Mortgage Monday: The Small Things

Orkin may have gone overboard... 

Summer is now upon us and my wife and I have been busy picking up things here and there for the house and for the yard. So far the tractor has been running well and the other gas powered tools have been taking care of the rest of the property. Now it is time, at least for the outside items, to round out the things that we need to maintain our little piece of land. This includes all of the trimming items as well a ladder, saw, sledgehammer, and axe. You would be surprised by how useful the last two items are around the property.

Many of the other items that we have picked up or ordered lately have been more about the comfort and convenience around the house. Having a hammock in the back yard is not something that we need but with the deal that I found at one of my usual online stores it was well worth the nominal cost. Plus it completes the collection that we now have on the patio which includes a dining set and a couple of Adirondack chairs. Not something that we will use every day but relaxing when we get the chance.

In the house there have been a few upgrades lately including a new crock pot and coffee maker (nearly free when we combined the clearance price with an old gift card at Macy’s). Also added in the mix was a new microwave that fills the space that was designed into the kitchen layout. Our last one was struggling a bit and, again, a good sale price was found. Beyond those few things, everything else was pretty much purchased for our son as he is growing out of many of the products that we have been using for months (i.e. new sippy cups and utensils).

And with the first days of summer now heating up the landscape, we are also better protected now that we have had Orkin come out and do some preventative work and some mole remediation. While we haven’t had any insect problems beyond the few stragglers here and there, I would rather have the reassurance that it will not be an issue in the future especially with our son scurrying all over the house. Now, all the bugs and spiders know that this is not some place that they want to try and get into and the moles are digging their way away from the property (they were actually a real problem in the front and back yards).

So, let the summer begin. We have the tools and we have taken care of many of the things that we needed to in order to prepared for the weather. Now all that is left is to get all of the small projects completed followed by some larger tasks and we will be ready for years to come. That being the payoff, it is well worth making the investment now.

Firearms Friday: Miscellaneous Parts

This summarizes the majority of the spare parts that I have... 

When sorting through the boxes, drawers, and safes around my work bench it is amazing how much stuff that I am able to uncover. Not only is it a useful exercise in updating my parts inventory but it is also a means to reorganize all the miscellaneous items that got put aside at one point or another but never properly cataloged. Not get me wrong, anything with a serial number is well documented but anyone that does any gunsmithing or replaces parts knows that there are always pieces that simply get consumed by the workbench.

However, what I find to be the most interesting part of the process if not finding the useful parts and pieces that I can either use right away or store in my bench for later but the parts that I have no idea how I got them. Well, that isn’t completely true. Many of the items revealed during the excavation are from firearms that I used to own. We all have that miscellaneous box or drawer of parts laying around full of items that we thought we would use but never did. Before we knew it, the parts had been swallowed by the work bench and the firearm was sold or traded.

Then there are the parts to firearms that I never owned. These come about because of three very simple reasons: I hope to own that particular make/model in the future; I didn’t read the box, bag, or description closely enough and bought the wrong nonreturnable item; or, it was too good of a deal on a part that I can easily use for trade fodder. I know that I am not alone in having some things fall into one of these three categories.

At this point it is a matter of pulling together all of the different parts and separating them into a system that will work moving forward. Actually, it is more about updating the current system. This basically comes down to parts that I expect to use immediately, backup parts and those that were swapped out, parts that I will use in the future upon acquisition of the correct firearm, and those that will be exclusively used for trade fodder or will be sold. Of course, this is all in the hope that I will be able to maintain this means of organization moving forward and now that my wife and I have settled down that is actually a possibility.

Mortgage Monday: Just In Case

When my wife and I originally made an offer on our house one of the things that we made sure to include was a home warranty policy. While we didn’t expect to find anything during the inspections and we don’t anticipate any major issues in the near future you just never know what might happen. The last thing we wanted was to invest such a large amount of money into a home and soon thereafter have to increase our investment because the AC unit finally gave up or the well pump decided to take some time off.

Actually, the reasons are quite a bit more mundane than the major issues that one could face in that first year. Usually it is something as simple as an appliance acting up or a garage door opener that was older than you expected. These are the things that fall beyond the purview of the regular homeowner’s insurance policy and, just like insurance, you never know what might happen. The last thing that I want to happen is that we don’t have something covered, particularly during this first year, and then all of the sudden we have to spend thousands of dollars that we were hoping to keep in the bank.

I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it… sounds like I’m referring to something else doesn’t it. But the same line of thought applies. I don’t want to be caught without it especially when it can impact the well-being and comfort of my family.

This is the just in case for those things that we can’t anticipate happening but, as we have heard and read about, they happen all of the time. So, I guess this could go back to my weekly checks that I referenced previously. Not only checking for the major things that everyone does like the roof and boiler but also the minor things like making sure the appliances sound the way that they should and that the garage door isn’t straining to open.

It really is a nominal cost or, as in our case, no cost option that brings a tremendous piece of mind to this first year in our new house. If something breaks we can take care of it right away and not worry about the financial impact that the repair or replacement might have. Rather than thinking and incessantly worrying, we can focus on enjoying our home and, more importantly, see the enjoyment on our son’s face when he is exploring the play room, looking outside, or watching the buggies as they sway down the road.

Firearms Friday: ‘Tis The Season For Deals

This time of year it seems that everything is on sale. While some deals are better than others, you are pretty much guaranteed to receive some kind of discount on whatever you order. And these sales are not just limited to the national retail chains or products with general consumer appeal, there are even deals to be had for those of us that enjoy the shooting sports. Having written about this before, in one form or another, you can basically consider this as the annual lock and load post.

As many of you have experienced, especially over the last few years, some retailers have better deals than others. While I won’t call out any websites or stores, we all know which ones to avoid. However, there are always great prices on a variety of items with some being sent to email subscribers, Facebook followers, and others exclusive to club members or existing customers. There are also great sites such as Slickguns that make it easy to find the prices that are just too low to pass up. Keep in mind that these sites usually don’t include local gun shop deals.

Over the past couple of months there have been a number of deals that caught my attention with the majority of them being discovered first in my email. Here are a few examples of the tempting products with retailer, item, and sale price included for reference:

• Palmetto State Armory (Daily Deal) - 7.62 x 39 Complete 7.5” Upper (with BCG and Charging Handle); $269.99

• Sportsman’s Guide (with Double Discount coupon) - S.W.T 30 Round AR15 Magazines: $5.59 - 30 Round Beretta 92 Magazines: $11.99

• Delta Team Tactical (Black Friday / Cyber Monday) - Crosshill Tech / Davidson Defense Right Side Charging AR15 Upper Receiver (with BCG): $239.99

• Damage Industries (50% off sale) - AR15 Short Barrel Muzzle Break and Sleeve: $34.95

• Amazon (Flash Sale) - Stack-On PDS 500 Drawer Safe: $31.99

Basically, anyone who is looking to build an AR has had a heck of a time and saved a lot of money recently. Some of these are more recent than others but not all of them were Black Friday / Cyber Monday prices and that is the most important point that I can make in this post. Sometimes the best prices are not during the holidays, they can really happen at any time. The key to finding a good deal is waiting (and getting to know your local shop owner) but sometimes, especially recently, the deals seem to just happen and if you’re paying attention, and didn’t spent too much somewhere else, you can take advantage of them.

TMI Tuesday: Thank You Daddy!

A few months back while spending the day with our friends for their son’s birthday party, our son found one the toys in their house to be greatly entertaining. It was a stationary car that allowed him to sit on the floor and play with all the buttons, steering wheel, and the other odds and ends that are included on it. He must have spent close to an hour that afternoon entertaining himself while the rest of us ate lunch and caught up in our conversations. It didn’t take long before my wife and I realized that was going to be one of his Hanukkah gifts this year.

A couple of weeks ago, before we moved, I got really lucky and found the same car, the only difference was that it was in blue not red, on sale on Amazon. I think it only took me about 10 or 15 seconds from the time I saw it until I had the order placed. A few days later it arrived in an abnormally large box at my office. There it stayed until we got settled in to our new home which, at that point, I moved it into the office closet one night while our son was asleep.

Yesterday, having taken the day off from work, the box finally emerged and while our son was excited enough about the big box he was going to be able to play with, once we were able to put the car together his face lit up as he seemingly recognized the toy that he had enjoyed previously. Just like the first time he saw it, once my wife and I put him in the car he spend at least an hour playing with all the buttons and features occasionally glancing up at the two of us and smiling.

After a while he decided he was done and wanted to squirm around on the floor and play with mommy and daddy. This is not a surprise as any parent will tell you that it doesn’t matter how much they like a toy they are going to get bored with it after a while. What we didn’t expect was for our son to come after me kissing me, smiling, laughing, and seemingly thanking me for a toy that he really wanted. It was one of the most adorable 10 minutes that I have ever spent with our son and something that I was both not expecting and will never forget. I just feel bad that he didn’t do the same for his mommy.

A New Furniture Experience

The last time my wife and I bought new furniture was shortly after returning from Israel just before we moved into our apartment in Bala Cynwyd. At that time we didn’t have anything and the selecting was more about what was the best price rather than the quality of the items. In the end we were actually pretty lucky and we were able to find some decent quality pieces for clearance prices at JC Penney.

This time around, our decision to buy furniture was more of a luxury than anything. While many of the items that we already owned still had plenty of life left in them, we wanted to find pieced that we really liked and while we had a budget this time around as well, it was a completely different shopping experience. With a few ideas in mind we stopped at a couple of stores before we ended up at Raymour & Flanigan where we spent hours finding the furniture that would last us for many years and fill our new home.

That was also another driver in our decision to go furniture shopping. We were moving into a much larger place. Bigger than any other place that we have shared since we have been together. It wasn’t about a couple of pieced here and there like our last rental, we had to fill rooms. After all, we were going from a 3 bedroom townhouse where one of the bedrooms served as my wife’s office into a 5 bedroom home with two additional spaces we planned on using for our respective offices. We definitely had our work cut out for us.

What worked in our favor was the fact that we could easily divide our old bedroom furniture to fill two of the guestrooms and with our son taking one of the others and the last one being converted into a playroom with the old family room furniture, we were able to reuse the majority of the furniture we already had. What remained was the new family room, the master bedroom, the kitchen (just a table and chairs), and, after some convincing, my new office. It was a manageable list once we sat down and figured everything out.

We knew what we wanted to get. Well, we at least had a rough idea. And, budget in hand, we worked with one of the sales people at the Exton location and found all the pieces and filled all the rooms with the furniture that we wanted to see in our new home. After picking everything out and finding everything we needed our budget was looking to be in danger but after some friendly haggling we were able to fill our dream home with our dream furniture while staying on budget. It really was the final piece to finally finding our home!

Holiday Shopping

Because I haven’t had enough to do lately, I have also been looking around and taking care of some holiday shopping. In addition to the “Black Friday” and “Lightening Deals” that are found all over now, there have also been some moments over the past couple of months when better deals were found. And some of those discounts didn’t even require haggling like at Raymour and Flanigan. At this point, because we started so early, we are basically done our holiday shopping. We have either already ordered or picked up gifts or we know exactly what we are getting for some people.

Of course, that has only been half of the purchasing equation lately as many of our orders haven’t been for others but rather for things that we need around the house. Furniture obviously being the biggest of these expenses which would have cause a coronary had we not known the total beforehand and certain death had we not negotiated a decent discount. Most of the other exciting things have been replacements for what was obviously worn out and we had been putting off purchasing until now.

While there is a little more of a sense of immediacy in these orders, especially for our kitchen, I was still able to wait on a number of items and get really lucky on others. Most of the effort was actually in scanning through the Amazon “lightening deals” while keeping a slightly open mind as to brand and style. We managed to get a lot of the things we need for a significantly lower price than we were expecting to pay and, in most instances, the quality of the product was much better too.

With all of this said, there is a word of warning that I would like to share with you. While most of you are aware of this fact, the reality is that Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t always the best days to find deals. I spoke with one retailer who specifically said that those days might be the worst times of year to find deals as they already know people are going out to shop so they specifically offer a smaller discount compared to other holidays throughout the year (President’s Day was mentioned as an example). My response to this and my advice is simple… keep shopping around, track the prices of what you are looking to buy, and never be afraid to either price match with another retailer or haggle them down beyond the sale price.

We are all watching our pennies and, like taxes, why pay more than you absolutely have to… a good rule of thumb is to never accept a discount less than 40% during Black Friday sales. This is the generally accepted bar for a good deal. If you take your time, shop around, get to know some retailers and salespeople, and sometimes price match, you can get the best deal no matter what time of year no matter what you are buying. It really is that simple.

Black Friday Turning Grey

Every year the same pattern persists as Thanksgiving all too quickly gives way to the consumer holiday shopping spree also known as Black Friday. More so than any other year, the emails came heavy and soon filled my inbox with deals. Actually, the digital deluge began on Monday as pre-sales and teasers streamed across the screen. However, the fact of the matter is that the deals are not nearly as good this year as they have been in the past.

A few years ago I was one of those people who, eager to fill a few holes in what we needed for our new apartment, ventured out on Thanksgiving night to try and stretch our money as far as I could go. That trip was a success as lower prices combined with a few coupons I had on hand allowed us to completely furnish our place as well as check off most of the people on our gift list for the season. With the economy still recovering the discounts were deep especially for those of us who took the time to put a game plan together and leverage every discount available to us. This allowed me to get everything done all while not waiting in a single line.

This year was almost the exact opposite as there was nothing being sold that offered the same kind of bargain. Don’t get me wrong, we still spent a few dollars but not like the flurry of activity from just a few years ago. Everything has pointed to a resurgence in the retail environment and the lack of discounts reflects that change… although that fact didn’t seem to stop people from filling the stores and clogging the roads.

So this year my wife and I did exactly what the stores didn’t want us to do… we stayed home and kept our money in our pockets. The few things that we were keeping an eye on just in case didn’t seem to change much in price so why would we buy now? There is plenty of time for us to look for those things at a later date and there are definitely other things on which we can focus our attention. Maybe part of the equation is that we have changed and our priorities have shifted but at the same time if the deals aren’t there it is not worth the time or the money.

Why Do We Have A Day Off For Presidents Day?

While many were home today for Presidents Day, I was at the office trying to get things done. With so many storms and other delays lately, it has been a chore trying to stay in front of a lot of items on my to-do list. And, when I think about it, what better way to honor Presidents Day than to work? After all, the men for whom the holiday was created, Washington and Lincoln, worked and worked hard to achieve what they did in their lifetimes.

So, for the sake of education, here is a little bit of information from Wikipedia about Presidents Day, the day when we honor a Mason and a Republican (ah, I can sense the liberals cringing):

Washington's Birthday is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February in honor of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

It is also a state holiday in most states where it is known by a variety of names including Presidents Day and Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday and officially celebrates, depending upon the state, Washington alone, Washington and Lincoln, or some other combination of U.S. presidents. Some states celebrate Washington and the third president Thomas Jefferson but not Lincoln.

Colloquially, the holiday is widely known as "Presidents Day" and is often an occasion to celebrate, or at least remember, all presidents and not just George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays are in February. In historical rankings of Presidents of the United States both Lincoln and Washington are frequently, but not always, the top two presidents.

In Washington's adopted hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, celebrations are held throughout the month of February.

…

The federal holiday honoring George Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American President, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22. On January 1, 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name "Washington's Birthday" in some sense a misnomer, since it never occurs on Washington's actual birthday, either February 11 (Old Style), or February 22 (New Style).

The first attempt to create a Presidents Day occurred in 1951 when the "President's Day National Committee" was formed by Harold Stone Bridge Fischer of Compton, California, who became its National Executive Director for the next two decades. The purpose was not to honor any particular President but to honor the office of the Presidency. It was first thought that March 4, the original inauguration day, should be deemed Presidents Day. However, the bill recognizing the March 4 date was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee (which had authority over federal holidays). That committee felt that, because of its proximity to Lincoln's and Washington's Birthdays, three holidays so close together would be unduly burdensome. During this time, however, the Governors of a majority of the individual states issued proclamations declaring March 4 to be Presidents' Day in their respective jurisdictions.

An early draft of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act would have renamed the holiday to "Presidents' Day" to honor the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln, which would explain why the chosen date falls between the two, but this proposal failed in committee, and the bill as voted on and signed into law on June 28, 1968, kept the name Washington's Birthday.

By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term "Presidents' Day" began its public appearance.

Now that you have a little bit of background on the origins of the holiday what seemed like a good idea to remember some of the greatest men in this country’s history really doesn’t seem like a proper means of honoring those same men. Two men who fought for, who relentlessly worked for freedom in this country are memorialized by taking the day off? No thank you. I am going to honor them, and honor what they stood for, by continuing to work hard. Honor their memories through your actions not by taking the day off and going to some big retail sale.

Quick Trips Are Rarely Quick

 

Have you ever noticed that a quick trip on a weekend never ends up being a quick trip? That was the case today as my car was due for its 10,000 mile oil change. In the past I have gotten lucky and it would only take about 30 minutes so I wound up waiting for it and killing time by either making a call or reading a bit. However, as soon as I called the Armen service department I knew that wasn’t going to be the case. So, what I was hoping would originally be about 30 minutes was now at least going to be 90 minutes (this is not a criticism just a reality).

Whenever you call a place to have any kid of service done if they hesitate before telling you that there is time today, it is almost definitely going to be a longer wait. Having been told that it would take about an hour and a half, my wife and I decided to go out for a lazy lunch to pass the time. And if we are going to head out for lunch we might as well have some company so I gave my mom a call to invite my parents to lunch. Just like many of my weekends, my dad was working so it was just the three of us who would meet up at Dujour after we dropped the car off at the dealer.

After an excellent time with my mom chatting over lunch we started walking back to the car when the phone rang to let me know that the car was ready. At least our timing was pretty good. However, going straight to the dealer would just make too much sense and since we were out we thought that we should take care of another errand by looking for some boots for my wife across the street from the dealer at DSW. I wasn’t going to stand around while my wife was looking at shoes so I headed to the clearance section to find a replacement pair for the shoes coming apart on my feet.

I found a nearly identical pair of brown shoes the only different really being that they were a different brand. When checking the price I was a little thrown off because the price tag was in yellow and not in one of the usual colors (i.e. red, purple, green, and blue). In another example of great timing, the shoes that I picked out (the only pair out which happened to be the perfect size) were on sale for 80% off the discount price. Perfect replacements for just under $12.

Of course, my wife also found a pair to pick up so after checking out we parted ways as my wife headed home and I walked across the street to pick up the car. An oil change, tire rotation, and a few dollars later I pulled out of the parking lot and, instead of heading home, drove over to the post office and lodge to check the mailbox and the office. Quick trip but one that is going to be a new part of my weekend routine. As I pulled into the parking lot back at my apartment building it was obvious that the quick trip today was anything but quick having taken nearly three hours to get back to where I started.

A Little Too Early!

Two days from tonight we will all, at least those of us in the US, will be sitting down for Thanksgiving Dinner. After stuffing our faces many of us will be heading home on the slow sleepy drive back home while others will roll themselves into the adjacent room, beach themselves on the couch, and go to sleep. It is a great day to spend with family without the obligation or expectation of gifts, it’s simply a time to get together and give thanks for what you have and the people around you (at least most of them).

At the tail end of the day, with only a couple/few hours until the calendar page is turned, stores will be opening their doors to throngs of people looking for the best deal of the year (until it hits the clearance rack) and the cheapest gifts possible for the impending gift giving season. Every family has that one person who goes to the Black Friday sales (or whatever you call the Thursday openings) and I will admit it that I am no stranger to the chaos although I have never waited in line to get into a store.

I can understand the need for a good deal and with Thanksgiving over it is natural for retailers to capitalize on the next big holiday on the horizon… Christmas. However, Black Friday does not mark the debut of the decorations, displays, cards, or freaking music. All of that holiday gaudiness begins creeping out right after Halloween.

At this point, I am pretty sick of it. It is too much, too soon, and it has to stop. Growing up I loved the Christmas season and I recall the sights, sounds, and music immediately surrounding the big day. Immediately surrounding, not the surrounding months. What has happened over the years?

While it is not my chosen celebration in my adult life, it is still a season that surrounds us. The message is positive and people are generally in a good mood but let’s stop trying to extend the season every year. Let’s go back to simple way that it should be and start all of the extravagance just after Thanksgiving. Actually, start it on Thanksgiving as it used to be. When Santa comes down the street on the float, the holiday season has officially begun.

So, sit back and enjoy the holiday season. Enjoy the fact that you are allowed to blame the dog for your farts for an entire month. Embrace the gifting ability to pick favorites in the family without saying a word. Reminisce about the days when Chevy Chase was funny and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (snicker, snicker, snicker).

And, finally, enjoy your one day late in the year… long after we celebrated our eight days of Hanukkah (we will be celebrating while you are just starting your shopping). You might have missed the beginning since we don’t have a lot of songs to mark the holiday because we were too busy writing Christmas songs. By the way… O J Simpson, still not a Jew.

Prepping For Black (Rifle) Friday!

In honor of the Eugene Stoner’s birthday (the engineer behind the AR-15) which I mentioned yesterday in my post about the assassination of President and NRA member John F. Kennedy I have decided, after numerous requests, to post an AR-15 parts list. Not just a simple list of what you need to get but a list of some of the prices I have seen over the past couple of months in order to build a budget rifle. I will tell you the websites and the lowest prices I have seen but I am not going to link to the product page as many of the dollar amounts have changed.

Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind with this list. While these are sale prices that I have seen during different moments may not be available now, you must be patient and wait as these parts will go on sale again for the same price or lower (I have no idea what Black Friday will bring). The quotes below do not take into account shipping or transfer costs (I am not even going to try and calculate that in as a factor). In addition to this list, there are tools that you would need to purchase to build the firearm and certain things that you may want to have a trained gunsmith work on rather than doing it yourself.

Lastly, keep it legal. Don’t build something in such a way that it would be deemed illegal (if you don’t like the laws in your state move). Make sure you go through your local FFL when you purchase your lower receiver. And, generally speaking, don’t be an idiot. You are building a firearm and you need to respect that fact.

 So, without any further delay, here is the list:

1. Blemished Lower Receiver                                         $50 (PSA)
2. Blackhawk! Lower Parts Kit                                       $30 (PSA)
3. Blackhawk (Mil Spec) Buffer Tube Assembly           $30 (PSA)
4. Blemished Upper Receiver                                          $40 (PSA)
5. Upper Receiver Parts Kit (w/ barrel nut)                     $25 (PSA)
6. PTAC Bolt Carrier Group (w/ Charging Handle)       $80 (PSA)
7. 16” M4 Barrel (1:7 Twist)                                           $85 (SG)
8. A2 Front Sight / Gas Block                                         $25 (PSA)
9. A2 Flash Hider                                                            $8 (PSA)
10. Carbine Length Gas Tube                                           $8 (PSA)
11. Front Sight Post                                                           $8 (PSA)
12. Carry Handle / Rear Sight                                           $20 (AM)
13. M4 Hand Guard                                                           $10 (T)
14. 30 Round Polymer Magazine (No Name)                   $6 (T)

NOTE: PSA = Palmetto State Armory; SG = Sportsman’s Guide; AM = Amazon; T = Tanner’s Sport Center

For those of you keeping track that brings the total up to $425 compared to an off the rack rifle (new) which would cost you a minimum of $650 plus the additional tax put on complete firearms. This part list will complete the most basic of rifles but, if put together correctly, will function as good as or better than a basic AR that would cost you a minimum of $225 more. But, as I stated before, it takes patience both in waiting for the right price for parts but also in putting all the pieces together. It is not a complicated process but one that should be given your full attention.

However, be forewarned, I have seen people get carried away with their builds which is not that hard to do. Start with the basics. If you want to switch out parts later than go ahead. For now, you don’t need that $250 Geissele trigger in your first build. Keep it simple. Simple works. The last thing you want to do is build a FUBAR rifle.  

Finally, be a smart gun owner and support your right to own your firearm. Set aside time to train, enjoy, and appreciate what you have created in a safe and controlled environment. Know your rifle, become fluent in firearms safety, and make sure everything is locked up. And become a NRA member (or one of the following Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership). Pick one or pick them all just make sure you show your support. This is your responsibility.