Just as a reminder, everyone. The factors that affect the closure of the window are still in play:
1. The 2020 Election. We're starting to see a move towards the middle from the Democrat Party. Remember, though, these are politicians who will say anything and promise anything in order to remain in, and add to their own, power. Go back and look at some of the Liberal "Roundtables" or debates and see how anti-gun they proclaim themselves to be. Once it was inconceivable to imagine a politician saying they'd ban guns outright. Now, we have seen several politicians promising door-to-door confiscation. Pandering or promising, either one drives a perception. Perceptions drive panic. Panic means empty shelves.
2. The 2024 Election. If it doesn't happen in 2020, it will happen in 2024. . .Trump will be out for good and so will the belief of his "support" of the 2nd Amendment. Expect more mass shootings in the next 5 years, regardless of who wins, and keep in mind that these brainwashed kids, a la David Hogg, will not only be coming of voting age, but will be openly and brazenly recruited by the Left. Remember that the left controls the schools. You might get them for four or five hours out of their awake time, but the schools have them for much more. Worse yet, the Universities have devolved into almost absolute Liberal Hot Zones. I don't even recognize my former undergraduate campus, anymore. Some little S***stain of a student running the information desk at the main Admin building got his/her/it/ze/zir/zit's panties in a twist because I said "Can you tell me where the office of Professor [Name] (I so wanted to put "Professor X," there) is located?"
He/she/it/ze/zir/zit transformed into someone who looked like I had just stomped their favorite fluffy bunny to death right in front of them, shrieked (yes, actually SHRIEKED), pointed a trembling finger at me and said something along the lines of "I am a _garbled_!! You will refer to me that way!"
I will admit it, I had heard about crap like this, but had never experienced it (the schools I where I taught were more. . .um. . .conservative-oriented). Since I'm retired and do not have the sword of the Dean or Board hanging over my head, and was thoroughly disgusted by the way he/she/it/ze/zir/zit was acting, I simply replied with, "How's this? Okay, A$$**le, tell me where his office is."
This now-offended twit thrust an accusing finger towards me, eyes wide open in shock and disbelief, tried to stand up succeeding in only pushing the rolling chair back an inch or two before rocketing out from under his/her/ze's/zir's/zit's corpulent a$$ and landing on the floor and knocking over a giant green slushie (or maybe it actually identified as a "slurpie," I get so confused over identity politics), which poured all over the desk calendar, the keyboard and the desk, itself and onto his/her/ze's/zir's/zit's shirt (Blouse? Tunic?). He/she/it/ze/zir/zit tried to get up but only succeeded in slipping and falling a couple of times as the words "Hate Speech!" and "Bigot" and something else I didn't catch (apparently, teaching proper elocution is some form of repressive training) as he/she/it/ze/zir/zit scrambled to get away from the fat, white, old and obviously conservative heterosexual male and into a Safe Space (I shit you not, the Security Office was actually marked as such).
I could go on, but I've just had breakfast and the memory has made my stomach queasy.
THIS is your bastion of Higher Learning. You might keep yours through High School, as we did, but once their in the Liberal Hotzones, THEY have them now. You can only prepare them for combat, but you can't prepare them for what comes after.
Go back four years and compare the general political landscape to what it is now. Even accepting that Trump won, this country is fast(er?) becoming some sort of bizarre real-world version of Alice's Wonderland.
So, the political atmosphere will be turning even more against the gun owner, regardless of why you want/have firearms. We're even seeing deeper divides among gun owners and the very real potential of the dissolution of the NRA (not necessarily a Bad Thing, IMNSHO) which will serve to bolster the confidence of the anti-gunners.
and, Finally:
#3. The military is moving forward with their plans to replace the individual weapons of the services. Normally, this wouldn't be that big of a deal, especially with the modularity of many modern firearms. BUT. . .we're talking a quantum leap ahead in ammunition technology with it's polymer casings and muzzle energy hinted at being ". . .two to five times. . " that of the current 5.56x45. This technology may not lend itself to a simple swapping out of uppers. Additionally, this new 6.8 ammo is going to be expensive, at least initially. Plus, it wouldn't surprise me for it to be classified as "For Military/Government Use Only."
Again, this means that the ammunition plants such as Lake City will no longer be producing 5.56x45 or 7.62x51 ammo. So, inexpensive surplus ammo, or even collaborative ammo projects such as Hornady's Frontier line, which blends Hornady's bullets with MilSpec brass, powder and primers from Lake City, will be a thing of the past.
In other words: 5.56x45 and 7.62x51 will no longer be in the demand they once were. Prices may go up. It also allows the anti's a wonderful opportunity to ban "militarily-based calibers" without worrying about it affecting the production prices of Government ammo.
So, to summarize:
We face two political factors and one production factor within the next two years. Politics could well promote panics similar to what we saw in 2008, 2012 and (admittedly lesser in) 2016 as well as the potential for outright bans on certain types of weapons, ammunition feeding devices and calibers. The switching of calibers for our government and military forces away from 5.56x45, 7.62x51 and (quite possibly) the move away from AR-based platforms could affect the supply/demand situation for ammunition, firearms and accessories.
I consider the window almost closed, right now, pending the selection of the Democratic Front-runners for Presidential Nomination. I give it until November. . .possibly December.
My opinion. . .worth exactly what you paid for it.
The Professor
