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Author: Grumpy
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45/70 Rolling Block rifle BP load
The year 2020 has been a notable one. In just the past few months, several million Americans have become first-time gun owners. If ever there were a circumstance under which the wisdom of the Second Amendment was made patently manifest, it is this.
But how about those of you who do want to get your first gun, but find the whole process utterly baffling? The vernacular, customs and variegated regulations associated with gun ownership can indeed seem daunting. As a result, we here at The Armory Life thought it might be helpful to create a basic primer on how to buy a gun in America.
Not unlike finance, plumbing, computer programming or brain surgery, once you get the hang of it the whole system will seem fairly straightforward. But we understand how intimidating it can be to dive in. So, let us help you learn the process.
Intro to American Gun Culture
This process typically begins at your local gun shop. The archetypal gun shop employee is some large hirsute ex-Army Ranger covered in tattoos who oozes scary attitude. He’ll have a gun on his hip and look like he munches pea gravel for breakfast. But looks can be deceiving.
On the other hand, a dear friend of mine owns the coolest gun shop in the world (Mississippi Auto Arms in Oxford, Mississippi). By contrast, he employs a petite and inoffensive young lady. She is engaging, knowledgeable, and disarming. That guy is brilliant, if you ask me.
The bottom line is, chances are if you head into a gun shop, you’ll leave with a gun, some valuable information and a new friend.
Can You Own a Gun?
In general, you need to be a U.S. citizen with a clean criminal record. The document used to manage a firearm transfer is called an ATF Form 4473, and it asks a series of questions about your criminal, military and mental health background. The form is three pages long, but the first page is the only one of consequence to the prospective buyer.
The dealer is going to verify your information using the NICS system, which stands for “National Instant Criminal Background Check System.” Your responses must therefore be truthful.
NICS is usually, but not always actually, instant. If the system is backed up or you have a really common name, you may have to wait a couple days for the check to come through. If you aren’t sure whether you’re eligible, just glance over the questions on the 4473.
Some states have extra restrictions over and above what is required by the federal government. In freedom-averse places like New Jersey, Illinois, New York and California, some of those restrictions can be quite onerous. Across most of our Great Republic, however, gun ownership is fairly straightforward if you are a citizen with no criminal background.
Is There a “List”?
All commercially purchased guns must be physically transferred through a dealer with a Federal Firearms License (FFL). Your gun shop will have one of these. Some other businesses like hardware stores may maintain FFLs as well.
The regulatory system governing the national network of gun dealers dates back to 1968 and is actually quite elegant. When you buy a gun and fill out the 4473, that form never leaves the dealer’s premises. NICS checks that are approved are automatically purged every 24 hours. NICS checks that are denied are essentially maintained forever, but that doesn’t apply to you if you have a clean criminal record.
If a crime weapon is recovered, the ATF will trace the gun via its serial number starting with the manufacturer, through the distributor, and then on to the individual FFL dealer. The dealer will then produce the form 4473 that identifies the final purchaser. This decentralized system very effectively prevents anyone from maintaining a database of American gun owners, something that is expressly forbidden by federal law.
Just Amazon It?
You cannot legally buy a gun directly over the internet. That’s just an anti-gunner talking point. And buying a gun illegally is one of those crimes that Uncle Sam typically takes pretty seriously.
There are lots of places to buy guns on the internet, but they will all have to be transferred through your local FFL dealer. That FFL dealer will usually charge a modest fee to do the transfer. Google can help you find an FFL dealer locally. Call the dealer in advance and they can tell you what their fee is. $20 to $50 is pretty typical.
Want a great place online to find your next gun? GunsAmerica.com is like Craigslist for guns and features fixed prices. GunBroker.com is more like eBay with an auction format. Countless other businesses like Mississippi Auto Arms sell guns online. Once you’ve purchased a firearm online, contact your local gun dealer and they will submit a copy of their FFL to the seller. The gun is then shipped to the FFL’s business premises where you then go undertake the transfer, submit your form 4473, go through a background check, etc.
Ruminations
There are nearly 400 million firearms in circulation in America among some 328 million citizens. Gun buying may seem intimidating at first, but it’s really not difficult. If you’re a first-time gun owner I’d strongly recommend you seek out a training course to help familiarize yourself with your new firearm. Your FFL dealer is a good place to start.
Responsible gun ownership is the cornerstone of American freedom. That freedom is what makes America different, more productive, and frankly better than the rest of the world if you ask me. So, go out and exercise your Second Amendment rights. And we hope this guide makes the process a little bit more clear.
According to multiple reports this week, things got bad on the USS Lincoln. Food was short, supplies were short, the Marines and Sailors aboard the vessel had not been off-ship in months. Things got so bad, it was reported that by the time rescue crews arrived, the Marines had consumed most of the seamen aboard the USS Lincoln.
Okay maybe that last part isn’t true, but things were bad! As of today, the USS Lincoln has just begun its journey back home after a 9 month deployment in support of the ongoing Iran war.
Of course, predictably, this situation immediately became a partisan issue (as with everything these days). The discourse surrounding the situation revolved mostly around whether or not you thought these servicemen and women should just “suck it up” and deal with the burden of being deployed.
I think this is a stupid point of view in 2026–especially as the United States Military remains the most heavily funded (by a factor of many) military on the planet. The idea that we could spend a $1 Trillion on our defense budget and somehow not be able to get a few resupplies to this ship is absurd and an abject failure of leadership at all levels.
If we’re going to be the empire that can project force all over the planet, then let’s be that. However, that means we also don’t get the luxury of excuses when we fall short of taking care of our service members.
George lived about a block from where I grew up. A Vietnam veteran and avid hunter, he came back from the war and opened a gunsmith shop attached to his home. Every morning, he simply walked from his kitchen out onto his driveway and into his shop. He spent his days working on customer’s firearms and then wrapped up in time for supper. His precious wife taught me sixth grade.
I came of age in the 1970s. Back then, the internet was but a gleam in a young Al Gore’s eye. I will be forever thankful for that fact. With a relative dearth of stupid, mindless things to do, I spent my time after school wandering the neighborhood on my bicycle. One of my regular stops was George’s gun shop.
Now picture this in your mind. George is a grownup with a family. Some 11-year-old kid pedals up to his shop a day or two a week and just waltzes in to kill time. I didn’t have two dimes to rub together. I couldn’t have afforded to buy a box of ammo from this guy. Yet he was always patient and considerate, walking me through whatever project he was working on and fielding my often-asinine gun-related questions. A great deal of what launched me on a successful career in the firearms industry began with me sitting on an ammo box listening to George just talk about guns, Vietnam and life.
Back then, the publication Shotgun News (Firearms News these days) came three times a month. Those things stacked up pretty quick as a result. George sent his old copies home with me. I pored over them compulsively and thought he was doing me a great favor. In retrospect, that just meant he didn’t have to throw them away, but I will be forever grateful.
War Stories
I don’t recall specifically what George’s job was or when he was in-country. I do remember some stories about 1st Cav fire bases, however. The one tale that really stands out involved a small supply convoy running cross country across open terrain. George was part of a security contingent assigned to shepherd this handful of deuce-and-a-half trucks safely through that dangerous country.
All went well until they cleared a modest hill and struck out across a wide open space. At that point they began receiving intense automatic weapons fire from an elevated ambush position. The convoy commander stopped the trucks and pulled everybody back behind the cover of the hill to assess the situation.
They soon found themselves at an impasse. Whenever they eased around the hill in view of the well-sited fighting position, the VC fired upon them. They had an M2 .50-cal. machine gun on a ring mount on a truck and a recoilless rifle mounted on a jeep for security.
However, in short order, they had expended all of their available ammunition for both of these heavy weapons. Nobody was in any big hurry to give their lives so that the guys on the far end could enjoy their mail and Mermite cans full of hot chow.
With the benefit of hindsight, I don’t see why the convoy commander could not just ring up a little air support. Unimaginably lethal air assets are what reliably separate American military operations from most everybody else on Planet Earth. As a former Army aviator myself, I was a small part of all that airborne carnage.
However, for whatever reason, helicopter gunships or, better yet, fast moving Tac Air from the Air Force or Navy were not on the menu that day. Perhaps the weather was bad or radio coverage was spotty. Regardless, this was to be a come-as-you-are fight. With daylight fading and everyone getting antsy, George volunteered to take a buddy or two and get this thing sorted.
Weaponry
These were hills, not mountains. With a little time to maneuver, George struck out on foot to circle around the modest terrain feature that was shielding his hill from the VC fighting position. He was carrying an M16A1 rifle charged with 20-round magazines. He explained that they never stuffed more than eighteen rounds in these boxes to ensure optimal reliability.
We take reliable proper-capacity rifle magazines for granted these days. However, these were the days before PMAGs and anti-tilt followers. Those flimsy aluminum magazines were originally envisioned as being disposable. You had to take care back then to keep your mags happy and your weapon clean to get reliable operation out of those early M16 rifles.
Tactical Details
George crept around behind the enemy position and ascended the reverse slope of the hill in question via stealth. Carefully peeking over the top, he spotted two VC behind a pair of AK-47 rifles focused intently away from him and in the direction of the covered convoy. They had no idea he was there.
These two guys had clearly put some effort into preparing their fighting position. They were within easy range of the road and had stacked modest boulders around to form a parapet behind which they could hide. That had effectively shielded them from the recoilless rifle and Ma Deuce. However, in so doing, they had also hollowed out a rocky depression in which to array themselves and their substantial supply of Combloc ammunition. This was to be their ultimate undoing.
Ambushing the Ambushers
When the time seemed right, George leapt to his feet and emptied his magazine into the enemy fighting position from the top on rock and roll. That’s normally a really inefficient way to prosecute this hard business. It tends to waste ammunition and results in abysmal accuracy. However, not this time. Given his superior vantage and the rocky backstop, that full auto M16 was the perfect tool.
George said his rounds chewed into the two Viet Cong irregulars and then ricocheted around the surrounding rocks making everything hugely worse. The two VC died on the spot. George policed up the weapons along with whatever else might be of interest to the intel guys on the other end and made his way back to the waiting convoy. They completed the mission by sundown.
Ruminations
Nothing about war is glorious or cool. We expect military service to be fun and exciting, and it is that, to a degree. I willingly drank that Kool-Aid myself. Sitting on that ammo can listening to George dispassionately relate what he had to do to get the food and mail through on that now-forgotten afternoon in South Vietnam drove home the grisly reality of the enterprise. George wasn’t particularly proud of what he did that day. It was just something that had to be done.
War, even a little bit of it, changes a man. A lot of war invariably changes a man a lot. No matter the time, the place or the kit, the human part is always the same — young people fighting for those on their left and their right.