The Corona Virus Gun Buying Panic Thread

[XDforever]

Even plastic is getting hard to find. A local gun shop I visited sells virtually everything they can get their hands on. I stopped in on Saturday and Taurus was flying off the shelves.... Ruger, Smith, Springfield and Glock weren't moving as fast, but I suspect they too will move just as fast as the lower priced ones. Lots of first time gun buyers are stocking up now.

I noticed that Grab a Gun (where I buy most of my firearms) is sold out of all Mossberg Shockwaves and Remington Tac 14 models. They had just a few of the Sig 365 models left also.

That's too bad because I was going to try to pick up a Shockwave soon.

Joe

 

[Ignition Override]

Pond, James Pond:

When you said "ruffians at your door", at first glance I read "Russians at your door"?

In your area that would be the primary danger.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Onward Allusion View Post
Does anyone know if the gun stores in CA, CT, IL, NJ, NY, OR, & PA are considered "essential" and can stay open? The States have Shelter-at-Home orders so can folks even buy guns?
CA bay area resident here, all of our LGS are closed and not considered "essential." I am well prepared, but I witnessed throngs of folks making their first purchases that they will be unable to have released from the ten day waiting period.

I just learned that gun stores in IL remain open. The governor's order says . . . I'm seriously shocked that the Governor of Illinois kept the guns stores open due to public safety concerns. Maybe there is hope for the State afterall.

Supplies for Essential Businesses and Operations. Businesses that sell, manufacture, or supply other Essential Businesses and Operations with the support or materials necessary to operate, including computers, audio and video electronics, household appliances; IT and telecommunication equipment; hardware, paint, flat glass; electrical, plumbing and heating material; sanitary equipment; personal hygiene products; food, food additives, ingredients and components; medical and orthopedic equipment; optics and photography equipment; diagnostics, food and beverages, chemicals, soaps and detergent; and firearm and ammunition suppliers and retailers for purposes of safety and security;

 

[Kevin Rohrer]

I was at my LGS/shooting range last Thursday. The line waiting to get in and buy a gun was out the door. Everyone was buying something, but it appeared a bit random. Each buyer was allowed to buy one box of ammo for it.

Thank God I reload and stocked-up on components a couple months ago.

 

[Pond James Pond]

When you said "ruffians at your door", at first glance I read "Russians at your door"?

Probably one and the same if that ever happens.

I'll just cough loudly before opening the door.....

 

[Hal]

Well the good news is once they buy a gun they will generally fight to keep them. Weather they shoot or not no one wants something they have invested in taken from them.

Will they? Or will that unneeded gun become an object of shame - over how they reacted....and sserve to do nothing but breed a (anti gun) zealot?

 

[Onward Allusion]

Heh, not only ammo & guns, but 80% pistol lowers are no where to be found.

 

[Ignition Override]

"Good guns are getting hard to find".
Wasn't this the original title for this topic?

1) What evidence is there that 'good' guns are getting hard to find? The title didn't state "where" this is the case. Be specific.

*2) Are both Gunbroker and Armslist unknown sources?

 

[Pathfinder45]

I think that most members here have more than they would actually need....
Suppose you found yourself in an unforeseen circumstances where you felt your best option was to flee with only what you could cram into a pickup truck or SUV? I'm thinking most here would be leaving more guns behind than they would be bringing.... " The guy brought forty guns with him and six cases of beer, but no sleeping bag; what a fool!".
"Yeah, but he's got plenty of toilet paper..."

Loved the dinosaur post!

 

[bill460]

People in general act like idiots when something like this happens. They acted like idiots when Obama beat McCain in 2008. Stripping the gun racks of anything that went bang. They acted like idiots again after the Sandy Hook Shooting... Standing in line to buy overpriced rimfire ammo, then hoarding it, which brought on an almost 5 year "shortage". All of it based on stupidity.

And now they're doing it with Coronavirus. Stripping the shelves of toilet paper, paper towels, guns, ammo, chicken and beef... Name it. The stock market is in free fall, losing roughly 1/3rd of it's value in just one month. The first death in this country from this happened at the end of February. Roughly a month ago. Thus far there have been just over 1,000 deaths total in the U.S. from this.

In 2019 alone, an estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes. That amounts to roughly 3,233 a month. Or over 3 times more in a single month, than all the U.S. deaths from Corona since this whole thing started.

Yet look how everyone is acting. That should be scaring people far more than the virus. The government is running around like a chicken with their head cut off, about to pi$$ away another $2 TRILLION dollars because of this. Another 10%+ added to the National Debt, that will never be paid off.

In another year they'll have a vaccine for this. In another year another 38,000+ will still be dying in car wrecks. Perhaps even more. No one will say anything. They're more worried about the fossil fuel they all burn.

I'm not saying this virus should be ignored, or taken lightly. But this is nothing but disorganized insanity, being driven by adults acting like fools, and a 24/7 news cycle that has nothing else to talk about, 23 hours a day. And the people all buy into it like Lemmings running to the ocean for a swim.

 

[HighDesert]

Bill Mahar said it himself. Trump’s economy needs to fail, so he can be removed from office. After the results of Event 201 were published, the press found its angle and ran with it. Health and welfare be damned, the thousands who will lose their livelihood as a result be damned. The next generation be damned. At least they got their chance to get even with the people they hate. Now that’s something they can write about.

Now that this strategy has succeeded, you better believe it’ll be applied to everything they deem an emergency. While they are busy planning the next attack on stupidity, we’ll run out and stock up on a year’s worth of butt wipe. I guess that makes sense, since we’re all getting the shaft!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

After seeing similar threads on multiple forums, my take is that many current gun owners are upset that new people are panic buying guns and ammo, thereby cutting into the abilities of current gun owners to panic buy. They have come up with all sorts of reasons or justifications for why it is buy that those people are buying 'our' guns, and it is sort of hilarious. From here, I am going to use rc's #4 post as an example...

The problem with new gun buyers under stress like this is they are not enthusiasts and will not learn to use their weapon.

The fact of the matter is that most people who buy guns are not gun enthusiasts. Most gun owner don't take any gun classes. A huge amount of them buy a gun for home protection, a box of ammo, maybe go to the range and shoot a few rounds and load up the gun and put it in a bedside table drawer, on a closet shelf, etc. where it sits for just about forever. These people usually don't participate in gun forums. They don't go to the range. They have no idea what velocity their bullets are leaving the barrels of their guns. They don't notice gun mistakes in movies.

When I used to RSO CHL classes for a buddy of mine, more than once we had people come in to renew their licenses that unloaded the carry ammo they loaded in their gun when they finished their last class, loaded up the ammo to qualify, shot the course, then loaded up the original carry ammo they put in their gun several years prior. They had not shot their gun since the last time they qualified.

It is sort of like me with my fire extinguishers. I am not a fire extinguisher or fire fighting enthusiast. I have never had a firefighting class. I have never had a fire extinguisher class. I have used my fire extinguishers a couple of times, but otherwise they sit in their corners and gather dust. I check the little gauge every year or so when I think about it to make sure they are charged, but otherwise don't give them a thought.

 

[TomNJVA]

In 2019 alone, an estimated 38,800 people lost their lives to car crashes.

Not to mention (as no one on TV does) that the flu this season has infected between 38 and 54 MILLION people in the USA alone, resulting in between 23,000 and 59,000 deaths, according to the CDC.

Again, not to diminish the importance of controlling another dangerous virus from getting a foothold, but perspective is important.

 

[osbornk]

The fact of the matter is that most people who buy guns are not gun enthusiasts. Most gun owner don't take any gun classes. A huge amount of them buy a gun for home protection, a box of ammo, maybe go to the range and shoot a few rounds and load up the gun and put it in a bedside table drawer, on a closet shelf, etc. where it sits for just about forever.

You are correct. I recently talked about guns with three friends who are in their 70s and one was in their 80s. They all three have had handguns for the last 40+ years. None of them knew what brand of guns they have but only knew that they were revolvers. The friend in their 80s had not had his out if many years and wasn't sure where it was. Another had 2 handguns he had not shot in 40+ years because he shot the tire of his wife's car with an accidental discharge and she banned him from shooting it more (she has since died but he still hasn't shot it). The 3rd friend has 2 38 Special revolvers that he keeps in his night stands. He is concerned with protection but has never shot them but keeps them loaded.

None of the three knows anything about guns and them shooting them is scary. They are counted as a gun owner but they are really GOINO (Gun owner in name only).

 

[stinkeypete]

Tom, let me tell you about something I remember from when I was a very little boy that made a gigantic impression on me.

When I was a kid, most women had vaccination scars on their upper arm, near their shoulders. It almost looks like a penny was pressed there very firmly for a few minutes then removed. I mean I was little, maybe four years old.

She told me that it was her vaccination mark. She told me that vaccinations were a gift from god and that every parent lives in constant fear that something bad will happen to their children. She started to cry.

She was born in 1899. She was 20 years old during the influenza outbreak of 1919. Everyone knew people that died. In the us, it’s estimated that 500-600,000 people died.

Imagine Raleigh, NC being completely wiped out. Half a million people. All in one year.

That’s more than 12 times your car crash number, and those deaths won’t be quick or easy.

Think about your wife getting it and how you’ll get on without her. Mine is upstairs, hacking like crazy. No test available but doctors say it’s probably not C-19. What they don’t say is that if she picks up C-19 on top of her already inflamed lungs, she’s in deep sxxt.

It’s not “the flu OR C-19” it’s “the flu AND C-19”

On a positive note, automobile accidents are WAY down.

 

[norcalAF]

Anything that keeps the gun grabbers up at night is a good thing. Panics suck, but if you are even a little aware of the world, you have outfitted yourself appropriately to your level of concern.

 

[Pond James Pond]

I think the pro-gun community should keep an eye on the shift in behaviour.

When this storm passes, I think the pro-gun community should quietly, simply and factually point out that many, many people suddenly realised that the self-determination gun ownership brings was very real.

Even if people feel safer, it won’t hurt them to be reminded that there was a time when they didn’t and to note the reaction they had. Thus, perhaps deep down, they can see why others are also disinclined to have their firearms removed.

But this should not be taken as an opportunity to gloat.

 

[norcalAF]

I think the pro-gun community should keep an eye on the shift in behaviour.

When this storm passes, I think the pro-gun community should quietly, simply and factually point out that many, many people suddenly realised that the self-determination gun ownership brings was very real.

Even if people feel safer, it won’t hurt them to be reminded that there was a time when they didn’t and to note the reaction they had. Thus, perhaps deep down, they can see why others are also disinclined to have their firearms removed.

But this should not be taken as an opportunity to gloat.

Agreed, it should be used as an opportunity to show the importance of every person to exhibit some self reliance and responsibility for their own safety and wellness.

 

[2wheelwander]

^^YES! Maybe someone on the national level can pick this up and make a positive impression.

 

[Onward Allusion]

When there are 30,000 people dead (same as avg year for flu) from COVID-19, THEN I will start worrying about Coronavirus. The reason why folks are freaked is not so much due to the virus as it is due to the upcoming depression, hence the massive gun & ammo purchases. Our politicians are morons who are destroying our economy. They will be held accountable but it will be too late.