Menu Close

The Gun Glut

The “feast or famine” mode of the firearms business continues to languish in famine mode. Gone are the heady days of 2020 when people would drive four hours each way to get an AR-15 or come up from Indianapolis to purchase a Sig Sauer P365. Now almost everything is in stock and distributors and manufacturers are slashing prices to try to move products.

One of the largest AR manufacturers announced a “MAP” suspension, MAP being minimum advertised price. The MAP pricing is intended to create a level playing field by preventing larger shops from selling at super low prices. Now they are allowing shops to sell their ARs and parts for whatever they want to move some inventory.

My wholesale distributors seem panicky. One is sending our “deal alerts” multiple times a day, another is running daily inventory reduction sales. Mostly what they are pushing are crap guns, Iver Johnson and G-Force and Bersa, SCCY and other very low end firearms. That stuff was selling when cities were burning and you couldn’t find anything else but now you can get decent quality firearms at good prices.

Some items remain hard to find. I have been trying to get my hands on a Beretta 1301 tactical shotgun for some time to no avail. Many of the most popular revolvers, especially in .44 magnum, are tough to get. But 9mm handguns? Those are available in any configuration you want. The same with most ARs.

My advice is to use this information to figure out what you would like to upgrade and do it now. Is your carry gun something you feel very confident in? If not, it is a great time to upgrade. Upgrading your AR is even easier, you can just pop the upper off and put something a little nicer right on the same lower. Keep an eye out for good deals, the other day Palmetto State was selling clearance CZ P-10s for $299, that is a crazy price and they disappeared in a hurry. You might be confident in your primary go-to gun and even your back-up but a tertiary rifle is always a good idea.

Of course having a safe full of cool guns doesn’t mean much if you don’t practice with them, and I am mostly talking to myself here. Ammo is still too expensive, especially 5.56/.223 which is stubbornly holding above $.40/round. It is available though and that is a nice improvement compared to where it was.

As always remember this can change overnight, a few riots and burning cities and gun stores will empty out in short order. Don’t wait until the next civil unrest if you have some needs to fill in your line-up.

17 Comments

  1. Jim Wetzel

    Question for you, speaking of upgrading the EDC. My age is 69, and to say that my grip strength “ain’t what it used to be” is a gross understatement. A year-and-a-half ago, I traded my Springfield XD-M, because to rack the slide was a slow process (and not a very safe one) for me and my geezer grip, and I got –please don’t laugh! — an M&P Shield EZ in 9, on which I can easily operate the action. I should still be able to work the slide on a ladies’ pistol, I suppose. I didn’t really like the XD-M, not only for the stiff action, but also for the lack of a thumb safety. “Trigger safeties” leave me pretty cold. What still troubles me is having gone from 19+1 capacity to 8+1. You handle a lot of pistols. Can you suggest a 9, with thumb safety and, say, 14+1 or more, that isn’t as damn hard to rack as that XD-M?

  2. Jeffrey Zoar

    I recently bought a VNSH holster over the internet. It struck me as overpriced but turned out to be maybe the best $80 I ever spent. Most comfortable concealed holster I’ve ever worn. Pretty much invisible with my .380. Designed to be worn with elastic waistband shorts and t shirt. So it suits my usual slob getup.

    Buying a shotgun has been in the back of my mind for a while. Have AR and two pistols but no shotgun. Seems like an empty spot. But I’ve never been able to decide on one.

  3. Stilicho

    Beretta seems focused on the tactical model of the A 300 ultima right now.

    @Jim– consider a good 2011 (like Staccato) or a Wilson Combat EDC X9 (or others in that line). You will pay big bucks, but they are top quality, smooth as butter to rack and have the safety and capacity you are looking for.

  4. Frens Be Well

    A Pineland bud is in hog heaven with custom build proprietary AR probably worth about $20 grand, .50 Beowulf, Remington 870, Colt Commander, Glock 18, Beretta Storm.
    You can’t carry them all but you never know when a friend might not have any utensils for the spork.
    A true friend will have a weapon for you so that good commies can be made.

  5. Filthie

    Y’know… I did a concentrated ammo stock-up program 15 years ago. I ordered in powder by the 8 pound kegs. Primers by the 1000 round box. I’m boolit casting now and can feed my pistols with cheap hardcast. I’ve got a few cases of factory green tip 223. I spent north of $2k on components and reload what I need. I haven’t bought any new ammo or supplies in 10 years. I’ve got ten or 12 thousand 22 rounds.

    When the market corrects…go big. A gun without ammo is a brick.secure your ammo supply first, because if the SHTF you will need it to trade and protect your other preps.

  6. June J

    Beretta tactical shotguns do seem hard to find. Recently purchased a Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical shotgun. Have run six different loads of target and self defense ammo through it with no issues.

  7. Tree Mike

    It ain’t easy being poor. If I could afford $3000 on a pistol or rifle, I’d fix the AC on the families Transportation fleet (a 2003 Hyundai, 2004 Focus, ’93 4×4 Suburban, nothing but the best for us). Hell I’m still running my 1990 G19, is it passed it’s “best by” date?
    Some Old Guy.

  8. Pingback:Deal Alert! – Dissident Thoughts

  9. Pingback:Guns Galore – Dissident Thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *