Stocking Up?

[ua_guy]

I've always wondered how the weapons thing plays out. Suppose your neighbor is a bigger guy with more weapons. Would you team up and defend both properties? Or would you end up shooting each other over a loaf of bread?

[myrdale]

I've always wondered how the weapons thing plays out. Suppose your neighbor is a bigger guy with more weapons. Would you team up and defend both properties? Or would you end up shooting each other over a loaf of bread?

This is the exact reason the Second Amendment is important. A 21 year old, 150 pound female with only a .22 pistol is exponentially better at defending herself against a 250 pound man than with out. Additionally if you were outgunned, .22 long rifle will neutralize a target at a an intermediate distance just as well as a .380 will. Practice and building proficiency.

[ua_guy]

This is the exact reason the Second Amendment is important. A 21 year old, 150 pound female with only a .22 pistol is exponentially better at defending herself against a 250 pound man than with out. Additionally if you were outgunned, .22 long rifle will neutralize a target at a an intermediate distance just as well as a .380 will. Practice and building proficiency.

The second amendment. You mean the second time the constitution was modified, a total of 10 times when the Bill of Rights was added a few years after the constitution was signed?

I don't catch your drift. People are free to lock and load if the end of the world comes...mostly what it means is people are going to kill each other with gunfire than actually dying of whatever is ending the world. lol

[james.hendrickson]

Firearms are a net loss in terms of your personal finances - sorry guys.

Most of the time hard core preppers buy guns thinking they'll help them in an Armageddon type scenario - and they will - its just these types of scenarios don't happen very often.

And, when you do buy guns you inevitably have to buy all the accompanying stuff for the gun, including ammunition, accessories, trigger locks, a gun safe, etc. etc.

The average joe would be far better off buying stocks and bonds with their money, rather than putting their money into guns.

[bjl584]

I've always wondered how the weapons thing plays out. Suppose your neighbor is a bigger guy with more weapons. Would you team up and defend both properties? Or would you end up shooting each other over a loaf of bread?

I hope I never have to find out lol.
If you've ever watched the Walking Dead, then it might be sorta like that.
Everyone out for themselves for a while, then small factions start to band together.
Either way, seems like a horrible existence

[myrdale]

Firearms are a net loss in terms of your personal finances - sorry guys.

Most of the time hard core preppers buy guns thinking they'll help them in an Armageddon type scenario - and they will - its just these types of scenarios don't happen very often.

And, when you do buy guns you inevitably have to buy all the accompanying stuff for the gun, including ammunition, accessories, trigger locks, a gun safe, etc. etc.

The average joe would be far better off buying stocks and bonds with their money, rather than putting their money into guns.

Yes and no.

I have a coworker who's hobby is buying and selling firearms. Every month or two he comes in bragging about what a great deal he got on some rifle and I think to myself "Big woop, Richards got another gun" only for him to come in two weeks later and tell me about finding a buyer for it and making a couple hundred dollars profit. BUT he is putting in a lot of leg work.

I've got an uncle who has been very successful as a construction estimator. His hobby is buying firearms. That is the majority of his "luxury" spending. That said, years ago, their house did get robbed, and he probably lost $20k. I don't want to say "they could afford it" but in reality it was a small part of their net worth. He did invest in a gun safe after that. However most gun safes are just the illusion of protection. The person they think robbed them, knew they were going to be out of town for several days. In most cases, with a crow bar and a battery powered angle grinder (those are really scary) you can be in most gun safes in under 15 minutes.

For the Armageddon prepper, having an armory of dozens of fire arms really doesn't make sense. You can only shoot one firearm at a time. They might be good for trading / bartering. If I already had a good rifle and I suspected something bad was coming, $1,000 would be better served towards buying more food. The better thing is to keep it simple.

Personally I have (3) that I have purchased. A 12-gauge over under for skeet shooting / dove hunting, a .308 for target practicing, and a 9mm handgun for personal protection. Outside of that I do have a small handful of others that I inherited from my father.

By no means would I call them an investment. They are tools. Keep it simple, buy what you need.

[myrdale]

The second amendment. You mean the second time the constitution was modified, a total of 10 times when the Bill of Rights was added a few years after the constitution was signed?

Yes that Second Amendment.

People are free to lock and load if the end of the world comes...mostly what it means is people are going to kill each other with gunfire than actually dying of whatever is ending the world. lol

Americans in most states are free to lock and load now, end of the world scenarios need not apply.

People have been killing each other with sticks and rocks for 500,000 years. In my opinion nuclear war is the most probable cause to the end of modern humanity as we know it. Within a month of developing the atomic bomb, we used two of them. Sooner or later it happens again, only next time I don't think we can define what the winning side looks like.

[scfr]

So . . . to address the original question . . . lately I've been buying 2 or 3 when it's time to restock some items instead of just 1. I'm talking about pantry staples, not perishables or frozen foods. And only things that I know I'll use up long before they expire. Recent examples: steel cut oats, freeze dried fruits, nuts. It's a minor move, but it's my way of staying just a little bit ahead of the next price increase. My household is in a comfortable position financially and we won't go without food if inflation continues at the current rate, but I definitely worry about younger families with more mouths to feed. I can understand why families who could be critically impacted by continuing inflation might want to do more stocking up.