Whew, what a day!

[DocWard]

Most know I work a part time gig at Gander Outdoor behind the firearms counter. I worked today, and we were swamped (and short-handed). We sold more firearms today than the last two Black Fridays, combined. That doesn't include the delays because the electronics NICS seemed to be overloaded. We probably sold in excess of 20,000 rounds of 9mm, not to mention .223/5.56, 22LR, and more.

 

One idiot mayor in Illinois seems to have managed to exacerbate a problem that was already in existence. Personally, I am ready for everyone to calm down. As Tommy Lee Jones said in Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals..."

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

Just when the firearms business goes flat, something good comes along!

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

I walked into Sportsman's Warehouse yesterday late afternoon, and immediately saw a line with 25+ people.  I asked one, and was told it was the line to buy ammunition.

 

"Oh!" sez I...  "Damn!  I thought they'd started selling toilet paper!"  

 

Doesn't help that we have to have a background check for every ammo purchase now.  

 

 

 

 

 

[JD Lud]

Makes me feel better about spending what I have the last few months....I felt prices had to be at bottom and bought a lot.....have seen lots of increases lately online but I am sure it will come back down before too long.

[Cat Brules]

“Ready for people to calm down?”   
 

I don’t care; I just don’t join in.  If people ask, I do tell them to keep stocking up enough for 60 days and load their refrigerator/freezer.  If you have an unused fridge, plug it in, and put stuff in it.  And, I explain why.  So, WHY?  So that you can stay out of the public if this CV19 thing goes South and there’s a huge possibility of unnecessary exposure to the virus later on, in public.  Avoid it.  Stay home if you can.  
 

Right now, 14MAR2020, there are NO known, verified cases of CV19 in either Santa Barbara County or San Luis Obispo County, California.  You may wish to check with your own local Health Department.

 

Right now, I’m in the hospital again with a collapsed vertebrae.  I’m awaiting a procedure to have it “reinflated“ and cemented/reinforced back together.   This hospital is very vigilant about CV19.  If it’s a “manufactured crisis,” these people would know, and they are being very serious about it.  They would not be behaving the way they are if this virus was other than very dangerous.

 

I’m not worried about myself regarding CV19; I’m worried about my 90yo mother-in-law, who wants to go out for lunch or dinner.   My wife keeps telling her no, because we’re trying to stay isolated for at least 60 days.  I’m going to plug in a nearly-new fridge/freezer and fill it with stuff, too.  I’m not worried about the stores running out of stock.  The real threat that I’m worried about is having to go out later, in (possibly) a much larger population of CV19 carriers, and then carrying it back home.  So, we are trying to limit that happening by not venturing out in public as much.

 

Cat Brules

[DocWard]

37 minutes ago, Cat Brules said:

“Ready for people to calm down?”   
 

I don’t care; I just don’t join in.  If people ask, I do tell them to keep stocking up enough for 60 days and load their refrigerator/freezer.  If you have an unused fridge, plug it in, and put stuff in it.  And, I explain why.  So, WHY?  So that you can stay out of the public if this CV19 thing goes South and there’s a huge possibility of unnecessary exposure to the virus later on, in public.  Avoid it.  Stay home if you can.  
 

Right now, 14MAR2020, there are NO known, verified cases of CV19 in either Santa Barbara County or San Luis Obispo County, California.  You may wish to check with your own local Health Department.

 

Right now, I’m in the hospital again with a collapsed vertebrae.  I’m awaiting a procedure to have it “reinflated“ and cemented/reinforced back together.   This hospital is very vigilant about CV19.  If it’s a “manufactured crisis,” these people would know, and they are being very serious about it.  They would not be behaving the way they are if this virus was other than very dangerous.

 

I’m not worried about myself regarding CV19; I’m worried about my 90yo mother-in-law, who wants to go out for lunch or dinner.   My wife keeps telling her no, because we’re trying to stay isolated for at least 60 days.  I’m going to plug in a nearly-new fridge/freezer and fill it with stuff, too.  I’m not worried about the stores running out of stock.  The real threat that I’m worried about is having to go out later, in (possibly) a much larger population of CV19 carriers, and then carrying it back home.  So, we are trying to limit that happening by not venturing out in public as much.

 

Cat Brules

 

Darn skippy "calm down." Taking reasonable precautions doesn't mean panicking. It means listening to the health professionals who are at the forefront, and taking it seriously without losing one's head. Stop listening to the media and the politicians. As an over 50 person with chronic respiratory issues, I'm at increased risk. My wife is a teacher, so she has been around bunches of little potential vectors until they closed the schools. But I am not panicking. I'm trying to decide how to plan for a reasonable period of time into the future, much like you.

If you think 60 days of food is necessary, I'm not going to second guess you. I don't think it is quite necessary, nor do I think it is overkill. Buying foodstuffs makes a heckuva lot more sense than buying countless rolls of toilet paper, excess ammo and even firearms one didn't have a need for last week. Most buyers weren't first time buyers, and those buying ammo certainly had guns already. Think about it for a second, if you pay attention, most non-perishable food won't go bad before you use it. Perishable items are another story, but still worth getting. Medicines, whether prescriptions or OTCs, are also smart to stock up on. But to my way of thinking, I know how much ammo I have. I know how many magazines for each firearm I have. If "it" hits the fan to the extent that my family and I are emptying magazine upon magazine, chances are, we won't ever have a chance to reload. I was watching people walking out with 1000 rounds of ammo and more.  This isn't the apocalypse. It is a crisis, but one that should have a definite end point. Better to put that money spent on those things back, in case there is a need due to layoffs or other issues as a result of the situation. Avoid increasing debt, be financially smart.

 

People need to calm down and think. It certainly sounds like you are, but many, many more aren't.

 

 

[Cypress Sun]

42 minutes ago, DocWard said:

 

Darn skippy "calm down." Taking reasonable precautions doesn't mean panicking. It means listening to the health professionals who are at the forefront, and taking it seriously without losing one's head. Stop listening to the media and the politicians. As an over 50 person with chronic respiratory issues, I'm at increased risk. My wife is a teacher, so she has been around bunches of little potential vectors until they closed the schools. But I am not panicking. I'm trying to decide how to plan for a reasonable period of time into the future, much like you.

If you think 60 days of food is necessary, I'm not going to second guess you. I don't think it is quite necessary, nor do I think it is overkill. Buying foodstuffs makes a heckuva lot more sense than buying countless rolls of toilet paper, excess ammo and even firearms one didn't have a need for last week. Most buyers weren't first time buyers, and those buying ammo certainly had guns already. Think about it for a second, if you pay attention, most non-perishable food won't go bad before you use it. Perishable items are another story, but still worth getting. Medicines, whether prescriptions or OTCs, are also smart to stock up on. But to my way of thinking, I know how much ammo I have. I know how many magazines for each firearm I have. If "it" hits the fan to the extent that my family and I are emptying magazine upon magazine, chances are, we won't ever have a chance to reload. I was watching people walking out with 1000 rounds of ammo and more.  This isn't the apocalypse. It is a crisis, but one that should have a definite end point. Better to put that money spent on those things back, in case there is a need due to layoffs or other issues as a result of the situation. Avoid increasing debt, be financially smart.

 

People need to calm down and think. It certainly sounds like you are, but many, many more aren't.

 

 

 

I couldn't agree with you more. One thing though (I think it's dumb) is that prescriptions can only be issued for 90 days. You can fudge on that a little by calling a refill in somewhat early, but that's the way it is in Florida. I think it's that way for the rest of the U.S. also.

 

I certainly don't have 60 days of food for two people stored, maybe 30. There is rabbits, squirrels, birds and the idiot neighbor's damn dog though if things get that tough. The squirrels and rabbits a bonus if the TP runs out.

 

 

[Warden Callaway]

How in d'hell is a butt load of 9mm and 223 going to help with fighting the virus?   

 

We need a hurricane or two, an outbreak of tornadoes, a major earthquake or a truckers strike to divert some of the madness. 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

40 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

How in d'hell is a butt load of 9mm and 223 going to help with fighting the virus?   

 

We need a hurricane or two, an outbreak of tornadoes, a major earthquake or a truckers strike to divert some of the madness. 

While you’re at it, how about something to devastate the corn, wheat, and soybean crops?

[Warden Callaway]

8 minutes ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

While you’re at it, how about something to devastate the corn, wheat, and soybean crops?

 

Maybe get this virus in with the howg producing houses.  No bacon!   Then I'll panic for sure. 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

8 minutes ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

Maybe get this virus in with the howg producing houses.  No bacon!   Then I'll panic for sure. 

No bacon?  It can’t get any worse.

[Cat Brules]

2 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

Maybe get this virus in with the howg producing houses.  No bacon!   Then I'll panic for sure. 

DANG!!!  I’m gonna get more extra bacon for the freezer!!  

 

CB

[Pat Riot]

My wife and I went to 2 stores yesterday. There was no toilet paper or paper towels. There was no cereal, canned soups or bottled water. 
Apparently this toilet paper thing is all over, not just the USA. 

People are just stupid over this stuff. What gets me is the one precaution about this flu that no one is paying attention to is that 6’ spacing recommendation. Everything else people are doing, but not that. 
 

I was going to LAX Ammo yesterday to check out their new reloading section. I pulled into the lot and there was a line to get into the store. 
 

 

 

I just drove through the lot and kept going. 
 

I went to the indoor shooting range and there it was business as usual. 
 

It’s strange. People in stores are being friendly enough and sometimes too friendly. Being a student of human nature I watch people and how they act. People are being skeptical of others. Openly but nonverbally judging others. People are paying attention to what others are buying and second guessing themselves on what they are buying or think they need. People aren’t sure if they should be concerned about the actions of others or if they should join in with what everyone else is doing. 

Just for kicks I looked up toilet paper on Amazon...none available. Unless you want to wait a 2 weeks to a month for shipping from China. 
 

 

[Warden Callaway]

We drove past Grafs and Sons on Thursday and there wasn't any cars or trucks on the customer parking lot. 

[Warden Callaway]

Aha!  I get it now...  They are protecting their toilet paper hoard. 

 

My sister was out shopping yesterday at Wally-World and the big shaves where toilet paper was were empty.   She stopped in at Dollar General and they had TP.  She stopped at local grocery store and they not only had TP but they had a stack of it at each register. 

 

 

[Sedalia Dave]

12 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

We need a hurricane or two, an outbreak of tornadoes, a major earthquake or a truckers strike to divert some of the madness. 

 

NO WE DON"T.

 

Then the IT would get VERY VERY bad very fast. 

What most people are unaware of is that the vast majority of stores carry ZERO inventory everything they have is on the shelf. The backroom is full of cobwebs.

The store's real time inventory is uploaded to corporate who in turn fills a truck from one of a few centrally located warehouses. When a localized natural disaster happens supplies are sent into the affected area from other centralized warehouses to make up for the localized increased demand. With a nation wide panic there is NO other warehouse to draw from. Nationally retailers have no emergency stockpile of supplies to offset the panic that is currently sending the nation into chaos. 

 

This is know as "Just In Time" inventory management and is practised by almost all manufacturers and retailers who make or sell durable goods. This is done so that they don't have cash tied up in inventory beyond what they will use in a few days at most.  They are not paying taxes on that inventory either.

 

One major natural disaster anywhere in the world will educate the masses on just how fragile our current economy is.

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

35 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

NO WE DON"T.

 

Then the IT would get VERY VERY bad very fast. 

 

One major natural disaster anywhere in the world educate the world on just how fragile our current economy is.

 

It was sarcasm.

[Black Angus McPherson]

5 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

We drove past Grafs and Sons on Thursday and there wasn't any cars or trucks on the customer parking lot. 

 

That's encouraging.  I've been running low on primers since December and I've been meaning to get my stock back up for a couple months.  I'm a little afraid folks will start buying them by the 50K to make sure they don't run out.  5K of this and 5K of that plus some lead shot would do me fine for the next couple years.

 

Angus

[Utah Bob #35998]

I won’t be home for another 2 months or so. Because of our absence, I cleaned out all the perishable  food. Cans and frozen stuff is still there. As is the ammo.  Don’t recall how the tp supply was. Hopefully things will simmer down a bit by then.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

3 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I won’t be home for another 2 months or so. Because of our absence, I cleaned out all the perishable  food. Cans and frozen stuff is still there. As is the ammo.  Don’t recall how the tp supply was. Hopefully things will simmer down a bit by then.

What you need is something that would tell you how long the power was out if it fails.  Important for your frozen foods. I’d be ok with 24-36 hours.

[Warden Callaway]

36 minutes ago, Black Angus McPherson said:

plus some lead shot

 

We were in a gunshop (near you) Thursday and I noticed he had two 25lb bags of new #8 shot.  I'd never seen him have any before.  I asked his price and he said $35/bag.  I said that I was thinking $50 for both.  He said ok, just to get them off the floor.  .  

 

As I only load my black powder loads, I'm sure I have plenty for years. (With what I have already. )

[Dusty Wyatt]

I went to pick up a GP100 that was getting out of jail today. The line was way out the door. I didn't stay.

[DocWard]

We had another ridiculously busy day today. I was talking to the closing manager before leaving, and he said we beat our weekly projections by nearly 150%, and most of that was firearms and ammunition sold in the past three days. We had a person want to buy a pallet of toilet paper (the type used in campers and RVs) we had in receiving.

[Black Angus McPherson]

20 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

We were in a gunshop (near you) Thursday and I noticed he had two 25lb bags of new #8 shot.  I'd never seen him have any before.  I asked his price and he said $35/bag.  I said that I was thinking $50 for both.  He said ok, just to get them off the floor.  .  

 

As I only load my black powder loads, I'm sure I have plenty for years. (With what I have already. )

 

Dang!  That's a good deal.  I could have used that shot.