An observation from Bob Owens:
Something funny happened on the way to tyrannyA tip of the hat to Firehand at Irons in the Fire for the link. Noticing the same thing in Bellingham. I went to my local gun dealership yesterday -- only ordered one rifle instead of the planned two. I got an Izhmash AK-47. The Izhmash factory is where Dr. Kalashnikov still works and has the best workmanship of the available manufacturers. I have a Saiga 12-gauge shotgun from the same factory and love it -- my 'lil Zombie Killah. Was also looking for something AR-15-ish but the available ones were too worn out and overpriced. I was also in Wally-World yesterday and for the hell of it, I checked their gun section. About 70% of their gun display was empty, very little ammo on the shelves and their 22WMR (our family has three guns that use this) was selling for almost $18/50 where last summer, I was buying the same brand (CCI) for under $10/50. Online prices are the same. Fun times ahead for sure...
I dropped my car off this morning at my mechanic's, as the clutch appeared to be on its last legs. Being a beautiful morning in the mid-40s, I decided to walk home, and soak in some of the small-town downtown ambiance along the way. The sleepy antique stores were not seeing much business, and I nodded to the painting crew who was outlining the wooden window frames of the bakery in brilliant blue paint as I passed by.
Most of the downtown shops, in fact, weren't doing much business except the two gun stores. I'd been in one several days ago to pick a .22LR for an article I'd be writing for Shooting Illustrated, and decided to stop in at the other to see what the current political environment had left behind.
There were no less than six clerks working feverishly with the dozen or so customers, so I simply stepped to the side and walked the aisles. The cases of ammunition that typically lined the far wall were picked to pieces. There was a 100-round case of .50 BMG, and cases of European shotshells suitable for small game. The .223 Remington, 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39, 7.62 NATO, and 7.62x54R had sold out long ago, along with the bulk 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP.
A few pump shotguns remained along with a smattering of deer rifles, single-shots, and longer double-barreled shotguns suitable only for trap or skeet. Even the semi-automatic .22LR rifles like Ruger 10/22s were gone, along with all but one BX-25 magazine.
The customers in the shop were picking through what remained; lever-action rifles, oddball shotguns, and the smattering of name-brand centerfire pistols. One man was attempting to trade in an antique double-barrel shotgun for something more current.
I did speak to one harried clerk, briefly.
They didn't know when they'd be getting anything back in stock, from magazines to rifles to pistols. Manufacturers were running full-bore, but couldn't come close to keeping up with market demand. It wasn't just the AR-15s, the AK-pattern rifles, the M1As, and the FALs that were sold out. It really hit me when I realized that the World War-era M1 Garands , M1 carbines, and Enfield .303s were gone, along with every last shell. Ubiquitous Mosin-Nagants -- of which every gun store always seems to have 10-20 -- were gone. So was their ammo. Only a dust free space marked their passing. I've never seen anything like it.
Every weapon of military utility designed within the past 100+ years was gone. This isn't a society stocking up on certain guns because they fear they may be banned. This is a society preparing for war.
