Have we hit bottom?

Give it another 3 to 4 months and we'll see. Hunting season is about 6 weeks away, everyone is going to be getting shotguns, muzzleloaders, and bolt actions. The AR's will continue to sit on the shelves and by holiday shopping season, I can see prices going down a little more, but not by much.

Come early next year when the Dem party is unified behind one candidate, depending on who that person is, prices will start going back up. The thing about the the last two elections is guns weren't talked about because, even tho Obama and Hilary don't like them, they couldn't say anything about guns without losing huge amounts of votes.

The current radicalism ruling the Democrat party has them so far removed from reality that they will openly run on an anti gun platform. They're not even trying to say the usual "nobody wants to take your guns" line, they're openly saying they'll ban semi auto's and put taxes and regulations on gun and ammo ownership. They can't comprehend that will lose them votes in states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan and that will lose them the election, even tho they'll win the popular vote... which really means nothing.

Prices are going to go up next year no matter what as there'll be a mass shooting at some point, the media will sensationalize it like usual, the Dems will have new reasons to cry about the children, etc, and people will panic buy.

Us gun people will go out and buy a gun we like because we're gun nuts, but there's a number of people out there who aren't like us, but are either pro gun, but have other interests or hobbies they put before shooting and think they may get banned. It's the elections every 2 or 4 years that get them motivated to buy.

In fact, that's how I became a gun nut. In 2014 I was anticipating mid term elections in my state going an anti gun way (come to find out years later the state legislature is not interested in any Assault Weapon laws because they themselves would be subject to them) and 2016 elections coming up, so I went out and bought some. And then I bought more... and more... and more and now I have more than I know what to do with.

Why is “price” the Holy Grail? A neighbor (retired US Army Lt. Col.) never reads up on guns before making most purchases. He pulled his ATI AR from the box and it malfunctioned at least 1 out of every 3 rds.

I was a little embarrassed as he watched my Maadi AK keep blasting over 40 rds., with a barrel-cooling interval. It has used approx. 2,000 rds, with no issue, still today.

P5 Guy said:

If AR15s go any lower makers will have to buy from China to stay competitive.

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illinoisburt said:

We've had a hard block on Chinese firearms and firearm parts (with limited exceptions for sporting shotguns) for the better part of 3 decades now. I'm pretty confident the AR market will stay domestic. As others noted I just don't see a whole bunch of space on the downside now for basic AR carbines. Maybe we are at the bottom, maybe they can be sold profitably at $200 like a basic rimfire? Does anyone have a realistic cost of manufacturing an AR?

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Well I was trying to be ironic

greyling22 said:

. Remember the sks's that were being sold in the 90s for $75? Manufactured, shipped across the world, sold to an importer, sold to a guy at a table at a gun store, then sold to you, and everybody made a profit. This is speculation, but I bet Glock has about $35 tied up in making a pistol. Norinco probably had about $20 in the sks's.

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SKS was made by a communist government for the military. Profit never had anything to do with it. Then they started using different rifles. Effective value of a SKS was $0. If they did not sell them, they would have dumped them in the ocean and never gave it a second thought. Would not matter if the cost to manufacture was $1000 each.

Might only cost Glock $35 to make a pistol, but the monthly payment on that factory is pretty big. Look at all the bills you get every month. Glock gets a lot more of them. Plenty of companies spending $35 to make a gun and Selling at $600+ have gone out of business. There are usually a few other expenses involved.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

I still dont have one, but im AR curious. Everytime I find a good deal it seems im broke. Im waiting til they cost $200 lol. I havent much use for a 5.56, but I could easily pull the trigger on a .450 bushmaster, .458 socom, or 50 beowulf. These big bore ar’s dont seem like they have gotten any cheaper the last few years. Like roughly $800 and up where I live. Anyone think these will drop in price?

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That's part of the attraction of owning/building Ar rifles. Once you have a complete lower, you are only an upper away from calibers other than 5.56. 300 BO,.450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, etc. If you have a few upper receivers about, a barrel and bolt carrier will get you another caliber....sometimes just a barrel, as some carriers overlap. 5.56 and 300 black Out use same carrier, 450 Bushmaster and .458 SOCOM, etc.

Russellc

Modular that's what made it BOOM, then improved accuracy as time went on but then they can't make it any more
accurate or think up any new attachments that work like colorful fishing lures that catch more fishermen than fish.
We Americans love to customize our stuff, cars, trucks, homes, hamburgers, you name it. A great place for anyone
selling optional equipment or anything built for snap on power. Like one fellow said, in America if there are more than
10 people into anything then there is a magazine dedicated to that subject.
But let me tell you people, I have owned a -few- AR rifles & tired of them all at once, when I they came out with the AR
version of a pistol which woke me up & I realized like the TV thing, they are jumping the shark.
There are so so so many people that consider themselves AR EXPERTS in the language & the use of the rifle that
they consider just a color change as a worthy purchase.
Polymer, plastic, aluminum, composite, with all those swivel stocks that lock up a tight as a screen door & over 16 different ways
to come up with a Ballistic Solution, yea I guess you could say I'm fed up with them. But that's just me.
Bet Communist China [ our good trade buddy ] could sell them retail at about $100.
Said to much I guess, been a rough day.
I just went back & read this, it's sounds like the Get Off My Lawn type doesn't it.
Just like being tired of the same car pic over & over, different color, rims, hardtop
convertible. Anyhow per the thread, I see there has been a flood of these bought
per elections & new options until there just has to be tons of 2'nd hand rifles out
there for sell the bottom isn't here, just my opinion.
They will keep making them cheap until they start blowing up instead of misfires.

Well some companies don't think so. Consider that Springfield Armory is introducing new models so they obviously think there is room in the market.

Manufacturers and retailers are going to have to be at the top of their game. After Nike dropped the flag line of shoes PSA teamed up with Anderson during the 4th of July to make and sell 1776 Betsy Ross stripped lowers that they sold out of in less than 24 hours. That figures out to $88,800 in gross sales. Plus the real gravy is all of those stripped lowers need a lot of parts to have a complete gun.

A couple of weeks ago Cabelas ran the S&W M&P Compact 9mm pistol on sale for $279.97 and a vender on line had it listed for $249.95 with free shipping. So for cheapskates, er frugal (yep that is what I am frugal) there are likely to be limited time sales dropping prices lower.

I am a bit undecided about keep buying stripped lowers. In another panic upper receivers and parts are also likely to disappear. Still the low prices makes it hard to pass up.

At the moment I have a few more uppers than lowers, so I plan to at least buy enough lowers to be able to pair with all my uppers, and probably a few more to store away for my kids.

I am clueless with Ar’s. Is it really that simple? Can I just pin together an upper and a lower with no experience or special tools? Sorry for the ignorance, just never had a use for an Ar.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

I am clueless with Ar’s. Is it really that simple? Can I just pin together an upper and a lower with no experience or special tools? Sorry for the ignorance, just never had a use for an Ar.

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Yes you can buy any complete upper and any complete lower and clip them together. No tools involved.

You can also build an upper and lower from parts and it only takes a few hand tools and a vice. Takes 30 minutes to assemble a rifle once you’ve done a few.

My wife is gonna hate you guys. Just found the midway usa videos on youtube.

I don't understand why there isn't a buying panic here in Virginia right now. The legislative election is in a little over three months, and the Democrats are on the cusp of winning complete control (all they need to do is flip 1-2 seats in each chamber). They already have the governorship. The leading issue is gun control, and the Democrats are making no bones about what they will do if they gain power. What they plan would make the California regulations, or the NY SAFE Act, look mild by comparison. Yet, I get the sense that gun owners are complacent. They seem to think that the Virginia Citizens Defense League and the Republican Party will block anything untoward. I tell you, this year is different. The Democrats are smelling blood on guns. And if they win big in Virginia -- on the gun issue -- the traditional national pattern of soft-pedaling guns for the general election will be out the window, next year. I'm alarmed. I'm even thinking seriously of renting a storage unit in West Virginia, to be able to move my guns if the worst happens.