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By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A lot to get to:

I watched a video last week extolling the virtues of carrying a gun with a round chambered. (Sorry, I can't find it) The individual in the demonstration explained that having a round already chambered gives the carrier an advantage he would not have if he doesn't have a round in the chamber. As he drew his weapon and fired, I noticed he fired immediately, no cocking of the gun, nothing. He was firing a double action pistol.

Not everyone can get a double action gun, and the nature of the single action gun makes a lot of what tactical trainers are saying problematic.

Take the 1911, for example. If I were to carry a 1911 with a round chambered, the gun would have to be cocked, with two of the three safeties off. Once I draw and hold it in my hand, the third safety is now off. I would need to train, with a live round, how to draw and fire as quickly as possible, without the possibility of pulling or hitting the trigger, and accidentally discharging the firearm. Carrying a loaded firearm is safe just as long as the carrier trains well enough to draw, insert his finger into the trigger guard as the gun is being laid on the target, and fire.

The whole idea behind carrying a firearm with a round chambered and the gun ready to fire is said to give the shooter an advantage in an active shooter scenario.

But wait a minute.

Do you really have much of an advantage in keeping a round chambered if an active shooter already has a gun drawn and is firing? The advantage rests, it seems to me, in relation with other carriers who chose to keep at least one safety on, or the chamber empty. The active shooter already has an advantage, and drawing to fire, and having a gun in Condition Three or ready to fire, increases your chances of surviving an encounter, but you still have no advantage in that scenario, and you never will have any advantage just as long as the shooter has not been hit by gunfire, and has stopped shooting.

This leads me to a post at Max Velocity tactical:

It is amusing that these types will talk about combat training, such as MVT, as ‘tactical band camp’ but really they themselves are just playing. Examples of this type of comment can be found in the ‘Normalcy Bias‘ post. It is the trainers of such students, who these students avidly follow, who will often state that they will not train civilians in basic tactics such as fire & movement “because civilians don’t need to know that.” How ironic. It is very prevalent – they will take your money for some sort of tacticool BS class, that can’t really be teaching you anything real, because they don’t believe you have a right to know the ‘real.’ Go figure….

MVT will teach what the others won’t teach you, because it’s “too dangerous” for civilians to know. We go the extra mile to make our students truly dangerous to their enemies. Gunfighters, not gun drivers. Simple.

...

It would appear that we have a disconnect in this ‘tactical training’ world. We have a group that have been conditioned to sneer at those of us who wish to learn how to fight for real, conditioned and led by the big name trainers of the day. Why these guys are even armed with carbines at all I don’t know, other than to simply be fan-boys and girls, look good, and role play? This training is based solidly in law enforcement or pseudo-special ops, and civilians will be taught only as much as their trainer feels they have a right to know. That is even if you are allowed on such ‘advanced’ classes without a suitable LEO or Mil ID card. Don’t worry, if you get to be ‘on the inside’ they may tolerate your presence. Otherwise these civilians might get a little too dangerous, right?

The other side of this are those of us who consider it important to learn real tactical training in order to defend ourselves and our families in uncertain times ahead, to give ourselves a better chance of survival. You could say that those times are already here, given the news, the corruption and the lies at the highest levels. The thin veneer of civility, if any veneer at all, over the barbarian horde. After all, it is inevitable that these United States face a collapse of some sort. It is inevitable; all we are lacking is an exact timeline and means. Perhaps it is already here and we are just waiting for it to get sporty, after some sort of catalyst? Are we already in the ‘gray collapse’ but normalcy bias says it is all OK, because I can still get in my truck and got to McDonalds? When is the cyber-attack going to happen, or whatever it is? Go on, I wrote about it here, and that was before I knew that the Chinese for sure had all of the Secretary of State’s classified emails:


Some information being provided to the average individual, similar to the idea that you only have a legal right to carry or buy a firearms if you pass certain tests, is misleading a new generation of gun carriers into the thinking their Gawd given rights are at the sufferance of the state and their police agents. It seems in that context, the whole carry concealed program is a nationwide police program.

Oathkeepers want to arm residents of Ferguson, Missouri for a demonstration, they say. I have zero problems with that but I do have a problem with the whole idea that this is still a beauty contest, that as soon as the legislatures, courts, and their police/salesmen permit it, the residents of Ferguson will see the error or their ways and return to civility.

Reading the bearingarms.com the reaction to the Oathkeeper's announcement, the first and only thing Bob Owen's readers are concerned with is if the residents of Ferguson can "legally" carry firearms. The city of Ferguson and environs are on fire, and beararms.com wants to make background checks for firearms to see who can be approved to open carry.

Loads.

Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:

Prices for pistol ammunition were mostly steady, while prices for rifle ammunition were mixed.

Prices for used pistols were lower across the board, while prices for used rifles were mixed.

New Lows:

Texas (.45 M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic): Llama: $325
Florida (.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic): Smith & Wesson Sigma: $200

Pistol Ammunition

.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (10 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ventura Munitions, Wolf Polyformance, FMJ, steel cased, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Lee's Mags, Northern Hills, FMJ, Reloads, .27 per round (From Last week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, Blazer, FMJ, Alum. Cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Store Brand, FMJ, Reloads, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (10 Weeks))

9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (8 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Rare Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .17 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Blok Tactical, Store Brand, FMJ, Reloads, .17 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (11 Weeks)

Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: Surplus Ammo, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .27 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))

Rifle Ammunition

.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)

Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Wolf Polyformance, steel cased, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

.308 NATO 150 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .40 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt!, Tulammo, Steel Cased, FMJ, .37 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))

7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (9 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (1Q 2015))

.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: +.02 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)

Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, CI Ammunition, RNL, .10 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds (2 Box Limit): Natchez Shooters Supplies, Federal Automatch, RNL, .06 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))

Guns for Private Sale
Rifles


.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $537 Last Week Avg: $506 (+) ($616 (20 Weeks), $486 (5 Weeks))
California (282, 286): Spikes Tactical: $500 ($650 (31 Weeks), $425 (32 Weeks))
Texas (309, 309): Bear Creek Arsenal: $550 ($700 (25 Weeks), $350 (20 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (182, 175): Bushmaster: $550 ($700 (19 Weeks), $300 (7 Weeks))
Virginia (196, 198): Smith & Wesson M&P 15 Sport: $585 ($750 (25 Weeks), $500 (29 Weeks))
Florida (417, 420): Palmetto State Armory: $500 ($650 (10 Weeks), $450 (43 Weeks))

.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,020 Last Week Avg: $960 (+) ($1,359 (19 Weeks), $890 (4 Weeks))
California (50, 47): Mixed Build: $999 ($1,700 (33 Weeks), $850 (3 Weeks))
Texas (65, 68): Armalite AR-10: $1,350 ($1,500 (39 Weeks), $800 (3 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (39, 39): DPMS LR-308T: $800 ($1,500 (25 Weeks), $800 (33 Weeks))
Virginia (53, 51): CMMG MK3: $1,250 ($1,650 (9 Weeks), $900 (39 Weeks))
Florida (76, 73): Rock River LAR8 Operator: $700 ($1,500 (40 Weeks), $700 (2 Weeks))

7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $480 Last Week Avg: $500 (-) ($626 (21 Weeks), $450 (8 Weeks))
California (47, 44): CAI-39: $400 ($700 (24 Weeks), $320 (35 Weeks))
Texas (72, 79): WASR: $500 ($750 (23 Weeks), $350 (41 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (49, 43): Zastava: $500 ($750 (30 Weeks), $375 (15 Weeks))
Virginia (52, 53): Yugo M70 Npap: $550 ($625 (26 Weeks), $350 (28 Weeks))
Florida (102, 101): Zastava M70 : $450 ($650 (19 Weeks), $300 (39 Weeks))

30-30 Winchester Lever Action Average Price: $364 Last Week Avg: $402 (-) ($489 (29 Weeks), $296 (9 Weeks))
California (8, 6): Marlin: $400 ($500 (2 Weeks), $180 (9 Weeks))
Texas (17, 14): Winchester Model 1894: $400 ($550 (28 Weeks), $300 (33 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (13, 15): Winchester Model 1894: $350 ($450 (29 Weeks), $250 (34 Weeks))
Virginia (6, 7): Winchester Ranger (w/scope): $350 ($450 (13 Weeks), $350 (31 Weeks))
Florida (18, 17): Mossberg 464: $320 ($500 (26 Weeks), $250 (12 Weeks))

Pistols

.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $350 Last Week Avg: $395 (-) ($450 (27 Weeks), $350 (CA: $360 (22 Weeks)))
California (193, 193): Llama: $350 ($600 (27 Weeks), $300 (5 Weeks))
Texas (248, 253): Llama: $325 ($600 (38 Weeks), $325 (CA: $350 (24 Weeks)))
Pennsylvania (143, 137): Charles Daly 1911: $350 ($550 (17 Weeks), $300 (11 Weeks))
Virginia (147, 148): Citadel M-1911: $375 ($550 (19 Weeks), $250 (36 Weeks))
Florida (334, 345): Unknown brand: $350 ($475 (10 Weeks), $250 (25 Weeks))

9mm (Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic) Average Price: $274 Last Week Avg: $280 (-) ($336 (24 Weeks), $274 (4 Weeks))
California (164, 163): Beretta: $250 ($450 (27 Weeks), $250 (32 Weeks))
Texas (280, 271): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $289 ($355 (26 Weeks), $220 (18 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (219, 224): Ruger P95DC: $270 ($350 (44 Weeks), $200 (6 Weeks))
Virginia (217, 204): SCCY CPX-1: $300 ($400 (20 Weeks), $250 (6 Weeks))
Florida (452, 430): Sccy CPX: $259 ($375 (36 Weeks), $230 (6 Weeks))

.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic) Average Price: $350 Last Week Avg: $361 (-) ($368 (16 Weeks), $300 (42 Weeks))
California (87, 93): Glock 23: $425 ($425 (CA: $400 (19 Weeks)), $250 (33 Weeks))
Texas (123, 129): Glock 27: $400 ($425 (37 Weeks), $275 (19 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (83, 84): Kahr CM: $300 ($350 (8 Weeks), $250 (28 Weeks))
Virginia (82, 78): Glock 22: $425 ($450 (16 Weeks), $275 (32 Weeks))
Florida (150, 146): Smith & Wesson Sigma: $200 ($400 (26 Weeks), $200 (CA: $260 (13 Weeks)))

Used Gun of the Week: (Pennsylvania)
Savage BA Chambered in .338 Lapua

Chris Covert writes for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter


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