Probably one of the biggest mysteries to American shooters over the last two years has been product availability.  I am going to take a few moments and try to shed a little light on some of the most common questions concerning this matter.

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1.  Why are there shortages of guns and ammunition?

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Folks, shortages in this industry are nothing new.  What makes this time different is the duration of the shortage, not the shortage itself.  We have been in the business a good while, 23 years.  We have seen shortages due to Y2K, the election of Obama, the Sandy Hook shooting, and other events.  The difference between then and now was the DURATION.  Most of these shortages corrected themselves within a few months.  The current shortage is entering its second year.  So what created this?  A multitude of events.  First let me say this, COVID didn't cause anything, COVID is a virus, it is incapable of making decisions, people do that.  And a lot of self righteous people who knew absolutely nothing about how an economy works made a lot of decisions in early 2020 that turned the entire economy (including the firearms industry) upside down.  A free market works perfectly when you allow it too, but when you artificially control the supply or demand you offset it, which is precisely what happened.  People tend to be reactionary, thus when concerns arose about potential shortages people became concerned, not just about being able to obtain what they need, but about others engaging in criminal activity and trying to take it from them.  Thus explains the run on firearms and ammunition during the spring of 2020.  Making a bad situation worse was the timing.  March is typically the peak of the winter buying season as this is when many people receive their tax refunds (at least you did, with Brandon who knows) Typically by this time of year the wholesale distributors are letting their inventory sell down for the slower spring and summer season.  The spring of 2020 was different though, the distributors sold out of handguns, MSR's, and ammo within days, and with the country shut down and little to know raw materials coming in the manufacturers were able to do little to help. As if the COVID restrictions weren't bad enough, by Summer riots were erupting all across the country as Democratic mayors stood back and watched.  The American people already devastated by the severe economic sanctions imposed by many Governors now were faced with another threat.  Gangs of violent criminals calling themselves "protesters" burning, looting, and stealing everything they could get their hands on.  An already strained supply network was driven to the breaking point as demand continued to rise.  Gun shops all across the country had empty display cases, empty rifle racks, and empty ammo shelves.  And were calling distributors with empty warehouses in the hopes of finding a couple firearms and a few boxes of ammo to sell.  Folks, it REALLY was that bad during the summer of 2020. by mid 2021 the shortages were beginning to ease, but had not ended.  Ammo shortages persist to this day as do many firearm shortages.  In short, the senseless shut down of the American economy in 2020 is the primary cause of the shortages that we are still to an extent dealing with today.

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2.  Why are some guns so easy to get but I can't find the one I want anywhere?

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There are a couple reasons why you may not be able to find exactly what you are looking for.  First, one must understand that the firearms industry is a global market.  While most countries in the world do not enjoy the 2nd Amendment freedoms that we do, it must be understood that the law enforcement and military markets constitute a very large percentage of firearms production.  Glock, SIG Sauer, Smith & Wesson, Mossberg, and many others sell thousands of firearms to foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies each year.  In addition, these among other manufacturers have both domestic and foreign military contracts.  The same can be said about ammunition.  The LE and military markets are a big part of these companies business. Beyond this, it must be understood that the commercial market is a 50 state market, regional disparity aside, certain firearms sell far better than others.  if your Glock you are going to sell a lot more model 43X's and 19's than you are model 36's.  If your Smith & Wesson you can sell every single M&P Shield EZ you build, but maybe only a couple hundred model 29 Heritage revolvers.  If your Ruger every single AR556 you can build is sold, but not nearly so many Mini-14's.  Right now volume is king, and with raw materials availability still being sketchy at best, nobody is going to move away from building core models to build specialty models.  And folks, that is not going to change any time soon.  There is as much steel in one S&W Model 629 as there is in FIVE M&P Shields.  And while there is no doubt that any dealer in the country can sell that model 629, S&W also know they can sell those FIVE Shields.  It's dollars and cents folks, dollars and cents.  The smaller manufacturers have had it even harder.  Companies like Henry, Kimber, and Rock River simply lack the resources and buying power to secure raw materials like the larger companies  The situation with ammunition is not much different.  Every single round of 9mm and 5.56 NATO is sold before it event leaves the factory.  With lead and copper in short supply and retooling resulting in lost time it simply does not make good sense to halt production to build some 6mm Remington and .22 Hornet.  Of course, we can sell these, but the manufacturers know that they can sell the 9mm too.  Folks it may not be what you want to hear, but it is business.  When choosing your next hunting rifle or handguns availability of ammo should be a top consideration.  Buying a used .257 Roberts or .41 Magnum right now is only a good idea if you already have reloading components or are looking for a good decoration for your man cave.

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When are the prices going to come down?

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Short answer, they are not.  While it appears that ammunition prices have stabilized and the price gouging executed by many (pathetic) dealers seems to have eased it is simply unrealistic to expect prices to fall.  The cost may retreat a dollar or two when (it's coming) the next recession hits, but we even consider that unlikely.  Believe it or not the ammo manufacturers are making LESS on ammo now than ever.  Why?  You guessed it, material and labor costs.  The instant the manufacturers see a dip in sales they are going to cut production, again, it is not good business to lose money on your product.  Firearms likewise seem to be stabilizing in price, but a price drop is highly unlikely.  In 2019 the (non incentive adjusted) retail price for a S&W M&P-15 Sport II was $669.99.  Three years later the same rifle sells for $709.99.  That is effectively a 6% increase in price.  Go to Wal Mart and find one item in the store that has only risen 6% in the last three years.  The price increase on new firearms is well below the current rate of inflation.  We should be thankful, it could have been much worse.

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In conclusion I hope this information is helpful.  I know we don't always tell people what they want to here, but we always tell the truth.  The firearms industry is forever changed from what it was three short years ago and it is going to continue to change.  The best advice we can give our customers is to make your firearms purchasing decisions based on these key points.  Buy a quality firearm from a reputable manufacturer that has proven popular enough that it will remain in production with parts and support for many years to come.  Buy a firearm chambered in a cartridge that has proven popular enough that priority will be given to its production even during trying times. And lastly, never assume you have "enough" ammo.  If it is available, and is reasonably priced, buy it.  You will have no regrets.