Notes from the gun shop...

I wish I could report changes in supply but I'm not sure I can. Firearms we're getting were order BEFORE 14 Dec 2012. Same for ammo. However, we did have a small quantity, 20, 100 round boxes of CCI Mini-Mags and 3 boxes of 525 count Remington Golden Bullet. Finally had some Glocks show up, again, apparently, these were ordered prior to 14 Dec 2012. We are doing a lot of transfers as a number of people are managing to find the firearms they want, if not the ammunition needed, via on-line venues such as Gunbroker.com, AuctionArms.com, GunsAmerica.com or GunsInternational.com. We are trying to serve our loyal customers but that has become more and more difficult. One thing we've noticed is that more and more people are becoming accustomed to paying rather higher prices than before. E.g. we have a lot of people paying $4.99 to $10.99 for a box of 50 .22 Long Rifle for plinking where they could have paid $2.99 prior to mid-December. We also hear of several people who are staking out the WalMart to buy all they can of whatever and then immediately reselling it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I'm simply reporting what's happening. Given that a lot of people are out of work, it is only natural that they try to make a living however they can.

All this was overshadowed by news that my friend and long-time co-worker, John A______, was hospitalized last Saturday with some sort of heart problem (I don't know the details) that nearly killed him. It must have been serious as he was picked up here in Staunton by the rescue squad at 10 after 12 noon and in the operating room at UVA by 2:30. The last report I had was that he was doing better.