SgtToadette

Who cares what political background our members have? I don't care if they're male, female, black, white, gay, straight, Mormon, or atheist. The more the merrier. The gun rights movement really can't afford to be picky. As for more more women? Absolutely, but we need to look at ourselves and realize that we're part of the problem. People with cleavage for avatars aren't helping and our typically abrasive discourse could use some refinement as well.

BUT NUTNFANCY SAY CONDOR IS GREAT FOR SHTF!!!!1!!!1!

Yes.

Gotcha. Sorry for the 'tude, lol.

I'm not looking to have a semantics discussion. I don't disagree. Most people here seem to be on the same page, I'm simply looking for additional resources to examine these events and get a more comprehensive perspective. But I'll just Google it. I'll probably get a more direct answer that way.

So presumably these open-carry events are organized on some level, likely through an online forums similar to this one. Anyone know what site(s)? I want to know what their perspective is on all of this.

All the brands I named are solid companies with quality product lines. It's not fair to knock the intensity arbitrarily. I get the point you're making, but you're not actually responding to what I said. I admitted twice now that lumen measurements are only part of the equation.

I'm making an observation of the industry not the effectiveness of the particular output for a specific application. 500 lumens is damn bright and can get the job done. Hell 300 lumens is bright and works well. But in terms of what is possible with two 123 batteries at this point in time, 500 lumens is mediocre. Look at the competition: FourSevens Maelstrom MMX: 900 lumens (granted in burst mode). Fenix TK22: 680 lumens Olight M21-X-L2: 750 lumens Elzetta B333: 650 lumens Now there's plenty of reasons to still choose Surefire and Inforce because as I said before, output shouldn't be the only factor to consider when buying a light.

500 is mediocre I'd say. Surefire and Inforce seem to be lagging behind in the output department. Not saying that output is the sole measurement by which a light should be judged. Just making an observation.

Good article which I agree with 100%: http://www.thebangswitch.com/open-carry-activists-strike-again/

Just installed both the BCM vertical grip and the Midwest Panels. I think I'll be keeping this set up. Feels great. The Midwest panels are winners. Definitely better than KAC and Noveske.

Not to take away from this thread, but I always found it funny that many professors of "Glock Perfection" seem to throw on so many mods.

Not to get too semantic, but the term lawful is defined as anything not unlawful. If there is no statute prohibiting the reason you give, it is a lawful purpose. The issue is instead the "manifestly appropriate" clause.

If size is your concern, the XDs is probably better since it's smaller, but the two guns are rather hard to compare. A .45 sub compact to a .40 compact? Too much difference in size, capacity. The PPQ will do some things better than the XDs and vice versa. You need to decide what's most important to you and pick the gun that does it best. As for personal experience, I own and shoot a Walther PPQ in 9mm. It's the only handgun I shoot and I recommend it to anyone who asks. Trigger is great. Ergos are great. Reliable. etc.

Here's my take: There are two ways to look at the issue of knife laws in NJ: the statutory approach and the enforcement approach. The statutory approach is the more static conversation. We have some words in a book somewhere that we can all look at and read. The words are what they are and we can piss and moan about why our interpretation is right and everyone else's is wrong. Very similar to the firearm laws in this respect. So we look at Title 2C, chapter 39 and we got a few statutes. There's some extra deadly and scary stuff like gravity knives, switchblade knives, daggers, dirks, and stilettos. These scary sharp things are defined in other statues. Cue pissing and moaning. "'Gravity knife' means any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force..." So is an assisted knife a gravity knife? No. I can't let the earth pull the blade out of the handle, nor can I whip it around like a madman and get that sucker to go fully erect. I need to push on it with my fattest finger until it goes boom boom boom. "'Switchblade knife' means any knife or similar device which has blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in the handle of the knife..." Is an assisted knife a Switchblade? Almost, but no. Is there a button in the handle that I push that makes the knife go full mast? Nope. The tumor on the blade is what I push on, so a Switchblade it is not. Plus is doesn't come out automatically since it needs a little help from your fingers to get the magic to happen. Dagger? Well is it edged on both sides? I hope not on a side folder. Dirk? No. Stiletto? No. Even with all this, it's only a fourth degree crime without an explainable lawful purpose (2C:39-3). The other relevant statue is 2C:39-5. 2C:39-1 only defines terms for the rest of the chapter. Simply because something is defined as a weapon there, doesn't make it illegal. If there is not associated penalty in the phrasing of the statute it is not illegal. Lots of things can be vaguely defined as a weapon, but that doesn't prohibit them. That's the job of 2C:39-5, which says: "Other weapons. Any person who knowingly has in his possession any other weapon under circumstances not manifestly appropriate for such lawful uses as it may have is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree." So if you have a knife or whatever on you, you need one that is appropriate for the job. Carrying a machete for opening boxes ain't going to cut it legally. Carrying an assisted knife? Sure. Go for it. Just have a statement mentally rehearsed so that any nosey law enforcement dude/dudettes have an answer. I personally have this situation rehearsed in my head: Po-Po: "Mr. Toadette, why are you carrying a knife on your person today?" Mr. Toadette: "I am carrying this knife for everyday, lawful cutting tasks for which it would be manifestly appropriate to use. Do you require any examples?" So that's my take on the statutory level. Note that there is no legal limit for knives (at least not that I could find). The "manifestly appropriate" clause seems to have that covered. The enforcement level is a little different. Do I really expect to have a nice legal discussion with a law enforcement officer, citing exact statutes? Not really. I don't want to come off as a smart ass if I don't have to. I keep a knife in my back pocket for EDC use. I really don't want to stab people, and even if I had to, I use the knife way more for non-defensive uses. The law is only as effective as the smartest cop. If the cop decides to confiscate my knife because his wife didn't give him a blowie that morning, whatever. It was probably time to get a new knife anyway. I'll piss and moan about my butthurt to the chief the next day. Maybe I'll get it back. Maybe I won't. I just don't want to get arrested for nothing. But it's all just my take... I'm not a lawyer. If you or anyone else wants to err on the side of caution it's no skin off my back. I'll just carry cooler stuff than you.

Ran into this comment today on Reddit:

Grrrrr photobucket...

SPECS PLEASE!

So I frequent Reddit. It's entertaining and the content is usually pretty fresh. Definitely not a good resource for anything which requires a conversation. Reddit as a whole is significantly bigger than just the gun community within. It also has a very young demographic. As a result there's a lot of spill over from non-gun people and people who don't have a lot of experience. If you want to look at pictures of guns it's great, though.

RIP Bob's wrist.

Just ordered a Keymod VFG from BCM and two sets of handstop kits from Midwest Industries. I'll update here after they arrive and I install them.

How do you like the K grips compared to the gunfighters?

I would think so. One thing I failed to do at the event was visit the reception desk and look at class dates. Probably one of the more important things I should have done, but it is what it is. I'm sure if you call, they can give you some details.

So I'm a bit late in writing this, and for that I apologize. I've had a lot on my plate between school and work and simply haven't found the time. I'm going to write about two things: 1) My experience with the members of Spartan Group, and 2) My experience with RTSP. I had originally intended to attend the Grand Opening on Saturday, as I get time and a half for work on Sundays. Apparently, the universe did not want this to happen, as multiple conflicts arose on that date. Fortunately, Sunday seemed to be the best day to go. A little back story before I got into the meat of this. I hadn't been to RTSP in about 2 years. I first went when I got into shooting about 2 years ago. Back then, I was impressed with the facility and the faculty was very friendly and helpful, especially to a new shooter like myself. I hadn't visited since because of budgetary constraints. I consequently spend most of my range time at EFGA, but that's not really relevant to this comment. I was able to get to the event at about 10:27am. I got out of my car and I was immediately confused. When I had visited 2 years ago, there was only one door into the facility. There were now three. Fortunately I remembered I could read and found the appropriate door. I remembered that RTSP had expanded as I followed it on the Facebook, but the scale of the expansion didn't quite register until I saw it for myself. I walked in and was in awe. Gun counters were everywhere, the range had doubled in size, there was a VIP lounge, and entire area dedicated to classrooms. This was not the same RTSP I had visited before. This is on a different level. Perhaps adding to that sense of awe was the fact that this was within the boarders of NJ. I've seen pictures of high-end ranges from Texas and the sort. Never thought I would see something like this only an hour from my house. Enough ass kissing, though. I was just barely on time for the first pistol demo. I squeaked in and was invited past the ports for the on range demo. My line of the day was "I'm not good with names". If I had a superpower, it would be name forgetting. Consequently, I don't recall the name of the instructor doing the pistol demo, but to say he was very good would be an understatement. Not just in the level at which he was performing, but the way in which he could connect with and explain concepts to an audience. Approachable yet authoritative. That's what makes a great teacher, and I knew off the bat that this was going to be a good event. The demo eventually evolved into a brief carbine demo, which was done by Marc. All the same attributes that the previous instructor had were also present in Marc: skilled, articulate and an excellent communicator. He clearly knew his way around a carbine platform, which was especially important to me because of the classes offered, I am most interested in the carbine offerings. After the demo, I was pretty much sold. Taking the class was no longer a matter of if, but rather a matter of when. The demo ended soon enough, and I left the range to go explore RTSPs endless cases. I was drawn over to the case with LWRC lowers. As a lefty, I was always interested in LWRC's ambi lowers, and I wanted to see if these were the IC lowers or the "standard" lowers. As I gazed, a gentlemen approached me and asked to see if I was able to see the demo that just occurred. We went back and forth for a while about it, and I learned that this was Nick. The guy hosting the whole damn thing. Although caught off guard by Nick's desire to really meet and greet with everybody attending the event, I was able to mention that it was really nice to see such an active presence on the NJGF. He took immediate interest and asked me what my board name was. I introduced myself and Nick proceeded to give me the VIP treatment. I'm not going to lie. It was a little strange at first. Strange in a good way, though. I've attended board meetups before and gotten to know a lot of you here on a more personal level, but I had never seen the level of enthusiasm about how we spend our time getting carpal tunnel syndrome. It was clear, however, that Nick takes what we do here seriously and really values us as potential customers. If you're the kind of person (like me) who thinks it's important to support the people who support us, then let me assure you that Spartan Group is without a doubt one of the most quality groups of people I've encountered. This is despite their relatively recent presence. As we talked, Nick called over another gentleman wearing a Spartan Group polo. I'm fairly certain that this was Pat. Nick introduced us, I made a bad joke, and we proceeded with the tour. I would encounter Pat later at several of the future demonstrations. I don't even really recall how it happened, but some freebies appeared in my hands by the time Nick and I walked over to the case with the Spartan Group blue Glock in it. Nick assured me he would show me the gun later as we moved pasted the counter and into the VIP lounge. For those who don't know, the VIP lounge is typically a room reserved for a specific tier of members. It has a full kitchen, a large HD television playing CNN, and plenty of seating that looked perfectly suitable for a potential business meeting. In the corner next to Wolf Blitzers head, was this: Definitely caught the eye. Nothing really scream "legit" like a large metal sculpture of a company logo. We finished up in the VIP lounge and proceeded to move to the training area of RTSP. Right next to Range 1, there's a door which leads to a flight of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a reception desk where classes could be scheduled and browsed. Nick and I made our way past the desk, where he showed me the plethora of classrooms. There's a windowed classroom with tons of ergonomic chairs, a projector, and some whiteboards. All the classrooms were immaculate. I was also shown the virtual simulator. Wow! It's no joke. I know Howard had done a write-up on here before. Even though I only watched, it really is something that needs to be seen to be believed. Howard's write-up is very good and I don't think there's really much more I could add. This is where I met Lou. Nick introduced us and the three of us made our way into the shoot house. This is located in a giant warehouse type space. After remarking about plans to significantly expand the shoot house, Nick returned to the main event and had Lou show me around the inside. I originally though that this was a simunitions based area, but I was informed by Lou that they use a more advanced and reliable type of training munition. The name of it escapes me, but I examined a spent "casing" and I am definitely intrigued. We proceeded to walk through to the exit of the house. It is very realistic and looks like it would be adaptable to a wide variety of scenarios to meet the customer's needs. When Lou and I exited, he offered to show me the custom Spartan Group Glock he had on his hip. Now I had never handled a stippled gun before, but I was impressed. Definitely not a gimmick. Aside from that, the gun was totally tricked out. New barrel, trigger, sights, mag-well, beaver-tail, and paint job. I'm not much of a Glock fan, but this was really nice. Nick rejoined us and we proceeded to the main area for the next demo (which, I had unknowingly just gotten a preview of). This demo is advertised as a Home Defense course. From the title, I assumed it was going to be a meat and potatoes kind of course. I was wrong. This course has two modules: a classroom portion and an at home security evaluation. The classroom portion covers everything from community relations to emergency communications. The outline of the course was lengthy, and each bullet point could be a class in itself. I'd be curious to take this just to see how much I don't know. After the powerpoint, the class proceeded to shoot house, where Lou and Pat gave a run through. One thing I didn't observe when I went through the first time was that there's a catwalk above the house where you can see people within. It basically gives a bird's eye view to the entire house.This has the potential to be really helpful for learning purposes. ...aaaaaaand I've spent a lot of time writing this. I'll finish this up when I have more time. If you don't get the vibe already, though, I'm really satisfied with what I saw. If you're on the edge about taking a class, I urge you to take the plunge. You won't regret it.