I have spoken to several of my main suppliers, and they are having MULTIPLE gun stores and shops closing and filing bankruptcy on them. All were dealing in the firearms business. I was talking to them over some of my invoices that had gone just over 30 days, and they were making sure payment was coming!! That's when this topic came up. I find it interesting how cyclical and dramatic the firearms business can be. Feast or famine. But other areas of the business, like ammo, are still hot (and I hope it stays that way!). Have you seen anything on this?

I was talking with Morgan last week and he was telling me how the hearing protection act, even though its dead now, put a lot of new suppressor companies out of business when everyone thought it would pass. No one was buying suppressor everyone was waiting so most of the new companies went under. Now that the HPA is dead I think suppressor business is picking back up. What a difference a few months makes.

My local gun shop was just talking about how slow it had been. There's another close to me that went out of business not long ago. The market is really soft, internet sites are often allot less than the local shops, and it's summer. Casual shooters aren't in gun mode in July. There's also no panic buying going on. It all adds up to lost sales

From what I've read the margin on firearms is pretty thin. Hard for a gun shop to compete with online sales, especially considering you can order any gun online and get it in 2 days versus a local gun store who may or may not have what you want in stock.

It's been a long time since I bought a gun in a store...probably 15 out of the last 17 were bought online or private sale.

Since when is the HPA dead? This is the first I've heard of it.

Yes, Doc, there is almost no mark up on guns. Some Glocks only get about $35-$40 mark up on them. I've seen some rifles get about $50-$60 mark up on them to sell. The only way to make money selling firearms is high volume. I was surprised at how low of profit there are on firearms.

Since the Las Vegas shooting and Hillary had to open her male chicken hole and say that if he had a suppressor it would have been much worse. They tabled it "indefinitely" which pretty much means its dead.

Gun sales won’t keep you in business unless you move a lot of units. It’s accessories and services that is your profit generator. The problem is people are tired of ARs. During the Obama years the threat of ban moved ARs at a premium. Now the market has shifted. There Was a lot of capaicty for guns and accessories added and now demand has dropped which causes prices to drop. There are a lot of high fixed costs stores that are about to have some problems.

Probably unrelated, but maybe not - the BassPro flyer I got today, "2nd amendment sale" or something or other, was mostly guns on sale.

Obviously you would know better than me, but this I haven't seen at all. Now days I go into Walmart, Academy, BPS, Cabelas, etc. and the shelves are stocked to the ceiling with ammo and usually some sort of sale or rebates being offered as well. Have also seen everyday prices coming down too. Heck Walmart in the last few weeks knocked 50% off selected ammo and it wouldn't sell so they knocked off another 50% for a grand total of 75% off before it was all gone. Have been seeing both brass and steel FMJ 9mm for under $10 per 50 rounds for the first time in years as well and those are every day prices not sale prices.

No doubt gun sales have bottomed out though. I see things pop up in the classifieds here on THF at reasonable prices and wonder why they take so long to sell when just a couple of years ago they would fetch 20%-30% more.

Too many good deals online and its easier and quicker.

I think the dealers are gonna have to change their way of thinking. I have had to when it comes to swapping and selling on here. Especially ar’s. It’s kinda sad when you see these small businesses trying to sell regular ar’s for 900 and up. Them days are gone for now.

But try to find Speer 325 grain AE bullets for desert eagle and you can’t. Lol

They have been selling the same guns for decades. AR-15s are so 1970, the first people who bought 1911s were riding horses.

They need to start selling something new, like guns that shoot caseless cartridges.

My dad and I have a gun shop he runs it when I'm working, the majority of profit comes from repairing guns, cleaning, or someone brings parts in a bag and can't reassemble what they disassembled. We don't sale many guns unless we have a democrat president. AR's are the most common still today being sold in our shop. 10% of customers want custom handloads which can be uneconomical if they have a odd cartridge I don't have dies for plus not having the right powder. I've took the liberty almost 2 years ago to attend a gunsmith lathe course since then I've trued a few actions and chambered/threaded barrels for close friends I shoot with but with my normal job and the time it takes me to complete a rifle is at least 3 months so I'm out of pocket $$$$'s for a minimum of 3 months. Its tedious work for not a lot of money.

Next the gun lobby is going to be working to get democrats back in office so they can sell guns.

I've been watching too much House of Cards lately.

I know your joking, but just in case someone ever let that idea into their head even for a minute, don't go there.

There are NO gun stores left in San Francisco, not one, not even for law enforcement officers to buy guns.

That is the future if Democrats take control.

Obama was the best gun salesman, ever.

That P.O.S. is out of office.

Citizens do not feel near as threatened toward their second amendment rights.

Supply is still up, as leftovers from Obama years. Demand is lower, under Trump. Prices fall, gun stores' overhead costs have not fallen.

Economics 101, I learned in 1997.

There are so many gun shops in Austin I don't see how they can stay in business.
I know how much retail space rents for and how slim the margins are on guns, the math doesn't add up in my head.
They have to either sell a LOT or make it in services or highly marked up accessories, and given that people can order damned near anything they want online for parts it makes it hard for local guys. No one wants to hear "we can order that for you". Hard to afford and sit on that much inventory.

There's no way I would invest in starting one up unless I had something truly unique to offer up.

Yes, joking but not much surprises me these days.

We only have one gun store in this town and they charge $100 to take shipment of a gun you bought from Gunbroker.

Isn’t that an inline muzzleloader?

Not quiet. It uses a solid propellant plug that contains the bullet so it can be loaded into a magazine like a brass case. The difference between that and a muzzle loader is that this isn't a single shot, it can even work in a machine gun. It saves weight, speeds up lock time and cycling. Once the technology is perfected, ammo cost savings will be the biggest advantage. The problem so far has been that the chambers get hot.

You ever notice there's a big shooting right before the HPA vote? It was coming up for vote twice and both times, big shooting right before.

I think they were taking too big of a step in the Bill. If they would have kept it the same, but made CHL/LTC holders able to do a 4473 and walk out with it that day, and kept the background ATF check for other individuals and trusts/LLC, then I think they could have gotten more support for it. LTC already has an extensive background check. That would reduce ATF wait times for everyone else.

Most "gun" stores carry crap, cheap guns, Ruger, Glock, Taurus , savage, ( I shouldn't say crap, these guns are fine) because the manufacturers will sell in small quantities to smaller stores. You can go to Academy and get what u need. More specialized, higher dollar guns, Bass Pro/Cabelas have taken over.

online and rule the good stuff and reloading except for the hunter

To be honest I haven't walked into a gun store in years, what I don't order on line I'll get from one of 3 friends of mine who have FFL's and operate out of their houses.