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Gun shop owner thanks Obama for increased sales!

Mike

Well-known member
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — In recognition of the unprece­dented demand for firearms by nervous consumers, The Outdoor Wire, the nation’s largest daily electronic news service for the outdoor industry, has named President-elect Barack Obama its “Gun Salesman of the Year”. With the selection, Outdoor Wire publisher Jim Shepherd says it is time the firearms industry recognizes the fact that without President-elect Obama’s frightening consumers into action, the firearms industry might be suffering the same sort of business slumps that have befallen the automotive and housing industries.

“It’s credit where credit is due,” says Shepherd, “Mr. Obama has consistently voted against individual rights to firearms, appointed a re-tread Clinton administration full of gun banners, and made it plain to anti-gun groups that despite what he might say to the contrary, he’s on their side.” That history, along with the unquestioned support of anti-gun organizations, Shepherd says, has spooked consumers into a buying frenzy for firearms that could be outlawed in another Assault Weapons Ban.

“Manufacturers are months behind on orders for semi-automatic pistols, AR-style rifles, and anything with so-called ‘high-capacity magazines’,” Shepherd says, “buyers we’ve surveyed across the country seem to have a single explanation for their rush to purchase firearms – Obama.”

“The buying panic is not limited to people you might be described as aficionados or even ‘gun nuts’. Recently, I was in a gun store when a gentleman came and said he’d never wanted to own a gun before, but wanted to get one while he still could.”

Since the November Presidential election, firearms sales have been at unprecedented levels. For December 2008 the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) recorded a twenty-four percent increase in background checks for 2008 (1,523,426) over December 2007 (1,230,525).

This follows a forty-two percent (42%) increase in November 2008, the highest number of NICS checks in the system’s history. Those FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing firearms from federally licensed firearms retailers. In other words, gun sales have never been better.

Sales are so good that on Tuesday, January 6, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a notice to all federal firearms licensees that “an unprecedented increase in demand for ATF Form 4473” had run supplies low enough that dealers were temporarily given permission to photocopy the form until supplies caught up with demand. Completion of a form 4473 is required whenever a federal firearms licensee sells a fire­arm.­

As a journalist with more than two decades of national newsgathering experience, Shepherd says he’s never seen anything approaching what he calls the “Obama effect”. In fact, Shepherd says, gun and ammunition sales are at such frantic levels that they have surpassed the panic-buying of Y2K or anything during the Clinton years when the first Assault Weapons Ban was passed. This time, he says, concerned consumers are buying guns and ammunition in anticipation of Obama Administration actions to prohibit certain types of firearms.

“In 1999, the fear was that computers would shut down, crippling the world,” Shepherd says, “Those fears were unfounded. I don’t think the fears of an Obama administration banning guns are unfounded. His record speaks for itself. He’s never failed to support an anti-gun measure, despite saying he supports the Second Amendment.”

According to Shepherd, moves to prohibit firearms sales would drastically impact a billion-dollar industry that is not only healthy, but pours more than one hundred fifty million dollars annually into conservation programs through an eleven percent tax collected on guns and ammo.

“The Pittman-Robertson Act provides the vast majority of funding for wildlife agencies at the federal, state and local levels,” says Shepherd, “and that money comes directly from the tax levied against gun owners. Damaging the firearms industry won’t just put workers in the gun business out of work, it will severely impact wildlife and conservation efforts nationally. That damage could take decades to repair – if it can be undone.”
 

Cal

Well-known member
My wife took it upon herself to make sure we're all prepared. She bought 2 assault rifles and about 100 lbs. of ammo. Gotta love a woman like that. :wink:
 

hopalong

Well-known member
the cost of ammo has sky rocketed
Hard to find certian rounds, even reloading supplies are difficult to come by in some calibers
 

Larrry

Well-known member
If obamer would use some of that stimulus money to get the ammo manufacturers production cranked up we just might turn this economy around
 

Ben H

Well-known member
5.56/.223 brass is hard to find. My buddies and I have been reloading .40 s&w quite a bit lately, now we're having trouble finding any primers on the local market.

The best route to get anything right now is
http://www.gunbroker.com
 

Ben H

Well-known member
Thanks for the link, haven't come across that one.

M855/SS109 is crazy expensive. That's the 62gr Green Tip ammo with the steel penetrator. I'm thinking of getting some pulled bullets to reload when my friend gets dies. I have an ok stash for now. I plan to get a .22 bolt conversion and mag to practice with. I did a break even analysis in excel, I think it will pay for itself after about 400 rounds.
 

Larrry

Well-known member
Glad to help , I just hope it helps. I just checked brass world and cheyenne brass and didn't really find any brass for the 223 new or once fired. I stocked up on brass from both of those earlier. I stocked up on bullets from midsouth but they are on back order
http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/varmintnightmare2.asp
I bought most of my powder locally because of the hazardous fees.
Looks like all my sources are out now. Sure glad I stocked up.
 

Ben H

Well-known member
I have a few battle loads* worth, 7 P-Mags loaded and in the vest. I only buy guns in common calibers (NATO), lets say you ever did actually need to use it, you're more likely to be able to "re-supply."

I think one of the most realistic threats any of us may face as the eeconomy declines, especially me with my proximatey to population centers, is the theft of cattle. I think I posted an article a while back form www.survivalblog.com written by a South African rancher who deals with this problem. A team of people will sort and drive a single steer out of the herd, one person goes ahead to cut the fence. Sometimes they just cut some steaks out and leave the rest. Sometimes they actually drive it for auite some distance. He mentioned how they do presence patrols and how at night before turnig in you walk outside and listen quitely. If someone is out there, you can here their movement by the changes in wildlife sounds. If you ever run into someone like this, they will likely be armed and you best be ready to unleash hell if you want to be the one who walks away. God forbid it gets to that point, but unfortunately I don't think it's totally unrealistic with the direction we're going. People will do desperate things when they don't know where their next meal is going to come from.

I really hope in a year or two things will be all daisies and buttercups and somebody can look back at this and say "boy were you wrong you crazy bastard". I recently took that online quiz by the author of "The Survivors Club" and it labled me as a Realist.

*For those non-military background people, a standard battle load for the M-16 is 7 30 round mags or 210 rounds.
 
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