15 Mar 13

At a large gun retailer in the Midwest yesterday I had a long personal conversation with the general manager, a friend of many years.

As far as guns and ammunition, he has the same problem as everyone else. All military rifles are hard to get, and sell immediately just as soon as they arrive, AR, PTR, XCR, FAL, SCAR, M1A, M1 Carbine, SIG/556, Kalashnikov, even Mini-14s. Twenty and thirty-round rifle magazines are also hard to get, and, like the rifles they go into, sell-out immediately.

He limits ammunition in popular calibers to one box, per customer, per day.

In 9mm pistols, there was one Beretta PX4, two Kahrs, and two M&Ps on display. One of the M&Ps sold while we talked!

He reported that subscriptions to their indoor range were way down, because customers can’t find ammunition to shoot.

So, store income is down, despite high demand! Some smaller competitors in the same metro-area have already gone under, because too much time has now passed with nothing to sell. Accessories contribute only so much. They couldn’t pay their rent!

One happy component is gun safes. He carries Browning, American Security, Liberty, and others. Mark-up is healthy. Demand is high. And, there is currently no shortage. They can get most of what they order reasonably fast. The store offers complete delivery and installation services, which really helps customers say “… Yes!” My friend tells me current safe sales are significantly helping his bottom line!

However, he reports that much joy is now absent from the retail gun business. Before the current crisis, most customers who came through the door were smiling and looking forward to handling many guns on display. A majority already owned guns, were “gun-people,” (if that is the right term), and were upbeat. Fun to work with and sell to!

Now, he reports, many customers walking through the door he has never seen before. Most, in fact, have never set foot in any gunshop, don’t currently own guns, and never have. They have expressions of desperation, fear, exasperation, self-doubt, and are outwardly angry, impatient.

Most are recovering leftists and are thus embarrassed to even be looking at guns. Like leftists everywhere, they are not happy people, as their personal vanity prevents them from admitting to themselves that they’ve been wrong! They know nothing about guns, but nonetheless run their mouths continuously, so it is nearly impossible for salesmen to get a word in edgewise. Sometimes they buy something, but most of the time they just get angry and storm out of the store. He hopes they don’t return!

So, gun retailing is not the happy business it used to be!

If the current feeding-frenzy ended tomorrow morning, it would take at least two years for the pipeline to refill and return to “normal.” It will thus continue to be a bad and frustrating time for fools who didn’t prepare when they had the chance and are now dejectedly discovering that becoming adequately armed is anything but easy, despite continuous lies to the contrary by our corrupt media.

It’s not going to get better any time soon!

From an beat-up, old, fellow warrior, and dear friend:

“We will do that, my friend! We will hunt and skin and prepare our meat and sit at our fireside together and talk of better days, better men, and better deeds, while looking out at clear skies and far horizons.

We are dinosaurs, old comrade. ‘Old’ ideas of personal honor, duty, responsibility, dignity, and humility are dying, and I’m sure we’ll die with them!”

We will indeed!

/John