First, guns are not an "investment" because in this sense, they are not assets. You will most likely lose money on your guns. Assets put money in your pocket NOW. Your home is not an asset...for you. It is an asset for your banker because it puts money in his or her pocket monthly until you pay off the mortgage. The month you sell your house at a profit it is an asset for you (and only after the total of mortgage, interest, maintenance, and all bill costs over the term of the mortgage). The only way a gun is an asset is if you have a company that uses them in some way to generate money (such as rental guns at a range).
The reason "money is getting cheaper" is because the "money" issued by the non-government agency called the Federal Reserve has NO VALUE (the Fed is a group of private bankers and companies). You cannot go to a bank and ask for your gold or silver. Go ahead and try it.
Remember that a "certificate" is a representation of something else. A "gift certificate" for a store is NOT money. It simply represents a limit on the amount of goods you can walk out with. The "dollar" used to be the same as a certificate and you could trade it in for gold or silver. Now it's just a "Federal Reserve Note"...a piece of paper that cannot be traded in for anything of real value. Buying gold or silver is different from trading in certificates.
The "value" of the dollar is perception, nothing more. Oh, and it's backed up by the US military.
The reason Alan Greenspan says "we need 5% inflation every year" is because that prevents 500% inflation in one year. Everyone would bitch about that; 5% just gets us used to the new prices.
Now, top that off with additional taxes throughout the supply chain...yeah, prices are going up.
And, since when is a pistol MORE valuable than a rifle? Ballistically, pistols just suck.
Take a look here:
http://www.libertydollar.org/