US Arming for Y2K?

C

Coinneach

Staff Alumnus
Wired is running an article on a huge upsurge in demand for shotguns and rifles due to people concerned about, among other things, Y2K.
<a href="http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/18716.html">Click here</a> for the story.

Most of the buyers are first-timers.

On the one hand, anything that gets more guns into circulation is jake with me. On the other, though, I'm seriously worried about millions of panicky people with no training shooting at anything that moves on 31 December.

Discussion?

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"Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
(The sword does not kill; it is a tool in the hands of the killer.)
--Seneca "the Younger" (ca. 4 BC-65 AD)
 
I expected something like this to happen, but not untill August or September. Acually computer problems don't worry me. I'm a camper and have equiptment to survive on if the power fails or whatever. Technology can crash and It'll only be a little inconvenient for me.
What really scares me is the thought of herds of panic striken sheeple running wild.

Hummmm..... Gun show this weekend. I think I'll go.
 
The answer is to get them as much training as they will take. Even if it is only on line. There are a few Boards like MrsSurvival.com that you can go and give at least some training to these newbies, and maybe get more of them on our side no matter what happens with Y2K. You might even learn a thing or two that could help you get better prepared.

[This message has been edited by Raymond VanDerLinden (edited March 26, 1999).]
 
Get them TRAINING?
I don't mean to sound pessimistic - but:
Yeah Right!
Most of these new Y2K owner never would have bought the gun in the first place - and dont want to know anything else about it - other than THEY NOW HAVE ONE... Then guns get locked up tight and wont see the light of day again untill its too late.
They wont admit to themselves or co workers that they now own a gun... Take them to the range? Sure... I have tried... I have given it a good effort and they are not taking it. I know many who have done this - cause they have asked me what to buy and from where. Then they tell me it locked up - and how safe it is. I tell them great... so when they NEED it - they wont know how to use it - cause the gun is sooo SAFE in its safe.

From the sheople who brought you "SUVs", when we was just happy calling them 4X4s...

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"I got a bad feeling about this..."
 
Look on the bright side, If Y2K is a flop next year the market will be flooded with cheap hardly used AR-15's. Maybe then, even I could afford one. :)
 
For what it's worth, one of your fellow countrymen (Ira Magaziner), an "expert" in Y2k, is here in Oz at the moment.

He was interviewed on TV last night (Friday) and says that "at most" you can expect some minor confusion in the US and other "first world countries" for a few hours. He Lso said your microwave and bedside clock might spit the dummy, but that's about it. His concern is third-world countries, where some programmers haven't yet started on the Y2k problem.

Bruce
 
When I stopped by the local stores, ARs and other rifles were more numerous than ever. In places where I'd normally see two there were twenty or thirty, with half of them sporting SOLD stickers (first-time buyers w/o purchase permits?) In one of the places, all handguns were marked up 25-25% from a week ago.

I am pretty much done with buying except for a .22 autoloader...hope the prices come down post-Y2K. Besides, if you know what you are doing, and SHTF, you can always get yourself a better weapon from the enemy, right?
 
I'm curios, what are all of you expecting? Do you really expect a herd of raving lunatics to bust your door down looking for food after turning psychotic because their cuisinart will not make crescent dough to go with their expresso? Do you expect armed conflict in the streets? Personally I think that there may be some short-lived minor inconvenience (two weeks at most) via utility disruption and then things will return to "normal." So I am getting increasingly nervous about people arming themselves. At my place we have a simple Y2K plan. I have a generator that will plug right into my panel. I can then run the freezers, and the pump for the well, and any other electrical items. There are of course firearms, and we can use them. I see things a bit more like GrayFox. If the technology fails we will survive. Anyway enough rambling…
 
Mendocino,
I'm a little surprised at your question. I, like you, -expect- that there will be nothing more than a few minor inconveniences. However, it's not what I expect to happen that worries me; it's what I don't expect that worries me. So, I -don't- worry about it..instead, I prepare for the unexpected. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

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Shoot straight regards, Richard



[This message has been edited by 45King (edited March 28, 1999).]
 
Mendocino,
Like you I don't expect the end of the world. Power outages, communication failures, short term breakdown of the system, yes. I don't expect people rioting in the streets or survival of the fittest on Jan 1.
However there is what I call, for lack of a better term, "The Unknown Factor". As long as a person can identify a problem ,aquire information and plan a response , fear is controlable and can be dealt with. But Y2K is a total unknown. Nobody knows what will happen or how long it will last. Not knowing what you are afraid of is quite probably the strongest and most irrational fear there is.

Possible scenario: power is out, communications down, no idea how long it will last, Thousands of people who have grown dependent on technology are suddenly thrust into cold and darkness with no idea of what to do. At first, its a party! Everone laughing,joking and generally making fun of the situation. If these problems last only a day or two, no sweat. We'll make it just fine.

However if the situation goes on for a week or more, the "Unknown Factor" kicks in. Without information to work with people begin to imagine all sorts of terible things. Food and water supplies start to dwindle, people become afraid, nervous and aggitated. Even if communication is restored, will these people belive it when the government says everything will be alright? Rumors will run wild, fear will take over and panic will set in. From this point on anything can happen.
Why? Fear of the unknown, thats why. The longer it lasts, the worse it will get. It could come down to "Survival of the fittest".

One remark that I keep hearing more and more people make as Y2K approaches is "I'm not going to worry about storing food and supplies. I'll just buy some extra ammo and if it comes down to it, I'll take what I need." No doubt eveyone reading this has heard similar comments where ever you live.

How bad will it be? how long will it last? Could this scenario actualy happen? Well, that's unknown, isn't it?

[This message has been edited by Grayfox (edited March 28, 1999).]
 
I doubt things will end up as some have proposed, Mad max scenarios and such. But I believe there will be some disruption, probably in the financial areas. I will have enough food to survive for a couple of months, alternate heating sources and probably a generator but I would have this normally in preparation for natural disasters that are overdue in my part of the country.

As far as firearms, a couple of 870's and my 1911 are sufficient to protect my assets. I don't like the idea of lots of AR's and AK's in the hands of poorly trained people, too much of a chance of stray rounds killing the wrong people in suburban areas. I recommend shotguns to people who ask, in built up areas they make more sense.

I worry more about my retirement funds disappearing either due to computer glitches or fraud, you can bet someone is planning to clean out accounts under the cover of Y2K computer failures. I don't think that the government nor most financial institutiions are planning for this type of criminal activity.

If my neighbors are hungry I will share what I have, even though I cant stand most of them. I doubt that problems will be around more than a couple of months, we may have shortages but we will not starve. Besides, my neighborhood is full of squirrels if i get really hungry.

[This message has been edited by K80Geoff (edited March 28, 1999).]
 
Grayfox wrote:
One remark that I keep hearing more and more people make as Y2K approaches is "I'm not going to worry about storing food and supplies. I'll just buy some extra ammo and if it comes down to it, I'll take what I need." No doubt eveyone reading this has heard similar comments where ever you live.

Well, this is one line of reasoning that I definitely have NOT heard anywhere in the People's Socialist State of Konnecticut that I travel. Most people I talk to are stocking up on necessities to some extent or another.

However, I have heard the arguement of preparing to defend against any roving individuals looking for easy pickings coming out of the cities.



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Regards,
~Douglas in CT :)
 
I'm not one who thinks that Y2K will much more than a series of relatively minor problems (I live in an area where one-day to two-day power outages are not uncommon).

However, I'm cynical enough to believe that if the electricity goes off for, say, only eight hours, and it occurs at 5PM, there will be quite a bit of shattered plate glass and a fair amount of low-cost shopping efforts.

I had a table at the Odessa, TX, gunshow this weekend, and the general behavior was about the same as at most any show I've been to during the past couple of decades. Maybe West Texans already have sufficient firepower? Awareness of Y2K, but no notable alarm--and a fair amount of "Netters".
 
I was at the range this weekend, helping out with a handgun class (NRA basic). The guy who runs the class is the local Gun God.

I put the original question to him: has he been selling more AKs and ARs lately?

"Can't keep 'em in stock. Kits and lowers, mostly."

Wow. They're not just buying, they're building their own.


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"Quemadmoeum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
(The sword does not kill; it is a tool in the hands of the killer.)
--Seneca "the Younger" (ca. 4 BC-65 AD)
 
Well, I thought I was all done except for a little more ammo, but now Mendocino has me pretty worried. No electricity, no gas, no fresh water I can handle. But ... the 'cuisinart will not make crescent dough to go with their expresso'? Well, this could be much worse than even I thought!! ;)

Better check on buying another section of land in Montana ... ;)
 
Grayfox,
It's amazing. I keep hearing otherwise sane and honest people talking about taking what they need at the point of a gun all the time!
My response is to look them dead in the eye and inform them that they have just identified themselves as a potential looter and if they come snooping around my place when(if) the fit hits the shan, then they can expect to wind up with their head on a stake.
Looters will be shot and displayed around the property line. I don't care if the looter was my kindergarten teacher!
I WILL NOT BE A LOOTER!


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Your mind is your primary weapon.
 
The boogey man factor with y2k is that no one can honestly tell you what will happen, one way or the other. No one will know until after the fact. Another problem is that if a fair number of people believe that there will be rioting and mayhem in the streets on January 1. 2000 and those same people take to the streets expecting that, they may fulfill their own prophecy.
Another thing I've been kicking around in my grape: what if a few more of these y2k, doomsday cults appear, like the group deported from Israel that were planning to carry out a series of murders for the purpose of accelerating the coming of the end of the world. I wouldn't put it past "The Honorable Bill Clinton," to put a stop to all gun and ammunition sales, temporarily of course, until after the first of the year. You know, just to keep weapons out of the hands of the lunatic fringe. Then, if there isn't a tremendous resistance, it becomes permanent. He did the same with "assault weapons" and he didn't even need a reason.
 
Destructo6,
Your post reminded me that it has happened before. I was living in Memphis in 1968 when Martin Luther King was killed. Little known fact: within 2 hours of King's shooting every store in the Memphis area that sold firearms or ammunition was closed by government order. That included department stores, hardware stores and the CO-OP. Not just gun shops, every store. Yep, could happen again.
 
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