AirGuardianC141747

Pic on Page 246. I modified the Ruger Marlin 357 SBL with hand guard and stock modifications. Made more sense with 357 revolvers lying around. I couldn’t bare to modify the Ruger Marlin 45-70 version when I received it since it was just too gorgeous = I ordered the 357 version and the quality with Ruger is even better than the original my friend has. Stay away from Remington versions it’s simply atrocious what they did to the Marlin name. Absolutely painful waiting for about three years while Ruger brought about 100 semi’s worth of equipment to their North Carolina facility to revive the brand, but definitely worth it… now.

^^^^^This^^^^^ Totally agree for myself specifically. Hours upon hours wasted cleaning in the early nineties especially when the AR type wasn’t so “prolific/Lego Gun” for the civilian masses. I absolutely despised it and was able to shoot a few other piston driven weapons from Team guys and I was easily swayed to instant jealousy (I am not a Team Guy by any means, but they took pity on me thankfully). Most piston’s weapons have at least a folder variant unless it’s an IWI Tavor, Bullpup types, etc. It’s been a known factor for a long time hence AKs, FALs, AUG, etc and understand their environment of use which is unrelenting. Even my poor attempted copy (Sig 556) of the Swiss SG 551 series still chugged on past a couple thousand rounds before I rotated it too the adverse conditions exit port. Everyone has a choice with great strides in ammunition tech these past couple of decades which is fantastic and the AR has come so far from its original self. So much better now if you’re into them. *I shuttered a bit when you mentioned after blank shooting cleaning parties.

Good point and on any DI folder it’s just a better way to stash them and nothing much more. Have a few DI types, but definitely prefer the piston for the true ability to continuously fire while folded, easier to clean, less issues if your lazy like myself at times cleaning wise and doesn’t really crap where it eats. Maybe a little weight up front, but during stressful times my guess is you won’t notice it. My cleaning schedule is twice a year at best normally once diligently doing them all for a few days. As many have mentioned before get a can no matter what you decide to use if able - I still suffer from hearing loss from mock clearing rooms at a couple of shoot houses with some Army folks in the early nineties. Multiple flash bangs being thrown around recklessly wasn’t a good thing. Did learn a few things though. *Earlier last year my foolish self didn’t secure my headset quick enough prior to my bud popping off the 308 shooting out from inside cover. Trust me, within confined spaces get a can regardless of the ear attempting to block the shock and/or at least some good headsets by your bedside. Still have some impact from that stupidity.

Great video. So many types of ammunition whether it’s in 9mm, 45ACP, etc I definitely don’t want be hit by any of it. If you can shoot well with it go for it. Useless to carry something you suck shooting with comparatively speaking like the 40 and myself specifically many moons ago. Several of my friends shoot it extremely well and I already have too many calibers to reach for despite attempting to keep my stash variety controllable which was a false hope… *I enjoyed shooting my friends 1911s, 2011s, etc and wanted one so bad until “Honest Outlaw” on YouTube went over the considerations on having one. I am rather stupid hard/excessively mean to my CCW inventory and do not have the willpower to soften my manual of arms to be trusted (Stupid me needs Stupid Simple to survive). Still will end up with one, but it will be a tight tolerance showcase fun gun to drool over 😉

Agreed, never stated 5.7 was applicable to normal self defense situations as it was derived for military use hence body armor not a normal civil state thought process. Most of the current CCW models are geared towards civilian defense measures and not duty criteria. While several sub-compacts have been derived from full size military versions these concealment versions definitely cater to the civilian defense market. Despite having a 5.7 from the original manufacturer many moons ago it hasn’t been a CCW for myself. With the major improvements with 9mm well over a decade ago I have stayed with it. Round count is your choice and during winter heavy clothing I prefer the compact types with 17/18 rds and my summer carry runs 13/15 rds among my rotations. Either way whatever you choose train with it. Better to have something vs nothing, better to be familiar and capable with it than anything. I always need to train more, unfortunately I get caught up with shooting the latest and greatest addition even though I do bring the carry options and shoot at least a few mags at my neighbors farm. Definitely not enough. Side note only: Not many events on the blotter of those encountering body armor during a self defense encounter like Lord Ratner said, but if you want to defeat armor speed is king caliber wise. Rifles bring on a whole new level of penetration. 5.7 definitely is pricey, but there was a time when some could be had for $20/50 rds when FN overloaded the market with some now banned steel core. ATF put a stop to that real quick unfortunately. SS190 (restricted) or more likely the SS192 was controversial. Current lots are just sporting rounds for the most part.

5.7 originally designed to meet NATO specs as we know to include the body armor parameters. Makes sense when those caught behind enemy lines could have a better chance of slowing down/keeping the heads down of the advancing party with AKs perhaps while their air chariot egg beater arrived. It was a decent theory and a good choice, but as said before there are so many choices of home defense, etc rounds it’s mind boggling. *If you have access to the premier rounds to defeat body armor than it is undeniably a game changer if required. Extremely accurate, light weight, high round count, extended range and velocity have their merits and many have mentioned situation dependent. Fun is up there as well.

Niiiice!

When the PSA JAKL 308 version is released count me in. That will be quite solid based on the baby brother version. I just appreciate the all ambi controls and side charging handle hardware as it becomes very intuitive and you don’t lose your line of sight so abruptly on most other platforms. It should be fun being a Elephant Seal Team Sofa Warrior.

ClearedHot mentioned/displayed pic earlier of the Beretta a300 ultima patrol. Definitely a fantastic piece of work manufactured here in TN and for the right price. Yesterday my dealer mentioned to me in passing would you like another Beretta 1301 we have a few left? Reason - ATF just banned the import of the 1301 for 922r compliance and production is on hold. If you had your eye on one it’s probably a good idea to snag any left on the shelf. I believe they are rehashing it to a 5 round system which is saddening. There probably will be a US mod to reincarnate the original capacity if they go thru with it. I absolutely dig the 1301 although a bit pricey to start with to include some other mods I have done. The a300 is more than adequate and even has a couple other features my 1301 didn’t have initially; therefore, no true reason to add another to the inventory especially after nabbing the younger brother a300 for under $800. No worries if you own a 1301 - just lucky I guess.

I considered the earlier 9mm version of the Stribog a few years ago and the feeding issues due to the straight mag (theirs specifically) was a concern for me. No feed, No fight! They did make improvements since then so hopefully that transferred over to the .45 ACP.

Yup, I agree. I did modify 357 version and it works well.

Also, I’m screwed in the old western movie reach back memorabilia watching these lever action movie heroes go to town. Even the opening of the series “The Rifleman” starts out just daring you to not buy one of these lever actions to include a live cocking plus stare down at the end. Unsure why he does it as he’s out of ammo, but undeniably cool. I dare you Lord Ratner to watch 30 secs of the opening scene. You will hunt me down with one. Definitely placed a time stamp on myself and it was worth it.

Ruger is a great manufacturer. May have been discussed, but now that the rejuvenated Marlins by Ruger are going strong I can highly recommend them - well at least two of the series so far. Had enough of my standard AR types a decade ago, then moved on to 308/7.62 black rifles, some long range hammers as well as an AK variant = Arsenal. Turns out I’m stuck on these Marlins now. Initially brought on board the 1895 SBL 45/70 to modify it closely to a Mad Pig Thumper. Darn thing was an amazing piece of work in natural form and I just couldn’t do it; however, when the Marlin 1894 - 357 version showed up BAM!!! the Ranger Point Precision hand guard materialized along with the new Magpul stock/internal storage/side quiver, Inforce light and Red dot. Staying away from chaps, but I need a horse as these lever actions are crazy fun to shoot. 45/70 doesn’t kick as much as it’s a push and it’s a blast. Definitely legal in 48 states maybe 49 if the boogie man comes. That 357 rifle puts up some velocity numbers vs a wheel gun and twice as much impact power when relating to ft/lbs. Might over penetrate, but you can adjust with the correct ammunition for home defense. Would I trust it - yes, is it my first choice - not with what’s already in the stable.

Well done! That is pure reality and thank you for sharing. No one knows when your times up so enjoy everyday as much as possible. Too many ways to unknowingly depart the fix which is an absolute. Fortunately I myself have been blessed beyond what I deserve and know it. Went thru a normally inconsequential surgical procedure last summer which turned into a debacle (not the medical teams fault, things go awry at times.) Although it was a bit disturbing, my transition to a strong OneLife viewpoint nearly a decade ago stayed the course afterwards. Airline wise it will be different for me than most as I will most likely miss this job as I enjoy most of the attributes that it brings as it fits like a glove beyond the so called work itself. Having two to three weeks off in between or more and wanting to jump back in says a lot. Rather be lucky than good especially when you might be no good 😉 *May you find your sweet spot and relish the time you have. Not everything needs to be rushed. “Live Like You Were Dying” - Tim McGraw song makes sense.

Late to ask… Pump the numbers up even more into BNA, heck why not. I got bumped out of employee parking when they were bringing in 4-500+ crew members this past Spring. It was definitely more convenient despite paying more than I do now finding my own parking.

Springer had mentioned earlier at some point he hated DH’s and when it’s tight in the back somewhere amongst the cattle especially on long haul I definitely agree. Sometimes I prefer whale riding especially on our -8s and navigating around the security zones, customs/immigration garbage. On the other hand these past two months it has been a nice break being up front Delta One from Korea to Detroit on their A350 as they were both home runs literally (sent home early as my scheduled flights to operate were significantly delayed). 13 hours is 13 hours no doubt, but chilling on a ride home accumulating points on company time isn’t half bad. Service and comfort wasn’t half bad either, but still half as good as KAL, JAL, ANA, QF, SQ, etc. and then there’s EK and QR which not many come close too but oil brings you an unfair advantage as well as strict catering and attendant standards. *Chilling with the Delta crew up front looking at all the wizardry of the A350 before departure the Capt was curious if we were allowed to beverage up on our DH’s… Out of uniform I thought it was a no brainer, but he stated they were no longer allowed when moving on their metal. I contemplated that there might have been an unruly crew member at some point, but he mentioned that because multiple crew members on the same flight had drank all the libations thereby leaving the customers with zero balance that benefit was scratched. Is this true…?

Been many moons since I retired out of an AOC. Probably more opportunities at lower levels. I only say this because I refused to do war college despite sitting in an O-6 position for nearly a year and had an opportunity to transfer from Higher HQ Staff to an AOC with an O-5 position. There were no O-6 positions to just slide into and it makes sense to promote from within. After a year they wanted me to once again do war college for the O-6 opportunity. Humbly let them know thank you, but more than happy to run out my career as King maker or buffer for our folks. One of the best gigs I ever had and blessed to have retired on the ANG side via the active duty taps process or whatever that was. Definitely would have missed a lot of information having been at a remote Guard unit. Apparently I do need a seeing eye dog during that process of drift down soft landing.

Everything is cyclic, can’t count on anything but the “guarantee” and even that isn’t “guaranteed” by any means whenever a black swan event occurs. Some kill it and others fear the job will be killed off and sometimes it does go flat line - oddly enough it can happen at the same time being pax or cargo high and lows. Those anomalies aren’t controlled by any of us, but one can capitalize on such events being at the right place at the right time. That being said, having a job then seniority is everything! The previous data points mentioned are awesome regarding the hustle and it seems in recent times FOs in greater numbers have finally started to figure out the lucrative initiatives they can capitalize on while keeping their lives very comfortable schedule wise. I myself maintain super senior FO and never miss any holidays or important events my wife and I enjoy. Somewhat different at some outfits and everyone’s priorities are different. Some enjoy specific day/night flying, domestic/international, weekends off or not, short runs, longer runs for extended time off, etc. Pay is the predominant priority followed by high pay least amount of work which is desirable. As a crew force we need to understand what drives us individually and know what serves one doesn’t fit the other. When most start out they aren’t high earners so the chase for cash rides high and as time moves forward for the majority. Cash flows increase and your work life still burns, but hopefully seniority increases giving you more flexibility to create a better and better schedule opportunity. Good example of right time right place or wrong place is within the cargo industry currently. Overstaffed Purple with new impact management, UPS hiring for USPS contract good movement for a short period perhaps and Atlas driving away from low profit margin cargo and realignment to the higher profit large cargo aircraft focus. As a senior FO at Atlas I am fortunate (which is a guess by the numbers) to maintain my current lifestyle with little or no impacts which honestly remains to be seen from the actual fallout vs projected musical chairs. Unfortunately there will be those newish Capts falling back to the right seat, crews pushed out the bottom of their bases to less desirable bases and worst of all having lived in a disappearing base where they chose to reside for that lifestyle. Some will sit in current positions maintaining current pay while others will receive increases as well while they sit thru the transition. Definitely a Yes vote from me = All in all it’s a good move to keep folks off the street or at least give them a breather to end up where they intended to be initially. Even if I had moved to left seat in 2016 this really would not have impacted me that much regarding seniority. Regardless of this current event and I was a Capt from 2016 I couldn’t get near the schedules, high paying lines and overtime if I so choose. I can match or exceed at times equivalent Capts with no heartache currently. During the viral debacle I could chase the extremely lucrative lines right down to the last areas of 175% payouts when they dwindled away while Capts within my same year group earned quite a bit less picking up the low hanging fruit. Senior Capts made out like bandits during that anamoly . Seniority is key! No lie there were just a few tuff days every few months BUT - Something to be said about if your work doesn’t feel like work you will never have to work another day in your life. It’s your life and if you’re happy stay put and do your thing!

It’s been well over 15 years since Atlas has stopped their hiring. It will be a minute while Atlas starts to retrain a vast majority of its 76/73 folks due to steering away from Amazon finally. Most of the 76 fleet will be leased to the other subsidiaries under the Titan Division supporting Amazon while the pax birds for mil/team contracts remain. It’s about time we focused on the high profit areas involving the 74/777 fleet vs the low profit margin areas. Picking up eight aircraft this year with more to follow later. Heavy/Large cargo aircraft is the future and hiring will resume once the transitions are finalized. Personally, this was a good move to distance ourselves from low profit areas and the whipsaw that other entities create.

Probably just the tip of the iceberg as others will follow. Definitely a demand out there despite hiring slowdowns due to various issues. Great for those who plan well unless something unforeseen happens which is under no one’s control and that’s our industry. Timing is everything!

Doesn’t matter where you go that would be terrible; no way to spend time in a decent place. Granted, if you’re stuck doing the same rotations or only have five or so to choose from internationally that gets a bit ground hog day no doubt. Even with an augmented crew these days the pax folks don’t seem to get much wandering time as well. *My roommate used to nonrev to Europe for a long weekend during college with an upgrade or something to that effect since his father was an airline guy early 90s - that was cool…Totally agree on the nonrev to anywhere for that matter - nothing like it used to be.

Probably a gem here and there very sporadically, but revisiting them multiple times a year or every other month or worse every month is just a job and nothing more. Definitely crappier now than ever before. Several of my friends do enjoy international runs at the majors, but after a few years of the same runs a few times a month based on pure tourist traps as these rarely change they get burned out as well. Even if I do revisit several cities abroad every other month, many are soooo much cleaner, safer and interesting. Hopping off the standard path to places like Bangkok, Hanoi, Auckland, Nuremberg, Nagoya, Santiago etc., etc., etc., makes it worthwhile. Always better to do it on someone else’s dollar plus more. Doubt I will travel too much beyond 65 - probably need a hover round no doubt so I’m out.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^ Although I will say you might need a few lump sums of cash laying around to keep those airplanes going or at least have your kids enrolled in and A&P program, have a sheet metal shop/hangar and extremely large 3D printer. A refinery next to your bunker wouldn’t be a bad idea as well. The other hand me downs are low cost upkeep aside from how and what you feed them 😉

If I can be President I can fly to 70 at least. Well, 70 in the right seat or 70 in the right seat with another pilot as my seeing eye dog, oh wait 70 with a seeing eye rabid dog hypothetical doctor as my wife or sister the SS and of course Uncle Boise by my side - yeah, 70 I would be fine.

So true! If the right seat meets your priorities than why not. We both know we still do better than some line Captains regardless of the schedule attributes which you and I are both focused on. I dissect lines by when my better half can stand me home for a lengthy period, where I want to eat/chill and then fly less for more duckets in the hip pocket - Or, stay out minimally and pick up a an extra chunk or just stay home although I do get restless after a couple of weeks, definitely a month or more and I will say the last couple of days on an extended trip (normal trip for the majority) I am ready for the hacienda. I do appreciate the various lifestyles we are able to conjure up and make things happen - quite amazing.