Being a somewhat shameless member of the species packus ratus, I’m finding myself going through a lot of old files that I’m trying to avoid moving back downstairs to my office. I keep literally everything, and I’ve decided that’s a bit much. But it’s fun looking back at how much more I spend on gas and food now. Eating out used to be a lot cheaper. Guns too. I found a credit card statement that had my first firearm purchase back in 2000, during the hight of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.
This was for a Romanian AK and 1000 rounds of ammo, showing here:
I was not even really into shooting at the time. I bought it as a symbolic and perhaps obscene gesture to those people who said I shouldn’t own one. Today the ammo damned near costs that much if you can even find it. I miss those days. I have to give Barack Obama credit — he’s done a lot more to keep guns and ammo off of store shelves than any president in history.
Similar story. 1999, and everyone at work just finished a long stretch of 72 hour weeks. One of the guys was an FFL and took orders. I think he sold about two dozen Romanian AK-47s and AK-74s. Then we found out we had ANOTHER month to go. I did not partake in the Czech 9mm order.
In 1981, I went out to buy my first firearm, a Colt Government Model. It cost $348. A few months later, there was a sale at a gun store in the San Fernando Valley. Colt AR-15s were $419.95. H&K 91s were $499.95. I didn’t buy either — that was a lot of money to me back then.
In the late ’60s, a Colt AR-15 was about $215, as I recall, but that was way out of my league. Even considering that I had kept a pinup of an M-16 right next to my Playboy calendar, in my Army wall locker. (In Germany we still had M-14s, and at that, my company had just upgraded from M-1 Carbines; and gun pundits had done a super job of hyping the M-16 with “shoot a gook in the hand and his ears will fly off” claims.)
I nominate Bill and Hillary Clinton for the Gun Sales Hall of Fame. When I first heard of their AWB proposal, on my car radio, I was on my way to a business meeting, but as soon as that finished I boogied to the nearest store and bought my first sample of ugly militaria. Before that, I had already been a shooter since about 1951, but had never had more than academic interest in ugly guns; when I’d had spare change it always went to hunting or target guns. I’d entertain the theory that it was the Clintons and their AWB that created the whole ugly-gun fad.
Yeah, that dirty rat, Bill Clinton made me buy a number of guns. I still have most of them. I have not bought one since Obama took office as I was already stocked.
Let’s not forget that Obama is responsible for causing the largest Increase of NEW Shooters since the Civil War.
The ONLY good thing he’s accomplished while in office IMO.
I had a FFL in the 90’s, and never wanted an AK until I was told that I shouldn’t own one either.
$149 for a romanian with a crappy thumbhole stock that I promptly replaced with a handmade stock and grip. Later fitted a plastic grip off of a broken SKS side folder stock to the AK, used the buttplate and storage kit from a SKS when making the AK stock too.
BTW a 2×6 is not quite wide enough for an AK stock……