By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
New information has come out of the standoff between patriots in Oregon and the federal government, essentially over the way an out-of-control federal judiciary imposed an unjust sentence on a father and son for something that is not even a crime.
Interestingly, David Ward, the sheriff of Harney county was involved in the trial against Dwight and Steve Hammond and was a federal witness. He is a federal retiree, as I understand it, and while none of that would indicate he was not a Constitutional Sheriff, I wonder why that information did not come out before.
Additionally, as it turns out, the Hammond attorney was told by federal officials to avoid contact with any of the occupiers, or the government would make the lives of the Hammond family hell, as they put it. It sounds as though the government has something to hide, and they are willing to go to illegal lengths to hide it.
And it may well have something to hide. The protesters let it be known that agents for the Bureau for Land Management in the last week conducted a shredding party at their Oregon headquarters. What documents were being shredded is unknown.
Later in the week an umbrella organization for Idaho Threepers, militias and patriot groups formed a convoy and went directly to an FBI compound in Oregon, armed, and took their grievances to the FBI. In the linked description, both sides were "professional" and left on seemingly good terms. For all the good it may do.
A group in Arizona, Veterans on Patrol (VoP) (Facebook), took a road trip to the wildlife refuge to, in their words, "extract a war fighter." Apparently the unidentified veteran had let it be known he expected to be killed by the government, and left his family to go to Oregon.
The group headed by Lewis Arthur went to the wildlife refuge, met with leader Ammon Bundy and other top leaders, two of whom returned the courtesy and physically assaulted one of the group.
The VoP group said before they entered Oregon that they were going there unarmed and with supplies to help, and only to extract the still unidentified veteran. They came away empty handed.
One of the VoP leaders who appeared in Oregon, Lewis Arthur, appears from videos I have seen to be a tough minded, straight talking individual, who strongly believes in his mission to help homeless veterans by providing food, shelter and showers, as well as other services. I can see how VoP's presence may have upset the occupiers. Not many people you meet will refuse to take credit for the good they are doing and give credit to the Almighty, but Lewis Arthur does.
When a veteran came up missing in Arizona, and was later found, I remarked on his Facebook page, "I'm glad you found him," to which he replied, "I didn't find anyone."
People like that can be hard to take.
Loads
Rantburg's summary for arms and ammunition:
Prices for pistol ammunition were steady, while prices for rifle ammunition were mostly steady.
For the third week straight prices on .223 Remington ammunition, the commercial version of the 5.56x45mm round has gone up, this time increasing a substantial .04 each. I suspect 5.56x45mm rounds have gone up more. To get an idea of the nature of the spike, .223 Remington ammunition went up in price around the same time last year because of an ATF proposed rule which would have banned M-855 ammunition because it was considered armor piercing. That spike lasted about 8 weeks, going from .23 per round in November, 2014 all the way to .30 per round in February, 2015 before settling down to .23 per round, where it stayed until last December. At the time I attributed the spike to the ATF proposed rule. This latest could be some other fear factor, such as the proposed "Assault Weapons Ban" introduced to Congress two weeks ago, but one thing we can rule out are costs to make and bring to market, which should be substantially lower because of fuel costs.
Prices for used pistols were higher across the board, while prices for used rifles were mostly higher.
New Lows:
None
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Quality Made Cartridges, Store Brand, FMJ, Brass, Reloads, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Quality Made Cartridges, Store Brand, FMJ, Brass, Reloads, .25 per round (From Last week: Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Freedom Ammunition, Store brand, FMJFP, Brass, .22 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (3 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Natchez Shooters Supplies, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .18 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Ammunition to Go, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .17 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: +.04 Each (!!)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: J&G Sales, Brown Bear, steel cased, FMJ, .30 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: J&G Sales, Brown Bear, steel cased, FMJ, .27 per round (From Last Week: +.05 Each)
.308 NATO 150 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .37 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .34 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (6 Weeks))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (5 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .23 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: TrueCaliber.com, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (9 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds (10 Box Limit): Ammomen, CCI, RNL .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds: Ammo2U, Federal, RNL, .08 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (8 Weeks))
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $590 Last Week Avg: $551 (+) ($616 (40 Weeks), $476 (16 Weeks))
California (185, 185): Smith and Wesson M&P Sport II: $600 ($650 (50 Weeks), $400 (19 Weeks))
Texas (227, 223): DPMS: $675 ($700 (45 Weeks), $350 (40 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (95, 99): Mixed Build: $525 ($700 (39 Weeks), $300 (27 Weeks))
Virginia (130, 133): Ruger AR 556: $600 ($750 (45 Weeks), $480 (5 Weeks))
Florida (300, 298): Smith & Wesson M&P Sport: $550 ($650 (29 Weeks), $380 (41 Weeks))
.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,030 Last Week Avg:$960 (+) ($1,359 (39 Weeks), $820 (15 Weeks))
California (48, 45): CMMG: 1,000 ($1,700 (4Q, 2014), $850 (24 Weeks))
Texas (59, 54): DPMS: $800 ($1,500 (4Q, 2014), $800 (23 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (25, 23): DPMS: $1,000 ($1,500 (45 Weeks), $700 (16 Weeks))
Virginia (35, 44): Aero Precision: $1,500 ($1,650 (28 Weeks), $800 (11 Weeks))
Florida (70, 71): DPMS Sportacle: $850 ($1,500 (4Q, 2014), $500 (15 Weeks))
7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $599 Last Week Avg: $529 (+) ($626 (41 Weeks), $450 (26 Weeks))
California (45, 46): Romak: $650 ($700 (43 Weeks), $320 (4Q, 2014))
Texas (50, 46): WASR 10: $800 ($800 (CA: $750 (42 Weeks), $350 (3Q, 2014))
Pennsylvania (45, 41): AK: $500 ($750 (50 Weeks), $375 (35 Weeks))
Virginia (60, 59): Yugo M70AB2: $545 ($625 (46 Weeks), $350 (48 Weeks))
Florida (69, 64): Czech VZ-2008: $500 ($650 (39 Weeks), $300 (4Q, 2014))
30-30 Winchester Lever Action Average Price: $399 Last Week Avg: $409 (-) ($489 (47 Weeks), $296 (29 Weeks))
California (8, 8): Mossburg 464 SPX: $425 ($500 (23 Weeks), $180 (30 Weeks))
Texas (20, 19): Mossburg: $400 ($550 (46 Weeks), $300 (1Q, 2015))
Pennsylvania (17, 13): Marlin 336: $350 ($450 (49 Weeks), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Virginia (9, 10): Marlin 336: $450 ($475 (5 Weeks), $250 (7 Weeks))
Florida (19, 16): Mossberg 464: $370 ($500 (46 Weeks), $250 (32 Weeks))
Pistols
.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $459 Last Week Avg: $449 (+) ($450 (45 Weeks), $350 (15 Weeks))
California (154, 174): Rock Island Armory: $500 ($600 (47 Weeks), $300 (25 Weeks))
Texas (168, 163): Taurus 1911: $430 ($600 (4Q, 2014), $325 (21 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (133, 139): Regent 1911: $550 ($550 (37 Weeks), $300 (31 Weeks))
Virginia (130, 130): Kimber: $400 ($550 (39 Weeks), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Florida (298, 281): Palmetto State Armory: $415 ($475 (50 Weeks), $250 (44 Weeks))
9mm (Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic) Average Price: $321 Last Week Avg: $306 (+) ($336 (42 Weeks), $268 (20 Weeks))
California (123, 133): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $350 ($450 (47 Weeks), $200 (10 Weeks))
Texas (189, 193): Smith & Wesson SD9VE: $300 ($355 (46 Weeks), $200 (19 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (169, 182): Ruger P95 : $310 ($350 (4Q 2014), $200 (26 Weeks))
Virginia (152, 151): Ruger P95: $350 ($425 (3 Weeks)), $250 (26 Weeks))
Florida (349, 350): Smith & Wesson Sigma: $295 ($375 (4Q, 2014), $220 (19 Weeks))
.40 caliber S&W (Glock or other semiautomatic) Average Price: $399 Last Week Avg: $335(+) ($399 (CA: $368 (35 Weeks)), $300 (3Q, 2014))
California (86, 77): Glock 22: $560 ($560 (CA: $425 (19 Weeks))), $250 (4Q, 2014))
Texas (91, 95): Stoeger Cougar: $339 ($425 (4Q, 2014), $250 (5 Weeks))
Pennsylvania (62, 63): Smith & Wesson SW99: $300 ($350 (27 Weeks), $250 (47 Weeks))
Virginia (65, 63): Glock 22: $450 ($450 (36 Weeks), $275 (1Q,2015))
Florida (136, 134): Ruger P94: $350 ($400 (47 Weeks), $200 (20 Weeks))
Used Gun of the Week: (Florida)
Walther P39 Chambered in 9mm Parabellum
Chris Covert writes for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter.
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