By Chris Wagoner:
With the plethora of commentary and news about the upcoming election next month, I want to make a few minor predictions. Now of course some of you who are more firearms-community-savvy than others will think these are common sense, but for most these thoughts will seem strange.
If you see HRC getting elected, what will happen that day? The prices and availability of firearms will explode. While prices will go up like they have a few times in the past (an AR-15 that goes for $800 will go for over $1500) I think availability will be the hardest hit, with sales skyrocketing and guns flying off shelves. While President Obama has been the greatest gun salesman ever to have lived, he will be nothing like HRC! If she is elected, she has promised more than once to push for more gun control and with the momentum she will have from being elected, she may try things like executive orders and such to do as much damage to the 2nd Amendment as she can right off the bat. This has the effect of causing rational, law abiding citizens who cherish the Constitution to go out of their formerly level headed minds and become “gun and ammo hoarders”! I am already one of those, and might become the other if the election goes this way. Let’s all pray that does not happen. I am stocking up on reloading components anyway, I like to reload and this gives me an excuse to tell the wife why I need more “of that damn stuff!”
If DT gets elected, many might expect that people will believe they are safe and things will still remain the same, but my prediction is, they won’t!! DT promised to try and push National Concealed Carry Reciprocity and if he does that, more people will sign up to get their concealed carry permits where needed. Florida already has 1.6 MILLION concealed carry license holders (more than any other state) and I see that climbing by the hundreds of thousands in this scenario. Plus, with this comes the sale of ammunition for all those new gun owners and carriers in addition to various other necessities, so this election scenario also will see a huge boost in sales and availability.
People, regardless of the outcome, need to stay calm and keep from binge buying ammo, firearms and everything else involved in gun ownership. The market is like any other, supply and demand. If the United States government were to push the law abiding citizens of this great country too far, firearms and ammunition would resultantly become very important, with many thinking of their survival or safety above all else. Although I am not saying it will or should happen, I am simply speculating it can and has happened in the past. Personally, I don’t want to try to find ammo, then wait months for it to become available or have to pay 50% to 100% more for a firearm simply because of who is in office.
So what does this mean for the average Joe like me who has firearms for self-defense and also sport? We will find it hard to get any new firearms for a while, prices will eventually come back down, and ammunition will eventually be back on the shelves. But until then, I, like most Americans, will have to hold out with what I have. There has been an uptick in sales of both guns and ammo, but nothing astronomical and since things have not yet started to go crazy it is the perfect time to stock up and ride out the election craziness! I will then sit back and let Americas future unfold as it may wondering in the meantime, will I need my AR for protection or my bolt gun for hunting?
Chris Wagoner is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran . He has been in law enforcement the last 35+ years. He specializes in LE Firearms Instruction, and is in charge of a large Police Academy in North Florida. In his spare time Chris is a free-lance Military Reporter and owner/founder of the Largest Military Videos Channel on YouTube “3rdID8487”.
