Have gun people stopped buying?

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I can only speak for me, but with prices (at least formerly) being excessive, and the uncertainty the times caused, I paused or canceled a tremendous amount of non-essential spending, across the board.

Given that that uncertainty hasn't waned much, if anything it's getting worse, I'm still continuing to curb non-essential spending.

I do have a feeler out for a pair of Colt Competitions though. :D
 
vintovka said:
Diesel now approaching $4.50 and food is up like 20-35% with empty shelves appearing.

REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER
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Needed to update this. should read

"diesel is approaching $7 and food is 30-40%" That said now that fuel is approximately 100% more than the last time i went to a gunshow 5 months ago i didn't go or buy anything. Remember and get ready to punish those did this to us.
 
I will still occasionally buy stuff I can use, but recently I have been more inclined to sell stuff I am not using for a lot more than I paid long ago. Selection and availability have rebounded a bit (less than 8 cents a round for Aguila HP here) and I believe prices will continue to cycle down as well as up. Norma was producing 65 million rounds annually in 1945. It just recently came back to 30 million.
 
vintovka said:
Needed to update this. should read

"diesel is approaching $7 and food is 30-40%" That said now that fuel is approximately 100% more than the last time i went to a gunshow 5 months ago i didn't go or buy anything. Remember and get ready to punish those did this to us.
Click to expand...
Yup, when it was just ammo, I could afford to splurge occasionally on non-essential guns and recreational shooting. By that, I mean any firearms that wouldn't be especially useful during a societal breakdown- target .22s, safe queens, etc.

But now that fuel and, especially, food are outrageous the pew-pew is gunna be on hold for a while.

Still sitting on a deep pile of stuff for serious social work, though. When the bread riots start, things are likely to get hairy fast.

If its any consolation, the half of the country responsible for putting us in this mess are, by and large, paying more than the half who voted the other way.

They will also be the ones who starve first.....
 
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I wish I could stop. I keep saying I’m about to focus on accessories such as holsters and ammo and stop buying new tools but I can’t quit. If I find a deal I make a payment until the tool comes home. I don’t understand how I keep finding things even during the scourge. I do think it’s backing off. Things are more in stock. Prices are going down. Or I am lucky I can’t tell.
 
I have switched to making the guns I have, better. Two of my 1911's have gotten new grips, and one got a Burris Fastfire installed on it, some new Vortex and Leopold scopes on a few of the rifles, night sights on the Desert Eagle, and as I get older, I am even putting another Ultradot, on one of my Super Redhawk 44 mags, and getting rid of some of the open sights. Not all, because I don't want to depend all, on a bunch of batteries, but I have stocked up on the ones I need. Haven't quit buying, per say, but just don't need as much these days.
 
Even a guy who Owns Six Horses still gradually buys guns. He is Far from wealthy- a high school teacher.

This same friend bought a NIB M1A-1 (“M-14”) six weeks ago .

—-After watching my new (“HK”) PTR-91 hit a gong - with :)Iron Sights- at 400 yards, he offered to buy it.

Being from Essen Germany, he really likes the G3 clone.
 
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I'm not buying, I've got more than I'll ever need but when/if prices return to sane numbers I'm sure I'll start buying again. Only factory ammo I buy is 45 acp & 10mm, just because in normal times it's not worth my effort if I can buy cheap. I've bought 1 box of 45 acp in mid 2020 and that's been it, I've traded for primers, bought lead and gotten some powder when it's a fair price but no guns. Strange thing seems to be that guns that were cheap are much more now while guns that were pricey before seem to have remained the same price .

I'm still waiting to find a bfr in 500 jrh for around $1000, if I see it I'll buy. I'm not paying $1500, if I'm going to spend that kind of money I'd rather get another used freedom arms revolver.
 
If I come across a firearm I want at a decent price I’ll buy it. Most everything else like reloading supplies, accessories and (rarely) ammo I usually buy online. But those purchases have been pretty much put on hold because of high shipping charges. If I have a list of 10 things I need, invariably 3 or 4 will be out of stock, meaning I have to pay one shipping charge now and another when the OOS items are available. If I wait for the 3-4 items to be in stock, then a different set of items will be out. It’s especially bad with the ‘Limit 1’ (or 2) for primers and powders. Can’t order 5000 primers and 10 pounds of powder to dilute the hazmat charge.
I probably have enough components to last many years but I like to experiment with new propellant/bullet combinations.
And contrary to popular belief, Texas isn’t the land of firearm plenty. The drought is probably as bad or worse here than anywhere.
 
I find myself rationalizing good prices "for nowadays" and having to stop myself. Did this just today with a S&W model 64-3 4" heavy barrel. Took all the willpower I had to leave it laying there at the show.


I have slowed down, but a lot of that is due to simply not really "needing" anything. I suspect I would have gotten to this point pandemic or not.
 
Except for a box of ammo here or there every few months or so, I haven't bought much since 2020.

I noticed the ammo shortage beginning around April or so of 2020 and, being reactive instead of being proactive, I bought a sizeable amount of ammo and some magazines over the following months. Prices remained relatively normal throughout 2020 from what I saw, but when 2021 came around prices seriously began to elevate which prompted me to slow down and nearly stop on the purchases. I had pretty much everything I needed at that point anyway.

I have nearly halted all shooting due to the sour taste of having to replace what I shoot at nearly doubled prices. I plink with a .22 here and there, and I quickly replace what little I happened to use. For the time being I'm largely holding onto my stash and waiting out the storm.
 
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12Pump said:
I was at Scheels today, and noticed that things were very different from my last visit. Display cases that were removed not long ago so as to not bring attention to how empty they were getting to be, were back again, and now they were all full of handguns of every brand. Long guns were back, with multiples of almost all the popular ones that were missing recently. Ammo was also back in a big way, with all calibers represented in large numbers.

But there was something missing: Customers.

Sure, plenty of inventory to buy, but the prices were so high that I guess people no longer see anything as worthwhile. A 50 round box of Wolf 9mm steel case for $20 was the cheapest FMJ 9mm ammo. The rest was upwards of $30. A S&W Sport 2 AR15 used to sell for $550 elsewhere, but $600 at Scheels. Now it's $800 at Scheels.

I bought a S&W Shield 9mm less than a year ago there for $429. Now it's $499.
A Ruger 10/22 rifle with a regular wood stock is $319. It used to be about $100 less before.
Let's hope the law of supply and demand takes hold. If prices are too high, people don't buy, forcing prices back down.
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Which city was this in?
 
Something else to consider that may affect what you buy. I do more than a bit of business on the largest net auction site for firearms and such. Been personally seeing a huge jump in non paying bidders. Must be really bad as auction administrators are automatically banning deadbeats on not only first full offence but on submission of a simple payment reminder. When I contacted them about it they actually were talking about "sharing" (read that as selling) names of non payers to other auction sites. Believe the word "vetting" was used. Chinese style Social rating comes to mind.
 
I have paused my gun purchases because I have another almost life long hobby that I am expending a lot of cash on high end photographic equipment.
Gun purchases will resume soon.
 
I try to work with the ebb and flow, cycles, rhythms and gyrations in the marketplace rather than fight, hoard and "win". Gun shops had nothing to sell a year ago, and they now have good selections and are once again offering incentives to buy (to the extent that I reached for my moth-eaten wallet this week). Ammo selection and prices still leave much to be desired, but that too is getting better, slowly but surely. There will be continuing challenges and opportunities, and we will learn to make the best of them.
 
I picked up a new Benelli in January--but have no intention of buying anything else mainly because the safe is busting at the seams with guns but will have to give the Ruger/Marlin .30-30 a real hard look when I come across one.

Have also been getting things for my place--new bed (old one was 25 years old and killing my back)--Rotel amp/pre-amp--new microwave (15 years old and falling apart)---and looking at new furniture because my stuff has seen better days------will be done with child support in 3 months, so might be looking into a new truck if the price/deal is right-----this will be after 30 years of child support over my several kids----inflation hasn't really affected me because I'm one money tight some beach--I've had to be---now I'm looking at a windfall that will go directly to the retirement acct other than the occasional new toy.
 
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I think the general population has stopped buying. Gun folks are still buying what they need and want. I know I’ve been buying more lately just because supply is starting to gain a little ground on demand recently and I can find some stuff locally that I couldn’t find last year.
 
Reloadron said:
Been there and done that. :)

Ron
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Ditto, and it doesn't help after 33 years of a company furnishing your gear (which was all left behind at retirement) to suddenly being retired but still a strongly visual individual. Fortunately, I am happy with older manual focus lenses, the digital camera bodies, aint cheap, though.

Oh, at this point I'm done buying, I'd much rather be shooting than shopping. I do feel a need to create some room in the safe and offset some of the recent acquisitions, so I'm reaching a sale mindset.
 
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