Tag Archives: bargains

For The WinCo

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Decided to cash out my CostCo rewards and see if maybe it wasn’t time to try a new venue…….

TL;Dr version: Winco: Emphasis on Win

The longer I identify and live my life as a survivalist (and, yeah, I’m gonna go with that over ‘prepper’) the more I am convinced that in 90% of the most likely emergencies I will face the most important things to have will be a) money (or money-like instruments) and b) food. To that end, I stockpile food and I sock away moneystuff. Winco will be my new go-to for food.

The Winco at the corner of South and Reserve opened up last week and a friend of mine recommended I check it out. Selection was broad and prices were very competitive, I was told. Okay, I go check it out. Ah…you had me at the food storage section:

Interestingly, those are not Gamma Seal lids on that top shelf but rather some sort of knockoff….so…lose a few points on that one. But, they have oxygen absorbers, which is nice. Also some fairly decent water storage containers.

Selection was quite good and prices were competitive with the local chain groceries, although noticeably absent were signs comparing their prices to Walmart and CostCo. However, the selection was much, much, much broader than CostCo and, for many things, the prices seemed better.

More importantly, for me, was the ability to buy cases of a product easily, and they also had a very large selection of ‘bulk’ items like pasta, rice, spice blends, etc.

Their ‘house brand’ canned goods seemed very reasonably priced but I need to try them before I commit to buying a case of something.

All in all, if you’re reasonably local to Missoula and youre the kinda guy who likes to stock up, this is a place you definitely need to go visit.

 

Remaindered meat trays

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Ah the meat tray. I’ve posted before about it. $20 for four trays of assorted dead animal flesh. A good way to get your animal protein for the next week or so, depending on how you cook and what your tastes are. As you also know, every other day or so I cruise the meat aisle at my grocer looking for the ‘remaindered’ meat….the stuff that is marked down 30% or 50% to sell immediately. Perfectly good stuff, but it needs to be used or frozen immediately. And then…on rare occasions…the two combine to create: the remaindered meat tray.

Normally $19.99….but knock off an additional 30% and now that deal looks pretty attractive. So…I’ll take ’em all. Why not? I’ve got a vacuum sealer and a freezer. So $14 each.

I literally have no room in the freezer now. Everything is repackaged, vacuum sealed, and ready to sleep until much later in 2021 (or beyond). Food security, baby.

Bargain – 12 CCMG AR 25-rd conversion mags, $199.99

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If youre like me (and Crom help you if you are), you like to have .22 conversion kits to allow you to practice cheaply with your guns. CMMG is having a sale on the 25-rd mags that go with their highly-recommended .22 conversion kits for ARs.

Don’t ask “Will this work with my Ciener/DPMS/Mattel .22 conversion?”. I don’t know, I don’t care. The CMMG is the best conversion kit for AR’s I’ve found so I’m not really inclined to go investigating alternatives.

A dozen 25-rd mags for $200. Free shipping.

Deal is for today only, as I read it. Go get ’em.

Right place, right time

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SNSTIW, minding my own business at a local shop, and I stumbled into this:

6x 40-round boxes of Wolf 7.62×39, a buncha loose 7.62×39, 1x box of 20 7.62×39, and two Magpul AK mags.

$75 out the door. Put another way, knock off $20 for the mags and the ammo clocks in at around $0.14@.  In the current market, that’s, like, eleventy jillion dollars worth of 7.62×39.

Right place, right time. Unlike my usual modus operandi.

Serendipity

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Right place, right time:

Rem. 158 gr. JHP….2600 pieces at $0.06 ea.

I have a case of AA#2 powder, a five gallon bucket of fired .357 brass, and a Dillon Super RL1050….looks like its time to put my .357 needs to rest.

Vulture II

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A while back I opined that the Current Situation may lead to opportunities as folks die off and opportunities arise as those estates are liquidated. Yeah, it’s a rather tacky thing to think about but it is nonetheless true. What I hadn’t given much thought to is that people don’t necessarily have to die for these opportunities to arise. Unemployment is at record highs, people with jobs are having hours cut back, and folks would really rather have cash in their hands than some ‘toys’ that they deem as non-essential. In short, in addition to opportunity from those poor souls passing there is also opportunity for those poor souls who are in desperate need of cash. That’s where I step in.

I’ve been cruising Armslist religiously for a couple months now. Nothing really jumps out at me since most people sell their guns at prices that are higher than my dealer cost on a new one. But, sometimes stuff comes through that I do jump on. Todays acquisitions:

A brand-new-in-box Magpul Backpacker stock (in my favorite OD). This is the foundation for what many people call the ‘Grail gun’ of 10/22’s: a stainless takedown 10/22 w/ threaded barrel and Magpul Backpacker stock. It’d be mighty hard to come up with a better bugout .22 rifle.

Also picked up an Outdoorsmans Butte 25 Hip Pack. I was unfamiliar with this product. I have an almost identical product made by Kifaru, their Scout pack, but it is long discontinued and I thought it would be nice to have something similar as a backup and to take some of the wear and tear off my Kifaru.

Price? Well, let’s just say retail is for suckers and I don’t buy unless I’m getting a deal. And the reason I was able to pounce on this deal? Because I’ve spent the last couple years clearing out the debt and tucking away money when I can. And, honestly, I anticipate a lot more deals like this before this pandemic is over.

The important takeaway here is that opportunities will arise from this pandemic. Whether you think taking advantage of them is wrong or not, they will arise. By having cleared the decks of debt, secured money in the bank for emergencies, and being careful with spending, I’ve created a position where I can, from time to time, pounce on these sorts of opportunities. If you’ve gotten your ducks in a row financially, I suggest you start cruising Craigslist and Armslist….there’s interesting stuff starting to turn up as people less prudent than you and I find themselves suddenly needing cash.

Awesome deal on Leupold VX-R Patrol Scope

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A while back I bought a Ruger MPR (which I highly recommend) and needed to put a scope on it. After a lot of thought, I went with the Leupold VX-R Patrol 1.25×4 30mm tube scope. That scope, which I really like, has been discontinued. But…I think it’s a great scope.

Midway apparently has a few in stock that they are blowing out and there’s a discount code there to get you a free Leupold Mark AR 1-Piece Picatinny-Style Mount with Integral Rings.

Price? Scope + free mount + free shipping = $369

From Midway. You are seriously missing the boat if you pass up this deal.

Vulture

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Im not a bad person, but I am a bit of a pragmatist. And it occurs to me that if the Kung Flu takes hold here, and the infirm/elderly/medically compromised are the most likely to die from it……

<deep breath>

….there may be a buying opportunity coming up for real estate and vehicles.

Think about…the 82 year old guy down the street who has the little oxygen tank he carries in a backpack….he catches it, winds up in the hospital, and…adios. And now his estate needs to be settled and that property needs to be sold, or that newer pickup he only drove to the VFW and to CostCo….

Now, I’m not wishing for someone to die. I’m just saying that if it does turn out to be Capt. Tripps, there might be some opportunities to upgrade. Of course, there’s always the possibility that I’m the one who shuffles off to Sto’Vo’Kor and someone else winds up the beneficiary of my gear and supplies. :::shrug::: hey, ya gotta die of something.

Sidenote: apparently in the Middle Ages, the Black Death wiped out such a huge part of the European population that land ownership and the subsequent economics were fundamentally changed in ways that lasted for hundreds of years.