Flawed Oral Arguments in DC v. Heller

The press has been heralding the apparent agreement by the majority of supreme court justices in the recent oral arguments to DC v. Heller. that the Second Amendment confirms an individual right to keep and bear arms. This is good news, but I think that at least two crucial points were missed in the oral arguments.

The arguments made by Mr. Gura, in my opinion, were a disservice to American gun owners and “the militia at large”. (Which consists of all male citizens age 17 to 45, per US Code Title 10, Section 311.) Gura discounts any Second Amendment protection for machineguns, because he claims that the Second Amendments protects only those guns “in common use” as suitable for individuals to bring from their homes, for their personal use in service with the militia. Gura stated:
“They wished to preserve the ability of people to act as militia, and so there was certainly no plan for, say, a technical obsolescence. However, the fact is that [US v.] Miller spoke very strongly about the fact that people were expected to bring arms supplied by themselves of the kind in common use at the time. So if in this time people do not have, or are not recognized by any court to have, a common application for, say, a machine gun or a rocket launcher or some other sort of …”

That was a specious argument. What he overlooked is the fact that machineguns are not presently “in common use” only because 74 years ago, Congress effectively banned them, by placing a confiscatory tax and onerous fingerprinting and background check requirements upon purchasers. It is a tax of $200 per machinegun transfer. That might not sound “confiscatory” these days, but in 1934, $200 was nearly two months wages for the average working man! For comparison purposes, in 1934 that same $200 was more than the purchase price of a used Thompson submachinegun, 10 times the purchase price of a used M1911 pistol, and 20 times the purchase price of a used M1898 Krag service rifle. Clearly, only the very wealthy could afford to pay this tax. Hence, the potential market share and large scale production (“economies of scale”) of privately owned machineguns was never allowed to develop. This was a glaring error that should have been caught by the court justices. Granted, shoulder-fired machine guns were fairly expensive in 1933 since they were a fairly recent technological development, but they became prohibitively expensive in 1934, after enactment of the National Firearms Act (NFA). The bottom line is that in 1933 your grandfather could have walked into your local gun store or hardware store and bought (or had them place special order) a Thompson submachinegun, and walk out with it, sans any paperwork. But in 1934 that became impossible. Hence, shoulder-fired machineguns were never allowed to come into “common use” by civilians.

In my opinion, Gura also stumbled badly when he stated: “At the time that — even at the time Miller was decided, the civilian arms were pretty much the sort that were used in the military. However, it’s hard to imagine how a machine gun could be a “lineal descendent,” to use the D.C. Circuit’s wording, of anything that existed back in 1791, if we want to look to the framing era.”

I beg to differ! The US Springfield Armory designed and produced nearly all of the shoulder-fired arms for the US infantry from 1777 to the 1950s. You can follow the “lineal descent” of those rifles directly from flintlock muskets, to caplock rifles, to the Trapdoor Springfield, to the M1898 Krag, to the M1903 Springfield, to the M1 Garand, (semi-auto) and finally to the M14. Each of these iterations display some quite distinctive design features that are carried on from its immediate predecessor. Some design features are almost continuously-used (such as bayonet lugs and butt traps for cleaning equipment), but others (like stacking swivels) were eventually dropped, as military doctrine changed. It is notable that the pinnacle of this unbroken lineal descent was the M14 and it is fully automatic! The only distinct “lineal break” came when Defense Secretary Robert McNamara forced adoption of the Colt M16. But, again, the selective-fire (semi-auto and full auto) M14 pre-dated that lineal break. And, coincidentally, M14 rifles (now equipped with plastic stocks) are still in service with the US Army in limited numbers in the present day, as designated marksman’s rifles.

Justice Kennedy hit the nail on the head when he stated: “It seems to me that [US v.] Miller, as we’re discussing it now, and the whole idea that the militia clause has a major effect in interpreting the operative clause is both overinclusive and underinclusive. I would have to agree with Justice Ginsburg that a machine gun is probably more related to the militia now than a pistol is. But that — that seems to me to be allowing the militia clause to make no sense out of the operative clause in present-day circumstances.”

Clearly, the Second Amendment secures both an individual right and a collective right. The NFA of 1934 and all subsequent Federal firearms laws should be struck down as unconstitutional!

Meet The Economic Collapse Family, by Will in Wyoming

In recent months, as he described America’s incipient economic peril, Jim Rawles has made references in SurvivalBlog.com to “The Mother of All Bailouts.” To illustrate the extent of the disaster that is awaiting us–I’d like to introduce you to the entire Economic Collapse Family’s cast of characters. This family is so large that I’ll use numerous analogies and, with apologies, some mixed metaphors. To include the full Dramatis Personae I’ll have to borrow from both The Addams Family, and The Munsters. My apologies to anyone that never saw these two TV shows from the 1960s. This will seem like gibberish to you. And if you hate allegorical pieces, just skip reading this. – Will in Wyoming

You are Pugsley Addams. (The American citizenry.) You are a content, pampered, over-fed child. You have indulging but perverse parents. They let you eat all the junk food you’d like (consumerism), and they let you watch as much television (the mass media) as you’d like, to keep you occupied. Their only demand is that you “do your chores” (pay taxes.) You live in a strange sprawling old mansion with extensive grounds and horse stables (America). The mansion doesn’t look like it has been painted or repaired in decades. (Crumbling infrastructure.) You are young and naive, so you don’t really understand all that is going on around you. But you have had a vaguely uneasy feeling for as long as you can remember. You certainly have a lot of strange relatives.

Your father, Gomez Addams, is a banker. (The Federal Reserve.) He always wears a dark suits and he keeps a pocketful of cigars (call loans) handy. Oddly, they are lit, even as he pulls them out of his pocket. On his time off, he likes to play with an elaborate electric toy train set (the economy) with you. It is one of those father and son bonding opportunities. He is always at the controls of the the train. (The train set was very expensive, so you can only watch.) Whenever he sees trouble ahead, instead of hitting the brakes, he takes a puff on his big cigar, and opens the throttle (liquidity) wide open. After all, he has always enjoyed seeing a nice train derailment. Gomez is madly in love with his wife. They are inseparable. (The Federal Reserve’s monopolistic cartel relationship with the US government.)

Your mother, Morticia Addams, is also known as the Mother of All Bailouts. She (the US government) is supported by her husband Gomez, the banker. She makes any problems go away by throwing money at them. Oddly, she always wears black (debt), but it matches her long black hair (the budget deficit). Morticia has a timeless beauty, but you wonder what potions she takes to maintain that beauty. Morticia’s hobby is growing carnivorous plants (stocks and stock mutual funds) that have insatiable appetites. She has an unlimited supply of cash because of her brother, Uncle Fester.

Uncle Fester (the US Treasury) is an inventor of sorts, always experimenting with new things up in the attic. Years ago has invented a nifty high speed printing press, on which he can produce as many $100 bills as he wants. He also has a spare set of plates to produce $100,000 bills.

Lurch. He is the lugubrious house butler (the police). Lurch is seven feet tall and very strong. He obeys the orders of your mother and father without question. Whenever there are any difficulties, you mother and father can ring a bell, and Lurch comes immediately to solve the problem. Whenever he enters the room, he asks in a very deep voice “You rang?”

Cousin Itt. (Social unrest.) Your mom and dad have always given Lurch instructions to keep Cousin Itt locked up in the basement. They’ve warned Lurch that whenever “Itt” gets loose, he starts breaking things. But luckily “Itt” rarely gets out, and for not very long. Without fail, Lurch catches Cousin Itt, and locks him up again. But a lot of your mom’s fine china gets broken each time. She gets angry, but she just takes some of the money from Uncle Fester’s printing press and buys new dishes from the store. You’ve notice that the new dishes are all marked “Made in China.”

Thing. Even more scary than Cousin Itt is the disembodied hand creature called “Thing”. (The US military, warfare.) Thing is powerful, and also breaks some china, but thankfully that is usually in other people’s houses.

Some of your cousins are The Munsters. They live in a big house of their own (much older than your family’s), that is called Europe. They drive a very stylish car. (The Munsters have a great sense of design and style.) Their daughter, Marilyn, is a real babe. She could get work as a model at a Paris fashion show. Her little brother is your cousin, Eddie Munster. He is cool and likes a lot of the same games and TV shows that you do. Their Grandpa (the European Central Bank) is a strange old man that is sort of like Uncle Fester. (He is also in inventor.)

Your mom once said that the Addams Family and the Munsters are very closely related. She mentioned something about some cousins marrying each other, but never gave you the details. The Munsters always seem to be getting in fights with their neighbors, so occasionally your family has to send Thing over to the Munster’s house and restore order.

Thankfully, circumstances are different in your neighborhood. For as long as you can remember, the Addams Family has had peaceful relations with all of your nearby neighbors (Mexico and Canada), mainly because they are all afraid of your dad’s creepy mansion and all of his money. Starting about 30 years ago, one of your neighbors sent a maid named Maria (uncontrolled American immigration) to help out with the chores at the Addams mansion. You realize that Maria has been having a lot of babies up in her room, but they are quiet, so nobody worries about them.

The Latest Episode:

Your dad dashes into the TV Room. You have been distracted there (with the newer, big screen television with all the extra channels), so you didn’t notice the changes in your dad’s toy train set up. Your dad excitedly tells you “Come to the parlor, son, to see the upgrades that I’ve made to the train!” Among other things, you see that he has switched from the old low-current transformer (precious metals backed currency) to a new, high-current transformer (fiat currency.) This new train set is swell. It isn’t just an old steam locomotive. This one is a shiny streamlined Zephyr. It is very fast. (The post-Greenspan low interest rate economic boom.) Uncle Fester helped design and build it. Instead of just an old fashioned derailment, your dad says that he has a dramatic ending planned, using the “The D Word.” He calls them derivatives, but you recognizes those bundles: They are bundled sticks of dynamite.

“Watch this, son!” The toy train goes speeding down the track, faster and faster. It is barely staying on the tracks. Your mother and Uncles Fester clap their hands in delight. Lurch just stands off to the side patiently, but he moans “Uggggghh” to himself and he rolls his eyes. The expression on his face reveals that he knows that there will soon be a big mess that he will have to clean up. The train passes over the trestle, and just at the precise moment, your dad shoves down the lever on the blasting machine, setting off “The D Word” in a tremendously loud explosion. Things go flying everywhere. Your ears are ringing. There are huge clouds of acrid smoke. Windows, china, light bulbs, and even the big screen television are broken. You father comments drolly: “I guess that I used a bit too much of the D Word.”

Cousin Itt hears the commotion and breaks out of the basement. Lurch chases after him, but Cousin Itt is wild and uncontrollable. He breaks a lot of china. Meanwhile, Maria’s children–it turns out there 27 of them (who knew?)–come running out of their room, shouting. They join Cousin Itt in an orgy of breaking china, tearing the copper wiring out of the walls, and eating up all of the food in the house. It is absolute pandemonium. Lurch can’t control the situation. Cousin Itt and Maria’s kids slip from his grasp and continue wrecking things. There are too many of them. Sadly, “Thing” is no help, because he is currently off working at some other’s peoples house, down the street (Iraq). All of the gadgets in the house seems to be broken beyond repair, except that you still hear Uncle Fester’s printing press running upstairs. (It is reassuring to know that something still works.)

Amidst this confusion, you hear your dad shout at your mom: “Call the Munsters for help!” Your mom objects. “But Gomez!”, she sobs, “The Munsters already have a first and second mortgage on the mansion. This time they’ll demand that we sign over the title o the house and they’ll take Uncle Fester’s printing press. They’ll even send their own maid, cook, and butler to run our house!” You don’t like the sound of that, because you know that the Munster’s butler has a big mean German Shepherd (the United Nations) and their maid Sharia (uncontrolled European immigration) is very scary and speaks a foreign language. You were told that she was originally from North Africa. (But, like Maria, your cousins hired Sharia because she works for practically nothing. And, coincidentally, you’ve heard that Sharia is also having a lot of kids.)

You dad motions you outside. “Let’s have a talk, son.” The sun is setting. In the distance, your hear some nervous whinnying and stomping of the Four Horses out in the stable. Clearly, they have been agitated by the explosion and the continuing sounds of chaos in the house, and you wonder if they are going to get loose. Your dad sits you down and he nervously pulls out another lit cigar. Finally, the truth comes out. “Pugsley, it is time that I told you the truth: Your mother and I are are immortals. We’ve owned this mansion for more than 230 years. Nothing can ever kill us.” He goes on with some details, explaining that as their children have grown up, they just keep raising new ones, to do the chores. Your father also admits that this latest train wreck (economic depression) is one of many that he has orchestrated over the years. He begins proudly, “Son, some of my best train wrecks were in 1819, 1837, 1857 and 1929.” After a pause, he adds, more soberly, “Up until this last one, I’ve always used just the throttle and run the train off the tracks. But this time I made the mistake of using the D Word, and frankly I’m not sure if I can ever fix the train set.” Over in the house, you hear the sounds of Cousin Itt chasing chaos continuing. It is starting to get dark, and the lights in the house aren’t working. You realize will be a very long night, without television! – Will in Wyoming

Letter Re: More on the Emerging U.S. Grain Shortages

Jim:
I was told by a local LDS Bishop’s storehouse that the church is out of white wheat and will no longer be providing it because they buy it and it’s simply too expensive right now on the open market. The wait time for [hard] red [winter] wheat orders is 3-to-4 weeks. Another LDS cannery in Utah is also out of several items that they typically have on hand. Get your food storage while you can. – Junior

Odds ‘n Sods:

A friend of ours is an investment banking consultant. He is currently engaged is raising cash to help salvage an ailing hedge fund. He said that he predicts that the vast majority of US hedge funds will go under in the next year. “The pressure from margin calls and [individual investor] redemptions will be unstoppable.” Of the nation’s top 150 hedge funds, he said, “nearly all will cease to exist in their present form.” He added that there are perhaps 12 hedge funds that are not publicly traded that might be spared the ignominious demise of their brethren.

   o o o

Greenleaf [Idaho] residents prepared for almost any disaster. (A hat tip to Bret for sending us this.)

   o o o

Our correspondent in Brazil, “The Werewolf”, mentioned that the archives of Cooper’s Commentaries, (previously known as Gunsite Gossip) are still available for free download.

   o o o

The Canadian Jericho Ranger Lady sent this: Financial markets turmoil stirs economists’ memories of 1929 crash

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal’ were not commandments from Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.” – John Adams, A Defence of the Constitution of the United States Against the Attacks of M. Turgot, 1787

Note from JWR:

Our first post today is a guest editorial from economist John Mauldin, with permission from the author. John is the editor of the weekly Outside the Box e-newsletter. I highly recommend it. Subscriptions are free!

Guest Editorial: Honey, I Vaporized My Customers, by John Mauldin

By now, everyone knows that the subprime crisis started with non-existent lending standards which resulted in the large numbers of foreclosures we are seeing today. Those foreclosures will be rising throughout the year. We are not near anything like the top of the rising number of foreclosures. Ben Bernanke said last July that losses from the subprime would be in the $100 billion dollar range. True confession. I think I wrote six months earlier that it would be $200 billion. I point that out to make the point that I am an optimist by nature. The latest “bidding war” number for the amount of total losses is about $500 billion from Goldman Sachs, and a neat $1 trillion from uber-bear Nouriel Roubini.
Add in hundreds of billions from losses which are piling up in other credit markets and you can easily get to $1 trillion in losses which are going to have to be eaten by all sorts of financial institutions, without being all that pessimistic.

Banks are being forced to reduce their loan and margin books in order to get the necessary capital required by regulatory authorities. Plus, credit is now more expensive as risk premiums rise from absurdly low levels in what more than one authority called a “new era of finance.” Turns out it was just normal old era greed.
It is not just the mortgage market. It is commercial mortgages, safe municipal bonds, credit card debt, student loans and a host of credit that is under fire and cannot find a buyer at what should be a realistic price.

We should not be surprised at the lack of liquidity in the credit markets. We have essentially vaporized 60% of the buyers of debt in the last six months. The various alphabet of SIVs, CLOs, CDO, ABS, CMBS, and their kin that were the real shadow banking system are either gone or on life support. It took decades to build these structures and it is not realistic to think we can replace them in six months. This is going to take some time.

And time is what the Fed has bought this week by offering to take AAA mortgage paper and swap it for T-bills. They will start with $200 billion on offer. Remember you read it here first that that number will be increased and increased again. From the markets initial euphoric response, you would think the problems have been solved and banks will once again start lending. Sadly, this is probably not true.

This is similar to the action by the bank regulators in 1980, when nearly every major bank had losses that were greater than their capital on Latin American loans which had defaulted. The Fed, with a wink and a nod, allowed the banks to carry these worthless loans on their books at full face value. It took six years before they started to actually write them down. But without that measure, every major bank in the US would have gone bankrupt. And technically, they were for several years. But the Fed action simply bought the banks time to re-liquefy. It was the right thing to do.

This week’s action by the Fed is essentially the same thing. It buys time. This 28 day auction will be around for a long time. If the banks had to write down the potential losses on their AAA Fannie Mae paper and other similar assets, it could have brought the banking system to its knees. Eventually, we will get a market clearing price for all this paper, but the key word here is eventually. We are going to see foreclosures and losses for another 18 months. It is going to take a long time to know exactly what the losses will be.

I think the losses on many of the various forms of debt have been marked down way too far by the various derivative markets. (I would hasten to add this does not include the subprime markets, as many of those assets are going to zero.) I doubt the loss in a lot of the debt paper will be nearly as much as the current credit default swaps prices indicate. For instance, some municipal bond debt is priced for 10-15% losses, when losses of less than 0.5% are normal. When there is a buyers strike, prices fall, and sometime to quite low levels. In the fullness of time, the price of these bonds will rise back to “normal” levels. There is a reason Bill Gross is buying municipal bonds by the train car load. Many are simply at the best prices we will see in my lifetime.
But if that debt is now on a bank’s capital books, they have to write it down to the latest mark-to-market. The Fed’s move simply allows the banks to move what will eventually (or maybe the better word is should eventually) be marked back to reasonable values. It avoids a crisis today.

The next crisis? I read a very chilling piece from Michael Lewitt this morning. He speculates on what if the rumors were true that Bear Stearns is basically bankrupt. Bear is in the “too big to fail” category. They are at the heart of the chain of Credit Default Swaps which run like fault lines throughout the world’s financial system. If Bear were allowed to collapse, it would simply cascade throughout the world so fast it would truly make the current level of the credit crisis seem small potatoes.

So, why can I be so sanguine? Because the regulators (the Fed and the SEC) would step in and whatever large bank was failing would be merged or bought very fast. Liquidity and assets would be provided. The Fed and the rest of the world’s central banks get that we are in a crisis. They will do what is necessary. Those of us sitting in the cheap seats in the back of the plane may not like it, as it will look like a bailout of the big guys who caused the problem, but you have to maintain the integrity of the system. A hedge fund here or there can go, but not one of the world’s premier banks.
I wrote the above paragraphs on Thursday, and sure enough, the NY Fed and JP Morgan stepped in to bail out Bear. This will not be the only time or bank. The regulators may have been asleep, but the depth of this crisis has awakened them.

But this is a boost for my contention that we will be in a Muddle Through Economy for a long time. This latest Fed actions simply draw out the time over which the market will correct. But that is a good thing, as a too swift, dead drop correction could spawn a very deep recession, destroying vast amounts of capital, which would take much longer to come out of.

Letter Re: Forever Postage Stamps as an Inflation Hedge

Sir;
You have written favorably of the US Postal Service Liberty Bell (“Forever”) stamps. Short history: The US Post Office Department was reorganized and became the US Postal Service effective July 1971. Employees of the Post Office then became employees of the Postal Service, but saw no changes in their paychecks. They looked the same.

More recently, the Postal Service has likely accumulated significant cash from selling the “Forever” series. The government’s pledge is that the stamps will henceforth be honored as postage without supplement……no more adding one or two cent stamps’ postage (or more) to the already purchased forever stamps.

However, whether the stamps would retain value, as “forever” status should the US economy plunge is untested. As we anticipate a crisis when we would doubt the value of Federal Reserve Notes, why would we stock up on “forever” stamps? Couldn’t the Postal Service be “repatriated” back into the US Post Office or into another government entity, and the already issued “Forever” stamps be then no longer honored? Or at a minimum the public be required to again add supplemental postage? These pre-purchased “Forevers” could just end up being a loan or a donation to the US Government. – KA

JWR Replies: While I hardly consider them an investment, I do consider Forever stamps a good inflation hedge. The vagaries of government edicts are impossible to predict. It is indeed possible that an Orwellian decree will issue forth from the District of Columbia, stating that “the word forever no longer means forever.” This is just a risk that anyone holding Forever stamps will have to take. I think that it is more likely that at some point in the inflationary future the USPS will simply mandate that postage stamps can only be used one at a time, for postage, rather than allowing them to continue to be cashed in or applied to other transactions–such as purchasing USPS money orders, or recharging postal meters. Congress might also someday make secondary bulk sales or barter of un-cancelled postage stamps illegal.

For now, however, I still consider Forever stamps a good inflation hedge. OBTW, I was recently told by my local postal clerk that regulations have changed, and henceforth I cannot pre-pay the rental on my post office box for more than one year in advance. This will of course leave me vulnerable to rental rate increases. But presumably, I can set aside a stack of Forever stamp booklets that I can use for future post office box renewals. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

Parenthetically, I should mention that I still gratefully accept donations of Forever stamps, in lieu of 10 Cent Challenge contributions. My mail forwarding address is still:

James Wesley Rawles
P.O. Box 303
Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845

Note: We live at an isolated ranch. The address above is just a mail forwarding address. We maintain this intermediate address to ensure our privacy. Our mail and packages are picked up and forwarded to us roughly twice a month, by a very trustworthy friend. Be advised that there may be as much as 20 day delay before I receive your mail. Thanks for your patience, and many thanks for your support of SurvivalBlog!

Odds ‘n Sods:

J. Ross sent us some serious Gloom und Doom: Fed Heads Back to the Well, Will It Run Dry?

   o o o

Trevor flagged this piece at WND: Fed abandons dollar in new round of rate cuts–Reacts to fall of investment giant Bear Stearns, Carlyle Capital Corp.

   o o o

Mark recommended the rifle muzzle brakes made by OPS. We have had the muzzles of all of our .30 caliber bolt actions threaded 1/2-28. That is the same thread used on many flash hiders (such as AR-15, M4 and AR-10.) Our preferred flash hider is the Vortex Model 3068, made by Smith Enterprise. You can keep a muzzle brake installed in the present day, and switch to a flash hider if and when times get inimical. Have your rifles threaded and keep both devices handy. The later Vortex flash hiders are also compatible with the SEI Direct Connect sound suppressors, if you don’t mind all the paperwork and expense associated with a Class 3 transfer. ($200 Federal Transfer tax, in the US.) Safety Note: If you own any .30 caliber rifles, be absolutely sure that you have all of your muzzle brakes and flash hiders drilled for proper clearance of .30 caliber bullets. If you were to attach an unmodified .22 caliber Vortex to a .30 caliber rifle, it could cause a tragic accident!

   o o o

SF in Hawaii suggested a great article on desert expeditions that should be required reading for anyone that expects to ever do any off-road driving, even in temperate climates.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The first information survival skill we all need is the ability to decode propaganda and demythologize the highly commercialized and entertainment-based U.S. culture. Psychologists politely call it ‘resistance to enculturation.’ Writer Ernest Hemingway had a less elegant term: ‘cr*p detecting.'” – Karl Albrecht, article in Training and Development magazine, February 2001.

Hedge Fund Redemption Suspensions–Tax Bills are Adding Insult to Injury

You’ve probably read about the seven Hedge Funds controlling $5.4 Billion have been forced to liquidate or suspend redemptions in the past month. Many of their investors had been leaving their full principal intact, quarter after quarter. In many many cases they want to continue to “let it all roll”, so they then used other funds to pay the tax bills on their hedge fund earnings. But now, with redemptions (cash outs) halted, not only will they lose most or all of their principal, but they must also pay the 2007 income tax on the “gain” for the calendar year. What a bitter irony.

I know one couple that has 2/3s of their net worth tied up in very well-known and long-established a hedge fund. Despite the dramatic and unprecedented collapse of the global credit market, this couple is in denial that the value of their fund could ever decline. Despite my repeated urgings, they have now missed their opportunities to cash out, though two quarterly redemption windows.

Back in September and October of 2007, I warned specifically about the ability of hedge fund managers to suspend redemptions without notice. This is now exactly what is happening, on a grand scale. I often say that markets are alternately driven by greed and fear. Now, the fear index is clearly rising. But many of the investors that still stubbornly hang on to their greed-driven investments are about to pay the piper. And then some extra tax, on top of that.

Five Letters Re: Battle Rifle Recommendations for a Californian

Mr. Rawles:
One way that U.S. citizens can still get M1 Garand rifles at reasonable prices is via the DoD‘s Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).

M1 Garands are available starting at $445 + shipping. (I believe the Field Grades to be best choice for practical use rifles–$495)

M1 Carbines are available for $419 + shipping and up. [JWR Adds: I do not recommend M1 Carbines, because they are chambered for an anemic cartridge. The .30 US Carbine is not a reliable man stopper!]

.30-06 military surplus ammunition in clips, bandoleers and sealed cans, for $200 per case of 768 rounds.

Requirements: Proof of citizenship, proof of age, proof of membership in a CMP affiliated club, proof of participation in marksmanship training activity and NICS check. Rifles can be shipped right to your doorstep by the CMP.

Additionally, the Appleseed Program that you advertise on your site normally provides certificates for proof of marksmanship activity to Appleseed participants if requested. Membership in the RWVA (the Appleseed Program’s parent organization) satisfies the “affiliated club” requirement, and participation at an event exposes one to the techniques and tools needed for becoming a better rifle shooter. Appleseed has been to Corona, California, and will be in other locations.

For other options, the Lee-Enfield is probably the best bolt action battle rifle–the mag capacity, speed of loading with stripper clips, and rapid bolt manipulation minimize the usual bolt gun limitations. The No. 4 with the aperture sight is easiest to shoot well, especially with older eyes. Just get plenty of stripper clips, a decent sling that can be used as a shooting aid (USGI web sling–the one with the buckle and adjustment slide, not the “silent sling”), some spare parts (pins and springs mainly, Lee Enfields are pretty easy to repair), and maybe a Lee Loader in .303. The rimmed cartridge is easy to reload and can even be reloaded with black powder and cast lead bullets for really long term use.

Thanks for your web site, and God Bless. – SoM

 

Hi Jim,
I’m in California, and I absolutely feel the pressure your writer feels. I abide by the law, for fear of it. My choice for an MBR is the PTR-91.
I can get it in a “California Legal” configuration. It has what is called a “bullet button” installed. This is a replacement mechanism for the mag release, that requires an included tool to operate. Since California defines an assault weapon and a rifle with a detachable box magazine. [Under the California law], a fixed magazine is defined as one that requires a tool to remove. This arrangement works just fine. My rifle is a fixed magazine weapon, and therefore may have all the evil features I wish to install, without limit. No one can remove the magazine without the proper tool. And, it is not on the list of banned weapons. It’s not even close to that problematic AR-series and AK-series ban language (which no longer applies to off-list lowers. But that’s still something [that California] law enforcement has yet to learn.)

[To keep legal] you must never have the magazine detached from the rifle and still have the trigger assembly installed. Fortunately, the butt stock and trigger assembly fall into my hands. Make sure the mag stays in the rifle until the rest has been removed. It’s a pain, I know, but less so than an arrest. To make it easy for myself: I leave the mag in place, and load it through the ejection port. My mag has been pinned by the reseller so as to accept only 10 cartridges.

The PTR-91 can be found for $1,100 – $1,240, depending on options.[They comes with a] brand new H&K carrier, bolt head, and flash hider. – Randy in Central California

 

Hello Mr. Rawles.
I too, am a California resident. For the longest time I wanted to own an AR-15 only to be let down by the [California 1999] “Assault Weapons” ban.

Recently I found out I can indeed own a legal AR-15. In the text of the ban, there is a list of names that are forbidden. However, there are now several manufacturers making AR15s and their lower receivers are not on that list. These receivers are legal to own as they are not “listed”. Some people are calling said receivers “off list lowers” .

The California definition of an assault weapon lists the criteria as:
12276.1
(a) Notwithstanding Section 12276, “assault weapon” shall also mean any of the following:
(1) a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and any one of the following:
(a) pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon.
(b) thumbhole stock.
(c) folding or telescoping stock
(d) grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(e) flash suppressor.
(f) forward pistol grip.

Since your typical MBR is going to be a centerfire, there’s no way to change that. However, you CAN change the “detachable magazine” or “pistol grip” feature.

There are two options if you want to remove the pistol grip. The U-15 stock, or the Monster Man Grip. This eliminates any question of the pistol grip and it’s “pistol style grasp”. This will allow you to have a detachable magazine. However, please understand that your rifle must be “featureless”. Adding D, E, or F will make it an assault weapon (seeing that it’s already 1) centerfire and 2) possessing the ability to have detachable magazines).

If you’d like to keep your pistol grip, there’s the option of “fixing” the magazine (meaning not detachable without the use of tools). One well known option is to weld your magazine to the receiver and feeding it via stripper clips. This can be an expensive, irreversible solution.

Instead, you can buy a magazine lock kit (known as a “bullet button”) that will convert from “detachable” to an “attachable” magazine rifle. This type of mag lock uses a tool (an allen wrench, a cartridge, a screwdriver, etc) to detach the magazine, but will accept the magazine without any complications. A list of various “bullet buttons” (and its cousins) can be found at ColdWarShooters.net.

Bullet Buttons are made for a variety of firearms, including AKs, AR-15s, HKs and from other sources, FALs. Should you choose this route, your magazine must be limited to 10 rounds as anything more will be illegal.

The best part about these options is that you are legally allowed to own what would otherwise be an “assault weapon”, and if you move to a gun-friendly state, they are 100% reversible.

Should you plan to build an California-legal AR-15 (or AK, HK, FAL, etc) then please refer to this PDF chart to ensure it is legal.

For more information about the above options, check out the CalGun Forums.

I hope this information is useful to law-abiding Californians. – Jason

 

Hi James:
I enjoyed reading SurvivalBlog this morning as usual. In reading your response to the question of a MBR for California, I thought I would chime in as we still have a number of fairly good options here in the PRK.

The M1A is the obvious choice, and while expensive, they can sometimes be had used for a very good price. Detachable mags, in California are sadly limited to 10 round mags, unless you actually owned those higher capacity mags prior to the 2000 PRK ban.

DSA makes several California compliant fixed 10 round mag FAL rifles which use stripper clips, and after market kits are available to convert a normally configured FALs to fixed mag/stripper clips configuration. There are probably thousands of FAL variants in California sitting in safes, which have had the pistol grip (and flash suppressor) removed to make them California compliant but shooting an FAL without the pistol grip is a bit awkward. MonsterMan Grips make a grip which makes off list lower AR-15 and AK types California compliant, and they have promised to make a similar grip for the FAL. I am planning on using an old thumb hole butt stock and filling in the thumb hole to make a close-to-normally configured FAL which will be California compliant, and will allow me to continue to use my 20 round FAL mags.

I went to a California gun show a few weeks ago – my first in many years, and was surprised at the plethora of California compliant ARs, AKs, FALs, and other weapons thought to be non-existent in the California market. I also saw a number of M1 Garands for less than your $900 market price. I thought I paid a lot for my 7.62 NATO Garand all those many years ago, never realizing what a deal it would really turn out to be. Keep up the great work, and sage advice.- Eric P.

Jim-
You mentioned the FN49 rifle as a possible MBR.
I just purchased a Yugo SKS ($199) plus four 20-round magazines (at $10 each) and 1,000 rounds (at $177) via the Internet. Even if I have the trigger re-worked, the springless firing pin replaced, custom stock installed, I’ll still be way under the least expensive FN49. In fact I could buy 2 SKS for the FN49 price. It’s a good rifle out to 300 yards and perhaps more if the rifleman has the skill set. In my suburban environment, it would be untypical for me to be shooting even out to 300 yards. So, does my SKS pass muster? – Bob

JWR Replies: Since they are chambered in an intermediate power cartridge with a rainbow trajectory, I consider the SKS a poor second choice to a full power rifle such as an M1A, M1 Garand, or FN49.. And though an SKS might suffice, but why risk your life depending on something that is second best? An FN49 combines great penetrating power with a flat trajectory, allowing effective defensive shooting out to 400 yards. With the exception of the Argentine Navy variant (with detachable magazines), the rate of fire for an FN49 is not as fast as an M1A, HK, or FAL, but it is close.

For those that don’t mind the paper trail associated with getting an M1 Garand through the CMP, read the eligibility requirements.

And for those that want to jump through the flame-filled hoops of a “complaint” semi-auto rifle in California, I agree with Eric P.’s advice on getting an FN-FAL or L1A1 and equipping it with a stripper clip top cover. These are quite fast to reload. Further, if anyone in California has owned a 20 round magazine since before Dec. 31, 1999 and they have resided continuously in California since before that date, then that magazine can be legally possesed, but not inserted in a semi-auto rifle that has any of the “evil” features.

With all that said, keep in mind that the legalistic contortions of California’s so-called “Assault weapons” ban skirt the real issue, which is freedom. If you love liberty, vote with your feet and get out of that Mickey Mouse state, post haste!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The argument for liberty is not an argument against organization, which is one of the most powerful tools human reason can employ, but an argument against all exclusive, privileged, monopolistic organization, against the use of coercion to prevent others from doing better.” – Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992), Nobel Laureate of Economic Sciences 1974

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $210. This auction is for four items: a MURS Alert Base station, a MURS Alert Hand-held transceiver, an earbud, and a Kaito KA-1102 AM/FM/Shortwave. These radios were kindly donated by the owner of Affordable Shortwaves and MURS Radios. If you aren’t familiar with the Dakota Alert infrared perimeter security system, take a few minute to look at the Dakota Alert web site. These alarms are very reliable and versatile. I often recommend them to my consulting clients–especially those that plan to have lightly-manned retreats. You can easily set up multiple detector/transmitter sensors to provide 360 degree perimeter security for a large area. Instead of just a generic alarm, they will let you know which sensor was tripped, via a computer-generated voice message to a radio that you can carry on your belt. (Such as “Alert, Zone Two.”) The same radio can be used for point-to-point voice communications, on the little-used MURS band. The three radios have a retail value of $210. The auction ends on April 15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.