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Gun demand slowing down?

6K views 63 replies 45 participants last post by  roaniecowpony 
#1 · (Edited)
My local gunshops are busy but not “line around the block when the doors open” busy anymore. They have firearms on the shelves. They’re advertising new stock on facebook weekly instead of just “Please be patient with social distancing, we will do our best to locate what you’re looking for” messages. The stuff is getting bought fast, but... It’s THERE though at higher prices. You can get handguns, shotguns and ARs around here again.


Larger number of people feeling like they have what they need now? Possible leading indicator of slowing demand for ammo in the next few months even as supplies stay tight?

I know better than to expect miracles before December but is this the early beginning of turning the corner, assuming the election doesn’t go wrong?

Or maybe the calm before the storm and everybody goes psycho again in late October.
 
#2 ·
Most of the panicky, first-time buyers have already armed themselves by now. The rest of us are aware that ammo is very hard to find so it is likely affecting purchases as well. I was in my two local gun shops within the past couple of weeks and both of them are noticeably slower as well, but at the same time they both have next to nothing on the shelves.
 
#5 ·
I think sales ebb and flow with the political polls. If Biden's popularity grows... so do gun sales. If Trump has gains in the polls, sales slow down.

If Biden wins... every old junk gun in every pawn shop and gun shop will be sold. There is that period between November and January that the real panic will set in as the Dems coming into power have sworn to destroy the 2nd amendment.
 
#3 ·
I never bothered to go by a LGS in the past 6 months. So, I don't know what it was like a month or two ago. I've been in 3 in the past 2 days. No more of a line than any other time (socal). Ammo seems spotty, but available if shopped around. Rationing is going on. Prices are from slightly high to ridiculous.

Today, a friend and I went to a gun/ammo store. He was denied the ability to buy ammo, since he hasn't purchased a gun since 2014, when CA started retaining records of gun sales. The "ammo background check" relies on those records to verify you had a real background check and therefore are "entitled" to purchase ammo. He would have to pay $19 and fill out paperwork, then wait however long it takes (has been running from several days to weeks) to get a background check to purchase....get this...each time. Or he can purchase a gun to get on the list, or register a gun he has. It is also illegal for anyone to transfer ammunition to another person. You guys in other states where this type of draconian law has not promulgated, vote for pro-gun rights every time it comes up, or you'll be in this mess shortly.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Today, a friend and I went to a gun/ammo store. He was denied the ability to buy ammo, since he hasn't purchased a gun since 2014, when CA started retaining records of gun sales.
OMG
I didnt realize how bad it really was there. Communism at its finest. But didnt they recently allow out-of-state internet sales of ammo to California? I thought I remember reading something about that. How does that work if you need background check for ammo??

WHAT?!


The "time of need" was WAY over twenty-five years ago!


Anyone born before 1985 that isn't fully stocked has their head where the sun doesn't shine.
This is supply and demand in action.
As someone who fits that description I must agree with Pat. I have only myself to blame. But...live and learn.
 
#4 ·
The local pawn shop down the street from me is starting to get used firearms back on the shelves. Back in March the shop was cleaned out of firearms. Cabela's up the highway has some selection, but I've never seen a Cabela's with firearms inventory so low. Even with their prices on their firearms offerings the local Cabela's has done brisk business.
 
#10 ·
It has slowed a little in our shop. AR's have come in and last a week now, not days. Same with modern handguns. Some may be market saturation and some may be that we still have a hard time getting 9mm and 5.56 in any quantity. We get a lot of lookers who don't buy, saying what good is it if I can't get ammo for it. When we do get ammo, sales pick up.
 
#11 ·
No slowdown for us either. Our sales have tripled from July of 2019 to July of 2020. It's absolutely incredible. And I could sell more if I could get more inventory to replace what I sell. We can't restock quick enough.
 
#13 ·
Like TRSOtto said. It doesn't matter if the potential buyer has money or not.

Demand is not really down ... it's the lack of supply that is keeping the lines down. Gun stores have very little to no guns, almost no ammo. The guns that are still available are single action revolvers, old revolvers, some .22 pistols, fudds hunting guns, high priced shotguns, very high end ARs (things that the first time buyers can't afford). Ammo that are still showing up at stores are now 3x the pre-panic buy. A box of 9mm range ammo is now over $50.
 
#21 ·
Demand is not really down ... it's the lack of supply that is keeping the lines down.
Yep....at least around here. Folks just quit going and looking to see if there was anything left. Local gun store manager says he has the same 4 or 5 folks that come in everyday, because they want to be there when something new comes in, but for the most part, the stampede has quieted down.

I don't think the election will have the impact that the virus and the latest Civil Unrest has had upon guns and ammo. Folks warned the same about Obama, but in the end, he opened up the market instead of shutting it down. The current President's ban on Bump Stocks is more anti gun restrictions than the Democrats have done in the last dozen years. Thanks to our 3 part system, the Executive part has to answer to the Legislative and the Judicial parts. That and most folks that want to stock up have, so supplies will probably be coming back to normal by November.
 
#14 ·
Ammo is a huge problem especially 9mm. It doesn't do much good to have a gun if you can not practice or have the ammo to shoot it. My LGS is still very low. IF he has any 9mm he will only sell 2 boxes at a time to customers buying guns. The adjacent range gets $45 for a box of 9mm.

His selection of handguns is pretty poor. The same with AR's and AK's. I may have mentioned A LOT I am still waiting for a Kimber ordered in early Feb.
 
#15 ·
Depends on where you are. I KEEP seeing noobs daily on Calguns, who don't know what to do, what to get, or where to get it. I check all my LGS once a month around here; they HAVE handguns (some stores more than others), and ammo. 5.56 ammo is the one thing NOBODY has.

You know a buying panic is bad, when Armslist has GOOD ammo deals! :eek::eek::eek:
 
#22 ·
Yup. Good thing I recently bought a Browning Baby .25ACP to deal with the masses. It might have to become my new carry, home defense and SHTF gun. :dope:
 

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#20 ·
I think as we get closer to nov2 the guns and ammo sales may go ballistic again. If Biden becomes a higher percentage % of winning over trump.

I don’t think it’s time to hit the range unless your sighting in. I’d rather save ammo.
 
#23 ·
Seems to be a few cut throat retailers out there. Opportunist bastards. They gouge the hell out of the public when stuff like this happens. They're worse than any people fleeing from cities. I won't buy from them if I can help it...ever.

We should all remember which retailers unscrupulously lined their pockets in the public's time of need.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I just made my last couple small purchases of 9 and 556 so I can feel comfortable *maybe* going out 2-3 times between now and year’s end. Only saw it at a couple vendors, nothing local. I get the feeling we are getting to the point where the market may bottom out, where we may go a month or two with pretty much zero availability on popular calibers before it picks back up, so I wanted to pick a little but more off since I saw it pop up.
 
#26 ·
A few days ago I was in a Sportsman's Warehouse. They had a lot of guns. I did notice none were black rifles but they has lots of rifles and though I just glanced at the pistols it looked like they had plenty of those. I was temped to purchase a Tikka rifle but I resisted the price on it was not bad. I didn't look at the price on other guns. About the only ammo on the shelves was upland game shotgun shells. Almost nothing else.

Today I stopped at Academy and they had less than 10 rifles mostly .22's. I didn't bother to check pistols. They had close to zero ammo on the shelves.
 
#27 ·
roaniecowpony said:
We should all remember which retailers unscrupulously lined their pockets in the public's time of need.
WHAT?! :eek:

The "time of need" was WAY over twenty-five years ago! :rock:

Anyone born before 1985 that isn't fully stocked has their head where the sun doesn't shine.
This is supply and demand in action. :rolleyes:
 
#33 ·
Don't know about 25 years ago. I had enough then as I do now.

As for supply and demand in action, I agree. But buyer's sentiment and seller's reputation are also part of the market. Anyone in the business of marketing anything that ignores that, has the head where the sun doesn't shine. :rolleyes:
 
#30 ·
To My Brothers here I just went to one of my online honey holes for handguns. His lists on handguns is very short now.

Remember to save up your mad money at this time. When this chit is over there will be millions of unshot pawned guns needed good homes. I would think by February to March let the gun buying begin.
 
#34 ·
Shotguns are popular here in WA simply because there is no waiting period. A lot of first-time buyers were surprised when they found out how much red tape there is in buying a handgun or semi-auto rifle. I think they were all led to believe that it was as easy as buying a bag of frozen peas at the grocery store, like the anti-gunners keep saying.
 
#39 ·
Birdshot maybe, which is better than nothing at all I suppose. But I haven't seen a lick of buckshot on the shelves in months. Last time I checked the usual online go-tos they were out too.

At this point I think this country is sitting on a stockpile of guns and ammunition big enough to re-fight both World Wars. Twice. No sign of it slowing down at all in my neck of the woods at this juncture.
 
#40 ·
Straight from the horse's mouth...

Here is a reply I received from a firearms manufacturer when I inquired about the current state of a specific model of their line of firearms:

Thank you for your email. You must order our firearms from an FFL dealer. All models can take 3-6 months. I apologize, but honestly we don’t know how to tell you what dealer has these in stock. The quickest way to obtain one is to place an order with your local dealer and get in line. A dealer directory can be found on our website.

I can tell you that we are producing firearms on a daily basis. We ship to distributors, and our distributor’s ship to the dealers, so we really don’t know where the firearms end up. I don’t know which distributor your dealer uses, or how many orders they have, or where you are on the “waiting list”. There are just too many variables for us to be able to say when you will get yours.

We are definitely in a back-order situation on the most models. Supply is not keeping up with increased demand.

We do appreciate your patience. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for your continued interest in Springfield Armory products.
 
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