Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Running Out of Guns and Ammunition
Gun sales are through the roof. And so is the sale of ammunition. With the violence that has broken out across the country, Americans are making use of their Second Amendment rights. Many of us feel that we can no longer trust our legislators to protect 
us, as they tie the hands of law enforcement and regularly denigrate police departments.
The immediate problem is that the gun retailers are running out of products. Gun sales have been on the rise since 2,000, but they have increased significantly in the past year:
Americans sure are buying guns right now. June 2020 just recorded the highest number of background checks called into the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) of any June in the history of the database.
This is a 135% increase from June 2019, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) adjusted NICS figures (basically, the NSSF takes the FBI’s figures and subtracts some checks that are likely unrelated to gun sales). For comparison, the unadjusted June 2020 FBI NICS figure of 3,909,502 background checks shows a 70.6% increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,291,066 in June 2019.
Brandon Wexler, a gun shop owner in Delray Beach, FL made this observation :
‘Pretty much everything is out of stock,’ he said. ‘We have been doing it since the late 70’s and have never seen literally no supply available. As of last week, at all major distributors you could not get any guns. Everything was literally sold out. Can’t even get hearing protection.’
Ammunition is also in short supply. Manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand, especially for the most popular ammunition such as 9mm. We are considering taking a concealed carry self-defense class. My husband, who orders our ammunition online, says that everyone is reporting shortages. Our local gun store is also having difficulty keeping weapons and ammunition in stock.
So, what does all this mean? The chances are good that eventually, the manufacturers will catch up in production. But how long will that take, since gun and ammunition sales continue to rise? I’m also wondering about all the people who are buying guns and are also applying for their concealed carry permits. Will they make sure that they get the proper training? Will they practice regularly so that they can properly handle their guns? I understand that the Second Amendment doesn’t have those requirements for gun ownership and it shouldn’t, but as people gradually emerge from their lockdowns, will they realize the huge responsibility they have for carrying their guns safely? Will their anxiety levels be elevated and compromise their appropriate use of their guns?
We may have more to worry about than the bad guys.
Published in Guns
I did. Replying gets tedious unless you delete some earlier stuff, and it doesn’t always happen right.
It would be too easy to be mistaken for a bandit . . .
Sadly, I’m forced to agree. The weapon newbies are most likely to buy is a 9mm pistol.
The biggest danger with a semi-auto is improperly checking to see if the gun is unloaded. You 1) remove the magazine, then 2) rack the slide. The second action will eject any cartridge in the chamber, and will allow you to verify the chamber and the loading ramp are empty. All to often, a person checks the chamber first (“Yep, the cartridge popped out. Empty.”), then releases the slide and removes the magazine. What he’s done is checked the chamber empty, then re-loaded it when he released the slide. Now he thinks he has an unloaded weapon, and the only things that will prevent a tragedy are the three basic safety rules.
This is why I would highly recommend a revolver for a first gun (preferably double-action). When you swing the cylinder out and use the ejector rod, you can easily verify the weapon is empty.
Of course, the most sensible thing to do is ask @kevincreighton . . .
When I was growing up, I knew a lot of shooters. While they could certainly hit what they aimed at, a lot of them had no safety sense at all. Sweeping groups of people with definitely loaded weapons, shooting while people were downrange, et cetera.
One friend of mine blew a hole in the floorboard of another friend’s Gremlin while demonstrating that the bolt-action .270 rifle he was holding in his lap “wasn’t loaded.” Twice in a row. Yes, he fired it once, cycled the bolt to show it was empty, and fired it again. While they were driving down a highway at 60 MPH.
Still waiting for ours. Woulda shoulda done it earlier. It seriously becomes an infringement with waits like this.