The Alien pistol. It looks rather interesting. Definitely different.

https://www.recoilweb.com/review-recoil-exclusive-alien-pistol-from-laugo-arms-146616.html

Sometimes there are things we want to talk about, or discuss that may not really fit into a specific section of topics, or might be not enough for it's own dedicated thread, Ya know, useless bits of information!

I'll start it off. Yesterday, I bought a new coffee-maker to replace my old one. I bought my old one at Walmart about sixteen years ago, for less than $15 IIRC. I think I got my money's worth out of it! The new one was also bought at Walmart, for about $11. It's that Walmart brand, Mainstays. A 12 cup version. I made a batch of tea last night in it, and it showed me just how slow the old one had gotten!

The wife and I went to Dollar Tree yesterday afternoon, and we bough some flower bulbs and flower seeds, that I planted yesterday for her.

I'll just leave this here, and let all of you read it, and then come to your own conclusions.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kamala-harris-i-am-a-gun-owner-for-personal-protection/ar-BBVQZRA?ocid=spartanntp

In this day and age, and being an older person now, I do hold certain opinions about guns, or particular guns. Some of them may even be biased, based upon my own experiences and background with guns, and some may not even be very popular, but they are mine to have.

I do like 1911's, and have owned more than a few over the years, and still find them to be one of the most attractive pistol platforms ever designed. Now one thing I don't abide by, are lights and lasers hanging off a rail underneath a 1911! Nope! Nada! Zip! Ain't happening on any 1911 I own. John Browning would be turning over in his grave if he saw that!

I sort of like Glocks, in the sense they are a very well designed and well functioning pistol platform. What I do take exception to, is the "Perfection" label attributed to them, as if they were the only functioning brand ever made in a polymer design. I really take exception to Glock fanboys. Please, don't get me started on them. They are almost as bad, if not worse than the 1911 fanboys.

I'm gotten to the point that I'm sick to death of hearing, or seeing "Tactical" attached to just about anything. People, it's been beat to death! And unless you are in the military in combat, it's just a selling point to get you to buy a product. Pretty much like the "Zombie" fad several years ago. I hope that one has finally died off. (pun intended!)

James Yeager! What a maroon and doofus. One of the worst representatives of the gun community. That guy should go off in the desert, find a cave and become a monk and a vow of silence. That would be the only way he would be able to represent the gun community in a positive way.

People saying they "built" an AR. Seriously? Nope. You assembled a bunch of parts and now you have an AR! It's like a Lego set for grown-up men! Seriously! With all the YouTube videos out there, a ten year old kid could assemble an AR. Seriously! Don't get me wrong, I even own a couple of AR's and I do like them and have owned a few for over twenty five years. But I know what an AR is, and I fully understand what it takes to assemble one. It's really not rocket science. Seriously.

I like Taurus handguns. I really do. I even own a couple and even plan on buying more in the future. I'm tired of them getting a bad rap because of few bad apples.

Okay, time for my blood pressure medicine. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-trucks/2020-jeep-gladiator-costs-more-than-the-wrangler-but-not-by-much/ar-BBVpshn?ocid=spartandhp

So what does every one think of Jeep bringing back a truck to their line-up? Myself, I always liked the Jeep trucks, especially the older Gladiator J10's.

Does anyone think they are a viable alternative to the other brands of trucks, or just a fad, or niche vehicle?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-trucks/2020-jeep-gladiator-first-drive-review/ar-BBVprXX?ocid=spartandhp

This happens to show up quite frequently over the years. Do I need to "break in" the barrel of my new rifle?

I'd like to pass along some of my thoughts on this. Gun manufacturers have gotten better at machining and rifling barrels, using much better tooling and machines for the process of rifling barrels. One of the main reasons for "breaking in" a barrel had to do with the smoothness of the bore, and it's tendency to copper. or powder foul when fired. During the process of "breaking in" the barrel, firing a couple of shots and then cleaning, then repeating that process several times, was in essence a way of smoothing the bore so it didn't foul as fast, or more shots could be fired before fouling occurred, and then affecting the accuracy.

Most after-market barrels are already polished before the consumer gets the barrel. Gun manufacturers are using much better procedures, and tooling to make the bores much smoother than those in the past. So does "breaking in" a barrel help? IMO, in these current times with modern rifles, I suspect it doesn't accomplish anything that is going to result in greater accuracy of the rifle. Does it hurt? I would have to say no, it doesn't.

Personally, I think this is something that dates back to many years ago, and at one time, back  years ago, it probably did serve a useful purpose. Today? Not so much anymore.

What are everybody’s thoughts on combat accuracy vs target shooting. What level accuracy versus speed of shooting is acceptable in a self defense scenario?

lets look at this in practical, and realistic manner. what type of pistol to carry? well, that is a very subjective question, and will be based upon the individual, and their own unique factors as to what is the best choice in pistols for carry purposes.

so, i'm not even going to focus on specific pistols or brands, but more in generalities that would apply to the majority of most people who carry.

now sometimes, what i see on various forums, this one as well, and many others over the years, is that sometimes, people tend to overthink, or try to make thinks more complex than they really need to be. this also concerns accessories that are associated with the pistol carry, like the holster, the ammo, and spare mags, or speedloaders, if it's a revolver.

so lets look at what is needed. first of all, a pistol of your choice! DUH! :D then a holster or case of some sort to carry the pistol, and then of course, ammo. what i tend to see is that people tend to focus too much on matters that IMO really don't matter a hill of beans for a carry pistol, that is carried for SD. how much accuracy do you really need? IMO, not that much, since most encounters of an attack where a LAC used their carry firearm in self defense, the average distance according to most statistics, is usually under twenty feet. so, being realistic, really how much accuracy is really needed? and from my own personal experiences and observances of owning a shooting many different pistols for more than forty years, most out of the box pistols are way more accurate than the people who own and shoot them. people many times tend to focus on sights too much as well. in a violent encounter, is the attacker going to allow you to take careful aim with the sights? some how, i think not. so don't make sights a big issue and learn to just shoot the pistol more by instinct, because in such an encounter, that is what you will need to rely upon. K.I.S.S. is my mantra! i like to think to keep things as simple as possible when it comes to a carry pistol. my main criteria, are how well it fits my hand and how reliable the pistol is. those two factors being met, i can work around most anything else. size will be a determining factor for most of us. so bear that in mind as well.

ammo. is another big thing that some get hung up on. don't. try out various ammo of a JHP type, and find what feeds reliably in your pistol. i concentrate on reliability more than any other factor. how well a particular ammo expands, or how far it penetrates, or how accurate are irrelevant to me. why? because if the pistol won't feed the ammo, those factors mean nothing. nada. zip. zero! even FMJ "ball" ammo that feeds reliably is superior to the best, or most expensive SD ammo on the market that won't in your pistol. reliability are what i stress people focus on with their ammo choices. most modern SD ammo from the major manufacturers, are going to perform pretty close to one another for the most part. focus on reliability. another question that pops up quite a bit when it comes to ammo. what ammo is the best for my pistol? gee, the ammo that feeds and works every time in your pistol.:rolleyes: what works in my pistols, and is my best choice, could be a very poor choice for your pistol. buy some ammo and try it out is the best answer i can give that question. go to the range and spend some time shooting your pistol and learn it. get comfortable with it. another one concerning accuracy again. i generally use about an 8" diameter at about 10 yards as my testing procedures for a carry pistol. if i can keep the entire magazine of ammo within that 8" circle at 10 yards, i call it acceptable as far as accuracy of what i feel is needed. again, i will stress, that most pistols out of the box, are going to for the most part, more accurate than the person who buys it, and shoots it.

holsters. whooooo....where to start! buy and try is my best advice. i generally go through at least two holsters per pistol, finding what works best for my purposes. so all others can do is really make suggestions as to what brands to look at that might work well for the person.

situational awareness.
exactly what is SA?
how important is this?
when should we practice it?
how do we practice it?

I think many people may have heard the term, situational awareness, but not fully understood exactly what it meant. it's basically paying very close attention to everything and everyone around you. looking for possible, or potential threats to you or others around you. this isn't about being paranoid, but cautious and being alert to your surroundings. this applies to everyone, regardless of whether they carry a firearm or not. it's about being vigilant that maybe you could possibly avoid a violent encounter with an attacker or at least be better prepared for an attack.

another suspicion I have is that some who do carry, may do so with a false sense of security. thinking that carrying is like some magical shield that will keep them safe, so therefor may not practice SA as they should. just because a person carries, does not make them immune to being attacked, and either not being in position to defend themselves, or having their weapon taken from them and stolen, or even used against them. read up on this for your education, it has happened before and could even happen to you.

we should exercise SA every time we are in public IMO. your brain is the best defense item you carry, besides your gut instincts. God gave you these, in order that you could defend yourself from attack. since God gave you these valuable tools, use them, or learn to use them. pay attention at all times to what and who is around you. be observant. look for things that seem wrong, or out of place. don't look in one direction, but scan your surrounding environment for possible threats.

this isn't about being paranoid. this is about being aware, and being prepared. the better prepared, the earlier the warning you have, the better your odds are at surviving a violent encounter IMO.

Not me of course! But just something I found on another forum that I thought would be interesting to discuss. Just for the fun of it of course!

So for the most part my business is my business and your business is your business. For instance I bought a house and my neighbor across the street has lots of cars in his front yard and is always working on them. Shortly after moving in he approached me about all the cars in front of his house, my response was I bought my house and you bought yours, what you do at your house is your business, btw, nice 4x4’s.

I have ANOTHER neighbor down the street, about a month ago the local PD visited his house, politely removed his front door shortly after blowing up his couch with a distractive device. They have been quiet ever since but now random cars are parking in front of my house and people walk squirm down to this other neighbors house.

I’m just looking for opinions here, how active would you be in one way or another making it known you don’t approve. BTW my neighborhood is older, well established with some colorful neighbors but this is the only problem neighbor. My opinion is that the neighborhood should know what’s going on, the police should know what’s going on and the neighbor should know that the neighborhood and the police know what’s going on.