Nice Dancing - Don't Know If I Ever Shared This Video Before

 She has all the moves to keep any straight man happy, that is for sure. I, for one, never get tired of watching this one. 

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Don't Expect Potential Gun Buyers To Be Serious...

...if you are not a serious gun seller. This evening, while browsing a gun forum which I frequent, I came across a thread by way of which someone was trying to sell some guns. I read the title of the thread, the sale was called a "SAFE CLEANOUT", then I read the opening post and saw only three guns were being offered for sale. The info given about two of the firearms included: make, model, caliber. It gave the barrel length for one of those two and its finish; for the other of those two it mentioned an optic and number of mags it came with. For the third gun, there was a date, supposedly of manufacture, make and model and its condition listed as "great" and said it was accurate. A price was listed for all three. That was essentially all the info given for the guns.

 

The seller did list location of the sale. There were no photographs of the guns. The seller went on to say that photos would be available only to serious buyers. I laughed at that most of all.

 

You may be wondering why I laughed. It was because I found it ludicrous as far as gun sales go. The ineptness of some folks to use what should be common sense when trying to sell a firearm or almost anything else is astounding. So what was it exactly that set me off laughing? Well that was a combination of things but one final thing really got me guffawing.

 

First of all, the description of the sale as a "Safe Cleanout" had me thinking, wow it must be a really small safe because the seller was only offering three guns for sale.  Then, the descriptions of each were lacking. If you want to sell anything, especially a firearm let me assure that most potential buyers would prefer as much info as possible right up front. They mostly do not want to have to ask lots of questions, the answers to which should have already been made clear, with a very good description, by the buyer in his offering advertisement. Those things, with reference should include: make, model, issue (many models of firearms have various issues, or versions, with differing modifications); caliber, MM  (millimeter size of ammo), gauge or bore size (last two for shotguns); finish, type of grips, type of sights and or optics, number of magazines or cylinders, type of action and so on. 

 

The last thing that made me laugh and guffaw the loudest, was that the seller stated he would send pictures to only serious buyers! First of all, it is insulting to any potential buyer that they are not serious enough for the seller to have posted pics without them asking. Secondly, what actual serious buyer wants to buy from a seller who is not serious enough about selling an item to list pictures in his offering; sure some folks will ask for pictures and then buy but why have to bother if the seller was not serious enough in the first place to include pics! It is a turnoff for many potentially SERIOUS buyers.

 

The condition of each gun, both cosmetic and mechanical (if known) are important pieces of info to include when listing a firearm. As for mechanical condition, saying it is fully functional, has functional issues, and or is missing parts (and therefor is a parts gun or gunsmith special) should be stated. As to cosmetic condition, the  seller should be telling potential buyers the estimated condition by using an accepted format, such as NRA condition codes for modern firearms, or the NRA condition codes for antique firearms. As for me, I much prefer a simpler description for the cosmetic condition, one that plainly states the metal condition as a percentage of remaining finish. Other important condition info to include is whether or not there is any rust, how bad is any rust, or are mars of any type on the metal, wood or polymer parts. More info can be supplied by the seller but the things I just mentioned are basic.

 

 One of the most important pieces of info to include is a visual representation of the actual gun for sale. In other words, post good, very clear photographs of what is being sold. Picture the complete gun from both sides, and from the top and bottom too. Offer close-ups also of any special features, engraving, markings, or of any damage.

 

What including that info does is this:

 

1. Shows that the seller is serious.

 

2. Saves both the seller and potential buyers a lot of time because when that info is there for all to see, the potential buyers do not need to contact the seller and each potential buyer ask several questions about it.

 

Telling a potential buyer the seller's terms in advance is very important. Knowing whether or not the seller will ship or is only making an offer for a face to face sale is important to most buyers. Showing types of payment acceptable to the seller is also imperative. This also rules out unnecessary inquiries of the buyer by potential buyers and thus saves each of them time and effort. 

 

If you post a gun for sale ad, don't leave out information or pictures and then say something like: photos will be emailed to serious buyers only! The reason to to not say that and to provide photos and a really good description is to show potential buyers that you are a serious seller and not some nefarious buffoon trying to screw them. It is of benefit to the seller in another way, giving all that info shows the seller is serious and thus let's the buyers see the seller is making a serious, good and hopefully an honest effort as opposed to trying to rid himself of items he failed to show pictures of in the first place. It also helps weed out some buyers with ill intent by way of alerting the seller to those who ask unnecessary questions about what already was made obvious and by way of those who question and try to change your seller's terms. Beware of them. It can also offer protection to the buyer when a seller later claims the gun was in poor condition and then leave you bad feedback. If you showed everything in your offering you have proof otherwise when bad feedback or a bad claim made against you as the seller. Along those lines, giving the serial number of a gun, in an offering, and of course sending the gun with that number, protects the seller as well. For some reason, unknown to me though, many sellers think showing the serial number somehow puts them at great risk. Unless you were trying to sell a stolen firearm, I cannot figure the fear of showing the serial number; and if it was stolen and offered by you: go to jail - go directly to jail, do not pass go.

 

Thus, in brief, what you should try to accomplish, if offering a gun for sale, is to attract serious potential customers, and ultimately someone to buy it, by way of showing you are a serious seller.

 

One last thing and this should be obvious to all: Make certain your offer to sell and your terms of sale follow all laws an regulations in the area in which you are selling, in the area to where you are shipping (shipping company rules and local, state a federal laws on shipping must also be adhered to) and where the buyer resides also make certain it is legal under federal law and regulations. Some, if not all, gun laws suck but you need to obey them to stay out of prison. You also would want to follow all rules of the venue through which you are selling it: such as gun forum rules as to sales, auction house rules, online auction company rules such as those of GunBroker.com to name one such company (my favorite).

 

Note, the above is a basic rundown but not all inclusive of how to sell a gun via an ad. If I was selling one right now and listing it, say on GunBroker, I'd probably think of some other points to make. So, there are other things you can list in an offering to show yourself as a serious seller if you ever list an ad for a firearm sale and actually make a good and quick sale.

 

Good luck with your sales. 

 

Al the best,

Glenn B

Conway, AR Gun Show

 My son and I attended the Conway Gun Show this morning. I brought along two rifles to sell. My son carried around my Savage 111 Long Range Hunter in .300 WIN MAG. Not one person asked to look at it. I strolled through the aisles hefting my CZ 457 Royal. The vendor at the first set of tables I walked by told me to come back if I had not sold it by the time I was leaving. That made me hopeful that I'd be leaving the venue with lots more cash than the $67 I had in my pocket.

 

 As I passed one table, I noticed a package of twenty 7.62X39mm stripper clips for $12.00. I figured I'd buy them if still there later. Almost everyting else I saw was way overpriced. Yet, I did see one new Beretta 92FS with an asking price of $625.00, out the door. That was not bad at all. The lowest price I saw on AmmoSeek for the same pistol was $646.49 shipped. Add another $20.00 to have it go through my local FFL and the price into my hands would have been $666.49. So, $625.00 was a very good price without a waiting period due to shipping, to actually have it in hand. If I did not already have four 92FS pistols (two of which are regular and the other two are 92FS Compact L, Type M), I may have bought that one. Let's face it, with inflation at its current level,  saving $41.49, or 6%, off of the rock bottom price shown on AmmoSeek, is a good thing making it a good bargain. That money could get you a couple or few boxes of 9mm ammo at today's prices. Heck, with my Ammo+ membership at Target Sports USA, that amount would be sufficient to pick up four boxes of CCI 9MM, 115 grain, Blazer Brass ammo, shipped. 

 

 There was one other firearm with an almost decent price on it by today's pricing. That was a nice looking Chinese SKS. The seller was not a show vendor but an attendee. He was asking $550 for it. I should have taken a look at it right after he walked in but I did not. Later, I saw him as he was leaving and should have looked it over and asked him what was his bottom line. I would have offered $400 if it was in excellent condition, and if it had matching numbers maybe an additional $25. With him walking out the door, still with it, it may have been the perfect time to haggle with him. There is almost always the chance of a disappointed seller making a good deal at that point, instead of leaving without making a deal at all and thus with the same amount of cash as when he got there. It was a Frank Fritz (RIP) "buy it when you see it" moment; a would have, could have, should have at least looked at it kind of a thing. I failed at doing what I usually would have done and missed out on that potential opportunity. While I would not pay his asking price of $550, even that was at least a decent price by today's pricing. Who said you cannot find good or even decent deals at gun shows nowadays (or ever)?

 

 Of course excellent, good or just decent deals at gun shows are a rare commodity and that has been likewise in the few decades I have been attending them. Granted, it is more difficult to find such a deal today as opposed to 45 years ago or so, when I went to my first gun show, but a couple or a few decent to outstanding deals can be found at almost every show. That is if you look hard enough and haggle as best you can. You are more likely to find dealers willing to come down in price on Sundays instead of Saturdays, in my experience. That can be either because they sold almost nothing on Saturday and need to get some cash, any amount within reason for a y given item, or because they have done so well, so far, and are more willing to sell something for a little less because their coffers are filled with how much they have already brought into them.

 

Not long after the guy with the Chinese SKS departed, I went back to the vendor who had told me to come back with the CZ 457 Royal, if not sold by the time I was ready to leave the show. I offered it to him at about $200 less than the lowest price found on AmmoSeek. Mine is unfired in excellent condition, in the box with papers, essentially brand new. He offered me $100 less than my low-ball price. I am pretty sure, had he bought it, he would have asked quite a bit more than the lowest online price when he offered it for sale, or so is my guess.

 

The only thing I bought at the show were 100 rounds of Norinco 7.62X39mm ammo (banned from future imports by Clinton back in the 1990s) and the pack of 20 stripper clips, that I mentioned earlier, for 7.62X39mm ammo. The ammo had an asking price of $50, I got em for $45. I gave them to my son as a gift since he had asked me earlier for a hundred bucks to buy ten boxes of it from the same vendor. I only had $67 on me, and my credit cards while far from being maxed out have to much on them for me to use them for anything other than what I need, at least until the 1st of next month when I pay them off in full. So, I got what I could afford while leaving a bit of cash in my pocket. I had asked Brendan if he wanted me to take $100 out of the ATM and loan it to him but he said forget it. So, I surprised him later when I gave the 100 rds. to him as a gift. The stripper clips had an asking price of $12.00. I got them for $10; I think I think I was lucky the vendor still had them. Until today, I had not seen them offered for sale below a dollar apiece, a buck each has been the offering price for a couple of years now in my experience. So. .50 cents each was such a deal and a good one at that.

 

All in all, Brendan & I enjoyed the show. Well, I think we did, but know I did (I just asked him about it and now I know he enjoyed it). It was a nice way to spend about a couple of hours together, actually about three hours with the drive.

 

Some other things of note: I would have taken some photographs of the show, to display the wide variety of guns and other things for sale except for the numerous signs at the entrance forbidding anyone from taking photographs. This is the only gun show, in my memory, where I have ever seen such a disappointing rule and there were at least two, to a few, signs saying so. If I had been permitted to have taken pics, I would have made certain to take them not only of tables displaying guns, firearms parts, their accessories, and ammo, but also of what I think were the annoying amount of tables with odd ball stuff, at least oddball to sell at a gun show. 

 

Those off items were anything from: bread and other baked goods, jam, hot pepper sauces, pepper mills, coffee grinders, knickknacks, fishing rods & tackle, axes, hatchets, fantasy swords, brass knuckles, toys, jewelry, and even a few tables with only potted house plants for sale. Never before, to the best of my little gray cell's abilities, do I recollect house plants being sold at a gun show; that was weird to say the least and the vendor selling them had at least three tables of them. Those are sad examples of what things are allowed to be sold at gun shows, in my opinion, but it happens at all gun shows nowadays and I am not blaming the promoter of such shows but I am disappointed that such has become the norm. It is amazing what unrelated junk items are allowed to be sold at so called 'Gun shows' or Gun & Knife shows. I, for one, do not even particularly like the sale of knives being allowed, other than bayonets, but I can tolerate them as they are also weapons. I suppose folks have accepted the fact that knives always will be sold therein. I imagine it is much akin to peanut butter & jelly (fruit preserves are to my liking), as they go well together and so it seems for knives and guns go together to many folks. 

 

However, in my estimation, those other non gun related items, like house plants, really do not have a valid place at a gun show. I suppose though, the promoters do not attract enough firearms vendors, and financial concerns demand they fill as many tables as possible to stay in business and make a profit. Thus they allow what I, and many others in my experience, believe are junk vendors into the venues. As I said, it is like that at all gun shows. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, singling out G&S Promotions. It has been that way for decades at most, if not all, guns shows I have been to in the past 30 years or more. Although, I remember some of the shows I attended early on that did not allow anything but guns and items that were directly related to firearms, I miss those days. Sadly the trend to allow things unrelated to firearms seems to be continually getting worse. Sooner or later, if not restricted now, the amount of tables selling items unrelated to firearms may outnumber the number of tables from which guns are sold, at some shows.

 

 

Regardless of my qualms along those lines, the show promoter Stephanie E. of G&S Promotions is a very nice lady and runs a very professional operation with good people working for her. I have been to several of their shows with Brendan, and to a few by myself, both as a vendor and as an attendee. I think they host some of the best Shows in AR (anywhere for that matter) along with those run by Kerry Murphy Promotions; although, I must say Stephanie is much prettier than Kerry!

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

Best Sellers

Do you know the most popular book in the entire history of the world? You probably know or have guessed, it is the Bible, but what is the most popular novel in the history of the world?

That novel is about a hopeful and chivalrous gentleman on a seemingly hopeless and foolish quest. It was written by a Spaniard in the early 1600s and has not been outsold by any other novel in over 400 years.  I may have read it in gramnar or high school as  I know the essence of the story but cannot recall if I actually read the book or just heard the story. My little gray cells vaguely remember reading it way back then. Regardless, it is on my bucket list to acquire a copy to read either again or for the first time.

That novel is: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes.(2)

 

1. https://www.britannica.com/one-good-fact/whats-the-best-selling-novel-of-all-time

2. https:/en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Quixote

A Culinary Delight

This evening, I picked up an extra large pepperoni pizza at Joe's Italian Bistro, in Texarkana, AR. It was made in true NY City style, closer to that than any others I have eaten in a couple or few years now. I had three  slices. It was delicious. I would rate it a 7.5 as compared to pizza rated 10 from a really good pizza parlor in NYC. Maybe it could have used a bit better cheese but the cheese was still good. Definitely needed, in my opinion, 1.5 to 2X the pepperoni. The pepperoni was kind of sparse on a few slices. Regardless, it was the best pizza I have eaten in a long time. That was an unexpected joy.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Homebound Hidden Handguns & Long Arms

I know that many firearms owners carry handguns virtually all of the time. Some even carry while in their homes, or if not actualy carrying at home, have one or more readily available inside their abodes. What I am interested in discussing is whether you have hidden, loaded and easily accesible, handguns or even long arms, wthin you living quarters.

 

A bunch of a firearms forum members, up on Long Island, NY, discussing a similar topic as this one, years ago, said they kept loaded handguns on shelves behind other items like a picture frame, in or on a night table, in specially made gun concealment wall hanging frames, in drawers, in closets, hidden in false books, in a holster attached to their couch, and even under the pillow each night (yikes). Some said they kept long arms at the ready in a closet, next to entrance doors, under their beds, hanging on a wall and so forth. 

One fellow firearms enthusiast surprised just about every other forum member when he said he kept a loaded and easily accesible handgun, hanging in a waterproof bag from the pipe that was attached to his shower head. The bag was something like what a diver or canoer might use to assure personal propery is kept dry. He said the pistol was made of stainless steel. Plenty of the forum members derided him for that, thinking he was paranoid. I and several others thought it was not such a bad idea considering the amount of home invasions in NY at the time, and as long as their were no young children in the home.

 

I am left wondering,  if you do likewise. If so, in what places do you keep your loaded and ready firearms at home. Of course, I imagine some folks do not keep loaded firearms in the home because they have young children, but some with kids have probably figured out, or at least believe they have figured out, safe places to keep a loaded gun at the ready, places which they think  their youngsters cannot access (beware, kids often get into the seemingly most secure and or secret places).

As for me, I have a handgun either on my person or within fairly easy reach, such as on my coffee table when watching TV. I also have a shotgun loaded and ready in my bedroom and keep my every day carry pistol on a bedside table when I go to bed. There is also a bed holster holding a Charter Arms Bulldog revolver - loaded with 44 S&W Special ammo - hanging from the holster's flap that is between my mattress and the bed frame. I have a spare bedroom/storage room with another handgun in it. I do not have one in the bathroom but have been thinking about putting one in there too. No guns in my kitchen but several big sharp knives and a machete too. As for me, there are no children in my home and if have an expected, or even unexpected guest, come by with or without children in tow, I take appropriate safety precautions.

 

What about you folks? Do any of you have innovative places, or simply any places, where you keep a loaded gun at the ready in your home?

 

As I have said often before, there always has been one thing I liked about the Boy Scouts Of America, their motto: BE PREPARED!

 

 All the best,

Glenn B 

On The 80th Anniversarry of Nuking Nagasaki...

 ...the mayor of that city has given the human race a dire warning of what he thinks is going to happen to the world. I whole heartidly agree with him. 

 

We need to change things and use some logic to abolish nukes and maybe war in general and we need to do it soon, or else we face destruction like the world has never seen. More at the source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/nagasaki-mayor-issues-chilling-warning-80th-anniversary-atomic-bombing.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

President Trump Is The Man...

 ...and probably is the only man, who currently can persuade Vladimir Putin & Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end the war between Russia &  Ukraine. He has been bending over backwards to give Russia & Ukraine every chance to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict but both Putin and Zelensky have seemed hell bent on keeping the war going on and on and o; and that appears especially true of Putin. Well, as of late, maybe Zelenskyy is ready to be diplomatic but Putin does not really seem ready because each and every olive branch offered by President Trump has been stomped on by Putin with new massive attacks on Ukraine. That is or was maybe until now. Trump hopes to meet with Putin within a week or so (more at the source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-announces-face-face-talks-putin-next-week-three-way-talks-ukraines-zelenskyy. After that, Trump hopes to have a three way meeting (no Schumer and the rest of you TDS types - not a sexual get together) between the three leaders to achieve peace in the Russia/Ukraine war.

 

Being that Trump, in the last day or two, announced the placing of nuclear submarines closer to Russia (they were probably already there but Trump is exercising brinkmanship or the art of the deal), maybe Putin has finally seen the light. That light shining on the fact that if Putin wants war with NATO or the USA, and if he keeps threatening it through his flunkies, then the USA is ready, willing and to go at it should Putin start it and so it seems are our NATO allies. European countries, especially those that used to be under Soviet tyranny do not want to be oppressed again and other do not want to be under Russian rule for their firs time.

 

I hope and even pray (although I am not a regularly praying man) that this does not come to WW III but I think we are closer than ever to it. If I think anyone can prevent it, President Donald J. Trump is the one man who can do it. Let's face it it, it sure as hell was not Joe Biden nor Kamala Harris who was getting it done, all they did was prolong it.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

I Am A Child Of The Cold War...

...a war that luckily never turned hot. I think the reason it did not go hot is that the Soviet Union's (USSR) leaders as well as those in our government all realized that if it did there would be no winner and the world would be lost as we know it. Of course there was also some remarkable diplomacy and brinkmanship that played out well for all of us.

 

Sadly though, we are involved, once again, in a cold war with Russia and have been ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. No matter what President Trump tries, it seems he cannot quell the desire of Vladimir Putin for more power by way of victory in Ukraine and after that - who knows! As with other rulers from Russia and the former USSR - more  power and tyranny are apparently the most desirable of goals for them. One must hope that Putin realizes that if he starts WW III, there is not going to be a winner. Then again, maybe like Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and others - he is blinded to that fact by his insatiable lust for more power. To say the man is an egomaniac is a huge understatement. If he were to be assassinated today, I would stand up an applaud the assassin and then hope maybe beyond any hope that the next ruler of Russia was much more sensible and moderate to his approach to world affairs. 

 

There was a song, many years ago in my younger days (my late 20s, yes the Cold War was still ongoing then), about fear & paranoia that the end was upon us. People feared the end because they had thought the then president of the USA, Ronald Reagan, was about to start one with the USSR. Luckily in real life just as in the song, it all turned out to be a false alarm. That song is below in both the original German and then in an English translation and it expresses the paranoia perfectly:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpu5a0Bl8eY

 

 

The thing is today, if it appears the end is upon us because of something caught on radar approaching in the air, it probably will not be a false alarm. I doubt it will be an attack on us at first but rather that a NATO nation will be attacked by Russia either mistakenly or purposefully just as almost happened in Romania and as has almost taken place in Lithuania More at the source:  https://www.foxnews.com/world/nato-member-scrambles-jets-after-russian-drone-attack-witkoff-meets-putin. Either way, if a NATO nation is attacked - mistakenly or purposefully - it may not matter which as the wrath of NATO may rain down on Moscow in such a case. If that happens, then the nukes most likely will be sent flying in all directions from all nuclear armed nations. One can only hope that Trump can bring an end to this madness before WW III is commenced and that any flying objects detected on radar will be nothing more than red or luft (air) balloons, or maybe a flock of birds. Yet, with the latest attack on Ukraine coming within only a half mile of Romania (a NATO nation and thus a U.S. ally), it is probably only a matter of time before such an attack hits one of our allies.

 

If that happens, nuclear war could follow. An invasion on our shores would possibly, maybe even probably, soon follow. Russia may have depleted a lot of its armaments in Ukraine but then so too has the U.S. by sending them to Ukraine and the U.S. is dependent upon Red China for the minerals to make much of our weaponry. Red China has not depleted any of their armaments and they are an ally of Russia at least for now. We would be in a mire of deep shit doo-doo if they joined in, which I am certain they would. 

 

Along those lines, I hope you are at least somewhat prepared with a decent stock, for a month or several months, of: food & water, necessary medicines, first aid supplies, gas masks with plenty of filters, firearms and ammo, bladed weapons & tools, and whatever else you may need. I don't know about you but if the commies actually invade, I want to send as many to hell as is possible before they send me to the same place.

 

(I have to note, that song brings a few tears to my eyes because I clearly remember and feel the worldwide paranoia of my childhood; a paranoia that was felt within my home. I could see it in my mother's face when one sunny beautiful day in 1962, the noises of NY City were muted by the sound of powerful jet fighters flying overhead and then causing a sonic boom. I actually saw four or five of them, as I best recall, fly low right over our home in Brooklyn, NY; and I do mean low and directly over our apartment building. Then seconds later we heard the sonic booms of them breaking the sound barrier. We did not know they were sonic booms. My mother panicked and got me back inside quickly and under the bed. She told me it must be the Russians attacking, she thought they were dropping bombs. She was afraid, very afraid. I had only a child's idea of what was happening, but I already knew from grammar school that we needed to run, duck and take cover (what a farce, them teaching us that in school). I either had just turned seven years old, or was  just under seven with my birthday coming soon, but am pretty sure that happened during the October Crisis, so I would have been seven by them. That crisis, was better known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was supposedly the closest the world had come to a nuclear war up until then; the thing is though, we may be closer to one now. 

 

They were scary times that lasted until Ronald Reagan's cunning brinkmanship and diplomacy in the 1980's brought the cold war to an end, instead of starting a hot war as many had feared he would do. The cold war had gone on for many years, in fact for around three decades by the time it had ended under Reagan. It seemed like it was all over for good for a bit; yet, here we go again and once again the world is a very scary place in which we live thanks to the aggressiveness of the Russians! Hopefully President Trump also has the cunningness to carry out the diplomacy & brinkmanship needed to save us, the world, from destroying ourselves. I hope with all my heart that the words of Nina's song (English version) never come true: "This is what we've waited for, this is it boys, this is war..."; because war with Russia means WW III and it may well be the actual war to end all wars, unless that is cockroaches can fight wars. I am feeling the same fears of my younger years they're not nice at all. Let's hope that sanity triumphs.)

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Sometimes Guns I Buy Are In Near Pristine Condition...

 ...if not actually pristine or even flawless. Take for instance the three I just purchased from the Hessney Auction Company. Two were listed "as new" the other said nothing special in its description. The two shown "as new" were the Norinco Model 54-1 and the Ruger Mark I Target pistol. I have got to hand it to then at Hessney -

 at least this time as they do not always get the descriptions right but they did just fine this time on those two. The Ruger had a tiny bit of finish wear, maybe half a percent. Besides three tiny scratches at the same spot on the frame, it is truly in 'as new' condition, in fact I have seen guns sold new in the box that looked worse. 

 

The Norinco is another matter. In it's dilapidated box was the manual and a receipt. The receipt showed it was purchased in San Bruno, CA on May 11, 1992. Whoever purchased it and owned it since then may not have taken care of the box, maybe even drove a semi over it or let a kid destroy it, but he certainly took excellent care of the pistol. It looks as close to perfect as one can get for a pistol from back then. My guess is that no one ever fired it. While I have not disassembled it yet, the outside is about as pristine as any new gun I have ever seen and the magazines (two were included) look as if they may have been in and out of the gun once before I checked it. It does not appear to have been reblued. All I can say about it other than that is - WOW, it is a nice one.

 

The third gun was a Charter Arms Undercover revolver. While it was not listed "as new" it probably should have been so. It looks barely used and I remind you that "as new" does not mean it appears brand new. It means it looks as good as new more or less, as I understand it. In other words, it appears very close to looking like new. While there is a cylinder ring is is barely noticeable; meaning by my guess that it was fired very few times. The only possible thing wrong with its description that I have noticed so far is that it said it has walnut grips. I think they may be plastic but I'll have to take them off to be sure and give them the hot pin test on an inner surface if they look like plastic on the inside. If they are wood, that should be obvious when looking at their inner side. Maybe, if they are wood, that fact is not so obvious on the outside - possibly due to the finish used. 

 

I am patting myself on the back for bidding on these and having the high bids. It is not always the case that I wind up with guns listed "as new" that are in as good a condition as any of these three. If my phone's camera was working properly, I'd post pictures but for sometime now it has been taking foggy photos since the lens cover broke. I have had a new phone for over a month but have not set it up yet (as I have said before, I am THE Great Procrastinator). Once I get it set up, I hope to  take pics and post them here.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Another Gun, Another Caliber...

 ...of ammo that I need to pick up. You may recall that in my last post, I mentioned having the high bid on a Norinco Model 54-1 in 7.62 Tokarev. I am not going to say that I have never owned any of that ammo but to the best of my recollection, the five rounds of it that I gave away at a gun show this past weekend was all of it for me. Those few rounds were in a bag of maybe 150 other rounds of mixed calibers that I found loose in range boxes & bags, partially filled ammo boxes, ammo cans and other places. Those were all of the unspent rounds that I had accumulated over the years for whatever reason. Many were at least 10 to 20 years old but all evidently in good enough condition to shoot. Those that I found which were corroded, were kept by me. They will be disposed of properly at a later date. All of the ones I gave away looked to be in good shootable condition.

 

 Now, back to the 7.62 Tokarev ammo (aka: 7.62X25mm). It is a bottle necked pistol round which I guess makes it somewhat unusual among pistol ammo. There are other such pistol rounds out there but the are in the great minority. 

 

The pistol, for said ammo, arrived at my local FFL yesterday and I picked it up promptly. That is one of the few things I never procrastinate on getting done. It looked excellent on first glance at the store but I need to give it a much better inspection today. 

 

After looking it over better, I want to shoot it. So along that line, I ordered some 7.62 Tokarev ammo for it yesterday. Three boxes of Sellier & Bellot FMJ and two of PPU JHP set me back almost $160.00 at Saint Barb's Bullets. That included shipping and tax. My go to online ammo store, Target Sports USA, did not have any in stock, that was disappointing. 

 

Anyway, that is the thing about buying a new gun in a caliber different than that of your other guns. It means, tracking down and acquiring a new caliber for yourself. It may also mean paying more for it than other ammo if it is sort of an odd ball caliber.

 

 Then today, I woke up and I thought, I would like to shoot the new pistol as soon as possible, procrastination be damned. So, I called a few local ammo dealers to find that not only do they not have it in stock but most of them apparently had never heard of it before. Obviously not one of the most common types of ammo, which by the way is probably what makes it rather expensive for a small pistol round. It sells for about $25.00 per box of 50 rounds. Not cost prohibitive, yet way above the price of a much more popular pistol round like 9mm Luger (aka: 9mm Parabellum).

 

So, as it turns out. it seems I will have to await delivery of my ammo order before I can take my new pistol to the range for some shooting goodness.

 

A range report to follow, sooner or later.

 

 All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

 

 

Another Auction - Another Gun; Well...

 ...actually another three guns. I had the pleasure of bidding in another Sportsman Auction, run by Hessney.com, this Saturday past. I checked out most of the offerings over the past week or two, placed some early bids and then spent several hours sitting in front of my laptop as the live online auction took place on Saturday.

 

I bid on several firearms, as is my usual routine but expected to have the high bids on only one or two. As it turned out, mine were the top bids on three of them. Thus, I will soon add these to my collection assemblage of boomers: 

 

1. A Charter Arms Undercover revolver in 38 Special with 3" barrel and walnut grips.

 

 

  

 

2. A Ruger MK I, 22 LR, target pistol, with 6 7/8" tapered barrel and target sights, in "As New" condition with box and papers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. A Norinco model 54-1 pistol in 7.62X25 Tokarev. This was also listed "As New" and comes with box and papers; albeit, the box obviously having seen better days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I am THE Great Procrastinator, it will probably be a while before I  bring them to the range; however, once I do so, I will likely give a range report on each (sooner or probably later).

 

I also picked up several other things on which I had the high bids. They include:

 

Bushnell Sportview 10x50 wide angle binoculars, with Bushnell case:

 

 

 

 

Several pairs of of assorted shooting gloves:

 

 

 

Three AR-15 mags:

 

 

 

A Sight Mark laser bore sight: 

 

 

 

Two boxes of Remington HTP, 9mm, JHP ammo (for which I over bid by a couple of bucks each, shame on me):

 

 

 

And, a Lee Safety Powder Scale (which I probably will sell at a gun show as I already have another.

 

 

 

Getting back to the pistols: 

 

As for the Norinco Model 54-1, I have had a long time interest in possibly getting one, that after a friend of mine showed me a similar pistol he had (military version) that he brought back from Vietnam. He wanted more for it then than I wanted to pay way back then. Ammo for it back then was not all that readily available; although, he got some milsurp ammo at a gun show we both attended, as best I recall. Ammo today is readily available in the commercial market, new and factory fresh at a decent price. I hope this one functions well, I think it will be fun to shoot wit its bottle necked pistol ammo.

 

Regarding the Charter Arms, there is nostalgia that goes with that one too. A charter Arms Undercover in 38 Special was the first revolver I ever bought. I got it at Yellowmart in El Centro, CA when I was in the Border Patrol circa 1980. I wound up selling it in 1981 to a firearms engraver in CA. That particular revolver had a flaw and I informed the buyer of it; he bought it anyway to practice his art on it. I want to give this model another try. I am not certain if this was made by the original Charter Arms (I hope such is the case) or the second company by that name but will try to make that determination after I receive it.

 

The Ruger Mark I, is just something I want to re-add to my collection. I had one but sold it within the last year or less. I am thinking I probably will keep this one if it is as nice as I hope it to be (which means as nice as the one I sold). Seller's remorse kicked in after I sold the first one and thus I bid on this one as its replacement.

 

Life may go back to being a bit humdrum until the next Hessney Auction; then again maybe not. It may become a bit more fun than usual when I take these three to the range. I just renewed my range permit for a public range in my county in AR and am hoping to get there much more often than I did over the past year and a half or so. I have all the ammunition I could need (except the Tokarev ammo), even if WW III comes to our shores. So, I may as well start shooting some of it since I can't take it with me and since my son would probably only sell most of it once I am gone. Shooting it would be much more fun than sitting on it, so to speak.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

 

What Did I Say About Gun Going To A Gun Show

 I arrived in Hot Springs, AR for the gun show at about half past noon today. Met my son there, walked around with a Savage 111 Long Ranger Hunter that I  was trying to sell at a good price but did not garner any interest at all. That seemed off to me because it was a good price even for a dealer to buy it from me, and with a bit of haggling, I'd have come down from my asking price. After walking around the venue twice, I asked my son if he wanted to get lunch. So, we went to a restaurant of his choosing, we ate and had some ales. Two of his friends who live close to Hot Springs joined us with their toddler son. Had a nice time, food was okay, ale was okay, waitress was fine and company was grand. After that my son took off for home. I decided to go to my hotel and not back to  the gun show. 

Somewhere on the way to the hotel, I realized I had  forgotten something very important in my apartment this morning - my medications. Most importantly of them are my blood pressure meds and Synthroid. Once at the hotel, I called my health plan online pharmacy to get an emergency supply at a local pharmacy. This happened to me last year and they got me what I needed at a walk in pharmacy within a couple of hours. Today I was told that it would take two days to get an EMERGENCY supply. So, tomorrow, I will get up, have breakfast at the hotel and drive straight home after that to take my meds. I had a stroke in 2020 (actually three, one after the other within an hour) and do not want another. Thus need the BP meds. Very disappointed am I for forgetting the meds and thus ruining most of my weekend.

I used to keep a bottle with a week's worth of my meds in my car. Stopped doing that because it gets so hot here. It was 97 today, where I live in SW AR, and is forecast to be 100 degrees tomorrow and above 100, every day, through at least Friday next. Not good for storing meds in the car. Oh well, I will remember them next time.

  

Then, bored at the hotel, and to make things worse, I decided to go to Oaklawn Casino. They had a metal detector at the entrance to the casino floor. I asked security if I could secure my pistol in the security office, the answer was no. I also  alled the security office, same answer. Then the guy asks me to ID myself while on the phone. I just hung up and left.  

 

Later, I went to MacDonalds for something to eat. Found what looked exactly like a large rat shit that fell out of the last bit of my burger. Oh joy. This has not been my best weekend.

 

 My only consolation is that there will be a gun show close to where I live in early August, and I will have two tables at that one, thus may sell what guns I had hoped to sell today or tomorrow.

. 

All the best,

Glenn B

Do You Still Go To Gun Shows? I do.

 I still do. I go as both a buyer and as a vendor. In the past year or more, I guess it's been more so as a vendor for me; not that I am a dealer or want to be one. I sell to resupply my savings when my savings account takes a hit due to things like firearms and ammo purchases. When I do sell, I quite often and I do mean most of the time, sell at either a loss or a break even price. I am not in the business of making a profit, or earning a living selling firearms or ammo. First of all, I am pretty certain I could never make it in the business world. What I am though, is happy if I can recoup what I spent on an item or at least get close to my purchase price if I sell at a loss. Sometimes though, the loss is substantial but those are the breaks. When you figure in the cost of vendor's tables, sales signs that I print up, price tags, state sales tax, and travel expenses to shows (though nowadays most shows I attend are local), among other things, it all adds up or should I say subtracts, and all too often results in more of a loss than otherwise.

 

Then, when I attend a show as a spectator and potential buyer, if I do buy something it is at gun show pricing, which when it comes to most dealers' prices are way to high. Yet, I have sometimes found good deals and at times I will bring a gun or two with me to try to sell as an attendee of the show. 

 

Now, I realized, about 30 or 40 years ago, that prices at guns shows were inflated all to often and all to much. Back then though, it did not mean that a good deal was very difficult to find. If you looked, then haggled you could still get a nice price on a purchase. As the years rolled on though, the prices got higher and higher, some to the point of being ridiculous such as a dealer asking $500 or more for a Mosin Nagant 91/30 of no special merit and in only fair to good condition. Still though prices were much lower back then than now. For instance, in 1998, I picked up a Hungarian Mosin Nagant M44 in excellent condition from a gun vendor at a gun show in NY. It cost $80.00 out the door - nearly the same rifle today (probably from a different country though, like Russia) at a gun show in AR is selling for a minimum of $400.00. As expected more or less though, I got a Russian M44 in 2003, but from an online dealer, for $62.95 shipped. So years after I bought the Hungarian one at the gun show, I got a Russian one at about only 78% the cost of the Hungarian model. Goes to show, buying at guns shows is often higher priced than buying from other dealers. Then again, I would pay more for the Hungarian any

day so even though it was more expensive than the Russian and that sale being a few years before getting the Russian; I was quite happy to pay that for a Hungarian model. A Mosin Nagant 91/30, with bent bolt, that I picked up in 2009 sold for $175.00, shipped from an online dealer (yes their prices have gone up drastically too and that gun would go for much more today). I have seen bent bolt 91/30s going for $700 or more at guns shows within the past year. That is outrageous!

 

What is also outrageous is when I know, without doubt, how much a dealer paid for a gun he has for sale on his table. A few of them were being sold by show attendees and I had inquired as to the asking prices before dealers finally bought them, a few others were sold by me to dealers over the years. Once they buy them, they put them o their tables and proceed to jack up the prices, all to frequently, by literally hundreds of dollars, in some case, double or more than what they had just paid for them. My bet is most will lower the price if you are wanting to buy but you also must be willing to haggle and must insist on a price reduction. Some dealers though are truly avaricious and will not come down in their sky high prices. It's those dealers on whose tables you often see the same guns over and over again at future shows. 

 

Still though, good deals can be found at gun shows. For instance, if you get there early, at least a half hour before the doors open, there is usually a line of folks waiting to get into the show. Very often, at least a couple to a few folks on the line (and subsequent attendees after the line dies down) will be carrying a long arm or handgun they are trying to sell. There is your chance for a deal - before they get inside to be set up by the vulture like dealers, who are stuck at their tables, you can ask to see any that interest you and try to make a deal in the parking lot before they get inside (check your local and state laws on this as selling in parking lots at guns shows is {or was} illegal in some gun unfriendly states - like NY as best I recall).

 

Of course, you might also fine a vendor like me, a gun owner selling off part of his personal firearms in private as opposed to commercial sales and one who sells at either a small profit, a break even price or at a loss. Even then, when selling at a loss on something I got at a decent prices, I have potential buyers (with very little potential) trying to haggle me down to an even greater loss and then complaining if I don't go down further. Let's face it, it is not always the gun show vendor, who puts too high a price son his wares, who is the bummer at a gun show but all too many times it is the cheapskate buyer who is the cause of gun show grief.

 

With all that in mind, I plan to attend a gun show, this weekend, in Hot Springs. I will be an attendee not a vendor but I likely will bring along a couple or few guns I will try to sell. They likely will be sold at a loss if only because of how much I will have to lay out for a hotel (damn are they ever so expensive, especially their weekend prices) and other travel expenses to get to the show and stay overnight. By staying overnight, I can attend both days of the show while both looking to sell and looking to buy in an 'oh such a deal' moment in which I may pick up a gem at a great price.

 

Speaking of gems, I will likely have my CZ 457 Royal in 22 LR (unfired in the box), Savage 111 Long Range Hunter in 300 WIN MAG (round count 20) and a mini Mosin Nagant 91/30, unfired in box) by Keystone Arms, with me for sale. All will probably be sold at or below my cost if I get any buyers at all. Yet, even after paying for the trip and hotel, if I sell a couple, I will have more money than before I went to the show. Not much more but a bit more to put back into the bank until I buy more guns or ammo.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Ever Worried About Disposing Of A Firearm

On a few to maybe even several occasions, I have wondered, if not worried, about guns that I have gotten rid of. There are several ways, over the years I have owned guns, by which I have gotten rid of firearms I have owned. They include: selling, giving away,  being stolen, another was disassembled and thrown into the channel in a saltwater bay (no I did not shoot anyone with it before that).

 

 What I have wondered about, even worried about, has been: did the person receiving it or recovering it plan to or actually use it in the commission of a crime. That is probably a very unlikely outcome with the one that went into the bay but what about for some others.

 

About a year or so ago - when I realized the last name of a criminal, who shot multiple people, was the same last name of a guy to whom I had sold a gun - I started to wonder about what if it had been the same guy! Luckily, it was not the same guy to whom I had sold it because I can just imagine the pain in the neck it could become. Things like law enforcement making inquiries of me about the sale, unwanted and unnecessary attention from the ATF, the possiblity of being sued by victims of the guy's crime because I sold him a the firearm he used to commit  the crime creeped into my mind. Who needs all that!

 

Now, even though I try to remember if I sold a gun to anyone with the same name as a criminal I have read about in current news of a shooting, I am not all that concerned but do wonder. At least, I am not concerned enough to stop selling guns. Why not? Well, because every sale I make is 100% legal. I just wonder, or worry a little bit, is all that a gun I disposed of maybe was or will bbe used to commit a crime. I certainly hope not.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

 

Maybe You Can Say a Prayer and Make A Donation...

 ...to an organization like the Salvation Army or the American Red Cross to help out the Texas flood victims. Maybe you can say a few prayers also. 

 

I am not a religious type although I was once upon a time decades ago. Still now and again, I pray or cross myself when calamity strikes. Well it struck in Texas this weekend in an event that evidently caught all by surprise. For a river to crest 30 feet above normal after only 45 minutes of rain is a cataclysmic event, I think one that could not be anticipated. As you must be aware, if you have read or heard the news, many people perished as a result of these storms and many more were injured. The hardest hit place appears to be Camp Mystic, a sleep away from home, summer camp. More at the source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/deceased-campers-identified-death-toll-rises-after-devastating-texas-flood.

 

There are still over 25 (the article says 27) young girls missing from that camp who were swept away by flood waters. I, for one, am praying that they find at least some, if not all alive, but my hopes for either happening are low. As I cannot do much else, I will be praying for the missing campers, their families and loved ones. Even if you don't believe in a higher power, maybe you too can offer up a prayer or three for these young girls. I mean, who knows, you could be wrong about that higher power and even if you are right and there is not one, how can saying prayer hurt. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers please.

 

Of course, you can also do something else to help and that would be to make a donation to a disaster relief type organization, something like The Salvation Army or The American Red Cross and I am sure you can think of others. I just made a donation to the Salvation Army. I prefer to give to them as opposed to the American Red Cross because more of any donated funding goes to actual charitable work done by them, and nowhere nearly as much goes to advertising or to pay their CEOs compensation as it does with the Red Cross, in my understanding. Yet, I think either is usually a big help in such situations. Maybe you can give something too, to a disaster relief organization that offers help in such drastic situations.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

This IsThe Closest I Will Get To BBQ Today...

 ...and I am hungry. 

 

The thing keeping this delicious feast from me is about 150 miles of road between my apartment and my son's place.

 

I can just about smell and taste it. Oh well, off to the dog park soon, then dinner back at my Spartan digs. That could be anything from a fast food burger, to one of the rib eye steaks from my freezer. Right now though, and probably when I eat whatever, all I can think about is that smoked feast my son made.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

 

Happy Independence Day

 Happy Independence day. Stay safe, be careful with fireworks, the grill and driving. Don't get too snockered and if you drink or get high at all today, let someone else, someone sober, cook the burgers, light the fireworks and do all the driving.

 

Happy birthday to the USA.

 

All the best,

Glenn B 

Surprise Independence

Independence of another sort - independent of any covering! I came across this gif file in my files accidentally today. I must say, she reminds me very much of a gal with whom I went to school and knew back in my teen years into my twenties. That gal also, I think, was at least a double D and in more ways than one. To avoid trouble, I will not say in what ways.

 

 

 

 All the best,

GB