Recently, I had fun turning in some relic pieces of jam-o-matic junk at an event sponsored by Ceasefire Oregon. Funny thing, that. It seems Fox News picked up on the event and almost got the link to TTAG right. As they had run out of gift cards by the time I got there, they handed out IOUs, promising to mail my gift cards. So I left my name and mailing address . . .
Tadaaaa! The cards arrived.
Ceasefire Oregon made good and the cards arrived ahead of schedule. So then it was off to do some shopping at my local Kroger-owned, Fred Meyer sporting goods counter
Shhhhhhh. Don’t tell people like the demanding moms that the local Kroger-owned Fred Meyer has a fairly good firearms counter. And better yet, the gift cards work really well there. As it turns out, they aren’t just for milk, butter and eggs.
Decisions, decisions. Should I go for an updated compact carry piece?
Nah. I’m already covered there. Then I got to thinking….
I have some needs that popped up recently, and some I know of in the near future. Besides receiving a stunningly beautiful Big Horn Armory lever boomer in .500 S&W to hunt with, I’ve got an upcoming Appleseed class that I’ll be using my Ruger 10-22 in. My needs there are in factory rotary mags for shooting prone, so I bought all they had. Both of them.
And the scope that currently sits on my highly customized Ruger is a bit old and cheap. So I’m replacing it with this.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s designed for the 55 grain .223. But it’s got a nice bullet drop cross hair feature that I’ll be working on and dialing in for .22LR. And since its 3 X 9 power adjustable, I won’t have to wear my reading glasses to see the front iron sight.
Ammo? .500 S&W isn’t the most expensive ammo I’ve ever bought, but it’s not cheap. I bought the only box they had and ordered two more. The HSM was $40. The Winchester T-Rex killer is a bit more.
So here is the breakdown of my haul:
Scope: $170.00
Mags: $40.00
Ammo: 1 @ $40.00 and 2 @ $65.00 each
That’s a grand total of $380.
So I’m five bucks out of pocket for upgrading and adding to my plinking and hunting pleasure. This, at the expense of whomever donates to Ceasefire Oregon, to whom I’d like to express my sincere thanks.
Ain’t arbitrage wonderful? 🙂
Tom, you are my West Coast hero.
Have you read the Fox News write-up of the story? It is a stitch … well worth the read!
Love it.
Should update that last picture so that….
…you get that scope out of it’s box, set some of that ammo out on the table next to the full tray, and get those ruger mags filled up so that FOX can put that nice scary picture up. Really rub it in.
Create a montage picture….
1/4 of picture with gun buyback banner or something
1/4 picture of you turning guns in with “rusted” and “broken” annotations
1/4 picture of gift cards
1/4 picture of your new goodies.
…plus a “thank You” to the gun grabber buyback program
You could also annotate that the guns you turned in where stolen or could implicate you in a crime like most guns they get at these turn in events.
I’d not piss in the well. Next gift cards will be for something sh***y, like Starbucks. 🙂
I don’t. Every time one of us turns something in at a gun buyback, the antis get to add a number to the “arsenal” they received. As much as we like to revel in making money from exploiting gun buybacks, we are the only ones who hear about that exploitation. The antis are the ones in the paper crowing about how they got dozens or hundreds of guns off the streets. By turning in anything at a buyback, you are giving public support to the antigun folks. I totally support going to buybacks and intercepting guns with cash, but folks need to STOP turning things in and supporting the buybacks.
Would you rather make a few bucks off the antis, or make them stop doing buybacks when they realize they only received 4 guns?
I’d rather run up their numbers so they can report taking a couple of thousand guns “off the streets” . . .
and then there’s no change in the misuse of firearms to commit crimes.
The gun culture are not the only people who see these “buy backs” where gun guys get more benefit than anyone else. The disarmists begged the Seattle mayor not to have one. He did anyway, and like the latest win for the gun culture in Oregon, it turned into a propaganda disaster for them.
These “buy backs” are being phased out everywhere private sales are legal.
The gun culture is winning this battle.
Part Deux? More like part Duhh! (Couldn’t resist.)
Along with GFZ, one of the most useless and wasteful attempts at “REDUCING GUN VIOLENCE”
Good job by the way.
I don’t know – perhaps these “buy backs” have an unintended effect on “gun safety.” After all, a lot of the guns turned in probably are unsafe to shoot. By providing a way for people to turn in crap so they can get money and upgrade, they really ARE contributing to actual gun safety! (Just not in the way they intended…..)
Hilarious. Trading junk guns for great firearm related booty. Goes to show how idiotic these events really are. Glad you made out on the deal though.
Too bad for me, but everything I have works, I gave my only Jennings to a fella to use for Gunsmithing practice. I could have been rich! I only heard about this in the Forums, too late to go.
Wow!!! Imagine people donating money so we can enjoy our hobby and exercise our 2nd amendment rights. You almost need the pictures to prove it actually happened. 🙂
Gotta love it when a plan comes together.
You sent a link to the Ceasefire people, right?
And the best part is that the money from Ceasefire will help educate others on actual gun safety. Well done.
I am proud of you! Excellent job getting good stuff in exchange for bad stuff.
Ah… Liberal buthut… ‘Tis epic.
I live in WA, and my local Fred Meyer manifestly does *not* have a firearms counter…Fred Meyer stores up here have naught but a meager glass case containing a handful of Crosmans and sundry airsoft products. Now I’m jealous. Good on you nonetheless.
only thing better would be for you to mail your receipt and a thank you letter to Cease Fire Oregon and “cc” to Shannon (let me know if you need her “corporate” address 🙂 )
Oh, oh, oh…do it! Do it!
With a photo of the gear…otherwise they may not ‘get it’.
My hats off to you, sir.
A nagging question, how did you come to own some junk pot-metal quality firearms anyways?
They were given to me by friends and family for parts and because they weren’t wanted.
I saw no other useful alternative for them.
Kudos.
Classic!
I regularly go to some larger gun shows and I often pass by tables that have what appear to be total pieces of rusted crap. I’ve never bothered to inquire about the cost or condition or to know if they are true junk or some kind of valuable antique.
Does anybody have a sense that at an average show are there people selling rusted/broken clunkers for $25 and lower? I’m wondering if there is an investment opportunity here.
The real investment opportunity is in used quality bulk GI aluminum mags.
$600/100pc
buyback for $25 each.
$600 in, $2500 out. $1900 profit.
If they won’t let you turn in that many, just recover your cost (24 mags) and hand out the rest to people waiting in line.
Well yeah the magazine buyback offer was just plain insanity. I’m assuming that utter stupidity like that will not happen again. If it does I’m already prepared for that with a metric ton load of GI mags. I was just wondering how low the prices go at a show for broken gats.
Although usually I’m opposed to us crowing too much when the gun grabbers prove to be useful idiots, lest we tip them off and they spoil our fun (so you can’t buy gun stuff is the reason they started gift card “buybacks” in the first place, because we bragged too much online about what we bought with the cash from crap gun turn-ins), the fact that this one was a gift card, and that they failed to prevent you from using it for gun stuff, is hilarious, so I can see why you couldn’t just crow lightly and privately.
I see it as a win win, either they keep giving out decent incentives and gunnies continue to hit them up selling worthless crap for way above market value (the $25 for high capacity magazines was my favorite), or they lower the buyback price or give out something that nobody wants thus increasing the secondary market held in the parking lot, or better yet they just give up and stop doing them.
All those are good things.
I would be cautious in Tom’s case though lest they get spiteful and seek retribution, may not hold water but that may not stop them from trying which would be a royal headache.
I think Coinstar will let you trade in gift cards for cash. I know the one’s down here in Florida do.
There’s also cardcash.com where you can get either cash or other gift cards in trade. Checking their site just now, for $375 in Fred Meyer cards they’re offering $322.50 cash or $335.40 on an Amazon gift card.
If the gungrabbers counter with gift cards for non-gun retailers, e.g. IHOP or A&P, then I see two possibilities; sell the cards for cash, giving a discount to the purchaser, or use the cards yourself, then shift funds in your budget from e.g. “groceries” or “dining out” over to “gun fun”.
I’m disappointed that you did find anything that actually goes bang. Accessories lets them off the hook a bit,
Good bet it’s Microsoft yuppie slime $.
yeah I would have put the money towards another gun, just on principle of the matter.
For the win!
We’re not worthy. . .my hat is off to you.
I wish our local Kroger affiliate (King Soopers/City Market) carried those sorts of things, but alas, they were traditional grocery stores before Kroger acquired them, and they stay that way.
Even if you only used the vouchers to buy groceries just remember that Kroger would not bow to MDA’s demands.
True. I choose to shop there over Safeway and the few Albertsons that still exist. Of course, Cerberus is involved with them, so all the more reason to stick with the Kroger stores.
Is there a way that this transaction is tax-deductible? That would be the only way I could see making even better.
Only if you can establish that the amount you received was definitely less than market value.
That is such a hoot! BTW, is it just me or is that a pretty darn good price on that LCP?
With that $325 X many, instead of buying you a bunch of neat stuff, they could have paid for a room full of kids to learn about gun safety.
But hey…
You have limited options with Fred Meyer gift cards. I know the Illinois group GunsSaveLife bought a bunch of .22LR for their youth programs with the gift cards they got in Chicago.
Hypothetically, the market value of such a gift to a 501(c)(3) organization might be tax deductible.
Nicely done!
I have a few busted BB guns to turn in. All of my guns work pretty well, but I’d definitely give back a few $8.99 clearance 30 round AR mags of unknown manufacture for a $25 gift certificate.
Tom, I know you cant see me, but trust me when I say I’m applauding your efforts! Well done sir! Well done indeed.
Oh yeah, no scope rings?
Wealth redistribution I can support.
“What’s on your list today? You’ll find it at Fred Meyers…” Indeed! Never knew they had a gun counter. I doubt the ones near me do sadly.
“… those who are either using guns to carry out crimes or as protection in the course of engaging in other illegal activities, such as drug selling, have actively acquired their guns and are unlikely to want to participate in such programs,” the study said.”
Don’t you just love it when a multi-million dollar federal study produces such absolute gems of obvious-ness?
“Criminals won’t turn in their guns.” Duh.
And a brief lament – where are the antigun dweebs who will stage one of these in Boise so I can dump some junkers for real money?
Or when there are no questions asked and the guns go straight to destruction, criminals turn in guns that have actually been used in a crime, to get rid of them.
So much win. The only way it could have been better is if you used it to help pay for an evil black rifle. But hey, you got what you needed, so that’s a win.
HAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHHA! Really good story.
You should have bought 6 more jamo-matics for the next buyback
I wonder if you could do this with a pop tart pistol?
LOL….you done good! Love the pics and story
Was ol’ Baldr there in his white jammies!!??
I hope this silliness lasts long enough for me to turn in a couple worthless or dangerous guns for the big Bloomy bucks.
Think we’ll ever see any here?
Hah! My favorite post of the year! Nice haul…
Toms Demand Action!
A Cash for Clunkers program that works!
Sweet! I remember, that way back in my youth, Fred Meyers stores in Washington State used to sell firearms. I wish they still did. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting store, they’re everywhere.
Woot! Woot! May you never run out of ammo, good sir!
Here’s an idea: Scour the local pawn shops for a POS long gun for $50 or so. Route out a hole in the forend and glue a 30 round $10 PMag in it. Cut the barrel down to 16″ and JB Weld a $10 A2 flash hider to it. Spray paint everything black that’s not already black. Voila: You now have $70 in an “assault-type” rifle that can be turned in for $175.
Zimmerman… you are my hero.
I hope the Dumb_ss come to phoenix! Great job Oregon anti-gun nuts! And just to celebrate your stupidity I am going to buy another handgun to add to my collection.
Nice upgrade. Good Job!
Even if you only got very limited gift cards like for food or starbucks, mony being fungible, it just means you shift money internally and the cash youwouldave sent at starbucks now goes to guns/ammo/loot. I learned that watching food stamps buy acohol, cigarettes and lottery tickets. Libs learns nothing.
Another good plan would be to set up a table near by and outbid then for any good quality guns with a clean history.
Apparently, and not surprisingly, MOMS have not yet learned the concept of ‘unintended consequences’…..