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Question of the Day: Is the Panic Buying Over?

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I walked into my local Cabela’s the other day and was greeted by a strange sight: ammo on the shelves. Powder in stock. AR 30-round magazines by the crateload. Even the 33-round Glock 19 magazines were in stock, and available en masse. So my question to you is this: are you seeing the same in your neck of the woods? Or is this just another reason that Texas is the land of milk and honey for gun owners?

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0 thoughts on “Question of the Day: Is the Panic Buying Over?”

  1. The only way it’s over is if it became apparent that the administration is throwing in the gun control towel. They’re clearly not, and panic buying is as close as the next school shootup.

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  2. Seeing the gun racks starting to fill back up around Detroit, but most of the standard calibers are still M.I.A. I am having to fall back on Mosins and Mausers since I can’t find food for much else I have

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      • Aye. Can still find plenty on 7.62×39 around here, as well as x54R, but even the x54 is starting to become harder to find as more people are getting Mosins so that they have something to shoot. Starting to even have trouble finding 7×57

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      • Cranky and Jay, ammo to go has surplus and new 54r. I just ordered 440 rounds. And ammo to go is a Texas based outfit. Even with shipping my 54r works out to a little more than 6 bucks per 20. Still pretty cheap for center fire ammo.

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  3. Still can’t find .22 LR in any kind of regularity. Ammo also lasting on the shelves at Walmart for less than a day of common pistol and smaller rifle calibers. Not seeing anything else at what I find reasonable prices anywhere else. I will not spend $20 for a box of 100 CCI minimags.

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  4. Not quite over here. No 9mm to be had, no .223 and almost no .22lr

    In addition, almost no Glock 19 or 17 available, gen 4 or gen 3 in any store other than the highest volume dealer in the state, which happens to be in my city.

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    • Thats what we got here in Los Angeles. We’re seeing racks fill up here and there. A few gun stores are receiving new shipments daily, but ammo is still MIA.

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      • San Diego has been and continues to be a desert (as of last weekend) when it comes to either guns or ammo.

        Ammo replenishment is at a trickle, at best.

        Guns, hardley even that.

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  5. I was just at our neighborhood Cabela’s here in Illinois and saw the same thing as far as 5.56x45mm ammunition. However, ALL popular pistol calibers were completely out of stock. That includes: .38 SPL, .357 Magnum and Sig, 9mm, .40, .45, etc. I don’t think the panic buying is done yet. In fact, I don’t think it’ll be done until Obama is out of office, or at least until after the Senate reshuffle in 2014.

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    • If you were at the Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates, swing by Gat Guns. It is 5 minutes away, and they have frequently had most of the major pistol calibers in stock. Although 9 mm is starting to become more rare there.

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  6. Not sure it’s over yet, and I wonder if it will be anytime soon. As someone who did not waste his money buying ammo at high prices, I am eager to buy as much ammo as possible whenever the prices approach 2012 levels. If there are many others out there like me – and I think there are – the demand will continue to keep prices high for a long time yet.

    Yesterday I was in a gun store in northern NJ and although they had ammo for sale for use at their range, it was still limited to 2 boxes per person, and it was still quite pricey (e.g., $35 per box of 50 rounds of 9mm).

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  7. I’m starting to see more firearms in stock in Colorado, but ammo… fuggetaboutit. When it’s there, the prices are still too high.

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  8. Minnesota shelves are totally bare in the ammunition department. No nothing. Forget it. Not going to find anything except for .22 LR birdshot (any other .22 LR is a no go), shotgun ammunition, and the occasional hunting rifle caliber.

    We have ARs/AKs and their magazines, but nobody buys them when they can’t feed them anymore. Sometimes you can find pistol mags, but not always.

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  9. .22 rimfire, 9mm, .308, 5.56 and 7.62×39 are still pretty scarce in the bay area. I am one of the people who used to say go for the popular rounds and military rounds cause they’ll always be available. I was wrong.

    In my area shotgun shells, .30-06, .38 special, .357 magnum were always available. I’m a big revolver fan anyway. Throw in the double whammy of lack of ammo and mags for semi autos and my next handgun purchase will likely be a .357 wheelgun.

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    • “go for the popular rounds and military rounds cause they’ll always be available. I was wrong.” I think thats true in some respects, but the other, more important upside, IMO, is you’ll be able to keep your firearms up and running due to the market being flush with compatible parts. If my AR’s go down, I have spare parts for every single piece, but if my [insert less common make/model] goes down, and I dont have parts, I’m SOL.

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      • Valid point. Parts breakage on an AR is a downside to that system. It’s one reason why I try to keep duplicates on all my guns. 1is none and 2 is 1….

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  10. No not in my area in Florida, I have seen no 308 Win. or 22 LR , last i saw was Dec. 2012??? and the stores maybe get 10 boxes of odd and ends and gone same day.

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    • I was in North Central Florida about three weeks ago and checked out a local armory I’m familiar with.

      They had a very complete stock of new firearms ; but nothing other than scraps for feed, and mostly the wrong feed.

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  11. FWIW, you can print in metal. Our machine does it here at work and we also use outside vendors for direct metal printing for prototypes.

    I don’t see the point of the whole “lookit I printed a firearm”, expect as a political statement and to show how stupid and gun fearing our politicians are.

    To me lowers and magazines make a little more sense, because they can be as functional as the real item.

    I’d be more impressed if he cobbled together a single shot, easily re-loadable, smooth bore rifle, from common home store items and simple tools, that shot decent, and spread that about the internet.

    To get all high on oneself for pushing the ability to “freely arm the people” doesn’t make sense when the people would have to have a 10-15K machine to do it. Maybe its the idea that one could have a total lack of skill (but not really those machines don’t set themselves up and maintain themselves) and “print” a gun?

    Now if you’re printing the bits and using them to cast more functional pieces, well then that’s something different.

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    • From reading interviews with Mr. Wilson in other venues, it is all about the politics of the issue. He’s not only poking the tiger through the bars of the cage, he’s grabbing hold of the tiger’s tail and pulling… good and hard.

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  12. I checked two of my local stores in the central Puget Sound region, and scored a box of 230 gr 45 ACP Blazer. Most other calibers are still MIA.

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  13. Not until Libertarians take office, and reduce Big Government. You know that evil thing that fosters this current generation of young people with nothing but expectation.

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  14. are you seeing the same in your neck of the woods?

    In a word, no. Magazines are one thing, but the ammo shortage won’t end until DHS stops ordering massive quantities, sucking all the non-military capacity out of the system.

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    • ^^^^^^^^^ Until DHS (who now wants frangible ammo) stops distorting the market get what you can when you can. Seems they have gone from not letting a good crisis go to waste to creating crisis to fit specific goals.

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  15. The answer is no. Check any of the on line suppliers and they are still all sold out with no backorder. Besides, the Feds are still buying like crazy; question is why??

    What do they know that we don’t? Could it be that the QE “bubble” is about to burst? When it goes and the checks stop going to all the “deserving” citizns (or not) all hell will break loose. Thank God I stocked up BIG TIME before the election.

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    • I think that you’re giving the Fed too much credit for being proactive and capable.

      I contend that the DHS ammo grab is one way the current administration is flexing its gun control muscles by constricting ammo- simply because they can.

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  16. A self proclaimed amarchist who’s looking forward to prison? I hope they send him to the young and tender white boy only prison, else he’s in for a real dose of reality.

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  17. Powder is still scarce. I am backordered and also waiting for notices for Varget and H4198 at three distributors. Midway USA had small pistol primers for exactly 2 minutes this week. I got their inventory notice email and took a phone call from a client. By the time I hung up a minute later, they were gone. Same went for 224 bullets. I again was notified a company that a shipment of bergers came in and they were snapped up in less than three minutes. This is all this week. Though stuff is coming in, its evaporating. I did have a LGS get a shipment of IMR powder but only IMR and none of the powders that were most popular. Go figure.

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  18. I can’t really agree with this kid 100%.

    I was behind him right up until he went full plastic with no metal parts. I’m sorry, but there’s just too many security issues with that and it’s going to come back to to bite the US in a big way.

    I agree that you can’t stop an idea, and someone might eventually do it. But being that guy just because you can when the repercussions can be severe for some innocent down the line, is just stupid and selfish in my opinion.

    He can make the point that anyone can be their own gun manufacturer without making it easier for some guy just waiting to meet allah to download his plans, print one out, and carry an undetectable weapon somewhere to hazard a bunch of people.

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    • Ah yes, the typical “we need to limit freedom to increase the security of government oppressors” argument. Sorry, not buying it.

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  19. NY is still a wasteland. .22LR is impossible to find. We have vultures at the Wal-Marts, Dick’s, Gander Mountain’s and Bass Pro Shop… they know the delivery schedules and they and their friends buy everything and list it later that day on the internet for 2-3X what they paid.

    Handguns sell within a day or two of coming in. Ruger 10/22’s fly off the shelves. Magazines are almost nonexistent as well.

    You have to remember, here in NY, since that Asshat Cuomo’s law passed, our clock is ticking before every ammo purchase requires a background check and is logged into a database. So we will be SOL on internet ammo buys, etc.

    On the upside, they backpedaled and we can once again buy 10 round magazines for our rifles and handguns. On the downside, companies like Midway won’t sell magazines to NY anymore, and while we can put 10 rounds in at the range, if 4 guys are breaking into my house, I can only load 7 into the magazine or I will be breaking the law.

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    • Load enough to protect yourself and make sure to empty all your guns and magazines by the time the police arrive so they won’t know you carried more than 7. If they ask how you fired 28 rounds, you can tell them you reloaded four times.

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  20. No, not in Wyoming or in Billings, MT, either.

    There is some powder available, but it’s mostly powders most people don’t want – like 4064, or shotgun powders. The only bullets available are either heavy hunting bullets (230gr, .308 caliber) or obscure calibers.

    Ammo is back on the shelves, but no bulk ammo other than 7.62x54R and trap loads for shotguns.

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  21. Wife in Wis Gander called: had to choose between 350 rnd box PMC 9mm or 2×100 CCI Mini Mag.
    Gander was limiting total, not just per caliber.
    No Magpul
    5/8/2013
    BTW
    Edgewood, Verona share lead at Shoot-Out
    Headline on my local Madison online newspaper about two HS teams:
    My gun brain did not read this as the golf story it was.
    There was no ammo exchanged.

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  22. Pickings are slim in most stores I’ve visited in south-eastern PA. There is one store/range that is more likely than most to have cheap ball ammo in popular calibers in stock (an owner said they had a pretty large stock of guns they used to obtain ammo at the peak of the AR drought), but even they are often down to range-use ammo only these days.

    I’m really loving my nightly basement sessions with my air pistol: http://www.amazon.com/Gamo-PT-85-Blowback-Pellet-Pistol/dp/B003WP7C38

    Not completely the same as the real thing, but good enough to keep skills from decaying due to less frequent trips to the range.

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  23. I have been finding 5.56, .223 and 6.8 sitting on WalMart shelves. One day recently a box of .22, another day some .357 Sig and even some .40

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  24. Supplies are still short in North Dakota. Stores are getting an occasional brick of .22 ammo and small quantities of .223, but my stores are limiting to one box a day. I did score 3 pounds of powder!! (At one per day)

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  25. Whatever happened to the idea of privatizing stuff?

    Privatize the Federally sponsored ads to a civilian contractor.

    Might I humbly suggest that the NRA be that contractor…?

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  26. “…the rifling would either not survive the first shot or the added pressure would split the barrel. He says he hasn’t tried yet, but based on his experience it won’t be effective. Translation: it won’t work with rifling.”

    Not that I am recommending anything that might be used to produce a firearm, but I will note that some screw-in shotgun chokes contain a very short stretch of rifling that adds spin to slug loads. Wonder if this could be applied to the last half-inch of some hypothetical barrel. The pressure might be lower because the projectile does not engage the rifling right out of the chamber. This is, of course, a purely hypothetical scientific theory.

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  27. In my LGS (Gainesville, VA) its a three box limit and the most popular calibres are hard to come buy. I did find a 50 count box of 380 FMJ at Wallyworld, its was the only thing other than 7MM and Shotgun shells in the cabinet. I am having good luck on Gnbot getting what I need though, even got some 22LR subsonic for .04 a round 2 days ago.

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  28. NH looks better. Walmarts have ammo more regularly though it still sells out.
    LGS has plenty of ammo and EBR’s. Mags too. All near pre idiocy prices.
    Armslist is still full of jokers trying to get $300 for a stipped lower, .223 for a buck a round and PMags for $30.

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  29. PLENTY of guns in stock locally. Still priced on the high side, but way down from the height of the panic prices. Ammo is still scarce, but attainable, if slightly higher in price. I’m hoping to see a near complete return to normality by July/August.

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  30. Oh man, my friends screwed with me so bad over this thing…
    Not a Beretta fan, but damn they can do so much better.

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    • Hey fellow Michigander. I’m in St. Joe County.

      My area has gotten an increase of AKs and ARs. There are even mags turning up. However the ammo is still non-existent.

      If my guns were people they would look like this. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnrx7JeDhg] (Too far?)

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  31. Piers Morgan and journalist should not appear in the same sentence. The truth is that PM is nothing more than a 3rd rate hack who got run out of Britain. The lefties love him but his ratings are so low its hard to measure them.

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  32. Over the last two months I’ve had no issue finding 9mm and .45 ACP at the Austin area Wally Worlds. The steady supply has allowed me to support my habit (1200+ rounds a month). Thankfully, they have maintained their prices.

    The trick is knowing their delivery schedules and when they’ll hit the sales counters. The only caliber that is still hard to get is .22LR. Thus far, I’ve only been able to score a single 375rd box of .22LR.

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  33. Local bi-mart here in NW Oregon had mostly bare shelves today. I saw a few boxes of 12g shells and 5-10 boxes of odd calibers.

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  34. I’ve been able to find magazines lately but still having trouble finding any 5.56 or 9mm. When I do they want $0.75 to $1 a round. The 100 pack of Winchester white box in .45 ACP is still going to $65 a box at my local shops. Jerks are still price gouging. I haven’t bought any .45ACP unless I can find it for $20 or so for 50rds which is to say I haven’t bought much lately. I think I picked up two 50rd boxes of white box for $23 at Bass Pro Shop.

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  35. Someone who is distrustful of the government isn’t paranoid, they’ve just been paying attention. Since 9/11, Congress and the President have been falling over themselves to shred the Constitution, and the courts have mostly been a-okay with it.

    Given all that, Manchin thinks we should be reassured because the government promises to punish itself if it’s bad. Oh yeah, that makes me feel a lot better.

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  36. It should be mandatory for piers to wear a red nose & have a Harpo Marx horn on him at all times because that jackwagon sure is a clown. The brady award for disarming good people so POS criminals can live on, oh yeah, that sure is one to jump on, Randy

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  37. I’m thankful that TTAG did not use P.Morgan’s mug shot in this editorial. His face is not worth the value of digital pixels displayed on my monitor. The less we see of him the happier the world will be.

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  38. I’m tired of being unable to find .22 Short or .380 JHP online. I can’t find .22 Short locally (western Washington State) either. For other calibers that I need, prices are still high.

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  39. Cabelas in grand rapids MI on Friday brought out pallets full of ammo, 9mm nd .223.
    All sorts of mags, 10/22 bx25s, pmags…everything

    Oddly, NO 7.62×39(which has recently ben readily available) or .22lr, which is still missing everywhere and only coming at a trickle

    Most other places it is hard to find anything common except 12ga, but everything except .22 is coming back in predictable supply

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  40. That is NOT a clip point. No way. While CRKT’s quality has improved in recent years, that design does absolutely nothing for me.

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  41. i watched this video in disgust that the parents did not pass along to their
    child the infinite wisdom to be a civil human being.

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  42. “But you would have found Ms. Gal hanging with the Brady Bunch at The Beverly Hills Hotel Tuesday night “celebrating advocates and visionaries working to prevent gun violence,” along with CNN chat show host Piers Morgan.”

    under Natalie’s bio:

    “SKILLS
    Spanish, Piano, Singing, Motorcycle, Pistol, Rifle, Boxing”

    http://www.nataliegal.com/resume.html

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  43. Plenty of normal priced ARs and Pistols in NW Georgia. Thats the good news I guess and should be a precursor to ammo supply catching up to demand. But, strange times bring unusual circumstances. Aside from the occasional find there is no end in sight. The nightmare continues through 2014 in my opinion.

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  44. Have borderpatrol and it’s patterns and accuracy are incredible but its is really heavy, clunky, unmaneuverable indoor, and not worth the money for home defense. I’d go back to my mossberg 500 anyday. It’s lighter and though a piece of junk for anything but home defense it is far better for that than the overpriced Wilson.

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  45. NY – Orange Cty last weekend, the local shop had 100 rd boxes of .223 (just a few of em). A few boxes of .40, no .45, no 9mm or 22 lr to be seen anywhere. Better selection of pistols than last month but no Sigs or Glocks to be seen.

    Funny thing checking out – they were asking everyone if they wanted to throw a 50 box of 9mm on top of your order. Of course I said yes – $29.99.

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  46. The ammo inventory appears to be getting slightly better in Portland Oregon. However, it seems that it is often a game of three steps forward and two steps back. Yesterday, I was able to find 1,500 rounds of Federal 22LR. Prior to that the previous two and a half weeks of searching for ammo had bone dry results though some of that was a bad luck run for me. Friends and contacts were finding ammo at Walmart, Sportsmen’s Warehouse, and elsewhere.

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  47. Let’s be clear here about something: James Yeager is a friend of mine, period.

    He’s controversial, but I don’t know anyone worth a damn who isn’t. There will always be an army of detractors who imagine themselves perfect, and maintain that thin veneer of a self-image only through self-deception and lack of scrutiny from others. So be it.

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  48. Posters and billboards, that’s the way to git ‘er done. Buses, subways, utility poles, bulletin boards, shop windows.

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  49. I was going to buy a new Kimber SPCHD this weekend at Cabela’s for $ 1595.00 plus tax. I sold three older rifles to save up the cash to buy the Kimber. I will not buy the Kimber SPCHD now after reading every Kimber SPCHD owners experiences with this firearm. The CONS definitey outnumber the PROS and the the most startling problems are FTF, FTE and blow back. I do not want to risk Buyers Remorse on such an expensive pistol. Apparently the QC at Kimber is questionable on this model firearm. I want to thank every owner for their comments which definitely changed my mind about buying this fiream. Every potential fiream buyer should visit sites like this one and read what the owners have to say besides the advertisers.

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  50. Holy buckets! This really is the home of the Armed Intelligentsia. I read through some of this until my head started to spin. Lets talk quantum physics or something just to dumb it down a bit.

    There’s a lot of gun people out there who know a hell of a lot about a hell of a lot. Hardly the picture the left paints. I can’t imagine the typical leftist getting past the first couple of posts without complete brain shutdown.

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  51. Could it be that attempted violent crimes are not down? Perhaps a higher percentage of attempted crimes are unsuccessful because a good guy pulls out his gat and says “I don’t think so, bunky.”

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  52. Let ’em remove it- I haven’t looked, but I’m betting it’s only a slightly more involved search to find it now.
    It’s actually a really poor move on the part of the DoD. You had the already invested, and the firearms inclined folks checking it out. But ordering the cease? Now every curious onlooker on the planet will have to find it for download.

    I hope to acquire one years down the road, in a commemorative box with custom 3d printed engraving, commemorating the Liberator pistol’s role in turning gun control from elitist fantasy to completely irrelevant.
    I bet CDNN will have a glut of them for download in a coupla years. 🙂

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  53. Why are gunfreaks families always getting attacked by crazies?
    Are you people stupid? Learn not to get in a situation where u need a gun. Move out of the hood Crackerboy’s.

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  54. I hate that Texas is so far behind the curve on this stuff. We have so many RINOs and an electorate who is too gullible to ever recognize it. And Texas could very well go Blue in the next few years if republican voters don’t get over the immigration issue. I mean I don’t want people to come here and immediately go on the dole(how libs offer to buy their votes), but at the same time, who could dislike individuals who generally represent the hardworking spirit of America far more than many Americans do. Cheap house cleaning and lawn service isn’t too bad either(not PC, but true).

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  55. makes you feel all warm and fuzzy patriotic doesnt it?

    the next time you stand and sing the anthem, you remember stuff like this. The empires behavior never ceases to amaze me.

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  56. I think I said this last time TTAG posted one of Yeager’s video’s, if you guys hate him so much, stop watching and posting his video’s! Yeager seems to love the attention, and your just feeding the troll by even giving him the publicity. Which why I think he says the things he says, the way he does… for the publicity.

    But I honestly don’t have a passionate opinion about the guy, he actually seems like he’s a good firearms instructor despite his personality faults and controversial statements.

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  57. First, it’s STL, IGES, and OBJ files that are restricted and censored.
    Then, it’s JPEGs, GIFs, and PDFs of blueprints.
    Then, it’s text, forum posts, and blog updates.
    Then, it’s books and manuals.
    Then, it’s conversations.
    Then, it’s thoughts.
    3D Firearms are just an excuse to exercise such control.

    Welcome to one possible future.

    I choose another future.

    The reality is, they can’t stop the signal.

    Telling someone data is illegal only makes them want it more, and awakens them to the motives of the people who want to criminalize their interests.

    Dear State Department bureaucrats and micro-managers: good luck with your crusade to stomp out mean old gun files on the interwebz.
    Something tells me you don’t root for the Browncoats when you watch Firefly, you purplebellies.

    Best,
    John Bear Ross

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  58. Not much seems to last here in southwestern Ohio. Gun dealers are saying thst there is no .22 LR ammo being made and they also say noe has been made in the US since 11/2012. Slim pickings here.

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  59. “I enjoy long walks on the beach at sunset and magdumping my full-size Uzi. But, enough about me ”
    Right off the bat, I knew I’d like this guy.
    When we go on our “cast and blast” trips to the snake river, we go there in part because there is no cell service.

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  60. And as a special thank you for renewing your NRA membership we’ll send you this limited “Patriot’s Edition” Tactical Thong at no additional cost!

    Reply

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