Hello Mr. Rawles,
I am assuming that no matter who wins the presidency, we are probably looking at the next assault weapons ban in about a year (if TEOTWAWKI doesn’t happen first). I don’t recall exactly what the effect of the last ban was on pre-ban guns, but I assume the prices of pre-ban AR-15s rose dramatically? If that is the case, would it be wise to purchase several AR-15 lower receivers now, with the possibility of selling them at a profit after the ban is in place (since they will then be pre-ban)? The relatively low price of a stripped AR-15 lower [receiver] [around $120, or less, in quantity] seems to offer an interesting opportunity, since I could buy 10 lowers for only $1,000, and I’m assuming this is the part that would really increase in value.
I already have a number of ARs and other guns for personal use, so I’m considering this mainly as a potential investment.
Also, as a side note, what is your opinion in investing in foreign currency? In particular, I see Everbank has a CD which lets you purchase Australian, New Zealand, South African, and Canadian dollars (currencies dependant on commodities). Obviously such an investment would be useless after a complete collapse… but if we just had severe inflation?
I’ve been prepping for survival situations for a while now, just recently started thinking about these other scenarios as well (extreme inflation, etc). Thanks, – Dylan
JWR Replies: When the US Congress passed the so-called “assault weapon” ban (circa 1994-to-2004), the BATF came out with an edict that stripped receivers that had been made before the ban, but that were assembled into completed rifles after the ban would not be legal build in a pre-ban configuration. So that nixes your low-cost “hedging on potential legislation” investment idea. If you are worried about a Democrat in the White House and the advent of a new ban, then I think that investing in full capacity magazines is a far better investment. You will probably triple or quadruple your money. See this piece in the SurvivalBlog archives for my detailed recommendations: The Falling Dollar–Sheltering Your Assets in Steel and Alloy Tangibles.
As for foreign currencies, since virtually all national currencies are now issued by fiat (un-backed by metallic specie), they are all doomed to inflation. The only question is, which currencies will suffer the least from inflation? With that in mind, I can only reiterate my long-standing recommendation: tangibles, tangibles, tangibles. Buy your practical tangibles first (such as productive farm land, common caliber ammunition, and full capacity magazines), and then, as your budget permits, follow that up with some barterable precious metals (such as pre-1965 US “junk” silver coinage). And if you are wealthy, then move on to buying gold bullion, such as Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, or American Eagles.