Notes from the gun shop...

One thing I've seen at the shop which somewhat surprises me is the number of single, professional women who are bringing in their pre-teen and teen-aged sons and actually encouraging their shooting interests.  You can tell that some of them seem to feel a bit out of place but they come in anyway. (of course there are exceptions, one young man's mother sits outside in the car)  It seems to be the norm that these mothers were raised by fathers who shot and hunted.  In other words, their own childhood years were with guns in the house even if they themselves don't have an interest in shooting.  It is also interesting, I think, that they seem to be more conservative than their sons with most (all?) preferring traditional blued steel and wood stocks to the modern stainless and composite stocks. 

Primers and powder seem easier to come by now.  We seem to be able to provide most types of primers and powder (other than Winchester labeled powder).  The boss man did put a 200 per customer limit on primers to give his non-hoarding low-quantity buyers a chance to get primers. 

Likewise handgun ammunition other than .357 Magnum, 10mm Auto and .45 Colt seems to be in fairly good supply.  Some rifle ammunition has been impossible to get as available stocks have apparently been ordered by or gone to states with current big game seasons.  However, prices seem to have reached a level that has diminished demand so that at least some sort of ammunition is available for just about any chambering. 

Coyote hunting has apparently hit a high point in our area.  We had 4 customers come in just to buy ammo or reloading supplies for yesterday evening's coyote hunt. 

I finally met another customer (other than myself) who wanted a .44 Special Flattop.  I half-heartedly offered him my 5½" gun but he was not interested in it at the price offered even though I included the El Paso Saddlery holster in the deal.  He apparently expected to pay about $375 for the gun although the MSRP is $557 and the dealer's price is $360 or so.  He wasn't aware of the Bisley version nor was he aware of the stainless version.

We are starting to see better guns brought in for sale, many times to pay bills.  It is an unfortunate truth that hard times can be opportunities for those better prepared.