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Post by The Resister on Feb 9, 2024 20:15:46 GMT
I received an e-mail about a subject that was lacking on this board - not much discussion about firearms. The forum is here, waiting on your thoughts. But, let me give you mine.
I have never been in a war. What I know comes from shooting, working on firearms, building my own weapons, discussions with vets and long talks with manufacturers of parts and weapons. In other words, I am a student. So, now you know the value of the information. Lots of sources will be forthcoming so you had better check them out.
In most obligatory threads like this they open with one of three things: the history of weapons, an appeal that you observe gun safety and / or some pretentious discussion that "it all depends upon what you want to do with a firearm." If you are a competition shooter, you are NOT on sites like this to learn about competition shooting. If you are a LEO or a military type you came here to share your knowledge, not learn from the general public. Sooo... three reasons to have a weapon: personal defense, hunting, militia / survival related purposes. We can do threads about safety and threads about history, but right now we can start at the beginning:
What kind of firearm (s) do you actually need and how many?
Having been around a few gun fights and police shootings I developed my own ideas about firearms for self defense. For example, the first shooting I ever witnessed was in San Francisco when I was about 14. Two pimps were arguing because one pimp took another's working girl. One of them pulled a caliber 25 acp and dumped it into the other (who happened to be wearing a leather coat.) The guy getting hit kept flinching with each shot, but never went to the ground. He even helped himself onto the gurney when the ambulance arrived. About three months later I saw the pimp that got hit walking down the street. Suffice it to say, I'd rather have a pocket full of rocks than a caliber 25 acp. Another time a man was doing backhoe work at my parents house. Apparently the guy stole the backhoe and while he was working in our yard, a passerby saw it and recognized it as his own. The passerby called the police and when they came, a shootout took place when the thief tried to shoot it out with them. That was in the days when cops carried 38 Specials. The thief was still alive and alert when the ambulance took him away.
With that said, in my opinion, any firearm you consider should have these primary considerations up front:
* It should reflect what you can afford AND what value you place on your life. You can buy cheap guns, but only you know what your life is worth
* The caliber should be sufficient to deal with whatever threats you think you may have to face
* You should take into consideration the commonality of the caliber and the availability of spare parts, magazines, accessories, etc. You might love something like a caliber of 7.62 x 25, but where do you buy ammo when you need it? How about spare parts? Common weapons will be easier to get ammo and parts for.
Now, let's get into the nitty gritty. Are you buying strictly for self defense around the home OR will you carry the firearm? Are of a survivalist / militia mindset and plan on having a way to defend yourself and your loved ones when the excrement interacts with the electric oscillating device (aka the SHTF scenario?) Do you plan on retreating to a more rural setting where you might hunt for game to feed yourself? How old are you, how strong are you and how much recoil from the firearm are you willing to endure?
This should be enough to whet your appetite and give you an indication of what future posts will look like. Stay tuned.
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Post by The Resister on Feb 10, 2024 4:51:01 GMT
I was on my way to bed when a news story came up and I had to post it on the board. It made it a good time to share some additional thoughts on this subject. When the Internet and boards first came out all of us would click on the obligatory threads regarding firearms to argue over which weapon was the best and so forth and so on. Now, the disease has spread to social media (YouTube, Rumble, etc.) This is my thinking on the subject: I've listened to former ex Special Forces types, militia types, gun aficionados, etc. and came to some different conclusions. For example, a friend sent me a video of guy telling people to buy some certain parts in order to eliminate recoil in an AR. If you make the changes, you will have an edge in a SHTF gunfight - or so one might conclude: Now, I refer you to this as an example of my next statements, but I looked into this guy's recommendations. The man in the video tries to sell you on the idea of putting a $245 trigger in your AR. It is the Geissele SD3G. I went to Geissele's website and this is quoted from Geissele's website: " The SD3G trigger has a very short, light pull and reset. We do not recommend it for duty use, bench rest, accuracy work or shooting small groups. It is designed for close course competition use where rapid target engagement with quick follow up shots are required." geissele.com/super-dynamic-3-gun-sd-3g-trigger.htmlThat brings us to the fundamental question: What kind of firearm (s) do you NEED? If I'm concerned about a SHTF scenario, a pistol and a shotgun are unacceptable if that is all I had. If I'm traveling and need something with me at all times, a pistol is the only logical choice. If you want a firearm for home defense, a lot of things will have to be considered. For example, an apartment dweller does not want to rely on an AR 15 in any configuration - or other such center fire / high capacity weapon. The real reason is liability. If you live in an apartment and have to use your weapon, most centerfire weapons (even most pistols) can over-penetrate and you can hurt or kill someone in another room or apartment. You wouldn't want the legal hassle. In that case, a shotgun is the better choice for that purpose. Suppose you live in a more rural setting and are isolated. Then the shotgun may not make sense. Three thugs trying to take you down and they are armed. NOW it makes sense to have a high capacity weapon with plenty of firepower. Then again, you may want a primary weapon to have more than one use. If you're thinking AR 15, you can begin rethinking something other than 5.56 / 223. The 5.56 / 223 is a centerfire . 22 caliber firearm. It's good for engaging human targets, but is not very effective for use on large game in the wild. Now, you start thinking about caliber. IF you decide to stick with the AR family of weapons, you aren't out of luck. The AR comes in everything from a .22 LR to .50 BMG. But, there are also other options out there from bolt actions to milsurp weapons that can do the same job - and many times for less money. Start thinking about the most likely scenario that you will use a weapon. Then you have a better idea of where to begin your consideration for a primary weapon. |
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Post by noclevername on Feb 10, 2024 12:56:29 GMT
This is giving us a lot to think about and it is about time this kind of information was considered. What kind of legal considerations go into buying a gun? What about the future in that regard?
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Post by The Resister on Feb 11, 2024 6:07:10 GMT
This is giving us a lot to think about and it is about time this kind of information was considered. What kind of legal considerations go into buying a gun? What about the future in that regard? Having skipped the usual posts about safety and firearms history, this is an excellent point to address. I became involved in citizen militias in 1987. That is well over 35 years of experience at political and legal activism. I throw that out because in that time not one person has ever spent the night in jail, been arrested or found guilty for taking my advice. OTOH, we are about to enter some perilous times AND the law is strange. So, what is perfectly legal today may be a felony tomorrow. Beware of that. What I say may become outdated before I hit the Create Post button. There are basically three ways to acquire a firearm: buy it, build it or steal it. In some jurisdictions it is illegal to build your own weapon. In another thread we discussed building your own personal weapon using an 80 percent receiver. When that thread was done it was legal to order a receiver that was 80 percent completed and you could avoid paperwork, building your own weapon by finishing the receiver yourself. Then it became illegal to own an 80 percent lower and / or a completed weapon. Biden had the BATFE declare 80 percent receivers to be a firearm. It was overturned in the courts; however, to the best of my knowledge (and I won't research it unless there is some kind of interest) the courts allowed the BATFE to continue enforcing the law until they get an answer from the United States Supreme Court. Therefore, it is most likely, illegal to have a weapon you've built with an 80 percent receiver. You may want to check that out before building your own weapon from an 80 percent receiver. You could still build what you want with a registered receiver (more on registration later.) As you may know stealing firearms and having stolen weapons is a felony. That means HARD TIME if you're caught. Forewarned is forearmed. Spending years of your life in prison and carrying the weight of always being a felon should factor in your decisions if you ever consider stealing a firearm or buying one for that matter. While buying a firearm is " legal," it damn well isn't without risks. In some states people legitimately bought weapons only to watch a state government outlaw them and demand that the people turn them in. Give up your weapons, mags, etc. and lose all that investment money OR face potential prison time is a tough decision. Illinois recently banned so - called " assault weapons" and when it was said and done, roughly 95 percent of the gun owners failed to register and / or give up their weapons!Right now those people are felons - technically speaking. And it could happen to you if keep an outlawed weapon. A lot of people post on the Internet and say they will tell the LEO that shows up to confiscate their weapon that they " lost it in a boating accident." So, they plan on LYING to a LEO (an automatic crime) and keeping an outlawed firearm (a felony.) Given that, they would have been better off to have made their own weapon and the LEO wouldn't come to their door wanting a weapon that was legitimately obtained AND should be protected from confiscation (IF you presume the constitutional ban on ex post facto laws to be in force. Hint: it isn't.) There is much more to come. I just don't want to overwhelm you with a single post. I'm also hoping that other posters will jump in with questions, comments and insights. |
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Post by The Resister on Feb 12, 2024 3:28:49 GMT
Let's finish up on this discussion about legal issues and firearms.
Regardless of what the laws are today, gun control will become more prevalent this year, next year, etc. until the socialists have total gun control OR the people rise up and reclaim Liberty and unalienable Rights. If that makes you mad, that's the point. I recall back in the 1980s, my U.S. Representative was a man by the name of Ed Jenkins. Jenkins was a Democrat, but he was a little more to the right than most Democrats. Anyway, I was a lobbyist for the NRA at the time. Harlon Carter was the president of the NRA. Harlon had us out there beating the streets, lobbying Congress to defeat a so - called "armor piercing bullet ban." While we're out there busting our axxes off to fight that bill, Carter was sending letters to Jenkins to assure him they would still endorse him if he voted for the ban. As president, Ronald Reagan stated:"I do not believe in taking away the right of the citizen for sporting, for hunting and so forth, or for home defense," he said. "But I do believe that an AK-47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for defense of a home." Reagan would go on to sign major anti-gun legislation that prohibited civilians from transferring select fire weapons made after 1986. George Bush railed against "semi R- TOW" (as he pronounced semi automatic) firearms - even burning his NRA membership card in public as he signed an import ban on semi automatics. George W. Bush said he would make the Assault Weapon Ban (passed by Clinton) permanent if Congress put the bill on his desk. Fortunately, they failed. So far Donald Trump has been THE most anti-gun president in the history of the United States.
I'm saying all that because you can play that legal game, but the anti-gunners are always progressing. Pro-gun lobbyists believe getting the legal system to acknowledge Rights we had to be a win. How delusional! Republicans are just as anti-gun as Democrats. And the sad part is, the Republicans pass gun control because the leftists posing as gun owners tell the masses that it's okay. Back on topic:
IF you are going to own a firearm, you need to know that the government wants it. If you buy a firearm from a licensed dealer, they will want your National ID Card (sometimes jokingly referred to as a driver's license) and you will fill out a lot of paperwork that can ultimately lead back to you. They don't call it registration, but a rose by any other name is still a rose. If you build a firearm, you might possibly use an 80 percent receiver (IF they are still legal to buy and own.) If not, you might buy your firearm (or the receiver) from a private party. Some people have built receivers using a 3D printer (which is above my head in technology and legality.) In any event, I would urge you to never buy anything related to firearms out of a store, online or with any form of payment that can be traced back to you. What is traceable is subject to confiscation. Face to face cash transactions are much safer that telling the world what you own.
If there is any interest in going further, someone might want to consider starting a thread here to discuss any subject we mentioned so that we can discuss it in detail.
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professorx
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Post by professorx on Feb 13, 2024 4:19:01 GMT
With the legal situation unfolding in Illinois we should use it as a guide as to how guns will be confiscated. No doubt that if you do not leave a paper trail like credit cards and debit card tracks and purchase face to face so that retailers do not have your information and purchase records it makes confiscations harder. As it has been noted be well advised that if you resist you may have to really fight.
Just a reminder here before this thread goes off onto something else. How many firearms and other related stuff do we need?
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Post by The Resister on Feb 13, 2024 22:02:04 GMT
What Firearms Do You NEED?For anyone to try and give you a direct response to such a question would be more than presumptuous. This thread is written from the viewpoint of a survivalist. The primary reason to keep and bear Arms is, as a last resort, to prevent tyranny in government. The actual author of that is unknown, but it is the standard by which survivalists prepare. Originally, the United States Supreme Court ruled against keeping and bearing Arms that had no relation to a militia. Here is what they ruled: " The Court cannot take judicial notice that a shotgun having a barrel less than 18 inches long has today any reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, and therefore cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees to the citizen the right to keep and bear such a weapon." United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939) That meant having a sawed off shotgun may not be legal, but owning an automatic weapon that the average infantryman might carry IS constitutionally protected. Through incrementalism, it's backward of what the law used to be - though the statutes nor the Second Amendment have ever changed. As a survivalist, you have to examine this post and figure out what applies to you: First, if you can afford to go out and shoot endlessly then this may not apply; however, for the rest of us you may want to consider a .22 LR weapon for practice, taking small game and making shots where sound may become a factor. Since most survivalists have some version of the AR 15, you have a couple of options: You can get an AR in .22 LR OR you may want to consider something like the CMMG conversion so that you can shoot .22 LR out of your AR and change back to the 5.56 / 223 for duty use: cmmg.com/22lr-ar-conversion-kit-bravo-w-3-magazines-blkThis is a personal thing, but I think everybody ought to own a Ruger 10 22 rifle. The problem there is that you would be practicing with a firearm and a sight system that is unlike the AR 15 (presuming that is your MBR.. we will get there too.) For some pistols (specifically the Glock, .45 ACP Government model and some Sig Sauers) you can buy the .22 LR version and keep in practice from now on. A thousand rounds won't break the bank. IF you live in an apartment of some place that densely populated, you might need a shotgun. Inside a house or apartment, a shotgun is not as likely to over-penetrate and kill / maim someone on the other side of the wall. It's a good thing to remember when you think about personal responsibility and legal liability. Then we get to the big topic: the MBR - Main Battle Rifle. The Main Battle Rifle is what the survivalist employs for the most serious uses: self defense, long range shooting, militia duty, hunting, etc. While no weapon can do it all, you have took at it a certain way. If you had to bug out right now and leave your house, strap on some gear and you can only carry one weapon, what is it going to be? The pistol isn't a good choice if you run into armed thugs with their AR pistols, AK variants and Glocks. Neither is a pistol what you need if you are going up against JBTs (Jack Booted Thugs) - you know, tyrants rounding people up, confiscating weapons, etc. Shoot someone wearing even basic body armor with a shotgun and they will laugh at you. So now you consider your Main Battle Rifle - MBR. When we think of an MBR, the most prevalent weapon we think of is the AR 15. You don't need to be limited to this one rifle and in many places they are illegal and / or require registration and other such tyrannical B.S., but don't despair. Carlos Hathcock was a United States Marine Corps sniper. He primarily used bolt action rifles like the Remington M 40, Remington 700 and Winchester model 70 in 30.06. Hathcock held the world's title for the longest distance confirmed kill in 1967 at a distance of 2,500 yards. That record stood for over 35 years. If you live in a politically correct state and can't get an AR or variant thereof, you will have other " legal" options. For me (and until recent years) my rifle of choice was the M1a. The M1a is the civilian variant of the M14 that was popular in the Vietnam era. It is the son of the M1 Garand that was used to win World War II. There were other real battle rifles of the time that militiamen were known to own: the FN/FAL, AK, SKS, Cetme, M1 Carbine, etc. These are battle proven weapons, but technology has made them antiquated. I wouldn't trash them if I owned one, but ammo may be in short supply, spare parts become an issue and modern weapons are more optic friendly - a consideration we'll cover later. Think about this and I'll come back to this thread later.
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Post by The Resister on Mar 13, 2024 15:53:42 GMT
Not many people are tuned into what is going on with gun laws and gun legislation. The really big deal right now is a challenge to the bump stock ban. While you may never have owned a bump stock and wonder what what all the hoopla is about, this will affect you and what kind of firearm (s) may be available to you in the future. As it stands, pundits expect Amy Coney Barrett to vote in favor of the ban which will give the liberals on the bench the votes necessary to uphold the ban.
In one corner of this fight is the gun owners that maintain the job of the BATFE is to enforce the laws on the books; they are not supposed to unilaterally make new gun laws. Bump stocks do not violate any existing gun laws as written. On the other side is the BATFE and liberals that claim the bump stock is a machine gun and they want the BATFE to have a wide berth of latitude in interpreting and enforcing gun laws. That's not the whole problem, however. When Trump was president he chided Congress and told them they were "afraid of the NRA." Trump challenged them to pass a series of gun laws like raising the minimum age to buy a firearm, passage of Red Flag Gun Laws, outlawing high capacity magazines, etc. and then proclaimed that he would do "his part" which included an Executive Order banning bump stocks.
Then, when Kamala Harris ran for president, she promised to pick up where Trump left off and use Executive Orders to implement gun control. Although she didn't get elected she became vice president and the stage was set. The NRA, having proven to be a toothless tiger, was helpless as Biden signed Executive Orders against braces, hard reset triggers / binary triggers, solvent traps, Russian made ammunition, etc., etc., etc. Today they are now using Executive Orders and the BATFE to implement total gun control by attacking one feature at a time.
Add to that, the gun lobby is drunk on what little power that the United States Supreme Court handed to pro-gun forces in the Bruen decision. The Bruen decision merely said that they can't outlaw weapons that are "in common use." That sounds great today, but what happens five years from now? How about ten? Fifteen? Technology will make the common weapons obsolete. So, right now you have the ability to obtain a weapon. That will not be true as technology evolves. OTOH, some future generation might be able to understand the elements of Liberty and rebel against the NEW WORLD ORDER.
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