In case you didn’t notice, it’s hard to find guns & ammunition right now. I’ve not seen the current demand level for firearms and ammunition since I’ve been in the business. My wholesalers are out of most inventory items and we’ve literally had a huge backoredr for ammunition since late June.
Particularly hard to find right now are carry handguns and home defense shotguns. ARs are fairly difficult as well. 9mm, .223/.556 and 12 gauge buckshot rounds are correspondingly difficult to find in stock. I’m told it may be early 2021 until current backorders get filled.
Americans are buying firearms in record numbers. I’ve literally shipped firearms from New Jersey to California over the last month and prices are spiraling ever upward. What gives? Is it the pandemic? Recent riots? Calls to defund the police? Or simply a general fear that if the wrong people are elected in November, they are coming for your guns. It’s likely a combination of all of these and those fears are putting a significant strain on production, already behind because of the pandemic.
What can we do? First, don’t panic and don’t panic buy. Some retailers are taking advantage and raising prices to levels that are nothing short of price-gouging. Don’t buy from them now and don’t buy from them in the future. There are reasonable increases in times fo short supply and there is gouging. 4-5-6X markups deserve to be boycotted in the future. Places like Cheaper Than Dirt are anything but right now. They’ve done the same thing before during short supplies and it’s time this practice stops.
Stay safe and buy smart…
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