Well, someone is making money hand-over-fist from the election of Democrats in general and Obama in particular — has anyone tried to get into a gunshop recently?
Sweet shivering Shiva. The local Merchant of Death Emporium is Standing Room Only, and has been since Wednesday last.
I’m not sure if the maddening crowd is composed of folks who are buying the gun they’ve always wanted before Obama and the Democrats make them illegal; or if it’s folks who don’t know (or care) about guns, but who are going to make a great deal of money reselling them after Obama and the Democrats make them illegal.
Either way, it’s damned annoying.
Yesterday, I fought my way to the front of the crowd and asked for a box of 12 gauge 00 buckshot.
“Don’t have any” was the answer.
How the hell, I opined, could a gunstore run out of a basic part of kit like shotgun rounds?
“Easy,” was the response, “Some dude came in with a debit card and bought every case in stock. Every one.”
*blink, blink*
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Here I thought we were in a financial crisis because no one was buying anything.
*sigh*
Prices are going to shoot through the roof. Sodding gun-grabbing Leftist numpties are going to put one hell of a dent in my gun collection time-table.
Schmucks.
LawDog
I just spent the weekend at the Wanenmacher show in Tulsa. My favorite ammo dealer was selling cases only, no individual boxes. Several other dealers had pallets of 7.62×39, .223, .308, 7.62×54, 9mm and .45acp. And they evaporated.
Dad and I left about an hour before closing to avoid the end-of-show rush, and there were empty pallets at all the dealers. Not just one or two, multiples.
I doubt that increased sales at the local gunhaus are enough to offset the fact that the local Ford dealer is having a “Buy an F-250, get an F-150 FREE!” sale, but it’s nice to see one sector of the retail world doing well these days. 🙂
I ordered a particular firearm because I’ve wanted one for quite some time anyway (about seven years, actually). Fortunately, Ye Olde Local Gun Shoppe will get it in a couple-few weeks. Well worth the wait because the proprietor refused to raise the price even though I went in to place the order on the 5th.
However, the gentleman was out of everything but Federal as far as .45 ACP went, which was sort of a disappointment to me. I wasn’t looking to spend that much for one box of 50, just for target practice, but oh well.
I just spent the weekend working the Wanenmacher for my local shoppe of mayhem. As I said in my blog. My feet hurt. There was no time to do anything but show guns. And I can’t count the number of times I had someone walk up cold and point at a pistol and say “I’ll take it.”, without a fondle or a drool.
I’m trying to remember where it was I saw that one interviewed Merchant of Death said that at least half of the folks buying guns where still wearing Obama buttons.
But..but..but Obama sez he supports The Second Amendment! All those democrats said so! He said so!
My small local gunshop had about a dozen black battle rifles of different sorts. They’re gone. All of them. Guy sold out in one day.
So in the end I suppose the question falls to Mr Federal/State/Local enforcer. When you are ordered by your superiors to go to someone’s home and confiscate the “illegal” weapons he refuses to surrender what do you do? After all a judge has issued a “lawful” warrant, probably a no-knock warrant. Follow orders? Tell your superiors no and lose the cushy recession proof government job and guaranteed retirement and health insurance? Resign yourself to hauling several of the entry team out in body bags? Call in the national guard with tanks and such? Just request a 500 pound laser guided bomb be dropped on his house -excuse me- heavily armed compound so you and your comrades can go home at the end of shift unscathed?
Actually we’ve already seen what law enforcement (essentially militarized to the point of a standing army at this point and no longer peace officers)and national guard and other federal troops will do. They’ll follow orders. They all followed orders during the gun confiscation in New Orleans. Nary a conscientious objector among them. Orders are orders after all. Stands to reason they’ll do exactly as ordered when the feds demand that they raid the homes of non-cooperative gun owners.
I suppose in the end the only unanswered question is the final body count.
Stood in line at CTD last Friday. The guy in front of me wrote a check for 20K guns, ammo, and other goodies. Looked like he was going to have fun.
Dr. Joe
Funny thing– every time gun-grabbers are elected, the gun companies and Merchants Of Death make out pretty well. There’s a run on guns.
Demand raises prices. Higher demand and higher prices stimulate the gunmakers to make and sell more guns.
Voila! Gun-grabbers just caused an influx of more guns.
Word was, the day before the “high capacity” magazine ban of ’94 went into effect, all manufacturers were running at full capacity, to meet demand.
My dilemma right now is buy guns or devalued stocks. Running out of money here, boss….
I ordered the upper for my M-forgery project an hour or two after the victory(loss?) was declared, for the same price its been listed at for a while. I got a call from the company the next day asking me to confirm my order and telling me it would be 4-5 weeks for delivery. Apparently Stag had a 6000rifle backlog before the election, so my upper will have to take a number and stand in line. I’ve been thinking about hitting the range, but its under the gun shop, and I doubt either has any ammo, and both are probably mobbed. I’ve been avoiding that place like the mall at Christmas.
I think I’ve got an extra 5 rounds of 00 here I could be persuaded to part with for the right price… 🙂
Such a panic… Obama doesn’t even get into office until january, and he’ll still have much more pressing issues to deal with before he can even think of going for anti-gun legislation, and even if he did, a LOT of the democrat congressmen and senators got elected with pro-gun campaigns, so it’s just up to the people to let them know that they need to stick to that if they ever want to be re-elected.
We have three guns shops in a one mile radius. I was wondering why all of a sudden they seemed busier then usual….
Just for the hell of it I went to the Goodman gun show in Nashville on Saturday morning. In all the years I’ve been going I think the longest ticket line I’ve ever seen was 50′ or so. Usually rather less than that.
I arrived one hour after the show. The line was more like 100+ yards long. It was moving briskly, and it was still that long when I left.
If the main ammo dealer hadn’t already been bald I think he’d have been pulling his hair out trying to make change fast enough. AR’s and AK’s were walking out the door at quite a brisk pace.
Pricing was all over the place. I saw plain jane SKS rifles going for $250 on one table, $450 on the next.
Since the ammo guy hadn’t given in and jacked up his prices I limited myself to half a case of 7.62×39 and a .22 conversion kit for my SIG P220.
Wortham Firearms in Forney, TX is busy as all get out. Bass Pro clerks are going there to buy guns and ammo because the prices are cheaper than what they can get w/ their employee discount.
The folks around here aren’t worried about having their weapons confiscated-over my cold, dead body, and all that-or not being able to buy them.
They’re worried about certain people getting all boogledy-boogledy right in your face because “now we can do anything we want to” and what they want to do at the very least, is bully and intimidate.
Guns are being acquired here because people think they’re going to have to use them in defense of health and home.
LM
I saw the same thing at a show in Reading,PA last Saturday. Panic buying at its best.
You know, I love how people just panic. And I just need shot for rabbit season and I don’t see that happening for a while. (I probably should buy ammo more then once a year and practice more often, but throwing those stones at the rabbits is just so much fun). At least the local gun and archery place might be able to keep there doors open. They’re the only decent place to shoot the bow during the winter.
I have a couple stripped AR lowers from a show about 3 weeks back. Parts kits for them arrived Saturday, and they aren’t likely to become mated to uppers for a while.
All this panic buying has me questioning what to do with them; not much point in making another couple .223 ARs with reasonably priced ammo being nonexistent.
I was also at Wanenmacher’s show for 2 1/2 days. My imperessions pretty much matched everyone else- Ammo flying out the door, multiple $5000 ammo orders, etc. Also anything “black rifleish” was going in a hurry. BUT having said that, I agree with LM that guns are being acquired because people think they’re going to have to use them in defense of health and home.
They were not panic buyers, but families, typically Dad/Mom/Son and/or Daughter with everybody in the mix.
That’s right! All us weird-o, lefty, un-american, gun-loving nuts are taking away your rights to gun ownership by making the companies that produce them and the shops that sell them wealthy. It’s a can’t-miss ploy! Damn you for figuring it out too soon!
I’m off to buy anything that shoots to do my part in the Obama takeover. ‘Cause you know how the president can do anything he wants, including reversing the 2nd amendment.
Bwahh hahhh hahh!
Yes, Bad Yogi, I’m sure that you’ll no doubt tell us that the Brady Bill and the Assault Weapons Ban — both passed by a Democrat-majority House; a Democrat-majority Senate; and signed into law by a Democrat President — were just figments of my imagination.
LawDog, I’d be curious as to your take on what’d happen if people with similar job descriptions to yours were ordered to violate both the 4th and 2nd Amendments and go door to door looking for and seizing various pieces of the citizenry’s property.
I know, it depends on the officer, the department and the area of the country, but I’m curious as to your take.
The local shop 'o destruction (Cheaper Than Dirt) pulled in 100k in a single day, and they are still going up. While filling out the 4473 for a Glock 23, I was talking to the guy at the counter, and he said they have a decent supply of pistols, but rifles are just flying out the door. They are doing fifty hour weeks now, and can barely keep up. Some lady next to me was buying two of the Civi model FN P90.
They were damned near out of .45ACP and 9mm, but it looks like they have plenty .40S&W, various mainstream rifle calibers, and shotgun ammo.
I would love dearly to get an evil war rifle of sorts, but I just crawled my way out of some fairly substantial debt, and I am not looking to go back into said debt. Locally, the cheapest AKs are all flying for $700, and ARs are all above $1k. Looks like I'll have to settle for a decent semi auto or pump gun, and maybe try to find an SKS for the new low price of $500.
AR-15 magazines are out of stock just about everywhere.
Panic buying election night meant that most of the large mag venodrs were out by Wed morning.
No, no, no, lawdog, you don’t understand my point. We’re doing what you keep telling us to do: arm ourselves. And now you’re complaining that we’re doing it! Sheesh! Make up your mind!
Off to buy more weapons, here in sunny southern california!
(BTW, just FYI, while I am a dyed-in-the-wool, unrepentant liberal since at least 1975, I also have supported overturning such idiocy as the Brady Bill etc. See, when you say “liberal”, there’s a lot of us who don’t fit your picture, I’m guessing. Just like there a re a lot of people who don’t fit my mother’s definition of “conservative”. On both sides, there are people who think.)
Obama has pulled all mentions of assault rifles off of his web site now. Trying to stop the panic buying or did the light come on?
Both Cheaper than Dirt and Midway USA’s websites are being hammered relentlessly. Pageload times are through the roof when it doesn’t just time out completely.
Obama has already said that the AWB was coming back as well as closing the private sale “loophole” (which he incorrectly calls the gun show loophole of course). And he won’t wait for congress to pass it either. He will do it by executive fiat. And there isn’t a damned thing anybody can do about it. THAT is the definition of a facist dictator. Betcha that buyer’s remorse is going to kick in real soon now.
Lawdog, what would YOU do if put in such a situation? Would you go along with the seizures? Or would you tell the Sheriff to shove it up his arse sideways? Are you a Brownshirt or a Browncoat? You may just find yourself having to answer that question.
Down here in ‘West Texas” New Mexico we already have most of our weapons so, while business has picked up at the free community range, there hasn’t been a general rush to the gun stores. Sportsmans Guide and Cheaper Than Dirt still seem to have ammo to ship.
2 things…
My son and I both already owned AR15s, but of the 24″ bull-barreled varmint variety with good scopes mounted. We both bought 16″ uppers the other day and battle sights to convert those ARs for a more unpleasant duty – exactly as brought up by other posters here. It’s not so much that we’re worried about not being able to get one. We already had them. But we worry that we might need to use them if things get out of hand.
Secondly, in answer to the question “what would lawdog (and others do) if ordered to carry out a gun grab, I think it largely depends on what part of the country they are in. Count on the LAPD and the LASD to do exactly that – enthusiastically. Dallas PD, I don’t really know. Grapevine (where I live) PD, not so much. Police departments are largely reflective of the cultures in which they are located, and are heavily influenced by the local political climate.
Anyone want a mostly-unfired (maybe <50 rounds) Doublestar AR-15 highrise flattop with a 1/10" twist full-profile 24" stainless varmint barrel? $800, face to face in St. Louis area, $50 shipping to your FFL otherwise (includes case). This rifle was an impulse purchase at Knob Creek. I have others.
Hmmm… you say that the shop owner said that Sumdood bought all the ammo?
Doug
Quote from whamprod”
“Count on the LAPD and the LASD to do exactly that – enthusiastically.”
Not all of them. I know some LAPD officers who enthusiastically support civilian gun ownership and would definitely not carry out a confiscation order.
Unfortunately, I do suspect they are but a few…
Rumors here and there that ammo will be taxed astronomically so that even tho you’ve the weapon, you can’t afford the bullets.
We’ve seen the run on ammo here in central TX, also…thankfully, via friends, we acquired some cases prior to all this at reasonable expense. Hello, reload training.
I would fall into the first camp, but more importantly, I actually think that I am going to need a firearm in the near future. I’ve always been a knife kind of gal and that’s been good enough for the environment..but the environment is fixing to change. I want to be prepared.
“I know some LAPD officers who enthusiastically support civilian gun ownership and would definitely not carry out a confiscation order.”
Even if that meant losing their cushy government job, guaranteed government pension, health insurance and possibly being thrown in jail? Sorry but I seriously doubt more than 2 or 3% of LE would defy their masters if it meant losing their jobs and bennies let alone serving jail time. I’d dearly love to be wrong but I see what’s being graduated out of the academy these days and the mentality being instilled in LE in general and I don’t see it happening.
I just checked two local shops, and neither was really short on anything. One was sold out of cheap practice ammo in a couple of calibers, but still had premium stuff, the other only seemed to be short on (and godawfully overpriced on) primers…oddly, none of that one’s ammo prices appeared to have gone up significantly. The first even had two SKSs on the wall and an AR pistol in the display case that had all been there at since at least before the election.