Illinois passed a gun ban at the end of the spring session, outlawing home-brew firearms that are not registered with dealers (and, by extension, the state).

The bill allows 180 days amnesty for those who currently have completed home brew guns or kits. After that, possession quickly becomes a felony.   At least until the courts strike down this new law under SCOTUS’ Bruen decision.

November 14th is the end of said amnesty.

What’s a person who values his or her privacy to do? How about going boating and/or doing some digging of course!

“I lost them in a boating accident,” remains a common refrain of gun owners unwilling to answer questions about the disposition of their guns. I’ve had a couple boating accidents myself – and I have the photos to prove it.

The government probably has some partial lists of who has these home-brew kids, don’t expect a knock anytime soon. However, if you get into an argument with your spouse, teen or adult kids, or the mother-in-law and Johnny Law shows up, things can easily go sideways if you still have them readily available and accessible.

If Johnny starts nosing around the back of your safe, he and his buddies better not find a completed home-brew gun or three. Or kits. If he does, then suddenly you’ve got felony problems in addition to a disloyal family member who needs to be disinherited and maybe even disowned.

Ghost guns are ideal for burial
Those untraceable “ghost guns” would serve as the ideal cache guns, standing ready and available to access in event of government descending into true anarchy, tyranny and oppression. Or alternatively to lay in wait for a court decision once again legalizing homemade guns. Or simply as a backup in case of fire or theft at your home.

And even better, as there are no serial numbers to trace back to your smiling face, home-brew firearms seem ideally suited to burial. If some hapless explorer or one of Beto “Hell yes, we’re gonna take your AR-15” O’Rourke’s finest finds it, without fingerprints their trail will be cold as ice and dead as Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In fact, given Joe Biden’s attempt to declare some sort of national ban on home-brew guns, it surely looks like burial has the fewest risks. After all, there’s a 100% chance of loss of said guns if Johnny Law finds them – and you may face criminal charges too!

A Polymer 80 Glock-style handgun with three magazines and a 50-round box of hollow-point ammo could come in really handy at some point in the future. Especially if it’s re-homed with a carry rig.

Or an 80% lower, completed and mated to a decent upper receiver would make a capable homeland defense AR rifle – or police patrol-type rifle. With skill sets learned at an Appleseed event or other private training, that completed gun will easily reach out and touch bad people at 400 yards. With some of the more exotic calibers and hand-made loads, a half-mile shot becomes very doable.

Yes, an argument can be made that if it’s time to bury your guns you should instead consider using them. We’ll save that discussion for another day and time. ‘Tis better to exhaust the soap box, jury box and the ballot box before we turn to the cartridge box to redress our grievances.

Don’t keep all of your eggs in the same basket!
“Ghosty guns” or conventional bang sticks, we have always advocated for diversifying where you keep your guns to protect yourself in case disaster strikes. Just as you should keep your retirement investments diversified, the same goes for your self-defense tools. That way in event of theft, fire, natural disaster or police action at your residence, you won’t lose everything.

Some people think they can hide their guns within their homes or bury them on your property. Scratch those ideas. Uncle Sugar and JB’s buddies both have resources to look through walls and into the ground. Nah, diversify your stuff “off property.” Instead, ask a trusted friend or relative to act as a caretaker for a package or two for you.

Off-site caching
If you don’t have any trusted friends or your family name is Biden, you may not want to leave some of your collection with a friend or family members. That will generally mean off-site caching.

Clearly, considering a cache or two of firearms, magazines and ammunition remains a very personal decision and it has the potential to result in loss.

You can be creative to help thwart easy detection, even by ground-penetrating radar and other toys .gov has to find stuff. Hillsides make fine geocaching locations, as do fence rows between farm fields. Or under things like concrete pads, junk cars or brush piles.

Have you considered an old mausoleum (no digging needed!) or an unused plot in an old, abandoned cemetery? You really should. Ditto for abandoned, dry cisterns. Be creative. I’ve even suggested burying guns things under the flower bed out front of the Deerfield Village Hall in the springtime.

Make sure you identify your special place by prominent landmarks. Share this information with only the most trusted people.

What to bury and how to bury it?
There are whole college-level courses in how to cache arms and ammunition. Here’s some Cliff’s Notes…

Expect to say goodbye to whatever you bury. “Ghost guns” or guns without a paper trail seem like ideal candidates for burial. Don’t forget a sling, holster and spare mags, along with batteries for the optics as appropriate.

Oil the guns heavily. Wipe everything down to destroy fingerprints. Add in a modest amount of ammo. Don’t forget your desiccant – either anhydrous calcium sulfate or silica gel. Then seal it up. You might paint it dark brown while at home so it won’t stick out like a sore thumb when you carry it (while wearing gloves) to its final resting place.

If it’s a tube, bury it upright to minimize the signature to metal detectors and ground penetrating radar. Obviously, don’t make your tube longer than you absolutely have to in order to minimize your digging and the hole depth.

Another tip if you don’t like digging: Rent a “post hole digger” from your local tool rental shop for a project at home and then re-task it. And don’t forget to let your friends borrow it too.

Remember, your primary goal is to keep your cache undetected to unauthorized persons and to keep these now banned guns out of your immediate possession. The secondary goal is to keep out water. Moisture and your guns and ammo won’t play well together.

Think you can’t cache in your own yard?  HA!  You can… and help a friend too.

Is your neighborhood infested with Trump Derangement types? Think you can’t bury guns in your backyard? Never fear. Time for a trip to Home Depot or your local hardware store. Here’s your list.

At least one 10’ section of 6” PVC pipe ($38.47ea. now $77 at HomeDepot.com… free local delivery with $45 order!)
Caps as needed. (About $12 $19 each)
PVC primer and glue for your “plumbing” project.
PVC glue

Only charge these items with nothing else on the receipt. Consider having them delivered, too.

Make up one short (maybe one or two foot long) “storage pipe.” Insert one tube of Daisy BBs. Using bubble wrap to protect the BBs from shock and rattles is optional.

But first, cleanliness is next to godliness. Be sure to thoroughly wipe the interior and exterior of the storage pipe to remove any PVC shavings. You can use that dirty, oily rag from the last time you cleaned your rifle. There isn’t anything on there that will hurt what you are trying to store. Then cement the caps into place.

Call before you dig! Call Julie (811 on your phone) and ask them to mark your yard.

Bury your pipe in your yard. If you’re busy, you might have to do it in the evening or maybe even after dark.

Once that’s done, turn over one shovel full of soil in multiple holes throughout your yard as you collect samples for soil testing of your lawn. Be sure to call a lawn care company using your cell phone and ask how much that testing would cost.

Then, to keep your garage free of clutter, give or sell remaining parts to a friend who may actually need them for a discrete project of their own.

The total out-of-pocket cost: A little over $200.
The look on certain faces when they open that storage pipe you buried in your front or back yard? Priceless.

Just like the old Mastercard commercials.