Gun Sales Surge: An Obama Bounce?

Smith & Wesson stock Friday was zooming, thanks to a stellar earnings report. The firearms maker also boosted its outlook for the rest of the year. Because of the strong business, its backlog of orders more than doubled from the same quarter last year, the company is concentrating on boosting production and building inventory.

“We are underserving the market at this moment, we all know that, and that’s a great opportunity going forward for us,” CEO James Debney said in a conference call with analysts.

And another gun maker, Sturm, Ruger & Co., also hit a milestone of sorts in terms of meeting consumer demand. It produced its one-millionth gun of the year…well ahead of last year’s pace.

This happens every election year. It goes in four stages:

• Stage I – Before the election, in the months leading up to it, there’s a surge in purchasing
• Stage II – Immediately before the election and afterwards there’s another surge
• Stage III – As inauguration comes closer, theres another surge
• Stage IV – Right after inauguration there’s another surge

Guys, this is as predictable as a Kennedy wife being cheated on. It happens every election, no matter who wins. Heck, if you’re the type who likes to speculate on markets, load up on guns, ammo and magazines and unload them right before the next presidential election…gold mine.

You and me, though….we’re all squared away so panic-buying urges don’t affect us, right? Right?

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Speaking of guns, I saw this monster on the way to the shop this morning:

Me and Nuke were taking our usual route down the alleys and this deer just made me stop in my tracks. They were a bit concerned about Nuke but he was pretty okay with them. Of course, I didnt get too close with the dog …that would be asking for trouble. Notice that he broke off one tine on his left side….that would have been 7 points on that side. Big rack on that sucker.

How come I never see these guys during hunting season when I’m prowling the woods with my PTR-91????