This Week in Guns, June 21st, 2014
2014-06-21
Posted by: badanov
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Some of the fallout from the shooting of two police officers in Las Vegas included a bulletin released by the New York State Intelligence Center, which warned about "far right violence" and the need to prepare for such an eventuality. This was published only days after the Las Vegas murder, and during the time in which several major news outlets said the same thing: that the Las Vegas shooting was symptomatic of the violence perpetrated by "liberty groups". Cited amongst those groups were Threepers, Patriots and militia members, those who went to Bundyville in Nevada last spring. The nexus was established because the mug of Jerad Miller appeared on television talking, out of turn as it turned out, about the Bundy Ranch incident.
However, it turned out that Jerad Miller was a police drug informant. That news was noticed by Mike Vanderbough last Thursday. That revelation, also released by a news outlet brings up some interesting speculation, for my part.
Were Jerad and his lovely bride, Amanda sent to Bundyville at the behest of the Las Vegas police department, or was he sent there by a federal operative? Vanderbough, who was there at the time to give a speech, immediately and accurately pegged Miller as trouble, prevailing on the Bundy Ranch leadership to send Miller packing.
If Miller was a police informant, why was he packing to begin with? Does being a police informant, one of the requisites of which is likely a pending felony conviction, confer a special status in Las Vegas to enjoy the blessings of liberty that the average citizen must jump through hoops to have?
Now that I am writing this column, I read a lot of news reports and official documents concerning guns. It seems the focus of the federal police agencies is on "straw purchases". Straw purchases are gun purchases made by a person who can pass a background check for one who cannot. Up until last week it wasn't even codified in USC 18. But after the Supreme Court ruled it was a crime inasmuch as it was an unwritten law, an individual can now be convicted for that crime.
Think about that for a minute: as federal law is currently implemented, if a federal law enforcement agency says you committed a crime inasmuch as it is not actually codified as a crime, the courts now have the legal right to send you to prison.
So, what to do? If you insist on buying through the federal transfer system, and doing the dog and pony show to show you are a good serf, use cash, always. Everyone else: don't use the federal transfer system, build your own and always, always use cash.
Speaking of using cash, but using the federal firearms transfer system, last week a Florida man, Martin Winters, was goaded into committing a straw purchase by an unnamed federal informant, presumably a felon, just like the cop killing Millers. Chief among his crimes was building a "destructive device", which it turns out was shotgun shells with fishhooks as shrapnel, to be prosecuted under the 1930 National Firearms Act, one of the new laws that old the government will enforce.
The federal search warrant affidavit, which can be read here, details the numerous times (three to be exact) Winters and two others had acquired weapons through the federal firearms transfer system. One of the other suspects named in the affidavit was previously convicted of robbery and the other of burglary. Winters turned himself in Wednesday and was denied bond.
The punchline to all this? The informant's information was less than true, and the feds found very little in the subsequent search. Even the "destructive devices" detailed in the affidavit were not deployed, as the warrant has stated. Presumably, also, none of the more than 50 rifles the informant said were there were found.
Another federal law enforcement red herring.
Loads.
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
Prices for pistol and rifle ammunition prices were mostly lower.
Prices for used rifles were mixed. Prices for used pistol were lower across the board.
Pistol Ammo
.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, .30 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, .29 per round (From last week: Unchanged (2 weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: -.03 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, FMJ, Factory Seconds, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Freedom Munitions, Store Brand, reloaded, .24 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each)
9mm Parabellum, 115 grain From Last Week: -.02 Each (After Unchanged (3 Weeks))
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Sellier and Bellot, FMJ, .20 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: I.Q. Metals, HSM, Factory Seconds, RNL, .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged)
.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: -.02 each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Selway Armory, Prograde, FMJ, .40 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 250 Rounds: LAX Ammunition, Store brand, Reloaded, .36 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 20 rounds: LV Ammo, Wartak, steel cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Lee's Mags, Tulammo, steel cased, .24 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: -.05 Each (!) (-.12 Each Over 2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Selway Armory, Brown Bear, steel cased, .45 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: SG Ammo, Silver Bear, steel cased, .45 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged)
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf, steel case, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,080 rounds: SG Ammo, Red Army Standard, steel case, .22 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (9 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 50 rounds: South Georgia Outdoors, Aguila, .10 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds: Trop Gun Shop, Federal Champion, .11 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged)
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $628 Last Week Avg: $610 (+)
California (211, 209): Windham Weaponry AR-15: $700
Texas (328, 318): Mixed Build: $600
Pennsylvania (167, 170): Palmetto State Armory: $680
Virgina (216, 214): Mixed Build: $600 (Prolly Same Gun)
Florida (416, 393): DPMS Panther: $550 (!)
.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,180 Last Week Avg: $1,040 (+)
California (44, 47): DPMS: $1,100 (Same Gun)
Texas (58, 61): DPMS: $1,400
Pennsylvania (28, 28): Smith & Wesson M&P 10: $1,200
Virginia (42, 44): DPMS LR-308: $1,100
Florida (87, 86): DPMS: $1,100
7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $530 Last Week Avg: $550 (-)
California (49, 51): Saiga: $525
Texas (55, 55): Zastava M-70: $500
Pennsylvania (50, 57): Saiga: $500 (Same Gun)
Virginia (73, 72): Czech VZ58 : $525 (Same Gun)
Florida (120, 121): Saiga: $600 (Same Gun)
7.62x54mm (Dragunov Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,100 Last Week Avg: $1,300 (-)
California (0): None Available
Texas (0): None Available
Pennsylvania (1, 2): Romak PSL: $1,400 (Same Gun)
Virginia (0): None Available
Florida(6, 6): Romak PSL: $800 (!)
Pistols
.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $411 Last Week Avg: $$415 (-)
California (150, 154): Rock Island Armory M1911A1: $400
Texas (213, 212): Para Ordnance: $450
Pennsylvania (203, 190): Llama: $300 (!)
Virginia (161, 167): Charles Daly: $425
Florida (377, 378): Tisas: $480
9mm Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic Average Price: $430 Last Week Avg: $433 (-)
California (146, 144): Smith & Wesson SD9VE : $375
Texas (309, 330): Glock 17: $425
Pennsylvania (207, 205): Beretta 92: $450 (Same Gun)
Virginia (242, 247): Glock 26: $500
Florida (505, 496): Smith & Wesson Model 59: $400
.40 caliber S&W (Glock and other semiautomatic) Average Price: $423 Last Week Avg: $435 (-)
California (87, 92): Glock 22: $400
Texas (141, 145): Glock 23: $480
Pennsylvania (116, 114): Glock 23: $385 (!)
Virginia (123, 121): Smith and Wesson M&P 40: $450
Florida (209, 208):Smith and Wesson M&P 40 : $400
Used Gun of the Week: (Ohio)
M1 Garand chambered in 308/7.62 NATO
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
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