The quarterly ammunition prices report is below and the result are as I have suspected. Bone crunching price increases due to a ban based on a spurious reason.
The latest news is the best news possible in the Long March to restore Constitutional rights for gun owners, if you live in Kansas, which became the fifth state to allow Constitutional Carry. Now the real job is ahead of Kansans: to start teaching their youngest about the rights and responsibilities inherent in owning and carrying a firearm.
The subtext from the news story from Indiana is that there are enough crazy people in the USA who will threaten, not only your livelihood, but also your very substance if they do not get their way, and it illustrates that taking back rights to keep and bear arms is an existential issue.
From Donetsk, in southeastern Ukraine, the communist government there has ordered all guns to be turned in unless you are one of the few the government says can have them. I wrote in the Facebook timeline of the story: The rifle is the only thing standing between an individual and tyranny. Don't give up your guns. Fat lot of good it will do, but maybe a tiny idea was planted in a region that desperately needs them. Who knows?
I lost the link, and only had the link to the subsequent story where the Donetsk government made good on its threats. I have the text of the decree, which I will post as a comment.
Prices for pistol ammunition were mostly lower, while prices for rifle ammunition were mostly unchanged.
Prices for used rifles were mixed, while prices for used pistols were mostly lower.
Quarterly Summary for Ammunition
Prices have declined or have remained unchanged for pistol ammunition, but have increased for rifle ammunition for commonly used semiautomatic rifles by an average of more than 13 percent since the government attempt to ban several commonly used classes of .223/5.56mm ammunition in January. If you put that in the same terms that the government does for its inflation reports, the annualized rate of inflation for rifle ammunition is 55 percent per annum. That's Zimbabwean territory.
I am more worried that the government, while deciding not to ban M855 ammunition, keeps the ban on imported 7N6 5.45x39mm ammunition in place. Not as popular as 5.56mm, the ban was for the same reason: steel core equals armor piercing.
A lot of people, I suspect mostly liberals, will ridicule the contention that the government is responsible for the increase in prices in these classes of ammunition, except in this case the correlation is direct, provable and stark in its effect.
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each (From Q4, 2014: .28 per round, -.01 Each)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Blok Tactical, FMJ, reloads, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel cased, .28 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4Q, 2014))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks) (From Q4, 2014: .24 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, FMJ, reloads, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, FMJ, reloads, .22 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: -.01 each After Unchanged (4Q, 2014) (From Q4, 2014: .20 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, FMJ, Steel cased, Reloads, FMJ, .19 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks) (From Q4, 2014: .41 per round, -.06 Each (!))
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Armscor USA, FMJ, .35 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 Rounds: SG Ammo, Geco, Bulk, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks) (From Q4, 2014: .23 per round, +.04 Each (!))
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, steel cased, .22 per round (From Last Week: -.04 Each (!) After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks) (From Q4, 2014: .41 per round, +.07 Each (!))
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Brown Bear, steel cased, .48 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel cased, .45 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks) (From Q4, 2014: .22 per round, +.02 Each)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf WPA, steel case, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each (From Q4, 2014: .08 per round, Unchanged)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammomen, Federal Agme Shok, RNL, .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds: Trop Gun Shop, Aguila, RNL, .10 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks))
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $570 Last Week Avg: $600 (-) ($616 (4 Weeks), $515 (8 Weeks))
California (218, 213): ATI Omni Hybrid: $600 ($650 (11 Weeks), $425 (14 Weeks))
Texas (251, 251): DPMS: $350 (!) ($700 (4 Weeks), $350)
Pennsylvania (131, 125): Bushmaster Carbon 15: $650 ($650 (4 Weeks), $490 (15 Weeks))
Virginia (196, 186): DSA: $650 ($750 (4 Weeks), $500 (9 Weeks))
Florida (319, 307): Palmetto State Armory Carbine: $600 ($600 (7 Weeks), $450 (23 Weeks))
#1
First, congratulations Kansas.
Second, be prepared for a media shitstorm.
I would like to comment that there are a lot of things this bill does not do:
It does not make you have to ask permission from the local sheriff to CC.
It does not put you into a state registary for the local PD to bring up when they run your plates.
It does not make you submissive to your local politicians, and yes there are those places in Kansas, looking at you Douglas County.
It also does not:
Let you carry in places explicitly stating No Firearms.
Let you just shoot somebody without reason.
Disrespect LEOs.
CC in any other state.
Immune to the basic safety functions of a firearm.
Give you Wyatt Earp superpowers.
Train up.
Take the CC class as it goes over proper behavior and recognition of Laws.
Practice, preferably with a certified instructor.
Practice some more.
Did I say practice?
Practice - the first time you drove wasn't rush hour in St Louis? Same thing, learn the tool, and if you are not comfortable, don't carry. Period. You can make a situation so, so much worse.
There was in my humble opinion a great TV series called Best Defense which gave very approachable situations and reactions to self defense. I would suggest a person with a budding interest in self defense start there, and I would also suggest that if that show makes you uncomfortable, then don't carry. Awareness is your best defense. Second is your belief system - friend and his current GF were in Wichita clubbing. Gaggle of dudes harassed him in his truck. He had a pistol and told them to F.O. They did because he was serious, confident, and would have defended himself. In conjunction, we had some meth problems in town, wife and kids came back from the groceries to find the back door open. I could respond faster than a phone call and came home, had to clear the house, and had to be prepared every door and every under-bed etc. I had to be prepared to live with any consequences whether law or conscience well beforehand because there it not the time or luxury to do so in the moment - that is work time. I am not billy badass, I was assigned and accepted the role of emergency prepardness in the family, and that is one aspect of it - one second I'm at work balancing the checkbook, two minutes later, well, it wasn't entertaining, there was no dramatic music, it wasn't fun. Practice. I had a plan, I knew where everything was, and my plan went to shit almost immediately. Practice.
Self defense, and the confidence it creates and takes, is very empowering. Approach the good side of it, the honorable side. Depending on who you ask, remember the 10/15 yard rule that a bad guy can get you in that range before you can unholster, so learn some moves to buy you time and defend yourself, even simple things like keeping an object between yourself and the attacker.
Fighting the jiggles was not something I was necessarily born with. First fire call was grand adventure until I got there. Did stupid stuff. The good news is jiggle control can be learned. With practice and the right mentality.
/$0.02, additions or point & laughs always appreciated.
I have not yet attended, but the infomercial I saw sold me, or more accurately, plans for the kids:
Project Appleseed
#4
The Decree Aimed at the Struggle with Makhnovism inside the Republic
Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Aleksandr Zakharchenko issued a Decree, in accordance with which all persons, who are not the workers of law-enforcing bodies, should turn in arms in their possession before April 4.
As the Ministry of Defense of the DPR says, such measures are necessary for the establishment of law and order in the territory of the Republic.
“The obligation to carry out the measures in detention, disarmament and isolation of the persons, who will fail to obey the order, was imposed on the Minister of the Interior of the DPR”, the Decree says.
The individuals, who have failed to follow the demand to turn in the arms in the given term, will be acknowledged “members of armed gangs” and against them disarmament (liquidation) by way of special operations and ensuing criminal proceeding will be used in accordance with the DPR legislation in effect.
“We appeal to the citizens to provide active civil cooperation in informing of the representatives of military command about fact of violation of the requirements of the Decree. The reception of arms and ammunition will be carried out on the premises of the Military Commandant office”, – the reports says.
Workers of law-enforcing structures of the DPR will carry out measures aimed at disarmament. In order to turn in arms one should take them to the local military commandant’s office; there people will also be able to tell the officials about the incidents of the Decree violation.
The Decree on disarmament was issued by the Head of the DPR due to the necessity of law enforcement in the territory of the Republic and prevention of increase in crime.
The implementation of the Decree is aimed at rooting out of Makhnovism, which is characterized by the existence of various partisan groups that do not act under the law.
Unfortunately, n conditions of warfare this is not a rare phenomenon. One should not mistake such actions of the government for repressions aimed against field commanders and war heroes. All those, who had signed the contract and were enlisted in the DPR Army, will keep on fighting with arms in their hands and defend the Republic whenever the need arises. Arms, registered as hunting weapons, will not be confiscated if their owners have the license.
The Decree implies liquidation of illegal armed formations. Nothing prevents them from becoming legal, if their intention is to defend the Republic. They must take the oath and become the defenders of the DPR on legal ground.
Of course, they will have to obey orders: for example, no to succumb to the enemy’s provocations, not to open fire in response to them, not to take independent decisions in combat. Militiamen are to become soldiers in the proper sense of the word. A soldier is not engaged in politics, a soldier is obeying orders. Those, who become soldier, will not be disarmed.
[RFE/RL] The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic says it will start issuing passports to residents in areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Luhansk militants' "Council of Ministers" said it signed a regulation permitting the entity to begin handing out passports. The passports will be in Russian and available to people 16 years of age or older. The regulation comes into force on April 21.
The rebel entity also announced that it had opened its own bank and began paying pensions in Russian rubles.
[DAWN] A bigwig with the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has said that although CII recommends 16 as the appropriate age for marriage, children should not be married until they attain mental maturity.
"It is also not necessary for a child to be married as soon as they attain puberty," he said.
CII Director General Muhammad Ilyas Khan was talking to health news hounds on Thursday. While the media interaction had been organised to discuss family planning, the discussion drifted to a number of other issues.
Mr Khan said that while marrying off minors was prohibited by Islam, Nikkah was not. "In case Nikkah is solemnised between minors, upon attaining puberty, both the bride and groom have the right to annulment, unless the Nikkah was solemnised by the father or the grandfather," he explained.
The director general is a government servant, unlike the chairman and other members of the CII, who are politicians and religious scholars. Two months ago, while addressing a conference at a local hotel, Mr Khan talked about birth spacing and surprised many audience members with more tolerant views than other members of the CII.
"However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... even a Nikkah solemnised by a father can be annulled if there is a vested interest behind the decision, such as a peace agreement between two families," he said.
The CII director general also said women should refuse sexual intercourse with their husbands if they suspect them to be carrying HIV. He said it is unfortunate that a number of women become infected with HIV because their husbands were carrying the infection. "Often men who return from the Middle East contract HIV and the wives of men returning from abroad should refuse sexual intercourse, until the husband gets tested for HIV," he said.
He said that Islam does not force women to obey their husbands in such situations, because protection of life and faith are the basic tenets of the religion.
Turning the discussion towards family planning, Mr Khan criticised the commonly held belief that God is the provider so people should have as many child as they want.
"Although God provides for His creation, we must prioritise the health of our spouse," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Problem is, most people never attain mental maturity.
[DAWN] LAHORE: An anti-terrorist court (ATC) on Friday sent Mustafa Kanju, a son of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Siddique Kanju, and four others on an eight-day-long physical remand.
He is accused of killing a 16-year-old orphan Zain and injuring one Hussain, 18.
Kanju was presented in an ATC today under extremely tight security and unauthorised individuals and lawyers with no connection to the case were prevented from entering court premises.
During the hearing, Kanju argued that the fact that he fired shots did not mean they led to Zain's death. He claimed he was innocent and that the police and the victim's relatives were conspiring to trap him in the case.
The lawyer of the accused stated that Zain had fallen victim to cross-firing between Mustafa and his 'opponents' ─ who have yet to be identified ─ and that Kanju had no personal enmity with Zain.
The ATC handed over Mustafa Kanju, Saadullah, Sadiq Amin, Ikramullah and Muhammad Asif to the police for an eight-day physical remand.
Kanju was tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! on Thursday after a case was registered against him under 7-ATA and Section 302 of the Pakistain Penal Code. He was accused of killing Zain, a 16-year-old orphan, and injuring Hussain, 18.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/04/2015 00:00 ||
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The Navy plans to perform an aerial refueling for the first time on its carrier-launched demonstrator drone aircraft, the X-47B, within the next few weeks, service officials said.
The refueling, to take place at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., will have the X-47B link up with an Omega air refueling tanker, Navy officials told Militaryâ.com. Omega is a contractor that works with the Defense Department.
#2
Well it does cat shots and traps, so I suppose this is the last major hurdle for the thing. If it can fuel off an F18 buddy refuel, as well as those USAF tankers, then its all set.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[RFE/RL] The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic says it will start issuing passports to residents in areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
