Buying frenzy has already started...

[OldCannon]

This is probably obvious to most folks, but I thought I'd lay this out for everybody: The gun buying frenzy is in full swing already, and will continue through the rest of the (election) year.

As an FFL, I can see wholesaler reports and notices, and there are MANY manufacturers that are running a severe backlog. This includes things as minor as AR-15 springs and small parts. In many cases, be prepared for a 3-5 month wait for many items. This is particularly true of metal items, which are suffering not only from high demand, but supply shortages as well. AR-15 uppers, for instance, are becoming increasingly harder to find.

I should add, however, that there is really no cause for panic buying. Even if the current administration wins another election, we have an extremely large number of congressmen and women, including a huge number of Democrats, that support our second amendment rights. They're not going away. What I _am_ saying is "be prepared to be patient."

[The Annoyed Man]

What about DPMS lower receiver parts kits? Are they still in decent supply?

[OldCannon]

What about DPMS lower receiver parts kits? Are they still in decent supply?

The secret to success these days is going off the beaten trail a bit. Midway, Brownells, and CheaperThanDirt, for example, are out of stock and don't accept backorders. BravoCo seems to have some, but I can't get DPMS LPKs from my wholesalers at the moment. I do have a line on some Spikes Tactical LPKs that I will likely be ordering soon, but I won't be able to see if it can be filled until next week.

As a small dealer, I sit pretty far down the totem pole though. I might order 10 LPKs, but the retail stores order thousands at a time, so I'm just fighting for scraps.

[USA1]

I'm seeing it. Each week we order guns to replenish our inventory. Lately it has become increasingly more difficult to get what we need. The wholesalers either have 0 on hand or the item is "allocated".

AR's, AK's, and Glocks seem to be impossible to get right now. Other guns are hit or miss.

I have personally been waiting for a Glock19 gen4, but the only ones available are the "California approved" models.
I'm just glad I got my AK when I did.

[TheMilkMan]

I'm trying to build a SR 25 platform rifle and have been using the best of my internet scrounging abilities to find parts. Ive been watching certain parts start to sell out across the internet and, am pouncing on them before they can disappear. So far so good, but it is making me buy parts out of order from what I would normally get. I'm glad I started now instead of in a month or two....

I do agree that it will prove to be all for nothing after the election.

[Crossfire]

Same trend, obviously, is happening in ammo and reloading supplies. You might want to think about this.

The election is in November. Hunting season for dove starts in September, followed by pheasant, deer, etc. How much ammo do you think is going to be left on the shelves by then?

Don't hoard. Just stock up.

[74novaman]

Yep.

I may wind up delaying my AR build until prices go back down.

Told the wife I'd fix the A/C in her car and find a 2nd job, and building the AR would be my little reward to myself for getting those 2 things done.

I fixed the A/C, but I'm still looking for that second job.

Oh well, I have some other interesting purchases in mind that probably won't succumb to the AR/AK/Black rifle panic buying I can always pick up instead.

[MadMonkey]

I was paying $5.49 a box for XM193 at Palmetto State Armory a few months ago... now they're up to $6.99 Glad I stocked up.

I just spent way more money than I wanted to on parts to get a couple of projects finished as well, since everyone seems to be selling out quickly.

[v-rog]

I was recently at my FFL's house and he said that weapon sales are dramatically up. His room was littered with weapons to be picked-up.

[VMI77]

This is probably obvious to most folks, but I thought I'd lay this out for everybody: The gun buying frenzy is in full swing already, and will continue through the rest of the (election) year.

As an FFL, I can see wholesaler reports and notices, and there are MANY manufacturers that are running a severe backlog. This includes things as minor as AR-15 springs and small parts. In many cases, be prepared for a 3-5 month wait for many items. This is particularly true of metal items, which are suffering not only from high demand, but supply shortages as well. AR-15 uppers, for instance, are becoming increasingly harder to find.

I should add, however, that there is really no cause for panic buying. Even if the current administration wins another election, we have an extremely large number of congressmen and women, including a huge number of Democrats, that support our second amendment rights. They're not going away. What I _am_ saying is "be prepared to be patient."

Massad Ayoob disagrees: http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/

If President Obama is re-elected, I predict that we will see the strongest attack on gun owners’ rights that has ever come out of the White House. And forget about the strategy of “we’ll just endure four years until the next election.” The constituency of the Supreme Court, in four more years of an Obama administration, will have changed considerably from the one that barely gave us the Second Amendment-affirming decisions in Heller and McDonald. It will set the stage for the man most likely to get the Democratic nomination for President in 2016, Rahm Emanuel. In many ways, Emanuel is Obama’s familiar, and much less inclined than his mentor to keep his anti-gun leanings even temporarily in the closet. As mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel has already proposed a draconian, impossibly expensive gun registration and ownership scheme for the entire state of Illinois. And don’t be surprised if President Obama announces that Rahm Emanuel will be his Vice-Presidential running mate in the 2012 election.

[VMI77]

I stopped by Cabela's in Austin yesterday to look at Glocks. The pickins were slim. They had nothing in 9mm. The guy behind the counter told me Glock wasn't shipping much (of course, he may not be correct).

[OldCannon]

I stopped by Cabela's in Austin yesterday to look at Glocks. The pickins were slim. They had nothing in 9mm. The guy behind the counter told me Glock wasn't shipping much (of course, he may not be correct).

They have a > 150,000 unit backorder. Pickings will be slim for a VERY long time.

[OldCannon]

Massad Ayoob disagrees: http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/

If President Obama is re-elected, I predict that we will see the strongest attack on gun owners’ rights that has ever come out of the White House. And forget about the strategy of “we’ll just endure four years until the next election.” The constituency of the Supreme Court, in four more years of an Obama administration, will have changed considerably from the one that barely gave us the Second Amendment-affirming decisions in Heller and McDonald. It will set the stage for the man most likely to get the Democratic nomination for President in 2016, Rahm Emanuel. In many ways, Emanuel is Obama’s familiar, and much less inclined than his mentor to keep his anti-gun leanings even temporarily in the closet. As mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel has already proposed a draconian, impossibly expensive gun registration and ownership scheme for the entire state of Illinois. And don’t be surprised if President Obama announces that Rahm Emanuel will be his Vice-Presidential running mate in the 2012 election.

I have a colossal amount of respect for Mr Ayoob and what he does for our community. In this situation, I will say he's wrong. Not so much in the evidence he presents (we know Obama is anti-gun, we know Rahm is anti-gun, we know Holder is anti-gun, etc.), but that Obama will have to swing an axe through a VERY thick gauntlet of congressmen that have no love for him. Yes, if he wins, he has a great opportunity to stack the deck of the Supreme Court again, but it would require the court revisit the recent decisions and overturn what is now "established law."

Massad IS right in implying that a Democratic win in 2012 is a bad portent for gun ownership in many ways, but there is sufficient evidence to indicate that many states, including Texas, Montana, Wyoming, etc. will simply thumb their nose at them. We definitely live in interesting times.

[74novaman]

I stopped by Cabela's in Austin yesterday to look at Glocks. The pickins were slim. They had nothing in 9mm. The guy behind the counter told me Glock wasn't shipping much (of course, he may not be correct).

They have a > 150,000 unit backorder. Pickings will be slim for a VERY long time.

Wow. Glad I got my 19 when I did!

[G26ster]

At the last Ft. Worth gun show a few weeks ago, most, if not all, of the major dealers had Glock 19s Gen 3 and Gen 4 available at their usually good prices.