GULF COAST CRISIS: GUN PURCHASES Fearful Southerners buy firearms at torrid pace

Chicago Tribune ^ | September 8, 2005 | Lisa Anderson, Michael Martinez and Ray Quintanilla

[ConservativeStatement]

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Gun sales across the South boomed after the first reports surfaced of armed looters roaming the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And images of shots being fired at relief workers only elevated fears in some communities.

Now, as hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes are being resettled, gun store owners say they're being flooded by a demand for guns--particularly in Southern states and others where many of the hurricane victims are being relocated.

Mostly, they say, the demand is being fueled by "good people" wanting to protect their families and property. That includes some who might not otherwise purchase such weapons, they add.

[Betis70]

>>These yankees are so off base on this. Us Southerners love our guns and hunting.

Some of us Yankee-types like that stuff too. ;-)

[paulcissa]

It's a crisis, all right.

An INVENTORY crisis for the firearms retailers.

"Here then, buy two....they're small. And don't forget: You can't have too many bullets!"

[Conspiracy Guy]

I keep hunting boots.

[Cobra64]

Any bunker busters in your inventory?

[SevenDaysInMay]

FYI: a GI 20mm can filled with .22LR weighs 186#.

Newbies, buy the ".50 cal./cans", the ".30 cal cans" are too narrow. Then fill them.

[taxed2death]

"These yankees are so off base on this. Us Southerners love our guns and hunting."

As do a whole bunch of Yankees.

CT., home of Colt, Remington, Ruger, Charter Arms and a few more.

Massad Ayoob..... just another Yankee too....
LOL

[Conspiracy Guy]

Sorry to hear about Pudge. I've owned the Remington but had to have the stock replaced twice due to rain damage. The A Bolt seems smoother to me and the Composite stock is a dream. I used to have a 7 mm Mauser Sportsterized but it got stolen. That was before I started using gun safes.

[paulcissa]

" Have 1100 9mm, 300 3 inch 12 gauge 00 buck, 150 270 Winchester, 400 38 spec/357 mag, and several thousand 22 LR."

Yikes, inventory like that in The Peoples Republic of NJ will get you headline story on the 7:00 news as a terrorist....but then again, anyone in NJ that's not a democrap shill is a terrorist....Gosh, I hate this state. :-(

[Conspiracy Guy]

LOL. I only keep the 45 or 9mm in the truck with two full mags and box 50 rounds. I have a small truck.

[hiredhand]

I know what you mean.

I have my own personal bathroom next to my home office. The wallpaper motif is bird hunting.

I have a 100 year commorative USMC KA-BAR on one wall. And a 12 ga SBS field gun on another wall.

Some of our friends are scared to use my bathroom.

Some of them have children in the military! *rolling eyes*

One of my neighbors is a truck driver and he's around mostly weekends, so we keep a VERY close eye on his place and his family while he's gone....his wife and mom-in-law.

One night, I heard something over his way. It was 0200 and his rig was parked, and I figured somebody was messing around, so I grabbed one of the ARs with a light on it, went to our bathroom on that side of the house, lifted the window very quietly, and had a good "listen".

As it turned out, nobody was out there. I was convinced of that. While I was in the area, I had to use the bathroom, so I layed the AR on a rather large vanity that had a bunch of laundry and towells on top of it.

Then (very much unlike me), I PROMPTLY forgout about leaving the AR on top of that vanity and went back to bed! The next day we had visitors who weren't exactly used to seeing AR-15s laying around bathrooms. The kids were SUPPOSED to clean that vanity off, but for some reason, it didn't get done. Actually....some of it got cleaned off...which only made the rifle more visible. They also TOLD me that the AR was still there and I was SUPPOSED to put it up. But I didn't.

So...the lady of the family who was visiting used that bathroom and got all freaked out.

Scarred for life I suppose. :-) Ah well... :-)

[Conspiracy Guy]

Move on down heah in the south. We still have the RKBA in most areas.

[cgk]

Thanks for the ping! The more of these articles I read the more convinced I am that I need a gun, even over here in CA, nowhere near N.O. or "the South."

Try explaining to anyone off FR that you've been thinking of buying a gun for awhile now, but you're watching the news & that cemented your decision to buy one (or 3) for "protection" because "it could happen here in EQ country".

I made that mistake already - to someone who owns a shotgun! Got a nice lecture that what was happening on the news shouldn't make me buy a gun if I don't have one already.

Reading these threads/articles tells me I'm not the only one thinking this way who DOESN'T live in the south.

Can't wait for the gunshow! 3 more weeks!

[airborne]

Second Amendment Bump!

[hiredhand]

Love that last picture!! I'm a huge fan of Simonov's "Sport-Utility Rifle".

It was HILLARIOUS really! He came blazing out of the bushes....rubber yellow clogs a blur....fired 10 rounds on a flanked approach....8 struck their mark...then bayonetted the target!

It was a real hoot! We had good time that day. :-)....as you can imagine!

[TC Rider]

LOL. I only keep the 45 or 9mm in the truck with two full mags and box 50 rounds. I have a small truck.

I shoot a couple of 3-gun matchs every month, so always have a couple ammo cans of .223, 12ga buck, and lots of 9mm and .45, depending on my mood.

[hiredhand]

Just break down and buy some suitable weaponry! I won't go on my usual tirade trying to persuade and convince. NOLA should be convincing enough. Try buying a weapons and ammo over in that area now!

Worse than that, imagine BEING there STUCK with no weapons or ammo.

Weapons and ammo are the sort of thing you want PRIOR to actually NEEDING them.

Just do it... :-)

[hiredhand]

"Here then, buy two....they're small. And don't forget: You can't have too many bullets!"

I was in the USAF for 13 years and there is an exception to this....that is if the aircraft is on FIRE and losing altitude! LOL! :-) Then, it really is possible to have TOO much AMMO! :-)

[Conspiracy Guy]

I used to do competition but don't have the time. I have free access to an indoor range and several outdoor ranges and our range at the hunting club (1000 yard)

[BCR #226]

"I did go buy some more ammo yesterday. My .45 ACP supply had dipped to 900 rounds so I bought 2 boxes of 50 230 grain FMJ. Have 1100 9mm, 300 3 inch 12 gauge 00 buck, 150 270 Winchester, 400 38 spec/357 mag, and several thousand 22 LR."

That's it? I'm running at over 4k of 9mm rounds and about 2500 12 guage. my .45 acp supply is low at around 2k... my .308 is about 5k and I quit trying to keep up with the .22 ammo... I am however low on .50 BMG... sigh.

Mike

[hiredhand]

FYI: a GI 20mm can filled with .22LR weighs 186#.

Newbies, buy the ".50 cal./cans", the ".30 cal cans" are too narrow. Then fill them.

This is a FACT. 20mm cans are just TOO heavy filled with .22LR bricks. My wife would make trips to town, and if she was going to WallyWorld, I would have her pick up a brick. After many months of this, my daughter inventoried some of the ammo for me and told me that we had 26k rds of .22 in the 20mm can. We "spread" it around into smaller cans after that!

The 200rd "battle pack" 7.62 NATO sized cans are a good size. You can get "about" three bricks in one, but you have to break it up into 50 rd boxes and stack em correctly.