First post-post ban gun show
Me and a buddy went to this weekend’s gun show. I had the itch and, dammit, I was going to buy something. I did, more on that later. The show was disappointing. There wasn’t any post-post ban stuff there. What little bit was there was ridiculously high in price. I guess the streets aren’t flooded yet. Regular capacity magazines were still running high in price (except one guy who had regular capacity Glock magazines stamped Law Enforcement Only – which now means nothing – for $29. He planned ahead and bought in advance, apparently). People were still trying to sell AR mags for $20 (sorry, no ban and I expect to pay less than $10) and people still had pre-ban prices on pre-ban guns. Mind you, you can get a brand new one that is identical for much, much less, if you can find one.
I decided a while back that I wanted a shorty AR and that I wanted an AK clone. I decided to combine the two and got an AR15 kit that is chambered in 7.62X39. I’ve heard some of these have feeding problems due to magazine issues. We’ll see how it works. I bought the kit from the fine folks at J&T Distributing and began looking for a lower receiver. Problem is, they don’t exist. People are snatching them up. One guy at the show had one and he wanted $275 for it (they sell new for $120). I asked him why it was so high and he said because it was pre-ban. I almost told him there wasn’t a ban anymore but felt I’d be wasting my breath. Obviously, I passed on his lower.
I started calling all the gun shops I know of and none of them had receivers. Finally, I stopped by Predator Custom Shop and ordered one (for $120) that should be here in a week or two. The guy told me that since the ban, he can’t keep any ARs or lowers. He said he sold 28 ARs and 16 lowers since 9/13. He also told me there is only one supplier who can keep up with his demand and that’s the lower I ordered.
So, to conclude:
Gun dealers are either bastards or don’t know the ban is gone and that people will no longer pay $1,500 for a $700 rifle. Nor will they pay $100 for a $20 magazine.
Only one dealer had the foresight to try to meet the demand caused by the ban’s expiration.
Nobody stocked post-post ban guns. No one. Just kits.
Good luck getting a lower receiver for an AR15.
September 27th, 2004 at 1:18 pm
So, how much is your total AR going to cost?
I’ve wanted to get a poodleshooter for awhile, but haven’t both because I don’t have a pressing need, but also because I can’t justify spending $700 on one.
If you can get a lower for $120, how much more will the rest of the rifle be to build up? Perhaps you can do a photoblogging step by step post on how you built it and what each part costs
September 27th, 2004 at 1:43 pm
Kit costs $509 (there are cheaper kits that run in mid $400s), $120 for lower.
Contact JT Distributing and they will mail you a catalog.
Go to ar15.com and find the lower assembly instructions and follow them. it’s easy.
September 27th, 2004 at 2:17 pm
A lot of gun dealers seem to be completely clueless about the laws of supply and demand. At my first post-ban gunshow, I overheard a dealer selling Beta C-Mags say something to the effect of, “You better buy now, because the company is about to produce a huge run of new Beta C-Mags to run up the price.”
I’m sure prices will come down when economic reality sets in. My big problem was that I couldn’t find a collapsible HK94 stock to put on my formerly post-ban rifle. The entire supply has apparently been attached to other formerly post-ban rifles.
September 27th, 2004 at 2:58 pm
Thanks Uncle.
On JTs web page it says they don’t sell lower receivers. However they do sell complete guns. Do thee complete guns include the lower?
Also, how would one of these differ from me going out and purchasing, say, a bushmaster or Armalite or Rock River AR?
September 27th, 2004 at 3:00 pm
eeer, just read their page mosre closely. ferget that last comment
September 27th, 2004 at 7:21 pm
I didn’t see the 7.62×39 upper.. is that discontinued?
September 27th, 2004 at 8:06 pm
Nah, it’s new. They’re not real good about keeping thier website up to date. Call them at the phone number on their page and have them mail you a catalog.
September 27th, 2004 at 10:58 pm
That “post-post ban” thing is annoying, grammar-wise, isn’t it? You’ve got pre-ban, post-ban, and post-post-ban. Yuck. Post-sunset, maybe?
September 28th, 2004 at 3:56 am
RRA lists them as “No-Ban” models on their website.
September 28th, 2004 at 7:50 am
Actually, i call them post-post-ban to be silly. For all intents and purposes, as of now, there never was a ban.
September 28th, 2004 at 8:59 am
That’s funny – I hit a gun show this past weekend too…
‘Course, I live in the People’s Republic of MA, so the sunset of the AWB {spit} means little to me – MA has its own version of the AWB, plus we can only buy “approved” handguns (don’t ask – I haven’t taken my blood pressure meds yet).
Did manage to find a couple 30 round magazines for the M1 carbine for $15 ea. Considering that they go for $20 just about everywhere I’ve looked (even Cabellas and CTD), I considered it a bargain…
Now I need to find an eeeeevil black stock to replace the crumbling wooden one… And a bayonet… We needses a bayonetses…