[jyl]

Oregon Measure 114 passed on Nov 8th, so starting Dec 8th a gun buyer’s permit will be needed to buy a gun, and magazines over 10 rounds may not be purchased/sold in the state. The whole system to apply for and be issued the permit needs to be set up, which will take months, so basically from Dec 8th to who-knows-when-but-probably-mid-2023, people won’t be able to buy guns here. We’ve talked about that before.

Predictably, people have started frantically buying guns and high-cap magazines to beat the Dec 8th date. NICS checks are up 400%!

In normal times, it can take weeks for the Oregon State Police to complete the standard background check for a gun purchase. I’m not totally sure why, but it’s been that way for a long while. Technically, after three business days the buyer has the right to take possession even if the background check is not finished. However, most gun shop FFLs will not release a gun to the purchaser without a completed and passed background check.

I am hearing that the background check process is way, way more backed up now. Basically, many of the people who waited until now to rush to the gun store are going to be SOL until sometime in 2023, absent some remarkably rapid litigation (not gonna happen that fast) or an administrative ruling that “purchase” means when you pay for the gun rather than when the background check is complete (also not gonna happen) and those who waited until now to buy hi-cap mags are seeing empty shelves and will be turning to online stores.

Since I recently bought the only gun I was particularly interested in getting in the near future, and loaded up on hi-cap mags, I was feeling pretty smug.

Was.

At the pistol range this afternoon I saw a For Sale posted on the bulletin board. Smith & Wesson Model 15-4 “Combat Masterpiece” with 4 inch barrel, $550. I thought of all the threads here, lauding the virtues of the classic revolver. A little research showed that this is a traditional .38 Special revolver, that looks like something a policeman might have carried back in a more innocent time, and probably a quality piece. For me, it will be strictly a target gun. We no longer live in that innocent time.

I called the seller who turned out to live close by. He came down to the range, we had a nice talk - partly about the gun (oooo, shiny), partly about his multiple myleoma treatments (going very well) - I took the shells from my carry S&W snubnose, test fired his gun, and we made a handshake deal. The gun is in very good condition, polish and blue and original wood grips are as nice as I’d want a “shooter” to be, it operates as it should, seems accurate - as much as I can say given I only had five rounds to fire.

So now I am one of the frenzied lemmings trying to get a background check completed before Dec 8th. Normally with my CHL I don’t wait at all, my background checks take five minutes, and I’m hoping that still holds.

If anyone thinks there’s a reason not to buy a Combat Masterpiece, or that $550 is way too much, please talk me out of this. Actually, you can’t, because I shook hands and the deal is a deal. I’m not going to back out on an old man with cancer.

With any luck, I’ll post a picture in a few days.

That reminds me - I still have some magazines to order . . .

By the way, I still don’t have an AR. I decided not to buy one before Dec 8th. Why? Well, my theory is that later in 2023, after the gun buyer permit system is up and running, AR prices will be lower than they were last month (and certainly lower than they are today). Because you’ll have to buy that AR without magazines, or with 10 round California magazines, and that seems a lot less appealing. So I figure I’ll get one cheaper then. If we go all “Red Dawn” in the meantime (or other apocalyptic fantasy scenario), I’ll just have to make do with my FAL.