compujas

I have been considering getting a security system for a few years now as well (since my break-in). The problem that I've had with doing it is the huge initial investment. I have a ranch-style home, so almost everything is accessible from the ground, and I have A LOT of double sets of windows. I have 10 windows, 2 regular doors, and 2 glass sliding doors, all accessible from outside. When I price it out with ADT or similar they want $1k+ for the equipment plus installation, and then it's $45/mo for cellular since I have VOIP. I also have issues with all the negative reviews about the "big box" security systems and have no idea whether any small companies are trustworthy either. I also don't know if I'm going to be in this house long enough to satisfy a 5yr contract. I know it's all in the name of security for my home and family, but that's a big pill to swallow when I know the older wired systems cost about $5 per sensor at Radioshack.

I think most people probably leave them alone, especially carry guns. It all depends on a person's preference though. Obviously with every instance of a particular model (ie. all Glock 19's) they are going to be identical, but no two people are identical, therefore it may not fit every single person the way they want it. Some people might want a marginally different trigger feel, or some don't like the sights. Since on most handguns, the frame is the part you're stuck with (although you can sometimes modify it with grips and backstraps), you buy a gun that fits your hands, and then if you don't like the trigger, change it. If you don't like the sights, change them. For me, my Glock 22 I added a rubber grip sleeve because I was having trouble maintaining grip, and I just swapped the disconnector and spring to see how it changes the trigger. On my Beretta 92A1 I put on rubber grip panels and just swapped to an adjustable sight and am considering swapping to a lighter hammer spring to reduce DA pull. My shotguns are all stock except for my Mossberg 500 is getting a fiber optic front sight. My Marlin .308 got a scope. And I don't count AR's, they're so modular that there really is no standard except possibly military. ETA: I'm also an engineer, and the engineer's motto fully applies in my case. "If it ain't broke, take it apart and fix it."

Yes, purchasing a Solidworks package doesn't make much sense for you. Your best bet would be to link up with an engineer/fabricator to help you with the details of the design and prototyping. If you'd like to PM me I can give you some suggestions for contacts in NJ that I've personally used at work. I have no ties (financial or otherwise) to them, but can only recommend them based on my having dealt with them. Aside from that, I can do some google searches to find rapid prototypers and rapid molders that are strictly fabrication shops. As far as forums, I'm not really aware of any that have people that offer their services, it's usually a word of mouth type of thing from my experience. Yeah, regular molds are normally hardened steel that are difficult to machine, but will last for MANY parts. They can also do aluminum molds that are far cheaper to machine, but also don't last as long or hold tolerances as well, but they're obviously great for prototyping. Like anything else, it's all a tradeoff.

Delrin (generic: Acetyl Homopolymer) is definitely a tough plastic. You can even get it glass-filled to make it even tougher. Tolerances of .01" are not a problem usually for rapid prototyping, I've even gone down to .005". From the sound of it you need someone with an engineering background to help you out with the more detailed parts of design. Solidworks (among others) is a 3D modeling program that you can create a 3d model of your part and then create dimensioned drawings from to have parts produced. I would suggest trying to find a fabricator with engineering capabilities to help you. Depending on the complexity of your part(s), it may be a simple task to design and engineer it, or it could be fairly in-depth to properly tolerance it and ensure proper function. If you'd like, you can PM me for some suggestions, though I'm not entirely sure how they work with individuals trying to have parts designed/fabricated as I've only dealt with them through my job. I'd offer to help you with the engineering, but unfortunately, given that all of my modeling capabilities are through my job, I can't.

Much appreciated, but I don't have a 1911. I'm planning on shooting my Beretta 92A1.

Long-life molds, yes, but prototype molds are much cheaper. You can usually get about 100 parts for about $3k in my experience. They have larger tolerances, but I deal in the .001" realm, not sure what you're looking at.

You have a few options depending on size, complexity, polymer type, and quantity. For small quantities/complex parts, you can find a small machine shop that can cut plastic if you provide a drawing or CAD model. Your other option is having a prototype mold made. The only problem with that option is they typically require a minimum order quantity or dollar amount. Without knowing any more details about the parts, that's about the best I can give you at the moment.

Unfortunately I only just ordered my gear and the holster needed to be ordered (Lefty DOH, big surprise they didn't have it stocked), so I won't have it in time. I'm also taking the class with Col. Mort next month, so the April competition I'm sure I'll be there ready to see what this crazy stuff is really like.

http://www.kc3.com/editorial/quotes.htm Just ran across this long list of historical quotes about the 2A and the need to be armed and thought I'd share it. I found it quite interesting to see how blatantly obvious our founders made it that being armed was a critical necessity for freedom, and how blatantly oblivious our current leaders are about that fact.

This is probably the case for 99% of firearms enthusiasts, or people who choose to own guns for sport. There is a chance that in this case it is a corrections officer who owns a firearm because it is part of the job and not because he is interested in them. Unfortunately it seems sometimes that those who own them because they must treat them like a tool and aren't as aware of the need for safety as those who own them because they want to. It really is a shame because the kids probably know not to touch the power tools in the garage, or try to drive the car, or any other dangerous things around the house, but firearms were probably never discussed. Now I'm not jumping to conclusions and assuming that this applies to the particular officer involved, just stating a generality. We don't know nearly enough about the case yet to really say anything other than it's sad that it happened.

Posting photos of range improvement progress isn't supposed to help the range, it's supposed to help the members that can't get there often see what's going on and where their money is going, especially since the board of the organization doesn't see fit to inform the general membership of where the money is going or what's going on. It all goes back to the same problem that it seems most of us have with ANJRPC/CR, in that they don't tell us what's going on. I took a look the other day at the newsletter (my coworker's copy because of course I can't find mine and it's not posted online), and the article seemed more interested in justifying that they had to spend money on replacing the 15 year old pickup truck that just died, rather than giving details on range improvements. It spent a full paragraph explaining "we've had this truck for sooo long, we've fixed it a number of times, we tried really hard to fix it again but it just didn't happen, please forgive us for spending $30k on a new truck" and then only a few words saying "pistol range improvements are coming". No details on what improvements, what it's going to fix or help, just improvements. Personally, I don't really care that they bought a new truck because I don't use it. I know they need trucks and if they got 15 years of rough usage life out of it, then great, but what I do care about is the actual ranges because I do use them, and I'm sure the improvements to one range alone cost way more than a new truck. /rant, Sorry about that. On your last point, griping here doesn't necessarily help anything, but at least we have the ear of someone related to the range (LastShot, I'm assuming you do, since you seem to post all the info here lately). Even if we wanted to go to the board meetings (not that it would apparently help if the board members are stubborn and refuse to listen), I have no idea when or where they are since I can't find anything about them on the website, and I don't have a newsletter to check. And if nothing else, griping here is at least a way to vent.

A few years ago when I bought the house they were the cheapest by about $0.40, so I went with them. Unfortunately it seems over the years that's changed by quite a bit. I also figured auto-fill would keep me from forgetting, but now that my reloading bench and gun safe are next to my tank I can check it more frequently. I'll have to give them a call and see if they can do something about the rates or tell them to cancel my auto-fill (fortunately it's not a contract).

These prices are insane. I just had mine filled today (I'm on auto-fill so they come when they decide I need it, aka when prices peak), and they charged $4.549/gal. I've been keeping track of what I pay since I bought the house 4 years ago and this is the highest I've ever paid per gallon. I just checked another company online and their price is $3.66/gal today. That would've saved me $160 on this fill...that's enough for 1000 bullets, 1lb of powder, and 1k primers and still have some leftover. If this keeps up I'm going to have to cancel my auto-fill and switch companies. Unfortunately I also have a service contract with them, so I don't know how that will affect it. Edit: My bad, I just realized I confused this thread (about gas) with the other (about heating oil). Reading is fundamental kids.

It seems like hiding the fact that a range is there is not the best move. Just like anything else in the firearms world, we need to not hide it from the general public out of fear, but rather be open about it and educate the public to get them to understand that we're not scary. The pro-gun organizations are always pushing members to spread the word and get more people informed and to join, but now on the flip-side we're trying to hide one of the few shooting ranges we have in the area? The people that you're trying to hide it from are the exact people that you want to find out about the range, because they're the ones you want to get to CR for NRA Family Day, Women's Day, Youth Day, etc., to try to get them to turn to our side when they realize how much fun it is. If I'm way off base, then I apologize, but I'm just tired of hearing from everyone in the gun world that we need to get the word out and then turn around and hear "don't publicize the range, we don't want people to know we're here because they might not like it." Edit: Just want to clarify that I have no issues with LastShot or what he is doing (I try not to shoot the messenger), and I appreciate that he is providing an information link between the community and the range. I more have issue with the decision makers of the organization for not providing the information in the first place.

Agree with what everyone else said so far. As far as the dryer sheet though, I've found that it will remove the polishing compound (car wax or other) from the media. I only run a dryer sheet once in a while because the media needs to be recharged afterwards. As for the scale, I also use an RCBS 5-0-5. I have a Lee scale also but it's not accurate (may be just mine), it's several grains off, so I don't use it.

The other problem is that notice on the website has been there every time I've visited in the past two years. It's the same issue as crying wolf; if you always say it and it's not true, eventually people will stop listening. Not to mention I called the range availability hotline a few months ago and let it ring for a solid 60 seconds with no answer before I hung up. I will also echo the lack of communication. I also really wish they would post the newsletter on the website since half the time I don't get it in the mail, and the other half it gets lost/tossed before I get to read it. And I know I can just go into the clubhouse and grab a copy, but if I'm going to the range, I don't go near the clubhouse, but I am at a computer most of my day, so it would be far easier to get it there, likely for many others (especially people on forums) as well.

Actually, I take it back. Walmart said they don't even do polarized safety lenses with Rx. They want $130 for regular polarized lenses (non-safety rated).

Where did you get your polarized rx safety sunglasses lenses? I just sent my ESS insert out with Walmart for regular clear safety rx lenses, but for polarized safety rx lenses they want $130 (compared to $30 for clear safety). I was considering using one of my Wiley-X frames and putting polarized lenses to use as regular sunglasses.

.50 Barret M82/107 (not sure which it was) at demilled tanks at several hundred yards, the recoil really is nothing on that thing thanks largely to the MASSIVE muzzle break and recoil buffer, though I did almost watch a cross-eye-dominant coworker lose an eye socket to it. I've also shot a 40mm M203 several times, and the Milcor 40mm 6-shooter (that thing is heavy as all get out), I'm still trying to get my hands on a Mk19 GMG . I've shot plenty of standard military rifles and MGs like most others here so I won't even list them. As for recoil, the worst thing that I've shot yet is my own .308 bolt action Marlin. With only a synthetic stock and no recoil management features, it kicks like a mule. My friend's Garand with a steel butt-plate is like a stuffed animal compared to it. I can only imagine what a bolt .338 or something must feel like.

I just had one of their double-wall tanks installed over the summer. Gave me a lot more room in my utility room so I could squeeze a reloading bench in there.

No, it was correct. It had velocity in there twice already. Now it's .5*m*v^3

That's probably an artifact of their quality database system that gets updated on the same schedule as payouts.

Sorry, my second comment was directed towards handguns. Being that any long gun you are carrying on duty is usually not on your person (in the trunk, between the seats, or wherever you may keep it), I wouldn't imagine you would carry it with a round in the chamber. The first comment was more that people on tv shows will rack a shotgun 2 or 3 or even more times and a shell never ejects, and then they go and fire it. Loaded magazine, no round in the chamber, hammer down. In other words, you have to rack the slide after you draw.

If yes, by that logic, posession of car keys in a parking lot is reasonable suspicion that you just rear-ended someone or committed a DUI. That logic is the literal opposite of innocent until proven guilty. Actually, it might be worse, assuming that you are guilty of committing an unknown crime simply because you are presently existing.

This, but you forgot that no shells are ever ejected. Also, the LEO that draws and racks the slide and no ctg comes out. You really mean to tell me that LEOs carry Condition 3?