ClangClang

I would highly recommend talking to a shop that specializes in safes. They can point you in the right direction and sell you something that will actually fit your needs. The extra $100-$200 you'll spend is well worth it, because whatever you're protecting inside the safe is worth far more than that. Different safes have different design specifications. For instance, you should not expect a "gun safe" to adequately protect documents and valuables from fire or flood unless it is specifically rated to do that. And even if a gun safe has a fire rating, to protect documents and electronic media, you need a much stronger fire rating than the average gun safe would have because guns are much more heat tolerant than a passport or a hard drive storing 10 years of family photos. IIRC, a fire-safe for documents and electronics has to keep the internal temperature below 250-300 degrees. Fire-rated gun safes are allowed to get considerably hotter. The most cost effective solution I came up with is have a large gun safe bolted to the framing of your house to protect against theft, with a small fire/flood safe on the top shelf (only $50) to hold your valuables. A full size gun safe with an equivalent fire rating would be extremely expensive. But if you want to save a couple bucks, Costco is a great place to get a safe. Same for any of the other big-box retailers, as long as you're willing to do your research first so you get something that fits your needs.

Are you coming up with your retirement plan?

Haha, HD, thanks for the offer but I passed on the rifle. You could ask the seller if he'll let it go for $20, but at the price he was asking, I think he might decline. Thanks for the input everyone, I had a feeling that he was asking too much, but it never hurts to get a 2nd (or 9th) opinion. Much obliged!

I have an opportunity to pick up a ban-compliant Smith&Wesson M&P 15. I *believe* it is the 'Sport' model but I'm not 100% sure. It is the M&P15 ORC model. It would be my first AR. The stock is already pinned and he is including one 10 rd mag. Can anyone help me determine what might be a fair purchase price for this rifle? As I recall, it has the 16" heavy bull barrel, the internals are all stock and have not had any gunsmithing work done. Here are the main upgrades: EOTech 512 with 3X Mag. and mount Magpul BAD Lever Magpul MAiD Hand grip Magpul Mbus Backup Sights Magpul ASAP Sling Mount With Single point sling Midwest industries Rail Surefire E2D with mount 10 Round Mag Here's a pic: Also, any specific questions I should ask when talking to the seller? I've already asked about round count, his cleaning habits, etc.

As everyone has said, no documentation is needed (from the seller) in NJ for a sale or purchase of a shotgun or rifle when both parties are legal residents of NJ. All you need to do is each fill out the COE form linked above and store it in a safe place.

You missed the important part in the original post: There was no shooting anyone with a spoon. OP was saying that if the defendant were NOT a cop, it would have played out as he described it... "While being served an arrest warrant, the perpetrator pulled out what was believed to be a weapon and was shot by the arresting officers."

Anyone know of any good credit unions local to Bergen County?

Just a heads up... my target date to start collecting payments from interested parties is going to be about 9/21 with the order going in around 9/30. If people would start PM'ing me their intent to purchase (along with what exactly they want to order) it would help to get a head start on calculating exactly what discount we'll be eligible for. Please send me: -Your name -Your location -Your desired order. Please include things like "pouches on carrier front and rear for plates along with 2 steel trauma plates"

Just backing up what EchoMirage is saying... he's an absolute beast on that AR. I've never seen transitions or reloads so fast or fluid in my life (outside of the MagPul Dynamics videos, which are in a class of their own). I saw no egregious safety violations at all that day other than my own actually... I stabilized my holster with my left hand while reholstering once or twice, accidentally covering my left fingers for a brief moment. A stern reminder from the RO was all I needed to drop that bad habit. I'd never used a holster before.

That fool is going up the river for a good long time.

Of course not. The restrictions on owning a firearm are very similar to the restrictions on owning a vest. Therefore, I am requesting that any buyers have an FID so that I can ensure that (at least, at some point in time) they were eligible to own a firearm, and therefore able to own a vest. In theory, I could be held criminally negligible for distributing vests to prohibited persons so this is the best measure of protection I can think of for myself to help mitigate that risk.

Agreed. Out of sight, out of mind. As long as your papers are in order, you dont have spent casings (or live ammo) rolling around on your backseat, and you aren't drunk, if you get pulled over, you'll usually walk away with a warning or even a ticket, but you wont have the cop asking to search your trunk. Driving around with body armor, while not illegal, can certainly seem suspicious and can lead to a cop inquiring further. Even if everything in your trunk is 100% legal, half the cops don't know the law, and any cop feeling like being a jerk can ruin your entire month by citing or arresting you for something, even if it's total BS.

The biggest thing I noticed was total inconsistencies between RO's in how they ran each stage. Each one of them interpreted the course description differently based on their own experiences (preferences?) and as a result, there's no real way to compare times between each of the teams. As EchoMirage said, our guy was a real hard a**, calling out procedurals left and right. I also happened to notice that he wasn't at the actual intro/safety talk where the guy who ran the match (don't know his name) laid down the rules, or lack thereof, when it came to accuracy. He was wheeling his gun stroller over from the parking lot. The very first stage we shot he was awarding credit for shots within the ring only, until his turn to shoot, and I "reminded" him that the head guy said that RO's should award credit for anything resembling a headshot, "even if it catches a wisp of hair," and it gave him a couple extra points, so from then on, we used the total head as an acceptable target area. I'd like to definitely shoot more of these 3 gun matches. I also need to get my own rifle, stat. Big thanks to Krdshrk for lending me his SKS. I think whatever I buy (leaning towards a Saiga) will most certainly be detachable magazine fed and have nothing to do with stripper clips at all. For anyone who's considering shooting one of these in the future, I think it would have been really beneficial to find a rule book and read through it first. I got called on TONS of procedurals (pretty much at least one for every stage that involved movement).

It was great meeting some folks today and putting faces with usernames. I had a great time at my first match and learned a whole lot. Also, I had a chance to speak with one or two of you about the armor group purchase, but if you still have any questions, feel free to PM me. Important lessons of the day When shooting a match, don't use an SKS If using an SKS, first learn how to properly load stripper clips. Quickly. XS Big Dot sights on a pistol or great for home defense, not so great for longer distance accuracy shooting Bring more water and some food Don't confuse human targets with zombie targets It would be really nice to have a tacticool'ed AR with an EOTech Can someone post a link of where results will be posted?

I think the plan was that we would just compete at different times so we could both use the rifle and his Mossy 500. I picked up a remington 870 today at the middletown show but it's only got a 4+1 (for now) instead of the 7+1 on his mossberg so we'll use his rifle and shotty and my glock. I also picked up a holster and mag holster so I think we're covered on all fronts. I'm kinda psyched! Will be watching the Magpul DVD's all night long

No AK, but he has an SKS. I don't plan on trying to win this thing anyway, so I don't really mind reloading off stripper clips... I'll be happy to use a loaner if anyone is offering though Also, what time should this whole shindig be over?

I'm in and bringing a buddy too.

8 years of of regular use, and then another 17 years of dormancy and still effective. I'm impressed! As has been said, the lifespan of a vest depends on how well it was treated. Day to day use doesn't really degrade the protection, but improper washing and chemical/UV exposure are big no-no's. Refurbished vests have all been inspected by the manufacturer and recertified for another 5 years. I do not believe used vests carry this guarantee. For more info, read it straight from the horse's mouth: How good are those police surplus vests?

Just snagged a serpa paddle holster from a buddy as gift. I'm also going to bring a friend who has a Mossy 500 and an SKS, so between the two of us we'll have everything. We'll definitely be slower on account of using a rifle with stripper clips, but that's life. Will anyone have some sort of belt holster for Glock 19 magazines and/or shot shells that I can borrow for the day?

Correct, as long as you don't need one of the larger sizes. If you need a tall and/or XXL, the price goes up by $30, pre-discount. Yup, same discount. Full products and pricing here: http://www.bulletproofme.com/Body_Armor_Accessories-SIDE-Rifle-Protection.shtml

Good advice. Gonna head up early as well. Want to carpool and save on gas?

Everything under "Police Surplus" (AKA everything I've talked about) is standard concealable armor just like a police officer would wear. Cotton/Nylon outershell with ballistic panels front and back. Full wrap side protection under the arms (unless you specify differently). You can also specify whether you want pouches on the front and/or back of your carrier to hold additional plates... you can get a soft pad (increased ballistic protection and blunt trauma protection), a steel plate (increased stab/fist protection with moderate ballistic improvement), or a full ceramic rifle plate rated to defeat 7.62 and .30-06 rifle rounds.

Used is actually used. Both the carrier and ballistic panels were owned and lightly used, and now are being sold to you. "In good condition, but some cosmetic wear on the outershell. Or we have replaced or repaired the outershell carrier so it looks Like-New - but you can see cosmetic sweat stains on the nylon shell to the ballistic panel. We wash the Polyester/Cotton outershell and deodorize the ballistic panel with Vest Guard" Refurbished means Factory Inspected & Refurbished with new outershell to look Like-New.... you get a new carrier AKA outershell and the ballistic panels are inspected and recertified for full protection levels.

Anyone going up to the gun show in Middletown NY this weekend? 325 tables. It takes place Saturday and Sunday, Sept 10-11. I'm probably going up on Saturday. More info here: http://users.erols.com/fasttrack/loc/mid/MIDDLETOWN.htm Make sure to visit the link above and print out a coupon to save money on entrance fees!

First of all, Maks if this is inappropriate, please delete it. Just trying to pass on some savings to everyone here. I've met a couple forum members (GunForHire, RayRay, dgp1000) and they've been nothing but generous with their time and advice so I'm doing what I can to pay it forward. IF YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN BUYING A VEST PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST. YOUR QUESTION HAS MOST LIKELY BEEN ANSWERED. If you are interested in purchasing a vest at 10% off with free shipping, read further. With the discount, vests start at $171 and go up from there. Basic Info I am an EMT with a squad in Bergen County and a number of our members, as well as some local paramedics, are putting in a group order on body armor. While I don't want to go blathering my agency info across the internets, I'm happy to provide agency info, my FID, my state EMT ID, etc as proof of my identity. Additionally, the 3 members listed above can confirm that I exist and am not a Nigerian scammer. I will also be at the OBRPC Zombie 3 Gun Match this weekend and presume I will meet a whole stack of other forum members who I imagine might be willing to testify that I'm a straight shooter (no pun intended). Finally, I have years and years of flawless Buy and Sell feedback on numerous online forums and ebay which I am happy to provide. (And to top it all off, I know not to screw over a bunch of gun owners haha!) Armor is completely LEGAL to own in NJ if you are capable of owning a gun. Hence, if you do want to order, you'll need to be 18 or older and have a matching FID and driver's license. That's the only way I can protect myself from distributing vests to an ineligible party. I apologize in advance if this inconveniences anyone. Why Do I Want A Vest? I work in a crappy neighboorhood I shoot at a range with too many idiots SHTF scenarios The coming zombie invasion (I'm looking at you RayRay) Why not? Ballistics For the intents of the vests available here, there are several levels of protection as rated by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ): Level I - Vietnam War flak vests. Not in use any more. Level IIA - Most basic level of protection recommended to be used today. These vests are available in limited quantities. Average of 4mm thick. Rated to defeat 9 mm FMJ at ~1,090 fps or .357 Magnum JSP at ~1,250 fps Level II - What most cops wear. Good compromise of safety, flexibility and concealability. Average of 5mm thick. Rated to defeat 9 mm FMJ at ~1,175 fps or .357 JSP at ~ 1,395 fps Level IIIA - Most protection available in a soft vest before going to hard plates. Average of 8mm thick. Rated to defeat 9 mm FMJ at ~1,400 fps (e.g. sub-machine-gun velocity) or .44 Magnum Lead Semi-Wadcutter at ~1,400 fps Level IV - Defeats some rifle rounds. Additional trauma plates must be worn on top of the vest to achieve this level of protection. More info below. For a Level II vest, prices start at $190 for a used vest, $240 for a refurbished vest, and $360 for all brand new materials, all the way up to $600 for the state of the art, ultra thin, soft vests. It seems most people plan on purchasing refurbished Level II vests, myself included. You can then take 10% off these prices. Ordering Process Everyone will need to be measured and vests are custom sized for your measurements. On that note, used vests are NOT custom. You will only be able to buy used if they have one that fits your measurements in stock, however the vendor states that they have "thousands" of used vests and can fill most orders. You will need to provide me your measurements to get a vest. A guide with full color pictures is available to help you in making measurements. www.bulletproofme.com is the vendor fulfilling this order. Anything you want on their website can be ordered through this group purchase and you will receive 10% (or possibly more, depending on final numbers) off your order. I encourage anyone interested in a vest to browse their website and see what's available. They have asked me to be the "point man" on this order, so if you have generic questions, please post them here instead of inundating them with phone calls. I've already spent a good deal of time on the phone with them. Anything I can't answer I will of course pass on to one of their sales reps. I will be placing the order around the last week of September or first week of October. I have to take payment in full prior to the order going in. I can take either Paypal or personal check, your choice. I don't want to take payments just yet... I'm going to be doing a bit of traveling between now and then and don't want to take people's money when I'll be on the road and be in very limited contact - that's just bad form. Rest assured, BulletproofMe's 100% guarantee still applies - if you are not satisfied, they'll take a return, no questions asked within 14 days of delivery, less a 5% restocking fee. When the vests are shipped to me you can pick them up from me in Bergen County, and I will also be happy to meet you at one of my local ranges - most likely BulletHole or something at Cherry Ridge. OBRPC is a possibility too. I probably won't drive further south than that though. What now? So to recap, if you're interested in a vest (or kevlar helmet, riot shield, ballistics blanket, etc) go check out www.bulletproofme.com and get an idea if anything interests you. And then post here (or PM me if you wish to remain private) if you're interested in anything. Also post your questions here so I can answer them because I'm sure everyone will benefit from reading them. As soon as the date gets closer, those who intend on making a purchase will get more info reagrding dates, measurements, payment, etc. I think that covers everything. Whew.