GunENews - GSL Daily Blog

This shows the effect, from the British point of view, of the effects of gun bans.

From Quad Cities Online - Dispatch - Argus - Leader

Taking up arms: Proposed bill would allow Illinoisans to carry concealed handguns

By Stephen Elliott, selliott@qconline.com

Illinois law enforcement officials are divided over a new attempt to permit the state’s residents to carry concealed handguns.

Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, has proposed a “Family and Personal Protection Act” that would set statewide standards for issuing concealed-carry permits and would exempt permit holders from various unlawful use of weapons laws. The bill, HB0245, was referred to the rules committee after first reading last week.

Similar bills have been introduced, and shunted aside, in most recent legislative sessions. This year, though, the idea could get a boost from the Illinois Sheriff’s Association.

That group’s new president, Henry County Sheriff Gib Cady, a supporter of concealed-carry laws, will urge the association to endorse the idea when it holds its annual meeting at the i wireless Center in Moline in February. He said he believes a majority of Illinois’ 102 county sheriffs support a concealed-carry law provided there is training and background checks.

He said statistics show crime goes down in states with concealed-carry laws.

Not everyone in law enforcement feels that way, however.

”The threat to law enforcement would be enormous with that many people out there allowed to carry guns,” said Moline Police Chief Gary Francque. “I am a supporter of a person maintaining a weapon in their home and defending in their homes, but to be out running around with concealed weapons, you’re asking for a huge increase in violence.”

East Moline Police Chief Victor Moreno warned that a concealed carry law, besides creating the possibility that handguns carried for protection could be taken away by criminals, would alter the way police and public interact. He said it would change officers’ approach to an individual because of the potential of them carrying a handgun.

”Is that positive?” Chief Moreno asked. “The contact you have with the public will be different.”

Proponents, though, believe a concealed-carry law will enable citizens to protect themselves.

”We know when somebody is mugged or robbed at gunpoint, they have zero chance of resisting,” said National Rifle Association spokesman Todd Vandermyde. “Now, we’re leveling the playing field.”

Illinois is one of two states (Wisconsin is the other) without some form of a concealed-carry handgun law.

Sheriff Cady, who’s held his office since 1978, said the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a District of Columbia ban on handgun ownership is fueling new attempts to approve the concealed-carry law.

”It’s out there,” the sheriff said of concealed-carry. “The sheriff’s association always strives to represent the wishes of the people, while at the same time maintain maximum public safety for those we represent.”

”We’re going to make a run at it,” the NRA’s Mr. Vandermyde added. “We’re cautiously optimistic. We wouldn’t be handing permits out like movie tickets.”

State Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, who says he’s in favor of concealed-carry, isn’t so optimistic the law will pass. 

”It’s going to have a tough time, I think,” Rep. Verschoore said. “You’ve got the Chicago legislators and most of the suburbs that will probably be against it. Most Republicans will vote with the downstate Democrats (for it). I’m like Gib (Cady) in that I believe there has to be stringent guidelines to this.

”You have to take a course and have a complete and thorough background check so you don’t have some former felon or a person with a mental condition (carrying a handgun).”

State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, also supports a concealed-carry law.

”One day, the right to carry will be something that will be at their (citizens’) disposal,” Sen. Jacobs said. “The way I see it is that people have to make sure, if you’re going to carry, to be trained.”

Sheriff Cady agreed. “One of the issues is a person who makes an application for concealed-carry must expect a lot of scrutiny,” he said.

Mercer County Sheriff Tom Thompson said he supports a concealed-carry law, provided proper training is in place for gunowners.

”Our concern is to make sure people allowed to carry (handguns) are, first of all, qualified to carry it,” Sheriff Thompson said. “Obviously, you don’t want everybody around with concealed weapons. I think it can be (a law) if it is written properly. It can be a good thing. A lot of people feel strongly on both sides.”

Laimutis Nargelenas, deputy director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police in Springfield, said the association is opposed to concealed-carry legislation.

”We do have police chiefs, particularly in southern Illinois, that think it might be a good thing,” Mr. Nargelenas said. “Most of the chiefs in the suburbs in the Chicago area are concerned with that many more people on the street carrying firearms.

”We’ve been looking out there as an organization at various studies. Some (studies) show it may have an affect on crime. Others, it appears it doesn’t.”

Henry County State’s Attorney Terry Patton said he would support concealed-carry legislation if data shows it reduces crime.

”I think it ought to be studied,” Mr. Patton said. “Most people, their initial reaction is if you allow conceal carry, it would turn into the wild, wild west. But if evidence from conceal states proves that’s not the case, that’s reason to look at it in Illinois.”

Rock Island Sheriff Mike Huff has a slightly different take. Sheriff Huff said he supports concealed-carry for correctional officers, prosecutors and judges. He wants more information before making a decision on allowing the general public to carry handguns.

Rock Island County States Attorney Jeff Terronez, Rock Island Police Chief John Wright and Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, did not return phone calls seeking comment on the issue.

Right now, your Constitutional right to keep and bear arms is under attack by policiticians, bureaucrats and the gun-hating media. And they won’t stop until they ban every rifle, pistol and shotgun you own.
Fight back now. Get your FREE copy of NRA’s Essential Second Amendment Guide. This powerful 160-page handbook, gives you the facts you need to protect this essential American liberty.

The below videos are from a presentation given by University of Virginia School of Law professor and former defense attorney James Duane and Virginia Beach Police Detective George Bruch. They are EXCELLENT! and clearly show why, if you’re ever arrested, to KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT and don’t say ANYTHING to the police especially if you are innocent. God Bless the Fifth Amendment! It’s not just for criminals after all.

Here’s the first part from the law professor’s point of view:

Here’s the second part from the police detectives point of view:

Friday, January 23, 2009

U.S. Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), recently introduced H.R. 197– the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009″–a bill that would provide national recognition for valid state Right-to-Carry licensees.

The bill would allow any person with a valid carry permit or license issued by a state, to carry a concealed firearm in any other state if the permit holder meets certain criteria. In states that issue permits, a state’s laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders. In states that do not issue carry permits, a federal standard would apply. The bill would not create a federal licensing system; it would simply require the states to recognize each other’s carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses.

Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) is expected to introduce the Senate companion bill in the near future. Rep. Stearns has introduced such legislation since 1995.

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and urge him or her to cosponsor and support H.R. 197!

For more information, please visit www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=189.

An Economical Battery of Guns for the Backwoods Home
By Massad Ayoob

Everything’s getting more expensive. Food. Gasoline. Guns and
ammunition. Not everyone who appreciates the rural lifestyle
was “born with a gun in their hand” the way some of us feel as if
we’ve been. Many are urban-dwellers who’ve figured out for themselves
that living closer to nature is a better way, and nothing from their
previous metropolitan lifestyle has prepared them for their sudden
realization that firearms are important, routinely-used tools for
those who live “in the country.”

Reading is good, but training is better. My advice to the people new
to guns would be to take a firearms safety course before buying their
first firearm. It’ll give them a better idea of what they want, what
they need, and what will suit them in terms of the size, the power,
and the mechanics of the many, many firearms they have the option of
buying. Your local office of the state Fish and Wildlife Department
will be able to steer you toward hunter safety and firearms safety
courses. As adult education goes, these courses are extremely
affordable. If self-defense is your primary concern, your local gun
shop or police department can direct you to armed citizen training
programs. Most of these are geared toward folks about to apply for
concealed carry permits, but the advice encompassed in their
curricula are essential even for those only concerned with defending
the home against violent intrusion.

Building a battery
A “battery” of firearms is a selection of guns that will cover
multiple needs. The collector has “a collection,” but the person who
uses guns as tools has a working “battery,” like a carpenter having
multiple saws for different cutting purposes, and different
screwdrivers for dealing with different sizes of screws.
Steve Sager is a Master competitive shooter who has learned to
appreciate the inexpensive Mossberg Plinker .22 rifle as a “best
buy.” Here, he checks out a used specimen at Daddy’s Gun Shop in
Mayo, Florida.

At an absolute minimum, I would suggest four guns for the backwoods
home. These would be a .22, a shotgun, a defensive-type handgun, and
a high-powered rifle.

Just for the sake of argument, let’s assume some frugality at work. I
know trapshooters whose custom shotguns cost more than my SUV did new
off the showroom floor, and gun collectors who might buy a single
rare firearm that’s worth more than my home and the real estate it
sits on. Common sense economy is one of the values this publication
celebrates, after all.

The .22
The .22 Long Rifle cartridge is the most popular in the United
States. It has mild blast and mild recoil. Above all, it is cheap.
With careful shopping, at this writing you can buy 500 cartridges for
$12 to $15. Because it is a low-pressure cartridge, the manufacturers
don’t have to wrap a lot of super-strong metallurgy around it,
and .22s tend to be cheaper than more powerful guns of similar
quality.

Let me say it here and now: because it is so mild and inexpensive to
shoot, the .22’s single biggest advantage for the new shooter is that
it lets them shoot enough to grow accustomed to shooting, and to
become good at it!

As to shooting needs on a rural property, the .22 Long Rifle is a
small game cartridge. It’s suitable for rabbits, squirrels, raccoons,
groundhogs, and the like. It’s good for crows. It’s a good choice for
feral cats. It can certainly kill feral dogs, or foxes and coyotes,
but frankly it’s a little on the light side for animals that size.
Remember, even if the animal must die so your livestock may live, you
owe it a quick and humane death.

The .22 is a traditional gun for slaughtering livestock. In that
situation, however, the animal must be penned under control, and the
person performing the slaughter must take their time to put the
bullet exactly through the skull in the right spot to reach the brain
for an instant, painless death. That won’t be possible when shooting
a wild animal. When a steer goes wild and tries to trample you, or
Ol’ Yeller turns rabid and is coming at you, trust me: you’ll want
something a lot more powerful than a .22.

In most cases, the .22 is a rifle. Whether it has traditional “iron
sights” or a telescopic sight, the two-hand grasp and the brace of
the butt against your shoulder maximizes accuracy. If you get really
good with it, a target grade handgun will get the job done at a
typical “house to barn distance” of, say, 25 to 50 yards.
This Mossberg Plinkster with vari-X scope, only slightly used and in
excellent condition, is a bargain at under $140.

The .22 is available in many formats. There is the single-shot, the
traditional “young hunter’s starter gun” of yesteryear. Today, the
scaled down Chipmunk or Henry bolt action single shot is the right
size for grade-school age kids, and a great choice for getting the
young ‘uns off to a good start in firearms safety. There are Western
style lever actions, and pump-action .22s like the ones we geezers
can remember from the live-fire shooting arcades on the boardwalks of
our youth. The bolt-action repeating rifle makes a lot of sense for
the user who won’t be able to keep the working gun as clean and
pristine as they’d like. In the humid, rust-inducing atmosphere of
the slaughterhouse, the “killing gun” I’m most likely to see is a
bolt-action .22. Its mechanism operates like a turnbolt lock, and
allows main physical force to operate it should it stick due to rust
or crud in its neglected mechanism.

The semiautomatic .22 rifle would be my personal choice. If the
fisher cat is about to devour your prize pet Persian, or the rabid
skunk is about to lunge at your beloved family dog, one shot may not
be enough. You’ll want a follow-up shot, and maybe another and
another and another. The semiautomatic will fire as fast as you can
hold on target and you don’t have to think about anything but holding
your aim and pressing the trigger. You will, however, have to keep it
cleaned and lubricated.

Cost-effective choices: Mossberg now imports a little
semiautomatic .22 rifle from Brazil that they market as The
Plinkster. It’s great for “plinking” tin cans off the back fence, as
its name implies, but Master competitive shooter Steve Sager tells me
his will put five shots in one hole at 25 paces…and never seems to
jam. The price? Steve just bought his for $107 plus tax, brand new,
from a big box store. The Ruger 10/22 and the Marlin Model 60 will
cost somewhat more, but are longer-established, time-proven choices
as splendidly reliable and surprisingly accurate
semiautomatic .22 “utility rifles.” In an accurate .22 pistol, I’ve
seen the polymer-framed Ruger 22/45 and the Smith & Wesson Model 22A
both selling new for $250, and the Browning Buckmark is another cost-
effective choice. The shooter more comfortable with the simple
mechanism of a revolver can get a Taurus .22 for an MSRP
(manufacturers’ suggested retail price) of $389 new.

The shotgun
Designed primarily to put a large spray of multiple pellets
called “shot” in the air with each pull of the trigger, the shotgun
is the logical choice for flying birds and is a top choice of small
game hunters for shooting running rabbits and squirrels for the same
reason. Loaded with the small pellets of birdshot for the feathered
stuff and the small furred stuff, and with buckshot for close-range
deer, bad dogs, and worse humans, the shotgun can also fire a single
slug. Slug loads are fine for deer out to plus/minus 100 yards
(assuming good rifle-type sights and a steady hand on the trigger),
and many Alaskan guides think a short, fast-handling shotgun loaded
with slugs is just the ticket for huge, angry wounded bears in the
thickets. Because its “shells” can carry so many different types of
projectiles, the shotgun is the most versatile of backwoods home
utility firearms.

The giant 10-gauge shotgun is a long-range duck and turkey hunter’s
weapon, and the tiny .410 shotgun is strictly for close range on
small targets. Your all-around shotgun should be somewhere between 12-
and 20-gauge. The less powerful 20 tends to have lighter recoil but,

at close range, will probably do all you need done. The 12 is more
versatile because it can carry more of its leaden payload, but you
pay the price in notoriously hard recoil, or “kick.”

Some bargains pass the point of diminishing returns. Author is
checking out an old Stevens single-shot 12 gauge shotgun. With fore-
end missing, barrel will come off frame when action is “broken” to
load or reload…but, that said, it will still shoot, and price is
only 30 bucks.

Shotguns can be had in economy bolt-action formats, but they tend to
be cheaply made and I never saw one that didn’t kick mercilessly for
a gun of its size with the shells it was chambered for. The single-
shot break-open design has been a staple of American farms since the
19th century because it’s relatively cheap to manufacture, but it’s
light for its power, kicks like hell, and doesn’t offer a follow-up
shot if the first one hasn’t solved the problem. The double barrel is
better, but a magazine-type shotgun such as the slide-action or the
semiautomatic tends to be more practical for workaday rural needs.
The semiautomatic is faster to shoot, nothing to do but pull the
trigger, and in a gas-operated model will kick less since much of the
recoil is absorbed in operating its cycling mechanism. However, as
with .22 rifles, the “auto” demands more maintenance than it often
gets. The rugged, manually operated slide-action, or “pump gun,” may
be the better choice, and will certainly be cheaper.

Cost effective choices: In either 12- or 20-gauge, the Mossberg 500
and the Remington 870 Express models are quality pump shotguns
commonly available at affordable prices. I’d give the Mossberg the
point for ergonomics (ambidextrous safety right under the thumb, easy
loading without pushing shells past a spring-loaded magazine gate),
and the Remington the point for smoothness of action and trigger
pull. The Mossberg will start at around $350 MSRP, and the Remington,
at $359.

The high powered rifle
Jackie Clay, probably our most popular featured writer at Backwoods
Home Magazine, considers venison a staple of her larder and shoots
her annual supply with a lever-action Winchester Model 94 .30-30, the
classic “deer rifle.” Marlin makes the comparable Model 336,
currently in production and in the low $500 range MSRP. Both are
suitable for deer and black bear-size game.

If you’re located where the meat-bearing critters are bigger
(northern moose, western mule deer), or farther (plains antelope,
let’s say), you want a higher velocity, more accurate rifle, and
you’ll definitely want a telescopic sight. We’re talking a bolt
action in the .270, .308, .30-06 etc. caliber range. Bolt action is
the overwhelming choice here: its more rigid receiver, or frame,
enhances precision. As with other firearm types, the bolt action high
power rifle gives the shooter manual leverage that helps when the
mechanism is gunked up by mud, bad weather, or owner neglect.
If you’re in big, bad bear country, you might want to ratchet the
power level up a notch. A .338 Winchester Magnum or 7mm Remington
Magnum is more in line here. If I needed to ruin a really big bruin,
I’d pony up $1,122 suggested retail for the semiautomatic BAR
(Browning Automatic Rifle) in caliber .338 Winchester Magnum and
consider every penny well spent. The bear attacks I’ve studied have
happened very, very fast, and the big guys have soaked up a lot of
firepower and kept fanging and clawing. Follow-up rounds of the
hefty .338 persuasion as fast as you can pull the trigger would make
huge sense here.

Mossberg 500 (top) and Remington 870 (below) are both good quality,
affordable slide action shotguns available in various gauges.
The “high power rifle” title also encompasses smaller bullets going
faster: rounds like the ubiquitous .223 Remington or the super-
fast .22/250. Great for long-range shots on the woodchucks that are
tearing up your crops and are WAY out there, but not quite generating
the smack and penetration you need for deer size game.
If you’re not planning on hunting and don’t have problems with either
very large, mean animals or very distant ones, the high powered rifle—
the “deer rifle,” if you will—is probably the one gun in the battery
you can most easily do without.

Cost effective choice: You’re looking at MSRP in the $600-700 range
for a plain-Jane bolt action Remington Model 700, Ruger Model 77,
etc.; the Savage bolt action is often found new at “best buy” prices.
I’m comfortable with any of them. A lower price is featured on
Remington’s fairly new, economy-grade Model 770. I’ve heard good
things about this rifle, but haven’t had a chance to check one out
yet myself.

The defensive handgun
Folks move to the boonies to get away from the sort of lifestyle that
makes you feel more comfortable carrying a gun 24/7. Hate to be the
one to break it to you, but wherever you are, the need to defend
yourself from man or beast tends to arise suddenly, without time to
run to the gun cabinet.

A .22 pistol is handy for pot meat from ptarmigan to tree rat
(“squirrels,” for the city folk), and while it can certainly kill a
large, aggressive creature, it won’t necessarily stop it in its
tracks. A .44 Magnum double action revolver would be my choice if I
had big brown bears in my backyard. Most of us south of Alaska don’t
have to deal with that, though, and a more moderately powerful
sidearm that you can wear whenever you’re dressed makes a lot of
sense. If being visibly armed is not part of your vision of ambient
rural living, I understand; however, compact .38 Special or .357
Magnum revolvers are available in a discreet pocket size, and can be
with you constantly.

Each of us lives in a different place with different situations that
will guide our choices in everything from clothing to vehicles to,
yes, firearms. I can only say that on the rural property where I have
lived for the last four years, I have a battery that encompasses
everything from varmint rifles to elephant guns, yet every time I’ve
had to kill something on this particular turf (multiple poisonous
snakes, and one really angry hog) I did it with the .357 or .45
pistol that was on my hip because nothing more suitable was within
immediate reach in time.

Cost effective choice: For a small .38 Special or .357 Magnum
revolver with a short barrel that lives in your pants pocket, a
Ruger, Taurus, or Smith & Wesson will do nicely. The MSRP can range
from low $400 to around a grand. In a holster-size semiautomatic
pistol in a caliber with authority (9mm, .40, .45, or .357 SIG)
you’re looking at Glock, Ruger, SIG, Smith & Wesson and Taurus in a
roughly $400-700 range bought new.

Purchasing used
In days of old…When author’s dad “moved to the country” in 1945,
his household gun battery included a .22 rifle (Stevens Model 87) for
his young daughter (top), a Winchester ‘94 deer rifle (center), and
the 12-gauge Winchester ‘97 pump shotgun (bottom).
The mechanic who purchases a pre-owned automobile is unlikely to get
burned on the deal. He or she knows what to look for. The person who
doesn’t know much about cars except how to drive them won’t get
burned on a used car either…if he takes an auto mechanic he can
trust with him to review the vehicle in question before he plunks
down his cash.

Just as a spanking new automobile becomes a used car the moment the
first buyer wheels it out of the dealer’s lot, a brand-new firearm
becomes a second-hand gun as soon as it fires its first shot outside
the factory testing range. In either case, unless the machine in
question is a rare collector’s item, that first transfer of ownership
drops cash value precipitously.

This means that careful shopping can get you a helluva deal on a gun
someone else has broken in for you. It’s all about the condition of
the individual specimen. I know some purist collectors who act as if
a single freckle of rust on the otherwise perfect blue finish of the
gun they want is as much a deal-breaker as if they were collecting
Picasso paintings and a cat had urinated on the canvas.
With a working gun, external blemishes are going to happen anyway.
The stock and even some of the metal is going to get dinged and
dented in the natural course of use. Some of the finish is going to
get worn anyway. Thus, a rough finish is perfectly acceptable for a
backwoods working gun, so long as the arm is mechanically in perfect
working order.

Case in point: In 1995, I found myself at Jack First’s outstanding
gun shop in Rapid City, South Dakota. Looking up at me from the used
gun case was a very well-worn Smith & Wesson Combat Masterpiece Model
15 .38 Special, carrying the even-then unbelievably low price tag of
$130. On a whim, I asked to see it.

It was the classic example of what the late, great gun expert Jeff
Cooper characterized as a gun that had been “carried much and shot
seldom.” More of its famously beautiful S&W blued finish had worn off
than still remained. The frame was literally pitted, as if it had
been worn in an outside holster through the snows and rains of many
years of extreme Dakota weather. Someone had probably scoured off the
rust with steel wool. Yet the lockup was as tight as a brand new
revolver, and the bore—the inside of the barrel—was absolutely
pristine.

I reached for my checkbook, and made the arrangements to ship the gun
to a licensed dealer for me, in the state where I lived. When I
finally got it to the range, I discovered it would put every round of
Federal Match grade 148 grain .38 Special ammunition into about an
inch at 25 yards. I often used it thereafter to teach classes with,
to reinforce the point that shooting is more about the shooter than
the gun. This year, that ugly old beast won for me the Stock Service
Revolver Champion plaque at the Tri-State Regional Championship
(Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee) of the International Defensive
Pistol Association. We shot that match in a driving rainstorm and,
you know, I didn’t worry about rusting the gun for a moment. That’s
as good an example as I can think of for the sort of value you can
get in carefully shopping for used firearms.

I’m writing this on a quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon in North
Florida. Some friends and I were heading south to Hernando this
morning for an IDPA match, but turned back when we met a solid wall
of thunderstorms halfway there. We returned home in leisurely
fashion, doing a “gun shop tour” on the way. With this article in
mind, I paid more attention than usual to the prices on good, used
stuff.

At Southern Sportsman in Chiefland, I found a Marlin Model 336 with a
generic 3-to-9-power variable telescopic sight. The caliber was .30-
30 Winchester, adequate for anything one would be likely to hunt in
this part of the country. The scope was the kind we associate with
more powerful, longer range hunting rifles, but its magnification is
always a one-last-check safety net for making certain that what we’re
aiming at in the forest at twilight really is a deer, and really does
have antlers. This carbine had led a hard life, with a gray patina
and some pitting where its blue finish used to be, and lots of dents
and dings in the buttstock and fore-end. However, I could find no
rust in the bore, and the action still worked smoothly. The price?
Thanks to its ugly duckling appearance, a mere $199.95 and certainly
a solid value.

Moving north to Mayo, Daddy’s Gun Shop had one of those Brazilian-
made Mossberg Plinksters, in virtually new condition, apparently
traded in on something fancier. Its owner had installed a 3-9X
variable power Tasco telescopic sight, decent optics for ordinary
work. This was a full size (one-inch diameter) scope for a deer
rifle, not one of those narrow little scopes designed for .22s and BB
guns that you can barely find an image in. For sure, neither a .22
nor a BB gun is a toy, but the scopes made for them damn sure are.
This new-condition .22 rifle and its good scope were tagged together
at $138.

Further up the road, on the southern outskirts of Live Oak, Lundy’s
Gun Shop had an old Stevens Model 77 12-gauge pump shotgun, tagged at
$167. It was an economy gun the day it left the factory, but a sturdy
one: the military used a bunch of them for jungle warfare during the
Vietnam conflict. It had the same patina and dented wood that spoke
of years in the corner of the barn or the back of the pickup truck,
but it was in perfect working order.

An example of an effective four-gun battery today. From top: .22
rifle (Ruger 77/22). .30-06 “Deer rifle” (Ruger 77). All-around 20
gauge shotgun (Mossberg 500). Defensive pistol (9mm Glock 19).
For $505, plus sales tax and five bucks to each dealer for the NICS
computer clearance to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer, that
would have put a .22 rifle, a .30-30 deer rifle, and a shotgun into
the backwoods home gun rack, with telescopic sights on the rifles to
boot. At manufacturers’ suggested retail pricing (MSRP), the
Marlin .30-30 alone (without the scope) would have been more than
that.

Quality handguns tend to run a bit higher than utilitarian “farm
guns.” We finished our gun shop tour at Pro Arms in Live Oak, where a
gentleman had just purchased a traded-in S&W Model 15 .38 Special
Combat Masterpiece like the one I discussed above, but his was in
virtually new condition. It appeared to have been fired very little,
and was fitted with Uncle Mike’s Boot Grips, which allow the gun to
conceal in an inside the waistband holster as well as a snub-nosed
Detective Special, despite its accuracy-assisting four-inch barrel.
The price was $325 before tax. S&W no longer produces the blue steel
Model 15 version of the Combat Masterpiece, but its stainless steel
Model 67 version has an MSRP of $774 at this writing. Whether for
concealed carry or home defense, I could be happy with that.
Counting the revolver, the day’s shopping would have yielded a before-
tax cost of $830 for enough guns to cover my basic firearms needs if
I lived in a cabin in the area where we were shopping. Hell, the
light-weight Smith & Wesson Model 340 Military & Police .357 Magnum
snub-nose revolver that’s in my pocket as I type this would go that
at suggested retail, by itself.

Bottom line
Don’t go for an A+ in one class at the expense of a grade of
Incomplete on the rest of the curriculum. One screwdriver won’t do it
all for you, nor will one saw, and neither will one firearm. A good,
functional, representative example of each type puts a lot more
versatility in your toolbox than the most expensive specimen of just
one type. That’s how it is with tools…and, in a rural home, the
working gun IS a tool. No more, no less.

Choose your tools carefully. Learn to use them well. And, above all,
demand of yourself and others that they be used responsibly and
safely.