Gun Appreciation Day

A coalition of firearms rights organizations proclaimed today, January 19th 2013, as 'Gun Appreciation Day'.  It's intended to demonstrate public opposition to the demonizing of firearms and their owners by President Obama and the left-wing, so-called 'progressive' sector of US politics.

Here's what I did to make it a celebration.

First, there's a disabled shooter who's been trying to get together the money for an effective, worthwhile .357 Magnum revolver for a long time now.  She's on a very small disability income, and her spare cash is extremely limited, so it's been a slow, laborious process.  Last week she had a minor domestic disaster, and had to replace an appliance . . . so there went her gun fund.  She was despondent, almost in tears as she confessed that with the current rush on guns, and the resulting insane prices, she doubted she'd ever be able to afford something worthwhile.

What's a man to do?  I gave her my prized Smith & Wesson Model 65 stainless steel 3"-barrel revolver.  It's probably the 'perfect packing revolver';  the ideal balance between size, weight and power.  (That's why its Model 13 blued-steel predecessor was the FBI's standard-issue weapon for many years, until they switched to Glock pistols.)  It'll tuck into a compact holster, out of the way until it's needed.  With Crimson Trace Lasergrips (which I'd fitted to it some time before) it'll deliver pinpoint accuracy, and with the right ammunition it's deadly effective as a defensive weapon.  (Yes, I gave her the grips and a couple of boxes of decent ammo to go with it).  She's a happy lady - and I think it made a perfect way to celebrate Gun Appreciation Day.

I have other guns I can (and will) carry until I can replace the S&W - which I'll definitely do as soon as possible.  I think I'll start looking around for a 4" S&W 686 or Ruger GP100.  If anyone out there knows where one can be found at a reasonable price, I'm in the market.  (Contact me via e-mail - the address is in my blog profile.)

The other thing I did to commemorate this day was to do an ammo swap at a local gunshop.  The recent panic buying of firearms and ammunition has left almost all stores very short of ammunition in all popular calibers;  but less popular ones can still be found, if you know where to look and who to talk to.  Last week I took some of the money I made selling accessories and magazines at a gunshow the previous weekend, and invested in a couple of hundred rounds of good general-purpose .357 Magnum ammo.  (Yes, I was able to find it at pre-panic prices!  I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.)

I also checked my .44 Magnum ammo stash, and wasn't satisfied.  I had a couple of hundred rounds, but it was spread among eight or nine different manufacturers, bullet weights and types, etc.  I didn't have enough of any single all-purpose load that would serve for defensive or hunting use, in revolver or carbine.  I wanted to fix that.  Fortunately, a local gunshop had a decent stock of Hornady's excellent 225-grain FTX load.  I've used it before, and like it very much.

This morning I took several boxes of my assorted .44 Magnum ammo (all of it good stuff from reputable manufacturers) and went to visit them.  I proposed an ammo swap - Hornady FTX for my stash.  They liked the idea, and after a bit of horse-trading, I came away with five boxes of FTX in exchange for six boxes of my assorted loads.  Added to what I already had, that gives me well over a hundred rounds of the FTX in stock - plenty for the next few years, given that I don't shoot that caliber often.  It's now my primary .44 Magnum 'stash' load, and its versatility and effectiveness mean it'll stay that way, I'm sure.

So, that was my Gun Appreciation Day.  Phlegmmy celebrated it in fashionable style, and Tam and Roberta went to the latest Indy 1500 gun show.  What did you do to celebrate the day?  Let us know in Comments.

Peter