Plan ahead.

[Rifleman 173]

Two days ago I went to a local gun dealer's store. They were completely out of AR-10s and LAR-8 rifles. The store had only 2 FAL rifles left and 2 very basic M-1A rifles left. They were down to about 8 AR and M-4 style rifles. Normally this place is loaded with all sorts of FALs, M-1A rifles and so on. I ended up getting an M-4 clone for my new toy along with a scope on it.

The point is to plan ahead because with the November 2012 elections and the dreaded 2012 doomsday predictions, waiting until fall may be a bad idea. Ammo too if you think you will need it, get it soon.

 

[MagnumWill]

Oh man- I remember in 2008. My LGS carried about ~40 or so ARs, a couple AKs, etc. I think I went two days after Obama was elected to pick up a GP-100 if they had one (which they did ) and they had TWO. TWO AR's in the whole place. One was a 6.8 and i don't know about the other one. I asked them if they had been robbed or something .


And I second that notion on ammo. Cases are a good thing.

 

[Herr Walther]

The afternoon of 9/11 we were practically cleaned out. Most rifles, of any kind, were gone along with many handguns being sold.

 

[armoredman]

I worked at a local gun shop on 9/11 - we sold out of every AR and AK style rifle, even the Carbon 15 that had been sitting for a long time. Sold out of .223 and darn near out of 7.62x39mm, (or was it the other way around, can't remember), did over 5 times our normal business that day. Moved the TV from the class room out to the range lobby and had it on the news all day long.
As for right now, there's not a gun shop withing 50 miles of here worth a hoot. WalMart had ARs when I was there last a week ago.

 

[Irish B]

On that note when did Walmart start carrying assault rifles? My local Walmart got one M4 style AR a few months ago and now half the rifle case is assault rifles. Of course I do live in the middle of the Colorado mountains.

 

[emcon5]

half the rifle case is assault rifles

Your Wal-Mart sells select fire rifles? Cool.

 

[UtopiaTexasG19]

Planning ahead and storing supplies means not following the herd and making knee jerk decisions too late because of the latest tv report. One never knows when a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado or huge snow storm may come along and you and your family may be on their own. I re-load and keep a good supply of materials around for any occassion. I look at it this way. Supplies will being going up in cost from now on so everything I purchase now will make my shooting cheaper as time passes. Guns and bullets will never go down in price in the long run and they have a very long shelf life so why not invest now. Better safe than sorry.

 

[BigMikey76]

Yup, panic definitely increases gun sales. I sometimes find my self wondering about how many of the panic purchases are made by people who have no idea how to handle a gun... untrained gun owners in a state of panic... kinda scary to me.

 

[Sturmgewehre]

It's happening all over again.

NICS is saying they've seen something like a 46% increase in gun sales over the last year. I know my local shop is so buy they can't keep inventory on the shelves. They usually run promotional specials all the time but they've all but stopped because they can't keep what they have on the shelves.

We can expect this to continue though the election and if Obama get elected again, you can expect it to continue for the foreseeable future.

If he loses the election and 2012 is a flop (which it will be I believe) there will be a market flooded with used firearms next year.

 

[rickyrick]

Dangit!! I don't keep much ammo stockpiled, couple of boxes of each caliber I have. But, I remember going months without ammo. Months without shooting or hunting.

Most every thing I own is a military or surplus caliber. So the occasional box of cut rate fmj really sucked. Hopefully the ammo manufacturers have geared up from lessons learned. I know I may get 6 mos to a years supply now that yall bring this up.

 

[BigMikey76]

I know I may get 6 mos to a years supply now that yall bring this up.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy - the people who are afraid of a shortage will create the shortage by stocking up on guns and ammo they would normally buy in much smaller amounts over a longer period of time. Then they will sit back and look at the situation that they have caused and say "I told you so."

It's no different than people who make runs on gas stations and grocery stores right before a hurricane. They end up buying way more than they need and others are not able to get enough.

 

[SamNavy]

I got this email from Buds the other day. If I'm reading between the lines correctly, it's an advertisement for the store to get you to buy now before prices go up closer to election time if it looks like O is going to win again, which I have no problem with because it's certainly true... still some interesting information:

After spending the first six weeks of 2012 attending various firearms industry shows, including the NSSF Shot Show in Las Vegas with the highest dealer attendance of record, there was one obvious recurring theme from every manufacturer we visited with...."we just can't make enough firearms". Although we fully expected another surge later in 2012, it has already started as the ATF continues to report all time record highs in background/NICS checks as well as Conceal Carry/CCW permit applications.

We are also experiencing record high sales on budsgunshop, actually breaking our all time single day sales records TWICE this month ! Considering we had no special promotions going on, and we exceeded every sales record dating all the way back to 2003, it seems pretty clear ......"Here we go again !"

As the national media and general public become increasingly aware of the deteriorating supply and demand issues.....we ALL know what comes next....higher prices ! Although upsetting to most people, it can also be an amazing opportunity for those who are in a position to buy "early and often". Whether you are an investor, collector, or reseller...you would be hard pressed to find a single more lucrative investment than firearms at this time. If you are not currently in a position to buy ?....you should still be very happy about the future appreciation in value of your current firearms collection !

To many customers, and even those outside the firearms industry, it would appear that gun dealers like us are primed and ready to take advantage of situations like this. Although there is admittedly opportunity during these times, it is nearly impossible for us to predict and adequately prepare for the sudden and extreme increases that can occur with nationwide internet sales. You do not have huge increases in sales without also having huge increases in phone calls, emails, shipping, etc.....so it can very quickly become overwhelming.
If you find yourself waiting on hold, or waiting on a reply to an email, please reference our active customer counter on the top right corner of our website. If you are attempting to contact us during a high volume time (over 2,500 customers online) you may want to wait until the volume decreases and try again later. For example, as we are sending you this email, the number of customers currently shopping on budsgunshop is over 3,000!

 

[Te Anau]

Guns,ammo,long term storage food,ponchos,paracord........etc.
Stock up on everything that can help you make it through tough times,as they are a comin!

 

[rickyrick]

Bigmikey,

I agree with your assessment....my long term ammo needs will be way small-scale as compared to others. But, I was caught with my pants down last time. I don't want to be out of expanding ammo as its been the cornerstone of my free time for a while now.

To me it still seems pretty recent since the ammo market recovered, now they are talking about it all over again.

 

[BigMikey76]

Yeah, it goes in cycles, and elections are usually a time of uncertainty, which makes people want to take precautions. I figure if I buy what I think I will need for next deer season now - maybe two boxes for getting zero, a bit of practice and hopefully just one shot on the animal itself, I will be good. By the following year, things will probably be levelled back out

 

[WV_gunner]

I remember for a very long time .357 mag was scarce. Only walmart had it and it was target stuff. At that time I only had 3 guns, now I have a few more and I can only imagine trying to get some of the calibers I shoot. if I had the money, I'd love to just keep at least a 100 rounds of each just so I won't have to wait. But as it is, I can't even afford a 50 round box of .22s. Gotta make what I have last.

 

[chris in va]

On that note when did Walmart start carrying assault rifles?

They don't.

 

[gak]

BigMikey76 said:
"I know I may get 6 mos to a years supply now that yall bring this up. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy - the people who are afraid of a shortage will create the shortage by stocking up on guns and ammo they would normally buy in much smaller amounts over a longer period of time. Then they will sit back and look at the situation that they have caused and say "I told you so." It's no different than people who make runs on gas stations and grocery stores right before a hurricane. They end up buying way more than they need and others are not able to get enough."
+1

 

[Mike Irwin]

As long as this thread stays off politics and away from "what rifle for the coming zombie alien invasion" it can continue.

The first dip down into those, and it will be closed.

 

[rickyrick]

The only thing that I shoot in large volume is fmj, but, I can get by without it......I don't wanna run out of hollow point or hunting ammo. The amount to last a year would hardly be hoarding or bust the current market.