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Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up
Wall Street Journal ^ | April 16, 2009 | Alex Roth and Betsy McKay

Posted on 04/16/2009 4:58:11 AM PDT by reaganaut1

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- The way Jay Chambers sees it, the semiautomatic weapons in his firearm collection might be the most promising investment in his financial portfolio.

Like many gun enthusiasts, Mr. Chambers, a manager for a door wholesaler here, believes President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress soon will reimpose a version of an expired federal ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons. If such a law passes, he figures his collection -- enough guns, ammo magazines and weapon parts to assemble about 30 AK-47s, AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles -- could triple in value.

"A guy could easily make a lot of money," says Mr. Chambers, 47 years old, while at Autrey's Armory, a gun store about 20 miles south of Atlanta.

Purchases of guns and ammunition are surging across the country. Nearly four million background checks -- a key measure of sales because they are required at the purchase of a gun from a federally licensed seller -- were performed in the first three months of 2009. That is a 27% increase over the same period a year earlier, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

No one knows exactly what is behind the gun-buying craze. Some buyers say they are stocking up for themselves in anticipation of new gun-control laws, while others say they're worried about deteriorating public safety as the economy worsens.

But it's also clear that part of the gun-buying rally is driven by people like Mr. Chambers who are buying weapons the way others invest in a hot stock. The buying is pumping up prices. Many popular models of guns are back-ordered for a year or more. Some manufacturers are operating plants 24 hours a day.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: assaultweapons; awb; banglist; democratcongress; democrats; economy; guns; obama; shallnotbeinfringed
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I agree with the following comments posted on the WSJ site:

'Nice title for an article...particularly from a financial newspaper...are you kidding me? Sounds like most of these people are making investments based on how they believe the market for guns would react should they become exceedingly scarce via legislation. The article reads better than the title would foretell. If you guys wrote the title that way to grab attention for your article then "good job." Otherwise, it implies that gun owners in general are fearful and greedy and I hope that is not what you intended.'

1 posted on 04/16/2009 4:58:11 AM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1; Joe Brower
The following is a public service announcement.

Here's my tip of the month: there is still a great pistol and ammo deal out there waiting for you. If you have waited too long to arm up, or if you want one more, look at the excellent milsurp CZ-52 pistol and 7.62X25 Tokarev ammo.

You can get a CZ-52 for about $200 at any gun show or at many gun stores. The ammo can be had for as low as 11 cents a bullet in any quantity you want. Extra mags are from $12 to $20 each.

The milsurp ammo is full metal jacket, firing an 85gr bullet at 1,600fps. These will go through car doors, kevlar helmets, kevlar vests etc like an icepick through butter. OTOH, they will also go through one bad guy and maybe hit a good guy behind him.

However, you can buy hollowpoints ("Wolf Gold" with brass shells) for about $19/50, or half the price of comparable 9mm JHPs. My test "Wolf Gold" JHP ammo expanded to .60 caliber, the same as my test 9mm JHPs.

So for $400, you could buy a CZ-52, 1,500 rounds of assorted ammo, and a few extra mags. OR, you could buy about 2/3s of a "brand name" pistol, and no ammo.

It's just a thought. This is a great bargain. The ammo is cheap and plentiful at all of the internet catalog sites. Don't wait, the libtards will soon slam the door on foreign gun and ammo imports, and the prices will go way up.

Another benefit of this pistol is that it is very accurate, with very fine sights. WIth this flat-shooting ammo, you can hit at 100 yards with ease. Downsides are brittle firing pins (buy a spare, and don't dry fire) and a decocking function that you should not trust. Just lower the SA hammer like a 1911. The safety works like a 1911, so if you are used to 1911s, it will be very easy to use the CZ-52

2 posted on 04/16/2009 5:00:14 AM PDT by Travis McGee ("Foreign Enemies And Traitors" is at the printer)
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To: harpseal; TexasCowboy; nunya bidness; AAABEST; Travis McGee; Squantos; Shooter 2.5; wku man; SLB; ..
I never buy a firearm with any intention of selling it. Over the years I've given a few to friends and relatives, but for monetary investment only? No, they are worth much more than mere money.

Click the Gadsden flag for pro-gun resources!

3 posted on 04/16/2009 5:03:17 AM PDT by Joe Brower (Sheep have three speeds: "graze", "stampede" and "cower".)
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To: reaganaut1
could triple in value. "A guy could easily make a lot of money," says Mr. Chambers

So now all speculation and attempts to increase one's pocket-money are "greed"? No individual is going to earn enough to buy a new car based on rising gun proces... and yet they make it sound like buyers are preparing to gouge folks on their way to millions. What happened to this nation?

4 posted on 04/16/2009 5:04:58 AM PDT by Teacher317
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To: reaganaut1
"No one knows exactly what is behind the gun-buying craze."

Could it possibly be that we now have a largely socialist government bent on disarming the public? Could it be that the department of Homeland Security just named conservatives as potential terrorists?

It's fairly obvious to those actually paying attention (that apparently doesn't include the mainstream media) that the left in our country is trying to drum up anger towards the right. They're slowly and methodically pushing the earners in this country to the breaking point. They're slowly and methodically tearing apart the constitution. They're slowly and methodically robbing those that earn so that they can live off the fruit of the earner's labor.

The reaction is that the right is arming up for the seemingly inevitable confrontation.

5 posted on 04/16/2009 5:05:00 AM PDT by meyer (Obama is to the USA as Mugabe is to Zimbabwe.)
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To: reaganaut1

Bump for reference. Have 300 rds. of .380 JHP to move here in TX. Can’t believe how hard it is to find .380 anywhere.


6 posted on 04/16/2009 5:05:41 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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To: Joe Brower

Amen! I would only sell them to put food on the table.


7 posted on 04/16/2009 5:05:46 AM PDT by Travis McGee ("Foreign Enemies And Traitors" is at the printer)
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To: reaganaut1

Like many gun enthusiasts, Mr. Chambers, a manager for a door wholesaler here, believes President Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress soon will reimpose a version of an expired federal ban on the sale of so-called assault weapons. If such a law passes, he figures his collection — enough guns, ammo magazines and weapon parts to assemble about 30 AK-47s, AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles — could triple in value.

I hope he gave a fake name and city cause he is surely in the crosshairs, now labeled as a “right wing terrorist!”


8 posted on 04/16/2009 5:11:16 AM PDT by a real Sheila (God bless us everyone.)
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To: Travis McGee

Thanks for the tip.


9 posted on 04/16/2009 5:16:04 AM PDT by Nervous Tick (Party? I don't have one anymore.)
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To: Travis McGee
Good morning, Trav.

I view them as life preservers and fire extinguishers -- you need to have certain tools on hand and maintain them occasionally, just in case "life happens", as a friend of mine likes to say.

10 posted on 04/16/2009 5:18:30 AM PDT by Joe Brower (Sheep have three speeds: "graze", "stampede" and "cower".)
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To: reaganaut1

“Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up”

So the WSJ now thinks profit = greed? Some people in the article are buying guns because they expect to sell them when the price goes up. Thats called profit, like when you invest in stocks or bonds, or when you sell newspapers to make money. I would expect such a characterization from the NYT, not the WSJ.


11 posted on 04/16/2009 5:19:49 AM PDT by Conan the Conservative (Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of the hippies.)
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To: reaganaut1

Why are citizens “arming up”? Simple....”Support and defend the Constitution against all enemies,foreign and DOMESTIC.”


12 posted on 04/16/2009 5:28:36 AM PDT by mosaicwolf (Strength and Honor)
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To: reaganaut1

I’m through spending my money on guns. Now I’m buying ammo.


13 posted on 04/16/2009 5:33:34 AM PDT by mbynack (Retired USAF SMSgt)
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To: reaganaut1

“No one knows exactly what is behind the gun-buying craze.”

C’mon, Alex/Betsy — you know damn well what’s behind it. It’s called “preparedness.”


14 posted on 04/16/2009 5:33:58 AM PDT by ScottinVA (Meanwhile, the sheeple graze mindlessly while awaiting slaughter at Hope and Change Ranch)
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To: Travis McGee
The milsurp ammo is full metal jacket, firing an 85gr bullet at 1,600fps. These will go through car doors, kevlar helmets, kevlar vests etc like an icepick through butter.

Those blue UN helmets will make great targets! < /sarc >

15 posted on 04/16/2009 5:36:16 AM PDT by JimRed ("Hey, hey, Teddy K., how many girls did you drown today?" TERM LIMITS, NOW AND FOREVER!)
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To: reaganaut1
When the government is on a clear path to exert unwarranted control over the population, arming yourself is protection against such action and has nothing to do with “fear” or “greed”!
16 posted on 04/16/2009 5:44:40 AM PDT by G Larry (Obama's plan = "STEALING FROM THOSE WHO CREATE THE JOBS!")
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To: mbynack; All
I’m through spending my money on guns. Now I’m buying ammo.

AOV gives you a thumbs up from behind his pallets of ammo stored in an "undisclosed" location... ;-)

While everyone is spending, remember that for the price of a couple boxes of ammo you can have a direct impact on the 2A war going on now...

Gun Owners of America (GOA)

National Rifle Association (NRA)

Second Amendment Foundation(SAF)

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO

17 posted on 04/16/2009 6:22:05 AM PDT by AvOrdVet ("Put the wagons in a circle for all the good it'll do")
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To: Joe Brower
sadly the fact is that guns & ammo are a much better bet than stocks & bonds as investment instruments today...

its a double edged sword for a guy like me, who presently cant afford to buy up a bunch, just to hold for future 'profit' or even as insurance that I have lots of someones watchin my back in the event that they become more valuable than the paper they were bought with...

unbridled capitalism works, but alas when the gov screws with the market, purposely or not, we will always get a measure of 'greed' from those who seek solid portfolios and have the means to invest...

If I could I would, but then the flip side today is that many who are buyin em up wont have the balls to hold em when theyre outlawed which will result in a market flood that destroys the price...unintended consequences X2...

18 posted on 04/16/2009 6:25:57 AM PDT by Gilbo_3 ("JesusChrist 08"...Trust in the Lord......=...LiveFReeOr Die...)
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To: Joe Brower
I view them as life preservers and fire extinguishers -- you need to have certain tools on hand and maintain them occasionally, just in case "life happens", as a friend of mine likes to say.

Excellent Point!!!

19 posted on 04/16/2009 6:37:25 AM PDT by Voice of Reason1 ("Absolute power corrupts absolutely” Lord Acton 1887)
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To: reaganaut1
...enough guns, ammo magazines and weapon parts to assemble about 30 AK-47s, AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles -- could triple in value.

I believe that, unless this guy is a licensed manufacturer of firearms, he is debarred from assembling these guns for sale, therefore....HE AIN'T DOIN' IT FOR THE MONEY!!!!

20 posted on 04/16/2009 7:28:36 AM PDT by gundog
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