Great Satan, Inc.

SC Kid (of Sandcastle Scrolls fame) shares his experience shooting a belt-fed machine gun match, with the gun and ammo supplied for free (courtesy of Rio Salado Salado Sportsman’s Club).

He’s a good kid, and I’m glad he got a chance to shoot something that cool with OPA.  I’m not jealous at all.  Nope, not at all.

Ok, maybe just a little bit.

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If you live anywhere near Tucson Arizona, you have an opportunity on Saturday to participate in the “national conversation on gun control”, or at least support the only pro-rights person member on the panel.  Widely praised Second Amendment scholar, author and attorney David T. Hardy will be the only pro-gun/pro-rights member of the panel.  Mr. Hardy will represent your rights, and be the only voice of reason, in the discussion about “common sense gun control ideas.”

From Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik:

Beginning at 2pm at St. Marks Church (3809 E. Third Street – a block west of Alvernon) I’ll be participating in a forum with several other people to discuss the issue of common sense gun control ideas. Also on the panel will be Pam Simon (January 8th survivor and member of Demand A Plan,) State Representatives Bruce Wheeler and Victoria Steele, State Senator David Bradley, and Tucson Attorney and gun rights advocate David Hardy. Possible attendees will also be Representatives Grijalva and Barber – depending on schedules and what’s going on out in D.C.

The forum is scheduled to last until 4pm.

There will be opening remarks by the panel members, and then questions from the audience. I know each of the people ho are on the panel and it is my expectation that this will be an opportunity to listen to varying viewpoints on this volatile topic in a way that is non-confrontational and respectful. With this topic, that’s not always the case.

If you live near the Tucson area and value your right to bear arms, your attendance is critical to demonstrate to the Tucson City Council that they can’t justify trampling your freedoms using sham “forums” like this one.

Saturday, March 16th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM, at St. Marks Church, 3809 E. Third Street, Tucson, AZ.

H/T to Arizona Citizens Defense League and Gun Owners of Arizona for the heads-up.

Spread the word and please, arrive early to fill the room with pro-rights people.

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Lately, shopping for .22 Long Rifle cartridges has made me a little nostalgic for the days of yesteryear, when .22 was much cheaper than .40 S&W. The price of a fastfood meal would buy 500 rounds of .22 Long Rifle ammunition, or as we used to call it, a few hours of shooting.

Things have changed!  Bricks of .22 LR were going for $80 to $100 each at our last gun show, when you could find them. I thought it was outrageously expensive, until I found it online for $189.99.

If I had only known in the late 1990s how much the under-appreciated .22 LR would be worth today, I’d be rich.  Obscenely rich!

Yes, $9.89 was a high retail price for 500 rounds of .22 LR, but the sale prices were good.

UMC .22LR Bicks were $6.99 in the 90s (about 1998)

I wonder if my bank knows how much ammo is stored in their safe deposit boxes now?

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You may be familiar with the idiom, Fast, Good, or Cheap, pick any two.  In the current firearms and accessories market, you may not get any of those choices.

While much of the U.S. has been experiencing a gun, magazine, ammo, and reloading component shortage, there’s been a secret among shooters at Arizona ranges.  Quietly whispered among shooters, “Psst, you can still get all the gun powder, primers, and bullets you need at normal prices from Bruno Shooters Supply in Phoenix.”  Pretty soon, the secret was out and Bruno was slammed with orders, just like every other company in the firearms industry.  On an Arizona shooting forum, Amy Bruno explained why prices are skyrocketing, phone calls go unanswered, and orders are taking much longer to ship:

Hello All,
I do need to clear the air.  The reason that our prices keep going up is because the manufacturers are rarely shipping anyone product.  We need to buy it from whomever has it in stock.  Because of this, we have to pay shipping charges and Haz-mat fee just like you.  This is what is raising the prices.  It has nothing to do with manufacturers’ price increases. It has to do with the increase in our true COST.  We try to at least have stock for you to buy.

In regards to Jason (my brother), he is there. He took time for a honeymoon, but he is still there.  In regards to heating and cooling, we do not own the building. We rent. We have only the swamp coolers that they provide. These do not work in the summer. In the winter, we have one little heater.  I am sorry that the climate is unbearable. It is for us too.  Also, we never accept your payment without giving you a total first.

In regards to our hours, we are open from 8am-5pm Monday thru Friday.  Sometimes we leave 5 minutes early.  Sometimes we stay 4 hours late.  We do not have the staff to be open all day every day.

Now onto the phone situation.  As many of you know there are only 4 of us there. We have chosen to leave the door open to walk in customers and not accept calls.

As of today, we have over 2000 orders (we now measure in reams of paper). We are at least 2 weeks behind in even looking at your order.  Once we get to it, if we are out of something, we will call or I will email you. Assuming most of you are local, this will not apply to you but I will say it anyway.  Orders for non HAZ-MAT (powder and/or primers) orders will ship in about a week as long as everything is in stock.  Orders for primers and anything else BESIDES powder will ship in about 3 weeks.  Orders with Powder and any other item will ship in about 6 weeks.  The reason for this is because no vehicle can have more than 100 pounds of smokeless powder on it.  This means UPS. We have already 2 trucks coming daily.  This means we can ship 200 pounds of powder a day.  Considering the circumstances, this is a drop in the bucket.

We are not accepting calls because we cannot get to our orders if we do.  We would be unable to wait on customers if we do.  Next to go is the website and as a last resort, we will lock the door to walk-in customers until we can get caught up.  We are trying to avoid both of these situations and are doing the very best that we can.  We ask that you do not call or come in or email to check order status until at least 3 weeks have passed.  We will contact you, we promise.  We also have chosen not to ration or hit you with limits like the other stores.  We may not be well-lit, or temperature controlled.  We may not have a public restroom or lots of parking.  But at least we have things that you need (most of the time) in stock so you can shoot.

Thanks for understanding,
Amy Bruno
Bruno Shooters Supply

I think Ms. Bruno’s honest explanation applies to the current industry-wide shortages of firearms and components.  Major national dealers have also struggled with providing accurate inventory availability online, responding to customer inquiries, backorders, and prompt shipping.  The order systems are under a severe stress test and seemingly minor system limitations are showing up as major weaknesses.  The demand for these goods is unprecedented and overwhelming!   Even industry heavyweight Brownells has had to revise their order tracking system in attempt to keep up with the  avalanche of orders.

Hopefully, manufacturers are not running their production lines beyond their capabilities too.

Local gun stores here, even large dealers, are placing ads essentially begging to buy guns from the general public.  Dealers are trying to stock their shelves for customers, but when those dealers have to buy at inflated street prices, then add their margin, the retail prices have to go up and the cycle repeats.  Eventually, supplies will return to normal, prices will come back down, and the industry will make their customer service / ordering systems more robust to handle surges in demand.

Until then, we’ll all need to be patient.

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Despite what the “media” and anti-rights, gun-control proponents would like you to believe, women are a big part of the firearms community.  There were plenty of women at the Second Amendment Rally at the Arizona Capitol yesterday, and here are just a few of the lovely ladies of all ages that came out to show their support for gun rights.

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Here’s a relatively unbiased news story from local news station ABC 15:

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I just received some disturbing news about this year’s SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show) from a well respected member of the firearms industry.  The mainstream media will be at the 2013 SHOT Show in force with the express purpose of furthering their anti-gun agenda.

There will be a tremendous amount of hostile media at SHOT Show this year.  Major “news” outlets, including CNN and NPR have been contacting exhibitors to secure interviews, and you’d better believe that they are not going to be there to get the scoop on the latest muzzle brake or concealed carry purse.  Their only purpose will be to humiliate and shame those of us in the firearms community and they will be working very hard to coax us in to speaking to them so they can use our words against us.

Here’s the best advice I’ve heard to counter this unwelcome infiltration: DON’T SPEAK TO THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AT SHOT SHOW.  My friend in the industry made some suggestions that I’d like to pass on –  Be polite, and rather than say “no comment”, just tell them that you are busy and can’t talk right now.  Do not forget that these people are not reasonable people and do not want a discussion.  Please realize that despite your best efforts, there is no answer or statement you can give that can’t and won’t be used against all of us.

Those of us that will be at SHOT Show legitimately will be there to learn, make and renew connections and do business. The anti-gun media will be there to confirm their preconceived notion that none of us are rational human beings.

If you know anyone that will be going to SHOT Show next week, please let them know about this unsettling development. And remember that the best (and likely only) way to mitigate the damage the anti-gun media plans to inflict upon the firearms community is to ignore them.

UPDATE:  The mainstream media’s plan to bash SHOT Show and vilify the good people at NSSF is already underway.  This ridiculously inaccurate article from The Guardian was posted online just a few hours ago.

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In light of the new wave of idiotic “news” reports, I’ve taken the liberty of updating the Journalist’s Guide to Firearms:

The saddest part about this graphic is that it’s painfully accurate:

“…was also armed with a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver, a Mossman 12-gauge shotgun and the Bushmaster rifle.”

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