luck Archives -

It Was One Of Those Days

It was one of those days in a very good way.

I got invited to an AR build party at the end of July with Rob Pincus and David Yamane. Over the last few days I’ve been digging up the parts I’d accumulated over the years for a lightweight build. I found my Aero Precision stripped upper with a matching lower, I found my Doublestar ARFX skeleton stock, I found the CMC AR flat trigger, I found the Odin Works red anodized lower parts, and all the little KNS Precision pins and parts I’d won years ago.

What I was missing was the Faxon pencil barrel that I’d bought at a NRA Annual Meeting a few years ago plus the ALG Defense EMR-V3 13″ handguard. I thought these parts might be stored in one of three trunks where I have put extra pouches, ALICE and Molle gear, holsters, and a bunch of other stuff. I found the barrel almost right away in the topmost trunk. Then as I started looking in the second trunk I happened to look to the side and saw a box. I wondered what was in it and it was the ALG Defense handguards! All my parts needed to complete the lightweight AR had been found.

If the story stopped there, I’d still be a very happy camper. But as both Ron Popeil and Billy Mays would say, “But wait, there’s more!”

Years ago I had bought a surplus Aimpoint Comp M4 red dot sight. I had lost track of where I had stored it. A new AA battery and it works perfectly. I not only found it in trunk number one along with the Faxon barrel but I found my SOG PowerLock multi-tool.

In addition, I found my DSG Arms complete upper which I think has a Seekins Precision barrel on it. That upper was one of the first “tactical” uppers I bought as it had a full length handguard with Keymod slots. “Keymod” tells you how long ago I bought it! Digging through the trunks I found a sling bag that I plan to take with my on a trip next month as well as other stuff.

I have over the years taken advantage of Black Friday and other sales to buy parts and accessories at a discount. I try to keep up with where everything is stored but obviously I fail.

However, today was just one of those days when everything just came together. Given my luck today I wonder if I ought to buy a lottery ticket. The winnings could finance a lot of 2A lawsuits.

Upside To Outrageous Gun Show Ammo Prices

If you have been to a gun show in the last couple of years and priced ammo, you know the prices can be outrageous. That is, in comparison to what they were just a few years ago. The reality is that we are seeing the economic laws of supply and demand working as they should. We don’t have to like it but it is what it is.

Knowing I was going to miss the next Asheville Gun Show as it coincides with the Dallas Safari Club Convention, I trekked over to Waynesville to attend their little gun show. It was…sad. There weren’t many vendors and the ammo selection was poor.

I had hoped to find some ammo in 9.3×62 (not likely), 6.5×55 (possible), and .30-30 Winchester (more probable). Nobody had any of the first two but one vendor had a few boxes of .30-30 Winchester. I wanted the .30-30 ammo as I plan to use my old Marlin 336 rifle for deer hunting this coming week.

The nameless vendor had a couple of boxes of Remington Core-Lokt 170 grain and a couple of boxes of Hornady LEVERevolution 160 grain. The vendor wanted $59.95 and $69.95 respectively for this ammo. That was out of the range that I wanted to pay.

The upside is that I knew I had a box or two of .30-30 ammo around the house in one ammo can or another. I just had to find it. I will admit to and the Complementary Spouse will confirm that I’m not the most organized person in the world.

But find it I did.

Now it wasn’t in the first place I looked nor in the second. I think maybe it was the third or fourth place I looked. Along the way I did discover I had more 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 Savage, and 6.8 SPC ammo that I realized. This turned out to be a win all around!

Like many of us, I had gotten into the habit of picking up a box or two of ammo when I went to Walmart or my local gun store just in case. I’m guessing the above box of Federal .30-30 Winchester probably cost me $15-20 when I bought it. This is truly a case of it paying off for me.

I can’t say that my old habits still will work given today’s condition. That said, if you find something you might be able to use in the future at a reasonable price, go for it. I did come home from that gun show with two boxes of Hornady 6.8 SPC 110 grain V-Max for $30 a box. Not cheap but cheaper than what I could find on Ammoseek.com and I’ll be prepared for coyotes whenever I go for them.