The Price of an Icon

At a time when the U.S. government issued Springfield Mod. 1873 single shot rifles to their troops, Winchester was making an icon.

The lever action repeating rifle was the assault rifle of it's day with the rate of fire of two shots per second or at least that's what Winchester advertised at the time.

The Winchester lever action rifles developed from the origins of Vulcan Arms, and Henry Repeating arms have securely embedded there place in history as an American Icon. The last of the Winchester lever actions to be made in Connecticut, USA was the model 94 with over 7 million of it's variants sold.

The rifle enjoys the highest production quantity of any sporting rifle ever made.

Since 2006 the production of Winchester lever actions have been shifted to Japan. The quality is still high yet an icon of America should be made in America.

The price of guns in general varies depending on where you live, the brand and the caliber. With internet sales I've seen an unwarranted explosion in pricing of the 94's. Granted getting as much as you can is considered good salesmanship, yet one person overcharging for a product does not mean there's been an increase in value just because a sucker got took.

The pricing of commemorative Winchesters such as a John Wayne Special is a crap shoot at best. To pay top dollar for a gold plated, sub-production quality wall hanger takes a special type of person to buy.

When looking at lever guns somethings to consider is if the wood matches butt stock to fore-end. They were made from the same slab and the color and grain pattern should look that way. Any marks in the furniture or scratches in the bluing will have a dramatic effect on the price.

For over a decade the value of a post 1964 model 94 30-30 has been around $450.00 in new or like new condition. This really hasn't changed, remember there are over 7 million of these that where sold.

The pricing on Pre-64 model 94's are more subjective and you can expect to pay double that of the post 64 model. Finding one in 90% conditions is nearly impossible, because if it looks to good to be true it probably is.

The majority of Pre-64's that I've seen were in 60% condition with the expected ware patterns in the bluing, refinished wood, and a perfect bore. This I would expect to sell for at most six to eight hundred dollars.

The pricing of antique 94's involves a lot more than the overall condition. The year of manufacture, the caliber and most of all is it correctly configured based on serial number. Your more likely to find a fake or reworked antique, 94 than to find a completely correct one.

When looking for a good deal, first look at the quality of what you want. For example in the 1970's after the gas crunch everything was made cheep. The cars turned into plastic gutless wonders and anything made of solid steel became stamped sheet-metal. This also happened with the 94's, the quality of steel used, the receiver bluing and stamped sheet-metal followers. So try not to pay top dollar for this vintage of 94.

The internet has proven to be a overwrought source of information and it's not all good. When pricing an item refer to as many sources as you can. Check online pricing and compare them with historical references with the Blue Book of Gun Values. Using as many references as you can will all ways find the best price.

I could devote the rest of my life in the pursuit of Winchester knowledge but I'm not. Buyer beware, there are a lot of re-blued, restocked fakes out there and if it's considered a rare rifle, take the time to check. Just because people are asking a lot for a gun does not mean that's what it will sell for.       
  Good Luck

Guns and Kids

Guns and Kids

I was a child in the 1960's an era that began the formation of two different social paths. Depending upon how you were raised will determine your perception of the others path.

I was taught through my parents actions that having responsibility's, loving one's country, and traditional family values are what it takes to make you a better person. Life then was different, if you were told not to play with guns you generally did not. Back then we understood the meaning of : “Wait until your father gets home”.

My first gun I got at the age of seven. I don't remember whether it was a birthday or a Christmas gift but I do remember it was a Daisy Red Ryder lever action BB-gun with a 10,000 count box of BB's that mom and dad bought from the local Coast to Coast hardware store.

I tore open the box with mom, dad, my brothers, and my sister looking over me. There were the appropriate oohs then my brother spouted out “oh look he got a gun”. My dad said, “Do not shoot any body.” “If I catch you shooting at anything your not supposed to I'll break it and you'll never get another one”. Well that seamed pretty straight forward and if I wanted more freedoms, I needed to take this responsibility seriously. I had to work, to earn money if I wanted my own BB's, and it was kept in my closet right next to my bow an arrow from the previous Christmas. We lived in a rural area with plenty of room to roam and it gave me many years of enjoyment.

Now myself, when it came time to teach my preteen kids the responsibility of gun ownership I had a different perspective. For several years I worked at a local gun store and I'm very familiar with what's available for kids to learn on. Since we lived in a small town I had to take a different approach.

I bought them there own Daisy Red Ryder. When the day came to give them there first rifle I had it all planned out. The back yard was perfect for a small BB gun shooting range. With the property backed up to a hill side there were plenty of places to set up paper and tin can targets. The firing line was a piece of rope laid on the grass.

I explained the procedures of target shooting and then they got there first lesson in gun safety. It was the same four universal rules that I was taught by an NRA instructor while getting certified at a Hunters education class when I was 12.

1. Always treat a gun as if it is loaded.
2. Never point a gun at anything you don't intend to destroy.
3. Do not put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what is beyond it.

Teaching responsibility through gun ownership is a part of the American experience. An older gentleman I knew said that in the days of the great depression a country boy with his 22 cal. rifle and six bullets had the ability to feed his family for a week. Wasting ammo just to have fun wasn't a part of the plan and if he didn't come home with two rabbits and four live shells he didn't get any more ammo. You learn to be more responsible and how to be a good shot.

Where you live and how you were raised tends to reflect the method of how you pass down the American heritage and at what age. I've seen where young hunters have grown, with the experience of there first kill. Each child develops differently and a child understands cause and effect based upon they're personnel experience.

Aside from the standard safety rules for handling guns, we as parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents need to be responsible gun owners and to take greater strides to improve the storage of our heritage. By being more responsible we can provide a safer environment for our homes and community without government legislation.

If you have kids in your home lock up your guns.

The average weight of trigger pull is 3-5 inch. Lbs.

A toddler can exert that much force.

“Be Safe, and Keep Your Powder Dry”

Terry the Gun Guy

Buying an Assault Rifle AR vs. AK

Buying an Assault Rifle

AR vs. AK

If you don't own a civilian-ized military rifle, it's not to late. Most manufactures have stepped up production to meet the needs of our free society.

The first thing most of us consider before we purchase anything is the price. In the Pacific Northwest the price of an item has a lot to do with where the store is

located. In my recent travels I have found a dramatic difference in pricing for ammo, guns and accessories seemingly all based on demographics. The more affluent the neighborhood the higher the price.

When I'm asked, what's the best rifle to buy?

I respond with what are you going to use it for?

The type of shooter you are really makes a difference as to what I might recommend.

If you like going to the local gravel pit and love to burn up ammo get an AK-type. The re-manufactured imports are less expensive and ammo is cheaper.

The maximum effective range of the 7.62 x 39mm is 300 meters and are known to shoot groups over minute of angle or (MOA). When your shooting at an old computer, TV, water jugs, or even at an over ripen fruit, accuracy is not a high priority.

Do you like going to your local rifle range? Is accuracy, craftsmanship, and owning an American icon what you are looking for?

Then defiantly get an AR-type.

The average AR-type using the .223/.556mm has an effective range of 500 meters.

The accuracy is often well within MOA.

They are mostly built out of aluminum and lighter weight than the AK.

Most of all they are American Made.

To be fair, the AK has a history of operating under more diverse conditions. You can bury it in mud, let it rust up and abuse it all you want and it will still shoot.

I have never meet anyone with a lick of sense who is willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a new rifle just to bury in mud and let it rust up.

If weight is a factor consider this. An AR-type with one fully loaded 30rnd magazine weighs about the same as a AK-type with an unloaded 30rnd mag.

That means with the AR-type you can carry 2/3^rd more ammo.

I am bias as I am a former Marine and I was trained on the M16A1. The civilian-ized rifles available today have the same effectiveness as that old Colt I carried, with the exception of being fully automatic.

The reason I didn't name other designs is simple, I tend to group together rifles based upon operation systems.

A gas piston type of operating is an AK-type

(ie: Galil, Valmet, AK47, )

The gas impingement system of the AR-type

(ie: AR-15, XM15E2S, LAR-15)

The newest trend is the bastardization of making AR's into gas piston guns,

that I will leave for another day.

Be safe and Keep Your Powder Dry

Terry the Gun Guy  

Why I own an Assault Rifle

Why I Own An Assault Rifle

What is it that makes someone want to buy an assault rifle? The reasons are as

numerous as days in the month. In my career, I sold hundreds of AR's, AK's, HK's, SKS's, and many other assorted civilian-ized military type rifles.

What was the most common trait with them all, was how they look.

Most have a “banana” magazine, pistol grip, and are a carbine, (carbine is a shorten rifle) and look aggressive.

One of the first aggressive looking rifles is the Thompson mod. 1927, or

(Tommy Gun). The Tommy had forward and rear pistol grips, it could take a drum magazine and was fully automatic. It was originally marketed to ranch owners for home protection and sold for about $50.00. The rifle could be purchased at the local hardware store. That was the era when it could take days for help to arrive.

The National Firearms act of 1934, in short regulated the sale of fully automatic weapons and created other weapons categories.

What brought this law on was the actions of criminals.

Jumping forward through time the designs of weapons have changed, to suite the demands of the new battlefields and tactics. The adaptation of former military weapons to civilian use is as old as war.

What all modern military type rifles have is an aggressive look, and that look is what can save you. In other words if you are caught in an natural disaster such as Katrina, in New Orleans where bands of marauders were looting and killing.

At a distance of hundreds of yards away everyone can tell you are well armed and predators have been known to retreat at the sight of such a weapon. With this rifle

you can protect your family without firing a shot.

If you do have to shoot, most civilian-ized rifles are very accurate and can be deadly.

The limitation of the AR type rifle is the cartridge the .223/ 556mm is a varmint size round. With proper shot placement it can kill, but but it is not known as a killing cartridge. I was taught that the U.S. Military adopted the 556 mm due to the effectiveness of the 6.5mm used by the Japanese in WW2.

The objective of combat is to take land.

If you wound one man, it takes two other men to drag him off.

You have removed three men from the fight and your men can take over there positions.

The other reasons people have told me why they want to own an assault rifle is simple. They are very fun to shoot, they look cool, ammo was fairly cheap and

my favorite, I want one because “I am an American. I will allow myself to be governed but will not allow myself to be ruled”.

The National Firearms act of 1934 did not outlaw fully automatic weapons, it regulated them. I understand in states that have the right to form militias they can own fully automatic weapons. Standard background checks are performed and transfer taxes paid to the federal government.

In Washington State we are one of 8 states that cannot own fully automatic weapons. In our state constitution we have the individual right to bare arms.

We do not have the right to form a militia.

With my vote I express my opinion as to who I think will continue to support my rights. So knee jerk politicians cannot infringe upon them due to the actions of criminals.

For those who ask why do you need an assault rifle?

I say right now it's a Want.

When the day comes that I Need one, you will Need one too.

“Be safe and Keep Your Powder Dry”

Terry the Gun Guy

Bullet Proofing Your Class Room

Bullet Proofing YOUR Class Room

Understanding that the world we live in is not that of our grandparents, it becomes

necessary to have a plan for just about every contingency. That plan whether at home or in public should be layered. To rely solely on law enforcement to keep us safe is no longer the deterrent that it once was.

Without debating the merits of “it takes a good guy with a gun to stop a bad guy with a gun”. What can be done to help protect children when we are not there?

Aside from building attack resistant schools that within their layout would be a series of safe rooms, safety doors and avenues of escape in the best of economies. It would not be cost effective to replace most of our outdated school buildings and would make them more like a prison than halls of learning.

There are several new ideas and products produced to reinforce the layers of protection needed in our schools. Limiting vehicle access to eliminate front door drop off, might push back someone considering to use a vehicle for quick assault tactics. Then stop them from entering the building. It doesn't take a genius to know a strong door will slow down a motivated attacker. But if that door has a window near it or within it, it's no longer a strong barrier. The greater the barriers

the greater the possibility to prevent an attack.

When barriers fail and time is of the essence a persons ability to respond under pressure is their best defense. If given the opportunity to defend and having the guts to respond is an option, something like this could be of use. There is a new bullet proof white board that has potential as a shield that can create time and make opportunities for escape.

If your child is trapped and trained to respond, there is a bullet resistant backpack that are designed to provide some protection in the event of an attack against pistol fire.

Also discovered by some of our troops in combat was the Panasonic Toughbook. It's a laptop that has the ability of stopping bullets even though it's not a part of

the design. It has become a part of the same mystique, that was given to pocket Bibles carried by G.I.'s in prior wars.

To me, a frighting thought is that we teach children how to respond quickly and quietly in the event of a building fire, but now we also need to teach them how to act while under fire too.

Tips on less than Lethal

Tips on Less than Lethal

When caring a gun is not an option there are plenty of other choices that can give you a measure of security. Each of them have merit for any given set of circumstances.

 Sabre pepper spray, offers a wide variety of packaging options for the various activity’s you might enjoy, whether a hiker, biker, jogger, or out on campus. These are handy easy to carry and spray a ballistic stream that can reach 8-10 feet. The capability of shots, distance and capacity depends mostly on size of container.

  My personnel favorite is the Kimber Pepper blaster. It's a little larger than a cell phone. It offers a two shot capacity that is propelled by a small powder charge, which has an effective range of 13 feet. It hits it's target with authority at

90 mph. A single shot to the face should disable an attacker for 45 minutes.

Consumer grade Taser's are about the size of a TV remote they are not inexpensive. The Taser disables an attacker by shooting two small projectiles into their skin. These are connected by wires for a high voltage discharge that will last for about 30 seconds. The effective range is a distance of 15 feet. Size of the unit can be a concern for easy carry.




Stun guns are a contact defense tool. They don't shoot an electrified projectile but if you are wrestled down they can be quiet effective when jabbed in the ribs or soft under belly. They put down an attacker with an electric jolt.

These products are not designed to stop someone, they are designed to create time. When an attack takes only seconds and police respond in minuets, the more time you have the better, to stay alive.

Tips on Gun Safes

Tips on Gun Safes

When I was young my father kept his guns in the closet, not just stuffed in the

corner but above the door hanging on hooks, a good place to keep from prying eyes, of course back then you could leave your doors unlocked while making a quick run to the store. In this day and age it's not recommended to keep anything unlocked your house, your car, or the back yard shed.

If you own any guns or are looking to buy your first gun I recommend having

a secure place to put them. Here are a few things to consider before you buy one.

How much can you spend? Or I should say, you just spent well over $600.00 for

that shinny new handgun, then you bought the cheapest box of ammo in the store

and maybe next month you will pick up a cleaning kit. Well please rethink, if this is your first gun, make sure a safe is a part of your gun purchase. In Washington state there is no sales tax on gun safes that saves you about 10% right there and a good quality safe starts around $120.00 and up.

Where in the house to keep it? More often than not they're kept in the bedroom closet, this I think is a very good idea. Just remember your clothes go in there too.

If you have a sliding door closet don't just put it in the middle, secure it to one side

and turn it side ways, by turning it you make it harder for someone to use a

crowbar or to gain leverage. This works well with a cabinet or light duty type of

safe. If the garage is where your safe is, make sure to use a safe heater or moisture preventative to keep your investment from rusting up.

Fire rating of a safe is important, it also can get expensive. If you find that a fire rated safe is out of your budget yet you have the perfect closet under the stairs to put a safe, I recommend an extra layer of sheet-rock or wounder-board in the closet, or on your safe to provide a better fire proofing.

If you intend to use your gun for home protection, yet trying to open a safe quickly and under duress can seem daunting, there are options. For hand guns there are quick accesses programmable touch-pad type or bio-metric finger print types and for shotguns or long guns several manufactures offer quick access key pad units.

There is nothing made to stop a well motivated person from getting a gun.

Do all you can to keep them from getting yours.

Quote of the day

A customer asked why are guns so heavy?

“It's the weight of responsibility”