On 2009-04-16, Joe wrote:
Although I've heard folks at gun shows claiming that Obama is to
blame, I suspect it's more the paranoia of gun owners reacting to a
Democrat (Liberal, pinko) admin, and the subsequent cupidity of
dealers willing to take advantage of this fear.

I plan to wait on any ammo purchases until the Fear (and prices) has
subsided. Hope I'm right - it's not the Administration that I
distrust, but the Congress.

There is an article in the Journal today about "gun investors". Those
are apparently those who lost a lot of money in their 401k's, and are
now buying guns as an investment, because "guns can only go up". Even
doctors are reportedly investing in ammunition, and that certainly is
a good signal to stay out of that arena.

Article is attached below for those without the benefit of WSJ
subscription.

My own comment on this is that I hope that more ammo will be imported
and prices will come down to earth, possibly with the fools dumping
that stuff that they stocked up on with such certainty. I still have
enough ammo stocked up from the good times, and will just wait.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123984046627223159.html

Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up
Buyers Foresee Anti-Weapon Legislation; Collectors Hope to Get Bang
for Their Bucks

By ALEX ROTH and BETSY MCKAY
[guns] Kendrick Brinson for The Wall Street Journal

Jay Chambers has been collecting guns for years as an
investment. Recent gun-ban worries have made inventory scarce, and
speculation of an assault-weapon ban has raised the prices and value
of his collection.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- The way Jay Chambers sees it, the semiautomatic
weapons in his firearm collection might be the most promising
investment in his financial portfolio.

Like many gun enthusiasts, Mr. Chambers, a manager for a door
wholesaler here, believes President Barack Obama and the Democrats in
Congress soon will reimpose a version of an expired federal ban on the
sale of so-called assault weapons. If such a law passes, he figures
his collection -- enough guns, ammo magazines and weapon parts to
assemble about 30 AK-47s, AR-15s and other semiautomatic rifles --
could triple in value.

"A guy could easily make a lot of money," says Mr. Chambers, 47 years
old, while at Autrey's Armory, a gun store about 20 miles south of
Atlanta.

Purchases of guns and ammunition are surging across the
country. Nearly four million background checks -- a key measure of
sales because they are required at the purchase of a gun from a
federally licensed seller -- were performed in the first three months
of 2009. That is a 27% increase over the same period a year earlier,
according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

No one knows exactly what is behind the gun-buying craze. Some buyers
say they are stocking up for themselves in anticipation of new
gun-control laws, while others say they're worried about deteriorating
public safety as the economy worsens.

But it's also clear that part of the gun-buying rally is driven by
people like Mr. Chambers who are buying weapons the way others invest
in a hot stock. The buying is pumping up prices. Many popular models
of guns are back-ordered for a year or more. Some manufacturers are
operating plants 24 hours a day. According to the 2009 edition of the
Blue Book of Gun Values, the average price of European-made AK-47s --
the famous Soviet-era military weapon now made in several countries --
doubled from $350 last September to more than $700 by the end of 2008.
Ammo Investments

Bert Collins, an Atlanta commercial real-estate manager, recently
bought two AR-15 rifles for about $1,600 each. He's keeping one in its
box, untouched, with the hope of selling it at a profit should
Congress re-enact the law, which expired in 2004. "It's certainly a
better investment than my 401(k) has performed," Mr. Collins said.

Bubba Sanders, owner of Bullseye Supply LLC, in Brandon, Miss., said
he has "a number of doctor clients whose financial advisers have told
them to invest in ammunition. Beats the hell out of money markets and
CDs. You can double your investment in ammunition in a year."

Many gun dealers are fanning the fear on the Internet and in other
advertising that President Obama will try to restrict the Second
Amendment right to bear arms -- despite signs that major changes in
federal weapons regulations are unlikely. The White House says there
are no imminent plans to reinstate the federal assault-weapons
ban. "The president supports the Second Amendment and respects the
tradition of gun ownership in this country," a White House spokesman
said.

Restoring the ban on assault weapons has limited support in Congress,
even among Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi have signaled reluctance in recent weeks to
renewing the ban.

During the federal ban between 1994 and 2004, the value of popular
firearms such as the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle -- a civilian version
of the M-16 used by the military -- soared. During that time, it was
illegal to manufacture weapons in the banned categories, but weapons
already in circulation could be resold. The law also prohibited stores
from selling ammunition magazines able to hold more than 10 rounds.
Inventory Scarce

As gun-ban worries have made inventory scarce, Joshua Works, president
of Mission Essential Inc., a large gun store in Hinesville, Ga., has
flipped some of his own stock for a profit. Last year, he says, he
sold a variant of an AK-47 for $400. He bought it back from the owner
in January for $550, then quickly sold the same gun again for
$750. AKs are a particularly good investment, he says. His company's
sales have risen about 30% since the election, he says.

Mr. Works ran ads on local television highlighting fears of a weapon
ban before and after the November election and says he's planning a
new spot that promotes guns as a good investment. "You can buy gold or
silver, but they go up and down," he says.

On a recent weekend, Ray Delashmutt, a 28-year-old flooring contractor
in Auxvasse, Mo., bought parts to build 15 AK-47 rifles. He says he
spent about $6,000 but figures he can eventually sell the 15 weapons
for at least twice as much. "Military weapons have always gone up in
value and those are the only guns I invest in," he said.
Ups and Downs

Of course, like all investments, guns do fluctuate in value. Weapons
whose prices rose during the previous ban fell once it was
lifted. "People I know in 2000 were buying Colts for $2,300 or
$2,400," says Dennis Williams, the owner of Guns & Leather Inc. in
Greenbrier, Tenn. "Now you can buy a new Colt for $1,400."

That the bubble could burst doesn't appear to be fazing buyers. "Right
now even used semiautomatic rifles are selling like crazy," says
Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the
National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents manufacturers
and retailers.

Randy Luth, the founder and president of DPMS Firearms LLC, in
St. Cloud, Minn., one of the country's largest manufacturers of AR