All right, let’s do another raffle

Following last month’s successful raffle of an AR-15 pistol, I asked readers to let me know if they’d be interested in another one, and if so, what the prize should be.  (For the benefit of those who aren’t regular readers, I should explain that following my second heart attack in late 2019, I was put on a combination of medications that severely affected my creative thought process, so that writing has been very much delayed.  The money I would have earned from publishing new books has not been there, and I’ve had medical and other bills to pay, so things have been very tight.  I therefore followed fellow blogger Kim du Toit’s example and held the raffle to raise money to pay them.  It was partly, but not completely successful;  hence, this repeat performance.)

Several dozen of you offered suggestions, both at the earlier blog entry and via e-mail.  The majority opinion was to offer another AR-15 pistol, but there were substantial minorities arguing for an AR-15 carbine and/or a 9mm Glock pistol.  A few suggested raffling off an equivalent value in ammunition, either 5.56x45mm and/or 9mm.  I may hold a couple more raffles during the summer to offer the latter options, depending on your interest.

At any rate, I’m going to go ahead with raffling another AR-15 pistol during the month of May.  The same rules will apply as before:

I’ll accept just 100 entries at $25 apiece, so the chances of success are rather better than winning the Powerball!  (Any entries above that figure will be returned to sender.)  You can send more than one entry, if you so wish – that’s up to you.

. . .

Needless to say, all laws, rules and regulations will be followed.  If you live in Texas and are within easy driving distance of the Wichita Falls area (my nearest big city), we can do a face-to-face transfer;  otherwise, the firearm will be shipped to your Federal Firearms License dealer and transferred there, complete with background check.  Please don’t ask me to break the law, because I won’t.  I’ve been a prison chaplain, so I already know how unpleasant life behind bars can be – and you don’t want to find out.

I can’t use PayPal for this raffle, because the company has a rule against using their services for firearms-related transactions.  Therefore, please send cash or a US Post Office money order (no private checks, please – they take too long to clear) to:

Peter Grant
P O Box 897
Iowa Park, TX 76367

Make sure you include your own name, address, phone number and e-mail, please.

Entries must be received by or on May 31st, 2021.  Even if all 100 entries haven’t been taken up (the first time, only 77 tickets were sold, making the odds of winning that much better), the winner will be drawn on June 1st, 2021.  I’ll notify the winner at once by e-mail and telephone.  I won’t publish his/her name here unless they’re willing to allow that, due to privacy concerns.

I might add that the reason for closing the raffle by the end of May is to ensure that more onerous firearms laws, rules and regulations will not yet apply to transferring the prize.  Right now, it’s relatively straightforward to do so;  but who knows what new obstacles the Biden administration may put in its path?  I’d rather avoid them as far as possible, and finalize this under existing law.  If I decide to offer another firearm in a raffle, I’ll try to do that before new laws take effect, too.

I emphasize that this is not a brand-new firearm;  it’s one I’ve owned for some time.  I’ll remove all the used parts from the upper and lower receiver, and install new ones (including the barrel), so that the winner will be getting what is effectively a new firearm, built to my standards (which most of you know from my earlier articles on the subject).

Thank you all for your support.  I hope the winner enjoys his or her prize, and that they never need it the hard way!  Sadly, in today’s world, that can’t be guaranteed.

Peter