Prices creeping up

Still about 3 years before the next definite panic. If there's a very strong democratic candidate, maybe less.

KY Gun Co put out a sale flyer for the M&P Sport 2 for $479.00. Today I noticed the Ruger jumped up to over $600.00. But it's still inexpensive for an AR.

I'm betting it will be a short bubble.

Walkalong said:

unless people get stupid.

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I don’t think I would bet against people getting stupid.

Not worried, I've lived through the pre-ban and post ban era of AR's and survived the 8 year O'bama drought. Their is nothing more majestic than seeing capitalism rear its head due to panic. I love AMERICA.

Elkins45 said:

The Ruger AR rifle that was $449 just a couple of weeks ago at a major online gun retailer is now $627. You can still get a DPMS for $470 so it hasn't happened across the board yet.

The very good news is that a week after the las Vegas tragedy Brownell's still has AR mags in stock (and still on sale for that matter) so it looks like people learned their lesson in that regard.

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What a stupid thread.

The only way to ensure a panic is to go around sticking your head out of windows yelling,

"HEY IS THERE A PANIC I THINK THERE'S A PANIC YOU GUYS"

I started watching the Fostech Echo triggers on Gunbroker. I have plans to use one in my next AR build, but now is not the time to buy!

Back toward the first of August, they were selling for $350-ish, which is a good price: http://www.gunbroker.com/item/689737551
This past weekend, they were fetching in the area of $900... for an AR15 trigger: http://www.gunbroker.com/item/705512735

There were a couple of those triggers that went for north of $1,000 recently too.

The LGS near here sold completely out of all of their bump-fire stocks. Not that I was shopping for one, but said he hadn't sold one in all these years, was sitting on a pallet of them, but now they are all gone with standing orders for more to come.

Elkins45 said:

A guy whose user name is a poorly concealed slang term for an erection doesn't have a lot of standing to call something stupid.

Feel free not to participate.

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Nehr or Nerr is a German surname, my friend.

Of course prices are creeping up on the back of a scalded cat reaction by the buying public. The real question is whether this will be sustained. For now, it just represents an opportunity for retailers to finally liquidate their unsold inventory after the election. If we go back to sleep in a few weeks we will be back in the low demand, falling price environment we have been in for some time. OTOH, if the Republicans in Congress get on the bus with gun control measures, all bets are off. My reading of the tea leaves is that the ruling party in Congress has done so little of what they promised to their constituency that they are not likely to aggravate their base by trampling the 2nd Amendment, but who knows? I know that my real weakness is a lack of SP primers and lead for bullet casting. I will be rectifying that in the next month. If powder prices get attractive I will order a bunch for longer term storage/use, but in any case I want to make that purchase by a year before the next Presidential election.

Personally, I think it really is unfortunate that my hobby/avocation makes me have to figure out politics to do my thing. That seems to be the way of the world. I need to get my hands on a smokepole in the next year plus a mold for the appropriate size lead balls to help further insulate myself from all this nonsense.

ms6852 said:

Not worried, I've lived through the pre-ban and post ban era of AR's and survived the 8 year O'bama drought. Their is nothing more majestic than seeing capitalism rear its head due to panic. I love AMERICA.

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True. I got caught with my pants down in 1994. Now I have had to learn to rappel just to get down from my ammunition stockpile I have been accumulating.

Other than people who recently came of age, if you haven't been acquiring all the EBR related stuff you want over the last couple years while it's been dirt cheap, you'll have nobody but yourself to blame if you get caught with your pants down.

As for the rush on bump fire stocks, it was entirely predictable. Wish I still had mine to sell off, but I got rid of it a long time ago for the same reason that I don't desire one now. I'm an 07/02 RP, can take our M16s and other machine guns out whenever I feel like it. It happens a few times a year, I run 3 or 4 mags through them, then go back to "normal" shooting after sending $50 or so out the ejection port in 8-10 seconds. They're fun, for sure, but the novelty wears off very quickly, especially when you're paying for the ammo.

This panic should (theoretically) be limited to bump fire style stocks for the most part. But, like any free market crisis, it all depends on how people react to a perceived shift in supply in the future. I don't see anything happening in regards to a future AWB, or anything like that, for at least another 3 years.

I think MachIVshooter said it best though: if you haven't been using the past year or so as a time to buy, you really weren't paying attention. The election of Trump bottomed out the market on Evil Black Rifle components. Maybe it just takes a savvy buyer to buy at the right time. When housing crashed it seemed like very few people wanted to buy, and when the stock market crashed the same thing happened. But, those are always the best times to buy... when everyone else isn't!

I learned lessons from the 1990's AWB, and again with the 2008 and 2012ish panics. While I'll always probably be eyeing the next acquisition, I know that I'm pretty well setup with what I need right now.

I doubt that the price increases have much if anything to do with Las Vegas.

Absent any reports of a gun bill having half a chance, the requisite fear necessary for a panic hasn't been realized. What we have seen is some opportunistic merchandising feeding off news generated interest among those who were largely uniformed bumpstocks even existed.

Saw the same thing with a large German folding knife back during the days of OJ - that model was languishing on the shelf but once it was identified as a potential murder weapon certain buyers surfaced and cleaned them out. I don't call that panic buying. I might characterize it as somewhat macabre. How many weapons could we post up also saw a fast rise in price and popularity after a well publicized use? Anybody remember the craziness when S&W Model 29's in .44 Magnum were suddenly the gun to own?

Who didn't point one downrange and say, "Go ahead, make my day?"

Don't confuse fads with panics.

I think we are seeing 2 different things drive up prices. First, the piles of guns that were built in anticipation of Clinton becoming president are most likely sold. Demand caught up to supply. Secondly, the sheep are scared and are beginning to panic buy. The more gun control is talked about in the media the more guns will be sold.

Elkins45 said:

The Ruger AR rifle that was $449 just a couple of weeks ago at a major online gun retailer is now $627. You can still get a DPMS for $470 so it hasn't happened across the board yet.

The very good news is that a week after the las Vegas tragedy Brownell's still has AR mags in stock (and still on sale for that matter) so it looks like people learned their lesson in that regard.

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The max value of basic AR is about $450. Soviet era Simonov in very good condition with original factory finish can be had for around $500. More reliable gun with no need to buy spare magazines.

My guess is that most distributors finally sold through their massive pre election screw ups and are now selling them at a profit instead of a loss.

HB

HB: excellent guess.

No prices are seen creeping up for AK derivatives such as the WASR 10.

Other good news is that Gunbot still shows the Same Low Prices for steel-cased .223 and 7.62x39 ammo at several distributors. No change from August.

Some guy on Armlist in my area is posting a slide/bump fire (no brand mentioned) stock for $600. Sadly, he'll probably find someone that will buy it.

Other than that, I haven't really be seeing any different pricing than normal at the places I look. But then, I don't look as much these days.

As many actual panics as we have been thru has pushed buyers who were susceptible to it thru the process. Now it's mostly crying wolf. Is it someone who's trying to unload a S&W they paid $900 for, or Pmags they bought ten for $200? We see a lot of others who post "I'm no longer worried, I've got mine."

If there is a panic it's among those who want to own a piece of notorious plastic which was associated with the deaths of 59 people. It's the darker side of the gun owning public - and about the only sharply appreciating accessory on the market right now. Whole guns, pistols, and ammo, not so much.

I agree with those who say we've finally burned through the backstock. It's hunting season and the holidays are approaching, holding the line on discounts now serves the merchandisers well to make up for the lost profits ordering too much in the past. Crying "PANIC!" just serves those who want to take advantage of it. Be done twice before and we all bought that t-shirt. Why panic now when people are claiming they need to learn how to rappel off the mountain of ammo they have stored up?