I
have seen the frustration both online on various forums and Facebook pages and
also in person when the firearm that they have been looking for is currently nowhere
to be found. And this is a regular occurrence for one reason or another and I
guess you could say that ammunition falls into the category too. Thankfully,
there have only been a handful of times over the year when I was looking
forward to seeing something in the store only to find it long gone from the
shelves… usually my situation is that I just want to be able to see it in
person not necessarily to buy it.
These
disappointing moments usually come down to two very simple reasons…
legislation/politics/current events and new products. Those are the two basic
categories that cause the shortages on the shelves. While there are other
reasons that we encounter from time to time (i.e. low production numbers,
recalls, poor ordering by the shop, etc.), those moments are few and far
between. Especially lately when there have been lines of people either in
person or on wait lists trying to purchase certain products.
Over
the past couple of year, even so recently as a week ago, there have been
constant attacks on our right to own certain firearms, magazines, and even
ammunition. These usually cause what I like to call the camper lines when
people are showing up hours before opening or even the day before and waiting
for the doors to open so they can be one of the few to walk out with what they want.
For everyone else, it is out of stock. We definitely saw this cyclical pattern
when there was talk about banning AR15 rifles. While I was never one of them, I
remember seeing the pictures and Facebook posts of people lining up the night
before the local shop opened its doors on Saturday morning.
The
other times when I have been unable to inspect a firearm was basically because
it was a new release. From the successful Springfield Armory Mod 2, the
single stack Glocks, and striker fire products from Sig Sauer and H&K to
the failed Remington R51, each was hard as heck to find on the shelves as the
wait lists didn’t just consist of a few names, those lists were pages upon
pages of interested buyers. And some are yet to be determined as Remington still
has to do a full rollout after the recall and Ruger just released the American
line of pistols. I am curious to see both in person if I can find them in the
stores and some of the other items that come out of SHOT show this month.
I
guess what this all comes down to is that we have to be patient. Once the
legislation failed, the supply went right back up and AR15 rifles and pistols
are once again readily available. And all the new pistols are no longer new and
I have even seen a number of them in the used cases. Out of stock rarely lasts
and if you can wait there will be plenty of opportunities to buy what you want
in the future (and most likely save you a lot of money).
