Posted on 11/17/2008 9:40:31 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
MISHAWAKA -- Black Friday came early at Midwest Gun Exchange.
At 1:45 p.m. last Friday, 15 minutes before the doors to Midwest's new store opened, the store's parking lot was almost full. Cars streamed in. A line was formed in front of the doors as a light mist fell. By 2 p.m. there were at least two dozen people waiting to be the first ones in.
The scene wasn't surprising. Local gun store owners have seen gun sales jump recently in the Elkhart County area.
In the last few weeks, gun owners -- first-time buyers and long-time buyers -- have been loading up on guns and ammunition.
Store owners said a number of factors have incited the rush, including the presidential election and poor economy.
Lately owner Steve Evans is used to seeing people waiting outside the door of Granger Guns at 10 a.m. and he often stays past closing time to fill orders. He's even brought on extra help to keep things running.
"It is just nuts," he said.
Evans said the election of President-elect Barack Obama has many gun owners worried that legislation or taxes will be passed making weapons and ammunition they want either illegal or unaffordable. Evans said the last time the store was so busy was for two weeks shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Business for Evans was up about 20 percent before the election and he said it's gone up 10 times since then.
Brad Rupert, retail manager for Midwest's Mishawaka and Elkhart locations, said business at the stores has risen 50 percent and 30 percent respectively, which he also attributed to the election. About 50 percent of Mishawaka's weekend customers were new.
T.J. Repaich, manager of Midwest Gun and Range in Elkhart, said the store saw a spike in sales before the presidential election. Since then there's been a steady flow of business. Repaich and Evans said it's not a feeding frenzy -- people aren't lining shopping carts with barettas and sigs. But people that were on the fence about buying a gun aren't waiting anymore.
Repaich agreed that the election has contributed to the rise in sales but said it shouldn't be singled out. Many customers are worried about a rise in thefts because of the faltering economy and are looking for a gun to use for home protection. The election, the economy, the start of firearms hunting season and the holidays are all creating a perfect storm for gun sales, he said.
Repaich said a $50 handgun class is available for people purchasing a handgun that have never owned one before. The six-hour class is offered by National Rifle Association-certified instructors and Repaich said it covers everything gun owners need to know. Repaich isn't worried that the poor economy may dissuade some from paying for the class; the $50 is a modest supplement to a $500 handgun, he said.
The concern among patrons shopping at Midwest's Mishawaka store Friday varied.
Corey Cox, 22, came from Angola to visit the store. A full-time college student and reserve officer with the Angola Police Department, Cox is a self-described gun enthusiast. He owns 15 weapons-handguns, rifles and shotguns-and is building some AR-15 rifles.
Cox is worried about potential legislation Obama could pass and has recently been purchasing high-capacity magazines for his rifles.
"You can always just sell them off later," he said.
Jason Perry, 22, lives in Niles and works at AM General. Perry has been into hunting for the last five years, owns several rifles, shotguns and handguns, but isn't worried about what Obama may do. Perry doesn't think any firearms laws will be passed overnight, and he doesn't plan to buy anything on a whim in the meantime.
Also browsing at Midwest was Rick Schmidt, 39, a local brewmaster.
Schmidt owns 10 or so guns that he uses for target shooting, as well as a rifle. An NRA member, Schmidt has friends in Texas that have gone out to buy 30-round magazines for weapons since the elections. Schmidt, however, thinks some people are overreacting. The only thing he planned to purchase at Midwest Friday was a pocket knife.
Schmidt doesn't want to see any legislation passed that will limit a person's ability to legally buy a gun. At the same time there's a lot of ambiguity over what Obama's position on firearms will be as president, meaning a lot of the worry is unwarranted, he said.
Schmidt winced at the prospect of the economy prompting more people to buy firearms for home protection. For Schmidt, home protection consists of a security system, a big dog and the police before a gun is brought into the picture.
Ultimately a gun is one of several resources homeowners can use for protection, he said.
No one knows for sure how long gun sales will escalate. Repaich doesn't think sales will falter, at least not until Obama makes his plans concerning firearms known. Evans said he expected sales to start to plateau as gun owners begin to feel they have what they need.
"But it hasn't started yet," he said.
OBAMA BACKS TIGHTER LAWS, BUT NOT HUGE TAXES ON GUNS AND AMMO
Not much was mentioned about President-elect Obama's future plans for gun legislation during the presidential campaign, which has some worried about whether any anti-gun legislation or taxes are passed.
In September, the Washington Post examined a National Rifle Association ad that claimed Obama was in support of a 500 percent tax on weapons he said were commonly used in firearm deaths. The claim stemmed from a Dec. 13, 1999, article of the Chicago Defender.
The Post acknowledged Obama favors tighter gun laws but said it was a stretch to argue he wants to tax guns and ammunition as a president based on the 9-year-old Defender article.
“Mad Max” event that will happen when the economy fully collapses and local thugs (your current loving neighbors) band together to “collect” food, fuel, water from those that “have too much”.
*cuts off one of the arms of his leather biker jacket* :)
One guy at a gun show here sold a tractor trailer load of ammo PER DAY. And that was only one vendor. Gun stores are packed here on a daily basis... although I don’t know how much of them are new gun owners. AR15’s are flying of shelves and hard to find... ammo is becoming more scarce-especially at Walmart. High capacity mags are a big hit as well. One store here has sales up 70%. So people do have money... they are just spending it on different things these days.
Now thats a wonderful image...Thanks
/sarc
;-)
That sounds about right.
L
I suppose we’ll just have to remain in disagreement on that point, and I’m not trying to use it as an excuse to prevent anybody from obtaining a firearm. If you feel safe around a bunch of newbies with their first piece, more power to you. They need somebody to teach them not to shoot their eye out. I hope they don’t shoot yours out during their training period.
I would have thought teaching them to keep their fingers away from the triggers would crop up a lot. I have to remind friends who are quite experienced with firearms about that sometimes. Nothing makes me more nervous than a finger on a trigger. Unless it’s mine.
Clinton silenced them all with one sentence:
“Yeah, but we didn’t get all the guns.” ................... Nor the loyalty of the military!
Well, since the Post evidently thinks it can speak for the President-elect, I'd ask them a couple questions - if it's a "stretch" to make that argument, it is true? Will he tax guns and ammunition? Will he re-institute the AWB? Will he listen to the ascendant gun control crowd whose biggest advocate, Joe Biden, is now the Vice-President-elect? I'd like some answers to those questions instead of the smirking derision I'm getting from people who don't seem to be very straightforward about what they're promoting.
I go through the whole litany of keeping the muzzle pointed down range, finger off the trigger, be certain of your target AND what lies beyond. No live ammo until they can perform a safe load and unload with inert "snap cap" type ammo. Eyes and ears for EVERYONE. Long sleeve shirts with a button collar and a baseball cap to keep brass from slipping behind the eye protection. My objective at the end of the session is that all have learned safe procedure and had an opportunity to fire a 38SPL revolver. I do bring the larger caliber stuff out...S&W 500 Magnum and 454 Casull. I also bring a Ruger MKII .22LR. Most of the participants are between 13 and 18. Still a few years short of being eligible to purchase a handgun.
I enjoy the big stuff too! .44, .454, .460, .500.
My wife gave me a 550B for my birthday. I’m a bit apprehensive starting out on it on my own. What would you suggest for somebody completely new to reloading? Any good books? CDs?
The big bore brass (500 S&W and 45-70 Gov) usually require some case lubricant to prevent sticking in the resizer die. I use the spray type Dillon lube after laying the brass out on a double layer of paper towels.
My wife and I would run through 300 to 500 rds of 38SPL each week in San Diego. I purchased a small Dillon vibratory cleaner. A tablespoon of polishing compound is added to the ground corn cob media. Toss in the dirty brass and run overnight. A separator to separate the brass from the media is useful at that point. Brass is saved into plastic bags, media goes back into the cleaner.
Always inspect the case mouth on each piece of brass. I found the nickel plated brass especially prone to splitting on .357mag cases.
A final quality check with a cartridge gauge is recommended. Check for "proud" primers....those that weren't fully seated. Disassemble those, dump the powder and carefully reseat the primer. The cartridge gauge also check for max COL. The bullet nose will extend beyond the end of the gauge. MidwayUSA sells a nice set of gauges for common revolver and semi-auto calibers.
I don't have a good case gauge for the 45-70. For that cartridge, I remove the cylinder of my single action Magnum Research BFR revolver and check the fit in the cylinder. That's the final point of use, so it has to be right.
There are lots of books on metallic cartridge reloading. They go into more detail than what I've outlined above. In particular, they will cover interior and exterior ballistics. Those topics are more related to the correct selection of bullet for your application and the correct powder charge.
With respect to interior ballistics, be very aware of the limits of your firearms. The 45-70 BFR is limited to 31,000 PSI per the gun smiths at Magnum Research. That is similar to "cowboy action shooter" trapdoor designs. Better quality lever action rifles are rated for 40,000 CUP. A Ruger #1 or T/C Encore is rated to 50,000 CUP. ALWAYS label each box of ammo that you make with the bullet weight, COL, powder type & weight and date of creation. Keep a log of your ammo parameters so you can rate the quality of the results. That way you can make more of the good stuff and avoid repeating a bad configuration.
My favorite powder for the 4 calibers you listed in Winchester 296. The Hodgdon H110 is the same powder in a different can. Make sure your powder load fills the entire case with this powder. To do less risks detonation. The load books will give the correct weight to go with the bullet size and COL.
One final note. The 454 and 460 develop lots of pressure. Always use a bullet designed for 454 and/or 460 use. Lesser quality bullets may break apart and spatter your face with lead through the compensator port.
Have fun and be safe. You'll save about 50% over the cost of factory ammo. In time, your own product will be better than factory ammo. Gun shows are a great place to buy boxes of bullets. Ditto for big box stores e.g. Cabelas, SportsmansWarehouse. You can get good deals on bulk brass and powder at the shows as well.
Here's something that you may have read in the past which, sadly, has lost none of its relevance. Yes, it's something of a survivalist's dream scenario, but it is thought-provoking nonetheless.
I don't want to link this here due to copyright issues, but have a look via cut 'n paste in your browser window. It's shown as "shareware", but I don't know if the author's address is still current.
http://sparc.areyouprepared.org/archive/Novels/TripleOught.pdf
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