MandM

Aren't SG and CTD affiliated companies? Not that it really matters... neither one of those companies is ever seeing a dime from me.

There's something on the order of 30x more deaths by car than there are by "Assault Weapons" in any given year... BAN CARS!!! There's 600,000 deaths per year (about 1500x higher than deaths by assault weapons) due to heart disease... BAN HEARTS!!! All kidding aside... the biggest problem with all the knee-jerk reactions by our lawmakers and the MSM and all is that it's all EMOTIONAL. There's very little actual logic being used. Emotions rule the day and are the basis for these "calls for action."

I usually lead off with what should be a shining example of an anti-gunner's perfect place to live... Chicago. 500+ gun crimes in 2012 and they have laws in place akin to what every anti-gunner wants to inflict on the rest of us. Waiting period, registration, permits, etc. BUT... this talking point has a draw back.... it's too logical! Generally the anti-gunner then starts to sputter and turn red and "but, but, but England or Australia" at which point, it's clear that they're too closed-minded, illogical or just plain dim, and I find better ways to utilize my time.

I was thinking this very thing. In my current truck I have fog lights that are operated independent of the headlights. I hardly turn them on. So does that mean a LEO can pull me over on "suspicion" (for lack of a better word) of them not being maintained... even though they're just off? I know it'll be easy enough to resolve that dispute... turn them on. But still... that's a lot of hassle on everyone's part for not much gain, or no gain at all. Heck... since more and more cars have Daytime Running Lights these days... does that mean they can pull over a vehicle for failure to maintain the DRLs and then realize that that specific make/model doesn't have DRLs to maintain after the stop? That seems terribly plausible...

Hey Fishnut... nice choice. Mike Stewart is a great guy. In fact, when I had my PSK made (CF scales, mosaic pins and moonglow inlay) Mike called personally after I ordered to double check the design and stuff. I can't recommend them enough.

Have a look around a website called usualsuspect.net. There are dudes (and dudettes) on that site who rock full custom Emersons or Full custom Striders (easily $2K+) on a regular basis. There's a place in the world for razor blade and box cutters, to be sure. But there are those of us out there that like nice toys... er... tools. I don't own any knives over $1K... but everything I own, I do carry. No safe queens in my house. My EDC is a Hinderer XM-18 3". The XM series is tough as nails. If you can find a 3" for sale... right now they can be found for $700+. I bought mine 4 years ago for $600. I've heard as high as $1K at times. (New from Rick, they're about $400... but Rick doesn't make very many and LEOs, EMTs, Firefighters and Soldiers get first dibs.) It's built like a tank. I have no qualms about using it. (Quick aside... Rick has designed a couple of knives for Zero Tolerance... ZT0550/ZT0560 and they're easy to find and cheaper than the XMs, but very tough, About $250. I own a ZT0560, and it's a tank too, at a smaller price point. The only problem, for me, is the blade on those is 3.75"... to big for my everyday usage.) If I'm not rocking my Hinderer, I'm usually carrying a Strider PT-CC or a custom Bark River PSK. (Another aside... for some knife "art"... go looking for a local knife maker named Sal Manaro. I had the pleasure of meeting him 2 years ago at a UsualSuspect meet-up in Queens. Helluva nice guy, and the knifes he makes are beautiful. All works of art... even the "plain" ones.)

None that are more than my guns... but some that are very close.

I've owned 3 1st gen Izulas (GF has 1 and other 2 were gifted to people) and still have my ESEE-4 as my primary camp knife. (it was called a RAT cutlery RC-4 when I bought it.) Great knives for a great price. Very capable. I highly recommend anything from ESEE.

It's a bit far for you... but there's an indoor range on RT 46 in Saddle Brook, NJ. Targeteers. It's been a long time since I shot (10-12 years) but I bought most of my gear there over the years (both hunting and competitive gear). They've got a nice staff and their indoor range has been redone recently.

Pinned the speedo (120 or so it says) on my 2005 Suzuki M50 hauling up the Parkway from AC with a bunch of friends Summer 2007. Worked that little bike HARD that day. Got it out of my system. Now we keep it reasonable. Safety 3rd! 140 on the speedo on my '02 Lincoln LS V8 on RT 21 between exit 11 and 9 by Rutts around that time too. (Man I miss that car. Now I own a slow, lumbering, unsporty SUV.) I have't gone much faster than 75-80 or so in a few years... ug... with advancing age comes advancing responsibility.

Not a snowball's chance I'm going now. Heck... last year made a guy's day of going to Cabela's after the New Year with my dad and my godfather and his grandson... and that was horrendous as far as crowds and lines and such... I can only imagine that it would be 10x worse this week/coming week.

It appears that it's gone now.... the link to the image is broken, the link to the PDF is broken and so is the link to the website. Maybe someone at the paper pulled their head out of their posterior cavity?

My buddy has one and I like it a lot. It really reminds me of the HKs (USPs, HK45, P30, etc)... very similar ergonomics (like the mag release location, grip feel/angle). It's just striker fired, no safety selector. One thing that's for SURE better than my HK45c... the trigger. It does have a sweet trigger. Seriously contemplating buying one of my own sooner or later.

It's not magical... but I like mine. .223/5.56 recoil isn't that bad to begin, and with the comp does improve it a bit. Some people say it's loud, but I don't know if it's that much louder than any of the other NJ legal muzzle devices out there. (I do think the loudness is a result of where the gasses are being directed, that being said... I make a habit of not standing on the business end of my rifle, so I wouldn't know if it's any louder on that side. LoL.)

Will that ATF letter make this questions moot if someone decides to break your chops? Depends on who's doing the bustin'. Could be a someone that just doesn't have enough firearms knowledge, could be a someone who thinks he knows everything there is to know about firearms law in NJ... LEOs or not, they're people too, and they'll run the same range any anyone you meet on the street. All that being said... I have a FSC556 on my AR. I carry a copy of the ATF letter in the bag with it and carry on.

Lots of recommendations for <$1000. 1) Decent budget optics do exist. Go have a look at PrimaryArms.com. Any of their PA branded optics are actually not shite. I have a their T-1 knockoff and for less than $100 it's a-okay. (I'm not sure how it would survive under torture... but I didn't buy it for that.) I'm even hearing good things about the Vortex StrikeFire... which seems to me like an Aimpoint PRO knockoff. (I don't own one so can't verify that claim.) 2) Aimpoint, CompM4, PRO, T-1/H-1 all under a grand and all awesome optics. 3) Lots of EoTechs out there for less than a grand too 4) My AR sports an ACOG and it's gonna stay that way. You can find TA-01 for about $975 (opticsplanet.com... and if you review a product they give you a 10% off coupon. it's how I got my TA-31H, the 10% made it easier to swallow.) My $0.01.... A lot of it, unfortunately for you and the rest of us trying to give suggestions, is going to depend on your friend's preference. In my order of preference, for my usage, I prefer ACOG > Aimpoint > EoTech. And I'm guessing if you ask 10 people you'll get all 9 different combinations of that list.

This. I love my HK45c.

The Bullethole does not rent. You should try RTSP (they rent)... and they have a good sized selection. Also... Meltzer's in Garfield has a very nice selection and isn't too far from you.

I have the Troy folding w/ Trit... but I love all things tritium and at the time I was building my rifle, I had a little extra cash so I got 'em. I found that they're basically just bling. You don't need the trit... and High Exposure is right... if you're running a light, they get washed out.

Congrats! H&K P2000 gets my vote.

My GF got me the Leatherman version.. the MUT. Says it's specifically for the AR platform... but I actually find it a little more versatile than my LM Wave and find myself using it more often than the Wave too. (Could just be that it's new and cool to me... but still.) I actually have a Gerber folding shovel and a standard GI one too. Gerber's offering isn't terrible for a "small" shovel and it's nice and cheap... but a good surplus GI shovel is great to have. The Gerber's "hammer" is actually nice and handy. It's got a decent sized face and it's sure heavy enough. And a prybar of some kind. (I usually have a few, in different sizes. Though I will be looking into that hammer/prybar thingy a few posts back. That looks like a pretty good Zombie head smashing tool.

If you're planning on this being pretty much a range toy... then build it for it's purpose... range toy/plinker. I assume you're thinking you're going to primarily be shooting 55gr commercial .223? Then get the barrel for that. Part of the advantage to building is customization for you/your purpose. On my first and only build... I did a ton of research, and then built what I wanted. Didn't know if I was ever going to build another again. I probably will... but why take the chance? Buy once, cry once. I spread my build out over a bunch of months... so overall budget was less of an immediate concern... all it took was whatever spare $$$ to buy the part of the moment. That's why I asked about a budget.

Do you have a budget?

Nice purchase! Have you tried looking at SWFA-SS series of scopes? Lots of praise for them over at snipers hide and such. When I finally get my 700 (I've wanted one for forever, seems like for much of the same reasons as you... but it's not that high up on the priority list at the moment) I'm going to look at those pretty closely. They are supposed to be a great bang for your buck.

Hello and welcome from another Passaic County resident!