Posted on 06/23/2013 10:18:12 PM PDT by blam
The Military-Style Rifle 'Bubble' May Have Burst
Rob Wile
June 23, 2013, 6:53 PM
Demand for military-style rifles like the AR-15 have peaked, according to one account (as Tweeted by NYCAviation's Phil Derner Jr.).
Nick Leghorn, the testing and reviews editor for TheTruthAboutGuns.com, says he recently attempted to sell another assault rifle, a 16" modified 300 Blackout rifle online.
But he found the market wanting, and ended up settling for an offer $700 below the list price.
He continues:
When I walked into the local Cabela’s and saw racks upon racks of AR-15 rifles (pictured above)(Can't post the Getty image) for sale, I knew why . . .
After the gun control scare earlier this year, demand for AR-15 rifles went through the roof. People were maxing out their credit cards on fears that America’s favorite firearm was about to be banned by the powers that be. This cleared the entire available stock of guns, and made manufacturers ramp up to meet demand.
It was good times for manufacturers, but now the AR-15 bubble has burst and things are looking downright depressing for manufacturers.
By now, everyone who “needed” an AR-15 has found one. Even if they emptied their bank accounts to do it, they have their rifle. But with sales slowing down, the price of an AR-15 is cratering. People are no longer willing to buy at the inflated panic-level prices, and dealers are starting to discount the guns in order to clear their shelves.
This development is a double-edged sword, of course. As Leghorn observes, this now means that anyone in the market for a cheap assault rifle will now likely be able to find one.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
I’m seeing them again at my local Wal-Mart.
That’s good news to me and my bank account.
Ammo is still wanting.
Seeing any ammo to go with them?!
The problem is ammo. People are a little weary of buying a thousand dollar rifle, average, that they cannot get ammo for, or afford to shoot.
I’m as happy as pie to see the racks fill up again. I’ll be happier to see the ammo fill up the shelves and go back down to normal again too.
Saw 1K rounds of 5.56 at the gun store the other day for $699.
Maybe I've got to get a ways outside the Metroplex to find a Walmart that carries real firearms. The ones around the Dallas metro area only carry air rifles and ammo (which is completely out of stock, except for shotgun shells).
The dynamic here in CA is a little different. They will start registration of “long guns” the first of next year, so the supply is still tight here on AR’s. Also, maybe this is happening, but go peruse the on-line sellers, and you still see virtually no AR’s or other rifles of that genre available. I will wait until I see firm evidence that they demand has actually diminished,
Yet another motivating article from BI. /s
BFG ....
They’ll clear the shelves the next time gun control comes up.
This isn’t bad news. It will pressure manufacturers to produce bigger better rifles to provide market appeal in super saturated market and it could drive prices down on the higher end rifles which have been passed on by most folks previously d/t unreasonable prices-rifles like the SCAR and ACR for example.
Ammo’s the problem. My prepper daughter wants to buy a gun, but she figures why bother if she can’t afford to buy enough ammo to even train with it.
The problem is no longer obtaining the firearms, it is the ammo.
There has to be more to the Gov’t purchase of ammo that is drying up the supply. Yes citizens have been purchasing ammo for the past 7 months like crazy, but I have to believe that there is Gov’t pressure on ammo companys to prevent selling new ammo to the civilian market.
Wal-Mart, Meijer, Dick’s, Gander Mountain, MC Sports, and the little locals are still having ammo troubles, but Cabela’s has been eating their lunch. They have been maintaining HUGE (to me) stocks of 5.56, .223, 7.62x39, and .308 (among others), and sell 30.06 in Garand clips by the military-style can.
Still problematic: .22LR, .38SPL FMJ, maybe some others that I don’t look for.
At a gun show within the past month I saw 5.56 in military style cans, supposedly Lake City, and NOT for inflated prices. Tracers by the 20-rd military clip, too.
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