AVB-AMG

@Romeo: FYI - this question and concern has been addressed in previous posts in this thread. AVB-AMG

After searching for awhile I was finally able to recently locate and purchase, via mail order, 250 rounds of Federal Premium Law Enforcement (Tactical), 12 GA, 2 3/4”, 00 Buckshot (9 pellets), Item LE132, without paying a ridiculous price-gouging markup. This additional quantity of shotgun ammunition will compliment my large supply of Hornady Critical Defense, 2 3/4”, 12 GA 00 Buckshot, that I was able to purchase in several orders from different vendors earlier this year. Unfortunately, this specific ammo from Hornady has been increasingly mor difficult to locate and acquire since that time and has been and is still on back order from most retailers nationally. I believe it is important to have a plentiful supply of ammo to regularly practice with, that is the same ammo you choose to depend on if, God-forbid, the self/home defense scenario ever presents itself. These are the only two factory HD shotgun shells that I plan to use in my Benelli M2 semi-automatic 12 GA shotgun. I am reassured by the expressed opinions and experience of those here on NJGF, ( I.e. @High Exposure and @Ray Ray), who are more familiar than I am with these two shotgun shells for use for home defense. I am also confident in the design characteristics and reputation of consistent quality control of factory manufacture of both of these shotgun shells, and that both will effectively serve their intended purpose. AVB- AMG

The various videos of the two explosions in Beirut are dramatically shocking, chilling and sobering! Speaking to an associate of mine today, who knows more about this than I do, he explained what it is that we see on those videos. He said that the so-called, very large white dome expanding rapidly through the air is an overpressure wave caused by the mass of exploding ammonium nitrate fertilizer. That in turn, pushes molecules of humid air against each other as it moves Out in all directions. This wave of air reflects and bounces, destroying some buildings while causing less damage to others. As @GRIZ mentioned, the detonation of almost 2,800 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer would make this presumed accidental industrial explosion in Beirut one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions on record. My friend told me that the approx. 2,800 tons of the fertilizer in the Beirut warehouse was roughly equivalent to 1,155 tons of TNT. With 135 deaths (so far), and at least 5,000 people injured, this is the last thing the Lebanese people needed, on top of dealing with the COVID-19 virus pandemic.... AVB-AMG

@Handyman and @carl_g: You guys are missing the point and not seeing the big picture… The COVID-19 virus pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place orders that kept cars and trucks off the roads, has been the catalyst for the surge in interest in bicycles and the motivation for families to purchase bikes for both exercise and basic utility. Many folks are dusting off old bikes and buying new ones for family recreation, exercise, and occasionally, transportation. I have seen it around my neighborhood and surrounding towns on the roads I travel. Since April, there has been a swell in activism that has brought many more bicycle riders out in record numbers, emboldened by the reduced number of cars, traffic and polluted air. I spoke today with the manager of the Summit branch of Hilltop Bicycles, a chain of five bicycle retail stores, who sell and service a variety of brands of bicycles and who performed the servicing on my Cannondale M2000 mountain bike. He told me that he has never seen a surge in business like this before and that is has just been insane. He said that their weekly store coordination meetings have revealed that their sales of bicycles, equipment and repair services from March through June, have almost doubled compared with the same period last year and that their sales of commuter and fitness bikes increased 66%, leisure bikes jumped 125%, children’s bikes went up 60% and electric bikes rose 85%. Not surprising to me, he said that by mid-May, they had sold out of low-end consumer bikes costing less than $1,000. When I told him about my sale today of my 1992 Cannondale M2000 mountain bike for $250 he said congratulations.... and that he was not surprised with that price, since he knew its condition, along with the current extremely low available inventory for any new or used bike under $1,000. He also speculated that most of his suburban customers will never use a mountain bike for real off-rode riding, making a front and/or rear suspension feature a non-factor. Will this sellers market situation last…? Probably not. Once bicycle inventory is replenished and people resume their pre-COVID routines, all of those bikes may once again start to gather dust in garages. But until then, if you have an old bicycle you are not using you can probably get a pretty penny for it right now…. Also, FYI, I have taken very good care of my bike and BTW, I took that bike up to Maine and rode it in the Acadia National Park, up to the top of Cadillac Mountain to witness the earliest sunrise in the United States.... AVB-AMG

@carl_g: I was surprised by your claimed assumption, thinking it was too low. So I did more research on current used bicycle values, via Bicycle Blue Book. They indicated that my bicycle in excellent condition was probably worth around $170 - $185 tops. As I suspected, it is currently a sellers-market for most good to excellent condition bicycles, especially the better quality bicycle name brands like Trek, Specialized and Cannondale. Ultimately, I have discovered that good quality bikes that are in very good condition, can command around a 30% - 40% premium over valuations made and assumed accurate 6 months ago, ( i.e. Bicycle Blue Book). FYI, I have been very pleasantly surprised by the number and quantity of responses I have had in less than 24 hours from listing it for possible sale. I have now received four inquiries about the bike, some back and forth discussion, followed by two cash offers and negotiations. I agreed to sell it to one of those folks for $250 cash. He told me that after searching for the past two months for an older, high quality mountain bike that had not been abused, he had not had any luck. He said that there were not many bikes currently for sale with those quality components, in really good condition, let alone with relatively new, low mileage tires/tubes, chain and saddle, for less than $350. - $400. So it was a very quick and easy, win-win sale. We will finalize our deal and he will pick up the bike this weekend. AVB-AMG

@Sota You have balls.....? News to me! AVB-AMG

I have a 1992 Cannondale M2000 mountain bike that has a 22 inch size aluminum frame that I am considering selling since I have replaced it with a newer hybrid bicycle with a carbon frame. At the time I purchased it new, it was the top-of-the-line mountain bike that Cannondale made back in 1992. I had it totally reconditioned and serviced several years ago at a local bike shop, and had them replace the existing tires/tubes, brakes, chain and seat. I also have two extra inner tubes for the tires. I have not yet researched what the current market value is for this bike, but assume that due to the current high demand for bicycles, even an older, high-quality mountain bike that has been well maintained, should command a higher price than it would have even one year ago. If this is a bike that might interest you send me a PM and your cash purchase offer. Thanks. Here is a photo of the bike, along with the specifications: AVB-AMG Specifications Year Produced:.................................................... 1992 Model:............................................................... M2000 MSRP:................................................................$1,380 Color:................ Black with Silver Hyper-Highlight (E) Weight:........................................................... 24.5 lbs Frame Size:.............................................................. 22 Frame:....... Cannondale 3.0 Series Mountain, Aluminum Fork:........................... Cannondale Pepperoni, Aluminum Headset:....................................................... Ritchey Logic Rear Derailleur:............................. Shimano Deore XT SIS Front Derailleur:.................................. Shimano Deore XT Hubs:........................ Shimano Deore ST w/ rear freehub Spokes:..................................... DT Swiss, stainless steel Rims:.................... Chinook CR16 silver anodized, 32 hole Tires:. Continental Double Fighter II, (2016) - (Orig’l.: Ritchey Z-Max) Brakes:............... Shimano Deore XT w/ Force 40 routing Brake Pads:........ Koolstop Eagle 2 Cantilever pads (black) Brake Levers:......................................................... Ritchey Cranks.................................................. Ritchey 26/36/46 Chain:.............. Shimano Hyperglide CN-HG40 6,7,8 speed Pedals:........ Shimano SPD’s (Orig’l: Shimano Deore XT Competition) Shifters:....... Shimano Deore XT over-the-bar thumbshifters Handlebars:......... Easton Hyperlite, anodized aluminum Freewheel:. Shimano Deore XT Hyperglide 7-speed cassette, 13-30 Stem:....................... Answer A-Tac TIB-welded aluminum Headset:................. Tange-Seiki FOV-AL, aluminum, 125g Seatpost:...................................... Ritchey Force Directional Saddle:.... WTB Pure V Race (rising whale-tail rear & drop nose)(2016)

Maybe at the next outdoor Shotgun Shootout, we all could wear some more suitable face coverings, like this: AVB-AMG

@Smokin .50 (Rosey): If anything, your response here shows that you are sounding like the real Schmuck! If you honestly believe that the way you and the many others were congregating on Sunday morning, was not potentially a high risk endeavor, then you are sounding and possibly acting like an ignorant, arrogant fool in total denial. Do you really believe that? It is not just those who have compromised immune systems or have family members who may be compromised who should observe and practice the necessary health safeguards during this awful virus pandemic. If you have not done so, you may want to consider reading up on the documented history of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic for a better perspective of what could happen with the COVID-19 virus. Over the past 4-5 months, after some contradictory advice, we have learned more and more of what Health precautions work and what scenarios are the most conducive to spreading this virus. It is incumbent for all of us to learn these important lessons and then practice them, if our country is going to finally be able to reduce the number of positives cases nationally. While some of you may be "done" with the COVID-19 virus, it certainly is not done you you or me.... BTW, I have met and shot with you in the past, at both indoor and outdoor events, aside from political views, you seemed to be a nice, intelligent guy, who I applaud for being very dedicated to proactively preserving our 2nd Amendment rights, as challenging as it is here in NJ. I hope that your negative personal post about me in this thread was just an knee-jerk reaction and not a true indicator of who you really are. If not, then I guess I will have really misjudged you, which is disappointing. Also, to be clear, neither you nor I are trained as a medical doctor or professional healthcare researcher so we have to rely on what those folks who are to publish their analysis and forecasts, based on their expertise, experience and results of research trials. From what I have read, while the COVID-19 virus may possibly mutate in some manner over time, for the near future it will not do so dramatically. Therefore, While there is no guarantee, those same doctors and healthcare researchers are confident that one or more viable vaccines will most likely be developed by one or more of the multiple Research Medical/Pharmaceutical joint venture teams and manufactured in sizable quantities over the next 8-12 months. So I disagree with your stated opinion that “it ain’t going to happen”. Also, the more I read about the so-called herd immunity, with regard to the COVID-19 virus, the less it sounds like that will happen in under 4 years or even longer from now, which is not good for all of us in the near term. AVB-AMG

@Krdshrk Once again, you excelled at organizing another fun gathering. I am glad that everyone had a good time yesterday morning at the Clinton Shotgun Shootout. I have enjoyed attending and participating in the past at these types of fun group get-togethers, swapping shotguns, talking about various topics, (non-political….), and socializing. I was considering joining you all yesterday, but was concerned that with the expected large group, that social distancing would be a challenge, along with many being reluctant to wear any form of face coverings. As the photo above indicates, my concerns were valid…. I think we all may want to pay close attention to what is happening in the southern and western states, where the Governors had allowed for large group gatherings, yet people are failing to abide by the important recommended, if not required, health safety guidelines. We are now learning of the dire consequences resulting in the skyrocketing rate of positive tests for the COVID-19 virus in those states, primarily in the mid-30's age group. Basically, until a vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed, tested, produced, distributed, as well as has been administered to over 50% of the U.S. population, I am in the group of our citizens who are not comfortable congregating in close proximity with more than just a handful of people, outside of my extended family and close friends, whether indoors or outdoors. Shooting clays with 1, 2 or 3 people I know, is IMHO, far less risky than doing so in close quarters with 15-25, or more people who I do not know, even being outside. That, along with the natural chit chatting by people not wearing any face coverings, as well as the constant co-mingling handling of shotguns, is just taking more of a health risk than I want to do right now. I respect that everyone has a choice in how they deal with this ongoing virus, yet I also believe that our previous normal routines have unfortunately fundamentally changed now and for the foreseeable future, whether one likes i5 or not. In addition to having fun, I sincerely hope that everyone who attended yesterday remains healthy and did not contract this nasty COVID-19 virus. I am looking forward to joining all of you again at future shotgun shootouts and gun range events, most likely in the second half of 2021. AVB-AMG

FYI - I posted the NY Times article on the study titled “First-Time Gun Owners at Greater Risk for Suicide”, because it is the latest study on the issue of guns and suicide that I have come across in a while. I wanted to share it here on NJGF in this thread since the folks who have posted comments here seem to acknowledge that suicide by gun is an issue that should concern all of us legal gun owners and is just one of many factors or points that we have to discuss with our anti-gun friends and relatives. Also, by posting this article of this study, does not automatically imply that I agree with their findings. While the odds of having an accident, fatal or not, from a firearm obviously increases if one own’s a firearm, I do not believe that therefore automatically means that gun owners are more likely to commit suicide, whether by using a gun or some other means, nor whether they one just one gun or many. Actually, I have some doubts about the validity of the researcher’s findings. I also agree that they may possibly have had a predetermined anti-gun agenda or slant that they wanted to highlight in their conclusions. I also agree that not taking into account the subjects’ medical histories or personal circumstances, omitted potentially vital information that may contribute to causality. While their stated premise captures one’s attention, I wonder why they did not also include and factor in many other scenarios of people using guns to commit suicide. Specifically, those who do not own a gun AND have not purchased a gun. Where the person may have used a gun owned by a friend or family member. Also, most of us on this forum are well aware of the multiple suicides committed by young men at indoor gun ranges in NJ, (i.e. Gun For Hire and RTSP, etc…), that have occurred in just the past 4-5 years. They have either rented a handgun or used a handgun of someone who owns one and shared it with them at the range. As a result of these awful suicides at gun ranges, the owner’s have instituted more stringent policies for first-time customers to address and hopefully reduce the chances of someone committing suicide inside their ranges. As I think we all agree, suicide is a tragic choice made by someone who, for various complicated reasons, either and the low end, wants to call attention to themselves and at the extreme end, does not want to live any longer. Guns are just one of the most efficient tools or methods to accomplish the latter. AVB-AMG

@Mrs. Peel The study tracked 700,000 first-time handgun buyers over 12 years, was the largest analysis to date of individual, first-time gun owners and suicide over time. I do not want to cherry-pick just a few quotes so here is the entire article, which I cut & pasted below: AVB-AMG First-Time Gun Owners at Risk for Suicide, Major Study Confirms Men were eight times as likely to kill themselves by gunshot than non-owners. Women were 35 times as likely. By Benedict Carey June 3, 2020 The decision to buy a handgun for the first time is typically motivated by self-protection. But it also raises the purchasers’ risk of deliberately shooting themselves by ninefold on average, with the danger most acute in the weeks after purchase, scientists reported on Wednesday. The risk remains elevated for years, they said. The findings are from the largest analysis to date tracking individual, first-time gun owners and suicide for more than a decade. The study, posted by The New England Journal of Medicine, does not greatly alter the prevailing understanding of suicide risk linked to gun ownership. Previous research had suggested a similarly increased risk, due largely to the ease of having such a lethal option at hand. But experts said the new evidence was more powerfully persuasive than any research to date. The study tracked nearly 700,000 first-time handgun buyers, year by year, and compared them with similar non-owners, breaking out risk by gender. Men who bought a gun for the first time were eight times as likely to kill themselves by gunshot in the subsequent 12 years than non-owners; women were 35 times as likely to do so. (Male gun owners far outnumbered women owners in the study.) “I find the work extremely compelling,” said Amy Street, a research psychologist at the National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Street did not contribute to the study, which was led by David Studdert, a professor of medicine and law at Stanford. “We know women make more attempts than men, but they use less lethal means,” Dr. Street added. “It makes sense: When women start using lethal means, you’re going to see this dramatic jump in rates.” Historically, public health research on firearms has been limited by privacy issues and political opposition. Most previous studies were retrospective: post-mortem analyses of suicides that relied on incomplete information about gun owners and, for comparison, non-owners. Dr. Studdert’s study, which looked at deaths and gun ownership in California, overcame these obstacles. By California law, all legal gun sales must go through licensed dealers and be reported to the state’s Department of Justice. The department archives each transaction and includes more detail on the purchase than most any other state. The research team integrated this information with two other sources: a California log of deaths determined to be suicides, which all states track to some degree; and voter rolls, which include about 60 percent of adults in the state, or 26.3 million adults. By linking gun purchases to the voter registry and suicide data, the team was able to track individuals over time, from October 2004 to December 2016. The researchers checked gun purchases back to 1985 to make sure that individuals in the study were in fact first-time buyers. They also reclassified those who later sold their weapons as non-owners. This left 676,425 people who bought their first gun during the 12-year period and kept it. The weapons were predominantly handguns, which are the method of choice in about three-quarters of suicides by firearm. California did not begin collecting data on rifles and shotguns until 2014. The team tallied the suicides among new owners and non-owners, matched by age, gender and other similarities, and tested for a series of alternate possibilities, like whether owners were as likely to kill themselves by other means. They were not. Another possibility was so-called reverse causation: that many buyers were bent on suicide before they bought the gun. The findings did provide some evidence of that. In the month immediately after first-time owners obtained their weapons (California has a 10-day waiting period), the risk of shooting themselves on purpose was nearly 500 per 100,000, about 100 times higher than similar non-owners; after several years it tapered off to about twice the rate. “We sure do see evidence that people went to get the gun because they had planned to take their own lives,” Dr. Studdert said. The risk of suicide remained elevated over the entire 12-year duration of the study, and it was in this longer period after the first month that most of the suicides — 52 percent — occurred. “During this period, the gun acts much more like an ambient risk — it’s always there,” Dr. Studdert said. The majority of people who attempt suicide do not die; attempts outnumber completed acts by about eight to one. Those who do make an attempt are at greater risk of trying again later, compared with those who have not, studies have found. Still, less than 10 percent of those who make an attempt will subsequently go on to complete the act, said Dr. Matthew Miller, a professor of health sciences and epidemiology at Northeastern University and an author on the study. “Many suicide attempts are impulsive, and the crisis that leads to them is fleeting,” Dr. Miller said. “The method you use largely determines whether you live or die. And if you use a gun, you are far more likely to die than with other methods, like taking pills. With guns, you usually do not get a second chance.” Other authors on the study included scientists at the University of California, Davis; Erasmus University in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands; and the University of Melbourne, in Australia. It was financed by the Fund for a Safer Future and the Joyce Foundation, both of which have supported research on gun ownership, and by Stanford. As rigorous as the findings are, they are not likely to move most gun-rights proponents, who emphasize the idea that people need guns for protection. The study did not examine owners’ detailed information like medical histories or personal circumstances — such as living alone — that could have shown they were at greater risk for suicide. But most risk factors for suicide, like persistent mental distress and drug use, tend not to differ much between gun owners and non-owners, previous studies have found. Any unseen factor that could account for the findings would have to raise suicide risk by 10 times in owners, compared with non-owners, and there were no such candidates, the authors of the new study said. “They really questioned their own results and tested many alternate hypotheses to account for their results,” Dr. Street said. “To me, this makes the findings more compelling still.”

FYI - In today’s New York Times is an interesting article titled: First-Time Gun Owners at Greater Risk for Suicide, Major Study Confirms Here is the link to that article: AVB-AMG https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/health/suicide-guns-firearms.html?referringSource=articleShare

FYI - RTSP in Union was selling various blends of Black Rifle Coffee from BRCC at their in-house coffee bar. Unfortunately, they have temporarily shut down their coffee bar during the COVID-19 closures, but will most likely reopen once NJ allows indoor gun ranges to reopen. AVB-AMG

@Malsua, @USRifle30Cal & @10X: I agree with the points that the three of you have made in this thread on this topic. I also agree and understand that early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, we all were getting mixed signals on the who should wear face masks, where they should be worn and what type of masks, along with if they actually protected the wearer or not. But at this point in the evolving pandemic, we all have a much better idea of what PPE works best and why we should wear them, along with social distancing by maintain a reasonable (6 ft.), separation distance from other people who are not family members, in addition to washing our hands religiously. I feel that wearing a face mask, especially the N95/P95 face masks are a royal PITA! They are not all that comfortable and can cause feelings of claustrophobia or fogging up one’s eye glasses and are generally uncomfortable. But the general consensus from the health care experts is that by wearing a face mask that covers one’s mouth and nose, it does a good job of greatly reducing the dispersion and travel distance of the respiratory droplets that a person emanates while breathing, coughing and/or sneezing. Therefore, by wearing a face mask, it can offer some degree of protection to the wearers, but is really a greater benefit to those around you and primarily protects them and as good citizens, we should put our minor irritation and inconvenience of wearing a face mask aside and just wear them. Wearing a face mask goes a long way in reducing the spread of the virus if you are infected, but do not have symptoms, thus helping to prevent others from getting sick from you. Thankfully, the majority of Americans seem to understand and accept this concept and do wear face masks when out in public areas when they are around other people, as well as entering almost all retail/grocery stores, where it may be a mandatory requirement. This extreme attitude of those who refuse to wear a face mask does not reflect the sensibilities of most Americans who have been adhering to this public health advice in basic safeguards, despite the unfamiliarity, awkwardness and inconvenience of having to do so. A recent Pew Research Ctr. survey found that 66% of Americans are more concerned about social-distancing restrictions being lifted too quickly than they are about having restrictions in place for too long. But this disagreement does seem to represent a partisan difference in a willingness to comply with the temporary guidelines to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Apparently, for some of these knuckleheads, wearing a face mask or not, is no longer a question of public health, but has become symbolic of their political beliefs. For them, they do not believe and/or care about abiding by these health precautions because they feel that doing so infringes upon their personal freedoms or even that they may perceive that they are immune from the virus. I have heard what I consider to be very silly excuses for not wearing a face mask, including: “it is submission, it is muzzling yourself, it looks weak, especially for men….” It seems as though these ignorant fools assume that they have some sort of macho fearless invincibility and wearing a face mask diminishes their masculinity or that by refusing to wear a face mask one is somehow tougher. Arguments around social distancing and wearing face masks have now become symbolic of our society’s division and polarization, pitting those who believe in the scientific health safeguard assumptions versus the sense that our country’s tradition of individualism and self-interest is paramount. While I hope that these people who are choosing not wear face masks are truly in the minority, I do consider them to be ignorant, selfish and have a warped sense of entitlement. The odds are that those face mask-less folks also will be at a much greater risk of being infected by the deadly COVID-19 virus, in the coming months.... AVB-AMG

I drove over to Liberty State Park in Jersey City this morning around 11:45 a.m. and watched the Blue Angles / Thunderbirds from the esplanade on the Hudson River. Seeing both the Navy and Air Force precision aviation teams performing together was a very special treat. The amazing tightness of their formations is really incredible! They are very impressive on their own and together they were spectacular! I am sure that it was well received by many of the front line healthcare workers in both Jersey City and NYC who went outside to see them.... AVB-AMG

@JackDaWack: I agree that with the advances made in both handgun and rifle ammunition over the past 15 years, that they both provide proven stopping power for a home/self-defense scenario. I currently have Hornady 9mm+P Luger 135 gr. FlexLock Critical Duty ammo for my HD 9mm semi-automatic handguns, having previously had them loaded with Speer 9mm Luger 124+P Gold Dot Hollow Points. Both are well tested and proven for that purpose. For a home defense scenario, hypothetically, I would not anticipate using a shotgun to stop a threat that is farther away than 15 yards. That is another reason why for HD shotgun ammo, it makes sense to use what has been tested and is considered by experts to be the best that is available. From my research and it sounds for those on this forum more knowledgeable than me about this topic, two of the best are Federal Law Enforcement (LE133), 2 ¾” 12 GA, 00 Buckshot and Hornady Critical Defense, 2 ¾” 12GA 00 Buckshot. The Federal LE is low-recoil with a muzzle velocity of 1145 fps vs. the Hornady Critical Defense that has a muzzle velocity of 1600 fps. Therefore, whatever less penetration the Federal has compared to the Hornady, it makes up for with less recoil, which can be an important distinction. I do not buy into the argument that one uses or prefers to use a shotgun for HD because you do not have to aim it as carefully as with a rifle. One has to aim any firearm, whether a handgun, rifle or shotgun to put your shot into an approx. 12” x 18” center of mass target which presumably is a threatening human. The benefit of the shotgun loaded with this type of shot shells is that each time you pull the trigger and hit your target; you're putting 8 holes into it. That is essentially eight .32 caliber pellets going through the vitals per trigger pull, which is arguably superior to just about anything else out there, no matter if those pellets land within millimeters or inches of each other. As such, a full load (5 + 1 in the chamber in my 12 GA semi-automatic tactical shotgun), of 00 buckshot could conceptually, put a total of 40 - .32 caliber pellets into the vitals of the intruder/attacker, assuming that one takes the time and care to properly aim. It sounds like many of us do not just depend on having one or one type of firearm for our home defense. I take comfort in knowing that I will have the redundancy and variety of firearms at my disposal to counter most conceivable threats. I also am looking forward to practicing with this shotgun outside this summer, using my recently acquired Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buckshot and seeing for myself what the resulting patterning is at 7, 10 and 15 yards on paper targets, as well as getting a good feel for what the recoil will be like. AVB-AMG

Oh good grief....!

@xXxplosive: I agree.... Five months ago, no one knew that COVID-19 existed. Now the virus has spread to almost every country, most likely infecting millions of people and killing over 150,000 people whom we know about, and many more whom we do not. It has crashed economies and broken health-care systems, exceeded capacity of many hospitals and emptied public spaces. It has separated people from their workplaces and their friends. It has disrupted modern society on a scale that most living people have never witnessed. Similar to either WWII or the 9/11 attacks, this pandemic has already indelibly imprinted itself upon the nation’s psyche. Yet, everyone wants to know when this virus pandemic will end and we can get back to normal. But that is not the right question. The right question is: How do we continue? The U.S. needs to learn that lesson, but President Trump is still behaving as if he is engaged in a brief skirmish rather than a protracted siege. Life as most people knew it cannot fully return yet. People have not understood that this is not about the next couple of weeks..... this is about the next two years. As the rest of the U.S. comes to terms with the same restless impermanence, it must abandon the question “When do we go back to normal?” We are beginning to see that life as most people knew it cannot and will not fully return. Normal is and always has been relative for different people and includes immense disparities in what different Americans of different races, age and health experience as normal. Regardless of what States decide to regulate, it will be the general public’s personal decisions on what they are willing to do moving forward. I seriously doubt that many people will choose to participate in large gathers of people at dense public venues, such as beaches, amusement parks, sporting or cultural events, let alone cruises. Social distancing, wearing PPE, frequent disinfecting and cleaning and remote working, will all be aspects of our daily routines for the foreseeable future. I am not saying that we cannot slowly and reasonably stagger the re-opening of certain businesses, but it has to be done in a careful and thoughtful manner, while continuing to employ many of the protective measures that have proven to be effective. The COVID-19 virus pandemic is not a hurricane or a wildfire, nor is is comparable to 9/11. Those disasters were and are confined in time and space and followed an understandable transition sequence from recovery to rebuilding. This virus pandemic will require a continued defensive posture of resistance that includes all of the protective measures that we have been following. From what I have read, this virus will linger through 2020, and across the world for the next 18-24 months. If we drop these precautions prematurely, then we risk a resurgence of the virus spreading, which will then require reinstating all of the shut-downs that were previously imposed by state and local governments. It is time to acknowledge and accept that there really is no going back. The only way out of this pandemic is to go through it...., past this turbulent spring, across an unusual and possibly deceiving summer lull, into a tenuous fall where we may see a resurgence of the virus and then into an unsettled year beyond. Ultimately, we will have to continue to endure our collective hardships as we await broader and more accurate and expedient testing, as well as the expedited clinical trials for the development and administering of an effective and safe vaccine. Best of luck to all of us.... AVB-AMG

@Zeke My handguns are my initial go-to home/self defense firearms. My tactical shotgun is just an additional means of HD, if I ever have the need for it. It also provides a psychological reassurance that I could potentially fend off more than one attacker, provided that I had the time to get to my loaded shotgun. Of course, all of this is hypothetical, understanding that in the heat of the moment with one’s adrenaline flowing fast, especially if one has just awoken, gun selection may be impacted in an unexpected way.... AVB-AMG

@oldguysrule649: Yes, I did consider #4 buckshot, but decided against it. Based on my research, for home defense I am more confident with a 00 buckshot shot shell with 8 - 0.33” buckshot steel balls to stop a large threatening intruder like this guy, who may well indeed have over 11” of gel (fat)... AVB-AMG

@gleninjersey

I have been looking to purchase some appropriate home defense ammunition for a home defense shotgun. I am interested in getting some Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buckshot, 2-3/4" (#86240), for a 12 gauge shotgun. I tried to find a retailer, first in NJ, then nationally, who had this specific ammo in stock. Nobody did. Checking the websites of over 30+ retailers around the country, everyone was sold out with no idea of a time frame for getting it back in stock. A number of Canadian retailers have it, but do not ship to the U.S. One retailer in Georgia told me over the phone that they had a run on all of there ammo just prior to having to close down due to their State’s mandate. Apparently, T.P. Is not the only item that was in high demand back in early to mid-March. All in all, this was a frustrating, as well as illuminating and educational quest. Ultimately, I found some of these shot shells for sale, via an auction on GunBroker.com. I was the successful bidder. While I paid almost double what the MSRP is for each box of 10 shells, at least I will get what I want and not have to wait the 2-3 months that it will probably take for most retailers to get it back in stock from Hornady and it’s distributors. Also, once it is available again, I would not be surprised if there is a significant price increase. IMHO, the recent days and period of plentiful and inexpensive ammo are definitely behind us for the foreseeable future... AVB-AMG

@Mrs. Peel: Ha.... that comment brought back an old memory of when my sister and I were children riding in the back seat of our family station wagon. We both learned from repeated experience, on calculating exactly what our posture should be and where to position ourselves on the back bench seat, along with what the approx. radius was of our parents sweeping arms and hands, as they would attempt to swing a backwards from where they were in the front seats, in order to avoid being smacked for misbehaving, etc..... Of course this just delayed our punishment until we reached whatever our destination was.... AVB-AMG

@Mrs. Peel: and another thing...... It is a shame, but not really a surprise that the political finger-pointing has continued during this human health crisis. While there is plenty of blame to go around at the Federal and State level for not realizing that the pandemic would dramatically spread as fast as it has and be as lethal as it is, I think we all share some of the responsibility for the late understanding and acceptance. We have not dealt with this type of crisis domestically ever before so I think many of us were in an ignorant state of denial, until we finally realized how fast the spread was occurring. Now, almost everyone is doing what they can, as best as they can. My heart goes out to those who were living paycheck-to-paycheck with minimal savings and are now out of work. I have been making $donations to the Community Food Bank of NJ, since the news reports of their being overwhelmed with recently unemployed people seeking assistance. As dysfunctional as our Federal government is right now, I do believe that they will ultimately do the right thing to help all of those folks in dire need in the most affected states. If they don’t, then we all are going to have an even bigger problem than just dealing with COVID-19. I am pleased and encouraged to find that most people whom I encounter have a good attitude about dealing with this pandemic, even those whose jobs/livelihood has been dramatically affected in a negative way. Will that last…? I guess it all depends on how long it takes for us to continue what we are doing, when a form of staggered reopening of businesses, schools, parks begins and most importantly, how long it will take for a tested and approved vaccine to be readily available to be administered to our entire population. Every day, I pause to be grateful and appreciative of what we have, starting with our health. I remind myself that at our socio-economic level we are able to afford to weather the equity markets downturn and do not have to worry about having food on the table, both of which many others are not able to depend on. To keep our predicament in perspective, I also think of and remember all of the sacrifices our grandparents made to get through the Great Depression, as well as the efforts that our parents did to adjust to WWII, realizing that for the most part, my generation has had it quite good, so far. I have said in multiple posts here on NJGF, over the past several years, that I do not subscribe to the belief that “it is every man for himself”, but rather that “we are all in this together”. The COVID-19 virus pandemic is our nation’s test to see which approach we will choose to take. AVB-AMG