First an update from yesterday’s post- David Codrea chimes in HERE on the Peacemaker Range suit.
Then, I missed this one completely… Good article from Motley Fool on gun manufacturing in the US.
The landing has been hard for the firearms industry as it adjusts to the new environment of lower firearms demand after several years of white-hot sales. Although the gunmakers themselves are still reporting robust numbers, the outlook they share is disappointing as it returns to more modest levels, even if gun sales remain above historical trends.
Full article, HERE.
And it’s coming up on that time of year… NRA Annual Meeting! It’s in Atlanta, GA 27-30 April. Based on the above article, I’m going to be talking to some of the ‘little’ folks in the manufacturing side and see what they are seeing…
With the cuts going on at both Colt and Remington lately, are we seeing the tip of the iceberg? Are more cuts on the horizon for S&W now that they are American Outdoor Brands and are ‘supposedly’ deemphasizing their firearms?
I don’t have good answers to ANY of the questions I’ve posed, and I’m not smart enough to start trying to guess…
Lastly, a question for the readers- If you ‘finally’ got your suppressor delivered to the local FFL, would you do the Form 4 and pay the $200, and assume the position of waiting up to six + months or bet on the come of the Hearing Protection Act being signed in August, as some people are thinking???
My answer is below the fold…
And one last one to think about. From Glenn Reynolds in USA Today- The Suicide of Expertise, not specifically about guns, but worth the read, considering how many ‘experts’ there are in the gun/weapons field…
h/t JP
I went with bird in hand and did the Form 4. If the HPA doesn’t pass, that’d be another year plus before I’d potentially see the suppressor… sigh
If you’re curious, I got THIS ONE… Surefire, because it will fit both the sniper and SCAR rifles.
Good choice on the can and the form4 . Best case is that the HPA passes and you will be due a tax refund. Worst case is that you paid the tax due and will have shortened the wait due to everyone seemingly stalling purchase right now .
I just had mine clear. I filed them on a trust right before the rules change. if the HPA passes, I’ll get my tax stamp paid back, so the cost will be the same IF it passes (Congress has NEVER loosened gun laws, so I’m skeptical they will now), AND I have it in hand usable earlier – time is money.
If the HPA passes, I’ll probably buy or make more suppressors.
FD- Kinda my thought process too.
Jonathan- How long did it take? I’m hearing 9-10 months… sigh
I filed my Form 4 in mid April 2016 and got it back in mid January 2017. The Form 4 I filed in January 2016 came back in August 2016. I’ve heard that wait times are not (yet) decreasing; I don’t know if suppressor demand has dropped off the way some claim people are waiting for the HPA to pass.
For all the good that a President Trump is doing right now, there are many dragons yet to slay. TSA, BATFEIEIO … the list goes on. FWIW, I think you made the right call, too.
Good article from Motley Fool, with one BIG correction. This is not the hard landing. We are only four months or so past the election and the change in people’s perception of danger to their rights. This is just the first of many stumbles and falls down a long flight of steps to the basement, where it is likely the gun industry will live for several years.
I was in the industry back in the eighties and nineties, and I can tell you that it took a very long time for the industry as a business to get healthy again. There will be lots of manufacturers going out of business, and lots and lots of distressed inventory coming up for sale with no one in sight to buy it.
For the Firearms industry, this is what it felt like to be a home builder in 2008. Good times are not just right around the corner.
Well, who needs a stinkin’ Form 4? Psfst. 🙂
Rev- Thanks, and yes, LOTS of work still to do.
FF- GOod point, I hadn’t thought about it from ‘that’ perspective.
I know the father-in-law of one of the big guys in the Midway USA online gun supplies stuff. He has built himself an 8 million dollar house and sent the folks on some fabulous vacations. Obama was good to him.
I can’t help but wonder what the effect of the 80% crowd is on the large mfrs.
PH- WOW!!!
Ed- Probably go out of business…
HPA won’t pass.
Ed, truly the 80% lower buyers are not even noticeable on anyone’s bottom line. Very few really get finished in working order.
I think that if I could get a suppressor with no more hassle than buying a firearm (in my home state, if you have a CCW permit, they don’t have to call in the 4473) I’d probably get one or two of the .22 rifles threaded for a can. Otherwise, it’s not really grist for my mill, since I’ve got things that I’d rather spend the money on. JMHO, YMMV, IRDDU.