Snowflakes in Hell

Color me skeptical about metal prices being a prime driver of ammo prices.  I’m sure rising metal costs definitely have some effect, but let’s do some math for a bit.  You can get 100 rounds of unprimed .223 Remington brass for 17.00 from Cabela’s.  Each case weighs about 90 grains, which means a bag of 100 would weigh about 1.3 lbs.  The current price for brass is about $2.20 per pound.   Strictly on metal costs alone, that brass should cost about $2.85.

If you look at bullets, figuring an FMJ bullet is roughly 1/3rd copper and 2/3rd lead (I have no idea if this is the case, but I suspect it’s the case), lead is going for about a buck a pound, and copper for about 3.40 a pound.  So 100 rounds for the bullet is going to be 89 cents for the copper and about 50 cents for the lead.  So the total price of 100 rounds of .223, in terms of material cost, is about $4.25.

So I think there’s a lot more going into the cost of ammunition that just rising metal costs.   Surely that’s had some small effect, but I think the cost of ammo is going up because demand has gone up.  Rising fuel prices also probably have something to do with it too.   Ammo is heavy, so carting it around places is expensive when fuel is expensive.  Overall, demand is high, both because civilians are shooting a lot, and because the military is consuming large quantities of ammo.   This will drive up prices for all calibers, since machine tools used to make ammunition will be busy with military orders in military calibers, rather than making ammunition for civilians.   I suspect that new production capacity may not end up coming online, since manufacturers probably expect military demand to be short lived.  We may have to live with high prices for a while.

From a, “there ought to be a law” perspective, I have no problems with what these two kids are doing. But, no matter how old or young you are, I don’t think I can universally say that slinging a rifle around with you is a good idea. Context matters.

If I see someone come into a mall, our roughly similar public place, with a rifle slung, I’m probably going to do a double take, and, to be honest, even if I don’t call the police, I wouldn’t blame anyone who did. I’m very certainly going to keep a very close eye on that person while they are in my immediate vicinity and prepare myself for the possibility I might have to draw on this person. Why? Because context matters, and around here, people don’t go walking around with slung rifles in public places. That’s not oppression, that’s just how it is. What I wouldn’t think twice about seeing on the hiking trail, or along a road, if I see in a populated public area, it’s going to elicit an entirely different response.

I’m not saying open carry should be illegal. I think everyone has as a right to bear arms in whatever way they see fit. But I have to agree with this guy, at least in part:

He said that just because the Dotys are carrying guns in public doesn’t mean they’re not responsible with them, but questioned the need to carry them in town even though it was legal.

“My advice for them is the same as it is with adults — yes it’s your right and yes it’s legal, but why draw unnecessary attention to yourself just because you can?”

I don’t really agree with him in regards to the need, but do as far as drawing unnecessary attention to oneself. I’ve never been a big advocate of open carry for this reason. Some will argue the educational aspects of it, but personally, I don’t think it’s changing anyone’s minds, or really successfully communicating gun rights messages. People either a) assume you’re a cop, or b) get the willies. In the case of slung rifles in populated areas, I’m not entirely sure I’d say someone who had reaction b) would be entirely off base.

Joe Huffman asks, in regards to the recent shooting in his home town:

There is the issue of urban response and combat tactics, which leave me curious. The guy apparently was shooting at anything that moved. He was on a hilltop surrounded by mostly residential streets and a high school, but also surrounded on two sides by solid buildings. What do you do? That’s my question, and I don’t have a good answer, mainly because I have no exact details and maybe never will have them. IF (if) there is guy in a parking lot firing shots at everything around him (was he maneuvering? was he behind cover? we don’t know) he might be a fairly easy target for someone intent on stopping him. Certainly a SWAT team arriving hours later was in this case of no use.

If it was my neighborhood, and there was a guy in the area shooting at anything that moved, I’d return fire if I had a clear shot, but I’m not going to go roaming around the neighborhood looking for him.

As soon as I knew the guy was in the area shooting, I’d load the AR-15, and call the police. After the police were called I’d check my immediate vicinity (basically my own property, plus up and down the street) and see if I could spot the shooter. If I can identify him, and have a clear shot, I’ll take it. I am fairly confident in my ability to hit a man sized target out to 100 yards with an iron sighted AR-15. If I couldn’t easily identify the location of the shooter as being in my vicinity, I’d retreat into the house, find cover someplace where I can still see what’s going on, and keep an eye out for the shooter until the police arrived.

I don’t think it’s a wise idea to be running around the neighborhood with a loaded rifle out in the open. There’s a non-trivial chance you’ll be mistaken by police, or another one of your neighbors, for the active shooter. I think in this situation, the best thing to do is to defend your vicinity. If the shooter comes into your vicinity, carefully aimed return fire is the way to go.

Leave tracking the guy down to the guys wearing a uniform and body armor. I don’t think you have any duty to go seeking out an active shooter that’s not in your immediate vicinity. Presumably, your neighbors have all taken care of their own defense. If they haven’t, it sucks to be them. Toting firearms is about defending yourself, and those immediately in your presence. It’s best to leave the offensive action to the professionals.

I don’t know if I pointed this out before, but there’s a great online resource for downloading targets.  It’s called targetz.com.  You can download them in PDF format and print then out.  All kinds of shapes are available, as well as fun targets.   Take a look.

The M82A1 in .50BMG is generally considered most useful in anti-material operations. For long-rang anti-personnel work, you can’t beat the .408 caliber CheyTac M100 and M200 rifles. It’s portable too.

The M100 Rifle

M-200 Rifle

Both pretty attractive looking pieces, but at 14k a pop, I’d rather have a Barrett M82A1. Also, Ronnie Barrett will sell you the same rifle he sells the military, and I can respect a company that respects its customers. CheyTac sells a less accurate version to civilian shooters because “we never want our incredible technology to fall into the wrong hands.” Piss on that. If I were a terrorist with 14 large burning a hole through my pocket, I’m sure I could get a military version of the M200 from the right person.