this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024
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  • California authorities found a man illegally owning 248 guns and 1 million rounds of ammo.
  • The state attorney general said he also had 3,000 magazines and several grenades in his home.
  • The guns included 11 machine guns, 133 handguns, and 60 assault rifles, authorities said.
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[–] DragonTypeWyvern 116 points 8 months ago (4 children)

That's crazy, how can someone have a million rounds and nearly a dozen machine guns and NOT blow it all on one fucking sweet range day with the boys?

[–] agitatedpotato@lemmy.world 23 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Imagine living close to Nevada and not using the ammo on a chance to fire some really kick ass guns. That state is like mecca for collectors and automatic weapon lovers.

[–] ripcord@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

How do you know he didn't have 2 million rounds and did this with half?

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 8 points 8 months ago

Agreed, motherfucker found the mead of the gods and just didnt drink it.

[–] Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

My family motto is “Buy it cheap and stack it deep”, also on grocery day it is “One trip or die”.

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 8 months ago

Because, duh, when the new world order or lizard lasers or whatever it's called these days comes, that million rounds will be his gateway to keep his little empire so filled with freedom! For at least an hour or two!

It's an investment!*

* Disclaimer, this is not investment advice.

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[–] Bob_Robertson_IX@lemmy.world 77 points 8 months ago (3 children)

The best part is, it sounds like they arrested him and seized his guns, all without a shot being fired.

I would love to know why this guy felt he needed so many guns and ammo, because obviously it wasn't to protect himself from a hostile government.

[–] MossyFeathers@pawb.social 47 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Collector maybe? The article makes it sound like they may have been legally acquired prior to him being barred from owning them. That cache may have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from the machine guns alone.

[–] Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 46 points 8 months ago (6 children)

I find it odd that no one has mentioned the possibility that he could have been a black market dealer. Suppressors, short barreled rifles, and fully automatic machine guns, are all purchasable in the US if you can file the right paperwork and be approved for those purchases by the BATF, under the National Firearms Act (NFA). This approval process includes the ATF having you on speed dial to show up and make sure you still safely possess said items, and aren’t flipping them on the street for a massive mark up.

While an NFA regulated suppressor might run you $1200 after taxes and fees, a suppressor on the streets without the paper trail might go for closer to 3-5k. Actual transferrable machine guns, due to their extreme rarity in the US, command prices from $10,000 to $60,000 dollars through existing legal channels, and again, could be sold at a massive markup without the baggage of a paper trail. Even firearms legal to own without NFA restrictions would command a sizable markup when sold off the books. And this is how gangs have armed themselves for decades, through dealers just like this.

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[–] LemmyExpert@lemmy.zip 7 points 8 months ago (6 children)

Speaking as a very very casual gun enthusiast myself - - I think it's a tricky subject. Guns & ammo are great, a million rounds certainly seems excessive, and idk it's possible this guy was a black market arms dealer for very very bad people.

When you have guns, you wonder how you'd react to a knock on the door & an attempted gun confiscation. I don't see many scenarios playing out where violence is called for; they are not (directly) threatening my life, but rather confiscating tool(s) that can be used for hunting, recreation, and yes preserving my life in self-defense. Very not cool. But it's still technically not a physical threat to me. If I were to pop off some guns in defiance of a gun collection attempt, that would lend credence to the idea that I'm an "unstable person" that "shouldn't be allowed" to own firearms. Also, my fight isn't with the guy doing the confiscating. He's a member of my community, he's just some guy doing what he's told, maybe he's got a wife & kids. What is to be gained from shooting him in the face? Does that not make me a monster? Maybe this guy thinks similarly, he was confronted without a shot being fired.

No, from one red-blooded American to another, the no-conflict response is wisest & best. Tell them a warrant is needed, when they can't find what they're looking for, give them the ol' classic "lost the guns in a terrible boating accident" line. They will be forced to accept it & move the fuck on. When tyranny reigns, defiance is duty, avoidance/lies/concealment are justified.

My line of thought is this: you can have twenty safes full of badass guns & ammunition in your basement. But that doesn't matter if you've got a gun to your head on your front porch. What is practical? What is reasonable? What is necessary? Just a handful of nice guns made ready & accessible, a daily carry you're familiar with, a solid 12-ga, a .223 hunting rifle, and a few thousand rounds of ammo for each caliber you own.

My gut tells me this guy wasn't a prepper, if his ungodly massive stores of firearms & munitions were so easily found & rounded up. At least not a good one. My gut tells me this guy was involved in the illegal arms trade, he had a setup in his home that no-gooders could visit & "shop" for what they needed.

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[–] dhork@lemmy.world 59 points 8 months ago (5 children)

I guess we found the guy causing the Ammo shortage, it wasn't Obama after all!

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago (2 children)

They didn't name him how do you know it wasn't Obama

[–] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 5 points 8 months ago

At lease he didn’t have any armor. Tanks, Obama.

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[–] Psiczar@aussie.zone 54 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Why would anyone illegally own guns in America? Don’t the licenses come in cereal boxes?

[–] rifugee@lemmy.world 30 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

The article says that the man is prohibited from owning firearms, so he probably has a felony or something. I'm not sure about California, but you wouldn't need any kind of special license to own all of those guns and ammo in a lot of states.

[–] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

Machine guns are illegal unless you have a... Class 3 permit? It's a hassle so nobody does it.

The qty of ammo isn't illegal but really really above normal. The assault rifles are more of a buzzword unless they are burst or full auto, in which case would be illegal.

[–] Osito@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago (3 children)

You can't own a full auto without a special license that's very difficult to attain in any state

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[–] mctoasterson@reddthat.com 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Most states don't require licensure at all. You complete a background check at time of purchase as required by federal law, and if you aren't a felon or prohibited for other reasons, you proceed with the purchase.

[–] MrBusiness@lemmy.zip 5 points 8 months ago

Yup it's totally fucked up. After I picked out my handgun it took 15 minutes after that to complete my purchase. Ordered my food right after they started the background check cause I thought it might take a while. Got my firearm and my food was still hot when I got back.

There really needs to be more before being able to buy a firearm. At the VERY least training and safety courses. This is where my opinion gets considered controversial, but if we had a better health care system I think annual mental health checkups for gun owners should be a thing.

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[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 33 points 8 months ago (3 children)

He’s the guy in every movie that shows up in an SUV, pops the trunk, and pulls back a dirty tarp revealing a small arsenal.

[–] hips_and_nips@lemmy.world 7 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Burt Gummer in Tremors and Tremors 2.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Get the elephant gun. Also reba was bad ass in tremors

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[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

This is too accurate for Richmond. I know truck drivers that won't even deliver there.

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[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 31 points 8 months ago (28 children)

nooo u cant take my emotional support machine gun body pillows from meeee

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[–] tsuica@lemmy.world 31 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

"Mr. Webley, I trust you have a license for that firearm?"

"(mumble mumble)"

"He does for this one."

[–] RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago

Send it to Ukraine

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 15 points 8 months ago (1 children)

What's the dollar value of that? How do people afford their insanity?

[–] DragonTypeWyvern 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

As someone else mentioned, it's likely he was a black market seller.

Machine guns can go for $20k+, easy, people with the kind of cash to have a dozen and an ammo stockpile just for collection purposes are going to do it legally.

[–] FireTower@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

$20k+ is pretty standard for on register transferable guns. Off register illegal machineguns can go for much less than that, like Glock switches. Unless we're talking about already very rare models of MGs.

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 15 points 8 months ago (8 children)

How the hell do you get 11 machine guns. That’s a full on armory

[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 8 points 8 months ago (10 children)

It really isn't difficult to buy illegal weapons.

[–] 5in1k@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago

Or make a legal weapon an illegal machine gun.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Machine guns aren't illegal if you have a stamp.

[–] pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online 3 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Are you aware of what is involved in getting that stamp? The only people who bother are collectors.

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[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

So from what I've read he wasn't arrested because of the quantity of guns and ammo, but just because he wasn't supposed to have weapons.

Makes me wonder if there are any laws on the books for how many guns and bullets one person can own and store on their property.

[–] MNByChoice@midwest.social 8 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I do not believe there are any limits. Grenades are not legal.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I am pretty darn pro 2A to the point where I think mag caps are wrong, but even I can see value in amount of guns allowed on one premise type of law. I really don't want to see some small cult activate a group of home grown terrorists and then them all being able to instantly access weapons from one location. If you're rich enough to own like let's say more than 50 guns, your rich enough to pay for some of them to be stored off site and be swapped through if they want to play with their different toys.

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[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

Somewhere in another timeline, a person has asked "How on earth would gun laws actually stop a mass shooting like this one involving 11 machine guns and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition?" And then a timeline-traveler would have brought that person to this timeline, and shown them this article, where said individual was arrested ahead of time.

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

It's for that really big bear.

[–] kandoh@reddthat.com 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

Hoarder or starting an uprising?

[–] rdyoung@lemmy.world 9 points 8 months ago
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[–] mrfriki@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

When waging war is your weekend hobby.

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