What happened?

[hatchetbearer]

about 15 weeks ago i was sitting on my couch, jobless with a broken down truck and $10 in my bank account. but i could sit on my computer and leech the free internet from next door, looking at all the good C&R weapons for sale online. gas was $5 a gallon and i couldnt afford to go anywhere, so i decided to make the best decision in my life and join the Marines. hot chow, a warm bed and otherwise taken care of for the rest of my days, 13 weeks of blood sweat and tears later i come out a different person, holding my head up with pride and with plenty of money in my pocket, my first thoughts are go home and hit up the C&R sections and get what i drooled over in september.

now i sign on and everything is sold out and what's available is triple the price from 3 months ago. did something crazy happen or did the fact a Democrat took the office affect stuff that much?

help a marine out with a much needed sitrep.

 

[stevemis]

People are panic buying. I think a very large number of those people out buying things up are first-time gun owners.

 

[John828]

Congratulations and thanks for your service.

Basic sitrep is that, yes, there has been somewhat of an increase in gun sales although the guns that I like have not been too affected. The EBRs might have taken a hit.

Hang tight and hopefully by the time you get to permanent duty somehwere, there will be a glut of used (but hardly ever fired) EBRs on the market once everybody regains a little sense of perception. Others may say, buy now the price will never get lower and availability will end, but I am a scoffer. By this time next year, I predict basic ARs from DPMS, Bushmaster, etc. at about $600 in the classifieds and on the interweb.

 

[Tommygunn]

First of all, thank you for serving our country.

As far as what's happened;
1.) the economy has gone sideways. This has reputedly been the worst Christmas for retailers since 1969 if you believe the media.
Some normally important types of merchandise had sales down maybe 23-34%.
2.) The election of Barack Obama. People fear he is going to enact harsh new gun control laws. Since early November, people have been buying up ammunition, AR style rifles, and other guns at an inordinantly high rate, in spite of the recession. The high demand in this area has caused prices of ammo to go up (when you can find it) in spite of the fact that other commodities like gas have gone way down in price.

 

[Ky Larry]

There has been a run on "battle rifles"(AK's, AR's etc), magazines, and ammo. People seem to be freaking out over our president-elect. His past voting record and speeches indicate he is a gun grabber. Just hang tight and in a few months the market will return to normal.

P.S. Congrats on your career choice. The military is the best deal a young person will ever get. You get to play with the neatest toys in the world and they pay you to do it. Is this a great country or what?

 

[expvideo]

Don't worry. Everything will go back down by tax season. The economy is in the dumps, so the price of guns will be declining shortly due to the following:

-Freshly unemployed guys having their wives second-guess that $2000 AR-15 purchase a month ago
-Credit card bills piling up from the Obama gun panic and christmas falling within a month and a half of each other
-Gun manufacturers over-manufacturing weapons that will be out in a month or two and no one will be able to afford
-Obama not banning guns as soon as he steps into office
-But mostly the newly jobless guys thinking maybe they don't need a new gun afterall

Now I don't have a crystal ball, so I could be wrong, and no doubt someone will be along shortly to declare that I am, but the fact of the matter is that none of us really knows when or if the price of guns will stabilize.

 

[John828]

exp,

I know no one has a crystal ball, but I cannot agree more. Not that I would think of it as being a vulture, but there will be some deals in the next six to nine months. You might need to be in the right place at the right time, but cash will be king in the coming environment.

 

[armoredman]

Congrats, Marine! Well done, and the above posters are dead on, IMHO.

 

[hatchetbearer]

well hopefully once i get out of my rehab platoon, which im in because i broke my wrist 4 hours into my crucible, carried on with my hand taped to my pistol grip for 50 miles, and hit 8/10 targets, at unknown distances, fun stuff. and this new platoon doesnt authorize non issued weapons, so once i get to a duty station that does in about 3 months, everything should be ripe for the picking. not so bad i guess, just different.

by the way, thanks for all the support. it really does make this job worth doing.

 

[Bailey Guns]

Congratulations, Marine! From an ole Air Force guy.

BTW: You'll have plenty of opportunity to pick up the goodies you want. Just be patient.

 

[Macmac]

LOL, first time I ever heard of anyone joing up with the Marines so as to be able to buy C&R guns!

Don't worry the Marines will issue you a C&R gun any day now..

 

[John828]

Yeah, patience is definitely a virtue especially right now.

All of your expenses are paid, so unless you have some prior obligations, your discretionary income should be better than some people making ten times what you are making.

I can live pretty frugally if I have some specific goals. I don't often give unsolicited advice, but if I were you, I'd live on the cheap for a while until things settle down for you and the economy. That way when the time is right, you'll be sitting on a decent amount of money.

Or you could just blow it on wine, women and song.

 

[hatchetbearer]

mac, C&R guns are just what I can buy and have shipped home, I joined for job security, to take care of myself, and yes, i would agree that about 85% of my income is now devoted to toys. nothing better to spend it on while you are stuck on a base. those taurus judge revolvers they have in stock look interesting, and the 1911 section, and an M1A, and an XD... and so on...

 

[yokel]

You successfully made it through recruit training and got your Marine Corps emblem with a wrist fracture?

 

[MT GUNNY]

Semper Fi, Is your Sigline !!!!

If you run into My brother say Hello!

 

[Bw2k2000]

congrats on making it through. Their was a lot of blood sweet and tears when I went through two years ago. Oorah. Semper Fi.

 

[chuckusaret]

Congrats on joining the Corps. I'm retired Army, I enjoyed every day of my 24 years 6 months and 11 days. Yes there was some panic buying but it should level off after Obama takes office. I think he will back down on the AWB like he has done on all of his planned changes. It will be status quo as in the past 8 years

 

[Old Salty Dog]

Congrats hatchetbearer. Well done for making it thru boot camp and the crucible. Not easily done!
This retired squid wishes you all the best for 2009 and beyond.

Stay safe out there!

 

[4D5]

Congrats on your military service. I'm a AF veteran. What you learn/take from the Marines will serve you well in life. I always try to remember that when one door closes, another always opens.

Keep your eye out for the guns you are looking for. Be sure to hit the pawn shops and local gun stores regularly.

 

[tpaw]

Ky Larry states:

Just hang tight and in a few months the market will return to normal.

And by what inside knowledge can you confirm that!......

 

[Corporal K]

-Freshly unemployed guys having their wives second-guess that $2000 AR-15 purchase a month ago
-Credit card bills piling up from the Obama gun panic and christmas falling within a month and a half of each other
-Gun manufacturers over-manufacturing weapons that will be out in a month or two and no one will be able to afford
-Obama not banning guns as soon as he steps into office
-But mostly the newly jobless guys thinking maybe they don't need a new gun afterall

Perfect analysis!

 

[hatchetbearer]

yokel- on the east coast the crucible is the last thing you do before you get your EGA, so for the last 50 hours i wrapped it with scotch brand cold weather electrical tape into an ace bandage type thing telling myself "its only a sprain..." when it got to the point where i couldnt grip my pistol grip i picked up a chem-light off the deck, made a splint, then wrapped my fingers around my m16's pistol grip and then taped it to the pistol grip. 50 hours later i had my warrior's breakfast, walked up to my staff sergeant and requested to go to medical. since you dont do anything other than grad practice the last week of recruit training (marine week) i was allowed to continue, but not take boot leave immediately afterward. i walked off the parade deck and took a shuttle to the naval hospital in town to get prepped for surgery. this is actually a common practice, as there is an entire platoon of people with similar stories, just waiting to recover so they can go to MCT and play with the big weapons like the mk19, m240b, AT-4 and grenades heheh.

a lot of people, enlisted and officers alike have commended me after hearing my story calling me a tough S.O.B. and telling me it was the most motivated thing they have ever heard. to which i reply "bravery is often synonymous with stupidity, but in all seriousness, i didnt do it for me, I did it because i had 15 others in my squad that depended on me to hold up my end of the mission so we could all make it out as marines"

did it suck breaking my wrist, of course it does, but would i change the experience for anything, hell no.

 

[expvideo]

Thank you so much for having the courage and the character to do what many can't. I have never served and for that I am greatful. I am a peaceful man who only wishes to someday raise his own family. I live in bliss in this freedom that you and many like you have given me. Don't think for one second that I don't appreciate it. For the first time in history, a nation is at war, and I as a citizen am free to do as I please without being forced to serve. It is because of brave men and women like you that voluteer to serve that I am not forced to. We all want peace, but some of us are willing to go above and beyond and serve their country of their own free will. Because of those men and women, the rest of us can go about our lives as we please. I am only free because of your sacrifice, and I will thank God every day for men like you that keep me in the safety and comfort of my home. You have more courage and dedication than most men, including myself. No matter what anyone says, you are fighting for my freedom. No matter what you do, no matter who your enemy is, the fact that you are there of your own will is the only reason that I am here of mine. Thank you for giving me the gift of freedom, and thank you for having the courage that I do not have.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Thank you for your service. Monetary and availability concerns aside, the best way to assure that you will be able to buy the guns that you want in the future may be to do what you are doing now.

 

[John828]

kind of blued,

Do you mean that financially or politically?