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Riddle Me This, Riddle Me That
What does Virginia Tech, A dead Preacher, Pres Obommy and the democrats all have in common. Survey Says. Gun Ban. These events and people are all going to contribute to the reinstatement of an Assault Weapons Gun Ban. Let's not forget that Hi Cap handgun magazines will be included in this mix of dirty evil weapons that have no use but in the hands of government authorities. Now I was trying to refrain from sending in this kind of junk to Jim for guest article consideration since the topic has already been beat like a dead horse but I wanted to tell you about my latest firearm purchase and I needed a segue. Just as important is the fact that the AWB is on our door step and I do not want anybody to miss out.

A little background on my weapon cache and firearm experience or lack there of. I made my first firearm purchase in 2007. It was a Savage bolt action 30-06 with scope. It was a Bi-Mart special and I paid about $320 for it. Middle of the road rifle but pretty accurate. I wanted an all around hunting rifle and it seemed to fit the bill. Prior to firing this gun the only other firearm I ever shot was a .22LR rifle. I bought some Remington 180 grain Core-Lokt and some greek surplus ammo. Both rounds shot great out of that rifle. I am left eye dominant and the rifle was a right hand model so I would reach over the top of the gun to work the bolt. No big deal but a little awkward.

My second purchase was a Taurus Tracker 44 magnum 5 shot revolver. I thought this would be the only way to stop an angry bear while I was out and about in the woods. Pretty good kick from that one. Paid about $400 for that piece.Third up was the tried and true Remington 870 shotgun with 28 inch barrel. This was another Bi-mart special at around $300. I followed up those purchases with a couple of 22LR rifles, a Savage bolt action and the other a Remington 597. These were going to be my rabbit killers and I paid less than $300 for both, cheap scopes included.

I decided at some point last year that I needed a larger caliber cheap semi auto rifle that would be somewhat affordable to shoot. I ended up with a Saiga 7.62x39. I found a new one locally for $309 and it included one factory 10 round plastic magazine and one 30 round metal AK47 magazine modified by Surefire. Lastly I just purchased a Smith and Wesson M&P 40, more about this purchase later. Now for those who have read my previous comments and guest articles you are probably thinking that I am an idiot, "you could have bought two tons of wheat in buckets with all that dough". I am sympathetic to that criticism and you are mostly right.

To be fair though my initial gun purchases were geared towards my ambition to start hunting. Events changed and now I am facing the possibility of Divorce and Bankruptcy. In recent guest articles I described some of the BK exemptions in my home state of Oregon. I think I failed to mention the firearm exemptions so here is the legal code for Oregon: " 18.362 Exemption for firearms. Every citizen of this state above the age of 16 years shall be entitled to have, hold and keep, for the own use and defense of the citizen and shall have exempt from execution one rifle or shotgun and one pistol. The combined value of all firearms claimed as exempt under this section may not exceed $1,000.

"It is not 100% clear to me whether the $1000 exemption limit is per person or per BK filing. Regardless in my case my children are both under 16 years of age and would not qualify for the exemption. And even if my wife and I filed the BK jointly she would not want anything to do with possessing any firearms so I will be whittling down my collection to two weapons one rifle and one handgun. I am going to sell the remaining weapons to friends and family and use the proceeds to buy a water tank for the cabin.This is were the recent fervor around the gun ban comes in to play. I know that even if the gun ban is enacted that I can still purchase a pump shotgun, a bolt action rifle and revolvers at close to pre-ban prices. This led me to the decision to purchase the M&P 40 handgun and the decision to keep the Saiga rifle. These guns and/or the hi cap magazines they use will likely jump dramatically in price after a ban. Also these two guns have a total value of less than $1000, so I should be go to go as far as the BK trustee is concerned.

Now about my new pride and joy the M&P .40 caliber handgun. I read a lot of positive reviews on this gun prior to going to the store. I ended up trading in the 30-06 Savage plus cash to purchase this gun. It is really a nice looking gun and feels very good in hand. The magazines hold 15 rounds and S&W has a deal for two extra mags with an M&P gun purchase through April. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet but the boys and I are heading to the cabin later this month and hopefully I can pop off a few rounds at the gravel quarry. A nice bonus feature about this gun is that I found a company selling a drop in 9mm conversion barrel for $100 bucks. I will need to pick up some 9mm magazines which hold 17 rounds for this gun and I will be able to shoot either the .40 S&W or the 9mm rounds by changing out the barrel and switching magazines. I think the .40 cal round has the ballistic edge but the 9mm is a little cheaper and might be easier to find in bulk or surplus lots.

The moral of the story is to get your hi cap magazines and dirty evil weapons now before the prices go any higher. Here are links to the Assault Weapons bills that I am aware of. There is also a bill that has some ridiculous registration requirements for certain firearms. Watch for these bills to advance. And remember now that Pres. Obommy has got his wish for embryo farming to be funded by the goverment out of the way he will have plenty of free time to sign any gun ban bills that come across his desk.This Assault Weapons bill is actually being introduced by some self proclaimed

Republicans: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-6257 This is the Democrats Assault Weapons bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1022 Here is the registration bill, scary stuff: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/text
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