The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Conference Center > General Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old April 21, 2013, 11:37 AM   #1
Garycw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 27, 2011
Location: Ohio-Kentucky - florida
Posts: 1,221
Has ammo shortage affected gun sales?

Wondering if anyone believes the ammo shortage has affected current gun sales?
What good is a gun without ammo? If you do find ammo, its overpriced to where you can do much shooting, or no shooting at in fear of not finding more.
I know guns are still selling and you can find some ammo, but it seems like the brakes have been put on.
Garycw is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 01:00 PM   #2
Alabama Shooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2012
Location: Sweet Home
Posts: 886
I noticed that guns prices have come down a lot and ammo is still high. Whether this is a function of supply and demand or perceived risk it is impossible to tell.
__________________
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.
Alabama Shooter is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 01:16 PM   #3
buffalo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 25, 2009
Location: SW Florida
Posts: 103
Prices of guns are going down because people have finally maxed out thier credit cards and cant afford anymore,ammo will go down once companies are able to catch up and its abundant again. People only have so much money to keep this going for awhile,sad thing in my opinion though is alot of the ammo buying/hoarding is being done by people that plan on turning around and raping others on the flip side.
buffalo is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 02:09 PM   #4
The Verminator
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 19, 2013
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 204
I think prices for AR15s and Mini-14s and Glocks have come down because people quit paying the high prices and now the speculators have no reason to buy them with hopes of reselling at high prices.

The high prices were all done when the gun control bills failed.

Now all we have to do is calm the irrational fears about ammo availability and I think that's starting to happen.
The Verminator is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 06:49 PM   #5
lamarw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 12, 2010
Location: Lake Martin, AL
Posts: 3,311
I believe it is just the opposite. The tremendous sell of firearms has impacted the availability of ammunition.
lamarw is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 07:24 PM   #6
ClydeFrog
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
Depends...

The ammo hogs & carpet baggers seem to still be buying up all the high end ammunition.
Grafs & Sons; www.Grafs.com has a lot of out-of-stock listings.
Another good sales website from OK, www.SGammo.com is slowly stocking more pistol rounds from top firms(ATK-Federal, Hornady, Speer Gold Dot, etc).

As the political climate cools down, more buyers should start to scale back.

ClydeFrog
ClydeFrog is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 08:39 PM   #7
Patriot86
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 23, 2010
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 1,293
I will say this I might have diversified into 10MM and 40 S&W by now if it were not for the ammo shortage/insane ammo prices. Next big dip we have in prices and rise in inventory I am going to buy the ammo before the guns I think...
__________________
"....The swords of others will set you your limits".
Patriot86 is offline  
Old April 21, 2013, 09:28 PM   #8
Jeremiah/Az
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 27, 2009
Location: Az.
Posts: 509
The local gun stores around here have very few guns. There are some odd balls & a few revolvers. That is about it. When you do find an AR, it is way over priced.
Jeremiah/Az is offline  
Old April 23, 2013, 07:51 AM   #9
Skans
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2008
Posts: 11,131
Sure it has. It's made me realize that I have plenty of guns; and barely enough ammo. Why would I buy more guns right now???
Skans is offline  
Old April 23, 2013, 08:26 AM   #10
Garycw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 27, 2011
Location: Ohio-Kentucky - florida
Posts: 1,221
Has ammo shortage affected gun sales?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skans View Post
Sure it has. It's made me realize that I have plenty of guns; and barely enough ammo. Why would I buy more guns right now???
In the big box stores(gander, cabellas etc) and the well established local shops I see plenty of guns for sale. While I see some being sold, its not as much usually.
The Internet sales seem to have slowed even more.(armslist, gunlistings.org, gunbroker)
Why would you buy a gun you could get little or no ammo for?
If you wanted to sell a gun, the best way would be to advertise it with at least 500 rounds ammo IMO
Garycw is offline  
Old April 23, 2013, 11:33 AM   #11
Closing The Gap
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 2, 2013
Location: Las Vegas Nevada
Posts: 258
It hasn't affected me personally. I've bought 10 firearms since New Years Day. All at or below pre-madness prices. Any calibers I didn't already have werent too difficult for me to locate at normal prices as well. I have the advantage of being self employed with LOTS of free time. My strategy has been to stop in at whatever store I'm near, when out and about, that sells ammo and have found what I need here and there. Recently I found a local business that produces factory reman ammo. It's VERY cheap and is so far highly reliable. I plan to start reloading because it sounds like a good activity to keep me from using the free time to further build my collection.
__________________
Half the country hates my business, the other half my hobby.
Closing The Gap is offline  
Old April 24, 2013, 07:17 PM   #12
Ignition Override
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 18, 2008
Location: About 20 nm from the Big Muddy
Posts: 2,884
There were five AR/M4s in .223 listed for under $1,000 and an AK-74 ($800) at the West Point MS pawn shop on Hwy 45.
They were there on Friday and the following Monday, almost two weeks ago.

A week ago the Memphis gun show had several ARs in .223.

My policy the last several years has been to buy ammo before a new type of gun, with few exceptions.
Apparently many people might be postponing a gun purchase until they first have affordable ammo in their home.
Ignition Override is offline  
Old April 24, 2013, 07:28 PM   #13
Joe_Pike
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 30, 2010
Posts: 1,581
I recently posted about a small local shop that I like that is about to go out of business. He can't get any ammo or guns and the guns he can get are not selling because he can't get ammo. He made it through the 2008 debacle just fine. This time is different.
__________________
Stay Groovy
Joe_Pike is offline  
Old April 25, 2013, 02:46 PM   #14
Garycw
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 27, 2011
Location: Ohio-Kentucky - florida
Posts: 1,221
Has ammo shortage affected gun sales?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe_Pike View Post
I recently posted about a small local shop that I like that is about to go out of business. He can't get any ammo or guns and the guns he can get are not selling because he can't get ammo. He made it through the 2008 debacle just fine. This time is different.
Sadly that's a perfect example of what I was afraid might be happening.
I checked to see if a gun was available on armslist that was very reasonably priced for a month. Being curious I inquired if it was still available. Yep, it sure is was the reply.
Garycw is offline  
Old April 25, 2013, 11:00 PM   #15
Dalek
Member
 
Join Date: April 10, 2013
Posts: 64
Here in the great state of CO...

Most of the actual gun shops are down to either odds and ends (read junk) or seriously insanely priced "Assault Weapons" which, are selling all the same. Handguns are almost nonexistent on the shelves.

Pawn shops have the usual collection of crap-tastic single shot shotguns, Llamas and the like. Anything 1911 in appearance is tagged at $1,000 plus. Yes, even the stuff from the Philippines.

Ammo... Not even worth asking about as it will only get you an eye roll from whoever is behind the counter.

At the last gun show, Win White box 9mm was going for $1.00 a bang and selling at that price.

Our local Armslist is well..between "Ouch" and "****" for both firearms and ammo.
Dalek is offline  
Old April 26, 2013, 06:39 PM   #16
justplainpossum
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 24, 2013
Location: duh, Texas! : )
Posts: 222
My local little gun shop, way off the main road, has lots of ammo and guns. But the gun range in town has zero ammo for sale; it's only for use at the range.
justplainpossum is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 09:54 AM   #17
Come and take it.
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 16, 2009
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 999
Gun prices are approaching pre-Sandy hook levels here in Kentucky.

Especially .22 caliber AR clones.

I suspect that people are disgusted that they have a gun but realize that it is just a paperweight without ammo, or even if they have a little ammo, they are afraid to shoot that ammo for fear they may not be able to get anymore = no fun.

Which apparently seems to be a long term fact. I would be surprised if 22 ammo becomes readily available by years end. The panic is so widespread now it has increased to avalanche proportions.

Why? because those who were smug early on thinking that the shortage would only last a few months have come to the realization that it may last a lot longer. So there is a renewed surge in demand from that quarter.
Come and take it. is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 01:50 PM   #18
Dalek
Member
 
Join Date: April 10, 2013
Posts: 64
I tend to think you are 10/10 on this, Come and Take it.

In my area, asking about ammo in any of the shops has become a running gag unless you are looking for the flops like "17 Hummer" and the like.

If your toy eats 45 GAP or such, the deals are all there to be had.
Dalek is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 04:34 PM   #19
SVO
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 20, 2009
Location: Texas Gulf Coast
Posts: 728
I would think that it would depend on what ammo resources the buyer has. If he has a stock of ammo in the new gun caliber or has the components to reload ammo for the gun, then ammo is not a barrier to buying.
SVO is offline  
Old April 27, 2013, 06:49 PM   #20
StrangeBird1911
Member
 
Join Date: November 21, 2011
Posts: 40
My local stores (Portland, OR area) have guns. I bought an SR-1911 this week, though I had had to look a lot to find it.

Ammo still tough; 45 easiest to find, but expensive. 9mm nowhere around.
StrangeBird1911 is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 06:43 AM   #21
8MM Mauser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 16, 2011
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Posts: 647
I think yes. Actually, I was at a regional sporting goods store the other day asking about .22 (the shelves appeared to be empty) and he told me he didn't have any ammo, but he offered me a deal on a 10/22, he said the prices were marked down because no one wanted to buy a gun they couldn't find ammo for.

Personally, I shot myself out of .22 last time I went to the range. As of right now I'm considering buying an airsoft gun; at least ill get trigger time that way. As it stands the only ammo that seems to be well in stock is shotgun ammo. Which is ok for me since I have a Mossy 500. Thank god I didn't trade it for a that p95 last fall; 9MM is impossible to find around here too.
8MM Mauser is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 07:51 AM   #22
L2R
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 5, 2010
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 358
hoping that-

With Spring kicking in, I am hoping that people's expendable income will begin to spread onto their other hobbies, motorcycles, boats, camping etc.

The various things discussed here created the shortage, it can also work in reverse. Those who hoarded ammo and see it coming down, may also start to dump it before it goes lower.

Perception is reality. If we all believe the storage is over, our habits will change and it will be over.
__________________
L2R
L2R is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 05:43 PM   #23
Dalek
Member
 
Join Date: April 10, 2013
Posts: 64
Oh boy...

A friend of mine who, I normally think of as being rational, just told me of his spending $15 on a 50 rnd box of Remington 22LR shoot-em-up stuff.

I told him to seek professional help.
Dalek is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 06:26 PM   #24
ClydeFrog
Junior member
 
Join Date: May 1, 2010
Posts: 5,797
Brick & mortar retail places...

I was at a well known shop in Norwalk CT. They had a few used new & rental guns but few boxes of ammunition.

The mgr even said sales are a problem & ordering is a major hassle.

CF
ClydeFrog is offline  
Old April 28, 2013, 07:14 PM   #25
Wreck-n-Crew
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 8, 2013
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,820
Quote:
I believe it is just the opposite. The tremendous sell of firearms has impacted the availability of ammunition.
I agree it did. But sales are sliding here fast.

One thing i have noticed is the shortage here is in 9mm and 22lr.

I talk to people twice a week at least at several LGS and they are mixed with been shooters and new owners. 380 is also in short supply, but still there.

One other thing i have noticed is the 9mm prices from the gougers who raid Wal mart have come down in price.

The LGS have few shoppers and just about 60/40 ammo shoppers to gun shoppers.
__________________
If you ever have to use a firearm, you don't get to pick the scenario!
Wreck-n-Crew is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:46 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.08677 seconds with 10 queries