mcbethr

I didn't own a gun when the first AWB was passed, but I got my FID during the AWB. You didn't have to turn in your guns for the federal law, you just couldn't buy new ones, although you could transfer an existing gun to somebody else. Basically if someone waved a magic wand and *poof* you had an assault weapons ban re-enacted, the only thing you would see different in NJ would be that you could only have 10 round magazines. The rest of the country would be just like NJ when it came to possession - no evil features, although states would still have the same carry and purchase laws. The federal ban didn't change any of that. "Assault Weapons" and standard capacity magazines were grandfathered in federally. You could still own "assault weapons" and standard capacity magazines, you just couldn't sell new weapons to the public. The federal ban was modeled after New Jersey's ban. So, yes, it was a features game. So in a nutshell, if a federal AWB ever appeared again in the same form, you would hardly notice. That doesn't mean that I want to see it, though. I like my 15 rounders.

#1 Just because she wants something doesn't mean that she is going to get it. #2. I think this just means PA residents getting Florida permits, not reciprocity in general.

Oh my Goodness! We're surrounded by gun nuts on this board! In all seriousness, Gun control is a liberal Shibboleth. It's one of those things that they (and yes, I'm a liberal) like to wave around to fire up the base, but they want to maintain their distance from any real laws. There were consequences for Clinton in 1996 with the AWB. The president has his hands full right now. They'll roll Lautenberg out every few months and they'll wake him up, he'll mumble something anti-gun and they'll wheel him back into the crypt. But I doubt anything anti-gun will come out of it. Don't forget that Republicans still own the house, and there are plenty of pro-gun Democrats in southern and midwestern states. The Supreme Court is a more problematic, but if he packs the court with anti-gun democrats, there is always the option of a 28th Amendment. It's a beautiful system when you think about it. Plenty of checks and balances...

It is perfectly legal to give ammunition to somebody else whether they have an FID card or not. In fact, NJ's "show me your papers" law for ammunition is not a law at all. It's something that the state police made up on the fly and forced FFL's to do. Find me the section of 2C code that makes it illegal to give ammunition to somebody and I will give you a box of ammunition.

I would say that copper prices have more to do with it than anything. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and by far the most expensive component in ammunition. Copper is at $3.40 a pound right now. It was $1.30 back in August of 2008. Zinc is at $0.83 a pound right now. It was $0.50 a pound just a few years ago. As our currency devalues, the price of commodities go up because our dollar is worth less. Also keep in mind that fuel costs have gone up, so moving all of that ammunition by truck is more expensive.

I am not a Christian, but I would say the one where Michael cast Satan out of Heaven should be pretty high up there.

You want to know something funny? My brother's spouse said exactly that. They live in a condo in Manuta. She refused to let him keep a can of gas at home because she was afraid that it would explode in a fire. The end result was I had two extra 5 gallon cans of gas in the storm. He didn't have enough time to get to my house and get the gas can. I think in the cases of the two people who asked me for ammo, their spouses grudgingly let them keep their gun when they moved here from out-of-state with the condition that no ammo be kept with the gun. In both cases, they have kids and I suppose you will never have an accidental shooting if you don't have any ammo in the house. No, it doesn't make sense to me, but you are also talking to a guy that uses .45 Caliber ammo boxes as bookends and his 9 year old to load magazines before a range trip. The third guy moved here from Connecticut with a beautiful Colt Python, but he never got his FID because he never "had the time." Last week, he went to Dicks and thought that they would relax the FID requirement for ammo if he asked politely. They didn't. I went to Dicks and bought him a box of .38 Special. Neighbors helping neighbors.

I don't know if it converted anyone, but I did have a few neighbors ask me for ammo. All of them were people who moved here with guns. Two of them I didn't even know owned guns. And I had invited these people shooting. As it turns out, in two of the three cases, the spouses of the gun owner didn't want ammo in the house with the gun. The third person just never got his FID and couldn't buy ammo.

I can't help you with shooing for free in open spaces. NJ is small and pretty densely packed. Shoot a gun up in the air here and the bullet will hit a Starbucks. Do that in Utah and it will hit dirt. Or maybe a tree. If you don't like the FID law, join NJ2AS.com and change it.

Range 14 was open on Sunday, although the range shack was dark and they were running the tower on a generator. Greg, if you are out there, I hope you enjoyed the cigar.

I had my first visit to Ed's Gun Shop in Woodbury yesterday since I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by. I don't quite know how to put it... the place was sad. It seems like they cater mostly to hunters - although I did see a bunch of reloading supplies. The pistol case was just... like I said, sad - mostly old pistols and revolvers. They had plenty of hunting rifles and shotguns, although many looked used. They did have two AR's, but I'm not an AR kind of guy. There prices were fair - but I'm not in the market for a new gun right now. I met the owner, and I was thoroughly impressed with his knowledge of firearms. I'll bet that he earns more on smithing than anything else. I tried to buy some Hornandy Critical Defense for my .45, but they were out. So I bought a 1911 magazine that I needed anyway, I talked for a while, and left. I may go back to get night sights installed on my PX4. But I'll admit that the store is dying. Even Ed admitted that he can't compete with the Internet. I would probably stick with Bob's, Rayco, Hagues or Cheyenne for any new purchases, but I think that Ed's would be great for smithing.

Well, no. The president doesn't make the laws. He can issue an executive order telling the justice department to enforce something a certain way. I don't think we will see another assault weapons ban. Back in 1994, we had fewer shooters and those weapons weren't as popular. Now the AR-15 is arguably the most popular rifle in America. The assault weapons ban was one of the reasons President Clinton lost the House in 1996. President Obama is not stupid. He knows that he can get more political millage from his political base talking about all of the things he never intends to do anyway.

Good idea. I never thought of that one.

^^^^^^^^^ ---- Listen to this guy As daunting as it may sound, the AR platform is basically lego. Get your lower receiver, mate it to an upper, select your stock, get your bolt carrier group and you are done. Try it yourself here: http://www.ar15builder.com/ It really is that easy.

Consider it practice for the day when Shall-Issue passes in New Jersey. It will come one day. I don't personally feel the need to carry around the house, although I have done it when I've sold furniture on Craigslist and was waiting for people to come to my house. If you want to do it for practice, do it. If you don't want to do it, then don't.

I live in Cherry Hill. There are no gas lines.

That seems pretty darn manageable. It looks like you are turning a good carry gun into a good HD gun with just a simple magazine switch. It looks about the same length as my Kel Tec PF9 with the +1 extension.

My father started me when I was 8 with a bolt-action, single-shot .22. I started my youngest at 5 with a bolt-action Savage Arms .22. Now he's six. He's safe, but a horrible shot. We're working on it. I started my oldest when he was 6 on a bolt-action, single shot Davy Cricket. He's 9 years old now and shooting a Full-Sized .45 Caliber 1911. We are not talking teacup-sized groups here, but he's in the Q. We will work on combat reloads and shooting from barriers next. It took 3 years to get him to this point. As for "How" you teach them... well first off, wait until spring and go to an outdoor range. Go through the drive-though at McDonald's afterwards. You want their first experience to be a positive one, and what can be better than a few hours in the outdoors alone with dad and some Chicken Nuggets afterwards. Bring snacks and water or juice boxes with you. Indoor ranges are too loud and they don't have the right sized booths for little shooters. Outdoor ranges are perfect for starting them in the sitting position or prone. I would also suggest stressing safety first. Once they can memorize the 4 rules, then they are ready. Watch them like hawks. You don't get to shoot unless somebody else is standing over them. Don't have another adult around? Then you don't get to shoot. Get them their own rifle case, range bag and cleaning kit. They shot it. They clean it. I also don't let my kids play with toy guns, not even at someone else's house. They know not to point a gun at somebody else, toy or not, ever. If you are interested in having her try out a .22 to see if she likes it, you are more than willing to come as guests up to Ft. Dix with my son and I when we go. PM me if you are interested. But like I said, wait for a warm day. You want it to be a positive experience.

She's been the proud owner of a Glock 19 for the last year. It was just an interview to make sure all of the paperwork was good.

I didn't think of the camping lanterns, but it's a good idea. I keep about $200 in $10's in my Bug Out Bag, but like I said before. The Bugout bag was constructed after 9/11 and was more for escaping to my sister-in-laws house than anything else.

Well, these were neighbors I've known for years. Hard not to advertise when I'm packing up my car with gun cases and range bags every Tuesday night. And I like to increase awareness of my sport. I've taken them both shooting - one of them just didn't like the idea of ammo in the house with kids. The other has money and bought a Python years ago more for show than fun - when he brought it to the range with me it was the second time he had ever been shooting with it and he still had the 1985 vintage .38 Special box of ammo to prove it. I think some people think a gun is like a lucky charm - a rabbit's foot that keeps bad guys away. Of course an empty gun will rapidly become the bad guy's gun... but what can I say. Handing them a box of ammo is better than an "I told you so."

My boss said that thieves are breaking into a garage, starting the lawnmower, pushing it next to the generator and taking the generator. You only know you are out of power when you go the fridge and water comes out. Lock up your generators.

Let me rephrase myself. There is a difference between scarcity and shortage. Scarcity is when there is a finite amount of supply with increasing demand. If you compare NJ with the rest of the nation, we have theoretically infinite supply (we don't, but for all intents and purposes we do). If gas stations don't have gas right now, it isn't genuine scarcity. We can always truck in more gas. California had genuine scarcity a few months ago when plants went offline and nobody could make California legal fuel. What we are seeing is a shortage, that is a temporary disruption in the supply. I emphasize temporary - people just bought all of the gas at the stations. But we can truck in more gas. We are seeing a temporary shortage, not genuine scarcity. I don't see this driving up prices as in a captive market like California. We also have less demand - people aren't necessarily driving anywhere right now. Demand plays a big part in increasing prices and scarcity follows. This probably doesn't mean a darn thing to you if you are reading this on your smartphone in line at the gas station, though.

I think you will see short term shortages from people buying excess fuel so that they can run generators - but that could be offset by the people who are staying home right now and not driving. I think we'll be good.

The only scary thing to me regarding generators is that it makes your house a target. At night in my neighborhood, I heard a few generators running. This may not be bad if you are running it for a day, but if you are running your generator for a week, I could see how the monsters would head toward the sound of the generator. Or maybe they would head toward the houses where there were no generators since you have a better shot at nobody being home? One thing I noticed was that two people asked me for ammunition. One was a neighbor who has a Sig P226, but has small kids and doesn't want any ammo in the house with the gun. The other was a friend who bought his Colt Python when he was in Connecticut, doesn't keep ammo in the house either, and never got his FID because he never goes shooting. I was able to help them both out.