Locus: Bob Wards & Son. Regional outdoors chain.
Me: Can I see that AR in the rack please?
Him: Here you go. [hands me carbine]
Me: [Looking at tag] I don’t see a price on this. How much is it?
Him: Hang on, I have to go back and ask. [Leaves and comes back]
Him: $2600*
Me: You guys don’t put the prices on there?
Him. We’re not putting prices on any of the tags right now.
Me: Because the prices are constantly changing?
Him: Well…Yeah.
I want you to roll that thought over in your mind for a second. Seriously…think about the possible (although possibly unlikely) implications of that sort of pricing. In retail, the price you charge is not always based on some factor of the price you paid…its based on the price to replace what you sell. If I bought an AR for $400 last year, and I normally sell for, say, 25% over, I sell that AR for $500. And when I sell it, I order the replacement for $400. Cut to today: I paid $400 a year ago, but replacing it will cost me $1000. So do I sell it for $500? No, of course not, I have to sell it with a price that reflects the fact the next one will cost me $1000. And if I don’t know, with reasonable certainty, what the next one will cost me…well…then I can’t really be sure what to charge. Saw this at the gold and silver shop earlier this year.
Reminds me of the hyperinflation stories where prices were changed every hour or so to reflect the devaluing currency. In this case, it’s to reflect perceived availability.
So what you’re seeing is a level of uncertainty that is so pronounced that a middlin’-sized retailer is willing to look like a jerk and not put prices on stuff. That should give you pause to think about what you need (or want) and how willing you are to do what it takes to get it (assuming you don’t already have it).
Are ARs and ammo available? Of course they are. Everything is available to you for the right price. If you have enough money you can buy yourself a nuclear artillery shell and go hold a city hostage somewhere…with the proper amount of greenbacks there is nothing you can’t buy. Guns and ammo just aren’t available at prices you want to pay.
Between Covid, ‘race discussions’, and an upcoming election, this is the worst possible time in a long while to try and stock up on guns and ammo. This is why, since the begining of this blog those many years ago, I have always harped on you to buy the things that will be easiest to render scarce.
My point, if there is one, is that even in a relatively bucolic minimally-affected place like Montana, the fallout of ‘the Covid tax’ and it’s attendant effect on the various markets (food, guns, metals, etc) cannot be avoided. Succinctly, unless you are willing to part with a rather larger dose of cash than you normally would, you are not going to be getting your boogaloo guns & ammo anytime soon. So I hope you already had them.
* = Colt-made modern repro of XM177. This is why Colt is not a going concern, folks.
I tend to experience what is almost satisfaction when I hear that someone can’t afford an AR now. Then I realize that the very fact that they are trying to buy one means that they are likely to be the sort of people who are “on our side,” even if they are serious procrastinators.
In January of this year, Palmetto State Armory was selling an entire AR15 blem kit, less stripped lower, for $289.00. Lower receivers were being sold for as little as $29 in one place, and $49.00 in others. All that needed to be added to the AR kit was a rear sight or optics. (I would choose both.)
Yet, many people who were flirting with the idea of buying an AR took their $300.00 and spent it elsewhere. “The chickens have now come home to roost.”
By the way, for all of those who “snoozed” and “lost” out buying an AR at reasonable prices, an alternative may be buying an SKS. Palmetto State Armory has them for $299.00 and $349.00. I believe that the sale ends at midnight today.
One good thing is that 7.62×39 ammo is still relatively cheap, $.25/rd for 1000 rounds the last time I looked.
Better an SKS in the hand if things get spicy than simply using an empty hand to flip the bird to the bad guys.
Anyone buying an SKS now is also missing the boat. They used to be $150..WITH a case of ammo.
The mantra when it comes to buying guns should always be “It’s going to cost more later”.
I rem a day when you could order a crate of 10 delivered, including the fee for my local FFL for <40/. I knew it was a good deal- i just didnt want those things uglying up my gunsafe or even my outbuilding.
Back when I had my FFL, I was buying the SKS for $79 each wholesale and selling them for $130. One guy came in and bought 20 of them, along with 2,000 rounds of ammo.
let me know when i can get 1k for a palmetto and i’ll sell you 20 or so 🙂 looked all day sunday for 380 and 9mm ammo, mostly for other folks. they are out of luck. i did score a 500 pack from palmetto at a reasonable for the times price a few days ago and wonder of wonders its already shipped. must have hit them in that 20 minute slot between in-stock and sold out. makes the most excellent gift about now.
If your around Missoula murdocks had 30 boxes of Winchester white box 380 yesterday and 20 of blazer. They also had a couple boxes of federal 9mm @1250/box. Sportsmans had several hundred boxes on sunday of 9mm.
I did something this weekend I haven’t done in a while, I pulled out my old footlocker which contains my set of battle dress and battle rattle (the real SHTF set). Ostensibly it was to trade out the old digital tigerstripe ABUs for new sets of the multicam OCU fatigues the USAF has gone to complete with all the new nametags, insignia, and patches etc that are regulation for the new (Army) fatigues (patches on the shoulder not on the pocket. I keep several up to date pairs despite being retired, I rarely wear a uniform anymore. The last time was several years ago when my son commissioned into the service.
Beyond that I really shook out the stuff and did a thorough JMPI check on the gear. Some of it I fought with as long ago as Panama but still good stuff and ready to go. I did it, not with a PMI check in mind but with an actual shooting match in mind. My bailout bag is still current, 10 pouches of Magpuls loaded with penetrator and sundry small items. The only thing I switched out were the batteries on schedule and I need to order a multicam cover for my Kevlar – it still even has my LZ/DZ signalling panel folded up and stuffed in the liner.
I guess I experienced was what you would call a paradigm shift from what was the old status quo to whatever is coming up. Things are different now and hopefully everyone who reads this blog is going to recognize this and “be prepared”. If any of you have big bucks to blow on gear and battledress you might check out:
https://www.cryeprecision.com/home
It’s what my active duty comrades are wearing and it’s the best you can get.
Regards
I remember reading Mel Tappan’s Survival Guns back in the early 80’s, so I went to my local FFL holders house and ordered an HK 91.
My friends all thought that I’d lost my mind when I told them that I paid $550 for it.
Care to guess who pesters me about selling it to them?
Well, damn, wasn’t that what the stimulus money was for?
Anyone who didn’t get it together and start buying ammo & guns, or learning to build them, when the stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure presided over these United States, I hope you learned your lesson, and get another chance to apply it.
Got offered an AR in 223 Wild for 500.
Think I’ll take it.
Its wild to see Bob Wards going that route on pricing but that’s where we are at. I may have to drop in Shedhorn in Ennis soon and get a SITREP from them.
Yes, many guns are out of stock or being sold at twice or more their normal asking price however not always if you watch gunbroker.com or even my local large chain guns stores have many good quality options that might not be the ever popular Glock 19 or a Sig 320 but there are plenty of guns at exactly normal prices like the CZ 75 which you could do a lot worse than. There are a ton of FN 509’s for sale which at $100 more than old Glock prices seemed high (if you don’t consider they come with things like good metal sights as opposed to the plastic Glock garbage that fly off if you shoot them enough) but now sit about $200 less than inflated current Glock prices. I’m not saying the 509 is the best striker fired handgun available but it is the most under-rated gun in its class. FN makes some of the best barrels in the world, mine is noticeably more accurate than some of its competitors. Also the 509M grip is halfway between the Glock 19 and 17 making it the perfect carry gun for many.
Next magazines, buy them now. While ammo and guns are scare I am seeing LOTS and LOTS of magazines in every model (including Glock 9mm) at normal prices. I just topped off on a variety of makes I had been meaning to yesterday. I’m not sure why they are still available while gun sales are so high but its possible many new gun owners buying their first gun “just in case” have no training and think the 2 magazines that came with it are more than they will ever need.
Also ammo diversification. I can still get .38 Special for near normal prices and I just ordered another case of 7.62×39 in the exact high quality brand I wanted for $0.31 a round shipped with tax. Yes, it used to be $0.27 shipped but that is still darn good and lets me continue attending training classes with my VZs and AKs while my ARs can’t be resupplied at nearly as reasonable rates at this time.
Nice joke on the “upcoming election” hyperlink.
I wish that I could find your post to accurately quote you CZ, but I can’t so I will have to paraphrase you the best that I can.
At one time you posted something to the tune of, “I don’t (possibly) have a safe full of pistols because there may come a day when I need them, I (possibly) have a safe full of pistols because there may come a day when I can no longer acquire them.”
Close enough.
Time to find another shop.
I’ve never bought a gun at bob ward’s and only 1 or 2 boxes of ammo. There prices are ridiculous all the time.
I went into Murdock’s friday and picked up 3 at lowers @ $50/pcs. Saturday I got an email from palmetto state armory for https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-8-5-pistol-length-5-56-nato-1-7-nitride-7-lightweight-m-lok-upper-with-bcg-ch-516447525.html I ordered 2 to go with the sba3 pistol palmetto state lower kits I got a few months ago for $80. I’ll have $480 into a quality pistol. I see the Springfield saint pistols are selling for around 900. That leaves me allot of room for optics and accessories. I’ll probably just put a magpul sling angled forgrip and sig romeo5 redot. These are extras for when needed.
Ps. Ordered the uppers Saturday morning . Got my tracking number today.