hiding in not-so-plain sight

So this is something of an odd story… There is a sporting goods store in Southern Kalifornistan (and most of the rest of the South and North West) called Big 5 Sporting Goods, and, honestly, I have always viewed it as something of a bastard child… the lower end of the sports stores out there. I poked my head in once, and got a definitive “KMart Blue-Light Special” vibe, and have not really been back since… until yesterday.
Better Half and I stopped in one as part of her interminable quest to find a good pair of walking shoes (the woman’s feet are humongous… size 10.5 women’s – a lot of shoes simply are not made that big), and I was rooting around the piles and stacks of various no-name products and knockoff items… Until I happened to stumble into their hunting department. A friend of mine came by an M44 Mosin Nagant rifle a while back, and was having a devil of a time finding the 7.62x54R ammunition the beast needs… until he stopped at one of these Big 5 places. As such, I was not terribly surprised by the rifle rack behind the counter, and the fact that it was sporting no fewer than five of those M44′s. The British Enfield sharing the rack with them, however, caused me to pause, and the M1903 Springfield was definitely something of a speed bump.
However, the item that really caught my attention, and precipitated me writing this post, was the sign that said, “M-1 Carbines for Sale. Good condition. Come with 10 round magazine. Only retailer in America carrying them.”
No, I am not kidding (though I have no idea about their “only” claim).
I asked the lady behind the counter how much they were going for, and she told me she just sold the one she had on display for $999, and they would probably be getting a few more in over the next few days.
Yes, this is for real.
So, for those firearm addicts/collectors/junkies out there who have to have an M-1 Carbine in their armory, I guess you have one of two options now… You can either worry about all of the qualification requirements posed by the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and then maybe catch one of theirs (which come without a magazine) when they come up for sale… Maybe – after all, the sell out quick, especially since they range in price from $419 to $675 depending on model and condition. Or, you can swing by one of the most unassuming sporting good stores in America, fork over a little more for their $999 price tag, and snag one right off the rack (though, of course, in Kalifornistan you will have to wait the 10 days to take it home).
I leave the choice to you. Me, I was lucky to walk out of the store with a new sharp-and-pointy (post on that later)… a new firearm… well… Better Half might have let me have it if she could club me with it whenever she wants…