RichP

Have to agree with DTtuner above. For a first AR, there really is a lot to be said about getting a pre-built, tested and proven rifle. Stag, Sig, S&W, Ruger, Colt all make rifles that will fit your needs just fine; especially if you're looking for a minute-of-man, SD/HD gun. At the very least, a pre-built upper like the Troy that is mentioned to be thrown on a lower that you build yourself.

I have used Tommy Tree Experts a few years ago, and their prices were competitive and the work was done cleanly and quickly. I would imagine that getting anyone after these recent storms would be difficult and not cheap.

Another question to the folks that have gone thru the process. Can the muzzle break be drilled/pinned while installed, or does the gunsmith have to drill the brake first, and then install onto the barrel for further drilling. The reason I ask, I'd like to install it myself and just have the smith drill a hole for the pin. I would imagine that it could only be done with a mill.

^^^^^^This... Should be a little set screw in the stock housing:

Any gunsmiths in Northern NJ do pin/weld on titanium muzzle brakes?

10 rd. magazines in a 9mm 1911 are very finicky. I've had best luck with CMC mags. Dawson and Tripp were pretty good, with minimal feed problems. Wilson were downright horrendous. YMMV. Oddly enough, never had any issues with 9rd. mags, from any manufacturer.

I did check on WOA quite a bit. The 3 gun barrels are nice, but I did not like that they used a proprietary gas length (rifle -1"). The CLE barrel uses intermediate gas length, and while not hugely common, it is made by several outfits. Just about everything else was a toss-up between the two companies. I also recall reading somewhere that CLE was turning barrels for WOA at one point, but don't know how true that is. This is going to be my first AR build, so hoping to get it right without much rework.

Starting to see more and more bats in the past 2 years, hopefully the population keeps rebounding. I plan to put up a few of those boxes this year.

It will not bend or shift the barrel at all. But I would worry about scratching the bore or chamber; even though they claim that their powder coating will protect it. I would probably slide a piece of tubing over it just to be sure.

I wound-up calling CLE and speaking to the owner about what he would recommend, based on some things that I was looking for. Ultimately, I ordered a Criterion in the SPR profile, 7.7 twist and a CLE match chamber. Sending him my bolt so that he can check headspace and remove any slop. Should take about a month to finish-up. Still up-in-the-air about whether or not to get it fluted; the whole heat dissipation vs. stiffness debate. Now, to find glass....

Looking to put together a mid-weight but very accurate AR. Have most of the parts picked-out or already ordered and next on the list is a barrel. Looking for an 18", not super heavy, likely a .223 Wylde chamber with a 1:7 - 1:7.5 twist. Would like to use bullets in the 65-77 grain range. Strong considerations are Noveske, CLE Bartlein or Rainier Ultramatch. I am leaning to CLE mostly for customization options, but the Rainier looks damn good and the Noveske has a cult-like following. Chances are, the CLE will be the most accurate. Opinions?

Everyone here needs to click and read each of the proposed bills. We are doing a disservice to ourselves by not knowing exactly what each entails, and can therefore be very easily rebutted in any debate on the subject. For example A2759 - adds or (3) any person, other than a law enforcement officer, who knowingly has in his possession handgun ammunition which has a full metal jacket and an ogive with a steel penetrator tip followed by an aluminum core and is therefore capable of breaching or penetrating body armor is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.

As far as I know, the Winmag can be loaded with 200-220 grain bullets. Additionally, there are many more "heavy match" loadings available with the Winmag. Not so sure about that. Pretty positive that the RUM can be driven much faster than the WSM; almost as much as the 30-378Wby (dig at RUM owners). The 30 Nosler is also in the same league. All 3 of these have huge case capacity.

Winmag is better for long distance shooting. The WSM is better with lighter bullets in the 165 grain range, the Winmag would be better with 200gr. pills. Both are fine hunting rounds. As mentioned above, while I'm not at all a fan of the RUM, the lack of a belt + the ability to use heavier bullet is probably better for long range target than either of the 2 you have listed. With that said, none of them are as good for long range shooting as the 6.5 or even the .308 simply for the recoil, available LR ammo, etc.

All good advice, especially to get a blood test done. Switching foods on dogs is always best approached very slowly, and contrary to what we think, a dog is perfectly happy eating the same thing every day. I've always found that the best way to switch foods (if needed), is to start by giving them rice/boiled hamburger meat for a few days, and then slowly adding in some new kibble every day. Over the course of 2 weeks or so, they get switched over without issue.

Its a great shooter, and the way that its built, I can't see it wearing out in 5 lifetimes.

That's weird. Years ago, I was told that it was owned and operated by the PBA, not by the city. Was it sold to Bayonne? And, is it 40 yards? I think not.

They work unbelievably well. At first, they were used for temp. fixes, but many people have found them to last a really, really long time with no leaking. If, after 20-30 years, one begins to develop a leak, changing it out to a new valve should only take 30 seconds or so. Disclaimer: I've only used them on copper pipes. But I would imagine they would be even better on cpvc.

Easy peasy. G20 Blaser R8

My recipe is slightly different. 9mm case of Lemishine, 2 tablespoons of Dawn, 1 gallon of water, 3lbs of brass. Tumble for 2 hours. Separate pins and rinse in hot water twice. Last rinse/soak, I add a couple of drops of dishwasher rinse agent (JetDry). Then shake any residual water off and spread-out in a cardboard box. If its sunny outside, I let them sit out there for a few hours. Only problem I've ever had was the cases are too clean and need to be lubed with One-shot before running them thru a press smoothly.

You might look into pillar bedding the action at the same time. And you won't have to do NICS again; you can actually ship the rifle to a gunsmith and have it sent directly back to your home.

You can't do that with a .243. Geez, everybody knows that. Next you'll be telling us that you shot it without a FFP scope.

I went thru this scenario somewhat recently as well. Simplisafe was one of the final contenders, but did not win in the end. While their system has very positive reviews, they are somewhat dated and did not allow integration with many other home-automation vendors. I finally went with Abode, and so far, so good with them. I have my smoke/CO alarms, Nest cameras, some light bulbs and outlets all integrated with the alarm system. I did not put window sensors on any of my windows, but have motion detectors on both basement and first floor. Door sensors on all doors. Seems to be enough, and I don't currently have any pets. The one time I forgot to disarm the alarm when I got home, it seemed to be very responsive. I received a phone call within 1 minute of tripping it, got emailed pictures and video of me walking thru the door, as well as every other family members' phone being alerted. Nest just recently came-out with their own system, but I haven't really looked into it too deeply. Could be another option.

Depends what you will be doing. There is a huge difference in what you can wear when you are being active, as opposed to siting in the cold stationary. Start with a good base layer. There are a bunch of companies that offer no-itch wool bases. I use Icebreaker, and like it so far after 3 years. Wicks moisture, keeps you dry and doesn't stink. NO COTTON! For active endeavors, you need something that breaths well, and gives you the ability to dump body-heat when needed. Synthetic insulation is fine here, fleeces, primaloft, thinsulate, etc. You never want to be warm, you just want to not be cold. READ - Sweat is bad. Stationary endeavors, down is king. I usually don't use down until it falls well below freezing. Biggest downside is that it looses warmth when wet, whether that is from sweat or rain. Also has to be windproof.

As stated, the heavier guns will seem to be the softest shooting. Don't overlook the Tanfoglio Stock III, which comes in at approx. 44 ounces.