spartan arms
Empty shelves after the gun rush at Spartan Arms in Las Vegas (courtesy Spartan Arms)
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We’ve been in contact with a number of retailers around the country today and over the weekend and they report that the Great Coronavirus Gun Run is anything but fake news. Nine millimeter and .22 LR ammunition is evaporating at a rapid pace. A large Washington state retailer sold $120,000 of ammo in the first three hours they were open on Saturday.

A northern Illinois retailer that’s been in business since the mid 1950’s said they did twice the amount of business they’d ever done before in a single day, even during the post-Sandy Hook buying binge. They’re completely sold out of personal defense ammunition and range loads are getting awfully scarce. They’re all out of AR pattern rifles and the remaining handgun inventory is going fast.

According a central Florida retailer we talked to, gun buyers were waiting as long as four hours for an all clear on their NICS background checks Saturday. They’re seeing about 50% of their Gun Run sales volume going to new buyers with most of the rest being bought by CCW holders who are able to bypass the state’s 3-day waiting period (5 days in many of south Florida’s blue-er counties).

As the Florida gun store owner told us, during this national emergency, “guns and ammo are like toilet paper for smart people.”

What’s demand like in Nevada? Well . . .

Note that in the video Spartan reports that background checks are taking 1.5 to 2 DAYS to clear right now, so no one (other than concealed carry permit holders) is walking out with their new firearms.

The Illinois gun dealer we talked to isn’t seeing as many first-time buyers, but that’s because you can’t just walk in and buy a firearm in the Land of Lincoln. You first need permission from the state via a Firearm Owner’s ID Card, a process that takes a minimum of 60 days.

Do you live in Illinois and you’re worried about your family, but never thought about buying a gun until now? Fill out the form and keep your mouth shut. The Illinois State Police will get around to it. Eventually.

Wait! What about all those politicians who’ve been saying that anyone can buy a gun? All you need is a computer! You can just order one online!

As we and anyone with even a passing familiarity with the law has been saying all along, that was always a steaming pile of anti-gun horse manure cooked up to justify the push to restrict more Americans’ gun rights.

But lots of people evidently bought the agitprop the Civilian Disarmament Industrial Complex was selling. As Andrew Tuohy of Omaha Outdoors reports,

Here at Omaha Outdoors, we’ve been inundated with inquiries from out-of-state folks – many from California – asking if we can ship them a gun directly. The answer is, of course, no. Despite what politicians and many in popular media claim, you can’t buy a gun online and have it shipped to your house. Well, you could, if you were a federally licensed firearm dealer (or federally licensed curio and relic collector) and your home was your place of business. Other than that, no, you can’t buy a gun online and have it shipped, especially across state lines, to your home.

Go figure.

 

 

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115 COMMENTS

  1. 1st time buyers in Kalifornia, NY and Illinois have a better chance of closing on a new residence and physically moving than waiting for governmental approval on a handgun purchase.

    By then the ammunition shortage will be over.

    • California- ha ha, so true. My sister in law thought it was easier to buy a gun than a book until I told her she was a “prohibited person” for smoking weed, and if she signed the ATF form otherwise she would be a felon for perjury. She looked like I slapped her.

        • And then I reminded her that felons couldn’t vote, even against Trump, so. . . She was pissed.

        • The news showed another really good example of how MSM/Gun Grabber brainwashed Californians are to the reality of gun buying.
          L.A. Gun Store owner Jeff Taverner stated (during an interview) that OVER 90% of CA first time purchasers were TOTALLY unaware of the 10 day waiting period.
          I wonder how long the waiting periods for books and fruits were when Obama told the nation “guns are easier to buy”.

        • During the Rodney King Crips riots in LA, people lined up outside the (now defunct) LA gun shops to buy their first gun. They were apoplectic and outraged when they were informed of the 15 day waiting period that was passed into law in the 1980s. I am more disgusted with the (allegedly conservative) folks who decided that they do not need guns or ammo after Trump won the election.

          And Kali gov Any Twosome Newsome is deploying National Guard troops to “help us”, while declaring that he can “do martial law” if needed.

    • …and the Cuntifornia, Illinois, and Nuevo York Lefty’s will be dead of COVID-19 related gun violence or infection with the disease itself.

      The Globalist Elites DO NOT care whom they have to kill to advace their agendas. Ask Cankles.

      • The liberal Democrat lawmakers who pass these laws, which make it impossible for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, have hands dripping with the blood of defenseless citizens who were killed because of those laws.

        • Many of the wealthy libtards live in gated communities and have armed security detail. CNN and MSNBC have armed guards. Alot of the California Dem voters are illegal immigrants who can flee back across the border when things get violent. A number of Dem voters have guns, especially among the Muslim communities, the HOMELESS encampments or within the Antifa or BLM terrorist groups.

          Strange, the gun confiscation teams NEVER go into the barrios, homeless encampments or housing projects in Stockton, Oakland, SF, LA, Fresno, Modesto, Sacto…they go for soft targets!

    • However residences/voters of said Commicrat Zhit Holes allowed this to occur by their voting habits, think before voting.

  2. Just an hour ago, a coworker told me he went to a Turner’s over the weekend to buy another couple boxes of ammo for his one handgun, since he only has a few boxes at home and has been reconsidering the need to bring it out of storage lately. He said all nearly all ammo was gone, and people – assumedly first time buyers – were lined up to buy a gun. And this is despite CA’s onerous BGCs and waiting periods.

    I agree that this is a good wake-up call for CA voters, come Election Day in November. And my coworker now understands the need to stockpile ammo in advance and regularly train, so that you’re prepared when you need to be.

    BTW, only 232 days until KAGA!

      • Nope.

        When I went to the LGS in Stockton there was a throng of people in panic waiting in line to buy guns and ammo. All walks of life too – was a beautiful sight to see people exercising their 2A rights.

        I strolled up to the shelf and bought some Hornady VMax 55gr bullets and asked the clerk if he had any RE-15. As I bypassed the line, he asked how many pounds I wanted.

        Strolled up to the counter, made my purchase and out. No BGC, no BS, no rationing, no nothing.

        God I love reloading.

    • Thanks for sharing. In our neck of the woods that’s like a good news story. Last month I was able to guide a coworker (former military and POTG) to pursue getting his CCW license.
      About Turners, I got their Spring Flyer a few days ago and it was filled with great deals on revolvers, percision rifles, lever actions, ARs, AKs, semi-auto shotguns, and all the ammo for these guns.

  3. Im not sure what the OP is talking about. I live in Illinois and I had my Carl Gustaf shipped directly to my house from a dealer in California. And since I have been a loyal customer of his for hours he also threw in a Carcano 91/38 for free.

    • Need edit function.
      After checking, this is an Anti-Tank weapon, with ammo costing $500 to $3000 per round IF you could get the ammo.
      Really A?

        • Include a “sarc”, or be funny elsewhere A.
          To those TTAG visitors unfamilar with the “A”, and details of the Lee H Oswald gun purchase, this “joke” appears as a current firearm purchase sent directly to a home.
          We have a have a hard enough time dispelling myths without pinheads adding to the myth pile.

  4. “Here at Omaha Outdoors, we’ve been inundated with inquiries from out-of-state folks – many from California – asking if we can ship them a gun directly. ”

    I wouldn’t assume ignorance on the part of those wannabe buyers. Some of them, maybe a lot of them, think it’s ok to try to talk other people into violating the law, and they know what they’re doing.

    • Never blamed any store owner for being suspicious of my NY license, our police do a lot of odd stuff over state lines.

  5. “The universal background check bill is a no-brainer.”

    Indeed it is, Senator Feinstein. But not for the reasons you’re thinking….

    • To think that someone from a state that has had a universal BGC laws for decades that have not managed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals could continue to spout this stuff…

    • Waiting for the old bitch to die so I can dance on her grave. Her policies have cost the lives of countless people unable to defend themselves and contributes to the arrogance of the government.

  6. What I want to know is how many of those first time firearm purchasers will vote accordingly at future elections.

  7. There’s this story in the Bible and whether you believe the Bible or not I actually don’t care. But the story goes about this guy by the name of Noah. Who try to tell his neighbors that they needed to prepare for a coming storm. They laughed at him and said that was not a concern for them. So he made sure that his direct family members we’re taking care of.

    Because that was all he could really do.

    • Genesis contains no account of Noah trying to warn anyone, nor does it say anything about only taking his family because that’s all he could do. He took his family because that’s all God allowed to live.

      • Genesis Ch. 6 states that God found Noah to be “perfect in his generations”. There is a school of thought that this refers to his genetic bloodline, unsullied by the Nephilim, or “mighty men of reknown” who sowed incredible evil across the Earth and corrupted Mankind (except Noah, his three sons, and the wives of Shem and Japheth).

        • Noah did get drunk, but not until many years after the Flood. It’s the event that led to Canaan and his descendants being cursed for centuries.

    • It might actually be true now that millions of panicky pinheads have scoured the produce aisles clean so that their hoarded fruit can rot and be thrown out 2 weeks later.

      It took a few days for the hordes to start thinking, “Oh, noes…whats to do if somebondy wants mah froots?”

      • I’m sorry to correct you, but the panic-buying has left the produce largely untouched. Canned goods are gone. Paper products are gone. But the fresh stuff is still there. Paybe because a zucchini doesn’t have preparation instructions on the side, like a can of Starkist or Campbell’s?

        • You are EXACTLY right. I’m amazed how many people can’t do even basic cooking.

  8. I expect the anti-gun cabal will be telling their constituents that the reason that they could not purchase a firearm when they wanted / needed one is all Trump’s fault!

    Yeah, the Democrats will play it both ways (as usual)…at least until after the emergency is lifted then back to “black gun – bad” rhetoric.

  9. To be honest, this is a beautiful! It brings a tear to my eye to see Americans exercising their 2nd amendment rights. This is only going to do better for our side in the end. Now we have a real opportunity to show why being responsible for your own protection is so important.

    As much as I don’t want this to happen but when city people start to get desperate and we start seeing desperate people do what desperate people do it will be a huge wake up to anti gunners when their beloved police can’t come rescue them and they are on their own. Already they are seeing the realities of not really being able to walk in and buy a gun on the spot or get it shipped through the mail.

    Merica….F’yeah!

    • My ex was not a big firearm person until the South St Pete Florida riots in the ’90s. I was at working late and saw the TV coverage of the businesses on Central Ave burning down (around 3 dozen blocks south of our home), called her on the home phone (she was asleep) and told her to turn on the news. Asked her how safe she felt, knowing the LEO would NOT respond to an ADT alarm call (all the LEO were staged at Tropicana Field and focused on the civil unrest south of Central Ave). She learned how to operate the nightstand safe, and the Beretta 92 shortly after that night, and keeps a firearm for home defense now.
      Live and learn.

      • I think it is possible there will be an attitude shift in many folks who are anti RKBA if this chaos spirals further out of control. When the stark reality of “Where the hell are the police?! I need them now!” kicks in and their kid’s lacrosse stick is all they can find.. well.. that’s going to be a major wake-up call, if it’s not the last action they ever take.

        Sadly, there are plenty of brain-dead suckers who, even in a life-or-death situation will never be able to make the necessary leap to understand that a ‘scary assaulty thing that goes bang’ could or should ever be employed to give them and their loved ones a fighting chance. That kind of cognitive dissonance is the worst kind.

      • LOL that was a weird time. I lived at 38th Ave N and 16th st during the riot. I knew it was getting real when the helicopter had to make a forced landing in Al Lang stadium.

        • Yep. I moved there in 94 and moved to Spring Hill in 98.

          I miss the old meat market at the end of my street. I lived in one of those old houses on 21st street near Harris park.

        • Hahaha, small world.
          I had a home built near 4 corners Spring Hill in 2005. Sold the home in St Pete when it was completed.
          Both of my sons graduated from Springstead HS.

    • I worry that all these new buyers won’t be responsible owners. I haven’t seen any stories saying that gun classes or ranges have huge waits. They aren’t going to be practiced in gun handling or marksmanship. I hope they at least read enough of the manual to know there are safety rules. I also hope that when this is over that they do get educated on the safe use and storage of firearms and not just toss a loaded gun in a drawer until the next disaster.

  10. SGA Ammo has totally shutdown anymore ammo orders today and said it will take them 10 days to even ship the orders they have now, Ammoman dose not seem to have anything and so on. Guess the good part the local Walmart is out of SPAM but no one has touched the potted meat cans yet.

  11. I don’t care how it sounds, but I really, really love reading and hearing about anti-gun leftists reaping the, “rewards,” of their lifestyle choices.

    Enjoy being victims, komrads. 🖕😁🖕

    Spitefully yours,
    – The guy who’s “compensating for something” in your arrogant, little minds

  12. That can happen when one buys the Anti 2 nd. amendment B S the Commiecrat’s spews as whole that party is un American

  13. If ignorance really is bliss, then the average American is deliriously happy . . . right up until the time they discover that they’ve been duped and their elected officials are FOS.

    And once the crisis passes, they’ll all go back to being wads of chewing gum in the jaws of history.

    Good. I wouldn’t stop them from having guns if I could, but I’m not rooting for them either. If god didn’t want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep. And stupid sheep at that.

    • It never ceases to amaze me how quick everyone is to go back to normal and discount that real fear they found during the crisis. Myself, I know a bad day is watching my blood and snot congeal on the cold white tile as whatever asshole on shift sat on me pressing my face into that very tile. This was 2 decades ago and I still have nightmares about those years. What is happening now makes me so on edge. The hell I went thru is here for us all and this time I get to find out how well being armed makes a difference.

  14. I “heard” the Northern ILL gunshop was GATGUNS.In West Dundee I think. I was last there in mebbe 2011. Nice place but 60 miles away. I had no idea when I took the gun plunge nearly 10years ago. In effing ILL-inoyed. Haven’t been near any gunshops this or last week. Bought ammo at Cabelas in Hammond 2 weeks ago. And I’ve learned to not give a dime to ILL if I can. Or at least Cook County!

  15. Not only are these anti gun useful idiots clueless about legally purchasing firearms they are clueless about the roots of gun control being in racism and genocide. Anti gun idiots love to call gun owners racists and nazis when it is they who are tied directly to racism and genocide.
    Just sell your firearm to a prohibited purchaser and if something goes south you are in deep, deep trouble. That is already a law that these uppity gun control zealots act like it does not exist all to advance their sick gun grabbing idiocy.

  16. I bet no one is NJ is clogging up the gun stores. As I recall, you need to get a permit from the Chief of Police to buy a specified gun, a permit that is supposed to take no more than 30 days but you are lucky to get it in less than 6 months.

  17. Annnnnnnd the handload portfolio pays off once again to the investor with nothing better to do with his time. There’s only 2 problems with my sauce. First, I can only guarantee they work in my (or close friends) gats, as I’ve essentially tuned everything to the hotter margins. Second, I’m not sharing with anyone beyond those I’ve decided to share with. If this gets really bad I’m gonna be learning in real time how match head primers work on homemade bp loads out of a glock just manually cycled. Interesting times we live in.

  18. With the WuFlu panic flowing, the thought of hundreds of thousands of people being unimployed (maybe with some reduced income benefit), supply shortages even before mfr and transport problems surface, free stuff mobs/riot potential on top of the routine career criminals and new opportunistic/desperation criminals and the obvious cut back in LE services due to the virus (already started in some areas): you must take responsibility for your own safety and survival. In spite of what the gun grabber groups and politicians say: cops are not going to be there to cover your ass and its going to get far worse than any post natural disaster we’ve had. It’s not going to be restricted to a geographical area. There won’t be enough Red Cross and FEMA to cover it either.

  19. My last gun buy around a month or two ago…….

    Walk in, tell the gun counter guy exactly what I want, he gets it, I say “Yep, that’s the one”, hand over my ID, my permit, my credit card and … better part of an hour later …. finally done!

    The concealed permit I have saves me the nuisance (and fee in some places) of the NICS, but not the damned 4473. Or the second person double checking the paperwork. Or in a bigger gun store, the manager that then gives final clearance after the two employees already verified the paperwork. Or the waiting for the double and triple checking because each and every next employee to do that is busy….

    Buying legally can take time even in a Constitutional Carry State on a day when there ain’t no panic going on.

    • My last purchase was not a gun but dang it shoots just fine of course I’ve been doing this since I was 18,the collection still grows.

      • Actually you make a great case for buying and selling ones private property however I was speaking of building your own arms.

  20. Is it just me or is the MSM not even mentioning the gun & ammo sales that occurred within the last few days?

    • Not a peep from the MSM.
      I spoke with a friend who works at a local Bass Pro/Cabalas.
      Over $40k in ammo sold on each day of the weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun). That’s around 1/8 of a million dollars in ammo.
      The location sold over $80k of guns on Friday ALONE, this included EVERY AR they had in stock.
      Good luck with the gun grab Joe, Beto, Spartacus, and Cameltoe. Pack a lunch, it could take a while.

      • The leftist rag Tampa Bay Times has an article about gun buying today. You should read the comments – Just full of “what are you gonna do – shoot the virus” and small penis allegations just like always.

        • The TBT has always been unreadable.
          I used to get calls offering me FREE driveway delivery all the time. Told them if they did that, I would file a littering case against them in court.

  21. I needed some heavy dove loads and while in the (dedicated) gun store listened to exactly the same thing. People who wanted a gun NOW were being told to wait 10 days.
    LOL, sucks to be a Liberal who actually believed the lies about guns, and now find out they were duped. The only question now is, how many families will be harmed because they were forced by the Goobermint to be unarmed.

  22. I feel for my fellow Californians. Due to all the “petty criminals” let go, crime is going up. The street I live on had a robbery. Its first since 1974. The family, after the fact wants to buy a gun. Ohhh… Not a good time.

    When people ask if I have a gun, I state I have a few.

      • People ask me if I have a gun, I look at them and tell them I lost mine years ago in a boating accident on the great lakes and almost drowned also. Then I go home and start cleaning the ones that went to the bottom of the Great Lakes, don’t you just love the IDIOTS. BTW I have a valid CCW and it takes me about 35 minutes from when I walk in until I walk out with my newest addition to my Collection.

  23. I am not old and I wasn’t born here, but I think our nation (I am a naturalized citizen and I feel at home here) has been perverted over the past decades. That’s how I explain some of the irrational and irresponsible behaviors we have probably all witnessed over the past couple of weeks. I am not saying this out of bitterness, because I couldn’t score any toilet paper or whatever. If this virus is really that bad almost everybody will run out of things, including supplies far more important than TP.
    Although I am not surprised, it still disappoints me to see how easily the media and some politicians can manipulate millions of people. People are hoarding stuff that make no sense in a crisis, such as gummy bears, great nutritional values lol. All it takes is the rumor or the sight of something, almost anything, becoming scarce. I am sure if I fill a shopping cart with WD40, some idiots will do the same, it’s contagious.
    Regarding this article, it’s a bit of a good thing as there are first time gun owners. Now the problem imo, will they follow up with training, safety rules,etc? Or is this just a last minute, apocalyptic thing? Some of these folks will probably go back to supporting gun grabbers as soon as this craziness is all over. As soon as the mainstream media tune it back to “people don’t need “assault rifles” and “high capacity magazines,” the idiots will agree again.
    If this is blown out of proportion, it’s probably also to prep the sale of a vaccine. A crisis is also a business.
    I am not yet concerned about using the vegetation to wipe my butt, it will be alright, it’s the behavior of some folks that really worries me.
    Stay safe folks, we will be alright.

  24. Everyone going out for guns now are the same stupid people ranting and raving to have guns banned and ripped out of hands of people supporting gun rights, Now they have see the possibilites that they were wrong and want to get a gun themselves. The people lining up should have been told no you can’t have one and told to fuck off. Learn the lessons of being idiots. The people who support gun rights and the preppers who prepared for events like this should get more support. But once this thing is over by fall, Things will go back to normal and the gun banners will start again waving their bloody flags and pitchforks.

  25. How will this affect the Gun Right lobby with more people taking up Guns? It should change the make up of people who stances have changed to support the gun rights rather than banning guns. There should be a huge chunk of new Gun supporters that sway the decision of upcoming elections and uspport of candidates that lean for/against Gun rights/reform.

  26. I was in a gun shop in CT and a guy had bought a pistol from an auction online; he had it shipped to the dealer….when he arrived to pick the gun up the guy behind the counter said I need to see you pistol permit, please. The guy said, What? I don’t need a permit…I don’t plan on carrying it outside of my house. The counter guy tried to explain that in CT you have to have a permit to even buy a firearm….they potential buyer was dumbfounded…he then asked how long does it take to get a permit? The counter guy starts to tell him the process, the costs and the amount of time if and when approved….I do not know what happened, if he did get a permit or send the gun back…I had to leave but got a good laugh…

  27. I am certain that many of these newly purchased firearms will never be fired and will just collect dust for six months or a year until sold as used. Much of this is not actual interest in guns but a form of emotional comfort. As such, very little if anything will be learned. Wether it be about the process of ownership or the journey of a gun owner. Some might take advantage of the opportunity and reach an understanding of the how’s and why’s of things. I doubt it will produce many NRA fans or 2nd Amendment advocates.

    In the end, anything that puts more guns and ammo into the hands of law abiding Americans tends to be something I endorse. Responsible people at gun ranges make me feel safer in general. I’m happier when the number of them increase.

  28. This is actually a pretty good vehicle to expose all those blatant lies that the have been pedaled for so many years. Whod a thunk getting a gun isn’t as easy as described. I can deal with a little self quarantine for this any day 🙂

    • Wasn’t it the smartest man in the world that said it was easier to buy a gun than a book,lets see just who was that,oh yeah Barack Obowelmovement.

  29. For those concerned with expanding that portion of the public with an interest in guns, gun owners and the defense of the 2A, these are indeed good times. The opportunity for education and increasing the number of 2A supporters is to use an overused word – unprecedented.

    Hopefully, these same people won’t be exposed to the aholes that post here and denigrate newcomers to the cause. The immature cries of “I had a gun before you had a gun” reek of immaturity.

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