Assault rifles, hi-cap pistols are today's 'Redneck Gold'

I visited eight North Carolina gun shops in my area over the past few days and I can report that the gun-buying public in Moore, Richmond, Anson, Hoke, Scotland and Cumberland counties and surrounding areas is in an assault-rifle-buying frenzy. Yeah I know, big surprise. All types of assault rifles, AK and AR design, have shot up in price some 200 percent since Obama won.

Only one gun shop I visited today in Fayetteville was singing the blues. Why? They'd sold out of all their assault rifles and couldn't get more from their suppliers who are all back-ordered.

Jim's Gun Jobbery in Fayetteville is semi-famous for winning in court against the feds in September. The ATF had been trying since 2005 to revoke the store's license, but a federal judge ruled the tiny amount of paperwork errors cited were insignificant, not to mention not wilful since the attorney for the store introduced evidence that the store's owner, Jim Faircloth, has instituted training programs for his employees to eliminate the paperwork errors.

The Fayetteville store made the papers again in a story two weeks after the election, reporting more guns sold on a Saturday than the previous Christmas Eve. And business was booming when I dropped in today with clerks handing out assault rifles as customers were buying briskly.

Same story at all the other stores I've been in lately, except for those sold out of assault rifles. At Guns Plus in Spring Lake, on the other side of the huge Fort Bragg Army base in Fayetteville, more of the same was going on with guys and gals lined up at the counter to buy all kinds of guns, long guns, short guns, shot guns, rifles, pistols -- even knives and clubs.

I guess you can say guns are sorta "Redneck gold." Us poor ol' rednecks can't afford to be hoarding a bunch of gold in these uncertain economic times, but we can afford a gun or two or three. I'm hoping to get at least a couple more semi-auto pistols that hold more than 10 rounds before the assault-weapons ban hits the fan. And maybe a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special snubby revolver, too. One of my gun buddies is predicting we're going to see a "Saturday Night Special" ban that will include all snubby revolvers, from the cheapest hunk of pot metal to the top quality Smith & Wessons and others, all chunked into the same sack and tossed in the deep.

The boss lady behind the counter at Jim's Guns said she's even heard there's been legislation filed that will even stop the sales of .22 rifles! Is nothing sacred? That's really sacrilege, threatening our .22s! Even liberal Democrats might have a .22 firearm. Sheer madness. I've already got two .22 rifles and a .22 pistol, but I just might have to get another one or two.

As Zell Miller said, I've already got more guns than I need, but I don't have as many guns as I want. And any money I spend on "redneck gold" will certainly keep its value and will even appreciate madly if Obama and his gun-grabbing pals do what everybody expects them to.