The Collapse of the AR-15 Assault Weapon Market

[Chee-to]

Leftist spin on "Assault Weapons." What a tool..........:nuts:

The Collapse of the AR-15 Assault Weapon Market

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sugarmann/the-collapse-of-the-ar-15_b_485957.html

One of the greatest talents of the National Rifle Association and the gun industry has been their ability exploit high-profile events to pump up gun sales: Bill Clinton, the Brady Bill, the federal assault weapons "ban," Y2K, September 11th, and now, of course, Barack Obama. Regardless of the event, the solution remains the same: buy a gun. And if industry and gun fan mags are any indication, it should be an AR-15 assault rifle.

A fact left unstated by the gun lobby (and virtually unnoticed by the news media) is the fact that after gun sales rise, they eventually drop--sometimes precipitously. Sometimes, as Michael Kassnar, president of AR-15 manufacturer KBI/Charles Daly, explains, there's a "market collapse." Kassnar should know--he's just shut his business' doors.

According to the March 1, 2010, edition of theNew Gun Week:

One factor that contributed to the company's closure was what Kassner called a "collapse" of the market in mid-2009 for semiautomatic sport utility rifles, the so-called "black guns" designed on the AR-15 platform.

In other words, AR-15 assault rifles, but let us continue.

He said the rush to purchase those firearms came to a halt in about July, leaving him with a "warehouse full of guns nobody wanted."


Orders for about $8 million worth of firearms were canceled, he said, leaving KBI/Charles Daly essentially high and dry for the second half of the 2009 sales year. It appeared that the public became less fearful that the Obama administration was going to come after semi-autos, so the panic buying came to an end, Kassnar said....

"The consumer just stopped buying," he said....the "sales blitz lasted about eight months."

Not to worry. Despite the long-term trends of declining gun ownership in America's boom and bust gun manufacturing economy, the NRA and gun industry are always on the lookout for another manufactured crisis to exploit and reel in the "panic" buyer.

Read More

 

[Silver Fox]

Charles Daly.... Good Grief! One flash in the pan company closing its doors and they want to blame the NRA.

It is all about extending your credit and acquiring inventory without really knowing your customers or your market.

So I guess fat people going on a diet is the reason why Boston Market closed there doors in its Western Markets or convenient store shoppers going to Wal Mart is why Circle K had to close some of its stores in Oregon.

Always blaming someone else.

SF-

 

[Cougfan2]

Other than the BS leftist spin, the bulk of the article is pretty accurate. There seems to be a glut of AR's on the market now. Keith's has been running specials on lowers for several months now. I do however think there were other issues that led to KBI/Charles Daly's demise.

 

[rdb241]

Charles Daly.... Good Grief! One flash in the pan company closing its doors and they want to blame the NRA.

It is all about extending your credit and acquiring inventory without really knowing your customers or your market.

So I guess fat people going on a diet is the reason why Boston Market closed there doors in its Western Markets or convenient store shoppers going to Wal Mart is why Circle K had to close some of its stores in Oregon.

Always blaming someone else.

SF-

+1:gun09:

 

[Trlsmn]

Not to worry. Despite the long-term trends of declining gun ownership in America's boom and bust gun manufacturing economy, the NRA and gun industry are always on the lookout for another manufactured crisis to exploit and reel in the "panic" buyer.

What a crock, gun ownership in the US is at an all time high. The current dive in prices is good for the market from my perspective as I can pick up deals on the things I want now that the day traders can't make money anymore.

 

[DERGLOCKINMEISTER]

Just wait , Barry O will say one thing about awb and prices will be off to the races again. Obama already proved he's the most effective gun salesman alive once , and after his other pet projects tank , he won't be able to help himself , his true colors as a rabid anti - gun nut will show through . Buy what you can , while you can , if nothing else , you can at least be labeled as domestic terrorists !

 

[haythrower]

Simple economics and nothing else. When the demand is satisfied, the supply side must adjust. If that doesn't happen fast enough, then inventories go up, and prices go down. When prices fall, inventory is reduced and demand will again in time, exceed supply, causing production increases. Liberals don't study this stuff in college.

 

[2506]

What a crock, gun ownership in the US is at an all time high. The current dive in prices is good for the market from my perspective as I can pick up deals on the things I want now that the day traders can't make money anymore.

Maybe, maybe not. The National Opinion Research Center, NORC has been keeping track of gun ownership and various measures of attitudes toward firearms and their regulation since 1972. The news is interesting. Per "America's Gun Culture--Fading Slowly?" published in April 2007 by Reuters: "Gun ownership in the United States has been declining steadily over more than three decades, relegating gun owners to minority status."

According to NORC, the percentage of American households containing guns peaked in 1977 at 54% and has fallen with regularity since, to a low of 34.5% in 2006, the most recent year in the survey. discouraging, the percentage of Americans reporting personal ownership of a gun has declined to less than 22%.

Consistent with NORC's reporting, a November '07 article in the Economist states that the number of Americans hunting has declined from 14 million a decade ago to about 12.5 million today, a 10% drop.

 

[Phillyfan]

Other than the BS leftist spin, the bulk of the article is pretty accurate. There seems to be a glut of AR's on the market now. Keith's has been running specials on lowers for several months now. I do however think there were other issues that led to KBI/Charles Daly's demise.

I do think there has been some use of scare tactics and rumor mill monkeying to boost sales in the industry. Don't have any facts to back that up, but look how much money the NRA (think I heard membership is way up) and gun/ammo manufacturers make every time an "anti-gun" senator gets elected or a new gun law is proposed. Can't be bad for business.

 

[Cougfan2]

I do think there has been some use of scare tactics and rumor mill monkeying to boost sales in the industry. Don't have any facts to back that up, but look how much money the NRA (think I heard membership is way up) and gun/ammo manufacturers make every time an "anti-gun" senator gets elected or a new gun law is proposed. Can't be bad for business.

I don't think the NRA necessarily used Obama's election to increase gun sales, I think they did it to get more money into the coffers of the NRA. Not that I think that's a bad thing. I don't agree with everything they do, but they're still the most effective lobbying group we have.

 

[Phillyfan]

I don't think the NRA necessarily used Obama's election to increase gun sales, I think they did it to get more money into the coffers of the NRA. Not that I think that's a bad thing. I don't agree with everything they do, but they're still the most effective lobbying group we have.

Just meant that it is great for business anytime there is a threat, real, made up or exagerated, to the 2nd ammendment.

 

[Logical1]

"According to NORC, the percentage of American households containing guns peaked in 1977 at 54% and has fallen with regularity since, to a low of 34.5% in 2006, the most recent year in the survey. discouraging, the percentage of Americans reporting personal ownership of a gun has declined to less than 22%. "

the key word in this is reporting

 

[Boats]

Liberals are such fertilizer heads.

Charles Daly jumped into the black rifle market late. Before, the EBR run they were merely a purveyor of Filipino clones of 1911s and BHPs and shotguns.

Now CD got burned by market saturation. Between the run on ARs and then folks losing their jobs, now is the time to pick up these overrated rifles on the cheap, new or used.

As far as long term gun ownership "declining," what is really declining is hunting. Purchases of new firearms have remained steady, and the market shift to self defense away from sport has been ongoing unmistakably from the mid-80s onward.

What has been precipitously declining is gun owners honestly answering biased researchers about ownership and buying habits. Women are especially infamous under reporters as to gun ownership. Most savvy male gun owners know that NORC is affiliated with the University of Chicago and has an agenda against gun ownership. No way no how would I cooperate with them if they called.

Just do the math. NORC says 21.6% of American households own all of the civilian held firearms in the United States. Via the FBI, there are estimated to be on the order of 200 million working firearms around the country.

Each household would have to be holding on average 31 guns per. Frickin' unlikely as they say.

 

[Phillyfan]

"According to NORC, the percentage of American households containing guns peaked in 1977 at 54% and has fallen with regularity since, to a low of 34.5% in 2006, the most recent year in the survey. discouraging, the percentage of Americans reporting personal ownership of a gun has declined to less than 22%. "

the key word in this is reporting

It would be interesting to know how much of this is due to restrictive gun laws, or the decline in places that allow shooting/hunting. I wish I had more time to give to help support the youth hunting movement.

 

[coctailer]

The Collapse of the AR-15 Assault Weapon Market..........

Hmmm, couldn't have anything to do with the messed up economy.

We all know EVERY OTHER sector is rolling in cash.

 

[JumpWing]

Does anyone else enjoy the hypocrisy of a leftist crying about "manufactured" crises?

 

[Boats]

I don't view gun ownership to be about hunting at all. I haven't shot an animal since I was 12 and I am not about to re-start. Gangbangers and jihadis? Let's just say if there is ever a bounty I know lots more people who'd go for that license rather than a tag.

Hunting is in decline in part because it is not relevant to most shooters. It's quaint and Fuddish. Action shooting, even in the guise of nostalgia, like the SASS, has been explosively growing relative to hunting. Don't need state permission, don't need property access other than belonging to a range, doesn't require lots of travel, and won't get you zapped by a buck fevered idiot.

 

[Chee-to]

Maybe, maybe not. The National Opinion Research Center, NORC has been keeping track of gun ownership and various measures of attitudes toward firearms and their regulation since 1972. The news is interesting. Per "America's Gun Culture--Fading Slowly?" published in April 2007 by Reuters: "Gun ownership in the United States has been declining steadily over more than three decades, relegating gun owners to minority status."

According to NORC, the percentage of American households containing guns peaked in 1977 at 54% and has fallen with regularity since, to a low of 34.5% in 2006, the most recent year in the survey. discouraging, the percentage of Americans reporting personal ownership of a gun has declined to less than 22%.

Consistent with NORC's reporting, a November '07 article in the Economist states that the number of Americans hunting has declined from 14 million a decade ago to about 12.5 million today, a 10% drop.

http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/13/gun-owners-buy-14-million-plus-guns-in-2009/
Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for the year reported 14,033,824 NICS Checks for the year of 2009, a 10 percent increase in gun purchases from the 12,709,023 reported in 2008.

So far that is roughly 14,000,000+ guns bought last year!
The total is probably more as many NICS background checks cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time by individuals.

To put it in perspective that is more guns than the combined active armies of the top 21 countries in the world. countries by number of troops

Of the NICS background checks preformed less than and average .005% were denied, showing, overwhelmingly, that law abiding American citizens are the ones buying guns and that criminals are getting their guns elsewhere.

14,033,824,000 billions rounds of Ammo
Assuming each gun buyer bought 1000 rounds of ammo for each purchase, and you and I know that it is way, way more than that, that would be easily 14,033,824,000+ billions rounds of ammo fired by USA gun owners.

What percent of people were killed or injured by this ammo…it is just to infinitesimally small for me to calculate?

Crime At Record Lows
This record year in firearms background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of exercising their civil right to Keep and Bear Arms.

In a year were crime has reached an all time record low what is plainly clear is that more guns equal LESS CRIME!

Countries By Number Of Troops: Source Wikipedia
People’s Republic of China 2,255,000
United States 1,473,900
India 1,414,000
North Korea 1,106,000
Russia 1,037,000
Pakistan 619,000
South Korea 687,000
Iran 545,000
Turkey 514,850
Vietnam 484,000
Egypt 450,000
Myanmar 428,250
Indonesia 400,000
Brazil 369,000
Thailand 306,600
Syria 296,000
Republic of China 290,000
Colombia 285,554
Germany 284,500
Iraq 273,618
Sri Lanka 266,700
13,785,972
People’s Republic of China 2,255,000
United States 1,473,900
India 1,414,000
North Korea 1,106,000
Russia 1,037,000
Pakistan 619,000
South Korea 687,000
Iran 545,000
Turkey 514,850
Vietnam 484,000
Egypt 450,000
Myanmar 428,250
Indonesia 400,000
Brazil 369,000
Thailand 306,600
Syria 296,000
Republic of China 290,000
Colombia 285,554
Germany 284,500
Iraq 273,618
Sri Lanka 266,700

This is an evaluation of overall firearms and ammunition purchases based on low end numbers per Federal NIC instacheck data base Statistics. The numbers presented are only PART of the overall numbers of arms and ammunition that have been sold.

The actual numbers are much higher.

 

[Gunner3456]

I wonder what the #'s are on FTF sales for first time buyers?

I do believe there is a decrease in sales now as opposed to a year ago. Maybe part of it is that many of us bought what we wanted last year or the year before, and surely part of it is the economy.

I do believe I can buy an AR or another popular weapon cheaper now than I could a year ago.

I also see stocks of ammo coming back into stores. A rip-snorting' boom can't last forever in any market.

 

[2506]

Clearly, the numbers are all open to interpretation. My take on all this is: it's just like hunters--the numbers decline each year. I'm not doubting that gun sales are holding steady or going up, but I would guess that the number of gun owners might be what's changing. Those numbers are hard to find.