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In full disclosure, let me make it plain that I pay them, they don't pay me. But so many funny things happen there that I feel obliged to share. Perhaps you can relate. I have two rules about shooting. If it's a bad day, I shoot. If it's a good day, I shoot. So I am there a lot. I wish that like country clubs and their "soc1al" memberships that The Bullet Trap had a "watching" membership. I would pay just to stand behind the firing line and watch. De temps en temps I will relate events that I found amusing.

I will start close to home. My lovely wife is a blonde Croatian. If you don't know, that means don't mess with her. How many of you wish you had wives who love guns as much as you do? Mine likes them more. A few years ago I gave her a Ruger SP101 for her nightstand. I load it with 38 specials for her to keep the recoil down so as not to wrinkle her dainty hands. But periodically we reassess what she should have as her primary gun. So I am running through several candidates from my arsenal: an easy to shoot S&W 5906 as old as I am, a Ruger LCR, the Ruger LCP, some Kel-Tecs just so she will appreciate better guns, some of my favorite Tauruses (I also like Brazilian women). Finally she asks, "What about what you carry every day? Can I shoot that?" Suffice it to say that she now has my Bersa Thunder Plus nickel.

Napier wrote:In full disclosure, let me make it plain that I pay them, they don't pay me. But so many funny things happen there that I feel obliged to share. Perhaps you can relate. I have two rules about shooting. If it's a bad day, I shoot. If it's a good day, I shoot. So I am there a lot. I wish that like country clubs and their "soc1al" memberships that The Bullet Trap had a "watching" membership. I would pay just to stand behind the firing line and watch. De temps en temps I will relate events that I found amusing.

I will start close to home. My lovely wife is a blonde Croatian. If you don't know, that means don't mess with her. How many of you wish you had wives who love guns as much as you do? Mine likes them more. A few years ago I gave her a Ruger SP101 for her nightstand. I load it with 38 specials for her to keep the recoil down so as not to wrinkle her dainty hands. But periodically we reassess what she should have as her primary gun. So I am running through several candidates from my arsenal: an easy to shoot S&W 5906 as old as I am, a Ruger LCR, the Ruger LCP, some Kel-Tecs just so she will appreciate better guns, some of my favorite Tauruses (I also like Brazilian women). Finally she asks, "What about what you carry every day? Can I shoot that?" Suffice it to say that she now has my Bersa Thunder Plus nickel.

You did OK by not naming one of your favorite Tauruses.

Ya messed up, though, by not answering her question with "the KelTec"

I worked there in 1995 and that range is dangerous. Shooters do so many dumb things it is scary at times. Many times I had to grab a pair of muffs and go in to get a guy to be safe. I had one guy come out to complain the guy next to him is shooting a gun too loud. i don't make this stuff.

fannypacker wrote:I worked there in 1995 and that range is dangerous. Shooters do so many dumb things it is scary at times. Many times I had to grab a pair of muffs and go in to get a guy to be safe. I had one guy come out to complain the guy next to him is shooting a gun too loud. i don't make this stuff.

Tell me about it! They are shooting GUNS in there. But I don't think it's Bullet Wrap. I think it's the patrons. Last week the lane I was assigned to had a BIG bullet hole in the plastic shelf. THAT's scary! Ever look at the side walls? Looks like Beirut!

Being a regular patron, they know me and love to play games. I shuffle in with my two canes and thick glasses and French beret and implore "Please don't put anyone on either side of me shooting a calibre that starts with 4!" I vary my excuse. "My old brain has shrunk and loud reports make it slosh." "I didn't bring any spare Depends with me." "The last time I was here you had to call 911 because it loosened the battery in my defibrillator."

So what do they do? You guessed it!

[quote="Excaliber You did OK by not naming one of your favorite Tauruses.

Ya messed up, though, by not answering her question with "the KelTec" [/quote]

I love Taurus pistols. I basically have no life, and owning four of them I get to talk to the nice warranty service ladies in Miami a lot.

Napier wrote:

fannypacker wrote:I worked there in 1995 and that range is dangerous. Shooters do so many dumb things it is scary at times. Many times I had to grab a pair of muffs and go in to get a guy to be safe. I had one guy come out to complain the guy next to him is shooting a gun too loud. i don't make this stuff.

Tell me about it! They are shooting GUNS in there. But I don't think it's Bullet Wrap. I think it's the patrons. Last week the lane I was assigned to had a BIG bullet hole in the plastic shelf. THAT's scary! Ever look at the side walls? Looks like Beirut!

Being a regular patron, they know me and love to play games. I shuffle in with my two canes and thick glasses and French beret and implore "Please don't put anyone on either side of me shooting a calibre that starts with 4!" I vary my excuse. "My old brain has shrunk and loud reports make it slosh." "I didn't bring any spare Depends with me." "The last time I was here you had to call 911 because it loosened the battery in my defibrillator."

So what do they do? You guessed it!

Who mentioned Beirut....

This is perhaps not funny. More like pathetic. I really like most of the guys at The Wrap. Always courteous and helpful. If they like you. But now and again they hire somebody's intellectually-challenged brother-in-law's second cousin on the wife's side. Once I went in just to shoot up some old Wolf 223, you know, the kind that leaves maple syrup on the inside of the receiver? Well, they have a quite reasonable rule that you can't fire steel bullets. Something about not disturbing the patrons of the neighboring Mexican restaurant with bullets flying through their walls. So second couz whips out a refrigerator magnet to check my ammo. "You can't shoot this!" "How's come?" "It's magnetic!" So I calls Dave over. "Dave, YOU 'splain the diffunce 'tween steel bullets and steel CASINGS!"

Napier wrote:This is perhaps not funny. More like pathetic. I really like most of the guys at The Wrap. Always courteous and helpful. If they like you. But now and again they hire somebody's intellectually-challenged brother-in-law's second cousin on the wife's side. Once I went in just to shoot up some old Wolf 223, you know, the kind that leaves maple syrup on the inside of the receiver? Well, they have a quite reasonable rule that you can't fire steel bullets. Something about not disturbing the patrons of the neighboring Mexican restaurant with bullets flying through their walls. So second couz whips out a refrigerator magnet to check my ammo. "You can't shoot this!" "How's come?" "It's magnetic!" So I calls Dave over. "Dave, YOU 'splain the diffunce 'tween steel bullets and steel CASINGS!"

I'm enjoying this narrative. Another reminder not to live in the city. Where is this Bullet Trap/Wrap?

Napier wrote:[quote="Excaliber You did OK by not naming one of your favorite Tauruses.

Ya messed up, though, by not answering her question with "the KelTec"

I love Taurus pistols. I basically have no life, and owning four of them I get to talk to the nice warranty service ladies in Miami a lot.[/quote]

Have you considered selling them one at a time to dealers (not individuals) as you get them temporarily working and getting a Sig / Glock / Springfield / S&W / Kimber / STI / Kahr / RRA?

Mastodon wrote:

Napier wrote:This is perhaps not funny. More like pathetic. I really like most of the guys at The Wrap. Always courteous and helpful. If they like you. But now and again they hire somebody's intellectually-challenged brother-in-law's second cousin on the wife's side. Once I went in just to shoot up some old Wolf 223, you know, the kind that leaves maple syrup on the inside of the receiver? Well, they have a quite reasonable rule that you can't fire steel bullets. Something about not disturbing the patrons of the neighboring Mexican restaurant with bullets flying through their walls. So second couz whips out a refrigerator magnet to check my ammo. "You can't shoot this!" "How's come?" "It's magnetic!" So I calls Dave over. "Dave, YOU 'splain the diffunce 'tween steel bullets and steel CASINGS!"

I'm enjoying this narrative. Another reminder not to live in the city. Where is this Bullet Trap/Wrap?

It is in the wilds of east Plano. In an area so old and run down it is in imminent danger of becoming gentrified. It's the only place on that side of town I feel safe. If a patron doesn't kill me. I am guessing that way over half of its habitues have CHLs and pack. I do love it so!

Excaliber wrote:

Napier wrote:[quote="Excaliber You did OK by not naming one of your favorite Tauruses.

Ya messed up, though, by not answering her question with "the KelTec"

I love Taurus pistols. I basically have no life, and owning four of them I get to talk to the nice warranty service ladies in Miami a lot.

Have you considered selling them one at a time to dealers (not individuals) as you get them temporarily working and getting a Sig / Glock / Springfield / S&W / Kimber / STI / Kahr / RRA?[/quote]


Thanks for the advice, I am upgrading. Bought my first Glock a couple of weeks ago, and wun't-cha know, it was a lemon? Been in Jawja nearly two weeks now. Dealers offer such sucky trade-ins that every time I am tempted to sell one I think to myself, "Would I BUY one for what they're offering me?" So I keep it. There's still a lot of room in the basement of my gun safe. My love for Taurus is that they are the only manufacturer who makes a decent high capacity .380, as I learned from my troubles with my two Bersas. Taurus' newly announced DT Integral .380 is on my wish list.

Napier wrote:My lovely wife is a blonde Croatian. If you don't know, that means don't mess with her.

Napier wrote:(I also like Brazilian women)

better hope your Croatian wife doesn't see this, she may turn Colombian on you (think of the scene from that episode of Modern Family where Gloria shoots Manny's float gangsta-style with the bb gun)

Napier wrote:

Excaliber wrote:

Napier wrote:[quote="Excaliber You did OK by not naming one of your favorite Tauruses.

Ya messed up, though, by not answering her question with "the KelTec"

I love Taurus pistols. I basically have no life, and owning four of them I get to talk to the nice warranty service ladies in Miami a lot.

Have you considered selling them one at a time to dealers (not individuals) as you get them temporarily working and getting a Sig / Glock / Springfield / S&W / Kimber / STI / Kahr / RRA?

Thanks for the advice, I am upgrading. Bought my first Glock a couple of weeks ago, and wun't-cha know, it was a lemon? Been in Jawja nearly two weeks now. Dealers offer such sucky trade-ins that every time I am tempted to sell one I think to myself, "Would I BUY one for what they're offering me?" So I keep it. There's still a lot of room in the basement of my gun safe. My love for Taurus is that they are the only manufacturer who makes a decent high capacity .380, as I learned from my troubles with my two Bersas. Taurus' newly announced DT Integral .380 is on my wish list.[/quote]

Dealer trade ins involve a significant loss on the investment in a decision that turned out not to be a good one. However, if I'm not happy with a gun because it doesn't work well, I take the loss for my error by selling to a dealer because he knows what he's buying and I don't want to stick an individual who might not know what he's getting into with a lemon.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a gun that doesn't work well today isn't going to gain any value over time, and, if its flaws are design related, it may well lose additional value as the information on its defects becomes more widely known.

You might also consider replacing a high capacity .380 with a lower capacity 9mm that would give you significantly upgraded performance in a similar size package. The new models from Kimber and Ruger make that a more viable option than ever before. Also, if you've got a few guns that aren't good enough to carry, even taking a loss on dealer trade in, you might very well be able to get rid of all of them and pick up a new, reliable, capable piece with little or no additional outlay.

Thanks for the advice, Ex, I might just do the mass trade-in thing. First I would have to weigh the tradein value against the pleasure of pounding them into scrap with a sledgehammer. Re 9mm, I have four that work well, plus the accurst Glock 17 in the shop, but I am just not comfortable with 9mm recoil for daily carry. That said, the new Ruger LC9 is so purty I'll probably buy one just for range fun. And who knows, Glock may eventually sell their 380 in the US.

Im there all the time myself. if your ever looking for another shooting partner let me know. Send me a PM. Love to shoot and just hang out there because there allways packed with gun nuts.

Oh and tell the wife she sounds awesome. Im still working on mine to become a gun lover lol!