Jim,
I wanted to contribute this the following to your ongoing discussion on high
capacity magazines.
Selling high capacity magazines is normally a small part of our business, but
that changed last week. Between October 31 and today, we have sold more than
I normally sell in a year.
I had stocked up anticipating increased demand, but was nowhere near prepared
for the huge surge in sales that we experienced. A normal order was 3 to 6
magazines, now it is 12 or more and we have had several customers buy in quantities
of
100+.
As a result, we are completely sold out of AR-15 magazines.
I have had 400 on order since before the election, hopefully to arrive some
time later this month, but many
are already allocated to back orders. I could use 1,000 more magazines, but
I have no idea how long it will take the manufacturer to produce them, where
I will be on their waiting list, or how much their price will have increased.
I sold out of Glock Model 23 magazines and am very low on Glock 19 magazines.
I was able to re-order, but my supplier was out of a couple of varieties and
the price has
increased
$2 each on the rest, so we had to raise prices. My profit margin was only
$5 on Glock magazines, and one of my other suppliers is now quoting wholesale
prices that are equivalent to what my retail price was.
This feeding frenzy should be an example to everyone who has delayed some
of their preparations. Don't wait until the panic starts -- buy your long
term
storage food now. Get a water filter and grain mill while you still
can. Buy your silver during the current dip. Survival supplies are tight,
but things will
get worse
before they will get better. I have been in the survival business since before Y2K. (BTW,
I have a 1997 edition of [your draft edition novel] TEOTWAWKI in its three
ring binder on my bookshelf) and this is the busiest we have been since
early
1999. - Dave (of Captain
Dave's)
Mr. Rawles
I found this online - it is at an AR15.com forum where folks are presently discussing
who is raising their magazine prices and who isn't: Stay safe. - David B.
JWR,
Brownell's has still
not raised any of their prices, as of this week. I have an account with them
and bought a bunch of mags (AR and AK). Most of these
are going to be traded off to my brother and some other contacts. Brownell's
AR mags are still $12.50. These are good quality and I have never had a problem
with them. FYI, - Sarge
Sir,
I've seen similar goings on here in Memphis. General threat of mob violence on the night of the 4th and after if The One lost the election, so I went to pick up some extra buckshot and I figured a couple extra boxes of .45 while I was at it. First went to Sportsman's Warehouse, but they were out of just about everything in the major pistol calibers except the exotic and high-dollar loads. The mountain of 9mm ball they'd laid in planning to put on sale this weekend was reduced to less than a mole hill.
They were also pretty much out of buckshot, too. Bear in mind that this is an outdoor sporting goods "big box" and not a gun store per se. I left there empty-handed and headed over to Guns & Ammo, my usual stop for same. I knew something was really up when a guy coming out as I went in had two black Glock cases and a blue SIG box in his arms and his son was carrying a double-arm-full of handgun ammo boxes. Once I got inside the store, it looked like Christmas Eve in there; people lined up three deep at the counter, which is about 50 feet long. All six employees were going like mad trying to keep up with the sales. I got the last half-dozen boxes of Hornady TAP buckshot and a few boxes of Winchester Ranger .40 and high-tailed it. Looks like everybody's a bit worried, and with good reason. "May you live in interesting times," indeed. - Booth
Jim:
A recent post said that Cabela's in Texas was out of ammo. I live in central
Indiana and my local Gander Mountain store is (by now) out of .223 and other
popular Battle Rifle calibers so I thought I would buy on-line like I usually
do. What a shock. Able Ammo, MidwayUSA and Cheaper Than Dirt are out of just
about everything in Battle Rifle calibers. I've never seen anything like
this ever. Most
are not even
accepting back orders. I stopped by a local but out of the way gun store
and had trouble finding a place to park. The employee's said you could not
move around in the store on Saturday and the owner said he was thinking of
going out of business after the first of the year. Interesting.
Friday, before work, my wife and I stopped by our local police department to
request Concealed Carry permits. We got there Friday morning, 10 minutes before
they opened.
I was
first in line and the lady asked me why everybody wants gun permits? Apparently
it
was a busy week for her. By the time I was fingerprinted and left the lobby
was full of people, mostly couples, all seeking similar permits. These were
all professional people. I live in a bedroom community where we have the highest
per household income in the state. Something interesting is happening on in
our country and intelligent hard working professional people feel the need
to be able to protect themselves.
At a local outdoor shooting range, which was very busy despite 38 degree temps
and wind, I talked to as many people as I could. They are mostly male in their
late 30's to 50's. I ask them how long they have owned their weapon and the
usual answer was "Since Tuesday!" There are a great many new shooters out there
and they are not hunters. While they were not seeking training, at least they
know if their weapon will fire if needed. I rarely see the same people again.
Apparently, if the gun works, it works and that is the end of it. - Russ in
Indiana
