Is the gun rush slowing down?

Our local WallyWorld here in SoCal (smaller town in the High Desert) is and has been out of all military calibers, and all common pistol calibers. They did have some 41 special Saturday when I checked, and had just got 10 boxes of Blazer Brass .45 230 gr. I bought 'em all. Feller behind the counter told me that his boss (Debbie--great gal: She gives me 10% off if I buy 1000 rnds at a time) got a letter from Corporate that said that there will be less ammunition distributed for the foreseeable future, with several reasons listed (all have already been discussed in other topics). I had the wife with me, and actually got a kiss along with a "I'm so glad you've been putting bullets away!". Ammo's been scarce here...WallyWorld has been low for nigh on two months now.

Online buying the really good ammo is getting challenging. Out of stock, back ordered etc. Has been for a month or so now.

Now that I think about it, one store had stacks of winchester bulk ammo in super X shotguns and now those stacks of pallets are all gone.

Yeesh.

Walmarts nothing but game loads and paint gun toys. Everything else cleaned out.

I started to actually visit lesser known gunshops looking for ammunition in more out of way places or perhaps lesser appealing areas. They usually have a stack of something on the shelf still.

In Florida it's not slowing down.

AFS

In SW Ohio, it is a yes/no answer to the OP question.

There are no longer long lines to get into gun shows. The last 3 shows had no line outside at all when I got there.

There doesn't appear to be any slow down on ammo. All of the ammo dealers were very busy at the shows, and prices have not come down yet. Wally World sells out of the common calibers as quickly as it comes in, although it depends on the store.

From my observation at gun shows, pistol buying is still up, and prices haven't really changed much. Some dealers have added separate tables with chairs in order to handle multiple buyers filling out federal forms. I think there are more first time buyers.

AR prices are starting to come down and available selection is going up. I was tempted on a Stag left handed carbine for $930 plus tax, but passed since I really want a mid-length. There were a ton of stripped lowers at the last show. Didn't really see anyone buying AR's.

AK prices are still at the same level as right after the election. More are available and fewer are selling.

More people seem to be willing to buy FTF. I have sold several pistols that I couldn't even get anyone to look at 6 months ago. They aren't willing to pay a premium though.

Individuals are still trying to get inflated prices for AR stuff. One guy at the last show had an Olympic (sp?) AR-15 complete lower with a cheap stock for $450. I said "good luck" and kept walking.

I fully expect shows and prices to be back to normal by summer, with the possible exception of some ammo.

BTW, I picked up 3 30 rd. mil-spec AR-15 mags still in the wrapper for $15 each (from an individual). Dealers still want at least $20.

The last couple of weeks, the action at the gunshop hasn't been as
fast and furious as the preceding weeks between Nov.4th, '08 and
Jan. 20th, 09. There still seems to be some interest in the "evil black
rifles". More persons are buying handguns based on "the fear factor";
as crime is soaring nationwide. With the economy being as bad as its
been in year's, people are more interested in protecting themselves
as well as what they own~!

I just got off the phone with Lewis Machine & Tool.

They are 24 months out on orders placed today.
They haven't seen the slightest slowdown in the number of orders placed last week as compared to last fall.

Nope. The panic is nowhere near an end. Much less a slowdown.

CoRoMo, that sounds about right.
I read on another site somewhere that a "major" AR manufacturer had a 60,000 gun backorder list. Don't know if that's true or not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

I'd think at some point it will slow down, but I don't think we've quite reached that point yet.

Miami Florida

Ammo and black guns are still hard to find re loading components are hard to find mainly primers.

Panic still going strong at Charleston SC gunshow...

Went to my first gun show since moving here. The line was over 100 yards long @9:30, show had been open for half an hour. Early birds were coming out with ammo cans in both hands. It wasn't too hard to move around at first, but it got clogged fast.
Black rifles abundant and dear, most people seemed interested in handguns. The selection of those was not as good as I had hoped. I was looking for a Smith 442, only one that I saw was at ATP's stand. I can get it at their store with less hassle, and I have not yet resigned myself to paying $480 for one.
Georgia Arms ammo tables were a mob scene, 2 and 3 deep and rapidly looking picked over. Nobody had any 9mm Makarov that I could see. It would have been less crowded without the jewelry and craft items.
I fled empty handed, my last illusions that I had left Communist Maryland for Southern Gun Utopia dashed. At least I have my CWP to look forward to.

It's not slowing down in the N. Va area. My Wally World hasnt had any 9mm or 380 ammo in months. We went to the gun show at the Dulles Convention Center a couple weeks ago. Went Sunday after church, got there around 12:30, had a line to get in, and the place was crowded a-hole to elbow.

...a "major" AR manufacturer had a 60,000 gun backorder list. Don't know if that's true or not, but it wouldn't surprise me.

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Maybe Bushmaster has that type of backlog, but that does seem like an unusually high number for one company, but you never know. I know that each manufacturer has a list into the thousands, maybe ten's of thousands of guns that have been bought and paid for but just need to be built. If you multiply that times the hundred or so makers, then you've got standing orders for over a million black rifles!!! That makes me smile from ear to ear.

Maybe Bushmaster has that type of backlog, but that does seem like an unusually high number for one company, but you never know. I know that each manufacturer has a list into the thousands, maybe ten's of thousands of guns that have been bought and paid for but just need to be built. If you multiply that times the hundred or so makers, then you've got standing orders for over a million black rifles!!! That makes me smile from ear to ear.

Click to expand...

Now I've got to wonder, how many of those are going to arrive at gun stores and then just sit there because buyers lost their jobs (or homes, or both) and had to cancel?

I agree with gregj - it is not slowing down in the Northern Virginia area.

Nationwide it is still hard to find AR-15s, magazines for them, or ammo.

Guns seem to be more available now than in November/December. But you need to remember that you have Christmas sales mixed with the panic sales. My dominant local gun shop was in very low supply of the popular firearms in January, but has since restocked their shelves at slightly higher prices than before. I don't blame them as I would do the same thing.

Ammo availablity is picking up. It is still fairly hard to find much ammo in Walmart, but even there the supply seems to be approaching the demand now. It sells out fairly quickly but I know there has to be a limit to the madness.

By June, I expect sales to be back to normal unless the Democratic Congress gets into the act with legislation that appears headed for passage or Obama signs an executive order on ammo imports.

God I hope so, this farking game of Russion Roulet to get 9mm rounds is getting old

The answer is no.. I can hardly find any good priced ammo. Most handguns are gone the day they come in.. You should have seen what happened at our local sportsman warehouse. They got a large shipment of handguns and everyone was anticipating it. So, the day after they got the guns in stock, the people horded the store. The new order of guns was wiped out within 3 days. If the gun ban doesn't drive us to insanity, living day to day worrying about it will. I am shocked at the rate people are hording guns. People no longer will go to movies, go on that nice cruise with the wife or any other recreational acticvity. No.. all the money is going to self-defense . I am guilty of this myself .

"My Wal-Mart" has been low on ammo, orders are still being filled, gunshows are still busy, etc. From my point of view, the answer is "a bit", but I think you're asking the wrong question.

The "rush" involved many gun purchases by people who previously didn't even own a gun. Simply put, there are now more people who want/need ammo, more people who want/need accessories, and more people who want/need another gun.

Of course, it's supply and demand, but the good news is that with the infusion of demand and MONEY, the gun industry now has the opportunity to GROW to meet the demand. I'm quite happy with the "rush" considering many things; the inevitable increase in carry permit applications, a better standing in regard to the Heller "common use" tag, more shooters with MONEY demanding more land/ranges on which to use their firearms, more people to support the idea of furthering Second Amendment freedoms, etc.

What we're asking here is "when will there be more stuff to buy?" The answer to lies in the hands of the companies who produce the items. The good news is that, as of late, they should have plenty of capital with which to keep the new gun owners stocked and happy, as well as the previous gun owners. Even if every longstanding gun-owner went back to buying their previous amount of "stuff" per month, the new gun owners would still be accounting for a large level of consumption, and to be honest, I'm all for it.

What is weird is what is available used. Times are tough and folks are having to part with some of their guns to keep food on the table. What I'm finding at the pawnshops are high dollar semi-autos, mostly .45's of one sort or another; or very large, target type revolvers. The guns in the middle, the ones for everyday carry and use, are just about non-existent. What's available are either mouse guns, expensive semi-autos', or big caliber target revolvers. Anybody else seeing this?

I've been to 3 shows this year and the first one in Chantilly was a mad house. Crazy high prices and not much selection (ie WSAR=$999.99). People were jammed in there 100 deep at the tables.

Last weekend I went to 2 shows. Selection was much better and there wasn't as big of a crowd at both. Dark Sun traders had a pile of the IOR AK's (the ones with the plastic RPK Club Foot butstock)for $599.00 and Trader Jerry was asking about $650 for the same rifle. I saw quite a few SAIGA's and they were reasonable on some tables and still way high on others. Dark Sun had PMC .223 55gr ammo for $380.00 per 1000rnds. I saw those MSAR AUGs everywhere... Things were much closer to what they were before the election.

What a difference a month makes. Wal Mart even has some ammo back in stock. I see prices comming down and selection going back up around NOVA.
Will

Not slowing down any around here. Just try to find .380acp ammo locally or online. I stopped by the one Walmart in central Ohio which has always had a huge stock of pistol ammo: Yesterday they had 2 boxes of WWB .25acp and 1 box of WWB 9mm...each for $22.95!
Vance's was even sold out of .380 and .32acp ammo last week! Vance's!
I have never seen their display cabinets and racks so freakin' bare. I was picking up a Bulgarian Makarov I had on layaway and they were actually turning folks away because they were out of various popular lower price brands; like Bersa. Plenty of shotguns though.
Sure, you could get a used Uzi pistol for $1200....but the hand gun cupboards were looking mighty bare.
Jack

Not that I've seen here in Western Oregon. The gun stores are full, the shelves are sparse, and the ammo is hard to find and getting harder to find with each passing day. My local FFL dealer looks worn out every time I see him -- which is good on the one hand but not so good on the other.

The guy who buys the last gun and the last ammo box out there will have to be the one to turn out the lights.

I've seen more ammo on the shelves than in months past, but guns... are still scarce.

No signs of slowing down here.

I talked to a guy at Aim and he said he got a semi truck-load of 7.62x39 ammo (1500 cases). He sold them all out within ten hours. That's 1,500,000 rounds.

The local Wal-Mart's are completely cleaned out of handgun ammo. I got all 15 boxes of Blazer Brass 9mm when one did get some in stock the other day. The only things they have in any appreciable amounts are the overpriced Remington UMC .223 and .22 LR.

i'm gonna find out in 2 weeks.

there's a show in town then, and i got a saiga and wasr 2 to sell complete with mags and ammo.

I got all 15 boxes of Blazer Brass 9mm when one did get some in stock the other day.

Click to expand...

With all due respect....I view that as a large portion of the current problem: rampant hoarding.
Of course it is a free country and people are allowed to buy as much as they want. But when ammo DOES come in, the first guy there buys EVERY BOX. Rather than "getting by" with perhaps 8 boxes and letting some other people buy a box or two as well?
Jack