Ok Piggies, I’m still on vacation for a few more days, so I asked Christa, my infinitely better half, to step up and provide some content slop in your in-troughs. The following is a point of passion for her, so please give it a read. We’ll return to (somewhat) regularly scheduled Dispatches in the new year. Happy holidays!

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'Sup PipeHawk Piggies ™ Mrs. Pipehawk here, taking over the Dispatch Desk while Mr. Pipehawk takes some well- deserved R&R.

With the presidential inauguration less than a month away, many of us who are aware, awake and have studied even basic history, are dealing with much anxiety and fear about what the near future may hold and how that will affect us nationally and personally.

As we all know, President-elect Trump has promised sweeping tariffs on day one. While the local news waited until weeks after the election to explain to a bunch of products of the American school system what a “tariff” is - 20% higher costs to U.S. consumers - what the news is not telling folks is all the other ways cost will go up. For instance, tariffs on imports from Mexico will mean your avocados, coffee, and other produce will go up 10-25% depending on the size of the tariff. People voted for cheaper groceries, but they are going to get the exact opposite.

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But another way that life is about to get more expensive for Americans are the 2nd and 3rd order effects of tariffs. Even for products "made in the USA", they are often assembled here with parts or raw materials purchased from overseas. Since American labor costs more to employ that's where buying cheaper materials from overseas comes in.

Do you remember all the "supply chain issues" during the pandemic that lead to massive inflation in the first place? Do we remember 'greedflation' and companies raising prices on goods even if they weren't affected by 'supply chain issues' because Americans were so used to it? Do we remember the cost of ammo going through the roof? That was 2020- less than 5 years ago folks.

My point is we accepted the "supply chain issues" before and still many of us paid through the nose for ammo. Prices have come back down but certainly not to pre-pandemic levels. When I shop for bulk ammo and ask Mr. Pipehawk if something is a good price- more often than not he scoffs at the price because he knows better than I do what were normal pre-pandemic prices. I consider .25 cents a round for 9mm to be a good deal. He very much remembers when .15 cents a round was normal.

I also expect the prices of parts to go up; even if they are billeted or pressed here in the U.S. raw aluminum or steel comes from somewhere else. To this end, I've been furiously trying to collect and squirrel away a few parts for my next rifle build before the cost goes up 20-25% for those parts.

One of the parts I decided to acquire while it was on a 50% off Black Friday sale was a stripped lower. This innocuous chunk of metal has to get shipped to an FFL, so I get on the horn and start calling some local gun shops/stores (LGSs) and ranges to see what FFL fees are.

Now, I do remember, not that long ago, when firearm transfer fees were $25-30 on a long gun. So imagine how far my jaw fell when one place near our home advertised on their website a $100 transfer fee.

YES. You read that right: 100 smackeroos.

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I called them to verify this was correct- surely it was a typo- and I was still quoted $75. That was more than the cost of the stripped lower!!!! This place is definitely a bit of a corporate range-type-place, so I decided to try a smaller store. They were a little less- $55 for the transfer fee PLUS $5 for the "background check."

Maybe I'm old school here, but with every firearm I have purchased, the transfer fee WAS for doing the background check!. That's literally ALL they are doing when you purchase a firearm from the internet. They receive it, log it, execute the background check and then give you the item (you have already paid for, so you technically own).

See, what angers me about this FFL transfer fee business is that your LGS knows they've got you by the short and curlies. You can't easily just go down the street to the next shop with a more competitive price. Certainly not once your item is there, logged in. Because these items are regulated, you can't just have it shipped to you. You literally HAVE to go through them. And they KNOW that. And, have apparently decided to monetize that fact.

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Aside from the nickel and diming, what angers me the most about this is that it’s gatekeeping. Owning a firearm is already expensive. A halfway decent pistol will cost you $500-$600 and that's before ammo and any accessories. To ask people to pay $100 for a transfer fee ON TOP of that means that only people with wealth and/or disposable income will be able to access firearms. If firearm ownership is a RIGHT of any citizen, that means it should be accessible by any citizen that meets the standards to safely do so. It shouldn't be "oh you have to be this sort of person AND be of this class."

With a transfer fee of $100, that means even legally possessing a hand-me-down gun from a distant or extended family member may be financially out of reach for some.

The 2A community is so quick to scream and cry about the potential to have their rights infringed, but how do they not see that the pursuit of capitalism is the greater, more imminent danger?

While most focus on the silly and sad trope of "Democrats will take your guns!" the folks at your LGS are playing all kinds of gatekeeping games with exorbitant fees to simply take possession of a firearm you have already paid for. I would wager, based on the lack of stock at most stores, they are making more money on fees than on actual retail of items.

And this is where the issue has become a "self-licking ice cream cone" (which is a handy turn of phrase I first learned from Mr. Pipehawk. I had always thought it was a 'self-fulfilling prophecy' but the ice cream cone imagery is much more appealing). I'm buying things on the internet because my LGS doesn't generally stock the things I want to purchase. A basic-bitch stripped lower should not be hard to find or double the price at my LGS. These are a common enough item that inventory would turn over frequently, especially if they offered several different tiers of quality. (No local corporate range, I do not want a Sons of Liberty Stripped Lower that you are retailing for over $300. I still have all the other parts to buy too!) Instead, they stock wall to wall of Fudd guns like lever actions in .45-70 GOVT.

If I ran an LGS, first of all, there would be a rainbow flag with an AR15 and "defend equality" on it out front, letting anyone know that all are welcome in this space.

Second, I would shoot local matches and ask the community what kinds of things they would like to buy instead of having to order from the internet. Then I would stock THOSE items, instead of a bunch of Fudd guns.

Sure, I'll carry some of those too, because everyone is welcome.

But my point is that I would want to try to cater to the needs of my local shooting community so they will want to patronize my business! Instead of being hostile to them, extracting as much money as I can and then moving on, like a capitalist, blood-sucking thug.

So how about you there little Piggie? What would you like to see your LGS do to be more profitable? What do you think the threatened tariffs will mean for those of us who enjoy shooting sports and self-protection? Are you stocking up on anything in particular ahead of another inflationary event like we saw during the pandemic? Hit Cha'boi Jim back with some thoughts and I'm sure it will get to me in some future pillow talk. <3

Back to shopping for guns on the World Wide Web!

Christa is a Doctor of Chiropractic, concealed carrier, hunter, fisher, and avid outdoorswoman. When not doing one of the above, you can find her at the gym or on the mats crushing hearts and windpipes. Give her a follow on IG at ArtemisAscendant if you haven't already. She certainly is NOT a cop.

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Like what you’re reading? Want to support me in some way? That'd be dope! Check out my product page! Starter Packs are $45! Or book a consultation for a fitness plan, Bug Out plan, Ruck plan, etc. Looking for some gear? You can use promo code PIPEHAWK at the A Better Way 2A store for $5 off your whole order! You can also DONATE a $1 or whatever (buy me a cup of coffee, yo) with $pipehawkconsulting on CashApp! I'm not telling you what to do, I'm not a cop.

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