Happy Thanksgiving, a question and why I love my kids...

To all my trainees and friends........HAPPY THANKSGIVING ! ! !....
Don't fergit ta take off yer PEESTOHLAH befer ya loose up dat belt. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy......

Why do I love my Kids? Too many reasons.....but here's a small one......
My son and I were chattin last nite and of course he receives these updates as I've been training him since he was eight? years old. And like his sister he is a pretty sharp individual and overall good guy in my humble opinion. He was tellin me bout my "computer skills" such as "Dad. You need to use your Spell Checker before you send these out. To which I replied I do son...his retort...well then you need to proof read before you hit send....." Great point, and point well taken.  Moi?...MOI? Yeah me. I harkened back to the question about my "computer skills DUDE" email. But who said old dogs can't learn new tricks? Well I certainly am "an old dog". And I sorta think I'm loinin a new trick just gettin this machine turned on but bottom line is he's right and I will do better. Thanks son ! I apologize to y'all for not bein more astute about my publishing ability and appreciate your patience. I may not like criticism but I welcome it and learn from it so keep it comin. It's very helpful.

The question was slightly technical actually two questions about weapons so I'll try to follow the K.I.S.S. principle.

QUESTION:
"I TOOK YOUR ADVICE AND WENT BY A LOCAL RETAILER  (WHO'LL REMAIN NAMELESS) .  I wanted to look at a 45 Automatic and an M-16. The folks were very friendly and showed me more guns than I can remember the names of and models with all kinds of letters and titles like TRP, SUB COMPACT, 1911 PLATFORM, and a myriad of others. The same was true when I went to look at M-16s  which I was told are AR 15s or ARs. I had to leave because of information overload and the sales people at the different counters kept  telling me I need this or I need that and then My God ! the prices were outrageous. What is the difference between all those 45s and  AR-15s, why is it called AR-15 and not M-16, and are there any of them or their type that I can get for less than a starting price of $800. to $3000. dollars. Help? Oh and why is ammunition for these guns so expensive and hard to get?"

ANSWER:
Wow. Another great and very pertinent question. Thank you. I totally empathize. Let me try and give it a shot. The 1911A1 platform/ Automatic Pistol is NOT an automatic pistol it is a semi automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP or its   "guvamint name" .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge (ACP). The original John Browning patent drawing was in the .38 Super or Super 38 Colt cartridge. Now. Real deal "J."?  A 1911 is a 1911 is a 1911....... An AR is an AR, is an AR, is an AR..........blah blah blah. The only differences are manufacturers names and cosmetics/accessories and of course price. They sure are proud of the damn things. "I need this or I need that"  bulls**t! ! ! all you need is a holster and ammo and belt. These things are like cars. A Honda is an Infinity and a Toyota is a Lexus etc etc so you pay for looks and name but the parts are all the same under the hood.
             
There are cheap alternatives or shall I say cheaper ones. Taurus makes a great 1911 for around $600. as does Para Ordnance and Springfield Armory has their US model? all basic pistols with some good upgrades. Charles Daly has some very low cost well made pistols and shot-guns. Now salesmen are just that salesmen . They will tell you that this pistol is made here or there and this is a custom this....yeah I know. There is only one manufacturer of truly custom pistols every part made in house and if you look at Les Baer pistols (1911s) the prices start at $1400.+ and their sights are Novak or others. all the other manufacturers outsource their frames, slides and get parts from various vendors. Springfield gets most of their parts from Brazil where they are owned so don't fall into that trap of this custom gun or their "custom shop" ya ya ya.... a 1911 is a 1911 is a 1911....... The same is exactly true of AR-15s which are the semi-automatic counterpart to the M-16. About ARs....don't let anyone tell you you can put one together from parts. You can assemble one but gettin it to function all the time and every time is an entirely different proposition. If you haven't put one together as a professional armorer/gunsmith, a book and how to video will be of absolutely no help. If you buy one great get it at a gun show and I suggest you get the bare bones version and learn how to  use it before you mess with gettin "all Barbie Doll" with it and dressin it up in everything but common sense accessories like a sling and spare magazines. Alternatives to ARs are the Ruger Mini 14 Ranch rifle, SKS carbine/rifles, lever action rifles from Mossberg and Henry and  Winchester in 30-30 all of which are cheaper and in the case of lever actions and the Mini 14 you can find some real deals in the Pawn shops used gun racks at retailers and gun shows. The Mini 14 uses the M-16/AR15 cartridge and the SKS cartridge and in the Ranch rifle with wood stocks sell cheap cause they don't look "high speed". They are totally reliable and accurate same goes for SKSs and lever rifles.

The ammo problem is directly related to both the panic buying caused by Obamas election and the wars we are fighting. Prices are high and they ain't gonna get no lower no time soon. The calibers (.45 ACP and .223 or 5.56) are used in all the theaters and the military get theirs first, as should be.

I hope that covers it and have a Happy Thanksgiving all of you..  ...... Your Instructor    Eddie

P.S. Hey Sean how's this one? I proof read and used Spell Checc.....OOPS