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! 

Why Do We "Need" The "Black Guns"?

Ah..... the black gun...... that which we love, lust after, loath and fear. It could be said that the genre was invented by the Germans during the last great unpleasantness.

The Sturmgewehr STG44, generally thought of as the progenitor of all modern military assault rifles. In fact, when translated, "sturmgewehr" literally means assault rifle. According to legend, it's a name selected personally by Hitler himself! So, right from the very beginning, the entire genre has a blackmark against it. And if that wasn't enough, probably the most direct descendant that exist today was/is the primary infantry weapon of the "Evil Empire" as well!

As if that's not enough, it's commonly seen as the weapon of terrorist as well. 

While on the other hand, we Americans like to think of ourselves as being the descendants of the Minuteman...

The ultimate "brown gun" hero. The story-line being that we're frontiersmen who had to take our Kentucky Rifle off the mantle when we are forced to defend our homes and freedoms. As a nation of hunter/marksmen using our deer rifles to pick off the enemy. You can decide for yourself whether that's myth and legend based on truth or otherwise. The fact is; that is how we view ourselves, so it's very jarring for certain segments of our population to accept that anyone would find anything other than a the traditional bolt-action hunting rifle to be enough.

In fact, we went down this road so far that, while the military of most of the world was using AKs (the 47 part means 1947), we decided the M-14 would be our weapon of the future.

Don't get me wrong: it's a very fine weapon. But the reality is that, it's really an updated M-1 Garrand, which was our main battle rifle during WWII! A weapon designed for open battle fields where uniformed soldiers lined up several hundred yards apart and shot at each other. I'm sure you're aware, that, that's not how modern wars are fought! Then this happened.....

We decided that it'd be a good idea to pick up where the French left off in Indo-China (otherwise known as Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos). And we noticed  our allies seemed to be somewhat challenged from a stature standpoint. Therefore, the rather large, .30 caliber (.308/7.62x54) M-14 was simply too big, plus the ammunition was too heavy. I'm not going to get into the political morass of how we got into the M-16 today. I'll just say that what was originally the Armalite AR-10 chambered in 7.62 then became the AR-15 in 5.56 and thus was born the M-16. Ultimately, this would be the beginnings of the modern "AR" platform. Please note that the "AR" stands for Armalite Rifle, and NOT Automatic Rifle! By the mid-60s this would become the standard battle rifle of the American military. However controversy would continue to stalk it for the next few of decades. 

By the 90's though, with the introduction of the A3, then the A4 version, the AR/M-16 has developed into a fully mature product and is now the dominant semi-automatic rifle in the United States and in the world as a whole.....that's not an AK..... My take on why this has become the commercial success is that it's the right combination of several factors.

One, we are not a society of hunters any more. I'd say that most people who shoot have never been out in the field stalking game of any kind. Therefore, to them; shooting isn't about a very few carefully aimed shots. Gun owners go to a range or out to the country somewhere and shoot a lot of ammo at iron/paper targets, or dangerous cans, fruits and vegetables. Hence the semi-auto taking over from the revolver and bolt-action rifle. When I was last "into guns" 25 years ago, I was part of the majority as the owner of a Ruger revolver. Now, I'm again in the majority as the owner of a "high-capacity" 9mm, polymer framed semi-auto. 

We also see society in a very different way. It's not the world of Andy, Aunt Bea, and Barney Fife any more. Whether it's purely perception or fact, people feel that the "controls in society" are tenuous at best. That at any given time, we could have an across the board terrorism attack, war with rouge states (eg. North Korea, Iran, etc) and/or a societal breakdown of  "Rule of Law" could happen for a people at any time. Therefore, people who believe this need to engage in self-protection. Meaning the perceived need for military type firearms. Whether that is reality or paranoia, that's for everyone to decide on their own. As for me, I'm leaning toward the direction of believing that modern American society is very fragile and that the behavior of the average person has far few controls than there used to be. Am I fearful and afraid to go to "sketchy" places? No; I've always been adventurous and pretty much willing to go most anywhere, but at the same time, I'm attentive to my surroundings.

This is why I plan to complete the classwork necessary to get a "concealed carry" permit, which is know as a CHL (Concealed Handgun License) here in Texas. Why? Everyday, you see more and more stories of "road rage" turned bad, or the really unfortunate scenario of "active shooter". I simply have no intention of not having options to defend myself and my family. 

Does that mean that I'm not a believer in the whole "prepping" concept. Let's just way that I'm listening and I could definitely see some of the discussed scenarios happening! What am I doing about it? I'm building a an AR. I'm not in a panic, but I'm building one and will keep a stock of ammunition around!

2nd Amendment Arsenal Planning

It's my belief that if a person decides to take on the responsibilities of executing the 2nd Amendment, it requires some planning. Which basically means that you can't just run out, and buy a shotgun (or a pistol) and call it good! Does that make me a "Prepper"? Maybe, but not necessarily. I just think that if you want to do something like this, there's a number of things that need to be considered. The main one, is the "philosophy of use" or some version there-of.

Does this mean that I've taken on the concept that society is in death-spiral? I don't, but I will say that I believe that there might very well be periods where there could be an absence of the "rule of law". Whether that will be due to civil unrest, natural disaster, or economic disaster, I don't know. All I can say is that at no time in my life have I ever felt this amount of unease in relation to societal stability. Which means the following in terms of when I might need to use defensive force:

• Armed burglary.
• Home invasion for purely the creation of chaos and violence.
• Societal breakdown creating the lack of general policing by the normal agencies.
• Economic breakdown creating the need to move locations, support and defend the family and loved ones during this time-frame.

So, what does this mean in terms of firearms needs?

As you guys know; I've already started with a handgun, in the form of a modern 9mm, high-capacity-polymer-framed striker-fired pistol. The reason for this is that, it's the easiest to carry and handle as well as cheapest to practice with and get better. 

In my case, it's the Heckler and Koch VP9 with 15 round standard magazines. It's light, easy to carry and easy enough to shoot that anyone in my family could operate it. What ease do I need? Ahhh...... here we go......

I intend my next purchase to be a 12 gauge pump shotgun. These are easily the most intimidating to an intruder, yet simplest to handle by the user of any firearm. I've narrowed it down to either the Remington 870, or the Mossberg 500. These two models are pretty much the standard of virtually all police departments of the last 25 years. This means that they're easy to find and parts are universally available. I'll probably just prowl the pawnshops till I find one at the right price and condition.  Plus, if I ever decide to take up bird hunting or clays, I can still use it as well.

..... then there's the obvious. It's my intention to start building an AR15 clone in the very near future. This is where my philosophy of use goes from the purely defensive to a relatively offensive nature. Of course, as a gun chambered for the .223/5.56 NATO, it can be used for things like the feral hog (the plague of the south), and white tail deer, but in reality, it's purpose is, if things really "go south" in a "raging mob" or "Zombie Apocalypse" sense! Apart from that; these things are the ultimate "big boys' toys". They're like a full-on Lego gun. So, yes; I did say "build". If you didn't already know, this weapon can be bought in pieces and put together as one wishes in whatever manner pleases.

No, it's not short term memory loss. This is an AR9 (or any number of other names), basically an AR receiver adapted to take an upper with parts to fire the 9mm pistol cartridge. These can be set up as a carbine, or a pistol, or an SBR (short-barreled rifle), if you want to deal with the headache of filing for an exception to the National Firearms Act and pay a $200 tax stamp! But in any case, you can see the power of the AR platform and it's phenomenal adaptability. The philosophy of use is to have a weapon that can fire the same cartridge as my pistol but at greater velocity and accuracy while also a lower recoil. But then again, I might do this.....

!?!?!?...... it's a High Tower Armory Bullpup conversion of this......

..... the Hi Point 995, one of the ugliest firearms to ever come out of a factory anywhere (and it's American), but it's cheap. They can sometimes be found under $200. The conversion addresses a number of issues, but doesn't deal with the 995 woeful 10 round magazine. We'll see.....

The last of this set will be a "conceal carry weapon". It's my intention to take the classes and get a Texas CHL (Concealed Handgun License). The use philosophy is obvious for this. Yes; I'm that concerned. The above image depicts the Smith and Wesson M&P Shield, which is considered a standard in the carry community, but at this point, I'm interested in the other one. It's the Taurus PT-111, which is a sub-compact 9mm that's close to the same size, but sells for around half the Shield's $400. Would I love to have a Walther PPS, or HK VP9SK? Sure, but saving $200 is a lot of practice ammo.

That brings us up to 5 very different guns with different jobs. Should there, will there be more? I don't know. I'd be that there probably will be at least one more, although, right now, I have no idea what I might want or need. Might be a .22LR, or very likely some sort of survival gun. Possibly a cheap single shot shotgun that would allow the use of multiple cartridge adapters which in a survival scenario, would give the possibility of scrounging multiple types of cartridges. So, that's it for now. Of course, I'll have more to say about each and every one of these guns as I progress.