Colorado Gun Laws

Happy July first. All those dumb laws the legislature whooped through at the beginning of the year are now in effect. I feel safer already knowing that the next mass shooter will not be able to legally buy a 100-round magazine to do his evil with. He'll have to use the one he already has. That or drive 150 miles to another state to pick up a new one.

At yesterdays gun show I heard* that at least one judge has reviewed the mag ban here and came to the conclusion that while any magazine assembly with a detachable floor plate, meaning all of them, would be illegal to sell or transfer, parts and repair kits are not covered. That means that a frame, a follower, a spring and a floor plate in a zip-lock bag are legal to sell. That line in the bill about "readily convertible" is going to cause unending problems until it gets settled in court.

I also heard* from one of the dealers with a huge supply of soon-to-be-worthless large mags that this trick won't work if you consider the magazine frame to be the same as a magazine assembly. I wouldn't and I make my living using those kinds of distinctions.

*I am not a lawyer, I'm an engineer. The judge in question is a member of one of the associations I belong to and her opinion at this point is her own. The dealers position came from his attorney.

I guess I need to write ProMag and inform them that my order should be shipped unassembled and labeled as "replacement parts".  I'll see if they'll bite. 10 round mags for the Marlin were non-existant.

Several dealers had large collections of hi-cap (>15 rds) mags available. I did not see much traffic in them. At this point I'd have to guess that Magpul has pretty much saturated the market. That and the buying season, Sept to March, is over. Speculation is that all those big mags will now be moved to other states where they will become a glut on the market. Look for 30 round mags in the $10 range soon.

On a brighter note, ammo prices are heading downward. 333-round Federal .22LR was available at $30/box with only limited takers, marked down from $40 at the previous show. Everyone suspects it was purchased at Wal-Mart for $14/box anyway. Reports are surfacing of Remington 550 rnd bulk packs at $22.50 at some retail outlets recently so look for more downward pressure. 9mm lugar was $40/100 and .45 acp was $55/100 which is way better than the .80 a round it used to be.