Gun Show Saturday and Some Cursory Gun Control Thoughts

I attended a gun show this past weekend. It certainly was not my first and won’t be my last. This was one was very average to say the least. I didn’t really go with anything in particular in mind to buy, but was just looking for bargains. I did manage to pick up a gently used  Beretta 8040F (chambered for the .40 S&W round). I really didn’t want another .40 as I already have one I am quite happy with. They tend to be expensive to shoot, with a box of .40 ammo going for about $5 – $7 more dollars than a box of 9mm Luger for 50. Considering I shoot around 200-300 rounds per gun per trip, that adds up. I’ve read that some folks have had accuracy issues with this model, which I suspect is due to the heavy trigger pull, but I haven’t had it out at the range yet. I’ll give a report as soon as I do. My dad is a former law enforcement officer who carried a Beretta 96 for the last few years of his career, was quite jealous.

One of the things I did notice is that the price of EVERYTHING has gone up. From ammo to common guns, everything is through the roof. This is especially the case with semi-automatic rifles. Last year at this time, it wasn’t uncommon to see AK’s in the $400-$500 range, SKS’s in the $150 range, and AR-15’s for around $1000. This is not the case anymore. The cheapest AK I saw was a Norinco that had been beat all to hell, and it was still $699.  Russian made SKS’s were in the $400-$500 range, and Chinese made a little less. AR’s were through the freakin’ roof. The fear that there will be another gun ban has really driven prices up. In fact, I heard more than one person tell the dealers that they were looking for guns that would be targeted under a ban. Hi-cap magazines were going at a steady pace as well.

Given some of the senseless violence that we have seen over the past few days and weeks, it would surprise me if there wasn’t a renewed push for more stringent gun control laws. There is nothing worse than cowards who go after soft targets or set up ambushes intent on killing innocent people. No, we don’t want people like that to have guns. But people intent on killing others will find a way to do it regardless of what laws are on the books. Guns are readily available on black market. Restricting law abiding citizens from legally purchasing and using firearms is counter-productive and counter-intuitive. With all due respect, I think that Americans should want some people to own guns, especially those of us who grew up handling them from childhood, who have been thoroughly trained in their use, who are licensed by their state to carry them in defense of self and others.

Sick as a Dog

Everyone in the house has had a varying degree of sickness for over a week. The little one had it the worst. I would say the Mrs. was a close second. For me, it was severe chest cold, complete with coughing up bloody chunks of goo, a fever, delerium and nightmares. Good times.

I managed to make it through Ash Wednesday. The early service was tiny (four in attendance), but I almost passed out midway through. The evening service was much larger, and the folks were very understanding and appreciative that I refused to touch the bread, having a lay person distribute it in my place. During the elevation, I just lifted the whole paten. Bad liturgical form? Maybe…but it beats giving my folks the plague. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. My sermon is part Gospel of Mark and part Where the Wild Things Are.

I was supposed to go to a gun show today, but didn’t. Too tired, plus it was raining.

Why go to a gun show, you ask? I am always looking for a bargain. I am not sure I have anything in mind in particular, but would like to pick up an old SKS and modify it for deer season. You just get better deals this way, especially if you aren’t dealing with the overhead of a fancy retail location.

Speaking of which, I have two gun posts brewing. One on the renewal of the assault weapons ban, and one of the “gun show loophole.”