ArmaLite’s Line In The Sand

There’ve been declarations by several gun companies about what they won’t put up with concerning the Second Amendment.   Most recently Magpul’s 2A stance against Colorado’s infringements, Olympic’s 2A stance with regards to any state that restricts their product, and less recently Ronnie Barrett’s years-old declaration that California will not get any business from his company, now comes ArmaLite, the company that originated the AR-15 (AR stands for ArmaLite rifle), making their own declaration:

ArmaLite is continuing a policy put into place when California first banned our rifles. That policy remains:

1. We will not sell to those states which deny it’s honorable citizens the right to own ArmaLite’s.

2. We do not halt sales to individual officers even in problematic states. I am a former Police Officer myself, and the staffer who stimulated the recent anger is a currently serving one. We are well familiar with the fact that most rifles serving Police Officers are purchased by the officers themselves, and that they shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their political elite.

We consider sales to those state subdivisions which are not engaged or potentially engaged with disarming its citizens. DNR and Forestry Departments, for instance, sometimes serve in remote areas that conceal drug farms and their officers deserve good hardware.

3. We will not sell to those lower political subdivisions that deny their honorable citizens the right to own ArmaLite’s. Chicago, for instance, prohibits its citizens from owning ArmaLite’s within the city limits so we make no effort to sell into that city. We have many friends on the Chicago Police Department and have continued to sell to them individually.

Our observation is that most County Sheriffs disagree with banning sales of our rifles and many publicly refuse to enforce such laws. We sell to those departments and to their Deputies, but will not sell to those County departments headed by Sheriffs who would deny their citizens the same rights.

In short, Americans need not worry that ArmaLite is selling to those who betray them.

…ArmaLite is strongly involved with both personal, corporate, and political efforts at the State, National, and International level to protect our civil rights. And we’ll continue to support your shooting needs as the situation moves forward.

Respectfully,

Mark Westrom
President,
ArmaLite Inc.

This was posted in response to numerous emails asking for ArmaLite to support a boycott of anti-Constitutional states.  There was some confusion at the level of communication, prompting ArmaLite to respond poorly and creating a little bruhaha within the activist firearms community until Westrom looked at the situation, realized that customers and some of his own staff were talking past each other, and made the above statement.

Worth noting is that ArmaLite’s is located in Geneseo, IL, which due to the imperial dictates out of Chicago, isn’t the most gun friendly area.  Firearms owners there do not have rights.  They beg the state for permission.  This is one of the many reasons why ArmaLite isn’t taking the same kind of Extremely Rightwing stance that folks like Mark LaRue are.

Nice to see that other elements of the conservative blogosphere are starting to notice these stories, too.  Well, Michelle Malkin caught the Magpul story, anyway.

Update: It’s worth noting as well that some 2A supporters are taking ArmaLite to task for still selling to individual officers in ban states… which means they are supporting that some animals are more equal than others.  The “some animals are more equal” police sales stance is something that more staunchly pro-2A companies have refused.  If the state restricts ownership, there’s no reason why a state enforcer should get a pass.  If citizens can’t own it, why should the state’s enforcers be armed against the citizen?

ArmaLite’s line in the sand is a lot further back than Olympic’s or LaRue’s. but restricting sales to actual government entities is still a line in the sand.

Olympic Arms Draws A Line In The Sand With FOP

From GunsSaveLives.net:

Yesterday, we reported that Olympic Arms drew a line in the sand, refusing to do business with any state or law enforcement employees in New York until they reverse their recent gun control measures.

Now, Olympic Arms has drawn another line in the sand, calling out the Fraternal Order of Police when they were solicited to advertise in a FOP publication.

From Olympic:

AS:

1. The Fraternal Order of Police is on Congressional Record as having been a major supporter of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.
2. As a matter of fact and record, the FOP is accredited with assisting VP Biden in formulating the language of the newly proposed ban
3. Additionally, as a matter of fact and public record, the FOP is in support of the newly recommended Assault Weapons Ban introduced by Senator Feinstein.
a. FOP representatives were actually standing on the Stage during the presentation as a sign of “support”.

THEREFORE:
Olympic Arms, Inc, manufacturers of AR15 type firearms, firearms that these legislators would call “Assault Weapons”, will not be supporting in any way, shape, form or fashion, The Fraternal Order of Police, any organization that represents, supports, takes advertising dollars from, spends advertising dollars with, is in anyway related to, any individual who is a card carrying member of, or any person or entity in any way associated with the Fraternal Order of Police. Period.

Just like Ronnie Barrett’s famous refusal to service .50 caliber rifles for California and now Magpul’s promise to leave if they’re demonized by Colorado law, now Olympic is taking stand after stand for the Second Amendment.

Good on ‘em.

Colorado House Passes Standard Capacity Magazine Ban HB 1224; Updates: Background Check Debate HB1229

CO HB 1224 was passed with a voice vote in the Colorado House this afternoon, by volume of the shouts, not by number of votes.

They’re still pushing other bans here.

Looks like Magpul will probably be moving, and so will Alfred Manufacturing, unless the Colorado Senate blocks it… which is looking highly unlikely.

Update: Denver Post:

After about 6 hours of debate, members of the Colorado House on Friday afternoon gave preliminary approval of a bill to banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.

“An overreaching majority of Coloradans support limiting these high-capacity ammunition magazines and it’s our job in the legislature to implement the will of the people,” said House assistant Majority Leader Dan Pabon, D-Denver.

Republicans could force a roll call vote later today on the bill, otherwise a final House vote will be taken on Monday.

The vote came after Republicans implored members to vote against what they called a “flawed” measure that would infringe on Second Amendment rights and kill jobs.

“It’s not good for Colorado and I urge that we do what’s right and kill this bill,” said House Minority Leader Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs.

They’re currently making it so the government has to get involved in every firearm sale, and that so much as a loan of a firearm requires a transfer form – debating HB 1229, which mandates background checks.

As of 3:30 MST, Representative Polly Lawrence just found out that she can’t loan someone a gun without becoming a criminal… and the ban on loaning firearms just passed as of 3:33 MST by voice vote and laughter from the Democrats.

Update: Representative Priola (R) on the floor as of 4:43 MST:

“I’m going to plan my next trip to Detroit… because they seem to have solved all the ills of the world.

Where are the bill sponsors. No one’s here? The bill sponsors are not here.

Where’d they go?

Don’t they know this is what they’re supposed to do? To discuss legislation…”

Background check bill sponsors walked off.  They aren’t even there to support their own bill.

Update 2: Representative Wilson (R) just pointed out as of 4:55 MST that the ATF form 4473 means that anyone who uses marijuana can’t pass a background check.  Therefore anyone who has a legal gun in Colorado who smokes wouldn’t be able to pass a background check, and anyone who can’t pass a background check can’t prove that they’ve ever passed a background check… so their rights may be forfeit.

Update 3: 5:06 MST – Representative Gardner (R) just got Representative Labuda (D) to say that an unassembled firearm isn’t a firearm: “It’s not a firearm if it’s in pieces”, and that it doesn’t require a background check.  Ergo, all you have to do is field strip your AR and you can sell it without violating the law.  It makes the law meaningless.

Update 4: 5:22 MST – Gardner’s amendment to prevent FFL dealers from being forced to do background checks lost.  It was a Republican amendment, and wasn’t done by voice, it was done by head count until it was voted down.  Colorado has a sham government.

Magpul and Colorado’s Gun Bans

For those unfamiliar with the gun world, Magpul is a Colorado-based company that in the last decade or so has taken the firearms world by storm.  They manufacture polymer parts mostly for AR-type rifles, from buttstocks to handguards to pistol grips to selector switches to any little gizmo that could be an advantage for anyone who shoots.

Their bread and butter is the Pmag, a polymer magazine that’s become highly favored in citizen, law enforcement and military circles because it doesn’t dent and take damage the way traditional aluminum or steel magazines do.  Before Sandy Hook, you could buy Pmags for anywhere between $10-20, depending where you were shopping and what exact model you wanted.  The magazines are normally 30-round magazines, but they also come in 20s, and depending on other specific models, other sizes as well.  In general, though, a standard Pmag is a standard capacity AR magazine that runs at 30 rounds.

And now Colorado is pushing to ban them.

Formed in Colorado in 1999 by a former Marine, the successful Colorado company Magpul Industries employees over 200 people and offers over 500 polymer products.

But it’s one of their products that has garnered national attention, and controversy.

It’s the 30-round rifle magazine designed for the AR-15 and the military M4 and M16 rifles.

Famously or infamously known as the high capacity magazine.

It accounts for almost half of all sales at Magpul. “It’s the standard that’s used in our military as well as allied militaries. With state, federal and local law enforcement as well as hunters, recreational shooters, competitors and responsible citizens all over the united states,” says Duane Liptak, director of Magpul Dynamics in Erie, Colorado.

Magpul calls it the standard capacity magazine.

Colorado lawmakers want to call it illegal if House Bill 1224 passes and becomes law.

Gun banning Democrats pushed for the ban on sale, import, use, possession, manufacture, etc., in HB 1224.  The text of the Colorado bill can be found here.

From Guns.com:

The Colorado House Bill 13-1224 essentially aims to regulate the production, sale and ownership of magazines for a rifle, handgun and shotgun. Here is the exact language of the bill:

The bill prohibits the sale, transfer, or possession of an ammunition feeding device that is capable of accepting, or that can be readily converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition or more than five shotgun shells (large-capacity magazine). A person may possess a large-capacity magazine if he or she owns the large-capacity magazine on the effective date of the bill and maintains continuous possession of the large-capacity magazine.

A person who sells, transfers, or possesses a large-capacity magazine in violation of the new provision commits a class 2 misdemeanor.

A large-capacity magazine that is manufactured in Colorado on or after the effective date of the bill must include a serial number and the date upon which the large-capacity magazine was manufactured or assembled. The serial number and date must be legibly and conspicuously engraved or cast upon the outer surface of the large-capacity magazine.

The Colorado bureau of investigation may promulgate rules that may require a large-capacity magazine that is manufactured on or after the effective date of the bill to bear identifying information in addition to the serial number and date of assembly.

A person who manufactures a large-capacity magazine in Colorado in violation of the new provision commits a class 2 misdemeanor.

It would seem that this language not only limits the rights of most of us, but really singles out Magpul as a company.  Magpul wouldn’t even be able to make magazines for sale in other states without complying to Colorado’s new restrictions.

Continued from Guns.com:

I’ve tried hard to refrain from editorializing, but here it goes.  Magpul is known for their 30 round magazines.  This is not a “high-capacity” magazine.  It is a standard capacity magazine.  We know this.  Limiting the manufacture of these magazines will do nothing to reduce gun crime. And Magpul knows this.

The legislators drafting these measures do so in spite of the fact that nothing they are proposing will do anything to even marginally improve public safety in Colorado, and in fact, will leave law-abiding Colorado residents less able to defend themselves, strip away rights and property from residents who have done nothing wrong, and send nearly 1000 jobs and millions in tax revenue out of the state.

We like Colorado, we want to continue to operate in Colorado, but most of all, we want Colorado to remain FREE.

Ultimately, that would be nice.  But we’ll see what Colorado does.  The bill’s already passed out of committee 7-4, and if it gets through votes in the senate, with 20 Democrats and 15 Republicans, and in the house, with 37 Democrats and only 28 Republicans, it’s likely to end up made into law.  A law that will functionally destroy Magpul as a business.

Magpul knows this as well, and put this out today:

Government killing a very successful Colorado business…  why does this seem familiar?

Obama and the Minimum Wage

From the NYT:

WASHINGTON — President Obama called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25 and to automatically adjust it with inflation, a move aimed at increasing the earnings of millions of cooks, janitors, aides to the elderly and other low-wage workers.

And it will do nothing to help anyone looking for a job.

The White House said that the move would have profoundly positive effects for low-income families without unduly burdening businesses or raising the unemployment rate. It cited research showing “no detectable employment losses from the kind of minimum wage increases we have seen in the United States.”

There are always losses as the cost of hiring employees goes up.  Thus employers hire fewer employees, and employees at entry level don’t get the skills they need to get the next rung up on the ladder.

The White House also pointed to companies like Costco, the retail discount chain, and Stride Rite, a children’s shoe seller, that have previously supported increasing the minimum wage as a way to reduce employee turnover and improve workers’ productivity.

As employers, they can increase wages on their own.  This is what Costco did.

As Costco Senior Vice President Jeff Long said recently in support of increasing New York state’s minimum wage, “At Costco, we know good wages are good business. We keep our overhead low while still paying a starting wage of $11 an hour. Our employees are a big reason why our sales per square foot is almost double that of our nearest competitor. Instead of minimizing wages, we know it’s a lot more profitable for the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity and commitment, product value, customer service and company reputation.”

And they’re also a very large business.  Y’know what a raise in the minimum wage does to them?  Nothing.  Y’know what happens to their competitors?  Their competitors have to spend more on employees.  It creates a barrier to entry.  This prevents their competitors from entering the marketplace with the advantages of being able to hire lower-wage workers.  This prevents unskilled workers from getting a stepping-stone job.

This makes life easier for Costco, who get to increase the expenses of their competitors through governmental fiat.  This is crony capitalism for Costco.

It hurts the people it’s supposed to “help”, driving them to unemployment and dependency on the government and right into the hands of political parties that will give them handouts.  The special interests in this case are the big businesses who benefit from destruction of smaller businesses, and the government officials who benefit from manufacturing more unemployment to create more people dependent on government handouts.

—

Gun Panic Economics

From Valley Guns, via TheTruthAboutGuns:

Smith & Wesson: Running at Full capacity making 300+ guns/day, mainly M&P pistols. They are unable to produce any more guns to help with the shortages.

RUGER: Plans to increase from 75% to 100% in the next 90 days.

FNH: Moving from 50% production to 75% by Feb 1st and 100% by March 1.

Remington – Maxed out!

Armalite: Maxed out.

DPMS: Can’t get enough parts to produce any more product.

COLT: Production runs increasing weekly…bottle necked by Bolt carrier’s.

LWRC: Making only black guns, running at full capacity …can’t get enough gun quality steel to make barrels.

Springfield Armory: Only company who can meet demand, but are running 30-45 days behind.

AMMO: Every caliber is now Allocated! We are looking at a nation wide shortage of all calibers over the next 9 months. All plants are producing as much ammo as possible w/ 1 BILLION rounds produced weekly. Most is military followed by L.E. and civilians are third in line. MAGPUL is behind 1 MILLION mags. Do not expect any large quantities of magpul anytime soon.

RELOADERS:

ALL Remington, Winchester, CCI & Federal primers are going to ammo FIRST. There are no extra’s for reloading purposes. It could be 6-9 months b/f things get caught up.

Provided government doesn’t create any more uncertainty in the market, things will be back to normal in 6 months.  If the government starts going after the industry, it’s going to do just what every other industry would, and demand will outpace supply as supply is crushed by dictatorial fiat.

Of course, that’s what would-be tyrants want.

Piers Morgan Lies to Gullible Gun-Grabber-Appeasers of Tactical Firearms in Katy, TX

From Outdoors Native:

KATY, TX – The gun control debate may be a bit out of control in Katy.

CNN’s Piers Morgan chose Tactical Firearms, a Katy gun shop and shooting range as the backdrop for Monday’s episode of “Piers Morgan Tonight”. Included in the Monday’s debate were Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, State Senator Dan Patrick and Ted Nugent.

Tactical Firearms owner, Jeremy Alcede claims Morgan told him he wanted to use the time at the gun shop as a learning exercise.

Alcede said, “He said, well, I’d like to learn more about guns.  People criticize me, saying, how can I be against guns if I don’t know anything about guns?”

Sounds good so far.

–

“The points that I did make were just garbled to the point that people were asking  why was I speaking in broken sentences, and I said, look back at the video and you’ll see, in one instance I’m wearing glasses, one I’m not.  One hearing protection, one not.  They just chopped it up so bad it wasn’t even funny.”

Was it a cheap shot?

“They completely misrepresented what I wanted to get across, completely.”

First off, this wasn’t really a surprise.  Invite a propagandist into your place and you reap what you sow.

Second, this is Tactical Firearms in Katy, TX, that we’re talking about.  These are the same worthless appeasers of gun grabbers that wanted online ammo sales banned because it would be a wonderful barrier to entry so they could screw their customers by using government’s gun against their competitors.

All this as President Obama is pushing his gun control agenda. We’re guessing he won’t be welcome in Katy.

Tactical Firearms isn’t welcome in the gun world, the worthless quisling Zumbos.

Host Matt Patrick: I also love what you were saying about the Stop Online Ammuntion Sales Act which is being presented by the democrats now.  You say, look if this is going to make them happy, then let’s give them this, let’s let them have this, and go away and leave us alone, right?

Tactical Firearms Owner Jeremy Alcede: Right.  I mean, they’re never going to stop.  This is just an ongoing thing that, y’know, I don’t agree with anything – y’know, you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.  Y’know if this is going to shut them up, then give it to them.  The only good thing that can come out of this is y’know, it’s gonna not allow all these big online companies to purchase ammo from the manufacturers so the manufacturers are going to be overloaded with ammo so guess what that means?  They’re going be calling me and saying “look, I’m going to give you an extra dollar fifty off a box of ammo please buy it, please buy it, so it might actually lower the cost for you the consumer.  I know if I get it lower, I’m going to sell it lower to you.

Maybe if you’d listened to the people who would’ve been your customers instead of sending “Cowboy” out to mace them, you might’ve recovered.  But I guess not.

Powerline’s Out of Ammo… Because They Didn’t Buy It Cheap And Stack It Deep

Seems John Hinderaker at Powerline was a bit surprised this week by something he’s already covered.  Recently:

I really, really wanted to shoot today, but wasn’t able to. Why, you might ask? Was I backed up with work? Nope. Did I have a long list of chores to do, to stay in my wife’s good graces? Nope. I was free as a bird. But I couldn’t shoot because, with the exception of 100 rounds of 22LR and the loaded 9 mm magazines that I keep at home for purposes of self-defense, I was out out of ammo.

Nor was I alone. The shelves here in Minnesota are empty.

…

So what is going on? In part, certainly, the perception of a potential shortage due to the policies of the Obama administration has led to the reality of a shortage, as everyone started to stock up. I can understand the mentality: if I wandered into a gun store and found that they had just put 1,000 9 mm rounds on the shelf, I would buy them all. But does that fully explain what is happening?

To a very large degree, yes.  Remember, this is what 1100 rounds of .22s looks like:

A few years ago, each box would run about $10.  Today, they each run about $20.  So altogether, you can pick up 1100 rounds of .22lr for about $40, if you can find it.

1000 rounds of 9mm isn’t that big, either.

That’s 500 there, at about 7-years-ago prices, as compared to a 550 box of .22lr and Indiana Jones.  Just double the stack, and that’s 1100 and 1000 of each.

You can still find a few rounds of .380, .40 and even .45 caliber bullets, along with more exotic varieties, but the most popular ammunition–22LR and 9 mm–is sold out everywhere. The shelves are literally bare. Every now and then someone gets in a small shipment; a friend told me that a local Dick’s Sporting Goods got some 9 mm bullets in yesterday. They were gone almost instantly.

I’ll assume here that he means ammunition where he says bullets, and chalk it up to the desire of English speakers to use different terms rather than repeat the same one over and over again.  There is a difference between a cartridge (round) and a projectile (bullet).  Reloaders are the folks who are running into bullet, powder (to a lesser degree) and primer (to a greater degree) shortages.  Also, this may be a regional shortage, as .45 is by no means unpopular.  .380 ammo was in very high demand over the last few years as Ruger’s LCP took off, driving a large part of the concealed carry market to .380 – and emptying shelves.  .380 is only around now because supply finally caught up with demand.

Hinderaker looks to be an example of one of the awakening gun owners who are just now still realizing the gravity of the situation by the readily apparent economic situation.  A month ago, he said this while writing “Barack Obama, Ammo Salesman“:

There is something seriously wrong when Americans have to stand in line to buy ammo. But I can confirm that the shortage is spreading rapidly. My son and I went shooting at the GanderMountain Store in Lakeville, our usual haunt. I was running a little low on ammunition and thought I would pick up a box of 9 mm ammo on the way in. Forget it. Not a single 9 mm bullet in the store. No 22LR either, if you can imagine that.

Totally can imagine that.  The line is an indicator of the market – and shouldn’t be a surprise.

When we were done I tried the Fleet Farm across the highway, too: not a single 9 mm or 22LR bullet to be had.

Mr. Hinderaker, you know how I know you don’t shoot much?  You went to buy a box.  A box.  Even the biggest box of Winchester white box 9mm is only 100 rounds.  For serious shooters, that’s not much to go through in a very short period of time.  Doing just a few drills will burn through that quick.  It also doesn’t supply you for more than a trip.  Serious shooters know this creed:  Buy it cheap, stack it deep.

You know the second reason I know you don’t shoot much?   You went to Gander Mountain before you went to Fleet Farm.  Unless your local Gander Mountain is an aberration, it probably pales in comparison to Fleet Farm.  Also, in the last month, Mills Fleet Farm went so far as to make a long pro-2A video as an open letter to their government officials from Minnesota.  Given those two choices, I’d always go to Fleet Farm (and have).

That Fleet Farm is out of ammo is a pretty big sign, but it’s also indicative of the customer base.  Folks who go to Fleet Farm already know to buy it cheap and stack it deep.  As one example, Fleet Farm used to (and probably still does, occasionally) carry milsurp rifles like Russian Mosin-Nagants, for which the cheapest ammo can be had by buying Eastern European 440-round tins (spam cans).  If you spend 80 bucks you have enough ammo to last for at least a few trips to the range.  As a non-gun related example, Fleet Farm sells everything from military surplus to snacks in large amounts at cheap prices – and that’s indicative of a more thrifty mindset.  It’s like comparing Sam’s Club or Costco to a corner store – they may have the same product, but one has paper towels in 2-packs, the other in 20-packs at a discount.  Same financial principles apply to ammo.

Most Americans, and certainly Minnesotans, are familiar with this image, and know exactly what to buy the most of:

The issue is that people today are buying cheap and stacking deep – the market for the last decade has taught them.

Folks who’ve been firearms enthusiasts for a long time have their own supply from which to shoot.  That’s why they buy in bulk.  The rest of the nation, seeing that there have been shortages, is now catching on.  You don’t buy 1000 rounds of .45 because you’re going to go fight the Taliban with your 1911.  You buy it because every range trip is 100-200 rounds, and stores don’t always carry ammo.  Metals prices fluctuate, the dollar fluctuates against imported ammo (which can also be outright banned by import restrictions), surplus ammo dries up as supply is exhausted, and inflation drives prices up.  There are other economic factors as well – in the current case, there’s a much, much greater demand than there is supply.  Folks who shoot a lot have seen this in the last decade.

If you scroll back up to that slightly fuzzy image of Indiana Jones on the box of 500 9mm rounds, note the price.  Yes, that says $60 for 500.  That’d be $6/box.  You won’t find that price anymore, not even for cheap Russian Silver Bear.

Dick’s Sporting Goods used to have sales on Remington UMC 9mm ammo – brass cased, quality ammo – for $5/box as late as 2006.   The skyrocketing metals prices of the mid-90s caused ammo to shoot up in price – and anyone who shot a lot, or though they might shoot later in life, even – knew to start buying.  Of course now they’re getting out of the firearm and ammo market as Dick’s has gone limp due to political pressure.

Hinderaker now says he’d buy 1000 rounds if he could find it.  He’s a casual shooter who’s now been taught a harsh lesson by the market.  He gets it now.  His casual attitude towards firearms as something that will always be there has changed with the market.  He’s well on the road to learning to buy it cheap, stack it deep.  Multiply his casual shooter realization times millions of gun owners and yes, you pretty much have the answer for the current ammo shortage.

On a slightly different note, Hinderaker mentioned this a month ago:

So, in our effort to be scrupulously fair to President Obama, we can no longer say that his policies have uniformly been catastrophic for the economy. No: from now on, we must admit that he has been an unprecedented boon to manufacturers of firearms and ammunition.

All Obama’s done is introduce uncertainty into the gun & ammo market.  People are buying because of uncertainty over governmental policies, inflation, metals prices, how international trade will mess with those prices, as well as concern for future governmental interference in the market (in violation of the Second Amendment), and so on.  That massive uncertainty has driven up demand, but also screwed up the supply side of the equation.  Manufacturers aren’t going to go out and start investing in new CNC machinery to provide more capacity.  They don’t know if they’re going to be driven out of business, have the banks they put their money in threatened, or have the banks freeze their assets entirely due to politics.

I know Hinderaker was joking there a bit, but looking at it seriously, it’s not a normal market boom at all.

Hinderaker finishes yesterday’s post with this:

How about the fact that government agencies are buying up billions of rounds? There have been lots of news reports and lots of rumors, but no clear explanation of why the federal government has invested so massively in ammunition–including the most popular civilian calibers–over the last year. One way or another, it seems that there is a story here. But for it to be pursued, we would need “reporters.” Remember them? Nah, that was a bygone era: you probably don’t.

This has been asked and answered a few times.  I’ll go back to my original answer here.  And I addressed the Social Security Adminstration’s ammo purchases here.  For the most part, it’s still the case.  Is it worth asking about, sure?  But is it necessarily sinister, no.  Is it enough to change the market dramatically?  I’d say somewhat, but I doubt it – even government agencies are having a hard time getting ammo, because their budgets are cut back, too.  Contracts made doesn’t necessarily mean contracts filled, either.  And US govt. agencies aren’t buying Wolf’s or Golden/Silver/Brown Bear.

Is there a story there?  Maybe.  Is it just a story of how “buy it cheap, stack it deep” works for everyone?  Probably.

Economic Facts and Fallacies with Thomas Sowell

Another good Hoover Institution video with Thomas Sowell.

Gun Ban Economics – Fort Worth, TX Cabela’s Today

Well, yesterday – Sunday the 27th.  Just another example of gun ban economics and what we’ve already been seeing.

Those racks were normally full of black rifles and such.

These shelves used to be full of ammunition.