Who Bought All Those ’08 Election Guns?

[SharpsDressedMan]

Do these qualify?

 

[dirtykid]

Uh, i think my brother-in-law did ! He's bought so many guns since Obama was elected he had a carpenter turn his basement study into a walk-in gun safe ! ( im not kidding,it's a 8x14 gun-room) buying at least 2-glocks withs at least 15-18 30-round clips,walthers's , 1911's of any brand , and if you showed him a gun right now that had the words "LE only" <deleted> When i asked him once why he's "stocking up" he said you better too , pretty soon their gonna stop selling them and then they'll enact laws to come into your homes and inspect your weapons for no reason blah blah blah,, I have a repeated pattern, I buy 1-NEW and 1-Used gun a year,, have done that for 12+ years now and it didnt change wether out "commander in chief" was repub or dummycrat,,, Did the sales on tin-foil go up just before the election also ?? <(sarcastic)

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

I admit that I bought a couple of guns with inflated prices in early 2009. I am still kicking myself for it when I look at today's prices.
I even asked a question on a gun board if I should wait to buy. No one could tell me that if I waited the prices would come back down.
Now I know what to expect around presidential elections and will always be expecting the panic buying. Lesson learned.

 

[Bob2222]

I just happened to be near the epicenter of one of the 1967 riots -- I was too young and stupid to be terrified --- and my wife just happened to be near the epicenter of one in 1970. These are maybe 4-sigma, meaning "twice-in-a-lifetime" events.

We owned guns purchased before we moved to the People's Republic but after the 2008 election I thought it might be a good idea to replenish my supply of a few boxes of 20-year old ammo. And, yes, practice. And buy a shotgun. Here in the PR we need a firearms ID card to buy ammo, and individual permits for pistols, so we needed to apply for permits, and things just snowballed from there. The pistol permits expire, so we were boxed in by that.

Yes, we "panicked" and purchased several guns at around peak prices. But is it really a panic if you get into your car, buckle your seat belt and then drive off and don't have an accident? Crime has definitely increased since the election, I see an awful lot of very unhappy people, and I would be shocked and amazed if the next five years go by without any urban rioting.

We didn't buy any junk. We have absolutely no plans to sell any of our guns. Ever.

 

[Guns and more]

I bought an AR because I thought they would go away.
I paid too much, but I love it and have no plans to sell.

 

[Balrog]

There will be another scare when Obama is re-elected.

 

[Ala Dan]

Panic Buying-

Lots of people rushed out and purchased a "gun" for the first time in their lives.
Grand'ma's, persons living alone [and feeling a bit insecure], "old timers" [too
weak and frail to stand, fight, or be robbed of their life savings], the younger
generation [still wet behind their ears, and barely 21 yrs old], etc. The feel'in
was (and is) "everybody needs too be safe"; and the thought of Mr. Pres tryin
to take steps too deny us this freedom FAILED BIG TIME~!

 

[Husker_Fan]

I did ok. I only bought a couple of old, outdated, un-tacticool S&W revolvers during the great panic. One is a five-screw Combat Masterpiece, and the other a late 50's or early 60's model 38 in very good condition. There was little interest in them at the time and the shop where I found them wanted the space for the types of guns panic buyers wanted. I'm still happy with the prices.

 

[SuperNaut]

I mostly sold.

I only bought one gun just at the start of the bubble, my Saiga12, got it for $500. I didn't buy it 'cause I thought it would be banned either, I bought it 'cause it's bad-ass.

I'm seeing prices coming down, lot of NIB on ksl.com - especially for EBR's and AK's. Once these Obama Guns sit for long enough, the prices will fall through the floor.

I'm patient.

 

[22-rimfire]

I bought some 22 rifles during 2008. I didn't join into the mad rush to buy EBR's or other firearms. Had most of what I wanted already. I did buy ammunition however.

I don't expect to join into any panic buying in 2012 even if BO is re-elected. I fully expect he will pursue a more aggressive gun control agenda. He will view any success in the election as a mandate to pursue a more liberal agenda.

 

[O C]

I think that most people who bought during and after the election were people who had a neutral, or "slightly" negative attitude toward guns in general. When they bought, they realized what you had to go through to even get a gun, and when the background check was done, the gun was in possession, the next step was to get a CCW. More money, more paperwork, but they HAD TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT! Now, all of a sudden THEY ARE GUNNIES! Even if that's as far as they went, the peace of mind and confidence that went with actually doing something about their safety, instead of putting that responsibility in the hands of others will keep a lot of them from selling. They see the drop in crime, and lack of gun battles in every parking lot, and realize that gun owners are just like them, oops "I be a gun owner"..

 

[PcolaDawg]

I wasn't planning to buy any guns at that time, and I'd never owned a handgun. Then one of the partners at my law firm bought some guns and suggested I'd better do the same because of Obama's election.

I didn't think too much of it, and wasn't going to do anything about it. Then I casually mentioned it to my wife and SHE panicked! She doesn't own any guns, but she pretty much insisted I go out and stock up. lol.

So I did.

Since then I've bought about 7 handguns for myself and about 5 or so for my kids and wife. And myself, my wife, and three kids took a ccw course and those of us old enough all got conceal/carry permits.

It has been AWESOME!!

So I wasn't worried about losing my gun rights when Obama got elected, but I have to admit that, as a result of his election, I got into handguns and conceal/carry. And I'll always be grateful to the man for that.

 

[bruzer]

I say Both first time buyers and some multi-gun people bought into the hype.
I for one bought the $99 SKS for $169 after President Clinton took office and vowed never to buy into the hype again. Added the folding stock and had fun with it. After President Obama took office I walked around a gun show with it and every dealer was asking me if it was for sale.
Mike

 

[Grey_Mana]

Lots of first-time gun buyers in 2008 were folks who rightly, wisely and prudently decided to exercise their rights, bought one or more guns, and began practicing with them. The political climate made them more aware of the importance and benefits of gun ownership. I venture that those folks don't consider themselves panic buyers, and don't view their gun purchases as mistakes.

 

[Ryanxia]

I was by no means a new gun owner but I purchased a Beretta Cx4 Storm. I wanted an AR but they were saying 12 months back order! Needless to say I scooped up what I could get.

At that same time there was a huge ammo shortage for the same reason, it was then I decided that I would no longer be a sheep. Stock piles of guns, ammo, food, water, etc. makes me sleep better at night now

 

[Br]

The reports at the time indicated it was folks without firearms or without EB firearms that rushed to the gun shops.

Electron Beam firearms? Sign me up!

 

[Dr_B]

I have the guns I wanted most. The rest can wait. I'm not buying guns, I'm slowly buying ammo. Doesn't matter how many guns I have if I have nothing to shoot out of them. Personally, I don't think Obama or any other politician is going to try to take away guns. They will find a way to make ammo so expensive that going shooting becomes problematic and people will get rid of their guns voluntarily, or simply put them away. Same thing the environmentalists and libs are doing with SUV's and trucks. They aren't going to force you to drive a Prius. They'll just let it become so expensive to drive a truck that you won't be able to keep it around.

 

[phil dirt]

If the reports I am starting to hear are true, the Obama administration is already scheming what is described as "under the radar" gun control legislation. If he is re-elected, gun owners had better beware. The Dems want nothing more than to disarm America, and many RINO Republicans will most certainly jump on board.

 

[BoilerUP]

Obama has far larger issues on his foreign & domestic policy agenda, both near term and after a potential reelection, than pushing anti-gun legislation.

Besides, its not POTUS you need to worry about grabbin' 'yer guns - its Congress.

As for me, I didn't panic buy any firearms as I never believed there'd be a concerted leglislative effort to subvert our rights in the midst of a sharp economic downturn (especially in light of recent legal victories), but I sure was pissed I couldn't find any reloading components or 9mm/40SW/38Spec/380 ammo from mid-Nov 2008 thru late summer 2009.

Also, I bought 200rd of 223 exactly one week before the election and went into the gun shop exactly one week afterward..and the exact same ammo (what was left of it anyway) had gone up 50% in price. That shop, which had *racks* of AR when I bought my ammo, was completely bare save a couple chambered in 6.8SPC.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

OK, I flashed my AK's in a pic above, but my situation was a little different than knee jerk buying. As the election year progressed, I decided that the Dems might get a hold of things, and decided to add some semi- autos to my collection. I had owned AR's and some S/A .308's in years passed, but only kept an M1 Garand to shoot in matches with my cousins. I had gone low key, with my primary "tactical" stuff being some bolt actions, namely a .300 Win Mag set up for long range, a .30-06 scout rifle, and a .300 Whisper bolt action sith an AWC suppressor. Tactical enough, I thought. Then when the real possibility that a wave of anti-gun legislation could crop up at any time if a new prez got in, I decided to add some semi autos, and AK's were the logical step, as I wasn't seduced by high rates of fire, or tricked out AR's. The cost effectiveness of the then-abundant 5.45x39 ammo made the AK-74's look pretty good, and my brother was into building some AK's from kits and US made receivers. I bought a full stock AK74 before the primaries, and later bought a folding AK74 after the election, both from my brother for just about cost, not at the post election scalp prices. So now I have 2 AK's, and $260 bought 2160 rds of ammo. I still preferred a 7.62x39, as it has superior penetration to the 5.45, and should my supply of 5.45 ammo be hard to replenish, 7.62 is more widely available (although more expensive then). Later, my brother gave me an folding AKM 7.62 parts gun, obtained really cheap way before George HW left office, and I made that my grab and go gun. I later (2010) talked my brother out of a Yugoslav M72 RPK, but paid the going rate as it was a brand new, unfired parts kit, and worth a bit more than the ever present shot-out-barrel kits that followed later. Didn't really NEED that one, but it looked so nice. AR's are fun, but when I had mine, I just never liked loading for it, and it didn't get used like my bolt guns did. I do not plan on using the AK's much, but it is nice to know that I and my family can take serious care of our end of the block, and I don't need to go shopping for ammo in an emergency. The AK's don't inspire sitting-by-the-fire, petting-my-rifle gun love, but they are highly efficient tools, that are there to do a job. I got 3 or 4 AK's for the price of two AR's, and ammo has become to be less than half as expensive as .223.

 

[22-rimfire]

...you probably paid more than you would have during ‘normal’ times. So then some people will hang onto theirs simply because they would be taking a loss to sell them.

In my experience, selling guns is almost always a loosing proposition or at best break-even unless you hold onto them for years. Today's high prices are tomorrow's bargains as the saying goes.

Obama has far larger issues on his foreign & domestic policy agenda, both near term and after a potential reelection, than pushing anti-gun legislation.

You think he can't do two things at once?

 

[shamalama]

I bought a Romanian GP WASR-10/63 AKM for $450 the day Obama clinched the Democratic nomination. At the time I had grave concerns that there would be another Scary Weapons Ban on the near horizon. Fortunately no ban has occurred, am very happy with my purchase, and have no intention of re-selling it.

 

[oldbear]

"The first time/panic buyers" are holding onto their purchases, and sellers are still asking and most often getting premium prices. The popular Smith and Wesson N and K frame models are getting harder and harder to find, and when you do find one worth buying prices are sky high, I.e used shooter grade M-19's $400.00 +. M-27 3 1/2" are as scarce as hens teeth and prices are starting to top $700.00 for a high end shooter grade, if you can find one.

 

[Six]

If the reports I am starting to hear are true, the Obama administration is already scheming what is described as "under the radar" gun control legislation.

Can you provide a source for these reports?

 

[The_Shootist]

Grin - maybe it's possible the new owners decided they actually liked going to the range practicing/socializing?


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