I'm not even going to list the links, but the Great Gun Rush of 2008 is holding steady. If there are AR-15 lower receivers out there, I can't find them. Last week in Colorado, according to the FFL dealer who handles all my transfers, there were waits as long as 16 hours for approval. Yesterday, my approval took 3 hours.
The best line is from Curtis Lowe: "It's like when your dog senses an earthquake is coming..."
My advice? KEEP BUYING! An earthquake is coming. Don't forget standard capacity magazines, either. If you look around there are mil-surp AR magazines available. Brownell's, my personal choice, is still showing out of stock on everything, and Magpul P-Mags are as rare as hen's teeth. Check AIM Surplus...they're swamped, but product is coming in. They have some 5.56 ammo still in stock...check out the Prvi Partizan. J&G is still showing Colt A2s in stock (at a soon-to-be-not-overpriced $1600) but S&W M&Ps, an AR I recommend, is backordered. On mags, your best bet looks like the used Colts at $19.95. CDNN's online catalog is showing a good selection of AR mags, including the steel English Imperial Defense mags ($14.95) that I have seen spoken of very highly, although I don't have any myself.
Yeah, the Prvi Partizan M193 ball is excellent. My main man Ammoman still has it for $379/1000 shipped, which, sadly, is what a good deal looks like in November 2008. You'll probably have to wait a while for the order to be processed, but he's got it. Also has Prvi M855 green tip for $449/1000 shipped, if that is your thing.
ReplyDeleteI see Wideners is out of Prvi, but they do have some Federal/Lake City seconds XM193.
I heard Pete Brownell (of the Brownells catalog fame) say on TG's Guntalk Radio that they are getting in and selling 1500 AR mag's A DAY.
ReplyDeleteAlso if you are eligible to purchase thru the CMP estore, check out the 223 ammo they are showing. They sold out 94 cases of one brand in just hours. But they have other stuff popping up over the last week or so.
http://www.thecmp.org/
If their website is to be belived, Dynamic Armament seems to have some complete lowers in stock.
ReplyDeleteI'll throw another name into the hat here: Widener's in Johnson City, TN. Right now they are only doing online ordering as they are swamped. However, you can see in real time what they have in stock.
ReplyDeleteI've dealt with them a number of times, have visited their storefront, etc. and they are good Tennessee folks.
Still have some Prvi, lots of Wolf and Barnaul, and some Hornaday TAP.
http://www.wideners.com
check out SOG armory in Houston for AR needs. They were picked over pretty good at the Ft. Worth and Houston shows in the past couple of weeks, but seem to slowly be rebuilding their inventory. www.sogarmory.com
ReplyDeleteAs a proper Texan, it'd be nice to see Bush throw us soon-to-be persecuted gun owners a tax-break bone since we're singlehandedly propping up the Scary Black Gun and ammunition markets -- perhaps something along the lines of a "citizen militia" write-off for firearm purchases? Maybe two guns per person? Heck... anything would help :-)
ReplyDeleteBush (the son) has always expressed a desire to ban "Assault Weapons" so it's very unlikely he'd throw us any bones.
ReplyDeleteObama’s official campaign website is why gun sales have gone through the roof, especially for the AR15, since 5 November.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not that you won’t be able to buy a gun of any kind, it’s a belief that the freedom to buy certain types of guns will be restricted…particularly those guns that are based on the VietNam era M-16/AR 15 and AK 47 military patterns, but also shotguns of certain types favored for protection. In terms of having legal and legitimate uses, AR-15’s are used for hunting nuisance animals, “varmints” like coyote, wolf, prairie dog, etc…they’re not suitable for deer or anything larger, but they’re also used for target practice and competition, and are very effective for home defense, because they are light enough and small enough, with little recoil and can easily be used by a woman or an elderly person. They’re very popular because the design is modular and you can customize/switch components back and forth to change caliber, change stock, change sighting layout and any number of options for different purposes without having to buy another complete gun for each purpose…something much harder to do with a conventional old fashioned wood-stocked rifle. The silly thing about reinstating the old assault weapons ban is that there are literally millions of AR and AK rifles in the market place that won’t go away, they’re almost never used to commit a crime, and a ban on them would only make them more expensive, not reduce the number…the law abiding get punished with no real effect on the guilty.
These aren’t the weapons that are used on the battlefield (M-16’s and real AK-47’s), these’re not full-auto or select-fire like the military versions ares are…these full auto military guns are already restricted for purchase and can only be in private hands if they were built and registered with the Federal government before 1986, and they cost on the order of 5,000 to 25,000 dollars or more, and only with full registration of the owner and the gun by the Federal government which in turn requires a letter from your local chief law enforcement officer that you are of good character and are approved to own a “Class III” weapon…they’re pretty much for rich collectors with impeccable backgrounds only.
These kinds of military style but non-military auto-loader guns are very seldom used in any kind of crime because they are large, heavy and not easily concealed (when compared to handguns, anyway).
Enough people are concerned enough about it that wholesalers and even manufacturers have become sold out, and there are months-long waiting lists for AR 15s and the parts to build them.
All these things just make guns more expensive, which tends to price them out of the range of the folks who need them most for self defense of home and family……those law abiding folks with limited income who live in higher-crime neighborhoods. Remember Condoleeza Rice’s story of her father and the other black men in their neighborhood in the bad old days, standing watch at night with shotguns in case the Klan came through their neighborhood. It was their right, and it arguably did protect that community at a time when the Klan was bombing churches…similarly after Katrina, neighborhood patrols prevented looting and other crime after the New Orleans Police department basically collapsed and before the national guard could deploy. If you study the history, the origin of gun control legislation was in the 19th century, and it was intended to keep guns out of the hands of slaves and later, free blacks. Odd that a black president would be in favor of making effective defense more expensive for low income black people, …although if he goes along with the way he voted in Illinois legislature, he would also ban concealed carry, and manufacture or sale of handguns.
The other thing that is expected is either a high tax on ammunition, more stringent purchase requirements, or a ban on lead bullets on phony environmental grounds (like California has already done). Ammo is rapidly getting even more scarce and expensive than at the height of the Iraq war in anticipation of the new administration putting out a promised barrage of executive orders to make quick changes from the present administration…without waiting for Congress to do their job…(not that Congress would fail to reauthorize the “assault” weapons ban, given half a chance.)
To me it’s not a matter of “why would anybody need an ‘assault’ rifle”, it’s a matter of “I’m a trustworthy law abiding citizen…who are they to tell me I can’t have one?” and “get it while you can.”
We’ll see within a year.
Specialty Sports here in Colorado still has a few receivers and whole guns, though prices have risen a bit...that's the free market, and it's not excessive yet. I picked up a DPMS receiver with parts kit and 6 position stock for $299 yesterday, after waiting overnight for the backround check backlog to clear. It's the only shop in town I know of that has more than one or two of anything AR 15 related.
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