Have gun people stopped buying?

[Ignition Override]

Today, picked up my first semi-auto rifle in .308: a nib PTR-91, simply to have a little rifle variety. This gun is such a character! And so fun to operate.

The only reason I won't be shooting much ammo (in it) as with my guns using their good reserve of stored 7.62x39 ammo...is the price of the lowest-cost steel-cased .308.

Living 12 Minutes from the club and being retired will require more self-discipline, to avoid using up this chambering (.308) too quickly - despite the fact that a box with 500 rds. is now shipping. Fluted rifle chambers which have violent extraction Love steel-cased ammo, as do my other guns which are Non-fluted.

Some of our price issues with ammo is due to tentative future trouble planned by the State. Dept (and it's...eh... "leadership" ). It's too far from the main topic and difficult to explain.

 

[PzGren]

The PTR-91 should leave the same dent in the brass that the good old HK G3 did, it is a reloaders nightmare.

I had thrown another empty case of 9mm in the recycling bin yesterday and ordered 2,000 9mm bullets. As somebody who was used to shoot hundreds of rounds each week, I am suffering terribly from the current ammo crisis.

 

[trackskippy]

A port buffer, if you can find one, will help with the dent in the brass. I had a couple of HK91's and they each had one. Even if you dont have the buffer, you can still usually reload the cases, but you wont get all the dent out when you size.

Even with the buffers, you're going to see reduced brass life if you're reloading them. I used to only get around 6 reloads or so from those guns, where Id get 10 or more with my M1A's and M1's.

The flutes generally have no impact on reloading the brass. Mostly you just see light scratches. The only time I saw different, was with UZI "black tip" carbine 9mm in my MP5. It actually started fireforming the brass to the flutes, and left raised ridges in the brass. Only ever saw it with that one lot of that specific ammo, and never ran into it with anything else, including some pretty hot 9mm. I always thought UZI/IMI must have had a bad lot of brass and that was the cause.

 

[trackskippy]

Oh, and from the looks of whats going on on Gun Broker, people are buying, and things are still pretty crazy.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/921554036

 

[tubeshooter]

I don't know that Gun Broker is the best barometer of what is happening with buyers who are not filled with desperation to either get a grail gun or to augment their newbie collection.


Not to say it is useless, but I have slowed down a lot with buying lately and I am sensing thing many others have too. Abnormally high GB bids, while noteworthy, don't really reflect this IMHO.

 

[trackskippy]

Judging from a couple of local shops I deal with, sales are still pretty brisk and constant. And that's with the prices being up, and up a good bit. I normally dont buy too much at times like this and unless I see something I just gotta have, usually wait until the bust comes, and there's a glut and prices drop. This time around, things have been different and in all directions.

Getting guns doesnt seem to be as much of an issue as getting ammo, for some anyway.

Except for some of the crazy stuff you see on GB, it seems things are still selling briskly and at inflated prices, no matter what it is. One shop down where I used to live and used to visit a lot has a good business on GB too, and they have had at least 20-30 guns up for auction every week all along now, and they start everything at a penny. That gun above was one of them. Everything I follow with them goes for more than it should, and a lot of it WAY more. And those prices dont factor in shipping, taxes, and transfers either, which can often add a $100 or more to the final price.

 

[tubeshooter]

I can agree with all that. Although sales have slowed from a year ago, the LGS has good inventory and prices are still high.

I personally consider $499 for an Airweight J or ~$300 for a 10/22 to be high in my area.


Definitely more guns than ammo around (9/.223 is coming back). But a lot more window shoppers and a few used guns showing up where people just simply need the cash.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I've bought only a few guns in the past few years, but I think it's time to pare down the collection. I find myself loathe to sell any of my guns though. The 2 that I've parted with, I don't miss mind you, but those were exceptions. Nothing wrong with any I now have, just some I haven't shot in many years. And at my age, I may not again. Maybe it's time, as they'll likely fetch more money today than ever.

I would love to have all the guns. But what I want more is time and ammo to shoot them.
Nothing wrong with having a collection, but then I struggle to find time to shoot them all. Would rather have a manageable number that I can get to using.

Sounds like what I'm now going through

Nothing premium about the santa Cruz. My sister bought one late last year for msrp but ive seen them selling for nearly double now. My 5.0 F150 gets just as good mileage as her puny NA 2.5(confirmed several times on trips together). I also have 2x the room.

Good to hear, as I just ordered a 5.0 F150. Going back to a truck after 8 years of rather glorious cars. Last truck was a 2003 HD F150 Anniversary Edition.

Which was negotiated by Reagan and Bush. And technically ratified by all three countries in 93. NAFTA was a republican bill. More Republicans voted for it than Democrats.

I have worked in an industry ravaged by Nafta for 20 years. Both parties like to blame the other side. Both parties are to blame

Very true. But true Republicans were totally against it, like me, and many in congress. Even my union was against it, but of course said little when they found out Clinton was for it.

Maybe they blame Bill and the Democrats because Bill and the Democrats that voted for it did a victory lap and took credit for nafta at the time.

Also true, as Bill took full credit for the balanced budgets, even though it was Newt Gingrich and the House.

 

[Ignition Override]

Much of the buying could be motivated by the sharp increase in violent crimes (mostly ignored -too awkward -- by much of the MSM), and the attitude of some big city mayors and DAs.

Or people simply want more guns to take to the range or farm? This doesn't seem to be a plausible explanation for much of the sales' increase,

....although my new PTR-91 with the nice aperture sights was bought to have a very different type of rifle at the private club. Shooting just 7.62x39 in my other centerfire rifles (imported Sport Utility Rifles) is a little bit repetitive.

 

[45CalPal]

Not to say it is useless, but I have slowed down a lot with buying lately and I am sensing thing many others have too. Abnormally high GB bids, while noteworthy, don't really reflect this IMHO.

I buy anywhere I can get a deal. But I agree that the online auctions have a lot of abnormally high bidders... Seems to me its one or maybe both of two things.

1. newbies not knowing what the actual value is and going crazy with thier newfound rights.
or
2. "Ghost Bidders" these are either friends of the lister, or second accounts of the lister aimed at upping the price for a higher return.

It's not un common at all. I suspect it may be a little bit of both of these. I have slowed my buying down as well, but I did get a few recent buys off of GB. (2)

 

[orionengnr]

Haven't bought anything in 2 years or so.
If I find some primers at a decent price, I will be tempted.

 

[trackskippy]

Haven't bought anything in 2 years or so.
If I find some primers at a decent price, I will be tempted.

Whats a decent price these days?

I finally ran out of small pistol and small rifle primers a little while back. Talking to a couple of places where I usually buy stuff, one said they had talked to Winchester and were told it would be at least a year before they started releasing primers for sale, as they are using what they have to load the ammo they are selling. The other said that Vista is basically doing the same thing and had about the same time frame.

All you can find around here, if you can find them at all, are maybe a sleeve or two of this and that, and most of that is $13-$15 a sleeve. No one has, nor will they sell you 1000. Buying by the 100 is about pointless to me.

Target Sports emailed me that they had a case (5000) small rifle primers for $600 (free shipping, no hazmat but there is sales tax). I said yea, right, but.... then started doing some math and figured out that at that price, as ridiculous as it sounds, is actually a pretty good deal, for "these days". By the time I figure in my gas running around trying to get them, and then only getting usually less than a thousand, and having to make multiple trips to try and make up for it, Im over what it cost for the TS case price.

The cheapest Ive seen for a thousand has been $75 (assuming for those fleeting seconds you can even find them) and by the time you add shipping and hazmat, its close to or over what Target Sports is getting. And then they will only sell you 1000, where TS will sell you a case.

So, I broke down and bought a case of CCI SR primers (for $600 friggin bucks! ), which will work for both SR and SP, and will keep me going for a couple of months at a sorta normal rate. I'll just have to see whats going on in the world when those are gone.

Hey, if you want to shoot, you do what you gotta do. This time around has been a bit of a different critter from this sort of silliness in the past, and its never gone on this long before. I always had a good enough supply of things that I always came out on the other side with a surplus. This time it isn't working out that way, and it isnt fun, but it is what it is.

Oh, and if you're willing to deal with the cost, Target Sports still has some, at least as I type.

https://www.targetsportsusa.com/small-rifle-primers-c-2808.aspx#Ge85|

 

[EIB0879]

My collection is very utilitarian. I inherited several when my parents died. I haven't bought a firearm in over a year. No real needs right now. If I see something I like at good price I will buy it.

 

[Hasaf]

I recently purchased an airgun. As far as "regular" firearms, there were some on my radar before the price jump, but none are strong on my "to buy soon" list right now.

 

[lsudave]

I almost bought something yesterday; I may look at it again this week and see if it's still there.
I went to the LGS just to look at/ask about unusual rifle ammo, since my son and I have rebuilt a gifted Mauser 98K barreled action into a rifle. The barrel was original and wasn't marked, but it has been rechambered into something... seems still 8mm, but the case is LONG. Longer than 30.06, as my guess had been 8mm.06 (nope, longer than that). I have checking into casting the chamber, and will try that myself after asking prices...

Anyway, while at the shop, I wandered over to the sparse used counter. Wasn't much there. But there WAS a S&W 410-S, which is the 3rd Gen Budget Line 40 cal. They wanted $399 for it with one mag, gun looks fair-good. Plastic guide rod (yuck) which looked rough.

I don't have a 40, never had one. But somehow, I have about 150 rds of 40, including 50 rds of JHP. I never wanted a 40, but after the panic, I've decided the more calibers I have, the better the chance I can find ammo. I've already added 7.62 Tok and 9mm Largo to the mix, I figure a 40cal isn't a bad idea. I have several 3rd Gens, a couple 5906's and a 915 (and I have a M39 too). I generally like the Smiths ok. If it was a 4006 it would have came home with me. I'm tempted to go get this one. Price seems fair to the market, and having more options is always good.

 

[wiscoaster]

..... I've already added 7.62 Tok and 9mm Largo to the mix, ...

Hah!! ... I've got two guns that shoot 7.62 Tokarev and no ammo, and I've got three boxes of 9mm Largo and no guns to shoot it with. That's where you end up when you "add to the mix"!!

 

[welldoya]

I bought two guns last year.
I bought a new Glock 43x at a LGS for $475 which I consider reasonable. I have a 43 that I like and figured it would be nice to have 4 more rounds.
I bought a 1978 Super Blackhawk at a gun show for $600 which I also considered to be reasonable. It was in excellent condition and had the box. I’ve wanted one for years.
I’ve thought about buying a new Python and actually put one in my cart a couple of days ago when I got an email with them at MSRP which is $1499.
Then I took a deep breath. It would be well over $1600 with tax and FFL fees. That is ridiculous. We’ve been slowly conditioned to accept these crazy prices but I’m not buying into it.
I can still be swayed to buy a gun but not at an inflated price.
As far as ammo, I stacked it deep when it was cheap with rebates. Most of my .22 was 4 cents or less per round and most of my brass 5.56 was .22 - .25 per round.

 

[lsudave]

Hah!! ... I've got two guns that shoot 7.62 Tokarev and no ammo, and I've got three boxes of 9mm Largo and no guns to shoot it with. That's where you end up when you "add to the mix"!!

Well to be fair, both pistols started out with me as 9x19. Norinco T-54 and Star Modelo Super. But when everything went to heck, I came across the ammo for both, at a cost less than what 9mm was available for at the time (if you could find it anywhere). And all that was required was a barrel swap in each case... a little online digging and I found the barrels for about $50 apiece. Got about 1k of each... for added usefulness, I have also confirmed:

• the Tokarev can shoot 7.63 Mauser
• the Star can shoot 9mm Steyr.

If one is able to source the 38 Super barrel for the Tokarev, it would then be able to shoot that, as well as the Largo and Steyr, I believe. That's something I occasionally look around for, because it would make the Tokarev an essential SHTF handgun. The Norinco barrels are the same external diameter across the board, so no issues with bushings, etc. As I remember, Navy Arms imported some with all 3 barrels.

 

[Ted100]

I will always buy older hi quality firearms as long as the price is right. I just bought a handful of angus last week .

 

[twarr1]

I’ve slowed down buying reloading components.
Gun buying, on the other hand, hasn’t really been affected. If I find something I like at a price I think is fair, I buy.
But, to me, components and ammunition are expendables, Firearms are a form of savings, If I spend $$ on a firearm, I still have the value, just in a different form.
But I generally buy good quality, classic, or rare firearms, not the flavor-of-the-month

 

[Insignificant bill]

I'm still buying guns bought two so far this year. Buying 22lr and shotgun shells if the price is low enough. Can't find primers anywhere for a decent price

 

[vintovka]

I have noticed a slowdown. Some factors may include post frenzy buying and increasing supplies. Internet tax and fees aren't helping either along with increased shipping costs. Top it off with 1099 worries for small sellers.

 

[Archie]

No idea. I can tell my experience and perhaps that may shed some light.

I have more than enough (to satisfy me) 'using' (self-defense, hunting, target) guns to last the rest of my life. Unless I beat Methuselah's record. I still am in the market for my 'collections', but that does limit my desires. The number of arms to fill my collections are enough to keep me looking for a good long while, but the ones I do not have are rather spendy. (Walther PPk for $2500.00 anyone?)

 

[kje54]

I stopped buying firearms because I ran out of that level of disposable cash and I have to pay off the couple I bought on credit.

 

[borrowedtime69]

I just stopped buying guns recently. I ran out of my bonus and other money's that I hid from the spousel unit. I did a personal best with 3 handguns over the last 4 months as two is one and one is none philosophy. I also managed to stock up a bit of the 3 caliber loads I need. Now ill be buying ammo and mags as I can put a little cash aside as I do not buy that stuff with tracable cards or checks.