why no "ak47s" at big box stores?

C

cajun47

New member
why don't i see versions of ak47s at academy sports, cabelas, walmart, ect? they all have ar15s on display. are the ak47s and sks in short supply now days?
 
Saigas are new civilian "ak" semi autos built at the AK factory. They have hunting stocks and devoid of a pistol grip that makes them evil. I think you have yo modify them to accept a high cap mag.

Available in many popular calibers
 
Probably won't find the at Wally World because of the stigma, we are shown the news over and over of terrorists waving AKs in the air, and our troops with M4s. WalMart is about mass merchandising, not specializing, so they go with generics that will sell that also sell well with upper management.
That's my thought on the matter, and as always, worth less than you paid for it. :)
 
Probably won't find the at Wally World because of the stigma
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:confused:

Maybe teh Walmartz is trying to improve their image? .... to become Target' (Tar-zhay?)

IME, Walmart will stock whatever sells the fastest, at a particular store..... some carry AR's, reloading equipment, some don't stock any gun stuff.
 
Our Walmart has a variant of the AR 15, I dont see any reason why they wouldnt have an AK Variant.
There are some things though that you just have to get at a real gun shop though, the AK being one of them, as well as cartridges like the 8MM Mauser, and 7.62x54R.
 
Surplus AK's are drying up due to import laws the Government has enacted. AR's are easier to build. Doesnt CAI the quality gunmaker make a USA made AK for $700 and up.
 
the wallyworld around my neck of the woods just sells scopes, bb guns, and bows and arrows. i don't even think they sell ammo either...
 
Ive seen SKS's at southern walmarts. Weird as heck frankly. Used or surplus with a handwritten yellow ticket like a LGS. I think they may have gotten a batch to sell or something.

But in general your point stands. I would phrase it as, "how come there are not military style rifles at big box stores, besides the AR. What makes the AR so special?"
 
Duh, because Wal-Mart can't import AKs from China.
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I think this is the correct one.

In the old days I was a Wal-Mart fan. They where very proud of there made in America stuff and where very community friendly. I now only shop at Wal-Mart if I really have to. My local Wal-Mart carries mostly 22s/17HMRs and a few hunting rifles. They do not carry any "scary" black gun or hand guns. They have all ways carried ammo but are sold out about 95% of the time.

Unfortunately now if the item does not say made in China it is probably because the sticker fell off.
 
They can be had easily enough from importers, but keep in mind the volume of sale these stores do; they don't buy things by the truckload, it's by the production run. I highly doubt Century can churn out enough AKs to satisfy Walmart and do it at a price they'd like; there's no reason to sell them if they can't make a good profit. Every single item at a big box store is judged based on profit for the space it takes up; if they think it isn't going to justify itself, it won't get sold. That's why guns went away from Walmart for a time.

It is easier to get the Freedom Group to bust out several thousand ARs at a discounted rate, so that is what is offered for sale.
 
Close. Boxmart - any chain - has a corporate buyer, he deals with distributors or makers that can fill an order for the chain. That means the Corporate Sales Rep has appointments scheduled, has a track record, and can demonstrate the profit potential of turning over a gun on the rack over and over.

Small time gun vendors aren't visiting to do that. They don't even own a $800 suit. They can't get past the answering machine, don't play golf with the buyer, and usually would blow all the profit on the sale just on the airline tickets.

Boxmart only buys from big players - when the Remington Rep comes by, it's all about how they are spending advertising dollars to help Boxmart sell sell sell. He's got inventory in stock and shipping. He's got multiple Brands and can sell ammo, too.

He's one stop shopping, just like who he's selling too, and that's not going to happen with small importers who can't even promise to have the same exact model in six months. Constantly swapping data and printing out a new shelf tag for every non-standard AK that gets imported - dozens and dozens - is just a major headache for merchandising. You've got to come up with another SKU if anything changes on it - it's not the exact same interchangeable product.

Ak's aren't worth the hassle at Corporate, if a store manager wants to tweak his inventory, more power to him. He's happy enough most of the time to just go with the typical Fudd inventory, it sells, and micromanaging one item in a low profit department isn't worth the effort.

He's in electronics milking that Cash Cow for everything it's worth.
 
Because AK47s are a select fire assault rifle, and WalMart is not a class III dealer. But don't worry, there are plenty of AK designs other than the AK47.
 
Duh, because Wal-Mart can't import AKs from China
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I suspect that may be even closer than my idea. If Norinco could suddenly import SKS and AKM semi-auto rifles for American civilian use again, (they still have the tooling somewhere, no doubt about it), you might see brand new AKm semi auto clones at firearm friendly Wally Worlds by the end of June...
But that is not likely to happen with either current Admin or the likely replacement, to revoke that particular Executive Order. Be nice, Norc made some nice rifles and handguns.
 
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