Everyone seems to have been overcome with joy that the reign of Emperor Urkel saw this massive growth in gun sales, with x jillion FBI checks per month, lines outside gun shows or whatever. Ruger and S&W share prices grew substantially, gun dealers couldn’t get enough guns into stock quickly enough, yadda yadda yadda.
Well excuse me for peeing on everybody’s parade here, but quite frankly, the downside of everybody suddenly wanting a gun is that the prices of the damn things have climbed into the stratosphere — at a gun show recently, I saw a Century Arms something-clone selling for $1100 (!). I mean, a Century Arms rifle for more than a grand? I nearly passed out. There are no good deals at gun shows anymore. The only guns which aren’t selling at firstborn-demanding prices seem to be double-barreled shotguns, and that’s because I guess they aren’t sexy enough for the New Buyers. Not that it matters much: a new AyA No.2 Round Action side-by-side now runs for about what it cost ten years ago ($7,900), i.e. they’re still expensive.
Don’t even get me started on the complete disappearance of rimfire ammo: .22 Long Rifle, when you could get it, was approaching 10 cents a round for crappy Bosnian stuff, and .22 Win Mag still costs about as much per round as practice .45 ACP. Thank gawd that I had a few thousand (okay, twenty-odd thousand) rounds of .22 LR and .22 WM squirreled away in Ye Olde Ammoe Locquer, or else I’d have got really angry.
I remember once suggesting the “seven-cent solution” (a .22 bullet in the back of the skull) for some politician, Teddy Kennedy most likely, and being chided by a Reader that I shouldn’t waste my expensive .22 ammo on that dirtbag. Boy, how ironic is that now when bulk Aguila, which I used to feed to my dog as a treat, now costs well over 10 cents per round.
And prices aren’t going down anytime soon, either. I see that .22 LR is at least being manufactured again, which has eased the availability thereof a bit; but my favorite CCI Mini-Mag is still unaffordable. Ugh. I need to stop now before I bust something. I’d shoot up my TV in disgust, but the ammo costs more to replace than the Sony.
Kim, guns have never really been cheap (well, except for certain milsurps) and everything’s more expensive now. But for what its worth AR-15s are probably as cheap as they’ve ever been. You can buy a reasonable quality stripped down one for as little as $500. 1911 pistols can be had for $500 new. There are still tons of high quality guns out there for reasonable prices, if you’re inclined to look.
Perhaps if I’d ever wanted a Mattel rifle…
I have several ARs, and love them to pieces, but IMO my Ruger Mini-14 is just as accurate and a far more robust design than Stoner’s.
Yeah, the Century and other sucker junk is overpriced, but quality AR-15 parts have dropped considerably since the panic. A bolt carrier group that was $350 is now $150 or less. My favorite stripped lowers, the Mega Gator, is only $120. Magpul mags are 1/3 the panic price. And a Colt 6920 OEM (complete carbine sans furniture) is under $800.
As for the .22 blues, hopefully I’ll be ashes before I run out of mini-mags for my Winchester 62A pump.
Get out of yourself. Let me explain.
I was in similar straits, and what helped me was volunteering. I started tutoring kids who needed help at a local elementary school. I helped them save their grades, and somehow that saved me. Moving the focus to someone outside myself was the key. Knowing I was needed, and doing some good in the world, right there where I could see it, is what helped me get out of the hole.
Now, that was me, and those were my circumstances. I don’t know what that will be for you. Might not be volunteering, might not be young people, might be something I’ve got no clue about. I don’t know enough about your circumstances and abilities to advise you on specifics, but I strongly believe that serving others (face to face for me) in some way, shape or form is the key to finding the way back into the light. You’re the one to figure out what “serving others” or “moving the focus off yourself” means to you.
Won’t lie, the light has never been as bright as before, but it’s a hell of a long way from the cold grey fog I was in when I lost her. I’m glad to be alive again.
It also helped to realize that I was not just “me”, but I was the person I had become while we were together. A better person than before, a person she helped shape. She’s gone, but not her influence, not as long as I’m still here and doing some good.
I’d pray for you, but I’m a nonbeliever too….I’ll toss some coin your way instead.
First, grief affects each of us differently. It also comes in waves, you will be wallowing in the trough feeling fat and happy, and the rogue wave will crash over you. My journey through grief started Dec 15th, and I am far away from a port that I don’t even know the name of.
The same will happen to you, just remember another trough will come along and the next wave will be a little smaller.
Jansbob has good suggestions above. Hospice care for my Mom was a tremendous help, before and after her death. The more things you try, the better chance you will find something to get you through. Meanwhile, eat, sleep, work and play as best as you can.
BTW, I get the feeling you and I are of an age- Aug 1953.
Remember- no matter where you go, there you are.
Keep the faith, my brother from another mother.
Got here via Instanpundit.
If obama stimulated firearms sales but also raised prices, think of the extra cost as a social hedge premium against the totalitarians.
Evolutionary comparable – the forms best fit to a particular environment are more efficient than the more generalized forms. But when the environment changes, it is the more generalized forms that adapt best. In this case, the inefficiency of the generalized form is likewise the cost of hedging against change.
Oh, and best of luck on the new endeavor!
I’ve missed your wit and humour.
Welcome back.
And it’s damn good to see your name again on my website, pdw.
After 8 years, yeah, the panic & hoard reaction is a hard one to shake.
Happily, mags are as cheap as they’ve ever been. I remember the days of $150 “pre-bans” and shudder.
And good to see you back.
Right back atcha, Joe.
Keep the faith Kim, have seen .22 down to 7cents a round if you are near the seller. Mail costs just kill it. I too had squirreled away a dozen or so 1000 and 500 round boxes way back before the madness. I even have some of my dad’s ammo from the 50’s where the box of 50 rounds was “gasp!” 55 cents. Of course 1 cent/round 1959 is likely 10 cents now, thanks to inflation and garbage government policy. Welcome back, wish it were under kinder circumstances. As to gun collecting, been hanging around the auctions or the occasional estate/private sales for reasonable prices. Gun shows and retailers are out of reach. There are no good pawn shops in the midwest, the good deals seem to be in FL and sun belt.
I’ve been patiently waiting for you to surrender to the demands of the muse (the fickle bitch). So glad you’ve seen the error of your ways and come back to the light. 🙂
M
LOL Mark. It’s good to see you again too.
Prices on non-AK “tactical” rifles are dropping.
One can get a quality AR[1] for a much more reasonable price than last year at this time.
Prices on AKs are MUCH higher than they were 10 years ago, not (just) because of Obama, but because the rifle has become more popular without a significant increase in supply. In the US there are dozens of companies manufacturing or assembling ARs. There’s a couple domestic makers, and even many of them are rebuilding parts kits from overseas, which are drying up because there aren’t that many still out there.
And yeah, Obama’s EOs on importing from Russia, and the BATFs decision on importing barrels didn’t help.
Prices of ammo *OTHER* than .22 LR have dropped significantly from their peak and seem to be inline with commodity base metal prices (which have also gone up).
.22LR is an odd one. It seems that old farts are *still* hoarding it, and are buying up whatever they can find of the cheap stuff. That just won’t last much longer.
Still waiting for this guy to come back: http://geekwitha45.blogspot.com/
[1] Yeah, I remember your feelings about ARs. However since you shuttered your older blog the AR has more or less won in the US. They’re ubiquitous and most are of mediocre quality–much like AKs. However they run.