Posted on 10/15/2009 10:16:37 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
John Lennon’s observation that happiness is a warm gun may be more true now than ever if membership at the Tri-County Gun Club is any indication.
The club has picked up an average of 70 new members a month through most of this year, according to George Pitts, Tri-County’s public information officer. The credit for that spike in membership falls on the Barack Obama administration, Pitts says.
“We took in 77 new members this month,” Pitts said on a sunny afternoon last April, as sporadic gunfire echoed through the hills of the 230-acre club nestled in the hills between Tualatin and Sherwood. “Since Obama’s become president, membership has just grown like crazy.”
Earlier this month, Pitts said the inflow of new members hasn’t slowed down throughout the year. Membership is right around 4,000.
“I think this last month we took in 55 or 60 new members, but that’s probably the lowest this year,” he said. Typically, before the 2008 presidential election, the club would gain about 30 new members a month.
So, the Obama administration worries gun owners?
“I think there’s an aspect to that,” Pitts said. “I think the political concerns are pretty fresh in everybody’s minds. They don’t know where this administration is going.”
Many gun owners are “hunkering down,” according to Pitts.
“I think there’s a real concern there. People are doing two things: One – they’re personally stockpiling. The other is, a little hoarding – thinking that they can make a buck.”
Gun sales up
The local reaction to the Obama administration’s perceived attitude about gun control mirrors the national trend.
Smith & Wesson, one of the largest manufacturers of firearms in the United States, announced recently that its sales were up more than 30 percent from the previous year.
That was reflected in local firearm sales which have also been up, according to local gun and gun accessory dealers.
Sales of assault rifles and other types of firearms skyrocketed after Obama’s election – and despite slowing down somewhat in the last few months – business is still going strong at The Gun Broker in Tigard.
Chalk it up to fear of gun rights being taken away, but also an influx of new products on the market and concerns about home invasions in the current economy, said Gun Broker salesman Greg Apple.
“People kind of freaked out,” Apple said about the post-election rush to buy guns and ammunition. “That’s kind of mellowed down a bit.”
It’s nearly impossible to find certain types of ammunition, particularly for handguns, these days, according to Mark Wiprud, who runs the online gun dealership Jack the Dog from Beaverton.
He said he saw gun sales drastically rise after the election, but also drop now that people have realized that Obama has not yet broached the topic.
“I think the Obama administration has enough other stuff on their minds right now,” Wiprud said.
That doesn’t mean that fears have subsided, however.
“I continue to get e-mails from all kinds of customers with misinformation,” Wiprud said. “It’s amazing how much propaganda is out there.”
Obama’s stance
Dane Baumann owns Aloha Surplus, which specializes in military, camping and hunting gear. He thinks the suspicions about Obama are justified, based on the president’s record as a politician from Chicago and public statements on gun control issues.
Aloha Surplus does not sell guns, but its sales of ammunition and holsters have been very high.
“Where does (the president) stand on it? Sounds like he’s anti-gun to me,” Baumann said.
Obama has said in the past that he supports “common-sense enforcement” for guns, while believing that the Second Amendment – the right to bear arms – should be respected.
“We essentially have two realities, when it comes to guns, in this country. You’ve got the tradition of lawful gun ownership …. And then you’ve got the reality of 34 Chicago public school students who get shot down on the streets of Chicago,” said Obama, according to an MSNBC transcript of the Jan. 15, 2008, Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas. “We can reconcile those two realities by making sure the Second Amendment is respected and that people are able to lawfully own guns, but that we also start cracking down on the kinds of abuses of firearms that we see on the streets.”
However, since elected, Obama has remained virtually silent on the issues of gun control and gun laws.
‘A pack of lies’
Some don’t think Obama is spending enough – or any – attention on strengthening gun laws.
Peter Hamm, communications director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said that people who are worried about their guns being taken away should pay attention to facts, not opinionated rhetoric.
The Obama administration is, unfortunately, avoiding discussing gun laws “like the plague,” he said.
“I think that people who believe that there is some threat to their gun rights are either paranoid or they’ve just fallen for a pack of lies that have been said to them by the National Rifle Association and other groups,” Hamm said.
Conservative estimates put the number of guns in this country at more than 200 million, Hamm said, but it could be as many as 400 million.
The fact that more and more guns are being sold doesn’t necessarily mean that gun violence will increase in the short term, he said, but more guns in the country does mean that there is more potential for them to get into the wrong hands.
“I think that anybody that thinks they need to stockpile weapons right now is making a bizarre choice,” he said. “But I’m not going to call them names or criticize them. I don’t think that they are necessarily irrational, although some of them are. Some of them have just been brutally lied to for many, many years.”
Holster sales up
Ted Blocker Holsters, a Tigard company that produces hand-made holsters, has had a tough time keeping up with the flood of orders for its concealment holsters. A normal day might see three orders come in, but lately the shop has been seeing days with almost four times as many orders.
This isn’t the first time that Shelley Brown, who owns the shop along with her husband Don, has seen sales be so strong.
“We saw it go up once before when Bill Clinton was elected,” she said.
She appreciates the business, but wishes that more solid facts were out there for people to rationally look at the current situation. Blame “the darn Internet” for that, she said.
“There’s a lot of things pushing buttons – fear buttons,” she said.
Nearly half her customers have not only spoken of a concern over the Obama administration’s stance on guns, but also express an “over-my-dead-body attitude,” Brown said.
“At my age now, if they want me to hand over my guns, go ahead and arrest me,” she said.
****
Know your gun rights:
The Tri-County Gun Club Web site — www.tcgc.org — has a link to the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action and urges members to “stay involved to keep your rights.”
“If you want to keep your right of self-defense, you must be politically active,” the site says. “Politicians pay attention to loud voters in large numbers. If you do nothing, the gun control people win. This includes reminding the NRA and other pro-gun organizations that gun registration is a non-negotiable item.”
And of course I believe in the tooth fairy.
Mrs. Prince of Space
An MST3K fan I suspect. Keep the weapons clean and the ammo stocked up.
Wal*mart was about 1/3 stocked two nights ago. Still out of .38, .45, and bricks of .22, but they had pretty much all of the rifle ammos, 9mm, etc.
It seems to be easing up some.
Best.MST3K.Movie.Ever!
Bottomline, when the repubs are in, I buy maybe a gun every year. When dems come back around, that goes up 5X. But ya know, I was buying 223 for $179/case when the slickster was running the show; and have enough that my grandkids won't ever run out. I have never regretted buying extra ammo over the years either.
Got a Mark V 30-378 2 weeks back, sweet too. Either getting a M 1 Garand or a AR-15 frame in larger caliber. Have seen them in 270, 06, 308, 338, ect. I've been shooting caribou with 223'ss for years, but wouldn't an 06 ar-15 be nice.
What's crazy is all my people were dems in 60s, now all repubs;;; mostly over gun control. Glad the dems never figure it all out too.
One of my favorites. But I lean towards "The Mole People" or "The Giant Spider Invasion". A matter of taste I suppose.
And if I lose my bat I can always rely on my SPORK!
“Fear the man who has but one gun and knows how to use it?”
Shhhh, Olbermann is lurking in his nighty and he needs material.
Yeah, I'll blame the internet -- for still having the freedom to act as whistle blowers when need be. Don't knock it. Or perhaps she would be happier in a safer line of work. How about telephone work? You know, answering the queries on future gun buyers who are forced to wait for some ATF joker finish his corned beef sandwich and beer before he decides to look at your application, and then arbitrarily deciding that your too old and extends the waiting time unnecessarily, hoping the purchaser will kick the bucket before he can finish buying his new gun.
Go ahead. Ask me about it. I'm still waiting for approval for a 22 rifle which I'm not going to buy now anyway.
“Wal*mart was about 1/3 stocked two nights ago. Still out of .38, .45, and bricks of .22, but they had pretty much all of the rifle ammos, 9mm, etc.
It seems to be easing up some.”
I went looking for some .45 Colt (not ACP) to feed the new (to me) gun I get out of lockup next week Sat. Stuff is just NOT available at anything approaching a reasonable price. The only ammo in that caliber I saw today was “cowboy” loads at $20 for a 20 round box!. I had a chance to stop in at the Bass Pro Shop in Manteca. They DO have lots more rifle ammunition available than in recent times (including .223, .308 and other ‘military’ calibers) but the handgun aisle still looked like locusts had been there. very darn little of anything but .460 and .500 Smith, .25 Auto, .32 auto. NO .22LR available there whatsoever.
Story repeated itself at several gun shops I visited on the way back here to Fresno. .22 is occasionally available, but sells out very rapidly. .38, .357.. forget it. .45 ACP the same. 9mm and .40 appear to be in good supply in general. Shotgun ammo is not a problem. In fact, WalMart had lowered their prices on the Winchester AA loads by about a buck a box from the last time I was there (7.57 rather than almost $9)
It’s getting a LITTLE better, but some things are still darn near impossible
In fact, WalMart had lowered their prices on the Winchester AA loads by about a buck a box from the last time I was there
Winchester makes Anti-Aircraft loads?
Kewl, I’ll have to stock up.
I will say No one of my acquaintance is hoarding,
any stocking up they do is NOT for resale.
I live about a mile from the Tri-County Gun Club, as the crow flies. I’ve noticed lots more noise coming from there lately on the weekends.
Me? I’m hoarding my ammo until availability returns.
.45 Colt ammo is a problem right now. I have some bullets on order (for reloading) that have been backordered for over two months, with a month to go - according to the vendor.
If I were you, I would start acquiring reloading equipment and supplies, as it brings the cost way down. The only isssue is availability.
Nobody stockpiles guns and ammo when they only see blue skies ahead.
That's pretty much the theme from the left. Like when they target honor students and boyscouts for extremely harsh punishment under "zero tolerance" rules,
but look the other way when an "at risk" yute physically threatens other students.
I believe it's their arrogance that lets them believe that they can implement some sort of cosmic "justice" for the "less fortunate".
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