Market Hall Gun Show - Price Gouging at its Worst

Catfish and I stood in line almost 25 minutes to get inside the Market Hall Gun Show this Saturday, in a winding line that traversed the parking lot.

My first treat was that the cost of the show had increased. It's now $8/person.

We made our way back to the left side of the hall, to a table that appeared to have a fair amount of ammo. The dealer's name is Gerry C. Haight, and I think he's out of Arlington, TX.

When I asked the pretty blonde girl the price on the box of .40 American Eagle, she looked on her sheet, then told me, "47.50." I just blinked. I asked her to check again, because that couldn't possibly be right for 50 rounds (a single box). She looked again, then consulted the guy who (presumably) was the dealer - Gerry C. Haight. He looked me straight in the eye, and said that was correct. I asked if he realized that was almost ONE DOLLAR PER ROUND. He affirmed that he did.

I'm pretty sure my face got red at that point, and I stuck my finger in his face. I told him that was gouging, and that it was "f*cking wrong." I told him that I'd personally make sure that every shooter on every forum knew his name, and that they all remember him as the so-called "shooter" who was taking advantage of other shooters.

I don't mind someone turning an honest buck, and I certainly don't begrudge the occasional price hike to help offset costs. But when I could literally turn around and buy the exact same ammo for $20/box (still too high, btw) at another table, it's just a little too much for me to take. He had CASES of this stuff, and he was out to squeeze as much out of you and me as he possibly could.

Remember this guy's name, and the others who are taking advantage of you and me.

And the first one of you that tries to chastise me for dogging on other "shooters," let's be perfectly clear: I DIDN'T START IT. I'm not trying to steal money from you and keep you from enjoying your sport.

I'm pissed off, and I'm not going to stand around idly while predators try to take advantage of me. If you've encountered gouging, please let us know about it. We're keeping a list of these creeps, and we'll be using it, even after the prices normalize again. I don't plan on forgetting those who took advantage of us. I also plan to talk about those dealers who aren't gouging, because they deserve your business.

Stop buying from people like Gerry Haight. Run these carpet-baggers off, and let's set things straight again.

Some gun pRon

I mentioned way back when, in January, that I had purchased a new Springer XDM, in 40SW.

Well, I finally got around to upgrading it into a full on Limited pistol, suitable for USPSA competition and I must say that I really like it. I added a Dawson fiber optic front sight (which was a royal bitch to install; and don't even get me started on how hard the original front sight was to remove...), a pistol gear magwell, some new trigger springs (and removed some of the worthless gizmos inside the gun that added to the trigger pull) and some basepads on my mags.



I've been very pleased with the platform - I'm still getting used to the trigger a little bit and that will come with time. As you can see in the vid, the gun can be run very, very hard - this was the 4th or 5th drill we ran like this in a row and the gun was smoking hot to the touch. But it ran without a hiccup... and I only threw 2 C's - both on the first shot in transition to the next target.



Liked the platform enough that I fought the Market Hall gun show crowds yesterday with JR and picked up another XDM - to act as a backup gun for the first and an IDPA gun as well, since the existing magwell is too fat to sit properly in the infamous IDPA box....

Wow

And she didn't use a telepromter, either.

NO excuse now

The NRA is offering free one year memberships. Haven't joined?? Like your gun rights? Sign up now, it's free.

I can't wait for summer

Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up - WSJ.com

Wanna know why we can't find primers and bullets?

Bubba Sanders, owner of Bullseye Supply LLC, in Brandon, Miss., said he has 'a number of doctor clients whose financial advisers have told them to invest in ammunition. Beats the hell out of money markets and CDs. You can double your investment in ammunition in a year.'

That's right - guns and ammo are now considered blue-chip investments. Worse than that, good old-fashioned American Capitalism is alive and well:

As gun-ban worries have made inventory scarce, Joshua Works, president of Mission Essential Inc., a large gun store in Hinesville, Ga., has flipped some of his own stock for a profit. Last year, he says, he sold a variant of an AK-47 for $400. He bought it back from the owner in January for $550, then quickly sold the same gun again for $750. AKs are a particularly good investment, he says. His company's sales have risen about 30% since the election, he says.
Mr. Works ran ads on local television highlighting fears of a weapon ban before and after the November election and says he's planning a new spot that promotes guns as a good investment. "You can buy gold or silver, but they go up and down," he says.

Evidently, so is good old-fashioned fear-mongering.
This, boys and girls, is why those of us who actually shoot guns are a little put out. We can't find supplies because guys like this are investing in a commodity. Nevermind that it's an artificially inflated commodity like, oh, I don't know - certain stocks in certain financial institutions. The bottom WILL fall out.

That the bubble could burst doesn't appear to be fazing buyers. "Right now even used semiautomatic rifles are selling like crazy," says Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents manufacturers and retailers.

Meanwhile, anybody got some small rifle primers they want to sell? I actually want to use them...

Perry Says Texas Can Secede

Perry called his supporters patriots. Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.

I'm down with that, and I can see plenty of reasons.

Uh-oh. I bet I'm one of those right-wing nutjobs, huh?

Top Nerf Dart Guns, Crossbows and Nerf Ball Guns

Where was the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 when I was a kid?

The biggest, best, most powerful Nerf gun ever. The battery-powered Vulcan is basically a fully-automatic foam-spewing machine gun, complete with a 25-dart clip that it can unload in less than 10 seconds. And if the batteries die, you can still pump and shoot the old-fashioned way. Some drawbacks: Chasing down all those darts for reloading is far from fun, and some of our commenters have noted that the belt jams easily.

Well, I'll be damned

It would appear that the Obama administration finally decided to pull the trigger. Frankly, I'm rather surprised they bothered. Nevertheless, I'm glad they did.

OK, it's been a long day

and I'm in a foul mood. So allow me a brief moment of sarcasm, will you?

I saw this title of a story about Obama's administration and couldn't help but add a word:

Obama Administration Still Full Of (ass)Holes

Ok, I feel better now.

We now return you to your regular broadcast.

I admit it

I giggled. A lot. After reading this article.... So much for Obama uniting the world behind us, eh? I thought the whole point of the O-messiah's new tone was to unite our European allies behind us??

Barack Obama: President Pantywaist - new surrender monkey on the block

President Barack Obama has recently completed the most successful foreign policy tour since Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. You name it, he blew it. What was his big deal economic programme that he was determined to drive through the G20 summit? Another massive stimulus package, globally funded and co-ordinated. Did he achieve it? Not so as you'd notice.

Then came the dramatic bit, the authentic West Wing script, with the President wakened in the middle of the night in Prague to be told that Kim Jong-il had just launched a Taepodong-2 missile. America had Aegis destroyers tracking the missile and could have shot it down. But Uncle Sam had a sterner reprisal in store for l'il ole Kim (as Dame Edna might call him): a multi-megaton strike of Obama hot air.

"Rules must be binding," declared Obama, referring to the fact that Kim had just breached UN Resolutions 1695 and 1718. "Violations must be punished." (Sounds ominous.) "Words must mean something." (Why, Barack? They never did before, for you - as a cursory glance at your many speeches will show.)

President Pantywaist is hopping mad and he has a strategy to cut Kim down to size: he is going to slice $1.4bn off America's missile defence programme, presumably on the calculation that Kim would feel it unsporting to hit a sitting duck, so that will spoil his fun.

Watch out, France and Co, there is a new surrender monkey on the block and, over the next four years, he will spectacularly sell out the interests of the West with every kind of liberal-delusionist initiative on nuclear disarmament and sitting down to negotiate with any power freak who wants to buy time to get a good ICBM fix on San Francisco, or wherever. If you thought the world was a tad unsafe with Dubya around, just wait until President Pantywaist gets into his stride.

I really don't know that I could have said that any better myself.

Setting the tone

So we've got a hostage situation off the coast of Somalia. An American flagged ship was attacked and boarded by pirates, something that has been a rarity in the past.

However, I can promise you those days are over. For you see, dear readers, the Obama administration's refusal to do anything but "monitor" the situation is telling other folks who might be inclined to hurt American interests that it's a freebie.

Think about it. We have a lifeboat without power, floating in the sea. Nearby is an American Man-O-war - the destroyer USS Bainbridge - "observing".

You basically have an unarmed lifeboat holding off one of the most powerful ships in the world in the middle of the ocean. Can someone tell me why?

I'll tell you. It's the same thing we saw from Carter and Clinton when they were in power. We dare not make any agressive movement for fear of hurting someone else's feelings around the world. You should think about that the next time you plan an overseas trip. Because the American government is telling the world that it will not get involved and come to the rescue.

And in the meantime, the American hostage is on his own. He's already tried to swim away, only to be recaptured.

Bill Clinton did the same thing in the same part of the world with the infamous Blackhawk Down. Commanders on the ground called in for armored support and the Clinton administration turned it down. Didn't want to appear too agressive.

And this is only going to be the beginning, because Obama is proving himself to be quite weak, and afraid to take action. The only question left now is how many American lives Obama's inaction will cost us.

More Goebbels

I've blogged a couple of times on our new propaganda ministry coming out of the White House. Keeping that theme alive, the Obama White House has come out with a statement claiming that Obama's bow to the Saudi King wasn't a bow at all.

"It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah," said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This is a flat out lie. Period, end of story, full stop.

Watch the video for yourself:



At 54 seconds into the video, the King extends ONE hand. At 55 seconds into the video, Obama is CLEARLY bowing to the King. Both men are shaking hands with one hand each. You can see the King's left hand at his side and glimpse Obama's hand by his leg. Obama's head is lower than the King's, and the King is looking DOWN at Obama. At 58 seconds into the video, Obama steps closer to the King, apparently grasps the King's hand with both of his, and lowers his head in a friendly nod.

Interestingly, a columnist in the Saudi-backed Arabic paper Asharq Alawsat also took the gesture as a bow and appreciated the move.

I'm sure we'll see more out of the propaganda ministry as Obama's term in the White House continues. If they will lie about something as ridiculous as this, what else are they lying about?

It was a freaking embarrassment to have Bush holding hands with the Saudi King, but at least the Bush White House didn't try to range lawyer their way out of it.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Texas Legislature mulls bill to allow concealed handguns on college campuses - SMUDailyCampus.com

Submitted for your consideration: the pussification of the college student, proliferated by the liberal college newspaper and the likewise predictable college professor.

Professor Rick Halperin said he was most concerned with the educational classroom environment for students.

"Classrooms are not a place people should live in fear of deranged classmates breaking in and shooting or even their fellow classmates holding weapons on them," Halperin said. "Classrooms are not target ranges."

Here's the problem: liberal college professor is scared of guns. It then (il)logically follows that guns are bad. People who have guns, by extension, are also bad.

It makes my head hurt to have to reiterate, but here it goes. Again.

The facts about concealed handgun licensees: they're educated regarding concealed carry laws, and they're carrying handguns LEGALLY, with full knowledge of the consequences of doing otherwise. They are fingerprinted and on file with the State and Federal government. They're held to a higher standard by law enforcement by virtue of this. They're law-abiding citizens who are capable of defending themselves. In short, they are the least likely members of society to risk incarceration by acting irresponsibly with a firearm.

Criminals disregard laws - that's pretty much the definition of "criminal." The lunatic at Virginia Tech was a criminal. He was not deterred by a no-gun policy on campus. Quite the contrary, in fact - it's what allowed him to conduct his insane rampage. The police arrived too late, because they can't be everywhere. Who's ultimately responsible for your safety? That's right - you, and nobody else.

The anti-gun logic? Ooh - that's an oxymoron. Let's just appeal to emotion, because, well - guns are scary. Don't take responsibility for protecting yourself? Goodness, I hope you don't have one of those dangerous fire extinguishers in your homes. In the wrong hands, they can put an eye out.

I earnestly loathe those who would try to convince you that your safety lies in the hands of someone else. It's disingenuous at best, and downright criminal at the worst.

Wilkinson Sword: Mow the Lawn

I LOL'd. H/T to Cowboy Blob.

Spring cleaning

Heading out to my car after work, I spied this little fella cleaning off after a hard day's work of whatever it is he was doing.



I managed to get quite a few pics of him floppin' around in the bird bath - you can see them here.

Hooray! It is National Cleavage Day!

From a Twitter buddy:


I'd like to know why I wasn't informed of this important day sooner. In order to keep our image of sharing useful information, I offer the following from the article:

To get great cleavage, you need two things - a good bra and a good chest. Push-up bras typically give the best cleavage and often have a low cut, plunge center to best show off cleavage. If the straps can cross over at the back, this will also give a little more lift and better cleavage. For a more lifted and rounded cleavage, a balconette bra is also a great option.

It's good to have options, huh?

Locked in Car, Woman Calls 911

A 911 dispatcher in Kissimmee, Fla., helps a woman get out of a locked car. Her advice? Try the lock. We're told this is no April Fool's joke.

It's still an awesome 911 call. Insert blonde joke here.

Hillary’s Assault on the Second Amendment

Here's an interesting read. You may recall the Secretary of State's comments recently that implied that Mexico's running gun battles between druggies and federal police is the fault of the United States. She pointed out that she believed that firearms were being smuggled into Mexico from the U.S., presumably because of our "lax" firearm laws. From the cited article:

The guns that are sold in the United States, which are illegal in Mexico, get smuggled over our border and arm these terrible drug-dealing criminals so that they can outgun these poor police officers along the border and elsewhere in Mexico. So we've got to help out here. We can't stand by and say, Well, you know, you guys just do the best you can, when we, unfortunately, are the market for drugs, when a lot of the money is laundered in the United States back into the hands of the drug kingpins, and when the weapons have come from our country. So I think recognizing the co-responsibility is just stating the obvious.

This is the second article I've read that point out the glaringly obvious errors in the position that the United States is the source of smuggled firearms. It seems that everyone has overlooked a simple fact: the government of the United States sells firearms to the government of Mexico. What's a more readily-available source of firearms? Privately smuggled firearms, or the cache of weapons available to a corrupt government, or perhaps the fact that other sources exist for black-market military-grade weapons?

William Hoover, assistant director of field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, argues that no such volume of American-made weapons are headed south. Says Hoover, “The investigations we have, that we see, for firearms flowing across the border don’t show us individuals taking thousands of guns a day or at a time flowing into Mexico.” His claim is buttressed by the fact that Mexican authorities have refused to provide U.S. law-enforcement officials with the serial numbers of weapons confiscated from drug cartel members—a likely indicator that the weapons were obtained not from American gun shops but rather from illegitimate sources elsewhere.

It might escape notice that full-auto firearms, rocket launchers, grenade launchers and grenades are not readily available to the U.S. buying public. So where did these firearms come from? Venezuela, I'm looking at you. Why would the drug cartels finance a smuggling operation when they could easily (and cheaply) buy weaponry from other sources?

So why all the hyperbole blaming the U.S. for this problem? Surely the Obama administration doesn't have an anti-gun agenda, does it?

Ah, Spring In Texas

We just got hammered by a hail storm. It was by far the biggest hail I have ever seen first hand. I haven't looked at my truck yet, but I'm sure it is beat to hell.