As more and more oppressive firearms restrictions have been enacted in the PRK that only serve to hinder law-abiding people's ability to defend themselves, I have been advocating moving to a state that has less restrictive firearms laws.

Personally, I have been planning to move to Nevada before January 2001. Well, I did it, 1 1/2 month ahead of schedule.

Although I have just arrived in Nevada and therefore have not established residency here by obtaining a driver's license, I already find the difference to be striking. Allow me to give you a few examples.

In the PRK there is a one-gun-every-thirty-days quota. I found it quite difficult to maintain that quota as I am not a wealthy person. Trying to lay-a-way guns and pay for them in order to adhere to the one gun a month quota was a financial strain. In Nevada, however, there is no such quota. Here, I can lay-a-way a couple of handguns and take possession of both of them as my finances dictate. And if it works out that I can pay for them at the same time I can take them both home even in the same month.

In the PRK there is a 10 day waiting period after completing the DROS (Dealers Record of Sale). In Nevada there is no state waiting period, only the 5 day Federal waiting period.

In the PRK all firearms purchases are registered with the state, private party sales must be done through an FFL dealer, and when moving to the PRK all handguns must be registered within 30 days.

However, as a new resident in Nevada, I am not required to register my firearms, and private party sales are just that: private.

In the PRK I wouldn't have been able to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles (although until we were told we couldn't purchase them I didn't want one and I still don't necessarily desire to own an AR-15 but it galls me that the state told me I COULDN'T buy one. Not so in Nevada. It is a wonderful sight to see rows and rows of AR-15s and Bushmasters available for sale.

There are even full-auto weapons for rent and sale at several gun store/ranges.

In the PRK I purchased a used S&W M-659 but because I made the purchase after January 1, 2000 the magazine wasn't included with the gun. In fact, the dealer even went to far as to destroy it. The reason was the "high capacity" magazine ban in the PRK, even on pre-ban magazines.

In Nevada I was able to obtain a new 15 round magazine for my M-659. I must say that it was disconcerting to find the price at $70.00 but at least I was able to purchase an original magazine for my gun. Actually, this was never really a problem for me because my preferred handgun is physically limited to 7+1 anyway. However, limiting magazine capacity to 10 rounds just so bad guys have 4 or 5 fewer rounds doesn't make sense when those limitations inhibit our ability to defend ourselves. I have held that, in general, if you can't do the job with eight rounds you're in real trouble anyway, but one never knows if the extra rounds available in the pre-ban mags just might make the difference in a gunfight. Certainly if the police feel the need to have a few extra rounds available then it holds that the average person may have need for those same extra rounds.

Certainly, there won't be an infinite supply of those magazines but at least I was able to purchase one that was manufactured before the Federal ban on these magazines. I for one have yet to figure out how limiting my ability to defend myself against an armed intruder(s) by restricting the number of rounds I can place in my handgun is a good thing. But you can see where that asinine law is intended to take us can't you? Of course you can. Eventually, they will try to ban semi-auto loading handguns altogether.

Another nice difference between the PRK and Nevada is that Nevada is a shall issue state for CCWs.

As of January 1, 2001 only handguns that have been tested and certified as "not being unsafe" will be available for sale by firearms dealers in the PRK. At last check there were 15 Rugers and 4 Berettas as having been certified for sale in the PRK. There may have been other handguns tested but the manufacturers had not paid the fee (extortion) to be listed on the web site. The good news is that I recently spoke to someone at the DOJ (Department of Jerks) and was informed that Colt had submitted handguns for testing.

There is no such requirement in Nevada.

As a person who has lived in the PRK for 36 years I have grown accustomed to the numerous weapons laws there. Some of these laws didn't affect me when I was in private security and then law enforcement, however, you can imagine my surprise when I found that many items illegal in the PRK are readily available to the average private person. Now I can replace my "balanced driving gloves" that are illegal for me to possess in the PRK. I found .22 LR and shotgun tracers for sale. I found .12 ga flechette & flare rounds for sale. I found night scopes for rifles. I found 30 round magazines for semi-auto rifles. I found an H&K MP5 (not the SD model that I trained and fell in love with). I found .12 ga bean-bag rounds. I found that I could buy after-market stocks for rifles and shotguns with "conspicuously protruding pistol grips." I even found a semi-auto .50 BMG for sale and ammunition is readily available! Damn! I think I'm in firearms heaven! I think I just might be able to survive my self-imposed exile from the PRK.

I've been building my own custom 1911 pistols for several years, so now I plan on applying for an FFL and opening my own gun shop where I can sell my custom defense 1911 pistols.