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The day after Motor City Madman Ted Nugent endorsed presidential candidate Mitt “Two Shotguns” Romney comes news that the firearms industry is bracing for another sales surge. American gun owners are worried that The One will use his executive powers to grab guns once he’s freed from the need to face another public plebiscite. So they’re buying more guns. Again. Still. “It’s fixing to happen again. I don’t know if it will be to the same extent it was before, but I see it coming,” Cheaper Than Dirt gun store owner DeWayne Irwin told startelegram.com. “We’re at the top of the roller coaster and we’re about to plummet down the side.” I’m not 100% on that analogy but point taken: Obama remains America’s Greatest Gun Salesman™. Or does he . . .

Some say the uptick in sales at gun stores could also be linked to anything from the arrival of tax refunds to a spending spree by fans of the National Geographic Channel’s Doomsday Preppers show, which chronicles people preparing for the end of the world.

How scientific is that? Never mind. Even if we don’t know how many Americans are stockpiling guns and ammo to prepare for economic collapse (or super volcano eruptions or EMP attacks), anecdotal evidence from TTAG’s Armed Intelligentsia indicates that paranoia and pistols go together like ice storms and generator sales.

And if our economy is in deep deep doo-doo, balancing on the edge of the “Looters Will Be Shot” precipice, the President shoulders a lot of the blame for running-up the debt like my second wife’s molybdenum AMEX. Well, at least for gun-clinging conservatives; the kind of buyers who conserve ammunition by the case. Obama’s re-election will do nothing to ease their fevered minds—or cool their red hot gun-buying checkbooks.

Mr. Obama cannot, however, take any credit for the liberalization of concealed carry laws throughout the U.S., a trend spurred by recent Supreme Court rulings. The resulting increase in self-defense-related gun sales has completely reversed the traditional primacy of long gun over handgun sales. Scribe Anna M. Tinsely missed that one, opting instead for the “death merchant” meme.

Some in the industry cite a variety of reasons for the rise in gun and ammo sales, including that manufacturers are better marketing guns — primarily pink ones — to women.

Yeah, that’s it: firearms marketers have been focusing their efforts on creating and selling pink guns to style-obsessed females. [Note to Ms. Tinsley: call the NSSF on 203-610-9909 for gun industry stats.]

Not to go all self-fulfilling prophecy on you, but now might be a good time to stock up on ammo, which was in short supply the last time The Big O’s national tent meeting rolled into town. As for a new Assault Weapons Ban, yup, I’d be worried about that too . . .

Fort Worth’s Mark Greene, a hunter and former member of Gun Owners for Obama, said he’s tired of people using this argument to influence Obama’s re-election bid.

“I still own guns and I still support Obama,” he said. “And I still have very little in common with the fear mongers and bunker-mentality gun nuts who will tell any lie they think they can get away with to try and bring down this president they hate so vehemently and irrationally.”

[Another quick note to Ms. Tinsley: I can’t find a web address or any info “Gun Owners for Obama.” If you could ping [email protected] with contact details for this shadowy group, I’d be most appreciative.]

Of course, Mr. Greene does have something in common with the bunker mentality gun nuts: guns. Even a lapsed Gun Owner for Obama acolyte can’t get away from the law of supply and demand. The only thing Greene could do to help stabilize gun and ammo prices and availability: disarm. Hang on; we wouldn’t want him to do that would we?

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34 COMMENTS

  1. My track record as a predictor of the future is hardly competition to Nostradamus, but it would seem that we are in for another ‘run’ on firearm related products this election year. Assuming the unlikely event that Obama’s campaign runs out of gas Romney’s political history is enough reason for thinking people to begin stockpiling ammo and guns nonetheless.

    As to another Assault Weapons Ban, do not count on a grandfather clause this time around. Pure speculation, but I would imagine this time around the leftist bloc will insist on voluntary scrapping or buying back the banned weapons versus permitting their continued trade and use.

    • The “leftist bloc”can come “buy back”my weapons any time they want-the price might be a tad high for them.
      I was at a range the other day which I hadn’t been tio in about 4 months and you’d have thought they were giving away steak dinners or something-the place was jammed-waiting lists to shoot and everything.
      Guess what?90% of the people i saw were younger,non-“survivalist”types if you eegt my drift-not the skinheads of “Justice”Kagan’s bad dreams.No gangbangers either-just people waiting to shoot paper targets.
      If this f**k Obama wins again,the country will be done for anyway,so gun control is only a part of what will happen.This guy is in the Putin/Chavez mold.Evil and a megalomaniac.

  2. I wonder how much those NRA execs make from this psychodrama. Look at old versions of their magazine, it’s the same silliness every four years.

    • While you’re wondering about the NRA executive’s pay, please examine the executive pay at tax-payer funded organizations like Planned Parenthood, Solendra, etc. Obama has funneled millions of our hard-earned dollars to his political cronies as a pay back for their support.

  3. I bought lots of ammo and mags the last time around–fortunately at reasonable prices. I have kept up on stock since. This time I will be stocking up on reloading supplies as I do expect shortages as the election approaches and a supply disaster if the obamination wins again.

  4. I kinda doubt he’s going to do anything. He does stuff when the wind blows in that direction. And I don’t think it’s blowing, so, not much is likely to happen.

    I do plan on stocking up on 22’s though. I noticed the prices seem to have dropped a buck or two. Nothing wrong with buying a brick or so a week (even though it takes me like 6 months to shoot it). What I oughta do is buy components. If there is a spree it’ll be a lousy time to buy.

    What I’d like to do is go shopping about 3-4 years from now. If nothing occurs, the used market oughta be good…

    • They have just put in place a program (only in Mass for right now), basically it is a payoff program to see how much fishermen value their right to fish. The program offers from $15 to $500 to turn in your saltwater fishing license. Those fish belong to the king after all.

      Do not think for a single second if Obama sees an opening to grab guns in any way that he will not take it.

    • The wind wasn’t blowing for a Federal government controlled health care system, yet he spent a year cramming that down our throats because he believes he knows better than us peasants.

      The problem is that both Romney and Obama will probably go after guns – and I’d say Romney is more likely to be successful at it because moron Republicans will rubber stamp it since it’s part of a Republican president’s agenda.

      • The problem is that both Romney and Obama will probably go after guns …….
        and I’d say Romney is more likely to be successful at it because moron Republicans will rubber stamp it since it’s part of a Republican president’s agenda.

        Not beyond the realm of possibility.

  6. Yeah, my crystal ball says either Obama or Romney is bad news for gun ownership and gives even odds on which is worse. Makes me mad that I have to contemplate throwing my vote away again. If you vote Republican or Democrat…you lose…if you vote Independent…you lose…it’s de facto disenfranchisement.

    Got to go order some ammo online now…think I’ll stock up on arrows, swords and spears, too. The idea of a DSU (Defensive Spear Use) will take some getting used to….

    • I think you get to the heart of the matter. Economic elites rule, and they control the government. They don’t want you to be armed. They don’t want you to vote. They want you to work for low wages. Step in line.

      • What’s an economic elite? Are you referring to the Political Class? What’s happened to our nation is exactly why the framers of the Constitution constructed the document to specifically limit government powers. We have foresaken our forefathers, and now we have an institutionally corrupt and out of control federal government. It’s really that simple.

  7. The Obama Effect. Again. Still.

    Maybe, or maybe it’s the increasing realization on the part of former sheeple that they’re responsible for their own safety. Maybe it’s lessons learned from Katrina. Or maybe it’s popular culture promoting gun ownership; witness American Guns, Sons of Guns, Top Shot, Top Guns, Triggers and the beat goes on. Maybe it’s changes in state gun laws making gun acquisition easier. Maybe it’s two Supreme Court decisions making gun ownership possible. Maybe it’s all of the above.

    If Americans are buying more guns and ammo because they are afraid of Obama, then for perhaps the first time in my life I’m actually impressed with the intelligence of the average American.

  9. I’ve said this before, but at my last gun show it seemed like most everyone was using the “if Obama gets reelected” line to help push sales. My next show is the end of this month; I’ll try to keep track of how many use that line on me this time.

  10. I remember on Sept. 11, 2001, on my way home from work stopping at Walmart and standing in line to buy ammo. It was early afternoon and there were a dozen guys ahead of me in line. I already had a nice inventory and was just there to “top off the tank”. Some were buying ammo for the first time in years. I can see the spectre of an Obama reelection causing preventative/panic buying. If you feel your inventory can use a boost, I would not recommend waiting too long to stock up and ammo, reloading components, firearms, and more ammo. The time to buy will not be the second week of November, the shelves just might be empty by then.

  11. Contaminator “I don’t know what lie he is talking about.” That because there has been so many it’s hard to choose. Wane “On the day he was elected he sat down and hatched a conspiracy on how he was going to get elected on 2012” Well no kidding. Every first term president sits down at some point to figure out how they will get a second term.

    • I believe, historically, the planning for the run at term two falls somewhere between “changing the drapes in the Oval” and “picking the menu for the first State Dinner.”

    • I don’t think we have much to worry about on that score. Mitt is so wishy-washy he makes Bob Dole look like a paragon of stalwart conservatism. Uncommitteds will break for Obama because Romney is just another boring rich white guy, and hardcore conservatives will stay home. Libertarians will vote for Ron Paul, who may launch a 3rd party bid, which will be the last nail in Romney’s political coffin.

  13. I kinda get why you’d stock up on ammo, replacement parts and the like, but assuming everyone here has at least one of everything (small pistol, medium pistol, large pistol, small rifle, medium rifle, large rifle, long shotgun, short shotgun), why would we need to but more guns? I already have way more guns than trigger fingers, so what good are extra guns going to do me, especially if there winds up being some law outlawing the transfer of these guns, or worse yet a law requiring guns to be surrendered? Are people planning on extended gun battles that involve switching guns as they run out of ammo rather than reloading them? Also, what good is a bunch of ammo going to do you? I’m not trolling and I’m not baiting here either, I’m really curious what people are thinking they’re going to do with this stuff.

    • The surge in gun sales usually comes from people who have been on the fence about buying a gun (or buying a certain type of gun) and then when the prospect of said gun being made illegal looms, they get off the fence and decide to buy.

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