Guns, Dogs and Blades QnA

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I used to save the spring packets off of the asphalt plant for one of the truck mechanics in our shop. The springs were about 36" x 2" x .125" with no curve and 10 leaves per packet. They broke on a regular basis, not exactly in a friendly environment, 350° aggregates 6" away from them :lol: He made custom kitchen knives out of the remains and was thrilled to get them.
 
My latest acquisition. That folder has a titanium body. I dont care for the unfolding of it.

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Who cares about the folder, that is a very cool set! I carried an old Gerber boot knife (in my boot) for a million years. When I retired it, she was worn. I still have it. I get back home from teaching this week and I will take a pix of it. Circa 1980s?
 
So I just got home from teaching a bunch of LEO (feds) Firearms Instructors. I can honestly say it was the most fun I have had in awhile. Was it challenging? Was it intimidating? Was it long arduous days? You bet.
But being surrounded by that caliber of men is just so absolutely motivating I cannot explain it to you if you have never been exposed. Turns out most were not just instructors they were Dept heads and program managers. We taught the big boss and his number one as well. We are talking from the Air Force Sniper program head that is on loan to the Army sniper division. You can only imagine the crap he puts up with everyday! To Three of the guys that conduct the training for the folks that guard our nukes. A coast guard head assaulter, this guy has been boarding boats and taking down bad guys for 15 years and just joined the cadre. Multiple X rangers the list goes on and on. The pure quality and passion for what they do is evident every minute of every day. At one point two of them got in a small challenge, as you can imagine no challenge was simply passed off or untested! Next break They got in the hallway, faced off, went beak to beak dropped and did true old school (is there any other kind) push-ups in cadence with each other till there was only one. That kind of men! This Country is still the best on earth because of men like that. I am proud to contribute in any small way I can. Long story short we were told we did an outstanding job and they already want us back in the spring after the holidays. No finer compliment in my opinion. These are highly intelligent motivational type men. You cannot bluff, posture or pretend with them, In my best Yoda voice, you either can or cannot, there is no try. Wow what a week!
 
Need advice...my background...have an HK 9mm, no optics. No rifles. Just got a Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol 12 gauge for HD, but I want to practice, be GOOD at it. Going to be using Federal LE 8 pellet 00 buck...does a red dot help me any, or not enough? If so, recommendations? I'm leaning toward a Holosun, if I do get one.
Thanks!
 
Need advice...my background...have an HK 9mm, no optics. No rifles. Just got a Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol 12 gauge for HD, but I want to practice, be GOOD at it. Going to be using Federal LE 8 pellet 00 buck...does a red dot help me any, or not enough? If so, recommendations? I'm leaning toward a Holosun, if I do get one.
Thanks!

Personal preference

Shotgun is an area weapon... and does not need to be discharged at the shoulder necessarily. If i were to mount something it would be visible laser or maybe a flashlight. Those work both ways though
 
Need advice...my background...have an HK 9mm, no optics. No rifles. Just got a Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol 12 gauge for HD, but I want to practice, be GOOD at it. Going to be using Federal LE 8 pellet 00 buck...does a red dot help me any, or not enough? If so, recommendations? I'm leaning toward a Holosun, if I do get one.
Thanks!
First of all congrats on selecting one of the best defensive shotguns on the planet. But holy smokes do you open a pandoras box with your optic question! First thing is how do you intend to use it? If it is real life home defense I would look at perhaps a visible laser. But if you are going to invest in going to defensive shotgun classes a red/green dot optic is your friend. It will help facilitate your training. I fully realize that seems like a contradictory statement given usage. But again you must be honest with yourself with regard to context. If you are running drill after drill running and gunning you need the optic. If it is leaned against the corner in your bedroom, and you grab it, and go down the hall at zero dark thirty you likely may never even shoulder it. Thus the contradiction. In the event you go optic and choose Holosun I would sure look at a 510 for your shotgun. Perfect match. I would also look at an extra shell magazine, me personally I like the stick on Velcro kind that I can rip off and toss another loaded one on. Ping me if you need vendors, there are many! Again my apologies for long winded answer! Great shotgun!
 
Thank you, sir, that it's a good choice is good to hear! And thanks for the information!
Yep, I grabbed some Velcro shell strips off Amazon, if those are sketchy, and there are good ones you'd recommend, I'd appreciate it.
If I can find something in drills where I can practice, I'd like that, don't know if there's anything like that around here. I'm just shooting paper targets at a small local range right now.
For the optics, I'll check into lasers and look at the Holosun, maybe something will be next month's investment...ammo was this month!
Ultimate goal is practice and have fun with it, and hope I never need it. But, if I do, that the practice makes me good enough with it the whole household is safe.
 
By the looks of your Avatar you are in NC? Due to the proximity of the Military and Marine Corps bases located there rest assured there will be a plethora of guys conducting Firearms training near you. Do your research and dont be afraid to ask for references and or make sure they are legit. Getting some actual training conducted by a professional is eye opening for most shooters. There is simply no comparison between “I grew up shooting with my Dad” to a training class conducted by a guy that has taken the time, energy, and money to invest in his own education to provide and transfer that knowledge to others. We require our instructors to maintain an aggressive CEU schedule annually, in addition we have had them go thru everything from Dale Carnegie to Toast Masters to photography class. Admittedly we are on the extreme end, but you get my point. You find a good instructor in your area and it will be well worth your time and money. I would suggest googling Defensive shotgun class North Carolina and see what you come up with? Or a home defense class, keep in mind there is typically two separate venues for home defense, inside the home, and outside the home. Hope this helps and let us know how you liked the training!
Be safe
 
I am, yes. Good point...I'll check around, probably after first of the year, most everything's dialed back for the holidays. And, yep, I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks, I REALLY appreciate all the help!
 
The club my buddy is a member at just opened a 500 yard range. It's open to guests as well, I'm hoping to get out there next week and give it a go with this. It's been a while since I've shot it. Ruger Precision in 308.

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The club my buddy is a member at just opened a 500 yard range. It's open to guests as well, I'm hoping to get out there next week and give it a go with this. It's been a while since I've shot it. Ruger Precision in 308.

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Nice rifle, what are you sighted in at presently? 500 yds is a lot farther than most folks think, but your 308 will not have any trouble with that. Do some ballistic table research for your specific bullet weight and velocity and you should be able to make a darn good guess for your hold over. Likely not perfect but it will get you on the paper than you can dial it in from there. If I am walking out there cold with unknown customers rifle I will typically stack two targets vertically then aim at top to establish drop at misc distance provided I have verified the HZ is basically accurate. And remember the wind is not your friend! Pictures or it didn’t happen!
 
I mounted a mag lite on one of my pump 12 gauges after a dog got into my meat chickens last year. Not playing that game again-something is gonna get some triple 000
 
I mounted a mag lite on one of my pump 12 gauges after a dog got into my meat chickens last year. Not playing that game again-something is gonna get some triple 000
If you “coop” your birds at night you can use a motion sensor tied to a flood light to illuminate the predator. Then Wa la predator becomes prey! Ask me how I know!
 
If you “coop” your birds at night you can use a motion sensor tied to a flood light to illuminate the predator. Then Wa la predator becomes prey! Ask me how I know!
Oh, they were cooped. Dang dog tore into it. I saw the dog’s eyes -9 in one hand, flashlight in the other. Could have shot, but didn’t. Won’t happen again!!
 
Oh, they were cooped. Dang dog tore into it. I saw the dog’s eyes -9 in one hand, flashlight in the other. Could have shot, but didn’t. Won’t happen again!!
I would guess once he has found them he will be back for seconds. Farm rules at this point. Around here dog owner gets one warning, no second chance. The rule is accepted and fair.
 
There’s a law in Michigan that you can kill on sight if they are endangering livestock. They were in a separate pen I built for meat birds. My layers are in this enclosure. Something would have to be very engaged to get in it with the amount of hardware cloth buried around it.

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There’s a law in Michigan that you can kill on sight if they are endangering livestock. They were in a separate pen I built for meat birds. My layers are in this enclosure. Something would have to be very engaged to get in it with the amount of hardware cloth buried around it.

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Ok that is one fancy coop! A Taj Mahal! That would have to be one seriously determined hound to get in there.
 
Nice rifle, what are you sighted in at presently? 500 yds is a lot farther than most folks think, but your 308 will not have any trouble with that. Do some ballistic table research for your specific bullet weight and velocity and you should be able to make a darn good guess for your hold over. Likely not perfect but it will get you on the paper than you can dial it in from there. If I am walking out there cold with unknown customers rifle I will typically stack two targets vertically then aim at top to establish drop at misc distance provided I have verified the HZ is basically accurate. And remember the wind is not your friend! Pictures or it didn’t happen!

Currently it's dialed in perfectly at 100 yards since that's all I normally have around here to shoot. I'll have to double check, but I believe it's around 11.5 minutes I need to dial in shooting 175gr gold medal match out of a 20" barrel.

The guy that I am going with has a 308 with the same barrel length, so I'll dial in whatever he uses to start with. But the two vertical targets is a good idea to start with. They have a 6" and a 12" gong out there too. Should be a fun day. Might even try it with my Wilson Combat Urban Sniper too.
 
Currently it's dialed in perfectly at 100 yards since that's all I normally have around here to shoot. I'll have to double check, but I believe it's around 11.5 minutes I need to dial in shooting 175gr gold medal match out of a 20" barrel.

The guy that I am going with has a 308 with the same barrel length, so I'll dial in whatever he uses to start with. But the two vertical targets is a good idea to start with. They have a 6" and a 12" gong out there too. Should be a fun day. Might even try it with my Wilson Combat Urban Sniper too.
I would be very interested to see how your new rifle does compared to the Wilson. I have heard and seen some pretty darn good results with your new rifle. Folks didn’t really support Ruger putting there foot in the precision game as that was not typically what they were known for, but your new rifle was an industry game changer. It let folks get in the precision game reasonably. As with any quality product, at some point positive results bear fruit. The Ruger has quickly turned a lot of heads. Not sure how long you have been reading this thread but my family is all over Berryville Arkansas area, home of both Wilson and Nighthawk. In fact in my younger years I worked at Berryville machine shop, Bill Wilson would drop off old military bolts for me to TIG back on sporting style. I think at that point he was still working out of his Dads jewelers shop on the square. Keep in mind this was early 80s. A long time ago. My long winded way of saying I got a beer says your Ruger holds its own against the Wilson!
 
I've had that Ruger since they were first released many years ago, it's definitely a shooter, with good ammo, I always get cloverleaf groups or better at 100 yards. It's pretty impressive for the price point and the fact that it's a Ruger.

I'm guessing it'll out shoot the Wilson, only because the Wilson is an AR platform, but we'll see soon enough.

That's pretty interesting, it would be cool to take a tour of his shop down there, someday I'll own one of his 1911s, but they aren't in my budget currently.
 
No chance of a white Xmas down here in Arkansas but the spirit of the Holiday is alive no matter where you are. Throw a prayer up for all the men and women of this Country who are not at home spending the Holiday with their families. They are lacing up and going to work like they do everyday so that we can sleep safe and secure in the good ole USA!

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I've had that Ruger since they were first released many years ago, it's definitely a shooter, with good ammo, I always get cloverleaf groups or better at 100 yards. It's pretty impressive for the price point and the fact that it's a Ruger.

I'm guessing it'll out shoot the Wilson, only because the Wilson is an AR platform, but we'll see soon enough.

That's pretty interesting, it would be cool to take a tour of his shop down there, someday I'll own one of his 1911s, but they aren't in my budget currently.
Both Wilson and Nighthawk offer tours daily of their respective facilities. It is well worth the time. Total win Nighthawk!
 
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