Posted on 04/28/2009 7:27:55 AM PDT by newgeezer
Life is good at Mid America Arms in south St. Louis County.
Traffic inside the gun shop has doubled in recent months. Sales are up a solid 40 percent. And they can't keep the shelves stocked.
What started late last year — about the time President Barack Obama took office — as a nationwide surge in gun buying has evolved into something much larger. Good luck finding ammo for all those guns. Or the components and tools to make your own.
At stores such as Mid America, empty shelves and disappointed customers speak volumes about a supply-and-demand equation that's been knocked off its fulcrum by changes in the political landscape. The most popular calibers — 9 mm and .380, for example — are difficult, if not impossible, to find. And new shipments don't last long.
"It's a struggle," said Al Rothweiler, one of the owners. "Where someone used to buy two boxes of ammo, now they buy four, five or six boxes."
Rothweiler and others say it's pretty easy to explain ...
Most of the fingers point to fears that Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress eventually will get around to pushing for new laws restricting gun ownership and placing severe tax rates on ammunition sales. So people are buying guns and ammo before that happens.
"They realize this administration does pose a risk to their Second Amendment freedoms," said Alexa Fritts, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association.
For its part, Obama's administration has been fairly quiet on the subject, citing the need to focus on the economy and other issues at this time.
However, the president's urban policy agenda, at whitehouse.gov, makes it clear that Obama would like to make permanent the so-called "assault weapons" ban that was signed by Bill Clinton in 1994 but allowed to expire in 2004.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
how do I determine if the primer is Berdan
With Spector changing sides and Franken to be sworn in, this will give the left 60 votes in the Senate. They can do whatever they like and noone can stop them.
“how do I determine if the primer is Berdan”
Look inside a fired case. If there are 2 holes in the bottom instead of 1, it is Berdan.
So okay to shoot? I don’t mind cleaning my guns after each day on the range. Always have.
If you say okay then I will shoot and inspect the cartridge.
I've been wanting a new shotgun, too - now that it's warm enough to go fishing again. LOL. Loved that movie.
I would have thought it was made fairly obvious recently that with Snowe, Collins, and Specter in the Senate, the LEFT already has 60+ votes.
Specter's flip is nothing more than an act of desperation to keep his seat by attempting to avoid certain defeat in the upcoming primary.
If you say okay then I will shoot and inspect the cartridge."
It is OK to shoot corrosive ammo. Just be sure to clean your gun thoroughly when you get home. The sooner the better. The corrosive byproduct is a salt, which is water-soluble. Run a few dry patches through to remove most of the gunk. Then run some soapy wet patches through to dissolve the salts. Then dry the barrel with some dry patches. Finally, clean the bore with Hoppes #9 nitro solvent as usual. That's the same routine I've used for years to clean corrosive black powder muzzleloaders.
I've seen Windex recomended. What do you think?
soap? hadn’t heard that before but, okay. The ammo was cheap compared to others.
Thanks
“I’ve seen Windex recomended. What do you think?”
I’ve heard of that, but haven’t tried it. My buddy swears by a household product called 409. My point is, soap cleans out the grunge better than straight water.
Soapy water cleans better than pure water. One final suggestion: run a dry patch and follow up with an oily patch a few days after the initial cleaning. Did the dry patch come out clean or dirty? Some steels are porous and a residue may ooze out. It is always a good idea to maintain barrels periodically, even if they haven’t been fired. I have black powder guns over 100 years old whose bores still look new; it is all in the cleaning.
Thanks again.
Imports are the very easiest thing for the Graboids to shut down. Doesn't even take a new law or anything, Stoke of the pen, or just a word to the wise to the AG...who doesn't really need one, and they are either shut done, or tied up in paperwork.
Surprised it hasn't been done yet. Although we might not have heard of a slowdown.
Besides, the Mexican drug dealers are buying up a bunch of it, and no legitimate importer is going to be able to outbid them.
They have, they are runnig mulitiple shifts. They may not want to increase *capacity* because they feel (1) The Surge in demand won't last, and (2) Obama et. al. may "obsolete" their production equipment with new requirements for "green" ammo, microstamped cases and bullets, etc, etc.
You don't suppose their supplier haven't raised prices as well, do you?
While the Big Boys, may make everything themselves, not all manufacturers do, but even the ones that do, have seen rises in prices for both brass and lead. Copper too. That was true even before The One looked to win the election. Some of the price increases were due to that factor, and occurred well before the electioin. But not most of the increase.
However I ordered some .223 back in early March, and while it been backordered, they are now saying they'll start shipping again this week, and are taking orders at the same price as in early March.
Not true with magazines, which have also risen in price. I got my order in just before they raised the price, and they were delivered at that price, albeit with quite a wait. (But I got slightly better magazines, mainly a difference in the follower, because that's what they got in. Well some of them, the last two on the order, came as ordered, except for color, and I prefer the black over the gray anyway. )
The advantage I’ve heard of associated with Windex is that the ammonia content helps neutralize the salts.
Thanks.
You said it.
Don’t forget to put the beef jerky in with the ammo as you vacuum seal the ammo. Gotta have something to eat while we’re defending the land of the free.
This is more than people anticipating some sort of ban. Whatever it is, it is one hell of a barometer.
I've never seen anything like it, either.
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