10X

That's called a suicide plug, which pretty well explains why you won't find one on Amazon. Screw up by plugging it into the generator first, and the exposed ends of the male plug at the other end of the cord are live. Screw up by not throwing the main breaker before back feeding, and you put the linemen trying to restore power to your neighborhood at risk as they work on lines that are supposed to be dead... Don't get me wrong, I have no respect for towns that require permits for every little thing, primarily as a source of revenue--and I'm not an electrician, so this doesn't affect my livelihood either way--but powering your house by generator is one of those things you want to get right if you're going to do it. The good news is its fairly easy and not too expensive to do it yourself. The transfer switches Walt referenced are a couple hundred bucks, and let you put a nice weatherized receptacle on the outside of the house into which you plug the generator. Check out the Reliance Controls website; it has both installation instructions and video so you can see what's involved. Simpler and cheaper still is the interlock switch; a simple sliding plate that won't let you throw on the generator breakers unless the main breaker is off. Both meet code requirements. (edit--I see others type faster than I do; much of this info has already shown up in the thread)

Has anyone bought a lower with adjustable stock through an FFL in central or North Jersey, and either been allowed to take it home to pin, or the dealer was able to pin it on-site? Recommendations on who to use? If the dealer is going to pin it, I'd want to first drop by and select the length at which the stock must be pinned. I want to avoid a scenario where the lower arrives in NJ, and the FFL holder won't release it, and won't pin it--insisting on another transfer to a dealer who will.

I've read the threads on pinning collapsible stocks, and understand how to do it. My question is, if I order a lower receiver with a collapsible stock, is the FFL holder who does the transfer likely to let me take it home to pin? Or would the transfer have to go through an FFL who will pin it before it leaves the premises? I don't yet own an upper receiver, so I wouldn't have the parts to assemble a non-compliant rifle...but I'm not sure that would appease NJ or the FFL holder...

There is a weight limit on ammo, but it seems to vary by airline. It often involves a '5', but I've seen 5 boxes, 500 rounds, 5 lbs, 5 kilos... You can generally find the airline limits by reading through the fine print on the airline's web page(s) on baggage. I'd suggest printing out a copy of the policy and bringing it with you; airline and TSA employees won't necessarily know the rules, and you don't want them making up their own. As stated before, factory packaging (or equivalent, like plastic MTM boxes), checked baggage only, and I'd lock it. I think a TSA compliant lock is ok for ammo only, while for firearms they want a lock for which the TSA doesn't have master keys.

Even if legal, I think a .177 air rifle is woefully underpowered for woodchucks.

I hear you...but bringing mildly anti-gun friends to the range is important. We can influence opinions here...a little range time tends to make everyone more pro-gun. And if they are hooked after the first magazine and want to keep shooting, you can explain why current legislation is making that impossible...

Make friends with all of the neighbors first. Whether they have standing to do so or not, they CAN make life difficult for you. Let them get to know you as a good neighbor, normal guy, friendly face first. When the issue of shooting does come up, make sure any who are interested have a standing invitation ot join you. Be mindful of the hours; don't shoot when you are likely to disturb anyone's sleep.

I drove up to Vermont to ski this past weekend, and before making the trip I searched for gun shops all along the route--figuring I'd stop at a few if they weren't more than a mile or three out of my way. I figured the picture would be grim in NY, but maybe better in VT, which turned out to not really be the case, but for the most part I was only able to hit major chains. What I found was pretty consistent with what others have reported elsewhere. Gander Mountain, Kingston, NY. Pretty good availability of shotgun ammo, and at least for the target grade the prices seemed to be the same as before the craziness. Got some trap rounds for $5.99 box, though the AA and Rem STS trap loads were in the $8-$10 range. All in stock, along with a lot of hunting loads. Seemed to be a fair bit of rifle ammo on the shelves, not much pistol ammo, and no .22 LR. Gun racks seemed pretty full, but I didn't pay attention to what, specifically, they had in stock. They don't sell reloading components. Zacks gun shop in Round Lake, NY. Rifle racks and pistol display cases seemed pretty full, but again I wasn't paying much attention to specific models or prices. Fair bit of ammo for both rifle and pistol, but prices seemed on the high side. Didn't see any .22, but didn't ask. They had large magnum pistol primers (no standard) but wanted $45 per thousand, some lead shot, also very expensive, at $54/bag (from Peru! Lead must be really cheap there for the economics of shipping to make sense), and some 12 ga wads at a more reasonable $11/500. They had a moderate selection of powders, but the ones I asked about (bullseye, red dot) were $30/lb. They had a lot of magazines, mostly for handguns, on hand, but I didn't pay much attention to specifics. Pretty good selection of SKS speedloaders, which have been hard to find online. $10 each, which is what Midway has been charing. The Walmart in Rutland, VT was nearly cleaned out. A small amount of shotgun ammo, no .22, handful of firearms. Dicks Sporting goods in Rutland had good availability of shotgun ammo, both target and hunting. Big sale on some of the hunting ammo. As far as I could tell, list prices were exactly the same as in NJ. Guns on the racks. No .22 ammo. One lonely box of 100 209 shotshell primers. At least the skiing was great...

This accomplishes exactly nothing that isn't already covered by the FID, but it does create a huge new bureaucracy--under the DMV, which can't run the one they've already got. And yes, it singles us out.

I have a home range, so I may or may not get to the new facility. I won't comment on pricing; not my place to criticize the business model, and I have no idea what kind of income stream is needed to make this a going concern. But I will say: New range = Good! 50 yard line = Good! (this may get me there on occasion, if I need to get a 50 yd zero for bullseye-I can't do that at my home club.)

The Dicks on 22 in Union had these a few hours ago; same price in 12 and 20 gauge. They also had AA's for $8.99/box and Remington STS for, I think, $10.99. Plus assorted hunting loads. Lots of shotgun ammo, actually. Not a .22 round in the place.

I've always found this account of urban spelunking in the old power station and raceway behind Niagara Falls fascinating...and frightening! http://sleepycity.net/posts/67/DIY_Supervillain_Hideout

That is a nice club...I live nearby and get there once or twice a month. They only have trap, though--no skeet.

I did something like this several homes ago. The 'door' was a wood panel that friction fit into the opening, with the top seam just under a small shelf to make it non-obvious, and I'd prop up long things like curtain rods, fishing poles, whatever, in the corners to conceal the side seams. I didn't come up with a way to lock the panel in a way that didn't make the panel look like a hidden door, so instead I ran a plastic-covered cable through the trigger guards and locked the guns down from inside the cabinet. It worked fine for seldom-accessed firearms; would be a bit of a pain for the guns you use the most

I was at the West Windsor public hearing when CRRC was being subjected to that nonsense. The homeowners had a few of their elementary school students make 'personal statements', detailing how they lived in fear, couldn't sleep, had nightmares, their grades were suffering, etc. Funny thing was, every time a student stumbled over a big word in their 'personal statement', they looked to the homeowner's attorney. It was obvious he had written the kids' 'personal statements'.

I tried to post what would have been the 5th comment, agreeing with the four before me. I was blocked, because I'm not on Facebook (who thought it was a good idea to require that?). Anyway, if anyone with a Facebook account wants to borrow/edit the text I had entered, here it is: Rich, Joe, Eric, and Chris are exactly right. 100% of NJ applicants go through a mental health check. It's been that way for decades. The process rarely takes less than 2 or 3 months, and often much longer. I wonder why the reporters chose to ignore the facts.

Idaho residency.

I didn't realize he was a vet. I wonder on whose side he fought?

It used to be the cartridge of choice for Olympic Rapid Fire, and there were some very, very fine target guns made to take advantage of it. Rules changed a couple of years ago, and now 22LR is required for the Oly Rapid event.

I wouldn't shoot them either, but don't assume the ammo is inert after immersion. Smokeless powder should still burn after a soak--at least it has in my experience. Black powder may not--the saltpeter is water soluble and will leach away--but I've seen smokeless burn impressively well after years underwater. All it took was dumping it out onto a paper towel and giving it a little time to dry.