Why the Gunshow?

"I don’t like gunshows, everything is overpriced".

I have read this statement before.  Never heard it in person, although I
have heard variants such as "you are the only one with reasonable prices".
Or how about, "Everything is on the internet, why do I need to waste my time?"

The big problem is the complaint of high prices.  This is a legitimate concern and one that is based on a generational split rather then actual pricing.
Old vendors come from an era where you negotiate the price.  They can be talked down in price to fair market value.  But because their generation has always done that, to make their margins, they price things high to start off from a beter negotiating position.  Older people get this but younger people see the prices and rightfully say "That is too expensive" as they cross-check the price on
their internet enabled smartphone.
Then there are people like me.
The older people come to me and I will not budge on my prices; they are set by my business plan with fixed margins based on MSRP.  They think I am expensive because I don't negotiate down.  The younger folks check my prices and are pleasantly surprised...."You are the only one with reasonable prices".
I can give a deal; pay in cash and I don't charge GST.  You also don't have to pay shipping and can have it today.

The gunshow also lets you see and try new things.  Reading about guns is fun but you really can't appreciate the features without the tactile.  You can read reviews saying the XCR is front heavy.
Front heavy for who?
Some kid who writes internet articles or a weight lifting trucker?
Are they you?  Do they have your strength, eyes and arm length?
And with optics, you don’t know how heavy something really is.  The 3RS scope by NCStar has useful features and is priced right but is the weight worth it to you?  What optical quality do you need?  Can you accept a nebulous "good" as a rating of glass clarity? Shouldn’t you see for yourself?
And what about reflex sights?  Can the internet really tell you how bright it is?  Or can they prove it is paralax free?  You don't need to trust anyone - you can find out yourself.

The people selling are typically experts at what they sell.  I always tell people that I only sell within my niche because I can not offer expert advice on things outside of it.
I have taught people many things as well as showed them stuff, they had no idea existed but made them excited.

The gunshow is also the only place to find rare out of production items.
Go on a store's website and find yourself a Lee-Enfeild.  You can't can you?

And the best reason of all - anonymity.  If you buy on the internet, your information is being recorded.  Call it what you like but I refer to it as the shadow registry.  At the gunshow most vendors will simply check if you have a valid firearms licence and never write down your information.

Mental Health Issues and Firearms Ownership

Almost all mass shootings that have been committed in the USA over the last 2 years have largely been perpetrated by those with mental health issues.
On the gun debate, there are those who believe that better mental health screening is critical while others think this would be an infringement on their right to own and enjoy firearms.

This issue is polarizing; and if you understand the laws, you see that both sides have merit to their arguments.

Mental health is always evolving in its definition and that is where the fear lies.  30 years ago, an excitable little boy who did not want to sit in school would be classified as “a little boy”.  Today he is classified as mentally ill, “ADHD” and medicated.

Right now owning a gun is not considered a mental illness.  But fringe groups want it classified as such.  Public pressure, can change the opinion of science.  Prior to the 70’s homosexuality was considered a mental illness.  Science did not change that definition; pressure and politics did.  That same pressure can change the definition for gun owners.  Then wanting to own a gun is a mental illness which invalidates your ability to buy one.  After that, arguing that you need one is irrelevant: you have grocery stores so don’t need to hunt. You don’t need to be a competition shooter; join the reserves.  You don’t need self-defense, you have the police.

In Canada if you have been treated for a mental illness, it will almost certainly disqualify you for a firearms license.  So if you enjoy shooting but you want to see a medical practitioner for your depression or PTSD you will be denied your hobby.  We need people to seek help when they are not mentally well, while the current system encourages you not to get help.

So what is the solution?  Specificity.  Instead of using a blanket statement that uses a changing mental health system as the basis for definition, all reasons should be spelt out and codified in law so what we consider to be normal today will remain the same definition 20 years from now protecting us from politics and pressure.  Also, those who seek mental help should not be penalized.  In fact those who seek mental help should be exempt from even needing to report it.

The only mental cases that should be reported are those people who do not voluntarily seek help AND meet the codified definitions laid out in the law.  This would weed out those who are actually dangerous from those who are temporarily sick and want to get better.

Due Process

The America-hating American president posed the question:
"What could possibly be the argument for allowing a terrorist suspect to buy a semi-automatic weapon?"

I will tell you: Innocent until proven guilty.

If they are a suspect then they have not been proven to be bad.  If the evidence exists for said people to be arrested - then do so.
After a terrorist has been proven guilty, strip of his guns, his finances, his citizenship and dignity.

But not before.

Quebec Grave Dancing Day

The infamous killer, Marc Lepine was born Gamil Gharbi on October 26, 1964 in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Algerian immigrant Rachid Liass Gharbi and Canadian nurse Monique Lepine. His father, who was a mutual funds salesman, was travelling in the Caribbean at the time of his son's birth. During his absence, Monique Lépine discovered evidence that her husband had been having an affair. Gharbi [father] was a non-practicing Muslim, and Monique Lépine a former Catholic nun who had rejected organized religion after she left the convent.  Gharbi, by all accounts, was an angry man who's father left when he was 7.  This is what triggered his name change to Marc Lepine.  Most described Gharbi as a non-practicing Muslim but the cultural dislike of women must of made an impact.

As a person whose life was filled with failures he soon snapped and blamed femininism and women for his lack of success.  He made plans to go into Ecole Polytechnique and kill as many women as possible.
He started by modifying his gun, a Ruger Mini-14.  He wanted it to be fully-automatic but such a task is not for the average person; it is difficult and requires an advanced understanding of firearms.  He ended up breaking his gun so instead of being semi-automatic it became a bolt action; that is, every time he fired, he needed to manually cycle the action before he could fire again.  The whole argument that semi-autos are too dangerous is invalidated by the fact that the worst school shooting in Canadian history was done with a mechanically simple bolt action.

Lepine went in to the school and started shooting with his broken Mini-14, killing many.

Dec 6 is traditionally Quebec grave dancing day.  During grave dancing day, men and firearms owners get blamed for Gharbi's actions.  The coalition for gun control fear mongers and uses the tragedy to push its political objectives.

We insult the memory of the victims when we ignore one basic fact - they wanted someone with a gun to come and stop the killer.

But herein was the main problem; there was a lot of police armed outside the school, they formed a perimeter.  I remind everyone that the police are not obligated to protect you, only to catch those who break the law, after the fact.  They knew there was a dangerous shooter and opted to do the best thing to preserve themselves…. I don’t blame them.

If only one of those women were armed, Gharbi would of not killed as many.  A disarmed society creates a plethora of victims.  Tell me; how many mass shootings take place at a police station?  Where people can shoot back?  If the Supreme Court as well as the actions of the police, prove that the police do not, and will not protect you, who is left to take care of you?  Only you.

We ignore a basic principle of criminology when we allow people to espouse this silly utopian idea that guns are bad and getting rid of them will magically stop problems of violence.  Was violence invented at the same time as gunpowder or was it invented the first time a man picked up a rock with hate in his heart?

Did the Ruger Mini-14 make Gharbi a bad man or was an absent, angry father, culture and a life of failure to blame?

Helmets

I was asked a question today about helmets. I was unsure the requirements of the user so I did some research and wrote back.
After writing I felt that this material might be of use to others....

In the 90's Delta Force conducted operations in Somalia with the equivalent of bicycle helmets. The reasoning was that there is no helmet that will stop an AK round and even a grazing hit would still break your neck. But the threats of urban warfare, debris and melee attacks were still a major concern so they determined that a helmet was still needed; just not a ballistic one. The only ballistic helmet style they had available back then was the standard PASGT and it was considered too bulky for the rapid missions in tight areas and too limiting on hearing.

Later a type of helmet with the ears removed came into existence. It had a similar profile as the Pro-Tec Bike helmets but was made out of kevlar. This is the type that I use. It is not cheap, the "SF Cut" helmet can run from $300-$600 USD. There are airsoft versions of this helmet available but they will not even offer the protection of a bike helmet (and I would probably laugh at you for having one). 

The PASGT is your traditional helmet used by US and Canadian forces.  They can be bought for $100-$300 but I strongly recommend watching for a Canadian style chin strap. Older style American chin straps have a single anchor point which allows the helmet to flip about forward-backwards. The Canadian 4 point chin strap is infinitely better. So if you don't need ballistic protection, go with the Pro-Tec. If you are on a budget go with a surplus PASGT. Do not get any airsoft imitations.

Alberta and the NDP - Predictions for the Future

In Alberta The Taxpayers federation says that when the corporate tax rate was 15% (adjusted for inflation) the average AB produced a little under $500 for general revenue taxation.  Today with a tax rate of 10% the average Albertan produced $1400 in revenue.  A corporate tax increase will LOWER general revenue.  This is not rocket science; decrease the money corporations have to spend on employees and they will get rid of employees.  This is cause and effect that even a 6 year old can understand… yet the average Albertan voter does not.

Come next year when the general revenues are down, the NDP is not going to go against their doctrine and say “ooopps!  High taxes!”  They are going to introduce a PST.  In every province they have held power, their solution is always more taxes.

Lets think about that.  The NDP… the so called champions of the poor and downtrodden will create a PST.

Let’s assume the average Albertan eats $200 in food per month and buys $400 of whatever…gifts for kids, gas, home repairs etc so total of $600 on expenses that can be targeted with the PST consumption tax..  Let’s say that Albertan Y makes 1200 per month and Albertan Z makes 4500 per month.  A 5% PST would decrease income poor Albertan Y savable income by 2.5%.  It would decrease rich Albertan Z’s savable income by 0.6%.  Do you see how heavy taxation hurts the poor working family?

But a PST does not just hurt the poor (which I have proven the NDP don’t care about) it hurts small business and I speak from experience.  If a family has less money they have to buy less.  They can’t go to someone like me and support my business because they struggle to eat.  I in turn don’t make money either and then I stop spending causing the problem to spread.

NDP taxation is a cancer.  Why do you think most people in Alberta come from other provinces?  They have fled their homes like rats from a burning ship where left wing governments chased all the jobs away and made the cost of living so unaffordable with the remaining low paying service jobs.

I sure Hate the 7mm Magnum

My storefront is the gun show.  I must say I really enjoy gun shows.  I meet a lot of interesting people who have a lot of interesting things to say.  Over the years I have come to know a lot of the other vendors.. some by name, some by nickname.  I call them my gun show family.

But gun shows have a downside.  Hunters who own guns in 7mm.

“What do you need that for? “ they will say gesturing to any non-bolt action rifle.  “All I need is my seven millimeter Remington magnum.”  I hear that line (or a derivative of) spoken at nearly every single gun show I have ever attended (with the exception of Grand Prairie in 2014).

No one talks that way about their 30-06 or their .308 or their .243.  There is no other cartridge that makes its user so ignorant, and myopic as the 7mm.

I don’t know what it is.  Why do these people even bother to go to gun shows if all they want to see is row upon row of bolt guns in 7mm?