Gun Sales

This model was $619 with 2 mags and 20 rounds.

Back when the latest crisis started with gun and ammo sales I predicted that if you were patient things would slow down, the free market would kick in and prices would once again fall. Well I hate to be the one who said "I told you so" but it is happening just that way.
Today I went with my son to a large gun store and they had (and he bought because I told him to be patient) a Smith and Wesson M&P AR-15 with two 30 round magazines and 20 rounds of ammo for $619
 That is a good price and cheaper than you could have built a parts gun a year ago. Ammo is going to follow suit in fact if everyone would stop buying ammo for even a week prices would plummet and even the big box stores would have plenty, of course you can't get the sheeple to go along so we will have to wait a little longer but it will happen. Take 22 ammo for example, the government is not talking restriction on it and the FBI, CIA, DHS etc are not buying it up and the manufacturers want to make the sales so they are producing all they can at the moment and things will reach a saturation point eventually.
If government stays out of the way free enterprise will work and for now they are staying out of the way.

Guns and ammo shortages, what next ?

A lot of people have wondered what will happen next as far as supply of guns and ammo. I cannot predict the future and and won't pretend to but I do have a gut feeling about it.

 Around election time last year some people got caught with little or no supplies and with the school shootings and the election outcome there was a lot of talk about gun bans and ammo taxes and background checks and registration etc. which resulted in panic buying, I remember saying back then it will pass in a few months and it has.
The gun control issue for now seems dead in the Senate (I said for NOW) but it will be back, my guess is after the next election. You see gun control is a 'third rail' to most politicians and the Democrats don't want to appear anti-gun because they desperately need the House back next November to further their dismantling of the Constitution.
 I remember just three or four  months ago AR15's were out of stock and fetching $2000 and up. and ammo such as 9mm was non-existent. Gun and ammo manufacturers are capitalists and they are cranking out their wares in overtime to meet the demand and it is starting to catch up. I personally saw a few days ago at a large gun store stacks of complete AR15's made by CMMG  for $649 and Bushmasters for $719. Today at a local big chain sports store I saw plenty of 9mm for $10.99 for a box of 50 so supply is coming back for now.  I have a hunch that once supply passes demand there will be a glut and you will see some good sales prices maybe in as little as two or three months.
If you got caught shorthanded last time I think you dodged a bullet and if you are patient you will be rewarded with the ability to build up supplies but be warned the anti-gun crowd will be back with a vengeance at some point, probably after November 2014 and the next time there is an ammo and gun ban scare it may be for real.
Anyway this is just my opinion, I may be all wrong so take it for what it's worth. However if you get caught short again shame on you.

Ramblings

I have been as busy as a one arm paper hanger it seems. It has turned cold and we had our first (maybe only) freeze of the year which is good for killing off a lot of bugs and other pests in the garden and yard. 

I was visiting a local gun shop the other day and they had quite a few CMMG   AR-15's for $789 (best I remember) one guy was buying one and asked if his friend from NC could get it shipped to his FFL in NC but was told no, they were only selling 'in store' but it is a sign that things are cooling off.
 If the Congress and Senate keep fighting over the budget and don't talk about guns I suspect supplies will return to normal soon but be warned and don't get caught again because we will have shortages and runs on ammo and guns again.
Anything you can find at a decent price, now or in the future like magazines, ammo, reloading components etc they will be like silver or gold eventually. 

Gun Show Report

I went to the gun show today and wanted to give a report. I did not want to fight the crowd but I needed some small rifle primers. We got there an hour early and by opening time the line was probably 300 yards long. I found my primers and it pained me to pay $40 per 1000.
Most AR's were $1700 and up however I did see one booth had complete 'no name' AR's for $970, not bad in today's market.
I saw a booth selling Rock River complete lowers for $399..... not too bad in today's market.

Ammo was outrages. 20 round boxes of 7.62 X 39  and 223 which used to be about $ 6 (Wolf, Bear etc) was now $12.  I also saw 'bricks' of 22 ammo (500 rounds) which sell for less than $20 at Walmart were selling between $40 and $75......and I do mean selling.
Before the show opened the guy in line behind me stopped another person walking up with 2 'bricks' of 22 ammo who wanted $80 for both, he could not get his money out fast enough and bought it.
At the reloading table I saw 150gr .308 bullets (pulled) selling for $100 per 500.......I passed.
AR mags were at least $25 everywhere I looked, I was glad I did not need any.
Needless to say not many deals,
Duke out.

Some advice for AR15 users.

I like to shoot my AR15 but with today's ammo prices and availability (even primers are impossible to find for those who reload) I have resorted shooting 22 LR through an AR15 using an adapter which allows me to do so......So here is the problem. This particular weapon I have been using exclusively for 22 LR and cleaning it regularly however the one area in the AR15 which is hardest to access and clean is the gas port. In the military we would run long pipe cleaners down the gas tube and get it clean but there was no way to get the pipe cleaner through the gas port. 

AR15 Bolt top, 22 LR adapter bolt bottom.

The 22 bolt-adapter does not utilize the gas system to operate the bolt therefore it is not regularly 'blown out' via normal operation. Recently I was changing the barrel on this particular weapon and found upon removing the gas block from the barrel that the hole in the gas block and barrel was completely blocked from carbon and lead, and well blocked, so much so I had to use solvents and drill bits to clean it out. The carbon was almost as hard as steel, I realized if I had tried to revert back to 223 in this gun it would not have functioned at all and I would not have been able to 'field fix' it either, this weapon had about 1500 to 2000 LR rounds through it.
So here comes the advice, I will say I have not put this to the test yet however I just discovered the problem in the last few days and I think it will work. If you shoot using one of these adapters after each range session remove the bolt and with a can of solvent (carburetor cleaner works good) and with the aid of those little plastic tubes the solvent comes with shoot a quick burst through the gas tube and watch to see if it blows out in the barrel. After the solvent dries install the AR15 bolt and fire one or two rounds of 5.56 ammo to ensure it is operating and 'blow out' any remaining crud in the tube and port. This would ensure the gas system was functional and let you know if it needed more cleaning.
This is my solution, maybe someone else has other ideas.

I know how to fix this.

After the recent school shooting in Connecticut there seems to be a willingness of many in Congress to shove new gun laws down out throats.  One thing being talked about is banning high capacity magazines hmmmm,  so lets use that logic to  prevent other deaths, lets see.....there are more people killed than the school shootings every day on the highways, even infants so lets ban cars that travel more than 30 MPH or maybe if people could only buy one gallon of gas a day we would drive less. Even better, we could ban all gas powered vehicles, I don't think very many people get killed in golf carts.
Another idea is to not allow private gun sales at gun shows without background checks. So lets make it a crime for you to also sell your car to a private individual unless you run a check to prove they have a valid drivers license, proof of insurance and have not had any accidents or speeding tickets in the past 10 years.

You see and I have said before this is the trap you fall into when you let politicians argue you don't need a AR15 with a 30 round magazine to hunt deer because they are correct but the simple fact is the second amendment was written not for hunting or home protection but for protection from government abuse of power.

If you want a common sense solution to the evil black rifles just make it a law to make them all pink or white and only the military and police could have black rifles. I could support this kind of legislation because after all making evil rifles black is a very underhanded form of racism. We would also have to ban black spray paint or at the very least don't allow it to be sold without a background check. Now I think this would be good legislation at lest till someone uses a sawed off shotgun to kill with then we will have to look at banning hacksaw blades but I think would draw the line there.

Weapons Cleaning

A while ago I was reading over at Tam's blog about gun cleaning and it reminded me of some experiences I have had cleaning weapons. I remember in years past standing at a cleaning table and dis-assembling my M16 and cleaning it for hours with Q-Tips and a butt-stock cleaning kit.

 Weapons cleaning Al Asad airfield Iraq 2004, Awaiting C-130 to Kuwait

I did develop some other techniques though. Once (stateside) it was about 0100 in the morning, I had to turn in a clean weapon at 0600 and I needed sleep. I had learned break-free loosens carbon while you sleep and it was best to get it all off. I went around behind the chow hall, pulled the front pin on the upper and broke it in half. I then took the steam hose and cleaned the whole weapon, because the gun was now very hot it dried almost immediately, I gave it a light shot of
lube and put it away. the next morning I turned it in with no problems even though they use a Q-Tip to inspect it and probe any spot they think was missed.
In Iraq we took our weapons everywhere, even to the shower so I would routinely open it up in the shower and rinse all the red dust out, it was so arid it would dry quickly so I would oil it lightly, swab the barrel and it was good to go.

At home my quick clean consists of oiling them down thoroughly then blowing it out with a high pressure air hose, following it up with a swab down the barrel and wiping the outside with a lightly oiled rag. This seems to work well in between major cleanings.

Additional Note: Water will not hurt anything on an AR as long as you dry it. The places to watch would be the buffer spring and the bolt. They could be taken out if needed. Remember, they were designed to be used in jungle weather, rain and river crossings.

Interesting  footnote, This is the M16 A1 I carried in Iraq, it was a Vietnam era arsenal rework, It was issued to me right out of the crate from rework facility.  It  is marked Colt AR15, (not M16) Property of US Government. It's hard to see but  the selector switch has 'auto' on it. It did have the forward assist and the barrel was an upgrade.  Almost all Marines and Soldiers  had the 3 round burst and they found this 'full auto' one a novelty.