Loe..... It Has Come To Pass.... Ammo Is Gone

  

Not surprisingly, folks are a bit nervous these days. The reasons are many, and this post isn't really about politics or even about folks being just plain foolish.

But, the fact is; the 1st is just as important as the 2nd Amendment. That being said, all this "stuff" in combination with Covid-19, and everything else has created a run on gun stores the likes of which hasn't been seen for quite some time. 

Remember, these are "new" gun owners, meaning they don't have any ammo. It's not like me buying another 9mm with quite a lot of it put up. You combine all that with today's consumer going to Youtube for information and what you get is a bunch of new to the gun-world people watching videos telling them they should have at least a thousand rounds of ammunition for every caliber or every gun and there you go! Did I mention that it's also an election year with the results being very iffy regardless of which side you're on.

To give you an idea how bad it is out there; here's a little story. First, in case you haven't heard; nobody has ammo (other than pure hunting stuff like .243 Winchester). The big retailers are all out. The only places that have any are the small "mom & pop" gun stores like the one in my town. I was in there the other day, and sure enough, he had a case that he'd broken open and selling by the box instead of the whole 1000 rounds. A guy came in and wanted 2 boxes. THEY WERE $45 EACH!!! These were the normal 50 round boxes....

So, what do I do? More correctly; what did I do? The last 3 years after President Trump was elected, the firearms industry has experienced an epic slump. Everything from ARs,handguns, to ammunition was cheap. AR's between $400 and 500, $200 9mm semi-autos and 100 round boxes of 9mm at Walmart for less than $17. 

I filled up a 50 Cal ammo can with 14 boxes of this stuff, bought one or two at a time from 2017 to 2019 at about $17 per box, making it 17 cents per round. Over this same period, I bought close to 1500 rounds of .223/5.56 ammo at about 25 cents per round. The same goes for .22LR, 12 gauge shot shells of various types and some 300 Blackout as well. This is just the stuff that's sealed up in ammo cans waiting for a rainy day.

Just as, if not more importantly, I picked up several pounds of powders for each of my main calibers, several thousand primers and over a thousand projectiles. 

I'm not telling you all this to brag. What I'm saying is that I can still shoot because of the preparation work I did when times were good. I can shoot reloads because I have the supplies and equipment to make them. I have 22LR versions of my main guns (AR and Walther PPQ), so I can shoot that as well. I'm betting that, this too shall pass and prices will once again drop, but it's going to be awhile and I'll keep on shooting till then! 

How To Play The "Long Game"

There was a running back who played for the Dallas Cowboys back in the old days, named Walt Garrison. It was said of ole' Walt, that if you needed 3 yards, you gave the ball to Walt and he got you those 3 yards, ..... however, if you needed 7 yards and gave the ball to Walt, he'd get you 3 yards..... What's my point? That was the old days where scores resembled baseball games of the 90s and coaches believe that only 3 things can happen when you pass; and two of those were bad! So, we'll just say that scoring was a long drawn out process.

In adherence to that principle, I bought a gun..... Yeah...., that's a gun. OK, here's the story. When I originally bought/built my AR15, some things were done out of expediency. Like the "complete lower" that I was able to pick up for $135. It wasn't everything I wanted, but it had good bones (a Aero Precision Gen 1 lower). I just wanted a complete AR for an affordable price. But, in the end, I'd like to have is my dream gun. So, last month, I bought a Gen 2 lower for less than $50. The plan is, over time, I'm going to build up the "dream gun" with all the parts in it that I really want, then switch the upper when it's finished. What all is going to be in this super gun?

Other than the, "next gen" lower, it's going to be built around an ALG Defense, Advance Combat Trigger (ACT). Which is "Mil-spec", but better, cleaner and lighter. That's the most expensive piece at about $70, but I'm going to use better, or more advance parts for each little piece in the lower. My plan is to have an ambidextrous safety, a Magpul BAD lever to allow bolt release from both sides as well as upgraded springs everywhere. I also plan to use either the JP Industries silent buffer or something similar to it. 

I'll finish it all off with an Aero Precision billet, enlarged trigger guard. At that point, the lower end of my M4 "Recce Carbine" will pretty much be done. So, why would I do it this way? 

Touchdown! Here's the concept. When I get the new lower completed with all the upgraded parts, and I move the carbine upper over to it, the left overs will essentially be another complete lower. Here's the important piece (legally that is). When the old lower was bought, it was transferred as a "frame" only and not as either a "rifle" or a "pistol". Therefore, I should be free to rebuild it as pretty much anything I choose, as long as it's not an NFA item). What I'd really like to have is an AR pistol in chambered in 300 Blackout. 

The "philosophy of use" for a 300 Blackout (or AAC) is to have a cartridge that is more effective on targets that are relatively heavy and dense (eg. Feral Hogs) out to 150-250 yards. This particular cartridge starts life as a cut-down 223/5.56 and thus fits an AR bolt-face and will fit in AR magazines as well. However, it's opened up to take a .30 caliber bullet thus giving it great latitude in construction for a hand-loader especially. Given the construction of the case, it's a chambering that does well in sub-carbine (<16")_ length barrels.My intention is to use a 10.5" barrel.

So, in actuality, I'm doing two builds at once. Both will be able to use the same magazines, the same bolt carrier groups and accept the same accessories as well. One will be a carbine and the other will be a pistol. I just can't mix up the uppers and lowers or I'll have an SBR and run afoul of the NFA! The M4 style "Recce" carbine will be in .223 Wylde and therefore capable of good accuracy with either the .223 or the 5.56 out to 300 yards and beyond. The pistol in 300 Blackout will be good from "close quarters" out to 300 yards and more capable of taking down heavier game. 

The Modern Miniteman

As I approach my "gun goal", it's time to evaluate my situation. The intention of being a gun owner was and is not for it to be a hobby or a collection. That's a separate concept, and I'll get to that later. My purpose is the old 2nd Amendment goal of exercising my right to be armed and defend myself and my family if the need arises. I've extended that to include what might be necessary in the event of a temporary breakdown of societal norms (aka SHTF, WROL, etc). To that end, I've decided that I'd like to have the following weapons:

• Service Pistol: A pistol designed to handle defensive situations over possibly an extended period of time and therefore uses a "standard" caliber round and of sufficient power to stop an adult human. I have a Walther P99 with 9 magazines.
• Pistol Caliber Carbine: A carbine length weapon designed to use the same caliber ammunition as my primary pistol which would be easy to use by someone not as familiar with firearm use. I have a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 (Gen 2) chambered in 9mm and takes the Beretta magazines (7 mags). Beretta and Walther magazines can be interchanged with minimal modifications. 
•  Survival Gun: A general use, adaptable weapon that can be used in a variety of situations. I have a Fedarm SS-12, 12 Gauge single-shot with a chamber adapter for 9mm. I'll also be getting chamber adapters for 22LR and some other calibers as well. This gun has a synthetic stock, a paracord sling and folds down to roughly 18 inches.
• Battle Rifle: A full-sized main "battle weapon" designed to either offensively attack an enemy or fight off one or more concerted attacker(s) chambered in a standard caliber. I have an AR-15 clone in .223/5.56 NATO along with 14 magazines. 

It's in my plan to also get the following as time and finances allow:

• Home Defense Shotgun: In all probability, this will be a Mossberg 500, or Remington 870 pump shotgun in 12 Gauge. 
• Concealed Carry Handgun: 9mm "single-stack" handgun for ammunition commonality and adequate knockdown power. In all probability, this will be the M1 version of the Walther PPS.
• Small Caliber Small-game and Practice Handgun: 22LR, Walther P22. Similar handling characteristics to the P99.

That puts the count at 7, and that my seem like a lot of guns, but it's really not. Each has it's own specific job and none of them overlap. There's not really even a "back up" to each other. 

As you can see, the majority of the guns I own or aspire to own are "Minuteman" type guns. What does that mean? I own guns because I believe in being responsible for protecting myself, my family and being a sheep dog to my neighbors. And if it came down to it, I'd do what I'd be called on by my country if things went seriously out of whack. 

Note that all of my guns, whether owned or projected to purchase are chambered for "standard" calibers; that being 22LR, 9mm Para, 223/5.56 NATO, and 12 Gauge. These are rounds that are easy to get, cheap (relatively) to buy, and more easy to scavenge in case of a breakdown. These are serious considerations since, guns become fancy paperweights without ammunition! 

In addition, it's my intention that I have the capability to reload virtually all the calibers listed above...... with obvious exception of the 22LR of course since it's "Rimfire". Right now, I'm set up to do 9mm and 5.56, so I'm most of the way there. I just need 12 gauge. So, is there anything else that I need/want for completion?

•  An Smith & Wesson SW99. A backup/ Truck Gun with in everything but name (and price) is a Walther P99, in 9mm of course. These can often be bought for less than $250.
  
  
•  A 300 "Blackout" AR. There's a number of ways I could go on this. The main idea of a 300Blk being something with better knockdown power inside of 200 yards than the 5.56. I could go with a pistol length weapon or carbine length. Mostly, it would be a "hog gun". Technically, I already own it since I bought another Aero Precision lower receiver.
  
    

•  A Breakdown/Take-down 22LR for obvious reasons. The Henry AR-7 shown at the top would be over $100 cheaper than the Ruger AND espeically if the Ruger 10/22 is equipped with the Magpul X-22 stock.I guess, we'll see on that. 

 So, I guess, that's it. I'm halfway to an overall goal of 10 guns total, with three which that could be considered optional. They would give me that ability to do just about anything I needed to do. I seriously doubt that I would get into collecting. Not that I'm uninterested, it's just that they are simply too expensive! 

Sure, we own a Winchester 1873 in 38-40, but it's a family heirloom and will probably never be shot. Otherwise, these things just get into too much money and something a teacher-father of two just can't afford to get into. So, I'd have to say that I'm pretty satisfied in the progress to my goals as a Modern Minuteman.