I read a good article in The NY Times about my people panic buy, written by a psychologist. Maybe I am summarizing incorrectly but I took away from it “lots of people are not too bright, they are worried and feel out of control. They learn “everyone” is buying TP so they run out and buy a shopping cart full. Now they feel better because they did something to prepare.” That explains that stupid behavior to my satisfaction.
As stated well above, I worry about people with no training buying firearms (especially pistols) with no training, experience, or even good self education about the gun safety rules we all have been practicing since we were kids under our parent’s wing.
While people may be buying like crazy now, I hope they are buying quality firearms as I’ll be happy to buy their stuff for pennies on the dollar when this passes, probably in a few months.
I’m not any kind of concealed carry guy, but I live in a great neighborhood and know all my neighbors by name. I took the neighbors pheasant hunting last season as I have a dog and theirs is a sweet old fella to old to walk a quarter mile. Lots of us have keys to each other’s houses for when plants need watered or pets need fed during vacations.
That said, I used to reload extensively. When I eased back, I kept a single stage press, 30-06 dies, .357 dies and .308 dies and a few powders, lots of bullets and primers. I don’t shoot as much as I used to, but there is enough material to make over 500 of something that goes substantially “boom”.
It’s hard for me to see a great sale on quality .22 ammunition, let alone when boutique .22 ammo can be bought for the price of CCI SV. I seem to have a couple ammo cans of .22 LR and that in my mind is squirrel or rabbit stew for several lifetimes. In a pinch, I can enjoy target shooting this summer at the range.
I’m remembering my grandmother. When I was a little boy, I was curious about the vaccination mark on her upper arm. She was 20 years old during the influenza outbreak in 1919 and the Polio epidemic. I still remember her crying as she told me that vaccinations were a gift from God and that Jonas Sauk was a saint and a hero and when I got my vaccinations I should be brave and proud I could get them because she said EVERYBODY knew about five people who had died from the flu and every parent prayed every night that their child would not get polio.
My grandfather was in France in WWI and saw some gas. They saw the Influenza, polio, the Great Depression and WWII. She kept a big coffee can of buttons collected from old clothes before they were used as rags, and baby food jars full of old nuts and bolts from appliances that could not be repaired. Food wasn’t to be wasted at her house, you ate all on your plate.
I regret we have some tough times ahead, but we might come out the better for it. Maybe pull together and think more of our neighbors and a little less of our selves.
Along that line, if anyone doubts our situation, I have a pal thats 50 years old in great shape. He got the flu on a business trip. 8 days in the hospital, 3 in intensive care. It’s not a joke.
Think of yourself as a carrier, not as the one getting the virus. Think of yourself passing it along, and think that for every 20 people you pass it to, one WILL die. That’s a 5% mortality rate and that’s what it was in 1919.
Despite people telling that all is fine and there are plenty of medical supplies, that’s not true. There is AT LEAST a distribution problem- hospitals need supplies yesterday and can’t wait a week or two for delivery. So please, stay home, goof off and don’t go out and get everyone you meet sick... once our population has time to build up our natural immunity and get new vaccinations, the explosive initial growth can overwhelm our health care system as happened in Italy.
On a lighter note... I know how to wipe my butt with a bit of the Sears catalog or heaven forbid, a leaf.. so I bought a little extra cooking oil, sugar, flour and eggs. Got plenty of salt, pepper and spices... three pounds of gunpowder and couple of boxes of primers... what else would I really need? I am gonna bake cookies today.
Oh yeah, fishing gear. This might be a good time to tie some flys.
