Stockpiling AR-15 lowers, insurance against AWB?

[Smit]

There will most likely be a ban on Magazine capacaity, not the receivers themselves.

[jmr40]

The only one that benefited from the assault ban was gun companies.



Why because they were able to charge a little more for there guns because of the supply and demand aftershock of the AWB. I hardly think that any gun maker/companies benefited from the AWB. That's like saying only car companies benefit from higher MPG restrictions imposed by the EPA.....

Of course the gun companies benefited from the AWB. The AWB sold more guns than anything in American history. Prior to the AWB Colt was really the only player and a minor one at that as far as civilian rifle sales. We can thank Bill Clinton and his AWB or making the AR the most popular rifle in America today.


The AWB actually banned nothing, it dictated how the guns could be built. During the 10 year AWB far more AR's were sold than the previous 30 years combined. The only difference between a pre-ban rifle, and a rifle made during the ban was the absence of a flash hider. That is it. Without the AWB there would have never have been the dozens of dfferent companies making AR's today. I won't even go into the huge effect it had on handgun sales and design, but let's just say the AWB really helped handgun manufacturing as well.

Hi-cap magazines for most guns were easily available, although more expensive. Any magazine made prior to the ban was still legal and for most guns easily available. New magazines were marked "LE and military use only" All the gun companies simply went to every police dept in the country and gave them one new magazine free for each pre-ban magazine they would return. The older pre-ban magazines for popular guns such as Glock 9mm, S&W, Beretta etc. quickly flooded the market. They did the same with the military with M-16 magazines which were everywhere during the ban.

A few guns that had only been introduced shortly before the ban were hard to find mags for. Glock 40 cal and 10mm mags were in short supply for anything with more than 10 rounds. I actually sold a few G-23 mags for $100 each and saw G-20 mags sell for $150 during the ban.

There will be no 2nd AWB. In 1994 AR's and other "assault weapons", were minor players. The anti-gun folks thought they were unpopular enough that there would be no resistance to banning them. Instead they made them the most popular guns in the country. Today they are just too popular and common to think about banning. The fact that the AWB did nothing to deter crime and crime statisics since the ban ended have shown crime to actually go down is proof. Even the most rabid anti-gun folks understand that the 1994 AWB was a failure.

I expect more gun control measures to be pushed, but no AWB. Look for a push on registration, tighter controls on who can buy guns, and higher taxes on ammo etc.

[Stressfire]

Does anyone else recall the old Chris Rock bit on gun control? Something to the effect of: Don't ban guns, but make each bullet cost $5000. Then you'd know that anyone who got shot definitely deserved it.

I suspect all a ban would do is drive prices up. Might be a better idea to stockpile "high capacity" magazines

[tulsamal]

During the 10 year AWB far more AR's were sold than the previous 30 years combined.

It's true. And it's not just AR's by a long shot. AK sales went crazy. The infamous SAR-1 and SAR-2's were $199 for most of that period. I bought several of those myself. This is also the time period when most of us "discovered" the joy of the FAL and how to build one for ourselves. We bought parts kits and figured out the whole parts count thing and suddenly FAL's were everywhere. Something that used to be a quite rare rifle.

I keep thinking the anti's are going to figure this out someday. Every time they beat the drum and even talk about banning something... sales go through the roof. I personally don't see another AWB myself either, not anytime soon anyway. But any serious efforts in that direction will sell another million rifles! And god knows how many rounds of ammunition and primers.

Gregg

[SR420]

Stressfire Might be a better idea to stockpile "high capacity" magazines

Good point ~

The standard capacity magazines for my rifles hold 20 and 30 rounds... in my case "high capacity" magazines turned out to be drums.

Check out Xs-Products for excellent high capacity drum mags like the 50 round X-14 featured in this video.



.

[jsimmons]

Lowers don't really wear than much. If you have assembled rifles, you're probably good to go. Magazines and ammo are what they'll go after (if anything).

I have enough mags, but you can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire.

[Elkins45]

I agree that the next piece of successful legislation will definitely contain a prohibition on 10+ capacity magazines.

I thought I probably had enough, but the media noise after Aurora made me reconsider. I just spend more that I would like to admit with Brownells for a lifetime supply of 20 & 30 round AR mags. I also picked up some spare 15 rounders for my Glock 20 just in case.

Now I need a new safe to store my magazine collection!

[house]

I would just buy a bunch of 80% and hang on to them. And then make them into lowers when need be.

[Palmetto-Pride]

jmr40 you put it in a new perspective for me and bring up some very logical valid points. I guess I can see where the AWB helped push gun sales......just like Obama helped sale guns when he got elected. I guess what I fear most is a permanent AWB in the long run it would force gun companies out of business. (What I mean by permanent is one that doesn't have a expiration date like the 1994 AWB did)

[SR420]

I expect more gun control measures to be pushed, but no AWB.
Look for a push on registration, tighter controls on who can buy guns, and higher taxes on ammo etc.

You could be right, but look for firearm confiscations if a certain somebody is elected to a 2nd term...

[bbqbob51]

...buy all the ammo, magazines, AKs and ARs you can find until you break the back of your credit card. Have fun paying it off when nothing really happens. Does anyone remember what happened when Obama was elected? These forums were in a frenzy with all kinds of people thinking the sky was falling.
The only thing that happened was a self created shortage of ammo and AR15 rifles which drove up the prices through the roof.

[Double Naught Spy]

I bought 3 lowers, complete, right before Obama was elected and prices were still fine. I can say that the purchase wasn't too unproductive. I don't mind the spare parts and one lower has been made into a rifle and the other has been used as a spare for classes and such. The third was a waste of money, sort of.

If you are worried about a ban, you should have been buying once you were worried about it. Panic buying for a possible disaster isn't often a wise purchase decision. Buying now falls into that realm.

In other words, if you are buying because you fear a ban and that you may not be able to get something in the future that you may need, then you are already behind because you should have already bought it.

It sort of reminds me of coastal people going out and buying generators with every hurricane. That isn't the ideal time to be buying and why didn't you have one for the last several already?

Of course the gun companies benefited from the AWB.

And don't we want them to do really well?

[Justice06RR]

Nothing wrong with buying multiple lowers if you can afford it. Just remember your AR build will deplete your bank account very quickly

[Crankgrinder]

im with bbq and some others, all of the panic buying did in 08-08 was drive everything through the roof. no ammo, reloading supplies of any kind for nigh 2 years here where i live... and nothing happened.

[Whitetail99]

"I have enough mags, but you can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire." he's right. Stock up on ammo. And I need to stock up on mags. But let's get this socialist scum out of office then all us gun bus can breath a little easer.

[tobnpr]

The talk is all moot, anyway.
Despite recent "events", talk of further firearm restrictions is mostly non-existent.

It matters not what Obama may, or may not, want-even if he is re-elected.

There is no support in Congress- even in the Senate from many Democrats- for further legislation. They know it has become increasingly unpopular with the American public in general and would be political suicide.

[thehemi]

Looking back now, stockpiling lowers was probably not a bad idea!

You could be right, but look for firearm confiscations if a certain somebody is elected to a 2nd term...

Hopefully Obama/Biden don't take too much out of Feinstein's proposal.
Her bill is going to include a strong AWB, registration and -confiscation-.

[Hairbag]

Ammo and mags its the easy path I suspect sometime in the future fed laws will prohibit online ammo and magazine sales

[Ignition Override]

Are concerns about possible new ammo taxes the primary reason why Prvi .303 'British' has jumped from .75 to about .90/round in two months?
This did not occur to me before seeing this topic.

Or did people buy huge amounts, hoping to scalp future buyers at gun shows, Gunbroker etc?

The only people who clearly benefit during a panic are the sellers.
When the panic bubble collapsed in '09, there were lots of ARs for sale, but many buyers must have lost heaps of cash when forced to get rid of them to pay bills.

[globemaster3]

When the panic bubble collapsed in '09, there were lots of ARs for sale, but many buyers must have lost heaps of cash when forced to get rid of them to pay bills.

I've heard this repeated, but its not a universal truth. I was anticipating seeing classified adds selling off all these panic-bought ARs and gunshops full of used examples. Around here, it never happened, much to my surprise! I wanted to buy some nice, cheap ARs to add to the collection in 09, but never saw them.

[tgreening]

I wonder if it might be tied to location? I live in the Buckeye State and there are not many big cities here, not on the order of NY, LA, and others of similar size.

Where I live it's a whole lot of farmland and hunting is practically an economy unto itself. I would imagine a lot of the buying around here is by people that already own firearms of multiple varieties, for various activities, and they will just add them to the collection. The folks that want to sell them are already doing so, trying to cash in.

I think, maybe without justification, that a large number of purchases by these big city dwellers were done strictly in panic and with a "better get one before they're gone" mentality. Purchases by people that are not really firearm enthusiasts, but just got caught up in the emotion of the whole thing, and once it all gets more or less back to business as usual they'll look at that credit card bill and think "boy was I stupid" and look to cut their losses.

I'm sure some of that will happen in my area as well, but I'm guessing a larger percentage will take place in larger cities where firearms are less of a tool.

[johnwilliamson062]

I wanted to buy some nice, cheap ARs to add to the collection in 09, but never saw them.

I was able to find one in January of 2010. Sold it before the 2012 Election for more than I paid, but thinking what if I had it to sell now...

Had a buddy who bought a bunch of stripped lowers in 2008 and ran into money problems in 2009. Kept trying to sell them for "what they cost" but prices were $50+ lower. He ended up selling them pretty cheap in the end.

I expect around 2014 I will buy one or two on the cheap from somone who needs cash.

[tahunua001]

Who brought this one back to life? It's still twitching!

[Alabama Shooter]

The talk is all moot, anyway.
Despite recent "events", talk of further firearm restrictions is mostly non-existent.

It matters not what Obama may, or may not, want-even if he is re-elected.

There is no support in Congress- even in the Senate from many Democrats- for further legislation. They know it has become increasingly unpopular with the American public in general and would be political suicide.

Ah, the good ole' days. I remember those.

[Hairbag]

Just go on the NRA website and see what's going on. Obama needs to do nothing right now. For now it's going to come down to where you live pro-gun or anti-gun state. States do not need the fed's to pass laws they are passing them right now. The days of buying ammo or mags online are sure to end soon for many of us. Just think they get to keep the tax money paid on mags and ammo creating revenue. Rifles will be cheap again. You will be buying ammo/mags from your local gun store with a backround check first. Brick and mortar gun stores are going to be doing very well soon.