Almost Gone ...

[carver]

Originally Posted by Juker

Thanks, fellas. Haven't bailed out yet, but I'm standing in the door!

We'll be out west/southwest of Denver somewhere, looking at several towns right now. We're staying with relatives until we make our final choice, we'll be fine financially and situationally for as long as it takes. How's that for pulling up stakes? No jobs, no house, leaving it in God's hands - making a sweeping life change at middle age!

Glad your escape plans are coming to fruition! We have spent a lot of time in the southwestern part of CO, and it is a great place to visit! Living there would be a dream! Keep us posted as to the choice of where you will be.

[Juker]

Muchas gracias, amigos. Spending a lot of time "unplugged" these days. Will advise following successful exit from the Once Proud Land of Lincoln.

Here's a photo I took on our way back through Denver...

[Sig Willy]

Glad you found that the grass is greener on the other side.

[Insulation Tim]

Originally Posted by Juker

Muchas gracias, amigos. Spending a lot of time "unplugged" these days. Will advise following successful exit from the Once Proud Land of Lincoln.

Here's a photo I took on our way back through Denver...

Were the mom and daughter working the store?

[Dennis C]

moving sucks, I hope it all goes smoothly for you.

[American Leader]

Congrats Juker on your decision and slick getaway. Send me an email once you get settled in so we can stay in touch! A.L.

[Juker]

Originally Posted by Insulation Tim

Were the mom and daughter working the store?

I didn't see 'em; saw the son, and a whole slew of fellas who work the shop and aren't on the show. I have to take the NRA basic pistol course to get my CCW, so I might as well take the course there.

[Juker]

Originally Posted by American Leader

Congrats Juker on your decision and slick getaway. Send me an email once you get settled in so we can stay in touch! A.L.

Count on it!

[TheGunClinger]

For those treacherous river crossings this is what I use.
Congrats on your move Juker. I'd love to do that myself.

[pickenup]

Originally Posted by Juker

I have to take the NRA basic pistol course to get my CCW, so I might as well take the course there.

Lots of places to take the course, most of the "local" firearms community will not step foot in that shop. But then, when you take a firearm into a shop to have something done to it,
ALL gunsmiths ENGRAVE THEIR LOGO into your firearm........don't they?

[Juker]

Originally Posted by pickenup

Lots of places to take the course, most of the "local" firearms community will not step foot in that shop. But then, when you take a firearm into a shop to have something done to it,
ALL gunsmiths ENGRAVE THEIR LOGO into your firearm........don't they?

The day I stopped in, business was booming. Must have all been from out of town, like me, since "most of the local firearms community will not step foot in that shop". Was there a poll? Are local gun owners picketing a successful business? Who speaks for this vast majority of "most"?

Even if true, that's fine, because I hate crowds. Just because someone owns a gun doesn't mean I value their opinion. I'll spend my hard-earned Benjamins where I please.

I have three friends and two relatives who got their carry permits after taking the pistol course at Gunsmoke. All five raved about it. And theirs are opinions I trust.

And I seriously doubt that Gunsmoke engraves their logo on a gun without the owner's permission.

[jack404]

i know some jeweler who put his mark on a piece when he resized it or something ,got sued to heck , classed it as destroying a custom piece unsigned by the creator .. some art deco cataloge piece

[Zhurh]

Juker, The further West ya get, the better you'll feel; good deal on the move. You know in your heart how much worse it will get back East down the road.

[Juker]

Amen to that.

I got my Illinois license plate renewal form in the mail today. My tags expire at the end of September. I took great joy in burning it in the fire pit. Yesterday I scrubbed the Illinois car dealership logo off the back of my truck. That was fun, too.

[gvw3]

Good luck Juker. I retire in 3 years. Looking at WV, MO, CO. I hope its not just a dream.

[swiftman]

You must live in the communist controlled northern Ill.

[jim summers]

Now your whole wardrobe will have to change,in order to blend in you will have to sport a cowboy hat and boots

[CJ_56]

I am also making the big move here soon. We've been going through the same process of sort, box and trash and I hope to be gone as soon as possible. It's a new job that's making up move. I'll be giving up a front yard gun range but hopefully I'll find an even bigger version. 50 yards has been my limit. I'm hoping for 100 wherever I settle. If I'm able to open the front door and fire at my target like I can here well that will be great too. It allows me to shoot rain, shine, snow, ice or whatever. I live in a great spot here so nothing else but another great spot will do. I've been here 25 years too so I've accumulated a lot of JUNK along the way.

Anyone looking for a nice house in SE Ohio send me a PM. 5.5 acres of woods, trails, roads and yard. A-frame house that's sitting in the big trees (one oak is about 12 feet in circumference - that's one big tree and it sits in the perfect spot).

I sorta hate to go but I figure I'm getting too old for these stairs and for the upkeep on this place anyway. I have a big yard and I keep the trails and roads clear for walking, ATV riding, picking blackberries and just general use. Did I say I hate to give up this place. It has custom woodworking done by my dad too. The window frames are custom oak designs and you'll never see any that look better. I even have oak electric outlet covers and light switch covers. The house is built like a tank with all my water lines, power lines, and phone lines in conduit for easy repairs. This place won't spring a water leak for 100 years. I have copper pipes and a fair bit of timber too. Did I say I designed and built this place myself and I built it as strong as any house gets built.

Anyway I'll be looking for a nice place in an even more rural setting soon. Just as soon as I sell this place I'm gone. I actually have people coming to me wanting to buy it so I doubt I'll have any problems selling it really.

[pickenup]

This is "part" of what the gun owner had to say about it, after hearing other stories about that shop.

Jeez, I was pissed but sounds like I got off pretty good. I wasn't going to leave it in their bumbling hands to "make right", I just got the hell out of there.

I mis-spoke, when I said "most of the "local" firearms community"
What I meant to say was....most of the "local" INFORMED firearms community.
Since their TV show, they get LOTS of ignorant (of the facts) people going in there.
Then they can tell their friends, when they see it on TV, "I have been there."

Here are just a few first hand stories about that place.

Sorry, no pic.
A gent had a pair of new matching Colt Lightweight Defenders that he took there for the "Full House" treatment. Pistols were there just short of ONE YEAR. He gets the call that they were ready and picks them up. Huge logo etched/sandblasted into the side of the slides and probably .050 deep and illegible. Facet work was performed to slide stop, safety and mainspring housings with what appeared to be a cut off wheel in a Dremel. No symmetry, just random cuts with no pattern of varying depth and length. Interior of one slide had big Dremel cuts in the locking lug area for unknown reasons. Triggers, one had a gritty and creepy pull that broke at 6# 12 oz with considerable overtravel. The other had measurable take up and broke at 5# 3 oz and not enough travel, sear was bumping the half cock notch and the sear nose was ruined. One had failure to extract issues, the extractor had been "Polished" to the extent that not enough hook was available to reliably catch the case rim. Both were under tensioned. One pistol would not go into battery consistently.


A friend of mine who bought special parts for his 1911.
Took his firearm in there to have them installed.
Got the firearm back with the WRONG parts installed.


Another, had a bolt gun drilled and tapped by those clowns.
They screwed up and did two of the holes off center.


Another person spoke to one of the guys there and asked if he brought in an older series 70 Colt, how much it would take to update it and make it a good duty gun. First, he almost **** when he told him $2500 and then when he said it would be a year and half to get it back.


The same kind of statements are said about their CCW classes.
Oh the class will get you a CCW.....but....when something as important as the possibility of taking someone else's life, the quality of the class you pay for.....well.....nuff said.
I could relate these, or go on with other accounts of their shop, but frankly it isn't worth any more of my time.
Besides, your friends and relatives are MUCH more INFORMED than I am.

[Juker]

Originally Posted by gvw3

Good luck Juker. I retire in 3 years. Looking at WV, MO, CO. I hope its not just a dream.

Get out as fast as you can, brother. There's probably another 66% state income tax increase right around the corner - they need to fund that "Escalades for Crack Whores" program.

[Juker]

Originally Posted by CJ_56

I am also making the big move here soon. We've been going through the same process of sort, box and trash and I hope to be gone as soon as possible. .......

It's both daunting and exhilerating at the same time, isn't it?! Moving when you're young is no big deal, by comparison. I can't escape the feeling that we're off on a grand adventure; "clear eyes, full hearts"!

[Double D]

Originally Posted by Juker

The day I stopped in, business was booming. Must have all been from out of town, like me, since "most of the local firearms community will not step foot in that shop". Was there a poll? Are local gun owners picketing a successful business? Who speaks for this vast majority of "most"?

Even if true, that's fine, because I hate crowds. Just because someone owns a gun doesn't mean I value their opinion. I'll spend my hard-earned Benjamins where I please.

I have three friends and two relatives who got their carry permits after taking the pistol course at Gunsmoke. All five raved about it. And theirs are opinions I trust.

And I seriously doubt that Gunsmoke engraves their logo on a gun without the owner's permission.

I would experience it for yourself and see. You may find they arent to your liking and then again, you may find your favorite shop. I am sure there are some people that have had bad experiences as well as those that have had good ones. Obviously, the guy is doing something right or he wouldnt be so successful. Let us know how it goes with them. I am just happy you are breaking free from the communist chains and going somewhere else. I hope your happy out there.

[pickenup]

It's sad really. A friendly head's up about the business ethics and practices of a firearms shop, turns into....this....kind of thread.

Do what Double D advocates (doesn't surprise me) patronize a shop that you now KNOW a little more about.

I could not care less about that shop, one way or the other. Because of the TV show, they will probably end up millionaires, and I DON'T CARE. I was just trying to be helpful.

If you elect to patronize that shop, and experience anything similar to what I have reported (which I honestly hope you do not have to experience) when that little voice says "I told you so"..........well.....

[Juker]

Naw, this was a celebratory thread about escaping Illinois and returning at long last to our beloved Colorado. If you wanted to bash Gunsmoke, you should have started your own thread, to inform everyone here about their wicked practices and evil ways.

I'm not about to get in a twist because of some anonymous information from a third or fourth party source. When it comes to the internet, I don't believe everything I read, by a long shot. If I did, I'd think Obama was the answer to everything, that Glocks are better than 1911s, and the moon landings were faked. Maybe some guy tried to hit on the wife or daughter, got tossed, and now he goes forum to forum trashing their reputation. I simply do not know. But I do know that I trust my friends and relatives, and my trust is hard to come by.

Nothing gets to me these days. We're leaving Illinois, and I'm Rocky Mountain high. Juker out. I'll check in after our escape.

[Double D]

Originally Posted by pickenup

It's sad really. A friendly head's up about the business ethics and practices of a firearms shop, turns into....this....kind of thread.

Do what Double D advocates (doesn't surprise me) patronize a shop that you now KNOW a little more about.

I could not care less about that shop, one way or the other. Because of the TV show, they will probably end up millionaires, and I DON'T CARE. I was just trying to be helpful.

If you elect to patronize that shop, and experience anything similar to what I have reported (which I honestly hope you do not have to experience) when that little voice says "I told you so"..........well.....

Why not give them a try? Because YOU said not to? I dont think so. It doesnt surprise you that I advocate giving someone a chance? Thank you. In every business you will find happy and unhappy customers. If the unhappy outweighs the happy, it normally causes failure. If the business is thriving, there must be a reason. Since I dont know what that is first hand, I must give them the benefit of the doubt. If they are not treating their customers right, it will bite them in the butt and they will eventually fail. But normally businesses dont just thrive if they are screwing everyone. And this thread is all about celebrating Jukers escape from communist rule, not about him finding a new gunshop.

But, just for the heck of it, here is my outside view of the gunsmoke shop based solely on the TV show. The dad is flaky and is a drama king. He over charges for most everything they do. The bickering between the gunsmiths is annoying to say the least, and him flying around in a helicopter to make gun buys every show is way over the top but cool at the same time. The way he allows his daughter to prance around in her skimpy clothes doesnt say much for his character, but it is all about the ratings. If the show makes them millionaires, more power to them. This is the land of opportunity. As for real life everyday operations, I dont know. It seems like they stock a good number of guns, and a large selection, with alot of hard to find stuff based on what he buys. They have probably taught their fair share of concealed classes. They must have a good relationship with at least some of the locals in order to be thriving. If repairs are taking a long time, its because they must be backlogged. Being backlogged means you are in demand. You dont get to be in demand by screwing everyone. Also, with high overhead and many employees, the higher prices are explained. Overall, I dont know if they would be my first choice or not, but I would stop by and check them out for myself. I probably would prefer a smaller operation but I cant say that for sure without first seeing for myself.