Category: Fieldcraft

Many years ago, at my local gun club, we would include in the monthly meeting the passing around of a small pail. Everybody kicked in a dollar or two — or maybe 10 — and we called it the “Bucket of Bucks,” with the money going to the National Rifle Association.

2A Defense can take many different approaches, big or small, and this one can be one of the best if it is done properly.

Two Things

There are two principles in life beyond death and taxes — lawsuits cost money, and lots of it. This year’s legislative sessions in many states produced the kind of laws that beg to be challenged, and good attorneys do not work for free.

Now is a good time for local gun clubs, gun show operators or anyone conducting a shooting match or some other function to help raise these important dollars. I once saw a guy throw in a crisp $100 bill, turn quickly around and disappear into the crowd.

Funds collected in such a manner can be consolidated and sent every couple of months to where they will do the most good.

It actually boils down to simple economics. For the price of a six-pack, you can kick in a few bucks to help defend your Second Amendment rights. Instead of paying for some designer coffee one or two mornings each month, stick that money away and drop it in your bucket of bucks. What’s that box of cartridges cost? Skip plinking once a month and stick that money in a bag, sock or small box in the corner of your gun safe.

Those who don’t belong to an organized gun club, or attend a monthly gun show, can turn the bucket into your personal piggy bank. You might be surprised how quickly these little donations accumulate. Throw in loose change every day. Pennies, nickels, and dimes suddenly become dollars. If you receive change for any purchase, a quart of milk or a gallon of motor oil, empty your pockets soon as you get home and put the money in your personal bucket.

For example, I habitually save quarters. Get some paper roll tubes from the local bank or credit union. It doesn’t take much time to discover you’ve saved up $10 worth of quarters. After a couple of months, you might have $20 or $30 worth; maybe more if they’re dropped in a jar on a shelf. Multiply that by the amount of money one might collect from your pals at the gun club who are coached to do likewise, and pretty soon it’s a tidy sum. It may not seem important, but it can become part of a larger amount subsequently donated to your favorite group engaging in legal actions.

There are several worthy groups, including the NRA, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Firearms Policy Coalition and so forth. State-level groups include the Oregon Firearms Federation, Florida Carry, Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Illinois State Rifle Association and so forth. All of these groups are currently involved in at least one court action, and they would be grateful for any help they can get.

Way back in my youth, a local city councilman said something that has stuck with me through the decades: “The thing a conservative is most conservative about is a dollar bill.”

The other side knows this. With funding from millionaires, billionaires and other wealthy elitists, the gun prohibition movement is rather well-financed. They can easily outspend you if your side doesn’t have money set aside.

Many such organizations actually learned from groups like the NRA, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited and others who hold annual fund-raising dinners and auctions. However, instead of buying wildlife habitat or doing other beneficial projects, the gun control crowd uses its money to pay lobbyists, lease buses for group trips to the state capital and even advertising. Their recreation is making you miserable.

Using The PRINCIPLE

If they can do it, so can you, and you have the better motive. They’re trying to destroy the Bill of Rights, while you’re working to protect it.

Why is this so important now? In case you hadn’t noticed, the gun prohibition lobby and their allies in state legislatures and Congress are engaged in a war of attrition. They pass legislation they know won’t pass a legal challenge, but they also know fighting it will cost the Second Amendment community small fortunes in legal fees.

This was the underlying strategy when cities began suing gun companies more than two decades ago. It’s still the strategy — though they will never admit it — to pass laws in various states defying the principles set down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2022 Bruen ruling. It costs money to fight these battles, especially when lower court judges do their best to find gray areas to things that seem black and white to gun owners.

We cannot often fight back as individuals, but we can pool our resources and put up a good fight with our allies — and using the “Bucket of Bucks” approach is one good way.

When I spoke a few months ago at a political gathering, I asked for a show of hands from people who might belong to a local gun club. When they did, they learned their assignment for the weekend was to go to the local hardware store and purchase a metal or plastic pail, write on it “Bucket of Bucks,” and start collecting funds. If even half of those folks followed through, it was a small victory.

I’m okay with small victories. It’s what grassroots action is all about — and it’s at the grassroots level where this fight may eventually be won.