Gun Sales Are Skyrocketing: A Response to Gunning for Barack
Matching the Weapon to the Task
Gary "The G-Man" Toms feels the possibility of Hate Groups stocking up with a goal of doing harm to President Elect Obama is a real concern that should be taken seriously. No doubt when a dramatic change takes place there are going to be fragments of society that will go off the deep end and present a clear and present danger. I have no doubt the F.B.I. as well as other agencies are on top of this possible situation and are doing what's needed to protect our newly elected President to be.
Randy Inman's Response as a past Firearms Dealer thinks more along the line that the AR-15 is a good investment with the potential to increase in value 4 times over in the next year or two with the increased possibly of their sales being banned in the future. A viable opinion as anything that is going to disappear from the open market tends to become more valuable. Human nature makes anything not allowed all that more appealing.
There is also the argument that AR-15 rifle's are being snatched up for home protection. With the economy falling apart some are anticipating that violent crime will run rampant in the future. Survivalist may point at the Mayan Calendar that has the End of Time scheduled for Dec. 21, 2012. With Armageddon a mere 4 years away, going out in a blaze of gunfire might be the reason for the surge in sales.
When the real capability of the weapon is examined a few facts come to mind.
Handguns are useful where concealment is a concern. With a limited effectiveness at anything less then close range, they can become glorified noise makers doing little to stop an assault from the bad guy's.
Rifles are long and clumsy for close in work. Taking out a target at a safe distance is where they prove useful. This is why they are the most popular weapon for hunting.
If you want household protection the most effective weapon on the market is an semi-automatic 12guage shotgun. There is no point messing around, when the bad guy is standing at the foot of your bed, you want to put a big hole right through his middle section. There is no getting up from a 12 gauge blast, point and shoot, there is no aiming required.
What firearm do police squads have clamped to the dashboard of their squad car. A sawed off shotgun. This is no accident, it's there because it works.
The only logical use for the AR-15 Assault Rifle is what it was designed for, going to war. Being reliable after being slammed around in a wet or dirty environment is what the military requires of a weapon.
Getting back to the threat to elected officials, any of them. Getting up close and personal to someone well protected by the Secret Service is not the easiest thing to do. Look at the conventions, before the election or any other political rally situation. Anyone with apposing ideas are kept at a distance away from the main event.
Anything that might happen will come from a great distance. When the sales of sniper scopes, night vision scopes, and extreme long distance armaments becomes noticeable then we have a serious problem.
It's interesting that in today's world of regulations you can walk into any gun dealers shop and pick out a high powered rifle capable of taking out a Bull Moose at half mile away. Put your cash on the counter and leave. Simple as that.
Published by Curtis Carper
Semi-retired, part time want-a-be journalist who is thrilled to have developed a small but devoted following. View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentMy point exactly, its the sale of long distance scopes etc. combined with a good old deer hunting rifle that is the most dangerous scenario.
An assault rifle is the thus far perfect platform for battle -shorter than a traditional rifle, carries a ton of rounds, is semi auto and capable of massive mayhem. But for a controlled shot or two from distance a regular old .30 caliber hunting rifle would be the choice. Hell, a person can go to a gun show and pick up a full sized Mosin-Nagant with a very long barrel, fit a decent scope to it and for well under $300 bucks have a legitimate sniper rifle. This is the rifle and setup employed by Russian sniper Vasily Zaytsev in WW2. So to conclude, my feeling is that all this speculation is entirely misplaced. If one is worried about this happening look at the peeps buying night scopes, etc for traditional hunting rifles - I mean a night scope on a hunting rifle? Isn't it illegal EVERYWHERE to hunt at nite, therefor wouldn't a night scope on a hunting rig seem somewhat nefarious?
As to one of the author's points, if someone is gonna take out a politician they either get in close like with RFK and the Israeli PM that was assassinated a few years ago, or from distance as did ALLEGEDLY Oswald with JFK. All this talk about night scopes, etc is so much to do about nothing. Were one wishing to take out someone from a distance an assault rifle IS NOT the way to go, unless we're talking a G3 or sumpin like that. No, if one is intent on evil deeds as the ones being discussed here, a $400 Savage 30.06 with a scope is a far better choice, and the cheaper choice too. I doubt very many assault weapons buyers would be even considering an assault rifle for something as is being discussed.
I got a 500 Persuader too Randy, but I rely on my Springfield Armory .45ACP shorty to blast the bastards back outta the door. I just ordered a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special as my around the house pocket gun. The .380 that is in my pocket now is about as useful as a 20 ounce paperweight, and I only carry the >45 when I'm at work or out running around the countryside - it's too damn heavy to put in your pocket unless you're wearing suspenders, and I just don't see me wearing suspenders and looking like Mr. Green Jeans! But the Bulldog only weighs 21 ounces empty, so at least my sweat pants don't fall around my ankles - hey, wait a minute, maybe if I drop trou that'll scare the bad guys away! LOL
EXCELENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT article, "C-Mac"!!!! You laid out a very compelling argument and supported them with experience and facts. I GREATLY appreciate your comments regarding the articles that Mr. Inman and I wrote. THIS is what AC is all about: bringing people together, of all colors, to discuss the issues in a respectful and sometimes humorous way. You ROCK, dude! "The G-Man"
Nice point on the home protection. My "under the bed gun" is a Mossburg 500 pump shotgun which is close to what you reccomend.
Nice work and thanks for linking to my article, that was really nice of ya.