On the Saturday after the election I was driving over to Hauser Idaho to meet a guy at their local trap club to sell him my Browning BT-99 single barrel trap. I had already scouted my LGS and made sure they had what I wanted to spend the funds on, a Henry 30-30 and a Mossberg MVP .223 bolt rifle. So I’m driving over to Idaho and I heard that the election had been called.
My brain did an immediate right turn and I changed my mind on what to spend my money on. I had been doing some light looking at a M1A Scout Squad both online and at my LGS. Out of stock was all I could find. So since I would be driving past several gun shops on my way home I decided to stop by and see what was available in a defense style rifle such as the Scout. I didn’t want a run of the mill AR as I have a few and while I already have a Standard Rifle M1A the Scout appealed to me. I stopped by a half dozen shops and only found two Mini-14’s other than AR’s. My last stop was a regional feed and farm store that put a large gun counter in a few years ago. I had never bought a gun there but they generally have a large selection. I almost didn’t stop due to my unsuccessful search’s prior but I talked myself into stopping as I was driving right in front of the store. Walked back to the gun counter and in the center of the rifle racks was a Scout Squad turned sideways almost shouting, “pick me stupid”. So I did.
A couple of years ago Washington State passed a new gun law requiring an enhanced background check for any semi-auto rifle (yes, including a 10/22
) This was my first purchase of a semi since then so I got to enjoy the pain that I had only read about previously. Mandatory minimum 10 day waiting period, competition of a training course (on-line) and an additional $18.00 fee to the state for the background check. I had taken an on-line course earlier but this store only accepts a course from one company, not the one I used of course. So before I could even buy the rifle I had to drive the remaining 15 miles to home, complete the course, print my certificate, grab my checkbook and drive back 15 miles to the store just to be able to complete the paperwork. So I paid $18 (check only) to the state and $18 to the training company just in order to complete the paperwork for the background check.Fast forward 12 days I get a call that my background check received a “proceed” so was able to drive back to the store and pay for and bring my new rifle home.
So here’s the lineup of my fun shooters, top the M1A Standard Rifle, the Scout Squad and that funky Mini-14 that keeps wanting to think it’s an M1A
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