General Discussion

Hey Graham. Been subscribed to your YouTube channel for a while now. Just moved to Ridgefield, WA from Hawaii a few months ago. I could be wrong but I got the notion you were located in Oregon. If so, and if I'm out of line for asking just say, but can you reccomend some good outdoor shooting areas in northern Oregon or southern Washington please? I refuse to go to an indoor range after I went through the trouble to move to Washington state.

Graham,

Who make the targets that you use in your videos?

Pat

Greetings, All ... it's your Noob Shooter again!

Our range day with our new firearms went surprisingly well. The "bubba'd" Tippmann M4-22 was a pure delight. It's been upgraded with a Hawke Vantage IR 3-9x40 Scope (we bought the package from Tippmann that included the case ... it's funny that the rifle won't fit in the case with the scope mounted), FAB Defense AGR-43 grip (I learned the fun way that there's a little tab and spring in there for the safety), FAB Defense GL-CORE CP stock (harder to install than described due to a VERY tight spring on the adjustment lever), and a Magpul bipod. We picked up a couple of Tippmann 10 round magazines and the new Tippmann 22LR organ grinder speed loader (it did NOT play "POP! goes the Weasel") which is bloody !doGsend ... it made loading those 10 and 25 round 22LR mags both easy and ... kind of fun. My wife utterly impressed me with her shooting talent ... again. Sure, the pink human torso target was only at 25 yards, but she put 40 rounds through the head with about a 4" group. If you're not impressed, keep in mind this was her 1st time with a scope and bipod. I can't wait to see what she does once she's experienced!

The new IWI Jericho 941 RS was also a champ and once again, my wife tore up the range with fantastic shooting. Even the SAR USA NATO 124 grain ammo couldn't slow her down!

The best part was the Taurus G3C T.O.R.O. ... which I wasn't expecting much from but ... WOW! that thing was SO much easier to use than either the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus or the Sig Sauer P365. My only complaint is the long trigger pull to the wall ... but once you get used to it, the weapon is pretty easy to shoot quickly and accurately ... and a lot of fun, which is something you don't hear very often about a concealed carry compact gun.

We've put down some money on another Tippmann ... the Redline model. I think we'll kit it out for more carbine like duty. Our plans are to acquire another G3C and do the whole Lakeline upgrade path (thank you VERY much, Mr. Baates for your video on the G3C and Lakeline parts) for both of them. I think we're looking at Holosun 507Ks to mount on them. Then it's probably an IWI Tavor X95 with the 18.5" barrel in 5.56 and the Tavor 7 with 20". Hopefully, KUSA will have introduced their KR-101 to the market by then ... and hopefully, we'll have the money to buy one!

Thanks, all!

P.S. Is anyone interested in a 500 year old Japanese sword? :D

Greetings, All ... once again!

Mr. Baates asked for an update on my Beretta 92X drama and no, I don't have one. OK, I lied, I have news. On Monday the 19th, my wife and I finally received our Concealed Carry Licenses ... yes, this has something to do with the story. See, earlier today (Tuesday the 20th), we ALSO received word from our local gunshop that Beretta had finally returned the 92X ... after 2 and a half months. Fun fact; it was NOT the same 92X ... different serial number. Turns out they sent us a new firearm. Funner fact; though we sent it to them with EVERYTHING, they forgot everything returning it ... including the 2 magazines that originally came with it. Oh, Beretta ... after all this time and effort you still make me giggle. We informed our local gunshop owner that we didn't want it. Due to it being new, he offered us nearly full price for it. We used the money to finish purchasing my Sweety's IWI 941 RS steel midsize and to put a most of the price down on a Taurus G3C T.O.R.O. ... our official carry guns. Thanks to the shiny new CCLs, our purchase time was very short and it saved us another $7.50. See? Told you it had something to do with the story.

You might be wondering, WHY a Taurus? Well, we went with a company that had a sterling reputation and look where that got us ... epic disappointment. Now we're trying a company with an adequate but growing reputation. I'm expecting the weapon to have something wrong with it out of the box, instead of being incredulous and holding the ammo responsible.

~sigh~ what a long strange trip this has been. Stay tuned, folks ... our adventure with the G3Cs are just beginning! And coming soon: TIPPMANN 22LRs IN SPACE ... space ... space ... space. Or, maybe just at the range.

Greetings, All and Mr. Baates!

I'm not typically what anyone would describe as an active poster to ... anything, really. I'm a simple, traditional lurker. But our generous host has invited us to "get something off of our chests" and I just happen to have a big one! ~cough-not-chest-cough~

I am, technically a new gun buyer. Yes, I buy new guns but this is pointed in the direction of purchasing firearms as someone who doesn't know anything about them. I've been relying HEAVILY on YouTube and various websites for research ... Mr. Baates GBGuns channel was a delight to discover. Integrity, objectivity, and a desire to travel paths least followed are all admirable traits.

It's why I'm posting here. This journey over the past few months has not only cost me what I consider to be a significant amount of money, but it's also been such a serious waste. Firearms aren't like cars or most other consumer acquisitions. There's not trial period, no "complete satisfaction money back guarantee" ... with the exception of Walther, I think. And because I don't have an FFL in the state of Utah, if after 2 or 3 magazines of live fire, I discover the weapon just doesn't fit, I'm screwed ... 50 rounds and its trade-in value is 50%.

I'd LOVE to talk in detail about these experiences, but there is ONE that I'm here to share: Beretta. This journey led to the purchase of a 92X RDO/FR ... a weapon I'd been dreaming of since ... well, you all know it ... 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Die Hard'. And so I bought one in June. It arrived in July at my local gun shop ... and ... WOW! It was like a Ferrari ... but not quite as deadly to its operator.

A week later I finally had time to take this beauty to the range ... I was SO looking forward to it. I loaded 15 rounds into both magazines and gave my wife the honour firing the 1st. And ... "click!". Then "click!" again ... and again. Out of the 1st magazine, 6 rounds fired ... then 2 more out of the remaining 9. I suspected a light pin strike. I took the firearm to the range armourer and with 6 rounds of entirely different ammunition, he confirmed my suspicion.

Funny thing, I didn't believe it ... I thought I just didn't know how to operate the gun or I ran into a batch of bad ammo, that's the reputation of Beretta.

Then I took the 92X back the point of purchase ... a few days later I learned they sent it back to Beretta. That was July 8th. It's now August 29th.

After many, MANY attempts to find the means to contact Beretta Customer Service about my firearm, I finally received an e-mail from them on August 4th, promising me they'd expedite the process and that they'd keep me informed along the way.

If you read the review page on Beretta's FB account, you'll find I'm ... FAR from being the only one complaining about how horrible QA has led to even worse Customer Service.

There, my ~cough-not-chest-cough~ has been gotten off ... er ... cleared of some detritus? At this point, I don't want the firearm anymore, I can't trust it or Beretta ... great reputations have long distances to fall. Of course, when it eventually is returned to me ... I'm guessing betwixt Veteran's Day and Christmas of 2023, I'm going to sell it. If I'm lucky, I'll get half what I paid for it. YAY! for being a gun noob LOL!

P.S. Anybody in the market for a 500 year old katana? Don't ask, inside joke :D

Graham, did you leave JakeLonergan a message to text you from the comments section of the Hi Power review? I’ve been getting these in YouTube for the past few weeks and strongly suspect hackers. Got one from Honest Outlaw about the same time. This is the first chance I’ve to ask outside of YouTube. Thanks!

Graham , Have you ever had an AK built ? I picked up a Polish kit finally and about to order up a barrel and get a kit built. Just curious I know you've own and run AK's in 3 gun etc. What say you about builds ?

Just saw grahams write up in the ammoland email. Good stuff man!

I know Front Sight holds some classes there in the Summer, but it's oriented more towards the "armed citizen" type so no battle-belt set ups. I learned how by just doing it. I started out way to geared up and paired things down as I gained experience.

I'm highly aggravated by the lack of decent trainers here in Alaska and people who generally aren't helpful to anyone in the 2A community or get themselves into sketchy stuff. I just want help setting up a battle belt so one day I can try a competition or 2

Hi,

I'm posting although am sure many are already aware...

Received an email notification from Mas Ayoob: "A reminder that the Gun Rights Policy Conference is coming up soon. I strongly urge you, SIGN UP! It’s online, and won’t cost you a penny. You’ll hear timely details from the attorneys who’ve brought pro-gun court decisions to their positive outcomes, and from grassroots activists who’ve achieved victories at state and local levels. The […]an the upcoming..."

This is the URL for his post, in it he provides the link to sign up:

https://backwoodshome.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b5c2ec5449f78995d34c15f5f&id=54d0a00c55&e=39759a5071

Hi. I've been afraid of guns my entire life even though my father was military then a deputy sheriff in Cook County, Chicago. He'd show us his collection of different firearms including a pearl handled revolver, 2 derringers, etc. but I was still scared. My mother carried, too. (I did think he looked so cool carrying in a shoulder holster off duty, and always--on or off--carried back-up in an ankle holster.) My brother-in-law was also in law enforcement as a state trooper.

Recently I moved from IL to SE MN, but after the riots began I got scared even though I live about 1.5 hours from Minneapolis/St. Paul. A girlfriend of mine and her husband have always carried, I talked to them. I got instruction prior to taking a cc course which was woefully lacking IMHO; I'm trying to find additional training here, but can't seem to find defensive pistol courses. I now have 3 pistols, love shooting and feeling safe.

Off topic a bit, does anyone have input about cc insurance companies? I joined one, but they provided zero information what to do if god forbid a

Great grandfather's plus great grandfather.

For me it started with my grandfather's Winchester 69A .22lr. I found shooting incredibly rewarding. When I wanted more I was gifted a Mosin Nagant for Christmas (back when they retailed for under $100 and ammo was something like $10/200 rounds). I fell in love with the crude machining and utilitarian design, then went after other surplus guns noting how WWII pieces sort of told the story of their nation's culture at the time; why and how the guns were built.

I enjoyed shooting in the Army, but it wasn't until after my second deployment that I realized how therapeutic shooting was for me. After a Saturday of shooting with my friends in the woods I would have the best naps, best sleep. I came to reason that the physical acts of shooting, clearing the mind and taking control of breathing to land a good shot was meditative. I also appreciated the need and right to self defense and how firearms provide a chance for true equality.

Post Army I spent a year teaching defensive shooting full time and really enjoyed watching the transformation of my students as they gained confidence and a real chance at being able to defend themselves regardless of age or physique. I also saw firsthand how some shops push certain products for profit rather than try to give the customer the best solution. Combine all of the above and it's why I do what I do! This might make for a good video.

Who/how did you get into firearms of any kind, and have you personally helped anyone else enter the happiest place on earth? A world were a number and a letter make millions feel safe at home, while out and about, and allows some to enter into competitions. Welcome to the freedom that the 2A protects our rights!