Anyone else noticed AR's don't seem as plentiful on gunstore shelves?

I was noticing at the range Sunday that every single person I saw had an AR of some variety with them, from young dudes to older couples, every one. I'd say we've reached a certain level of market saturation, I'm sure there will still be plenty of sales, but the boom is over.

No they seem to be plentiful here. Dicks (just opened) has them in good numbers, Academy has them back on the shelves for a while now, LGS all have them. Gun shows are overflowing with them. Prices, selection and variety are the best I have ever seen. Pretty sure it will not be this way same time next year.


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So many people buying on line makes it a difficult proposition for brick and mortar stores to carry inventory and be competitive

shelves here are full but I bet if the hag wins the shelves may empty a bit

Think about what happened and you'll have your answer...

We saw a run on inventory of AR's, so production went through the roof. Then we saw an eddy behind the boom - a little faster occurring than any of us thought it would be, and inventory went through the roof. Retailers were choking on a high AR inventory for a few years, trickling them out here and there. Now they're back to a manageable inventory volume, and demand is relatively steady, and relatively low. Why hold 20 AR's on the shelf when you're only selling 2 a week?

There was also a greater trend (same thing we saw a couple decades ago in the last great AR boom) where more and more folks re-directed to building their own or having one built rather than buying a factory model off of the shelf. We saw the same trend in the last boom when folks started building their own - retailers who carried AR inventory (much much less common than now, of course) ended up with very dusty rifles on the shelves, even though consumers were still buying new-to-them AR's - but building them instead.

I don't believe we're seeing any inventory reduction due to panic buying at any significant scale as we have seen in the last few years. What we're seeing are retailers going back to a JITD methodology and not getting ahead of themselves. It's just an election - even though it's only every 4yrs, it's not an uncommon event - PLUS, the average American doesn't vote anyway, so if you tie in the scale of political motivation comparison to the scale of the emotional knee-jerk response to a national-newsworthy mass-killing, this just doesn't compete. When a mass-murder event happens, politicians have the opportunity to feed on a single-issue national emotion to drive a single-issue legislative campaign. In a presidential campaign, there's a lot more on the table, and consumers recognize that fact.

Am I buying more AR's, more lowers, or more parts today in preparation for an election? No. Would I be buying the same in preparation for an election if I wasn't already well supplied? No. Do I keep myself well inventoried on ammunition, loading supplies, and firearms to be prepared for any political or legislative eventuality? Yes. An election year shouldn't be your reminder - a responsible citizen should be prepared to defend themselves against any enemy to the American way of life, foreign or domestic, regardless of which party is in office.

Location, location and location as I guess it depends on where you are at. The local retail stores seem well stocked with the things and as to local smaller gun shops? They are also plentiful but many are over priced so they remain on shelves. Anyway here in the Cleveland, Ohio burbs they are plentiful; as well as ammunition.

Ron

Balrog said:

For the last couple years its been easy to find just about any AR you wanted... Now the shelves though not empty seem to be less full, at least in my area. What is up with that?

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I have not noticed this trend. Try checking the pawn shops maybe.

Balrog said:

For the last couple years its been easy to find just about any AR you wanted... Now the shelves though not empty seem to be less full, at least in my area. What is up with that?

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Balrog said:

For the last couple years its been easy to find just about any AR you wanted... Now the shelves though not empty seem to be less full, at least in my area. What is up with that?

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HELLO FROM TEXAS,,i'm a68 yr.ole man`in TEXAS where every pick up truck carried an AR type rifle to protect our livestock and when the mass shootings started,,everyone that had the money ran out and loaded up on AR's and thousands of rounds of ammo,,and i'll bet you a baby calf,, not one person even knows what AR stands for..they were called ASSAULT RIFLES,,AMERICAN RIFLE...when the school shooting's started and other massive murder's started,,every man and women took their food money and ran out and bought an AR style rifle..i saw on one day at the rifle,,no less than 20 grown men tried to show their family how to protect the home land with a rifle..the gun stores could not keep them on stock..the prices started at 1800 dollars and if a person wanted a more fancy rifle,,you had to have DEEP pockets..saw a man spend over 3,000 dollars,,and the man behind the counter kept showing the poor bastard more do-hickeys and gizmo's that the would be able to hit a target half away..good by a paycheck..for 1 year the main squirrel in the white house helped more gun shops and dealer's rich..sad...the AR on the RIFLE stands for ARMALITE RIFLE which was the man's name who created and develop the weapon..the AR that sold for 2800.00 or more can now be bought for less than 750.00.. during or after a hurricane the same chain saw and emergency generators can be bought for less than 50% of what they cost...LONG LIVE PAWN SHOPS....

goodhope farmer said:

.................,and i'll bet you a baby calf,, not one person even knows what AR stands for..

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Nice first post old man. I will take your bet, as I know of dozens of threads here on that exact topic. We ain't the ignorant hicks in needs of education you may think we are.

Welcome to the forum and where do I pick up my beef???



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The gun shops around me have plenty of AR-15's on the shelves, including Colts which are usually the first to go.

Brick and mortar stores have to pay for everything on their shelves too. Usually within or before 30 days depending on what credit terms they get. If they get terms. If they don't it's COD.

I'm getting lots "email specials" on ARs and AR parts.

No shortage of AR's at the last gun show or Carter's Country (local gun store chain) when I went to get some .22lr ammo they had advertised "on-sale" in Thursday's newspaper for $30/500, not a great price but I could buy enough at one time to make the drive worth while, they seemed well stocked and didn't care that I wanted 3000 rounds.

Its been a great time to buy ARs and parts the past 8 months or so. So good I'm building up a couple for Xmas presents.

goodhope farmer said:

,everyone that had the money ran out and loaded up on AR's and thousands of rounds of ammo,,and i'll bet you a baby calf,, not one person even knows what AR stands for..

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Armalite Rifle and thank you very much as I really like veal. Will you be shipping that calf on the hoof or field dressed and in a cold pack?

Thanks Again
Ron
(Another old dude but in Ohio)

Named after the desiger, Eugene Armalite

Have you ever heard of someone named Hillary Clinton? How about Hussein Obama? diane Feinstein? Do any of these names ring a bell?

Eugene Armalite. Excellent

goodhope farmer said:

the AR on the RIFLE stands for ARMALITE RIFLE which was the man's name who created and develop the weapon

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Um... So you don't know the name of the guy who designed it either...

Varminterror said:

Um... So you don't know the name of the guy who designed it either...

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Some of this is downright humorous. Eugene Morrison Stoner was an American firearms designer who is most associated with the development of the AR-15 rifle that was adopted by the US military as the M16. I am still waiting for some old guy in Texas to send this old guy in Ohio a calf. I really like veal.

Ron

Maybe Armalite was his mothers maiden name?

Stoner had no mother. He descended to earth from on high...lol

M

Sometimes it seems people are just trying to invent, or create, another panic. Every shop I go to, and every online dealer has loads of AR's and ammo. You can go to almost any gun store and buy a new S&W AR for $700, how is that a panic. If you are worried about getting something go buy one, or two, but please stop trying to create a problem that doesn't exist.

Varminterror said:

Maybe Armalite was his mothers maiden name?

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Yeah or his father's maiden name?

Ron

Went to a lgs last week, and in a somewhat nearby Academy today. Plenty of AR's, mags, ammo, etc in both. Prices and availability seem normal in my area.

Reloadron

So when are you having the veal parm? Hope the good farmer doesn't make you wait too long for your dinner!