Sunday Night Roundup
Not a whole lot happened this weekend. We pretty much just hung out. Did go to the gun shop and pick up some boxes to send the long guns home in. Today we went to the mall. Walked through the book store but didn’t get anything. On a side note you can tell the Mrs is completely awesome when at the mall and you say its fine if she can gets some clothes or whatever and she doesn’t spend a dime. I am going to order the last in Mathew Brackens trilogy pretty quick here.
We had a pretty Americana dinner of hot dogs, beans and chips. I threw in a couple beers. Has been a pretty decent day.
Gun Availability, FN- SCAR and Random Thoughts
Today started earlier than most off days do. Maybe that I’ve been waking up at 4 am had an effect. Drank some coffee and Wifey made me some pancakes for breakfast. At them down and got caught up on my reading then we were off to get the errands done.
Went to the gun shop first. We will revisit this trip tomorrow but for today lets just leave it at we went to the gun shop. Noticed that they had pretty much everything I could think of. Glocks, Sigs, XD’s, HK’s, AR’s of every size and make, a couple of M1a’s in addition to the normal compliment of shotguns, bolt action rifles and revolvers.
While prices are still up notably (say 20-30% just to throw out a number) from a year ago availability has returned to normal. If you were wanting to pick up something (namely semi automatic pistols, rifles or mags) which was not available during the recently expired hysteria this could be a very good time to pick it up. I can not predict the future with any accuracy so I will leave that to other folks. It is however worth noting that there are few if any realistic scenarios which will significantly drop prices of guns and many where availability would go down and prices up. Of course money for lots of folks these days and and it would not be a good idea to throw some cash down for a gun or two if your income isn’t (fairly) secure but this could be the calm between storms.
You might not be able to get an AR model Y by manufacturer X at the exact price you want to pay (and should have paid last summer). However at least from what I am seeing it is realistic to throw down some cash and go home with an AR/ AK/ M1A or any somewhat common semi automatic pistol you want. I think at least some of the talk of low availability is by those with alterior motives for creating/ enforcing said rumors and hysteria.
The ammo situation seems to be at least a bit better also. Prices aren’t awesome but at least around here you can get common caliber ammo if not consistently at walmart prices.
At the gun shop I noticed they had an FN- SCAR light (5.56) so of course I had to check it out. At a penny under $4,000 it is so far out of my reach (and I would rather get an M1A, a 20″ flat top AR and a very nice 4″ 1911 anyway;) that it’s not even funny but still. The stock sort of felt like it was made specifically to be as plastic as possible. The ergonomics were nice and definitely designed for someone who is used to the AR platform. I do like that they come optic ready but still with iron sights. That the buffer is (I believe) above the barrel means the stock can fold down which is pretty cool.
I would not be sad if we started using them at work. I do predict that in the next few years the price will come down a lot, probably to the M1A range. It is made by FN who bought Winchester then put out all their old stuff with slight (mainly cosmetic) modifications and increased the prices by at least 40%.
Got some good stuff for tomorrow but now I am going to drink some more water and have a left over turkey burger.
Thoughts?
Sunday Morning
Guess it is Sunday morning though I tend to keep track of things by when I go to bed and wake up not what day the clock says. I got two (field) weeks worth of auto posts done which I am psyched about. That means next weekend I will be able to just write those days posts and maybe one or two to strengthen things up a bit. In any case tomorrow will be kind of a busy day but not too bad. Got to drop off my Class A’s at the sewing place, pick up a few things and pack my ruck. Also Wifey is going to cut my hair and we may go to the gun shop for some surplus 30.06 ammo if there is time.
Now I am going to go to bed.
I HAS GLOCK 19 ON TEH COFFEH TABLE IN FRUNT OV ME
It was a pretty decent day at work. Lots of sitting around but I had a good book and got to shoot up some free ammo. After getting off work I decided to take a couple of minutes and prep my gear so once home I could just relax. I took my phone out of the glove box and turned it on to tell Wifey I was headed home. There was a message and I decided to check it. It was from the gun shop telling me that mah Glock 19 had arrived. I called Wifey to tell her my arrival would be a bit late and headed to the store. After filling out the usual paperwork and purchasing a box of 9mm Federal Premium Hydra-Shok (124 grain) bullets it was time to go home.
Hopefully this weekend I will get a chance to test fire it. A range report will almost surely be written afterwords.
As for purchases to go with the new Glock:
Full Capacity Mags- Check. 10 mags and I am content.
Defense Ammo- Got a mag full and need to get a bunch more. I will get enough to load a couple more mags very soon. Eventually when some HP ammo at better deals (than a buck a bullet) come around I will get a few hundred rounds.
Ball Ammo- About half way there. I have 580 (+- a couple rounds) of ball ammo. Since so many people (I know and in general) have 9mm’s I want to keep more ammo then usual (I figure a case of ammo total for a pistol is reasonable) around for this gun.
Holster(s)- I didn’t have a bunch of cash in my pocket so a holster did not come home with me today. I will probably pick up a holster or two this weekend. I intend to purchase an inside the waistband holster for carry and a kydex open carry/ range holster.
Misc- At some point a spare mag pouch would be nice also. Down the road this pistol will probably get night sights and a tac light.
I am really tired and probably going to go to bed pretty soon.
Gun Shop Trip And Assorted Other Stuff
I woke up at a reasonable time today but didn’t really get moving for awhile. Having the day after Thanksgiving off is a benefit of my job. Wifey had her first day for real (there was a 2 day trial period) today so the house is quiet except when Cat #2 goes nuts. I got the dish washer emptied and tidied up the kitchen some this morning. After that I drank a pot of coffee and went to the gun shop.
The place was completely packed but I think that was more that lots of people get the day after Thanksgiving off and had little to do. I had been wanting to check out the prices of mags, potentially buy some extras and pick up 30.06 ammo. AK mags were going for 20 bucks and Glock Mags for 24ish. Needless to say I did not buy at those prices. Better prices are available at CDNN Investments but I don’t think I will purchase any. After some careful consideration I realized the levels now stocked are sufficient. I could give away a couple (doubtful), loose a couple and break a couple and still have a decent stash. I bought when they were cheap and an glad I got more then is really needed then. The whim to pick up some more was more impulsive then logical.
The great deals on mags are pretty much gone but there are still plenty of mags at fair prices. If I was short (less then 8 mags for a pistol or 15 mags for a rifle) it would be time to tighten my belt and make the necessary purchases. Between the value of the dollar and potential legislation I can not forsee a situation where mags (on the whole) get cheaper in the near future.
There were plenty of AR’s, AK’s, Glocks and XD’s in the shop. I checked out the FN-FAL I chose not to purchase and confirmed that I am glad it did not come home with me. I just don’t like the ergonomics of those guns at all. Great guns for other folks but not for me.
I did pick up 60 rounds of M2 ball (30.06) for a bit more then 25 bucks out the door. I will start working on the documentation necessary for a CMPammo purchase later this weekend but wanted a bit more right now. I loaded up enough enbloc clips to put 6 in a bandoleer and have one loose to load into the gun. Since I am not planning for WWIII that is plenty to keep loaded. If things at my place all of a sudden turned into a clip from an action movie I doubt that bandoleer would be half way empty before lots of cops came. In a situation where the cops would not be coming I would load more but that is doubtful.
I also went to a pawn shop that has been calling to me. They have a good stash of guns and such. I confirmed that the first places magazine prices were in line with the local market. Checked out a neat little Bersa .380 that looked like a Walther PPK. I have heard a lot of good things about those suckers and would not mind owning one. At their reasonable prices ($350ish) I could find a nitche for a compact semi auto. Got some stuff (ammo) to square away before that would really be on the imediate buying list though.
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