With Gustav approaching New Orleans Residents stocking up on AR-15’s and ammo

dvorak.org/blog ^ | 08/28/08 | McCullough

[TornadoAlley3]

We just got a call from Devline Rossell, a charter captain based out of Venice, Louisiana. He was shopping in New Orleans to get some supplies before the arrival of Gustav (currently listed as a tropical storm that has left at least 22 dead in the Caribbean) and reported that the item most in demand was not food, clothing or shelter.

“I just left a sporting goods store and you would think that the number-one selling item would be plywood or potable water or gasoline right now,” he said. “Apparently it is AR-15s and .223 ammo. I watched at least 20 people buy AR-15s and cases of .223.”

Can’t say I’m surprised. After the nightmare that was Katrina I think it would be unwise for anyone to assume the state, local or federal government could guarantee his or her personal safety during a natural disaster. Of course, I think it is foolish to assume that under any circumstance.

The AR buying spree demonstrates that people don’t think of it as an “assault weapon” but rather an arm that is ideally suited for self-defense, which it is. I also suspect that for some of the folks this is their first firearm. Goes to show that not only is there no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole but that there is no such thing as a gun-control advocate in one either.

[PeteB570]

The SKS and AK Clone are for the girls.

Being a little smaller than me they like the way they handle. The wife likes the M1 Carbine.

I like the AR for sentimental reasons and I’ve never had a problem with one.

[wastedyears]

I’ve seen that Katrina confiscation video plenty of times.

[Centurion2000]

Holy crap.

[A. Patriot]

What surprised me is that the Coast Guard was involved.

[Lurker]

Wouldn’t workable shutters on these houses save hundreds of dollars a year?

I can answer that. Storm shutters won't stand up to a steady wind of 65 mph. About the only thing that will is some good solid 3/4 inch plywood screwed into the window frame. Even nails will pull loose in a wind like that.

An average storm shutter will last 10 or 15 minutes in a gale force wind, but get much above that for very long and they're gone.

Around our house we've got pre-cut sheets of 3/4 inch stuff in the shed labelled with the windows they are sized for.

There's also a box of 2-1/2 deck screws to hold them in place in there.

L

[El Gato]

Of course they are buying guns and ammo. The police stole the stuff they had before Katrina, and it's looking like they might need it again.

I predict if police try to take guns this time, police will be shot. As they should be, since such an action is now a violation of state law, as well as the state and federal constitutions. Hopefully they won't try..hopefully.

[ExSoldier]

That was the NOLA PD not the feds.

WELL.....sorta. It was also the national guards from other states, notably some very antigun areas. Like the State of Illinois, where brother Barack hails from. THey said the duty was very similar to duty in Iraq but felt strange because of it being Americans they were aiming their weapons at. Still, they had to do it. After all they must follow orders.... Sound familiar? I don't care who is acting: local state or feds. Anytime a law enforcement officer follows orders to the detriment of the people then we no longer live in a free republic. Katrina was a wake up call. Still, the sheep continue to graze.

[ExSoldier]

I'm waiting for early November to get mine. Need to get an A2 model clone for me.

IF I were you, I'd buy at a gun show in late OCT. Reason being if the OBAMANATION WINS in early November you'll see a price spike to rival oil, but worse.

[El Gato]

Are these people bying the guns in anticipation of the comong of Gustav or the predicted riots when Obambi loses the election. Be safe, do it for either reason.

Problem is, the store where I intended to buy my Bushmaster AR from, burnt to the ground last Wednesday night. I drove by just as the first fire truck arrived on scene. As of last night, they still had a fire truck on site watching for flare ups, and at least one police car to guard the guns.

The ammo cooking off sounded like popcorn, at least from the other side of the highway.

Estimates were that there had been around 500-600 firearms, and 50-80 thousand rounds of ammo in there.

The fire flared on Friday as shown below.

It was reported that the vault, with all the guns and the jewelry, survived more or less intact, as far as they can tell without being able to get in to it.

[El Gato]

I never understood why people buy ammo when an emergency shows up ... don’t they have stock

It's not like you can have too much.

Maybe they just fired off a chunk of their "stockpile" practicing and were waiting for a good sale, or next months gun show, for a good deal.

Maybe they'd even ordered some but it had not yet arrived.

But of course many would have taken an inventory and decided... well a little more wouldn't hurt.

[El Gato]

There is always something you decide you need at the last minute. A few hundred thousand people doing that at once, makes it look like everyone was unprepared. Some probably were, but others were just getting that “one last item”.

[El Gato]

Here's what it looked like when it was going real good.

Slight correction, the fire was Tueday night, started about 9:30, and flared back up on Friday afternoon.

[El Gato]

Here's what it looked like when it was going real good.

Slight correction, the fire was Tueday night, started about 9:30, and flared back up on Friday afternoon.

[Lurker]

well a little more wouldn't hurt. well a little more wouldn't hurt.

It never does...

L

[ExSoldier]

Estimates were that there had been around 500-600 firearms, and 50-80 thousand rounds of ammo in there.

Brings tears to my eyes. Oh Lord, what a waste of precious resources!

[kempo]

The most reliable home defense weapon for the average person would be a shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot. Just point and pull the trigger.

[El Gato]

Estimates were that there had been around 500-600 firearms, and 50-80 thousand rounds of ammo in there. Brings tears to my eyes. Oh Lord, what a waste of precious resources!

The good news is that all the guns where in the vault, where they are every night after working hours, and the vault appears undamaged.

The ammo OTOH... well, based on what I could hear cooking off in a bit over an hour, is surely not all gone, but it's probably un-sellable.

[Domandred]

Or get em on the way out of town:

[supercat]

me neither, same goes for 'sandbagging' the same spots around the Miss river...why not just pour concrete over it after the water recedes ???

I'm not sure that concrete without engineered-in rebar and expansion joints would hold up to repeated frost/thaw cycles. That having been said, I would think that pre-fabricated buttressing assemblies could be used to make sandbag walls stronger while using fewer bags than would otherwise be needed. My parents and I used some of the neighbor's pier sections for buttressing (they had not been secured, floated up on the lawn, were not damaged by use, will be returned, and would have likely been destroyed had we not used them, so there's no issue of theft), and they worked well, but most people aren't going to have pier sections readily available; other types of reinforcement could be fabricated cheaper.

[Gilbo_3]

wow, you guys were indeed lucky to have access to reinforcement, but my observation still wonders why you would repeatedly, durin an emergency, place temporary buffers up, seems like a huge waste of resourses vs placing permanent fixtures, and maybe having some prefab additions to throw in if needed...

Im sure if I followed the money, I would find an answer...