Guns Sales Records
Gun sales records are being smashed this year, 2020. There have been record numbers of background checks for the purchase of firearms.
It stands to reason given the environment today, that people want to protect themselves.
A report today reveals more than 2 million Americans became first-time gun owners this year, so far.
Firearms retailers estimated that 40 percent of their gun sales during the first four months of 2020 were to first-time buyers, according to a survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), an American national trade association for the firearms industry.
Personal Protection
Personal protection was the main driver leading to “more than 2.5 million new gun owners in a very short period of time,” the NSSF said.
Early in May I wrote about the gun sales records being smashed during that time. Evidently it hasn’t stopped. Rather sales are increasing. Good luck finding ammo too…
A few comments from around the web on this report:
Our country is at war with the antifa/commie/anarchist thugs who only want to destroy our great country. We as Americans need to protect ourselves from the terrorists that are trying to overthrow our government and way of life.
I was at the shop the other day and can attest to the fact lots of women are buying guns.. half the people there were women.
Ah…. I love the smell of liberty!Not a surprise when the government won’t protect its own law abiding citizens.
This is the first time that I feel 2 AR-15’s are needed to be acquired for my family living in the suburbs.
Went with my Dad to buy his handgun at a local big-box store. He did manage to get one, but the display cases were nearly empty and the ammo shelves were all cleared out.
If it was not for the second amendment we would be completely at the mercy of the rioters, police are unable to control what is happening.
The America that is never reported on. Law-abiding, responsible, independent, self-sufficient, but ready to defend itself and others.
Yup. I no longer can trust the government to provide a safe environment for me and my family. I am taking matters in my own hands and protecting those I love myself.
While busy looting and rioting now, the left will go after our guns pretty soon so get them while you still can. Many Americans have apparently have noticed that.
The police are not your protection. That’s your job.
So, what are your thoughts on this?
100% accurate. Take the mayor of west palm beach for example banning all guns because of the riots an unrest. It’s just a matter of time before 2A citizens are deemed terrorist. Especially if trump is cheated in the Nov. Election.
My thoughts,
People can feel the dis ease, things are changing,
Most people have a strong desire for liberty and safety and are appalled at what has been going on. From both sides, some extreme, some moderate.
The media, and the government have weaponized, it is painfully obvious that the government is broken into factions working against each other. Its also obvious that the media is biased, all media. People are concerned, there is also the constant background chatter about foreign desires against us and internal BS like antifa.
Most of my friends are like me, we will not be victims, when the rubber meets the road our boot will be firmly on the throttle.
Tick tock
To those of you trolls who will berate folks like me as armchair commandos,
The revolutionary war was fought by common men.
Most insurgencies throughout history were fought by common men and women,
I like being common
Well said sir, I stand with you.
i may not have taken the oath the military did but i will stand with those that did anyway
Kula,
You mean the people that fought for our freedom were not highly trained people like Seal Team 6?
WOW, I am shocked.
So your saying that those who fought the British were just average Joes who wanted their freedom for themselves and their families so much that they would die for it? Amazing
Sorry. I am being sarcastic.
That is why we beat the British and the mercenaries they sent. They were fighting for gold. The patriots fought for so much more than gold– Independence and Freedom.
Regards and spot on.
Bravo……..my thoughts about being a 3%, I hope and pray i never have to be tested……..but I am ready for the event.
I wonder how many are really “first time buyers”. I get they are in there, but how many firearms being sold are being bought by people who are already gun owners? No way of telling I guess. glad it is happening though, either way. You really are your “first line of defense”, ask any sheriff deputy and they will likely agree with you.
One thing that needs to go along with the increased sales of firearms is for the industry to push safety and training. they need to work to make that more available for everyone, not just new buyers. Maybe it is time for some of us old hairy-eared curmudgeons to step up and help out the “newbies”. Glad we can do that on this site, maybe we need to think about doing it more in the community. just my thoughts on the matter.
I whole heartedly agree with you minerjim! Educating gun owners should be a top priority. Anyone buying/owning a weapon should know how, when and why to use it, keep it running, clean it, and secure it when not in use. And, they should make sure EVERYONE in their household knows the same and the rules!
I teach weapons safety to any/all of my fellows upon request, and sometimes I even “pester” them into compliance!
Great post! Millions of Americans stand behind you and will protect this great country.
Self protection is an inalienable right granted by God and protected by the Second Amendment. I sincerely hope that the new gun owners (Welcome!) will consider getting some professional training in addition to any State licenses required for concealed carry. A firearm is a force multiplier tool that comes with an awesome responsibility. Gun Safety classes should be mandatory in public schools. If they can teach sex education, they should teach children the rules of safety in the presence of a firearm.
Serenabit,
Well said! Gun safety and sex education both use to be taught at home. In some places gun safety was also taught in schools.
Now sex education, if you can call it that, in schools teach all sort of perversions instead of one man and one woman.
My how times have changed!
Exactly DS,
Perversion seems to have taken the place of sanity in Western society. Up is Down, In is Out, etc. It seems that propaganda has replaced truth, and very few seem to know right from wrong, but in the end God wins, and as Lincoln said “I have no desire to have God on my side. Rather, I want to do all that I can to be on His side.”
all well said, LEO’s cannot possibly be every where at one time. its up to us to control a situation until they arrive. just some words, or a show of force at your home may be all it takes to diffuse a situation until LEO’s get there. shooting someone is the last option. make sure of their intentions before you pull the trigger on someone or you could be opening yourself up a lawsuit or jail time, or both. we have castile doctrine laws in our state. I have drilled into my wife’s head not to let ANYONE we don’t know put a foot on our porch. we will let them know beforehand to not do it, but if they do then it means they are up to no good and it will be treated as a threat and dealt with as such. if you shoot and kill someone, there is no backing out. you can’t bring it back
I can understand that a surprising number of women are buying guns. A gun is a force multiplier, critical for most women to level up when facing most men. (I realize there may be a few exceptions, but I don’t consider myself or most women to be one of them.)
I’ve considered for the first time that maybe I should be looking into an assault rifle, which I don’t currently have. Home defense against one criminal is one thing, defending against a mob is something entirely different. I really don’t know how I’d handle a group of heartless thugs, except to work on narrowing the entry points, which I’m doing.
Farmgirl. when dealing with a group of bullys there will always be one who is talking the most and leading the others. take them out first and the rest will run. I learned this in the 4th grade. good luck and be happy
Farmgirl,
12 gauge with #4 buckshot. Rifle is nice, but when confronting multiple thugs wanting to do your and yours bodily injury, you do not want to worry about that rifle round missing and hitting an innocent. besides, with a shotgun, being a dead-on aim is not that critical, you have a 12″ pattern of multiple projectiles out at 10 yards. at 30 yds it is like a 30″ circle. This is why many people stand by a shotgun for home defense.
Like CID says, picking your prime target is key. cut off the head of a snake, and the rest will very likely whither away. just my thoughts anyway . doubt very much you will ever have to deal with this, unless you are in the inner city someplace. Still good to think about and have a plan.
minerjim,
you are dead on with the #4 buckshot! We did testing at our LE dept. back in the day, and it has stopping power without going through numerous walls if used inside.
There is a lot better chance of hitting someone besides the one individual you want with a shotgun. An AR is fine for sending a lot of projectiles down range in a hurry, but with a large group trying to invade my space, if I have any room give me a bolt action in a 30 caliber magnum. If you pick the ring leader and put a 170 grain bullet in his/her boiler room and the two behind the leader are also put down, it tends to scatter the rest of the crowd. In a crowd, over penetration is your friend. People seem to have the idea that if they are behind another person they are safe. When they find that is not so, their “courage” evaporates in a hurry. Shotguns are great for the last resort, and Remington markets a .45 1911 pattern semi auto if your hands are large enough to grasp it that holds 14 plus rounds for real close confrontations.
Interesting post. You recommend against shotguns because of the danger of stray pellets, but recommend .30 caliber magnum rifles because they tend to over penetrate and hit additional targets as a bonus.
Tell us more about the Remington double stack .45acp 1911. Am aware of Springfield Armory’s offering, wasn’t aware of Remington’s.
Farmgirl
I’ll assume you mean AR15 Platform Rifle when you mention buying an “assault rifle”?
Please try to get into the habit of calling it either a Modern Sporting Rifle of a Defense Weapon.
It sure makes it easier on us Patriots not to fall into the main stream leftis/socialist media’s trap of labeling a firearm an “assault rifle”.
Red Dog Master
Thank you for spreading the word on firearm identification. Words and labels matter and that is why the MSM and liberals use negative terms such as “assault rifles” repeatedly whether they are true or not.
Yes, eveytime a newbie says assault rifle at work, i kindly remind them that is a Clinton/Gore term.
“Assault rifle” is an example of marketing an agenda. If you want to assign an accurate term describing it’s purpose it would be called “family defender”.
Yes, just like my “Assault Slingshot”. Sounds scary doesn’t it? The MSM would call it such since it has a plastic pistol grip and is not just some piece of wood with a V. To me and most “normal” people, it is just a slingshot. All my other weapons were lost in a terrible boating accident.
RDM
You are right on defining an AR15. If the left/socialists had their way, they would label my 22 single shot an assault rifle if I shot someone with it. Same with my BB gun.
I have a rifle that I built on a Mauser action. In the 40s, the liberals would have designated it as an assault rifle, because the Mauser was originally designed for military use.
Oh and Farmgirl,
When you are ready to begin your search, please let us know as I for one would be very glad to share what I know about some excellent modern sporting rifles!
Assault rifle? What is that? Who are you?
I can protect myself faster than the cops can. When the bad guy is at the bottom of the stairs at 3am and my family is up stairs guess what, I ain’t waiting for the cops. By the time the cops get there, the bad guy will have done what they wanted and left.
NOPE!
They will never make it past the first step!
yea, if they are in your home all bets are off. take them out and keep shooting until they don’t move anymore
You’ll be on your own once the defund the police movement takes roots in our so very safe cities and states. RLTW DOL!
I am really surprised that there haven’t been a bunch of police just walk off the job when their local politicians started talking bull crap like defunding the police. All this crap going on would be just a taste of what’s to come. The LEO’s now are not just fighting with dangerous looting criminals but dangerous politicians as well.
I understand ‘To protect and Serve’ but wow they sure are making it difficult for the folks on the front lines who are putting their lives at risk.
There have. Check out the Louisville, KY Twitter feed.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/louisville-police-officers-walk-out-on-mayor-as-form-of-protest-claiming-disrespect
I just saw an article where a bunch of police officers resigned from the emergency response team in New York State.
INPrepper,
The entire ERT (Emergency Response Team) resigned from that specialized unit in protest over the suspension w/o pay of the two officers involved in pushing the “elderly man” who fell, hitting his head on the concrete walkway.
Anyone watching the video can see the shove by the officers was anything but violent. The good ‘ol non-biased news media blasted out the narrative that they ignored his injury, leaving him to “bleed out on the ground”. A total lie.
Watching the video, one of the officers who shoved the man started to kneel down to check on him, but was stopped by a supervisor (note the gold badge) who directed him to move forward in formation (as they no doubt are trained to do). That supervisor immediately transmits on his radio (requesting medical assistance). From the beginning of the initial verbal contact with the “victim”, the shove, the fall, till an EMT was down on his knees tending to the fallen man, was 40 seconds (the video stops just as the medic is kneeling down to the man, and an officer can be heard assuring a protester that the man kneeling down was an EMT)
This is just one in a string of misinformation and propaganda being foisted on the public by the media. Two officers are being punished for doing their jobs as trained, being thrown to the wolves as political sacrifice. Those officers who resigned were specially trained for situations like this one. They performed as trained. Anyone who watches that video, unless completely biased, would see that shove as overly aggressive on the officer’s part.
As a side note and total speculation on my part. The elderly man appeared to be part of the group protesting. I have watched Antifa training videos where prospective “protesters” are taught how to fall in dramatic fashion when shoved by police. In these training sessions, other trainees are tasked with catching the students as they fall. I would not be surprised to find the “elderly” man’s fall was intentional on his part and he just failed to control his landing.
I watched the relevant video several times. That “shove” was nothing more than just pushing the guy out of the way. It was nothing like what one would expect to cause someone to fall down. That stupid old geezer planked-out straight on cue and went down to the ground. It looks like a total setup job on the police by a professionally trained agitator.
I knew this was coming……..prosecuting attorney has charged the two officers who shoved the “elderly” protester with assault in the 2nd degree………
=====NY statute——-You are guilty of Assault in the Second Degree, NY Penal Law 120.05(1), if you have the INTENT to cause serious physical injury to someone and actually cause serious physical to that person or another person.===========
Carries a minimum sentence of 2 years in prison.
Now, someone please tell me what a police officer should do when tasked with clearing a street of protesters.
Seems the only lynching we are seeing is…………………….
Police do not prevent crime– they report it
Training and practice, practice, practice.
If you cannot get to range often, dry fire practice at home, often.
You will develop the muscle memory, and sight alignment needed.
I have the dry fire and loading/unloading. I recently started working with a wrist rocket–amo is easier to get (doubt they’ll ever outlaw marbles) and I figure if I can become really accurate with this the “force multiplier” will be a relatively easy transition.
Lauren
I’ve never heard of a wrist rocket. I’m intrigued, as we have a lot of marbles!
Hope you’re hanging in there; I could hear your concern in earlier comment. It’s scary times for sure. The plants have been a good grounding diversion for me – hope you’re enjoying yours, too.
Essentially a slingshot. It has a wrist brace so it’s more stable than the traditional format.
If you have inner tubing from old bike tires (or anything else that really stretches and then rebounds) you should be able to make one easily. The cup for the marble should be something you can hold onto, like leather.
I haven’t been able to be out as much the last week or so. UV has been in the 10-11 range and I’ve discovered that my muscles are knotting up painfully if I stay out too long.
Lauren / Farmgirl:
Surgical tubing. It’s best for a wrist rocket, IMHO.
TMac, Lauren, Farmgirl,
Yes surgical tubing is great for wrist rockets! We also tie some to the ladder on the dock and fire water balloons at the grandkids. Could be used in Another capacity to launch other things. I wouldn’t know Anything about that though:))
PEACE
MadFab
Lauren, tmcgyver, MadFab
Sounds like fun! Maybe the warning shots could be cow pies? You know, before the marbles. I’d really hate to lose those.
Farmgirl/Lauren,
Just be careful not to lose your marbles… 🙂
jon dowe
Awwww, you beat me to the punch on that one.
I already lost them. Finding them (along with the wrist rocket) was what started this. 🙂
Farmgirl,
You’ve got bunches of marbles? Can you look and see if any have an “mj” mark? I’ve been missing a few the last couple of years, or so I’ve been told. Wrist Rocket was the first weapon I was allowed to have as a kid. Once knocked a crow off a post with a marble at 50 yards. Lethal and almost silent. Build a target stand with a backdrop and reuse all your ammo. Builds a good eye for all shooting, imho.
If you have a Dollar Tree in your area they have marbles in packs of 100 for a buck. Can’t beat ammo at that price. They are glass, about the size of a .50 round ball, and are very accurate. Lots of fun…
Just remember folks, those of us that have had formal training, LEO, Military etc. your instincts and training will kick in, those of us that haven’t will probably momentarily freeze and think about what we are about to do. I was schooled by a former Texas Ranger in my CCL Training he stressed shooting someone was an absolute last resort, given the circumstances that we are under today our sense of security has been heightened, just be very cognizant of the gun laws in your state as the fellow in Kalifornia just found out for pointing his AR with a 60rd mag (which is also illegal in Kalifornia) at a gang of protesters that were approaching him.
Farm helper asked me to pick up some extra ammo today. Our little town is 50 miles from any sizable community, 75 from a mid-sized city, and over 100 miles from any large city.
Walmart has pulled all guns, ammo, and knives off their shelves and will not sell from stock. Sporting goods store has pulled guns, and is almost out of ammo. Discount shop still selling guns that don’t require a background check, is low on ammo and limiting sales to 2 boxes per caliber. Gun shop in town is closed and locked.
Gots my 9mm hi-point I bought as junk and fixed and three rounds.. I’m so ready.
Horse,
What are you going to do with the extra 3 rounds? lol
Horse, I to have a high power 9mm but, I have 6 extra mags for it. I don’t have them all loaded up (so the springs in the mags don’t take a “set”. But I can if I have too.
Oh, Hi-Point and High Power are two totally different guns in many aspects like handling, accuracy, style, appearance, cost.
Hi-Point are kinda ugly but they work.
I have 3 magazines for my three rounds.
3 rounds? That’s 2 rounds too many. Just have the bad guys line up single file. Hehe
Here in the Seattle area, northern ‘burbs, people are literally lined up outside the doors of the local stores. Due to Initiative 1639 that passed recently there is a 10 day waiting period before taking possession after purchase. Some folks may be rueing how the voted on that initiative.
Separately, any thoughts/recommendations for a concealed carry belt. I am currently looking at Crossbreed and Relentless, both of which are reasonably priced and get good reviews. Thinking about both leather and nylon, both non-tactical styled, for flexibility with different clothing. Would be used with a Crossbreed super tuck IWB holster. The rioting/vandalism has been elsewhere, but the county sheriff has discussed groups landing on hitting the suburbs, and the area around the local mall (Alderwood) was closed two nights in a row due to looting/vandalism concerns. Best to own up to the new realities.
DLS
We are east of Seattle in unincorporated King Co. Our neighbor who is federal LEO has been passing on some info. It’s time to use your CPL if you have it.
Both items you mentioned are used by my spouse who is a lefty. They work well for him.
I went with an Aliengear (of Idaho) ShapeShift kit and bought the shoulder harness to go with it. Got multiple shells so I can swap things around. The shoulder harness fits well under my vest.
But at this time the best holster may well be the one you can find in stock.
I’m back to Boston for the duration starting next week. Going to hope my air pistol based defense will work out.
dunno, they are pretty shiny things.
Necklace maybe.
On the way back from my foray into town, my #2 son from Illinois called. Evidently, you need some type of card (?) to even buy ammo??? Anyway, the government agency that issues said cards has been closed for months now, due to CoVid-19, and if your card is expired, too bad for you. No report on when that agency will open. I’m guessing they’ll keep it closed as long as they can.
My intel gathering on the previously mentioned Sporting Rifle was really fruitful. Shop owner showed me how to take one apart, how to use the scope properly and answered all my questions. The one he offers is a Diamondback 15CCB, using 5.56 NATO/.223 ammo, with a Konus scope mounted and free boresighting for the low, low, price of $922. He also told me what AR stands for – not what I thought. Both the AR and the scope come with a lifetime guarantee. Of course, if it fails you might not be around to request honoring of said guarantee, so…
“Evidently, you need some type of card (?) to even buy ammo???”
I would like to know about enforcement there.
I suppose somehow they will attempt to make it illegal
to purchase out of state but really.. how ? there is no way to know where it was bought.
Aside of “papers please” proof of sales.
Will all flatland ammo be stamped “bought in ILL”
Horse:
Micro-stamping exists and it available for use. LA and SF cities have been pushing for this for a long time already. California (bless their hearts), sends unmarked CHP vehicles to Nevada stateline gun stores to record CA license plates. Those folks generally get pulled over on the way back.
tmc do you know anyone this has happened to? I cross into Nevada often and I do go to sporting goods stores while there and have never been pulled over going home.
Poorman –
No, I do not personally know anyone this happened to. Although the program was revealed several years ago via a couple of legitimate news outlets. Not everyone was pulled over; only those whose plates came back with some other issues attached. But everyone with a California plate, even without attached wants or warrants, was recorded.
please research and buy a 500 s&w or ruger over diamondback…it is a CHEAP knockoff.
Km in nc,
Thanks for the suggestion, will do. Sorry to hear about your place of business; stay safe.
Yup, no such thing as an “assault rifle”. Not what AR stands for. That is just what MSM and the lefties have come up with.
Pegasus
Yes, I stand corrected and chagrined. I’m not familiar with that particular rifle, it’s not one I’ve used in farm life, and have been bombarded with the MSM name for it to the point it was automatic, which is probably why the left/MSM does that.
Farmgirl, I was just making a comment. No need for “chagrination”! 😃
Farmgirl,
If you are serious about buying an AR15 Platform rifle for self defense and/or predator control on the farm, may I suggest not purchasing a scope at first. Learn to zero the rifle with the iron sights.
I’m not familiar with the Diamondback 15CCB but if it does not come with iron sights ask the gunshop to attach a set of Magpul Back Up Sights. (MBUS)
Others may disagree but I suggest practicing first at 25, 50 and 100 yards. You won’t need the scope unless you plan on shooting out to 200 yards and beyond, in my opinion.
More important than optics are magazines. A semi-auto rifle is inneffective without magazines so the more the merrier, what I say! I suggest Magpul P-Mag 30 rounders.
Later on you can buy a good set of optics if you choose, but first learn the rifle without a scope.
Just my 2 pennies!
Good luck!
Red Dog Master
I like that advice, especially since I’m used to using iron sights – one less new thing to deal with. Also, not getting the scope knocks quite a bit off the price. More money for mags & cartridges. Thanks for sharing your experience – very helpful!
Horse
Good questions. I really don’t know. In my state, a person can pay cash and show no I.D., at least from what I’ve seen. Of course, this will only affect law abiding citizens, as usual. We’ll see how this play out. It won’t bode well for the rest of us; one state shuts something down, and a lot of other states will try the same thing.
We finally ventured into wally today and there was no nada zilch ammo. The whole counter was closed. The mood is different too.
im in west ny state the walmart near here has pulled all blades and ammo off the shelves lucky for me i have stocked up on 00 buckshot and deerslugs lets hope and pray that NOT ONE of us ever has to use em on a human
Our friend who runs the “sporting” dept at Wally’s here in my neck of the woods told us that last Friday they were told to lock up all weapons and ammo because of the violent rioting. Even though that town is small, they were expecting a protest. Then it was also super crazy because of the first of the month EBT traffic AND others were getting their stimulus checks/debit cards. That is a whole lot of crazy in one place!
Doesn’t seem like a smart move to report any lifeless monsters that expire in your home because your safety sticks will be removed leaving you defenseless.
A basic AR with 6 magazines and 1,000 rounds of Mil Spec 55 gr FMJ ammo is your one go-to defense weapon.
Watch YouTube videos on this set-up and you will see it’s the best overall.
Long time lerker, I’m sitting in San Diego at 6:50 watching the protesters downtown. The National Guard arrived this morning, one of the protesters from Saturday was hit by a rubber built in the head and she is now in an induced coma. My neighbor just stopped by and said, one of his SDPD friends told him that the shit is probably going to hit the fan tonight.
So being a good retired military guy, I went to my safe and the first thing I see is my .22 Ruger Mark III. I couldn’t help thinking about a quote that I heard about six months ago. “If you gotta put holes in ’em a .22 will do it. “Because nobody wants extra holes in ‘em.” Stay safe and thank you my MSB friends…
Welcome, stay safe. Sorry about your beautiful state of CA….it used to be mine too. I was born and raised there. Not there anymore. So glad your city is using the National Guard!!
MikeB
I pray for a safe evening for you and yours. Glad to see you in the comments – welcome. Thanks for sharing that quote; it’s a good one.
MikeB,
Appreciate your input. The effectiveness of a “little .22” in competent hands is way under-rated. I would hazard a guess that majority of homes with just one gun in them, that gun is a .22 rimfire. I would hazard another guess that this is the reason all the .22 rimfire ammo vanishes off the shelves when folks get spooked. It sure ain’t because people fear getting over-run by small game. Vermin, maybe……..
Here in Charlotte, the gun store i work for was targeted last night. While the protest went on uptown, they raided the store. Luckily because of concrete pillars and layers of protection they only got 50 firearms before they ran off. Yet beware, now those firearms will be used in crimes that attack our 2nd amendment rights.
Small town up in Tahoe had a Sunday night candlelight vigil. Lots of LEO there, but many of my friends were at their businesses, armed to the teeth. Even if it is CA, there are those who are willing to protect themselves and their community. Due to excellent LEO activities, the bad element did not appear even though they said they would. Kinda reminds me of what happened in northern Idaho the other day.
Went to a local small town sporting goods/gun shop not in CA. They were fully armed, they had an impressive stock of guns and ammo, and they had excellent customer service. They said that there have been so many new gun purchasers (and they can tell because of the background checks they need to perform. Without a CCW permit you have to go through the full background check in Nevada, and wait for your gun.) They reported a massive increase in gun sales throughout this whole lockdown. They also repeated what we have all heard – those lefties buying guns do not know they have to have a background check and WAIT for a gun. Ha – I am sure they are mad at the policies those “righty” 2nd Amendment gun toters have placed for them!
We are definitely living in strange times. For first time buyers, please try to get the trifecta. Shotgun, rifle, and pistol. For the novice, I recommend a revolver. For your more experienced crowd, look into the mck roni!
I love my Assault Rifles. Trekker Out
I guess that’s why I fly a Rebel flag, first they tell me I have to wear a seat belt when I drive, then they tell me I have to wear a helmet when I ride my bike, then they say I’m trying to act Macho when I wear my pistol out in the open for the whole world to see, and now I can’t call my 50cal Hawken an Assault Rifle. You can’t please everyone, so you gotta please yourself! Trekker Out
Chill out Trekker
I’m considering a 20 gauge shotgun to add to my collection of firearms at the bottom of the lake. Does anyone have a recommendation?
DJ5280
Mossberg Maverick 88 in 20 g either the All-Purpose model or the Youth model.
Also agree with Kula.
My thanks.
DJ5280, I have a 20 GA. and I like it, with the lower recoil, it allows me to get back on target faster. For close range (100 ft. or less) it is just as good as a 12 GA. without the recoil.
Before anyone goes out to buy a shotgun for home defense, please find one to shoot and use a few rounds of buckshot/slugs before buying!! For the unfamiliar, those rounds have a LOT more recoil than standard 12 gauge rounds! This is the reason most police departments have switched from 12 gauge shotguns to rifles, most shooters can be much more accurate and have much faster/accurate followup shots.
If you do go with a 12 gauge, attempt to find some of the lower power “tactical loads”, which are lower in velocity/pellets, with much less recoil! Also, go look at some of the penetration testing for various 12 gauge loads that can be found on the internet, even #8 birdshot will penetrate the average home wall, both interior/exterior.
If going with a shotgun, and thinking of family member that may have to use it, try one of the new “defensive” 410 gauge pumps with buckshot, some have up to 4-5 OOO buckshot, but the recoil is much less than a 12.
SAIGA-12
It’s a very sad but true state of our country.
Anyone noticing ammo shortages?
Most of you are likely well stocked, as am I. However I’m just curious as to the state of availability in general.
Ken, here in central PA, IF you can find any of the true “defensive” ammo, most places place a limit of 2-4 boxes. Even VERY hard finding reloading components on a regular basis to replace those I had in stock!
Being in a sparsely populated county with only one “big box store” (Wally World) within 100 miles, ammo availability at a decent price has always been scarce. Numerous small gun dealers with limited stocks of ammo at inflated prices. (interesting phenomena in my neck of the woods is the number of Mom & Pop pharmacies that also sell guns and ammo. Not unusual to see signs out front of them advertising “Drugs and Guns Sold Here”) Usually though, their ammo stocks are limited, even in normal times.
But, back to the question, the local Wally’s ammo shelves are all but depleted. I buy most of my ammo (mainly .22 rimfire) mail order and in bulk quantities. My suppliers started limiting quantity over a month ago, and have sold out of all but the most expensive specialty loads.
I keep a substantial stock of factory ammo for each weapon I own. I practice with my weapons……..a lot, but I use my reloading to feed that habit. My powder, primer, bullet stocks are in good shape
This shortage is not going away soon. Hopefully everyone has this prep in place, same as the other preparations we have preached.
Ken,
Local shortages yes for western Colorado. Online, check out the Ammo Seek website, good explanation there about delays and online procurement from various suppliers. (For those not familiar with Ammo Seek, they can help you find the best ammo deals online, but do not endorse any one supplier). Imho, if you dont like not being able to get your ammo of choice whenever you want, getting into reloading is advisable. My $.02.
I have heard a lot of people saying there’s no ammo, havent been tothe gun store in a while, but everybody i talk tohas mentioned everything out again.
This in democrat paradise,
Availability of Ammo in the Southeast (GA, AL, MS) seems to be dwindling but you can still find most calibers.
My internet suppliers are pretty low but I haven’t done a bulk purchase in a while.
I’ve posted this before and most of you know it but if you want to have ammo when you need it,but it regularly. Every week or two pick up a box or 3 of the calibers you desire. Then every so often, quarterly or every 6 mos, whatever, make a bulk purchase.
I don’t sweat the small price swings like some of my buddies, I’ll mention that I bought X caliber for Y price and they bitch and moan about how high it is or I’ll mention that I bought x caliber at Z price and they’ll say its going lower, they will wait.
Then when ammo gets scarce, they are out because A.) it was too high, or B.) It was going lower soon.
Meanwhile, I’ve got it…that is before the great tornado of June 2020 took it all away to Kansas or some such nonsense…:)
SGAmmo dot Com had 1000 62 gr steel tip (green tip) 5.56 for $399 with $16 shipping last week.
Last New year I had gun fire next door to my home. I called the police several times. They never came! I truly believe we are on our own. I know they were overwhelmed due to holiday but if they were overwhelmed during a time of relative peace what are the odes they would come during a crises.
Ken,
Lots of guns being bought, no doubt most are being bought with home/personal defense in mind. Might consider a thread on what your readers/followers consider their primary reasonings for owning guns, what they see as the best tactics for home defense, what types of weapons are essential, how much ammo is enough, etc.
Gun safety/training – hard topic. While I respect the full God given right to own a firearm, should their be some sort of mandatory training to go with it? And if so, how do you “police it” to ensure properly trained, but not let the “list” get into the wrong hands. Hunter education, in my personal view, should be mandatory for every guy buyer. Two scenarios which actually happened to me:
1. 2 yrs ago – Checking pasture fencing and noticed car on side of road with two young men shooting from the road over the fence into a draw. As I pulled up, they were scurrying to put something back in the trunkand observed a DPMS AR-15 and a riot shotgun. Asked them what they were doing. They proudly stated that they turned 18 and when to town and bought these today and were just doing a bit of shooting. Tongue lashing ensued about shooting across a fence to someone else’s property and the distance which a .223 can travel (draw was 1/2 mile wide, 300 ft elev. change) as there were farms in the background and cattle which roam those pastures. Once I calmed down, informed them (and showed them) a safe place on public ground which they could shoot and told them they should get some hunters ed.
2. 2020-06-02 this week – letting the dog out to do his business and hear a AR-15 lighting off at 2230 hrs to the east. Then rounds whizzing over the farm place. For that to happen, poor muzzle control for certain as it is a 400 ft. elevation change from the bottom public ground to top of bluff with minimum 1/2 mile crow flies distance from where shots were fired to the farm. Investigated, but gone by then.
These two incidents have caused me a moment of pause on the requirements of proper training for a firearm purchase. Should be home taught, but obviously not.
Interested in others feedback.
Require gun safety and law in order to graduate from high school, .gov provides practice weapons. Multiple benefits–eliminate the fear factor for people who have never handled a firearm, and train those who may someday have one. Training done by the military?
Also require self defense training. Won’t happen because the .gov wants dependents, not independence.
As you say government always wants dependents, it not only wants dependents but it wants control. And what you and SDman are suggesting, still comes down to Government control. Some people have always been irresponsible and there will always be people like that, no matter how much control you give the government. So lets stop asking government to require more than it already requires, matter of fact let roll back some of governments requirements. Trekker Out
I think we should roll back. However, putting firearm safety as a requirement for graduation takes out the possibility of “lists” of people who have guns, and everyone would have the knowledge even if they chose not to use it. If everyone is required to do it, there are no lists.
Lauren, I agree. Serenabit and Deep South both brought up the point of sex ed being taught in school, why not firearm education? Poor judgment on both fronts can have long term consequences.
The government teaching school children firearm safety? NO THANK YOU. Not my loved ones.
I’ll handle that with my grandchildren as I have with my children.
Government please get out of the way, thank you!
– SDman,
I live on the edge of a very small town, so essentially rural. About maybe half a mile from me is a pit where multiple folks, including me, will go to shoot. Last summer, about 2 a.m., we started to hear rapid semiautomatic gunfire that lasted around half an hour, probably 2-3000 rounds in all. This being very out of the ordinary, I called the sheriff’s office, and the one deputy on duty in our county responded a few minutes after the gunfire started. (Hey, 900 square miles, I thought that was pretty good.)
We stood in the front yard, listening, for around 20 minutes or so while the fire continued. I told the deputy that I had no interest in him going to see what was going on, we could hear that. I thought he might want to just hang around and see if he could get a license plate after it stopped, and he agreed. No evidence of tracer or anything like that, so we both just waited.
When the shooting stopped, we waited a bit, then he decided to wander over that way. That was the last I heard of it, so I wasn’t too concerned. I did wait for about 20 more minutes to make sure there our middle of the night shooter was done (with my feral pig rifle at hand).
– Papa S.
If you are buying a weapon right now and it is your first weapon, I would have to say that your timing sucks. Right now you can find the firearms. Good luck finding ammo for said firearm. Young people may be better off going and picking up a shotgun if you are that worried about home defense. Shotshells are still available for purchase and a trap load within a small space like a house or apartment is still devastating to the attacker.
There are those young people that may be turning 18 or 21 and are trying to purchase their first firearm. For one young responsible coworker, he was given 50 rounds of hollow point ammunition for the Glock 19 he just purchased. For the rancher that is selling me beef this year, he was gifted some hollow point ammunition as well.
A disclaimer: I came from a state where owning or purchasing an AR platform rifle was not really feasible. I was never in the military, I grew up shooting crows and pigeons from barnyards, silos of grain and fields of corn using a pump shotgun. This explains my bias toward the tool I am most familiar with: the pump shotgun within the US of A. I have nothing against the AR platform rifle or those that own them. I am just not very familiar with them.
As a young peace officer, the pump shotgun in the cruiser was very familiar to me such that I ended up cleaning them after department qualification, replacing firing pins, fore-stocks and butt-stocks on some of them and maintaining all of the shotguns in the department. All of the shotguns were Remington 870’s. I’ve been hunting and shooting ( and cleaning ) with the 870 since I was 11 years old.
Now that I am older with arthritis, I do not like firing heavy loads like factory turkey loads, slug or factory buckshot out of a lightweight shotgun. These loads bruise my shoulder, loosen my fillings and make me go “OW!” after firing. This was why I found a used 44 mag saddle carbine and used that in place of a slug-firing shotgun when living in bear country.
My wife has an 870 in 20 gauge. She can hit flying clay birds quite well and I do not want to make her angry at me. Her first husband did not teach her to shoot. I made it a point to teach her safety and take her out to shoot, hunt and go to the gun shop to select her own. If things go South at home, I may/will be at work or otherwise not at home.
(To those that work in a gunshop: Talk to the lady customer as an intelligent person and do not talk to the husband. Remember, she is making the purchase. Let her make her own informed decision. Female customers have been the largest growing demographic of new gun owners in the past 10 years. I see this as a good trend.)
The scariest and most dangerous animal I have seen is a mother bear trying to protect its young cub(s). Those living in the hinterlands need to know that.
Bad news…Elmer Fudd has lost his gun. The new Looney Tunes cartoons, which stream on HBO Max, will not have Elmer carrying a gun.
“We’re not doing guns,” executive producer Peter Browngardt told The New York Times. “But, we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in.”
There was a clip released of him hunting Bugs Bunny with a scythe. So, trying to kill someone isn’t a problem, but using a gun to do it is inherently bad?
I agree. The 12 gauge riot shotgun loaded with buckshot is definitely the number 1 home defense weapon.
Reply to Wendy and others out there:
You bring up an interesting division within the shooting sports community between 2 groups that give each other derisive nicknames: Mall Ninjas versus Fudds.
Mall ninjas are the people that are not in law enforcement or soldiers yet they like and own the tactical gear and tools used by entry teams. Going down this path can be very expensive because it involves purchasing NODS and batteries that keep them up and running for night time ops. The name derives from the hobby of hanging around shops that sell such gear. Fortunately, most of the USA is a free country right now so one has the freedom to purchase all of the above gear at various retailers so: more power to these folks.
Fudds are in reference to Elmer Fudd of the Looney Tunes cartoons: My being a precision rifleman of mostly small game places me firmly in this category. Elmer Fudd used a double barrel, side by side shotgun the cartoons and most of us in hunting camps all did a fair imitation of him prior to going out after whatever we were hunting that day. Fudds are the majority of American hunters that have ever put food on the table or protected their livestock or vegetable patches using a firearm. This is a tradition we hope to continue in the future.
Years ago, I remember how cartoons were changing when Tom stopped trying to catch and kill Jerry and Tweety Bird did some pretty horrible things to Sylvester the Cat involving blunt-force trauma. Many things changed when Mel Blanc passed away. Now that I am in my upper 50’s, I can still be found watching some of the latest cartoons for kicks and giggles. ( Big fan of Southpark, Beavis and Butthead, Old print strip called Calvin and Hobbes.). Sometimes when you get off work and you open a beer, watching cartoons for a little while can be fun.
With 4 fat cats and a dog, my wife and I both live in a bit of a cartoon-type household at times. Time for me to spin one of the fat cats on the wood floor!
Calirefugee –
I noticed that you mentioned being a Fudd and just wanted to bring something to your attention, in the event you didn’t realize that Urban Dictionary has a slightly different definition of the term. Surely the word being used in the setting you describe is a light-hearted joke amongst friends. Unfortunately it has been hijacked for a political statement regarding not truly believing in the Second Amendment and looking upon owners of certain guns with scorn or contempt.
I have no clue who these contributors are to this dictionary. It happened to pop up in my search results when I went to read the story Wendy had mentioned and the term caught my eye, which was why it stuck out in your statement as I read it. Just wanted you to be aware, in the event you hadn’t seen it.
P.S. In the New Cartoons: Does the Coyote chase the Road Runner anymore or has the Coyote gone New Age Vegan?
Reply to M’Lynn: On the Urban Dictionary: based in the San Francisco Bay Area around South San Francisco CA, by an alumni of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. yes, I am familiar with this site and it is funny for entertainment purposes. just because you read a site does not mean you have to believe everything or agree with their politics.
Coming from California over a decade ago, I saw how a house divided will eventually collapse. I was there working as a police officer when the multitude of bills were created that turned into laws that eroded the ability for Americans to purchase fire arms in the Golden State. ( included in that is the inability to purchase a Modern Sporting Rifle as a civilian within the Golden State.).
Being a self described Fudd does not mean I support the political agenda of disarming people who want to own a Modern Sporting Rifle or the accessories that go with them. ( the modern equipment in 300 Blackout makes safely hunting hogs at night in Texas and the American Southern states possible.).
I also do not attend political rallies or marches in order to avoid crowds. As P.J. O’Rourke has said: ” I vote but I do not have high hopes of affecting change through the ballot box. If I really want to make a difference these days, I will write a check to my favorite political cause.”