Today's Historic Demand For Guns. Who's Buying?

The plural of anecdote is not data, as they say. However, in my recent trips to gun shows and outdoor sporting goods stores, I've noticed a large number of new buyers. I'm beginning to wonder if much of this increased demand is being driven by the non-gun owning 2nd Amendment supporter. I've overheard a lot of "I've never owned a gun before and I don't know which one to get, but I want to buy a gun today" to salesmen at shops and shows in recent months.

Longtime gun owners are getting into the action as well, of course. But this is nothing that many of us have ever seen before. Even the Clinton-era push didn't produce this level of demand.

What we're witnessing isn't just a run on specific models that might catch a ban in proposed legislation. The ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 is getting hard to find. The only way this particular model finds itself on a banned list is if we're approaching an all-out nationwide gun ban. And yet, it's flying off the shelves.

Have you checked ammunition supplies recently? You might expect .223 to be hard to find right now, and it is. But the absolute disappearance of .22lr rounds? Unheard of. Check your local outdoor sporting goods store. The shelves are absolutely picked clean.

This leads me to believe that there is a lot of new demand from people that feel like they need to get their hands on something right now. I suspect that Obama has always wanted to drive the non-gun owning pro-2A segment of the populace to extinction; I just don't think he expected to turn them into gun owners.

What do the morons think?

[Update] For those asking for help shopping for your first gun, I highly recommend Bob Owens' e-book, So You Want To Own A Gun. $0.99 well spent.

posted by JohnE. at 12:05 PM

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