendly."

16"bbl Saiga .223 with Hornady TAP 55 grain JHPs. I have neighbors, but I think the rifle is a better choice than a handgun or shotgun for HD and, for me, over penetration concerns are secondary to stopping the bad guy.

I've rolled plenty of fenders with just a heat gun and careful use of a hammer. Once the area is nice and warm (to prevent the paint from cracking) you can just place a towel or rag over the fender lip and tap it in a little at a time across the entire length until it sits flush. If you want a "specialty" tool but don't want to go whole hog with the roller, I suppose you could try this.

I read the article on the Art of Manliness website when it came out. I think a lot of people missed the part where he said it was a "fun" project and was done tongue-in-cheek to poke fun at the fact that he makes his living as a survival consultant or something along those lines. It's definitely not the "ultimate survival shotgun" but he makes interesting use of it in ways I never would've thought to do myself.

Probably off-topic, but given the issues with red dot sights and HD target distances, is there an equivalent "point-&-shoot" type of sight that would work in that role?

I have an older hunter friend who got his FID card back in '68 or '69. He's never moved or had any reason to get a new card. When I told him about the whole rigamarole to apply for one nowadays, and the fact that it took seven months for mine to be processed, he practically fell out of his treestand. He said back then it was just as you described it, right down to making small talk with the local police officer.

Looks like it could be a viral ad for the "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" movie.