Leth

Lewis has done some great work for me in the past. He fixed the barrel latch of an O/U Weatherby shotgun, fixed the timing of a single action revolver, drifted the sight of a reluctant Ruger Mk1, and did a great trigger job on a Colt 1911. All fantastic work!

I'd be interested. Any combination of semi-rifle, precision rifle, shotgun and handgun would work for me.

I'd go for one.

I've had friends who have owned 686s and GP100s. I much preferred the balance, look and trigger of the 686.

Thanks maksim - will do!

Thanks for the nice feedback, fellers. Nope - it's brand-spankin' new. I've just unboxed it and have attached a pic. A range report with a selection of ammo will follow as soon as I get some range time over the next week or so. The scope is fine for what I'll be using it for, but nothing fancy. It's a matt black Cabelas Pine Ridge 3-12x40. The reticle (image attached) is their bullet drop compensator EXT. I'm not sure who the actual manufacturer is, and the instruction brochure doesn't say. Interesting mystery! I'll be putting some handloads together for it, but also picked up some Winchester 147gn white box and (for comedic value) some crap-tastic 150gn Herters.

Yup, I'm a happy camper. Instead of individually buying me birthday presents I'm not really needing or wanting, my various family members all contributed towards a new firearm acquisition (*definitely* better than socks and DVDs!) . I drove on down to Hamburg, PA for my first Cabela's experience. Incredible place! I've been interested in getting a nice bolt-action in .308 for a while, so I thought the Remington 700 ADL with 3-9x40 scope package for $549 sounded pretty good. After taking a deli-counter ticket number, I was eventually called to the counter and started going through the range of Remington 700's they had with the sales-rep. This was one of those "stars aligned correctly" moments, as it turned out they had the newer Remington 700 SPS with detachable magazine and higher-powered 3-12x40 scope going for fifty bucks less than the ADL. $499 for rifle, magazine, 3-12x40 Cabela's scope, mounts and plastic case. Not bad at all! Of course I stocked up on powder and components while there too. Tried the Elk burger, venison Bratwurst and made a day of it. If you're thinking of making the trip to PA, don't be in a rush. It was a Friday afternoon, and once issued with the numbered ticket it was about two hours before I was called to the counter. Plenty of time to wander around and blow some more money. They were well versed in selling to NJ residents, and had plenty of NJ Certificates of Eligibility on hand. You'll need your NJFID. BTW - For you Mosin fans, one of the staff told me they are having a 4 hour sale tomorrow (Saturday) of Mosin Nagants for $99 each. Not sure what model... Cheers!

That's fantastic! I'm a big fan of the ultra-affordable 7.62x25; great to see it's being used outside its normal scope. I pull the projectiles and reload them with reduced charges of Unique for my Mauser Broomhandle. For 9c a round it can't be beat. Well done!

Enfield bayonets per chance?

Thanks for the great load info!

I'm very lucky to have the in-laws I have. My "Welcome to the Family" gift was a Walther PPKs my father in law bought in 1968. Still in the original box with manual. Sweet!

Sounds interesting - What handload are you now using? I'm looking at getting a 700 ADL and will be handloading.

I just pour a tablespoon or two into the media.

Ah! Good advice on the thumbhole and ffls. It seems there are ffls that have no idea about what's legal and what is not. I'll check with some of the ffls on the forum if we go down the path of ordering one. I know several people here have PSLs. Does anyone have any in or out of state retail recommendations? Thanks!

A friend of mine is thinking if getting a PSL. I believe the standard thumbhole PSL is NJ legal once the bayonet lug is removed (the muzzle break is OK) . Does this sound correct? One thought my friend has is to drive to another state (roadtrip!), purchase a PSL over the counter and then dremmel the lug off before driiving back to NJ. The purpose of this would be to get a reasonably priced PSL without needing to pay the shipping and ffl fees. It also would avoid some of the inconsistencies ffls treat these rifles with ("I'm not processing that!!") Has anyone else here tried or done this? Thanks!

I'm in Hoboken 07030, so all these suggestions work well. Thanks very much, everyone!

Agreed - the ending really blew. There's an alternate ending that is *much* better.

I'm all out of small rifle primers. Has anyone seen any good deals (or even availability!) at local NJ retailers? I'm kind of hesitant to pay the hazardous materials fee for shipping, so I'd prefer to buy local if possible. Thanks!

Hi Maksim, Nah, I was able to get multiple permits at one time. I'm pretty fortunate with my local PD; they're very professional and friendly when it comes to permits. Cheers!

I'm currently looking at getting a Remington 700 ADL in .308 for range plinking / silhouette comps / occasional hunting. It looks like the perfect rifle for what I'm wanting to do without the needless frills.

Oops - after re-reading your post it appears you might already have the multiple permits to purchase. If that's the case, please ignore my prior post. Cheers!

Congratulations on the GB purchase. I'm a Makarov user and love it. Welcome to the club! I'm in a similar situation, with two handguns coming into me from an overseas shipment (Mauser c96 Broomhandle and a Colt WW2 revolver). I was able, however, to get multiple handgun permission-to-purchase forms from my local NJ PD. I still need to wait a month between picking each handgun up from my FFL, but I don't need to apply for the permits separately. Have you checked to see whether you can do the same with your PD? Cheers!

I'm a Makarov fan. I bought mine new about 5 years ago in NJ for $120. Came with 2 mags, an extra set of Hogue-like black rubber grips and the worst shoulder holster/mag carrier the Eastern Block could devise. It's surprisingly accurate, possibly due to the fixed barrel. The recoil has some snap to it, but not uncomfortable. I'd recommend replacing the military issue red plastic grips with something more rubber-like. The single action is beautiful, but the double-action is pretty heavy and gritty. Ammo is cheap and plentiful. I notice the hollow-point loads shoot slightly high, but the military and wolf rounds shot to point of aim. I also have a Walter PPKS in .380, and I must say I find the Mak more comfortable to shoot. I have a Florida CCW, but while I don't really have the need to exercise this right, if/when I do it will be the Makarov I carry in a tuckable IWB holster. (My other handguns are too large for comfortable CCW) Recommended!

Be careful not to stand too close (under 10 yards?) if the metal stand for the pins is flat-fronted instead of angled. Angled stands deflect shots away from the shooter, whereas a flat beam can result in fragments bouncing back towards the shooter. I learned the hard way after shooting a shotgun of #4 shot at pins under 10 yards that were standing on a metal beam; the shot came back with enough force to penetrate the shirt I was wearing and leave some nice whelts (no skin penetration, fortunately). On inspection of the metal stand I found it had been turned around the wrong way; it actually *did* have angle iron attached for proper deflection, but the orientation of the stand had it facing downrange instead of the correct uprange. Two lessons: Check your target, and wear eye protection at all times while on the range! Cheers!

Just giving a heads-up; according to their answering machine, the Bullet Hole store & range will be closed closed July 4th -19th 2010. They reopen on July 19th.