Gun Prices Continue to Fall - 5 Reasons Why 

The prices of the firearms is not a problem, it's the ammo. You pay a one time fee for the firearm. I don't mind paying a little more for a good pistol or riffle, it's the ammunition you have to keep paying for at double, triple the price.

I believe ammo prices are directly influencing gun sales. I went to the sporting clays range last weekend just see if anybody was shooting. Usually there are 30 to 40 shooters there in a Sunday. There was only 5 guys there. The owner said that it was pretty slow lately cause of ammo prices..

Interesting insight! A collapse in demand for firearms combined with rapidly rising inflation could be a nightmare for gun stores and manufacturers.

In my state bkgd checks take 2hrs or more. Mine pop immediately though..... but the reason gun sales are down is Ammo. People can't afford to shoot. I for one will not pay the Ammo prices people are asking. We ALL should refuse to buy at theses prices, shelves would fill up and prices would go down..... simple, period.

What do you mean the 21st firearm is not a necessity?😁

When I started my first engineering-adjacent job in 2014, I made $19/hour. Today, the McDonald's in town is offering up to $16/hour - for regular crew members. Not only do I think guns and ammo *won't* return to pre-pandemic prices, but the cost of all goods are going to skyrocket

With the price of gasoline on the rise, utility cost on the rise. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that people are feeling the pinch. And therefore have less disposable income to spend on firearms. I know for myself that is the case. Between the price of gasoline, price of groceries, price of heating my house. All that have increased in the last few months. That combined with the lack of any increase in wages. Has left a lot of us working class people with the choice. Buy food or buy a gun. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that feels this way or is having the same issues.

I've put off buying 2 new guns because of ammo prices =)

I agree I have been seeing gun prices coming down and guns that have been absent show back up again. Thier seems to be ammo on the shelves now its just that prices are very high.

I think another small factor in sales going down is the lack of innovation from most gun makers. I just can't get excited about another new polymer frame striker fired 9mm

Gun prices might go down but last i heard, ammo was increasing from 3-12 % in April. Primers are still over twice where they should be.. if you can even find them.

Can’t wait to show this to my local gun shop and get my $200 discount

Reloading components, especially primers, are still very hard to get.

Personally I haven't seen a drop in demand or prices of specific items I want, like Howa Mini 223, Rossi M92 .357 lever, vintage S&W 25-5, or Savage 99 in .308 or 300 Sav and Win94 in 38-55. The prices shot up with the start of Covid panic and they are actually getting worse...much worse in fact. All lever actions are still sky high and IMHO that's from the Iron Curtain states that restrict military style rifles. But the new plastic 9mm autos are overflowing showcases. The pallets of 223 or 9mm ammo don't empty nearly as fast as last summer. More calibers are on the shelves. It'd sure be nice to get primers so I'd feel comfortable shooting what I've reloaded.

It will be nice to see some more availability of more unique firearms and ammo. I am done with black poly handguns. I have my list of unique firearms maybe some older models if I can find ammo for them. It still hard to find .357. Larger caliber lever action rifles are still not readily available. Maybe the manufacturers will start some innovation and creativity again. Thanks for your videos. Very informative and enjoyable.

Thank you for sharing your valuable experience and views.

Live in Alaska and for the first time in months I saw Cabelas and sportsman’s Shelves well stocked.

Went to the range and utilized 800 rounds of 45-70. My Henry needs a good cleaning and I’m bankrupt. Merica!

You provide great information on firearms, buying, selling, economic and political influence. Good Stuff

I've been holding out on some purchases. Grateful for where ever I got such patience. I'll wait another 6 months and see how things are going.

I stopped buying guns and ammo and stopped shooting period because I can barely meet bills now that gas and groceries have reached triple what I spent in 2019.

We'll see. From what i've seen the only gun getting cheaper is ARs, there's a glut of them in the market. But if you've seen one AR you've seen them all, and people are starting to get bored with them. Everything else is only getting more expensive. I sold guns for 15 years, through good times and bad. I'm here to tell you gun prices will trend upward. Prices may stabilize for a time, even sell for a minuscule amount less for a time because dealers need to move product, but over time the market will trend upward. Desperate dealers selling guns for 5-10% less doesn't mean prices are dropping, it means they just need to keep cash moving to stay afloat. But they can't sell guns for under cost and still put food on the table. It's a blurp that says nothing about the market in the long run.

NOT AROUND HERE WHERE I LIVE DAM PRICES ARE SKY HIGH ON EVERYTHING !

I agree , everyone has purchased everything they want for now, and realize they have more than enough.

Thirty years as an FFL. You're spot on

If only ammo prices would go down.

Good information. Thank you for sharing.

Excellent prognosis and commentary. Thanks man, you might not be an economist, but you are certainly an intelligent business owner who sees trends.

Great explanation you are very informative and entertaining thank you

The Free money has stopped ! End of story . Love your show been a big fan for years . 👍

Thank you oh Great One. Music to my ears 😀

Not a bad explanation of how the economy works from a professed non economist. Well done. I hope and pray the mid term elections will also have a positive effect for the economy.

I'm over 50 + years old, & I've seen gun prices above msrp at gunshops and gunshows every year go higher no matter what,, it's pure greed,, I've seen demand slumps & prices still go up,, if you can renember surplus military guns used to be less than 75.00 and now a beat up sks or ak 47 is 5 times higher than that,, I've seen bolt action surplus rifles go through the roof for beat up ragged rifles with shot out bores,, i strongly must disagree with you,, I've seen a steady increase no matter what the market & demand calls for...

Could it be that consumers have limits on how much they’re willing to pay for what used to be a cheap hobby? I started handloading and I have no intention of ever stopping. And these handloads will last through this artificial shortage and the next one and the next one and the next one…

Very authoritative, logical, concise and relevant! Thanks!

I agree with what Chris is saying and seeing. I see it at my place of business in the number of people who come to the counter. We had a good abundance of 9mm even at 16 a box. I visited his shop a year or so ago, during the coof and bought a Beretta 1951. Thanks for the experience at your shop it was fun for me, but my wife wasn't as happy😁

Agree completely. I've bought and sold since the 1970s and have seen these cycles before. The firearms industry generally follows real world market trends -- otherwise they couldn't stay in business. But the consumer market tends to follow gut reactions that are usually wrong: fears of gun grabs during some political waves that rarely actually happen, followed by complacency when consumers feel assured by whomever happens to be in office and in the news. Lather, rinse, repeat. One notable exception occurred in the late 1980s-90s when legislation sponsored by Sen. Bob Dole opened the market for repatriation of US made firearms, curios and relics, as well as foreign made classic military firearms. The market was so glutted it was a golden age for Boomer collectors. You could buy pristine Swedish Mausers for $100, Ljungmans for under $200, SKS's for $75-$150 depending on country of origin (none of them were really bad), repatriated S&W 1917 .45 ACP revolvers from Brazil for $100. Even a broke college student or working stiff could afford to at least try one of everything for awhile, resell it without taking a loss, and move on to the next goodie. Basic ammo cost $5-$10, and premium cost $10-$15. I still have a box of .357 Black Talon labeled under $15, and a box of 50 148 gr swaged lead wadcutters for $5 from the late great Army/Navy surplus store. We'll never see the likes of that era again. Another factor that caused prices to seem out of sync with the current market was the demise of gun shows and the stigma-free private party transactions between collectors and enthusiasts. Prices were realistic and based on the actual condition of the firearm as examined by the prospective customers. There was little or no panic buying or hoarding, no online auction fever. Even pawn shops tended to price guns not only at what they were realistically worth, but based on how much money the shop had loaned. Currently almost every gun I see in pawn shops is grossly overpriced because of a combination of reasons. Mostly, they loaned too much money based on a temporary panic induced market. And they were spoiled by independent FFL dealers who grabbed up everything they could find in early 2020. And many of those S&W EZ models that sold out before Christmas 2021 are finding their way back to the pawn shops now... still priced as if new. So far, I'm not seeing any used SCCY's or Hi-Points. Presumably the pawn shops that sold them aren't interested in loaning on them. Or perhaps those guns are finding, umm... alternative markets. The government stimulus checks helped sustain the consumer demand for awhile, but between the end of those stimulus checks, losses of jobs, steep increases in rental housing, tax valuation on residences, artificially inflated home values, gas prices, etc., many folks have less discretionary income. I'm also seeing fewer people at the better indoor ranges. Perhaps they're using the cheaper outdoor ranges here, which tend to have rather slack attitudes toward safety. Pay $5 for an hour or so, rather than $10-$30/hr, take your chances with getting covered by a newbie's muzzle, or someone taking a shot at his target while everyone else has walked downrange during a called cease-fire. Some ammo has been readily available for months, mostly 9mm and .223. I'm seeing more variety now, and even occasionally some .38 Special, but still at high prices -- although people are buying anyway. So, yeah, we're likely to see lower prices for firearms first, then ammunition as raw materials become available. The shipping crisis persists, totally unrelated to politics or the pandemic.

This is the most intelligent explanation I have heard yet.

Great insight. Thanks for the video

Every retailer has dozens of ARs and polymer 9mms. I’ll be happy to see more revolvers, other rifles, and the ammo for them coming back. Thanks for the insight.

I appreciate these analyses. Sounds like it might soon be a good time to buy a used gun.

Will be glad to see primers come back. Will be really glad to see primers come back at a more affordable price.

You are candid and explain things well. Thanks!

I wonder how ammo shortage fatigue has discouraged firearm interest. Seems like it plays a role, but exactly how much would be just a guess.

Well done. Good information. Good news. Thank you

Great analysis. thanks

Thank you for such an informative video. There were a couple of new guns I had my eyes on right before the pandemic hit us, I was in the process of waiting for some reviews to come out the prices went up considerably. About halfway through the pandemic I bought one them for the price I wanted to pay, and then a couple months after that I found the second gun for the price I was willing to pay and both of them were considerably less. Through patience and not getting desperate I did ok. It's going to be interesting to see what happens.

Not in CA!!! And don't get me started on ammo prices!

As usual your comments are interesting. I expected this softness to occur about 6 months ago. The insight on ammunition was great. How much do you want? Some online sites are consistent selling a box of 50 for $17.99 - Blazer 9mm. 22LR on the other hand seems to be holding firm even on bulk packs. It's about double from 2019. I honestly expect firearm prices to soften in Q3 last year but demand stayed steady. How does this impact the used gun market in terms of supply? Will people sell firearms or keep them? Thanks for the video.

Great video, thanks for keeping on top of this trend.

Keep in mind too that a lot of them gun buyers now have concealed carry licences and in some states that can be used for your back ground check. So there will be less recorded checks!

I have noticed availability of my watchlist has steadily improved as well, which tells me demand is slackening. Inflation is still a big factor going forward, but I think that will force buyers to spend more disposable income on essentials, and that may also negatively impact firearms sales. We’ll see.

Things that spike upwards tend to drop then level out. Seasoned buyers won't tolerate the insane prices.

Sucks ammo prices are still high. Cant even reload my rifle ammo, cant find rifle primers any where.

Refreshing to hear about these various issues from someone that can articulate the reasons for costs in firearms and ammunition in economic terms. I’m so tired of all the Tubers that blame ammo costs on greedy manufacturers vs the reality of underlying expenses. Hopefully copper prices will drop sometime soon, hit its historic high this month at $5.04 a lb. Now around $4.73, probably won’t see much help with ammo prices until that eases. To Mark’s point, manufacturers won’t drop prices below their needed margins, they’ll just cut costs internally. Good video!

Just at a show this last weekend, in a border state PRICES ARE ASTRONOMIC!!!

I just picked up a 10mm 1911 at a pre-pandemic price, AND I was able to afford the ammo. Good times are here again!

Good. I have been watching the .22 LR Comp. rifle market lately and the (asking) prices are so high for a used Win 52 or Remington or Anschutz target rifles I just decided to build one myself and being a Gunsmith it's not a big deal. Asking over 1K for a 1920s or 1930s Wnchester 52 is asinine. I'm not a collector but a shooter why would i pay that much for an old beat up .22 rifle with untold rounds down the barrel when i can build a new rifle fo the same $$ or less or a tad more. It's amazing what people think their old firearms are worth. The bluebook of gun values is partially to blame for that. I get people wanting to sell firearms all the time tell me that the "Bluebook" says it's worth this much. To which i reply "good let the book buy it then" it's worth this much to me and it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I wanna see ammo prices come down...looks like they are starting to do the opposite. 2 months ago I was complaining about 30c per rd of 9mm. I don't see it going below that anytime soon. Maybe never.

Fuel prices are sticking everyone with high prices on anything sitting on any shelf...

Thanks for the great advice and work you guys do. Im from tell city Indiana. Go Hoosiers

In regards to the 9mm ammo and pricing, pre pandemic I was getting range ammo at $10 a box of 50 and now it $20 for a box of 20rnds. I haven’t even seen 50rnd boxes in almost 2 years. So the price per round is still drastically high.

Thenks

agree with you. Much higher prices in fuel, food and other necessities will lower cash available for firearms & ammunition!

i just want affordable 5.7x28 ammo 😭

Thanks Chris! Appreciate the info and your insight.

Great info. thanks !

With the shortage of 7.62x39 ammo the price of AK-47's should start to come down. Less people will be looking to buy them if ammo is not available.

Great analysis

Inflation and high gas prices are eating disposable income and that will cause some to sell to meet financial needs, and stop others from buying.

How do "prices go down" on products that cannot be found?

Excellent analysis.

Thanks Chris!

This is a great thing!

Good, hopefully the last one I’m looking for will not be so expensive soon!

Thanks Chris.... EXCELLENT INFORMATION.... keep it coming! This was my first visit to your channel.... and I have now subscribed!

That was a great information thank you you cover mostly everything thank you for your service

I think your correct...just wish ammo would reflect the same down trend....still in the market for a new MBR. .but I am now thinking more food Preps and maybe a Bomb Shelter LOL ...Good Video

Thanks Mark (edited, sorry Chris, I called you "Mark" again), I'm looking forward to being able to buy ammunition to actually shoot again rather than just stockpile. Also looking forward to a real Black Friday gun sale this fall instead of the overpriced disappointments of the last two years. Even with inflation pricing it should be an improvement.

A very intelligent firearms guru, what a concept. Excellent observations and feedback here.

Lest we not forget the Y2K panic.

Ammo prices are increasing. The striker fired 9mm guns are cheap but try buying highly desired guns, they are sky high!

Another good indicator is Smith & Wesson's rebates. Under normal circumstances, SW has rebate programs at least 3 times a year. None since 2020. Finally this year, we're seeing the rebates slowly coming back. Market is becoming saturated

Thanks

Great video, very good insight, thank you. I hope the prices does drop some, it would help out the cost for us gun channels. Lot's of love from the American Hillbilly and the Hillbilly Nation.

Not a drop in demand, but a drop in ability to buy. No one has money.

Very good information Chris!

The past few gun shows I've been to (in WV), most of the sellers are still nutz with what they want for typical/average guns like Remington 870 and 700, Winchester 1200/1100/94, and 70, most pistols, and all ammo. The only guns that I see with noticeably lower asking prices were anything in .40, low to mid range 1911s, and budget built AR platforms (usually the Frankensteins). And the majority of the overall inventory at the shows are platforms chambered in hard to find, or super expensive calibers. Though I fully expect gun sales and prices to drop if the prices of common ammo doesn't drop considerably, because who the heck wants to buy something that costs equal to a car payment to shoot for a couple hours at the range. Of course, all this goes out the window if the situation with Russia goes sideways.

Just discovered your channel. Very informative, subbed about a minute in. Well done, and thanks for posting.

Great information thanks.

the cool stuff sure doesn't seem to be droppin. I'll have to finally grab some lever gats once things bottom out. best of luck to you.

Hey. That was a fun Livestream! You def know your stuff 👍 I can see ammo rising in price due to the increased costs of raw materials, and labor, and transportation. Ammo is heavy, and gas and especially diesel are way up in price. As well as metal in general.

Great info. Very informative. Appreciated greatly.

Cost of ammo is still crazy high. Why buy more firearms if you can't shoot them

Everything at shotshow gave me sticker shock. Prices of new models are ridiculous.

Always enjoy your insights. Thanks for sharing them..

Still can't find .357mag ammo for under $40/box.

well thought out points.... thanks mark for that......

Excellent presentation, thanks.

I never sell my guns. I get them out late at night and talk to them, HEE hee hee.