Eric – TIA wrote:
6 hours ago, Eric – TIA said:Thanks for the info. What shotgun is that in the picture? When I look up the ones you mentioned above, it just shows full size shotguns
That’s the Winchester 1300 Defender. Most have full wooden or synthetic stocks, and I’m not sure if they were ever shipped in the configuration, but those were popular in the ’90s (my brother had an identical one). The Side Saddle on mine is a TacStar, and I think the grips are as well. Mossberg offers the 500 Cruiser, which has a rear pistol grip (it’s the only pistol grip firearm we sell) and used to include pistol grips with all of the 500/590 home defense shotguns.
How is the Mossberg? What do they run? WWould you recommend the Winchester or the Mossberg
The Mossberg 500 Tactical JIC Cruiser Shotgun | Bass Pro Shops runs $480. So far as I know, Winchester doesn’t make any pistol grip firearms these days. Their Super X-Pump (SXP) is under $400, I have this one: Winchester SXP Woodland Hybrid Defender Pump-Action Shotgun | Bass Pro Shops.
I would probably recommend a Mossberg 500 or 590 over an SXP, due to them being made in the US (as opposed to Turkey) and still being family owned, while Winchester is part of the Belgian Herstal Group. The SXP is a decent design (evolving from the classic Model 12 through the 1200 and 1300), though, and the 1200 was considered a close second to the Remington 870 in popularity years ago.
Thanks, I like the USA and family owned idea. Yes, both look great. I am leaning towards the 500 as I like the grip.
After I buy the M&P-15, I’ve got to switch over to fire and theft protection. I bought a decently sized (33-gun, I think) gun safe back around 2000, moving it across the South during the first half of my military career, before putting it in storage after being burglarized of many of my tools just before deploying to Afghanistan (the safe did its job, though I have no doubt it would have been taken as well if I were gone another day or two). The keypad went out at some point, and by the time I decided to retrieve my guns in 2016, I had to breach that “safe”. Let’s just say that homeowner grade safes are deterrents at best, and mostly useful for their fire protection qualities. Despite the Georgia summer heat inside of a steel storage unit, I got into the safe in less than an hour, with probably 10 minutes of actual work, using only a DeWalt breaker bar, 24″ prybar, and 4 lb. engineer hammer. The seemingly extremely protective vault doors on the four Army Arms Rooms I ran or assisted in were only rated at around 10 minutes of protection against forcible entry (explosives or torches).
One of my walk-in closets is now a gun room, with plans to cover the interior with fire retardant gypsum board and either hiding the entrance or putting a reinforced entry door on it. I’ve been thinking recently, though, on what safes I want to place in it. Originally, I was thinking about a couple of large (60-gun) safes, but now I’m debating simply waiting for the holiday sales and buying four or five smaller (20-30 gun) safes. I will be lag bolting them to the concrete slab, so overall weight isn’t as important. That 550-pound safe I moved numerous times by myself probably contributed to my hernias, so lighter is better if I need to relocate them.
In other news, our used gun department has made a few decent buys over the past couple of weeks, so when I go in later, I might see if anything catches my eye. We bought a few vintage revolvers, including a couple of Colts and a S&W Model 36, along with some absolutely terrible guns like a Rock Island AK47/22, which looks like it was made by a five-year-old apprentice in the Khyber Pass region.
Not going to lie and I have said this before. Between your cookouts and firearms, I have to come over sometime and hangout. Your place would be awesome.
So, I finally got the M&P-15 yesterday. Our system was acting up, so a coworker had to call in and I got a Delay. Something told me it would go through the same day, though, and when I got back from my break, I was told that NICS (the FBI’s background check service) had called and would be calling back. Sure enough, I got a Proceed for my newest carbine.
I paid $775 total, getting two 30-round and one 40-round PMAGs to go along with the 40-round ProMag that came with the gun, along with 140 rounds of Winchester M855 Green Tip ammo. The gun has single-point sling, Picatinny rail system (given the four-digit serial number, I’m fairly certain it’s an early production that definitely predates M-LOK), Radian Raptor charging handle, MBUS sights, and of course the EOTech optic. I’ll mount one of my Sure-Fire weapons lights on it before long, and it’ll complement the Ruger AR-556 MPR as a JIC (just in case–what Mossberg pitches its 500 Cruiser as these days) gun. In the coming months, I think I’m going to get a Ruger SFAR in 7.62mm and maybe a Wise Arms WA-15B in .300 AAC Blackout. Speaking of which, I have a Wise Arms bag for the M&P-15; they’ve sent a few guns in soft cases with damaged zippers, so I repaired one instead of tossing it like we usually do.
We got some vintage revolvers in almost a month ago, which I’m considering doing some research on and possibly buying, but I’m also looking at the Hellcat Pro bundle we’ve been getting. It’s $599.99 and includes a Hellcat Pro pistol and the usual two magazines (17-rd and 15-rd), along with three additional mags (one 17-rd and two 15-rd) and a range bag. My discount would knock about $40 off. I mainly need to buy Springfield, FN, and SIG Sauer pistols to complete my personal desire to have some level of familiarization with what we sell. Maybe a centerfire Walther as well… I had a PPK/S years ago and bought my 16-year-old a P22 last year, but I don’t know the PDP and CCP as well as I do other pistols. We have a lot of Kimbers, but between price and Kimber’s expectations of a 500-round break-in period, I’m not overly concerned with buying one. Besides, most of their firearms are based on Browning’s M1911 design, so they’re fairly easy to demonstrate how to field strip and operate.
Nice pick up. I may be wrong but $775 seems like a great deal. I thought they were more than that.
Eric – TIA wrote:
On 8/5/2024 at 10:35 AM, Eric – TIA said:Nice pick up. I may be wrong but $775 seems like a great deal. I thought they were more than that.
That was including the ammo and mags. A brand-new M&P-15 Sport 2 sells for $800 and a Sport 3 for $700. Mine is an older model but the newest version of the EOTech sells for around $550. All told, it was a pretty decent deal.
A few days ago, I picked up a Beretta A300 Ultima. There’s a sale, where with rebate the shotgun costs $624.99.
A Beretta 80X Cheetah and Winchester Wildcat came home with me a few weeks back. Then, out of pity for the gun display here, I bought a used Hi-Point .45 to keep my Hi-Point .40 company in the closet. Today I pick up my Ruger Security-380. We’ve had some good sales that, coupled with military and/or employee discount, make it hard to pass up on some of these. I think I need to slow down, though, since this will be the fifth gun I’ve gotten in the past month.
No new guns, but it’s almost time to max out my CLUB cards buying a couple of safes while I still get the discount. I plan to stick with my current employer through Black Friday week, but I jumped the gun (no pun intended) a few weeks ago by applying for another job. The interview lasted 15 minutes and I got an offer the following day, so within a month or two, I’ll probably be an armored truck courier/guard. I’ve been telling my coworkers that they can expect me to be leaving soon when I drop a few thousand on safes, and while that’s been in a joking manner, it just makes sense. I can get two of the large Cabela’s safes for $3300, effectively at BOGO pricing.
So, it’s been fun, but this will likely be one of the last posts I make on this thread. I may buy something for the new job, or I might use something I already own. I’ll have a steadier schedule (Monday-Friday, rotating Saturdays) and a set start time, with the end time depending on the route and external conditions (overtime will be nice, supposedly it’s 50+ hours a week). While I’ll be taking over a $1/hr. pay cut, the overtime will make up for that, plus I’ve heard that there’s a decent raise after the first year, when you’re fully trained and certified.
Anyway, I think my days of turning wrenches for a living ended in 2001, and my retail experience will be capped at two years. On to a new line of work to max out the 401k and prepare to fully retire in 15 years (hopefully).
Congratulations. A safe is something that has been on my list for a long time. So you have to supply your own weapon for the job? Curious, do you have to quality on a range or anything for an armor truck?
Eric – TIA wrote:
On 10/8/2024 at 8:16 AM, Eric – TIA said:Congratulations. A safe is something that has been on my list for a long time. So you have to supply your own weapon for the job? Curious, do you have to quality on a range or anything for an armor truck?
Thanks! Yes, I’ll have to provide my own handgun, but otherwise, everything should be company provided. Information is somewhat limited, but it’s my understanding that I’ll undergo a few days of company internal training and qualify with whatever I decide to carry (with annual requalification). All of the armored truck services are registered with the State Board of Private Security Examiners, so I’m fairly certain that I’ll get a state-issued license (speaking of which, my private investigator exam results came back yesterday, so I’ve got to get to the state police HQ for fingerprints and submit the applications for that and my concealed carry permit).
As for what I’ll carry, it’ll likely be the Glock 17 Gen5, or maybe the Glock 45. I shoot extremely well with my Beretta 92F, but I bought it from a now-deceased friend over 25 years ago, and the gun itself dates to 1988. What I’ve gathered online is that carry pistols take a beating, getting knock around in the truck and caught on the doors, so the Glock won’t hurt as much if it gets gouged or scratched. There are a few other guns I own that might be on the approved list, and depending on how things go, I plan to buy an FN 509 variant next year to see how I like it.
Sweet, keep us updated. Sounds like that would be a cool job.
Well, I should be certified as an armed guard this week. I started the new job but had to do a few things before they could hire me. First was getting a Chauffeur’s license, which lets me drive up to 15 passengers and a vehicle up to 26,000 pounds. Then I had to get my DOT physical. I’d been off of my blood pressure meds since before retiring, so it took me a few weeks to get back on meds and get my doctor to sign off on the paperwork so the DOT medical examiner could clear me. Much more importantly, I made the decision to quit drinking. I didn’t absolutely have to, but felt it’s best if I’m going to be handling large sums of cash while armed. It’s been a solid two weeks now, and I’m going through 1-1.5 gallons of unsweetened green and decaffeinated black tea daily. It’s been easy so far, and a medical emergency brought on by alcohol withdrawal syndrome and resulting in two days in the hospital solidifies my determination to never touch the stuff again. Besides, I was spending $75-$100+ a week on bourbon and mixers (ginger ale), and that’s drinking at home; I stopped going out years ago. Hand-in-hand is a sharp reduction in caffeine intake, with green tea (and the occasional restaurant tea) being the only caffeinated beverage I drink and me cutting out soft drinks entirely. I’m also cutting way back on fast food and processed foods. Now I just need to get the motivation to start hitting the gym again.
They gave me Librium to help with the withdrawal symptoms, but after taking it a handful of times, I figured I don’t need to replace one drug with another. It’s amazing how much my blood pressure and heart rate have decreased since quitting. It’s also nice not waking up nauseous and getting solid sleep. Besides the occasional aspirin and my blood pressure medication, I’m completely free of any type of drug, though I have a feeling that ibuprofen will be a friend in the near future as my body adjusts to the new job.
I’ve already splurged a bit for equipment: Rocky TMC boots (I figured postal approved boots should be comfortable and practical, there’s no need for law enforcement or tactical style footwear as I won’t be engaging in chases or traversing rough terrain), a Safariland holster and triple mag pouch, and a Safe Life Defense duty belt. Our soft body armor is issued, but I plan to order these Level IV plates soon. If the additional 12 pounds proves too much for hopping in and out of the truck, I can always remove them. I was told during the interview that I’ll be a “jumper”, which I suppose makes sense given my background. I expected to be assigned as a driver initially, but one of my coworkers is a guy I recruited into the Army years ago, and he never drives, so I’ll likely be in the same boat. My pay reflects this, as I was surprised to see I’m $1 more an hour than they usually start everyone at, meaning I’m only making $0.07 less than I did at Bass Pro.
It’s already time to renew my Range Safety Officer certification, and I plan to apply for both my private investigator and concealed carry licenses next month. This month is (naturally) just going to be too busy and expensive for me to do much else. I’ll have a solid two days off each week, one of which is Sunday, so I hope to be able to network with some PI agencies and do some contract work pulling surveillance, and perhaps do the occasional process serving job. I’m also still considering trying to volunteer for the local police department or Sheriff’s office, but that might be wishful thinking given my already busy schedule.
Congratulations on the above and very cool. Especially trying to get healthy and quit some of those vises. I am on the same path and trying. Not always easy but feeling better helps keep me going.
Eric – TIA wrote:
2 hours ago, Eric – TIA said:Congratulations on the above and very cool. Especially trying to get healthy and quit some of those vises. I am on the same path and trying. Not always easy but feeling better helps keep me going.
It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes. My tolerance had gotten so high that I rarely even felt drunk, and I hadn’t gotten a true hangover in well over ten years. At most, if I stayed up late drinking stiff drinks and woke up early, I’d still feel buzzed and might have a mild headache.
We qualified for the Armed Guard certification this morning. I pulled one of the 15-yard shots slightly left of center mass, so I ended up hitting 49/50 for a score of 24.5. I’m a bit shakier than I used to be, but experience and previous training makes up for that, at least a little bit. One thing I need to do is practice more with my weak hand. All six weak-hand shots were biased to the left, though all were on target.
Keep it up, nice work and nice shooting 49/50, nice job
This is how I felt:
lol, that is classic.
It’s amazing, but since I left Bass Pro, I’ve bought zero guns. I’m thinking of getting an FN545 Tactical to qualify with later this year. I like the thought of 19 rounds of .45 ready to go. Honestly, though, I don’t know if I want to carry the additional weight. The new job is going great. Sure, I could find a desk job paying more for less work, but I want/need a job that keeps me somewhat active. Despite us being cut to four workdays a week, I’m averaging 50 hours/week, and usually jumping these days. I finally got fully ATM certified over a month ago, so I’ll get a few from time to time. Earlier this week, I had 10, with 30 other stops. Each ATM takes as little as five minutes (for a deposit pull) to over 30 minutes (for less common machines, and some common ones that require more steps or are older and run slow). On the other hand, a “good” stop takes only a couple of minutes. I’ve dropped off over half a million and picked up a couple hundred thousand in less than five minutes. Larger casinos take a little longer due to security policies. Fast food establishments, car dealerships, and gas stations usually have safe systems that allow us to open and retrieve cash deposits without employee interaction.
With the job, there have been a few changes. I don’t see the need to touch alcohol again but haven’t yet worked the gym into my schedule. I have, however, managed to start organizing my tools and the garage and shed. The shed went from being mostly in order to being piled full of various tools I have to sort through, but I’ll make that the topic of another post.
That’s awesome about not touching alcohol, good job. That sounds like a crap load of money you are in charge. What does it mean to be fully ATM certified?
Eric – TIA wrote:
2 hours ago, Eric – TIA said:That’s awesome about not touching alcohol, good job. That sounds like a crap load of money you are in charge. What does it mean to be fully ATM certified?
The money comes and goes, literally. When I drive, I have no idea how much we are carrying. When I jump, I sign for anywhere from a few 100k to a few million and pick up anywhere from single digits (at retailers) to hundreds of thousands (at banks and casinos). Every day is different, as even the same routes have different stops each day. As for the ATM thing, it’s not really any kind of official certification, but rather OJT that we do before getting the thumbs up to service machines on our own. I’ve crossed paths with some of the ATM service technicians (who don’t have access to the cash in the vault), and that seems like an interesting career path I may look into one day, given my prior experience in the maintenance and repair industry. For my job, though, we simply collect deposits and swap or add cash to the cassettes in the machines. Much less technical, yet much riskier from both a physical security and a job stability standpoint. ATM robberies seem to be the latest rage, as we are at the machines by ourselves, and some guards get complacent or lack situational awareness. I keep my head on a pivot and don’t let anyone get too close. My life isn’t worth losing over an ATM load of cash if I’m caught off-guard, but anyone attempting to take that cash obviously feels their life is worth less than a quick payday, if I have both cause and opportunity to use deadly force.
As for the job stability thing, it seems that some inattentive guards cross-load machines, which is a zero-tolerance mistake. A lot of ATMs are $20s-only, but some have various denominations. Just think about going to an ATM and getting $100s instead of the $20s you requested. That $100 withdrawal has netted you $500. A dishonest person would withdraw as much as they could… heck, I’ve got three bank accounts with about a $500 limit on each, so that’d be a quick $7500. Even the most honest of people might be tempted to keep the $500 and go about their business. Of course, everything is recorded these days, so the banks, armored carrier services, and even the Fed goes after anyone taking advantage of a cross-load. Meanwhile, the poor guy trying to withdraw $3000 in $100s to buy that secondhand bike he found on FB Marketplace is stuck with $600 in $20s.
I’m rather simple in my thinking sometimes, and I’ve always been amazed at how flawless ATMs are. Since I first started using them in the ’90s, I’ve made a habit of counting my cash and have never been shorted or gotten too much. So, it’s highly unlikely that the ATM is going to screw up, or that there’s some “hack” that can be found to enrich the dishonest (think about the check deposit scheme that went viral on TikTok or some other app). It’s always going to be traced back to the thieves, and maybe some unwitting armored truck guard that was paying attention and now needs to look for another job. I don’t want to be “that guy”.
Interesting and very cool. I have been their with the $20, I have to laugh.
I picked up my FN 545 Tactical today. Louisiana’s Second Amendment Tax-Free Weekend was last week, so I ordered the gun using a combination of Bass Pro points and the military discount to get it for $901. I haven’t been in BPS much since leaving the job, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they now accept lifetime concealed carry permits (so long as it was issued in the previous five years–in four more years I’ll have to go through the background check again) for the NICS background check exemption. Go figure, though, the guy behind the counter clicked through the exemption, so when I went to pick up the gun on Friday, the background check was run anyway and as happens about 50% of the time, I got a Delay.
I was sorely tempted to buy another gun today, to jokingly tell the employee it was retraining for using the CCW exemption. If they had a Glock 20, or any used 10mms, I might have. I didn’t want to spend another $1k on an FN 510, though. It would fit the same holster as the 545 but while I can semi-justify the 545 for work, the 510 would just be a range and maybe occasional carry gun. It would be nice to be able to carry 10mm for work. Heck, one of the reasons I’ve never even thought about getting certified for a revolver is because .38 SPL is the only authorized cartridge. I can carry a .357 but it’s got to be loaded with .38 ammo.
Anyway, I grabbed a box of FMJ ammo and stopped into the range once the transfer was complete. The retired BRPD Captain that used to run the range retired on July 4th, so there’s a younger guy there now. The gun ran flawlessly, and I’m glad I have an UpLULA magazine loader, as it found it difficult to get more than 15 rounds in the 18-round mag and could only squeeze 14 into the 15-rounder. FN 545 mags are nowhere near as prevalent or cheap as Glock, SIG, or even FN 509 mags, so I preordered four more 18-rounders at $70 each.
I guess I’m going with a We the People holster, as Safariland doesn’t make one for the FN 545/510, though I’ll try a Size 1 (Glock 21) Safariland triple mag carrier similar to the one I use for 9mm, and another Safelife duty belt. Another accessory I want to get is a good silencer. I’m looking at the Dead Air Mojave 45. The .45 ACP is a good subsonic cartridge, and even the Speer Gold Dot +P ammo I’m looking at won’t break the sound barrier.
Sweet, that is a good deal on the FN 545. Never fired one but looks like an awesome choice. Sounds like an nice set up with the mags also.
I applied the grips this weekend after swapping the backstrap out for the small version. The gun felt decent with the medium backstrap, but I’d already ordered the grips that were sized for the small. I haven’t measured it, but it feels approximate to the G17 in the hand.
I went back last week and bought a Ruger Max-9. It’s a little larger than the LCP Max and has the same capacity of 12, albeit in 9mm as opposed to .380. Now I’ve got it in my head that I want another 4″ barreled .357 Mag (I’ll probably hold out for another S&W Model 19) and a 10mm. Go figure that Glock seems to have halted production of the G20 and G40 now that their Gen 6 pistols are out. Those are out of stock everywhere and can’t be ordered, so I may have to go with a used G20. I’m tempted to get an FN 510, as it will fit the same holster as the 545; if I do I may save some money and get the standard version instead of the Tactical. Capacity is slightly lower (I think the 22-round mags will fit, though) and it lacks a threaded barrel, which is hardly a concern for a supersonic round like 10mm.
Wow I am surprised they stopped or halted production of those to weapons, even with Gen 6. I will still have to work my way down there some day for some good food and some good times.