Old Dog

Just bought and fired a Ruger 1911 Commander. It has a 4.25" barrel which I feel, balances better in the hand than a 5" full size. I have to say that this 1911 impressed the heck out of me. For $700 I was not expecting the features and performance I found. The trigger was great and the gun was easy to get back onto target quickly. I spent a good time reviewing this gun because it impressed me that much. I have spent much more than this on 1911's. I even attempted to compete with a Kimber Custom about 10 years ago and could never get to where I wanted to be with it and switched to shooting 9mm's in competition where I did much better. If I had this gun I would have stuck with it as it is the best shooting gun I have shot in a very long time. Perhaps that is better said that it is the gun I shoot best out of over 50-60 guns I have bought in the last 12 years, 30 just in the last 3 years alone. I had just about given up on 1911's and sold off the 5 I had. All of my past 1911's were either 5" or 3". The 5 inch did not feel good in my hand. The balance was off and I tend to point shoot. The 3" 1911's were not reliable enough for carry according to my standards and no fun at the range. After 25 rounds of pounding my old arthritic hands, they would shake so bad I had to stop shooting. Now with this baby. I shot 100 rounds of FMJ and 25 rounds of JHP without a problem. In fact, I was mad at myself for not bringing enough ammo. You could say that like Goldilocks, I found a 1911 that is just right. Not too small and not too big. The fact that it is all steel and 36.5 ounces rather than having an aluminum frame like so many smaller 1911's do these days, makes it shoot and handle as well as the full sized version. As I said in my blog review, I think that the Ruger 1911 commander sized gun is one of the best values in 1911's today. It is as good or better than 1911's I bought that cost over a thousand dollars. It is priced like a gun made overseas but has the quality that Ruger is famous for. They even somehow managed to get the trigger right so that you do not need to do anything to it. it broke at about 4.5 lbs and the reset is nice and short. I was knocking out the center of the target during rapid fire and putting them in a 5" circle at 25 yards without benefit of a bench rest and that is good for someone my age with bad hands and eyes. I was thrilled with the gun. Admittedly it is kind of heavy for all day carry since all of my other carry guns are under 20 ounces. I can carry 8 rounds of 9mm +P in my pocket at 15 oz. or 8 rounds of .45 ACP on my belt at 36 ounces. These days the 9mm is no slouch like it was in the old days and I am as comfortable with its ability to stop bad guys as any other round. My preference with the .45 has always been that the recoil pushes the gun straight back into my hand and that makes it quick and easy to get back onto target. There is little muzzle flip with this gun; even less than with my Glock 19 or Sig P226. If I knew there was a good chance that I would need to use my gun that day, I would take my Ruger 1911CMD. If it was just another day in the retirement community I live in where there is seldom anyone under the age of 55, my Sig P928 with Speer Gold Dot 9mm +P or S&W 340PD .357 at 11.5 ounces, goes into my pocket. It does not take much to stop old men. Of course, if I run into very big crack addicted, PCP taking old men I always have my snub nose .454 Casull to use.

Move. That is what I did. I hear that you have a better chance of getting a carry permit posthumously in NJ than if you are alive. If you are looking for free and good advice you will get what you paid for. Someone just fought the battle up to the highest courts and lost so unless someone has demonstrated that they are trying to kill you with real attempts, do not waste your time. Better to examine why you want to carry a gun so bad in the first place. The great majority of people in the U.S. die of natural causes. I survived until age 58 living in NJ without carrying a gun and I worked at piers, airport and trucking terminals, late at night. I worked in Newark, Jersey City and Hoboken until 2-3am. Just be smart and you will be OK. Carry what the law allows and be aware of your surroundings. For a fraction of what you would pay for legal bills to fight the State of NJ you can learn a martial art or perhaps hire a bodyguard.

Unless I know a person for a long time and not just know but am very familiar with their lives, family, etc., I will not give them a reference. This may seem harsh but here is why. When I moved to Florida I started playing billiards again and was invited to join 3 men who needed a fourth to play partners. We had fun and me and my new partner won free drinks from the losers. We continued to play for a little over a year, going out to dinner together and other wise socialize with our wives. Of course I talked about guns and found out that my new friend did not own any. I hate to see someone with no gun and was going to offer him one of my surplus guns for a very low cost. When I mentioned this to one of the other guys in our circle of friends I was informed that he was a registered sex offender. Sure enough when I looked him up, there he was. At that moment I realized that if I offered the gun and he accepted, I would have sold it to him. To sell privately here the only restriction is that you cannot knowingly sell to a minor or felon but you do not have to do any checking at all. In fact you do not even need to know the buyers name or address. Fuel for universal background check proponents. Those of us who are more concerned about putting guns into the wrong hands, only sell those with a ccw license. At least you get to see it, know the person had a background check and you can copy the number, address and name down. However, they are good for 7 years from date of issue and you have no idea if it has been revoked since then. The person could have obtained it one day and been convicted the next and be ineligible to buy a gun and still have his card. Since I am constantly changing out old guns for new ones and like to sleep at night, I just trade in my guns now for the new ones. I take a big loss by doing it this way but at least I know I am not selling it to someone who should not have one. Plus I do not have to deal with people who buy guns too big for them and then complain about the recoil, limp wristing induced jams, "crooked" sights that make them shoot low left all the time, etc.. The last gun I gave a refund on ended up coming back with a nice big scratch on its side. Every gun I sell is 100% and looks like new. Most never had more than 100 rounds through them and I spend an hour per gun to clean them so that there is not one speck of dirt in them. I use dental picks and those lead/carbon remover cloths to make sure that even my revolvers do not have that ring around the front of the cylinder you often see. So these days I do not recommend anyone for anything unless I have absolute knowledge about what I am recommending the person for.

I have owned a few 9mm 1911's and finally realize that a Glock was more practical and easy to work on without a gunsmith. I bought my first Glock 3 years ago after shooting for over 4 decades. I do not like how they look. Am not proud to own one. Do not show to others who want to see my gun collection but the damn gun works well, can put a 3.5 lb. trigger on it with good sights and have a fine competition/home defense/range gun. Get a Glock 19 and you can carry it too, as I sometimes do. It is my go to war gun for when I travel outside of my retirement community and go to areas where I am not allowed to profile people.

Sigs semi autos and S&W revolvers make up the bulk of my gun collection. I was always a .357 and .45 ACP man but old age, arthritis and nerve damage have taken their toll on my hands. I can shoot about 150 rounds of 9mm or .38 spl. until my hands start shaking so much that I cannot aim any more. With .45, that number drops down to about 25 rounds so I sold off all my .45's except for my Ruger Alaskan .454 Casull/.45 Colt. The gun is so heavy that the problem is not the recoil of the .45 Colt I load it with but rather the strain from holding up a 46 ounce gun for a long time. I have owned several P220s and would buy the P227 as soon as I could find one if I was able to have extended range sessions with it. I would find it perfect for me. I also like the FNX -45, having owned their 9mm. I think of them as a poor man's HK.

None. You really have not listed any of the top 1911s. I would not consider a 1911 under a $1000 these days.

In the last 90 days I bought 8 guns. That is why I moved from NJ to Florida. I like to buy and shoot different guns and could not engage in my favorite hobby with the laws in NJ so when they started talking about one handgun a month, I put the house up for sale and moved. When I lived in NJ I would see a gun and fall in love with it. However, by the time I got my permit I fell out of love with it and ended up buying a different gun. Happened every time.

I get a money back guarantee from two local gun stores around here. They both guarantee the used guns they sell. However keep in mind that many people sell their problem guns. I have trading in 25 guns in the last few years and not once has any gun store tested them nor do they unless someone bought it and has problems. In each case where I brought a used gun back, the gun store owner was easily able to duplicate the problem and offered me the choice of a refund, different gun or repair of the defective gun. I would never buy a gun as is without first shooting it or having a money back guarantee. Around here they do not call them used guns. They are called either pre-owned for already broken in guns. I personally prefer to buy a used Kahr so I can skip the 200 round break in and prefer a used revolver as they save me money and never had a bad used one.

You may be confusing lack of knowledge with "nasty". At one of our Superstore Walmarts, yes we have two super stores, there is an elderly lady that is a shooter and avid gun enthusiast. When she is working it is a pleasure to buy ammo. She knows what is in stock and where it is. However since Walmart does not like people working full time and get benefits, she is often not there. On those days the various people who cover the ammo section do not know a thing about guns or ammo and you pretty much have to point to what you want.

I too moved from NJ to improve the quality of my life. My total home ownership cost, all in, is $500 a month less than I was paying in NJ and I have more land here. Even with the pay decrease I took to move here, due to no city or state income taxes, my take home pay is more. Add that to my low monthly home costs including very low utility bills due to the lack of a severe winter and cheap electricity, I am living much better than I ever did in NJ and can buy all the guns I want and carry them. Mix in no shoveling snow, not living near a City that may someday be the victim of a dirty bomb whose radiation can drift over NJ, and I think I made a wise move. When I worked in NJ almost every building I entered for business had security checks. I felt like I was living in an occupied area. None of that here; at least not in my area. No sense of worry about terrorist here.

Not me. I am waiting for a .50 cal pocket gun. I already have a .454 Casull snub nose.

Why do you carry it? I have never been asked to show it so I never carried it. If I did need it I would just carry it for that one time. I just memorized my SS number as all veterans have. I thought about carrying it once but then realized that if I lost my wallet I was screwed. I guess you realize that now.

I got one for xmas but sold it. Once the novelty wore off I realized that I had absolutely no need for a take down rifle. Plus the case it comes with is kind of bulky so that it can hold a lot of accessories. I must say that it does hold its point of aim each time you put it back together so if you have a need for a takedown rifle, get it. If not, save your money and get the regular 10/22.

In addition to ignoring protestors who have taken over the first floor of the Capitol, demanding that a special session of the State Senate be called to review the Stand Your Ground laws and do something about all the young black kids being arrested unfairly, the Governor is demanding an apology from Jesse Jackson for calling Florida a apartheid State and some other unkind things. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/31/florida-gov-scott-asks-jesse-jackson-to-apologize-for-divisive-reckless-remarks/

My family moved to Staten Island the year that the Cicadas were out in full force back in the early sixties. Two of my teenage cousins came over for a week because we lived two blocks from a beach and, being city girls, it was like a vacation spot for them. They left two days later after having to deal with Cicadas stuck to them every time they went out.

Good for you. I left over 3 years ago and cannot imagine ever moving back. Heck, I have not even gone back to visit family. I told them if they want to see me to come down here.

It is not unusual for clerks in various agencies to sell list to attorneys, insurance agents and others. I learned about that when I sold insurance in the early 70's.

I remember all the post about them but no longer read any news about them. I am old enough to have lived through the times when you had to have someone pick them off your body before enter the house. However, each occurrence after that had fewer and fewer. I am thinking that development of land has killed off a lot of them. So what is the 411 about the Cicadas in NJ?

Perhaps you read this true story. It was in all the gun rags at the time. The gun he used is the Alaskan in .454 Casull. King season is over, and since I had a day off before silvers start, I thought I would go for a walk! This occurred at 11:16 am this morning (Sunday), just 2/10 of a mile from my house, ON OUR ROAD while walking my dogs (trying to get in shape for hunting season, ironically!) for the record, this is in a residential area-not back in the woods, no bow hunting, no stealth occurring... I heard a twig snap, and looked back...full on charge-a huge brownie, ears back, head low and motorin' full speed! Came with zero warning; no woof, no popping of the teeth, no standing up, nothing like what you think or see on TV! It charged from less than 20 yards and was on me in About one-second! Totally surreal-I just started shooting in the general Direction, and praise God that my second shot (or was it my third?) Rolled him at 5 feet and he skidded to a stop 10 feet BEYOND where I was Shooting from-I actually sidestepped him and fell over backwards on the Last shot, and his momentum carried him to a stop past where I fired my First shot! It was a prehistoric old boar-no teeth, no fat-weighed between 900-1000 Lbs and took five men to DRAG it onto a tilt-bed trailer! Big bear-its Paw measured out at about a 9 1/2 footer! Never-ever-thought "it" would happen to me! It’s always some other shmuck, Right? Well, no bull- I am still high on adrenaline, with my gut in a Knot. Feels like I did 10000 crunches without stopping! Almost puked for An hour after, had the burps and couldn't even stand up as the troopers Conducted their investigation! Totally wiped me out-cant even put that Feeling into words, by far the most emotion I have ever felt at once! No doubt that God was with me, as I brought my Ruger .454 Casull (and Some "hot" 350 grain solids) just for the heck of it, and managed to Draw and snap shoot (pointed, never even aimed!) from the hip! Total Luck shot! All I can say is Praise God for my safety and for choosing to leave theWife and kids at home on this walk! Got a charter tomorrow, so gonna TRY To get some sleep now! Talk to ya soon, -Greg Brush How can you not want a gun that can take down a grizzly and also shoot mild cowboy .45 colt loads for fun at the range. I have not shot any .454 yet due to tendonitis problems but I do use it as one of my home defense guns loaded with 250 grain .45 colt Speer Gold Dots. I also keep a speed loader filled with 300 gr. .45 Colt +P which is more than enough for the black bear around here.

This is my pocket snub nose. This one goes in my other pocket: This one is on the way to me. I ordered it the other day: Here is my heavy hitter:

Sounds good to me. Most will not want to go through the ham license process if all they are interested in is communicating with family. Much easier ways to do that. I have not used GMRS since it first came out. I let my license expire and have not been following it. I mostly chase DX but since moving have not done much other than play in a few major contests. Very strict HOA deed restrictions and roving patrols to enforce them.

The antenna is what will let you get out that far. If you learn a little about radio waves you will know why. There is no escaping the fact that if you want to reach out that far, radio to radio, you are going to need a big antenna. However, in ham radio they have what are called repeaters. Just think about them like a cell phone tower run by ham operators. Depending on the location of both parties, they can allow you to talk to each other over great distances just like a cell phone, but for free. The FRS systems will not work past 5 miles and that is over flat ground. The other issues you face are power, height and size of antenna at both the transmitting and receiving end. Small antenna to small antenna will not work at those distances. Small antenna to large antenna will, assuming you are putting out 50 watts on a ham radio. The way you are talking it sounds that a ham radio license is not going to help because both parties will need it. The only other option is if you are running a business you can get a business radio like trucking and other companies have. Other than that, ham radio is the way to go. If I run 50 watts using a 5 foot antenna I am lucky to get out about 10 miles around here. Even if I go to a different frequency for long distance, I cannot reach stations around me because my antenna is pointed so that my signals go up to the sky rather than line of sight. There is a science to it and a lot of study to learn it all. The basic technician license is not difficult with a little study. There are better places to try practice tests than YouTube. Just check arrl.org . However a Tech license will not let you communicate the distances you are talking about, radio to radio, without a good antenna places high up.

I am not a fanboy of any gun but the average longevity of my guns is about 4 months before they are sold off to buy new ones. Only my HK P2000SK has defied the averages. I tried Glocks 7 times. Nothing wrong with them as far as being a gun goes. Just not my cup of tea. I prefer the feel of a HK or Sig. After trying many guns, 40 in just the last 3 years alone, I always come back to Sigs, HK and S&W (revolvers). Not because they are better than others but simply because they point well and fit my hand better than others. I tried so many of the newer designed guns but I keep going back to what I am used to. They are reliable and I can afford them so why not?

I hold the highest FCC amateur radio license and know a thing or two. First off you cannot operate a ham radio without a license. You have to study and take a test to get the license. You have not said what you wish to accomplish. There are plenty of FRS radios for civilians to use and GPRS ones that require a license but no test. I have a pair that we used to use when following someone in another car. Easier than calling each other on the phone. Do not know too much about these as I have a pair of handi talkies, which require a technicians license to use. They are essentially walkie talkies that operate on specific frequencies allocated to ham radio operators. They are line of sight so they can only go so far and will be stopped by objects in their way. Without getting technical I can say that with my handheld radio I can talk all over the world by hitting a repeater which then sends my signal over the internet to another antenna on the other side of the world where it is rebroadcast. I can talk directly to someone on the other side of the world by bouncing my signal off of the atmosphere and earth a few times. I can use a small antenna for line of sight or a big antenna to skip off the atmosphere or satellites. It all depends on what you wish to accomplish and how much time and money you want to spend. Heck with a ham radio license you do not even need a radio. You can use your computer.

I understand the problem. I ran into the same thing 12 guns ago and still wrestle with it. :-) In your case I would just rule out the concealed carry gun in case you get a permit. Unless you are one of those guys who finds reasons to go to PA just so they can carry a gun, you will not be carrying much and you can deal with that issue when and if you get a permit. Small carry guns are not fun for range shooting. I know as I have 8 of them and they only get shot to make sure they and I work. Not fun at all. As far as .22's go, ammo is not so cheap anymore and hard to find around here. I have tried 6 times to like shooting a .22 but while it is fun if you live on a farm and can shoot at tin cans, etc., it is extremely boring to shoot a .22 at paper targets unless you are into precision shooting. For me it gets boring really fast and is no fun at all. I need some recoil or else I might as well be shooting a pellet gun. With the budget you have I would suggest that you get a 1911 gun. You can get a good one with that kind of money. You already have the current military sidearm, or at least the civilian version, so might as well get what preceded it. Everyone should have a 1911 once in their life. One other option is buying a good revolver and for a grand you can get a very good revolver. A nice S&W 686 will allow you to shoot .357, 38 spl +P and regular .38 spl loads. In this gun, recoil will be mild to moderate. Believe me, once you master a revolver trigger, any semi auto you shoot will feel like a hair trigger. A good revolver should be in everyone's collection. Fun to shoot for novices or experienced shooters. Plus practical too. Right now my left hand is in a brace and unable to rack a slide. Luckily I have both carry and home defense revolvers to use. What would you do if you could not use your left hand for a month? You cannot run out and buy a revolver from day one like I can. You would have to get a permit and by then the need would be over. Think about it. Fun, great trainer, good for teaching new shooters and practical. Get one and make my day.