Read a couple of the recent threads where some
parts of the country have a limited supply of guns and ammo.
As with most members here, it is nice to be able to open
the safe and pull out a couple of longtime standbys....

Stay safe and healthy...

The LGS hear usually has over 100 handguns and probably the same amount of shotguns and rifles. Was in there yesterday and the shelves were thin, probably on 50 or so of all types of firearms. This is a small independent gun shop. They have been doing a landslide business for the last three month. Ammo is getting a bit thin too.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My friend's shop near Seattle is also pretty thin of inventory and ammo too.

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Keep your powder dry.

I went into a large pawn shop in Ocala Florida "Jerry's" two days ago. I was shocked even though I had read about a run on guns other places I did not expect it to be that way in a town where everyone already has guns or at least I thought they did. The people working there have been there for years and they said most of the buyers were first time gun buyers. They had plenty of higher priced revolvers but most if not all the plastic stuff and regular hunting rifles were gone. They are not one of those that have walls full of Ar's either they have hunting rifles and shot guns. They still had their Randal Knives though if I can ever break down and buy one instead of another gun.

Handguns are around, since they can’t be bought in NY unless you had a permit already.

First time gun buyers are buying up short barreled shotguns and ARs faster than they can get them in.

9mm ball ammo shelves are empty but pretty much everything else is available, though marked up.

The used racks locally have been pretty thin. One or two Moisin-Nagant rifles. I may have to raid the safe an d replenish their supply.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Frantic first time gun buyers bought anything they could get their hands on to protect themselves from the Coronavirus toilet paper zombies from breaking into their homes, then later to fight off the rioters when they hit the suburbs. Hopefully all these empty gun shelves translate into folks finally figuring out what us “gun nuts” have been trying to tell them for decades.

That would be hilarious if'n it wasn't true. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Wait until 2021.

If at no other time in my life, I learned in the Corps to be, and STAY prepared. I always have, and always will. Just the way it is.

When you have been "into guns" for as many years as many of us have been it always seems a little weird to hear about a run on buying guns. One wonders "where have you people been all these years?" - except that's not a question that works in seriously blue states where buying self defense tools is incredibly difficult. Most of us ARE prepared - we're gun people.

Everyone else who sees the light is just becoming a gun person and since there are so many of them a "run on guns" moves a lot of inventory.

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Come and take it!!

Be prepared...sounds familiar! Sounds like good advice to us all. Peace, Brothers & sisters.

On a recent trip for us: semi auto pistols and handgun ammunition almost non existent, shotguns except for high end high dollar ones and all the buckshot and most slugs are gone. Semi auto rifles like AR, AK, SKS and ammo disappeared quickly. When we got stimulus checks one of the things I picked up from one of the bulk ammo sites was a case of 1000 rounds of Federal .38 Special + P 158 LSWCHP, the site had 100 cases or so and no longer does. Sometimes I will check that site and some of the others and it is amazing how little of various calibers they have on stock.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

No disrespect to the OP, (or anyone else here), but we've seen this before. Remember Sandy Hook and the panic that followed? It took years to recover. These days, in the current climate, I'm not sure what getting back to normal might look like.

I probably missed many threads on this here, but on a CA. gun forum there’s endless stories when the virus hit of forum members having gun hating relatives and friends of “a different political persuasion” begging them to sell them a gun. Any gun. Then they get mad And upset when told they have to go to an FFL gun shop to make the transfer, wait ten days, then get the gun. And if a handgun do a safety test. But gun stores aren’t “essential” enough be be open anyway so “sorry. I can’t help ya’”. They all of a sudden hate background checks and waiting periods. Or believed the “loop hole” lies they’ve been told.

Although the crowds have died down around here at several LGS the inventory hasn't caught back up, especially ARs. Old law of supply & demand working it's magic on prices also. We've also got to remember that these first time gun owners will be asking questions and need help, so let's make sure we can educate them about safety, benefits, and need to practice.

...and also the need to be concerned about the attempts of politicians to restrict our gun rights. It is a non-ending struggle.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. BTW, great post firefighterjohn!

If you're able to shop around online (and I mean beyond JUST using gundeals or wikiarms), you can still find stuff at reasonable, if not super deals.

Case in point- I own a gazillion pistols, but most of my rifles are surplus bolt guns, with a Winchester lever and a couple others. Semiauto for defensive purposes, awhile back I had an M&P Sport II, but gave that to my brother (legal here btw) in return for helping me with home and auto repairs. So currently I was sitting with a couple SKS's and a Century C308 (Cetme hybrid). The SKS in 7.62x39 is manageable, but bulky. The Cetme is bulkier, and I haven't shot it enough to confirm reliability.
**Note, I mention this because Century has a bad reputation, and while my gun seems fine, you definitely would want to confirm something coming from them.

So, I had a hole in the arsenal where an AR in 556 would fit. At first, during Covid, I was unconcerned. But now, with the current unrest mounting, I decided that waiting for prices to drop might not be the best idea; things seem to be getting worse.

So I looked around, and eventually I found something. A Radical Firearms AR 15, 16" barrel, ambi safety, for $475 at a shop in another state. $25 to ship, $20 for ffl. Arrived today, I'm delayed but it's mine next week.
Ammo- SGAmmo had IMI for $369, came out to $385 shipped. Ordered it the 14th, day after I ordered the rifle; arrived the 17th. My FFL is also my range, they let me shoot it, 20 rds fine.
Ammo pt 2: A company I never heard of before offered a memorial day sale on Tula 9mm, $155 case, $167 shipped. I prefer brass, but also like having plenty extra, so I added that to my stash. That company sent out a Father's Day sale email today, Tula .223 55 gr, $250 case of 1k. Again, I prefer brass, but I'm also wanting supply, so I ordered. They also had 30 rd steel AR mags marked down to 6.99, so I put a few of them in the cart too.

I know it isn't the best time to be doing this, but I'm legitimately concerned that the best time has already come and gone. It isn't fantastic, but for approx $1100, I will now have an AR with 2k in ammo and 11 mags (came with 1). That's probably not too bad, all things considered.

Went to Academy this afternoon to pick up some shorts and socks. Meandered by the ammo aisle and gun cases just for grins. no ammo except for outlier calibers and the cases were only 20% full compared to normal. They had a couple inventory boxes that had just come in that were not unpacked yet but from the size of the boxes it was maybe 30 handguns or so. If November goes the wrong way I expect to be able to pare back my extras for a substantial profit without disarming myself at all. I have enough ammo to last me for quite a long time. My friends all thought I was over reacting back in my buy it cheap and stack it deep days. They do not think that any more.

Our Sportsman's Warehouse has not one box of 9mm, 38, .357, 45ACP, .223, .308, etc. They have a few boxes of calibers I've never heard of. Their powder selection is down to about ten different brands that I don't use. Same with their brass. Gun racks thin. The guys behind the counter look haggard as heck. One guy told me the wait line for background checks was up over a thousand. Once the paper work is finished they send people home and call in a couple of days when their approval comes back.

This all makes me glad I stock up, and re-load. I also think this is a good thing because all the gun law nut cases out there are waking up to why the second amendment not such a bad idea after all.

I don't reload, although I'm beginning to SERIOUSLY consider it (although as you mention, seems like the components are getting a bit sparse too). I do stock up when I get the chance, and have been lucky enough to continue doing so these past couple months for not too much more than usual.

For calibers I've had awhile, I'm pretty solid, though I still snag something at the right price. For my handguns, that's 9mm, .45 acp, 9x18 Mak, and 32 acp. I've got goodly supplies in all, and have noticed that the Makarov has been somewhat immune to the panic buys (I guess it's not a chambering for new OTC pistols, so that's good for me). I don't look actively for this right now. Maybe I should, before prices jump there too. I did pick up a case of Silver Bear JHP not that long ago, to complement the cases I had. I don't know if it expands, but it feeds and runs well.
32 has been topped off prior to the rush, I found some deals back when the Beretta 81 hit the market. Probably 2 and 1/2 cases, plenty good for me.

9mm (Luger) I'm deep, and have added. I was able to get some sub-$200 brass case FMJ at times, and picked up some Tula at 165 a case. Not the best, but it will run. And thanks to this site, I did pick up a full case of Gold Dot 124 gr LE rds at $400, so I think I'm good for that for awhile.
45, been hit and miss, but thankfully my 1911s don't mind steel or reloads, and I've found both for not too pricey. Got probably close to or over 4k total, all types.

22lr, got some, currently could care less if I find more. I have enough to last awhile and I have an old revolver and bolt gun that will eat anything, so it's fine. Probably 3-4k. I'm sure if I NEED to start eating squirrels etc, I have enough but would want more. We ain't there right now.

Rifles, that gets interesting. Haven't priced 30-30 recently, have a few hundred. 7.65 Argentine ain't flying off the shelves, have a few hundred PPU. Leery of surplus in that. 8mm Mauser, got maybe 300 from a surplus (was on a belt), got another couple hundred from the Romanian? steel cased stuff that is tight, but it does lock up and shoot and eject. Don't think that will come into big demand right now, unless people start to use Hakims for SD. 7.62x39, got a couple thousand, our SKS's eat them, they were cheap. I topped off right before this all started. Glad I did.
7.62/.308; this is interesting. Got an Ishapore, got a few hundred Magtech in 7.62. Also have a Century C308, so I have both 308 and 7.62 NATO. I've heard both ways, including Armscor telling me their 308 is the same as their 7.62 loading. Either way, got a couple hundred brass Armscor 308, a half case of Korean 7.62 surplus, and a half case of Red Army steel 308 (the C308 loves it). I figure I have enough to last awhile.

Just (re) entered the 223/556 game, as mentioned in the above post. Case of IMI M183, case of Tula 223 55gr stuff on the way.

I suppose the one silver lining in this, is that (avoiding political talk), with all these new buyers, I doubt we're heading towards tighter gun control right now. If you're buying a gun today, you probably want to keep it tomorrow, and won't look favorably on someone who wants to take something you just spent a few hundred on.

added: I think the rush IS new buyers. I know we are still buying, but I'm looking at the Makarov as a benchmark. That stuff hasn't shifted much at all, so it's not longtime buyers who own Makarovs buying everything they can. It's the new guys wanting to stock up their purchases. LOTS of 9mm pistols, ARs and AKs.

I agree, whether it is the person who always supported gun control to whatever degree or the fence sitters with those types now coming to the logical conclusion that they can only depend on themselves. Hopefully they are realizing that what is happening now can repeat in the future and possibly be even worse and if they support gun control unless they are rich enough or connected to the right person they will also go down whatever toilet of new laws might be passed. They need to wise up.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

Gun store people universally agree it's first time buyers, plunking down $$ for anything that goes bang. The only thing not flying out are bolt rifles and o/u shotguns.

This post absolutely makes my day. I love it when people are smacked in the face by reality.....and one so many voted for.

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OGCA Member.

I dropped by the closest pawn shop to me after reading this thread. The clerk informed me that they had no firearms of any kind for sale!

He said as soon as he got something in it went right back out the door.

Only two marginally salient points. Worth just about as much as the paper I'm typing this on:

-The panic buyers are who actually have me freaked out. Something about folks who have never held or had an interest in guns before, going in and buying stuff....call me crazy!

-Some of my favorite haunts have been swarmed by clueless first-timers. Not folks actually interested in the shooting sports, collecting, etc, but the same folks hording toilet paper because, "they must".

-I have begged the same haunts to PLEASE create a COVID/CIVIL UNREST buying line and a, "I'm a regular who just wants to buy something you have line"!

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"You're messin' up my Zen"

I was in our local-ish Cabela's this past TUE. I had ordered a Beretta APX Carry (for $329 ) online from them. A couple people were in the pickup line ahead of me - total wait was around 1:15. I looked over the stock when I first got there - no Glocks at all but plenty of revolvers and quite a few S&W plastic autos. I didn't pacifically check for handgun ammo but the shelves appeared full as I passed by. Off-topic - but I am very impressed by the APX Carry. Very well-thought out and built, great finish and solid as a rock. At $329 + tax I think it was a steal.

You do not have to read this forum too long before you make sure that you have enough ammo and "delivery devices" at home to last a while. The handgun shelves here are basically empty. Smith Third gens are almost unavailable in brick and mortar stores where they were common. Pistol ammo is scarce at higher volume stores. I suspect it really does not matter to most here.

I’ve been in several of my local gun shops this week and last week. Sales were robust and inventory was down quite a bit. Today I set out to buy a new toy for myself and visited a fairly good size shop about a half hour from my home. I was in there a couple of weeks ago and ammo and Gun we’re plentiful. Today the store was packed and sales brisk. Ammo and guns were obviously picked over.

I didn’t find what I wanted so I headed to Buds which is about a half hour more drive. Buds was packed and the display cases that had once been full of handguns were either empty, stocked with knives or only a few guns in them. The same was true of rifles. Buds is a huge store and I’d say they typically have a thousand handguns on display. Today I’d estimate they had 400 or so. Rifles except bolt action had been well picked over. They did have centerfiee ammo in ball but no defensive rounds and almost no 22 LR.

At Buds there were people 3-4 deep to get waited on at several counters. Also I’d say there were a dozen at least waiting for their background check to get approved.

Speaking to different sales clerks over the past week, all said they were selling mostly to first time owners that had never owned a firearm or shot one before. He said people are afraid.

Our stores still have plenty of guns and ammo. But the popular firearms (brands/types) are all but gone.

Personally I'm talking to my stepsisters father about acquiring an AK and some ammo. He's had a safe full for 40 plus years. I'm excited.

My local dealers agree it is mostly first time buyers, most don't seem to buy but a box or two of ammo apparently. They said women and "minorities" wanting a way to protect themselves was the biggest notable difference. I think thats great. They said most ammo sales based on conversations are people that had plenty and wanted more, or regular shooters.

I'm all for as many people as we can get into firearms.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I'm gonna buy more primers, just to be on the safe side. I've had two coworkers who have never shot a gun ask me to take them shooting.

Well I'm still stocked up from when Obama was elected and can do some serious reloading I've been putting off to top it off even more. Took this time to widdle down the handgun collection (50+) using a nearby auction house that is extremely fair on commissions (10%). Got rid of some duplications and ones that just weren't pleasant to shoot. Went thru my vintage ammo collection as well and that stuff is going crazy now. Sold 2 half boxes of .410 shells for almost $20 bucks!! Just crazy out there.

Some first time gun buyers because of the virus toilet paper apocalypse and then the riots aren’t necessarily anti gun. But those smug, arrogant gun haters who then crawl, beg, and DEMAND that their “NRA gun nut” relative or co-worker just hand a gun over to them really got hit with the reality stick. They consider gun owners lawbreakers because of the mythical “loopholes”, then are shocked when the gun guy refuses to break the law just for them. Reminds me of that classic Twilight Zone when everyone wanted to get into the one neighbor’s bomb shelter And their true nature showed through..

After firing a match last Sunday, I stopped at the semi-local Cabela's on the way home. To say that I was disappointed is an understatement, but it was a worthwhile reconnaissance run.

I stopped in to possibly pick up some primers, bullets, and powder. The primers they had were $40 a brick, so I thought I'd grab a thousand. None of the bullets I was looking for were on the shelves, and they didn't have any powder that I use. Took a look at the new long-gun racks ... they were empty. There were no used long-gun racks to be seen. The gun library was closed and empty. I didn't get close enough to the handgun counter to see what they had. Went to check out, the line to the cash registers was at least eighty yards long with no social distancing. The registers where gun purchases are completed were closed and blocked off. Needless to say, I put the primers back on the shelves and left.

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Judge control not gun control!

My regular distributors are out of everything my customers are wanting.
I've even been buying from Bud's & PSA to resell at basically cost plus transfer fee. The one that I have found to be totally un-obtainable is the Taurus Public Defender (short barrel Judge) On GB they are selling for over MSRP. When I was ordering them 2 or 3 at a time should have been ordering by the dozen!
Used shotguns on hand are less than 1/2 of what I had 3 months ago.

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Super Snooper

Lets See.......................................

1968...... Gun control act...?????? too young to remember

Been there done that ........ got the T-shirt

1993......1994 Assault weapons ban.

1993-1997 Became a bit of a "Prepper" so I watched the following from the sidelines...................................

1999---- Y2K

2004 ...... 1994 Assault weapons ban expires

2008 ..... Presidential election

2012...... Ditto 2008

2013...... Sandyhook

2016 ...... Another Election scare

2020 Spring....... Corona and riots.

2020 Fall........ only a matter of time.

^^^^what BAM-BAM said. Not a bad timeline here for those younger folks. Perhaps he might allow me to add some of the "small" skirmishes that we fought along the way:

1. the Saturday Night Special. Basically, any snub nose revolver, no matter how high the quality.

2. Dum Dum bullets. Any type of hollow point ammunition, including that used by LE.

3. Cop Killer bullets. Any FMJ ammunition. Period.

It has been a constant struggle. Please support the NRA.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Yeah, I don't doubt they did

They also had GECO 9mm white box 124 gr at 165 a box. I know, because when I put the IMI in my cart and logged in, I had 2 boxes of GECO still there too. I guess I was shopping around at the time, putting stuff in carts, and either found a better deal or decided I had enough overall and didn't want to pay shipping (ah, the good old days). Of course I tried to check out, and that vanished.

Also, when I did some research on the SKU# of my rifle, it was a lot cheaper not too long ago. $398 or so.

I didn't have an AR or the desire to get one, until now. I'm paying the penalty for that; but it's still "cheap for today's market"; and I don't like the way things are going. If I felt we could wait a little while and things would drop, I would have. Instead, I came to the conclusion that an AR 15 for $500 was as good as we'll see for a while, and ammo is necessary to go with it.

I stocked up when the flood gates opened up for cheap military surplus ammo and new imported ammo. Back then it was pennies to load 45acp leadcast. Everytime we burned up ammo I made a point to replace right away. I was shooting a lot of Russian wolf ammo plinking. I either cc’s carry my reloads or the Winchester silver tip. I also have cor bon ammo. I have some of that magnum calibers JHP with the expansion rod in the hollow point.

Just for the record, I would NOT discourage ammo buyers from buying right now.

I know, we all know, stock up when things are quiet and cheap, don't do it right after a highly publicized event like a shooting.

But this isn't NORMAL, and I don't trust the standard rules of thumb right now.

My gut tells me that I'm not going to find S&B 9mm 115gr FMJ for $170 everywhere by Christmas, and I will be shopping to find the best shipping price to get the best deal (which is what I had been doing). My gut tells me instead, the country is in upheaval, and things are crazy across the board. And if you can find something, anything, for a price you can accept right now, you probably better take what you can get.
Do I LIKE Tula steel cased? Nope, I don't. But I got some for under $170 to the door, and I know where I can get more for under $195 if need be. I'm not a big fan of WWB, but that's what Herter's range is now, I hear; and I got some of that for under $200 to the door... I figure that might be better than Tula (at least it's brass), so I got it.

And again, I understand that had I bought in January, I could have got the exact AR 15 and ammo, for $400 + $289, instead of now $475 + $369. I accept that my delay cost me about $200. But I now have the AR and 1k of ammo... if I wait 1) I won't have it at all, and 2) I very well could be paying more when I finally do.
I can't accept not having it now; and in any case I don't want to gamble on things coming down in the foreseeable future

Just a quick update on this; I made a couple orders this afternoon, and thought I'd share it with the board (it might be useful).

First off, Silver Bear 9x18 Makarov caliber, ordered 1k from Military Shooters LLC. $189, + 20ish shipping. Just for the record, that's been average Makarov pricing for at least a decade. If you don't have something in this caliber, consider getting one; the guns are relatively cheap, solidly made (in the case of a CZ 82 that elevates to very nicely made), comparable to .380 in power, and ammo has remained stable in price and availability. I know, if everyone goes out and gets one, that changes, but for a small population, it won't.

2nd purchase, the infamous Bass Pro buy .
I know, I know; you're probably pre-ordering something for this fall. I did 2 from the parent company during the Covid period. Cabela's took a week to the door. Bass Pro took over a month. But both did deliver.
Anyway, they have Herter's on sale again, and still have free shipping for orders over $50.
And I just discovered something... I couldn't order it, because my local stores were out. But I changed stores until I found one with stock, and it let me order. In the cart, I had a choice of "pickup in store" (out of state? No way), or ship to house. I clicked ship to house, and got the confirmation of the order. Came out to $197 total, for the 1k (2 500 rd boxes). That ain't bad for range brass nowadays.

In sorting through primer inventory, I found my last 2 boxes (2K) of Clinton small rifle primers. I'm not worried though, I haven't opened the full case of Obama SR primers yet. The various "good deals" on various primers I've found over the intervening years at gun shows has kept me well supplied with prairie dog ammo.

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S&WHF 366

Just as a public service announcement- my Bass Pro order from the 22nd;

shipped from Utah on the 23rd. Tracking puts it on the way through New Mexico today. Should arrive in a day or so.

This isn't your early Covid Bass Pro ordering experience... I might get it faster than I have been getting my Amazon Prime shipments lately.

I went by a couple shops yesterday. All seem the same, inventory is half, or less, then usual. What's on sale is whatever the shop can get in from a distributor. I'm seeing them carry brands I've never seen before but, it's better then empty shelves.
Prices are at MSRP or higher. Some used guns are showing up, but even those are priced like new.
Ammo is hard to find in popular handgun calibers. Even some rifle rounds are hard to get now, 12ga too.
The pessimist in me is afraid this is the calm before the storm. It's going to get worse the closer we get to the Nov. elections.

One of our local shops is so low they are asking for consignments just to keep employees working. I asked what a slightly used Beretta CX4 would bring (it didn't move last fall on my table at $550) and owner told me he could sell it for 9 bills easily.
I don't know if y'all have looked at online inventory of the big suppliers but there is no 9mm or .223 out there besides top of the line self defense stuff. Primers are gone also.

We have a local gun shop that is loaded to the gills with toys, both handguns, rifles and shotguns, plus plenty of ammo. Yesterday I bought a PMR-30 there, had looked in 6 or 7 other gun shops for one, no dice. This shop wanted to know what color i wanted. In and out the door with the piece in 30 minutes. I asked how they were so well stocked and was told because they had an in door range their distributor keeps shipping them stuff.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Shops around here are dried up. Very few guns and nearly no common ammo. I learned, the hard way, several elections back that there are times when you should be sitting the market out and you best be prepared for those times.

This year is a perfect storm with the fear of the virus and a contentious national election coming up. It is a good time to sit smugly back and watch the panic as an observer.

After all that has gone on the past 30 years in America if you didn't buy a firearm and ammo you need to be eaten by the Rioters. Folks with 10K rounds are ...well..in my book hoarders. I own 500 rds of every cal I shoot not including 500 rds for Annual training. When TSHTF your training will be actual combat shooting. I have about 2500 rds total.

I saw the same Thursday. I took off all afternoon, had a dentist appointment and decided to run all the errands such as grocery store so I checked out the local place. Everything and I mean everything 9mm is gone, no pistols, ammo or magazines. Some .40 caliber and .45 Kimbers but all the ammo is gone. Shotguns other than high end high dollar ones out and all buckshot and slugs none with no idea when more will be in, other than bird shot and 3.5" shells. All bulk ammo in .38, .357, 9mm, .40 and .45 completely out. They have always had a rack with a couple dozen of the Century Arms SKS and AK rifles, none to be seen and no ammo at all in 7.62x39. Most all the AR styles gone along with the ammo for them. What the guy who I have known for 20 years said surprised him was sold out on magazines and speedloaders which is something many don't think about until afterwards when they consider that a quick reload may be handy.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625