by William Skink
The last few days have been difficult. I went to work Tuesday at the non-profit that has employed me for the past 3 years. Due to a combination of factors I was sent home early and was given yesterday and today off.
I am using this time to continue stocking up.
Tuesday I purchased a Ruger Mini 14 semiautomatic rifle. It’s a great rifle, especially for new shooters who might be turned off by a higher caliber rifle.
The mini 14 takes .223 or 5.56 NATO rounds. Finding this ammunition in bulk is now impossible. Sportsman Warehouse has upped their restrictions on ammo purchases and much of their shelves are empty.
I also purchased a .38 revolver.
At the Selway Armory, where they don’t have any limits on ammo purchases, the guy I talked to said things really got crazy on Monday. Last Friday he said things were picking up, but by Monday his average of 30-40 orders waiting for him on Monday morning had shot up to over 150 orders.
I have heard rumors of tensions at Costco spilling over into altercations between shoppers. From what I have heard police responded earlier in the week, and Costco is brought on additional security.
The purchases I am making are to top-off supplies I have already built up over the years. And what turned me into a prepper? The economic crisis of 2007-2009.
Anyone who truly understands what happened during the “economic recovery” of the Obama regime should have been preparing for this moment. Central bankers bought a decade of time to rearrange the deck chairs of the Titanic, but the eventual sinking of the global economy was assured when the underlying exposure to the mortgage-backed security scam was simply papered over to keep the .01% insulated from the consequences of their greed.
My friends and family thought I was being stupid and paranoid when I invested in dried food, guns and bullets. “What are you going to do, fight the government with a rifle?” they would jokingly ask. No, I would reply, I’m preparing for the time when shelves in grocery stores are empty. The guns aren’t to fight anyone, they are protection against the desperation that will undoubtedly increase, making normal people act in abnormal ways.
The desire to survive justifies all kinds of behaviors that otherwise wouldn’t be considered in a stable society.
Things continue to change fast, and I’m going to keep stocking up before more stringent restrictions are implemented. The window on free movement is quickly closing. Even the super rich are discovering that they might not be able to hop on a private jet to make it out of quarantine zones.
We are in a marathon now. Managing stress and anxiety amidst all this uncertainty is going to be a challenge for everyone adjusting to the new reality that could again change by the end of the day.
Stay tuned…
JC
I live in Ronan. Our local grocery store is out of bread,flour and sugar plus certain can goods. Down the road in Polson Walmart, Safeway and Super One also had no flour and sugar. The stores said suppose to get shipments in couple days but who knows. Of course toilet tissue and bleach been gone for week. I grew up on a farm where my parents had went through the Great Depression so always months of food stocks was on pantry shelves. I have 5 millennial kids that have no idea where food comes from other then Walmart. I stocked each of them up with can goods and dry goods for couple months and now decided to do more. I wish the government would target the cash to the people that really need it. I am soon 72 and don’t need a $1000. I will admit I am a stock investor. I sold off a few stocks for cash on hand but actually kept airlines and banks as no matter what the government will bail them out. I learned that lesson from crash of 2008. They aren’t going to pay your mortgage.
The capitalistic system never worked that way and people wonder why so many young people support Socialism.
thank you for the perspective from north of Zootown.
A word of advice on your Mini 14 – you will want more than the single magazine it came with, and make sure the ones you buy are genuine a Ruger Mags, in new packs.
The Mini 14 dislikes aftermarket mags.
I appreciate the advice, already have a 20 and a 30 round mag.