Whew! I can come here again now.......

[Uncle Alvah]

Friends, I'm back! And MIGHTY glad to be here too1
My story in a nutshell:
Last October I had a bit of a dis-agreement with a couple of VA police at the VA clinic where I was going. Yes, the VA has it's OWN police force, guns, cruisers, the whole bit. As a result of that tiff, my NYS handgun permit was "suspended" and my paltry collection of three pistols, including my much-loved 97b was confiscated by the County Sheriff.
There was a lot of pressure from various parties(NOT the Sheriff) to simply surrender the permit, sell the guns, and be on my way. Implied warnings that it would somehow be better that I surrendered the permit as opposed to risking haveing it revolked at a full hearing, that kind of stuff. It goes without saying that NYS is not especially "handgun friendly".
However, I refused. Hell, I had not even been arrested or anything, I had broken no laws, it was just a verbal altercation between myself and the VA cops.
Friends, it took lawyers, clerks, Doctors, e-mails, faxes, hearings, letters, reports and a zillion phone calls, but it paid off, finally. Yesterday I made the 70 mile drive over to the Sheriff's Office in Lake Pleasant and, after TEN MONTHS, took posession once again of my pistols.
It was KILLING me not coming here, but with my CZ in "jail" it was too depressing to read about everybody elses fun and games. Seriously.
But now my beloved .45 is sitting reight here next to me, and once again I feel like I "belong" to this forum!
Thanks for letting me vent!

[ACZ4JP]

Glad to hear you held your ground through a situation as that. Would like to send you a box of Fiocchi and a target to celebrate with.

[Uncle Alvah]

Thanks, I appeciate the thought!
Actually, I went directly from the Sheriff's office to my favorite sandpit, where I proceeded to put 10 .45 holes in the court order that suspended the license in the first place. Wish I had a scanner, it's a beautiful sight! Might need to buy a frame even.....

[ACZ4JP]

ok, my treat for the frame being a fellow ny er

[viking442]

Glad you got your guns back and glad you found your way back here!

I don't even want to imagine living in a state that would require me to have a permit to own something that I already have a protected 2A right to own.

[Uncle Alvah]

Actually, within a couple weeks I will be in North Carolina. Will be living in Duncan first(family there) but hope/plan to "settle" somewhere in the Fayetteville area. Getting too old for full-time carpentry, I hope to find work in a gunshop and do handyman work on the side.
Eleven years in the Adirondacks, and 38 in NYS is enough for me...

[Walt-Sherrill]

There are certainly opportunities for gunshops in the Fayetteville area.... lots of guns<grin>.  Especially in pawn shops.  

Lots of retired gun nuts, too, which is the down side for someone wanting work in a gun shop.

For those of you unfamiliar with Fayetteville, NC, it the home of Ft. Bragg, the 82nd Airborne, the US Army Special Forces headquarters, and Delta Force.  

Pope Air Force Base is nearby, as well...

Two of my closest friends, both now dead far younger than should have been the case, were professional soldiers, Special Ops, Ranger and Special Forces.  They spoke reverently of Ft. Bragg, and the training they got there...

[Uncle Alvah]

The near-by bases were a draw for me. They tend to have lots of civilians working on a base, and, since I'm a Vet, maybe I'll get lucky. Plus, I need to find a place to rent, preferably a house or trailer where I can have my two beagles. LOTS of rental property around bases.
Have an offer to work in a gunshop in Raleigh, but I'm not too wild about the area. Plus one of my daughters and her husband work in the same shop. I don't mix work/family.
Fayetteville just sounds like a better area.

[Walt-Sherrill]

If you can find a place to live in Raliegh, there is a lot of gun activity there.  (My wife was raised in the area.)

Too bleeped busy and populated for my taste.   Traffic is increasingly horrible.

[BRASMAN]

Congrats on your victory over the MARXISTS PIGS. It is great to hear of people who do not just lay down and die. It is people like you who help the rest of us keep our firearms.

[Uncle Alvah]

Thanks, Brasman, I appreciate the sentimnent!

[woodchip]

Congrats on your perserverance. did the coppers take good care of your firearms or not? I've heard horror stories of the police taking "care" of confiscated pistols.

[chris-in-va]

I don't have a 97B just yet, however...

The VA hospital near me clearly points out on a LARGE sign not to bring any firearms on the property...not just the facilities.  I didn't know the policy the first time I went there, so the P11 was left in the center console with me hoping no one would notice.  Since then I've left the guns at home when visiting the VA.

[Uncle Alvah]

Woodchip, the guns were just fine, but two are stainless and the 97b polycoat. If they were merely blued I'd have expected to find them rusted. Was teasing the Sheriff when I examined the 97b about how "This was almost new now it's all shot out! How many rounds did you guys put thur this?!" He said none and I said I knew that must be true, 'cuz if he had shot mine, he would now be carrying one!
Chris, thats not a bad idea. The rub in my situation was that I was stopping by the VA for an appointment, then proceeding from there out of town for a couple days and I was intending to do some shooting. Had the 97b and a Taurus 970 .22 with me.