Gun Shop News

Ricci Wright

Well it's Saturday and I can't get near the beach due to an Ironman Triathlon that started with a swim this morning so had to go to a different coffee store. Got here at the store at 8 so my guys could do private classes before we open at 10. Got to pack some guns for the post office to go out Monday. Then I need to get back to stock orders. Trying to stay ahead of what could be the perfect storm. If "you know who" wins and with Christmas so close guns and stuff will get tough to find. Ammo is a no brainer. Got ten more AR15's in yesterday. Getting a little low on Glock mags. Just did target order. We go through a lot of targets. The lights in the parking lot have all decided to go out so I need to look at that. Well breaks over.

Ricci Wright

Nice at the beach this morning with folks working grubs and MirOlure plugs for trout from their boats by the bridge. I remember when I was 18 years old wading for trout in the ocean wearing cut off jeans in the winter. No Way now!!
Anyway the store looks all Christmasy with some lights and TWO trees. It's quiet right now with me being the only one here. The guys are on the way and we have an hour of privates classes starting at 9.
I need to do the register from yesterday and work on a knife display, do an ammo inventory and pack up some guns to ship.
You guys have a great weekend.

Ricci Wright

Well we have two more days in the store till Christmas and I must say this has been the slowest Christmas in terms of sales since I started eleven years ago. There have been much fewer folks coming in. It's pretty much the same with the other stores I talk to around the country. I think California is probably the exception due to the new laws but I don't talk to any stores in that state.
The distributors I talk to daily tell me the same thing that their sales are way down. Acusport even cancelled their show in Texas for the first of the year. This was by far my favorite show.
The bright side is lots of great deals for the few customers who are buying. I am seeing crazy deals on line. Palmetto State is listing guns $50.00 under my wholesale price with free shipping. That's crazy but it shows the state the industry is in right now.
On the other hand we do pretty well on the auction side. If I could get enough used guns I wouldn't even mess with new stuff. And our indoor range is doing well. We sell lots of ammo and targets. And we get lots of free food for some reason. I know it's the holidays but so far this week we had a big pot of homemade meat balls in tomato sauce with hoagie rolls for sandwiches.A pistachio cake. About three thousand cookies and other assorted pastries as well as bags oranges and apples. Oh and pizza!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!

Ricci Wright

Setting here sticking some old military rifles on the other side listening to a concert that JJ Cale and Leon Russell did back in 1979. Good stuff!! JJ is showing off a guitar he rebuilt. There's no back and you can see turn buckles from the hardware store and coins he has inserted in the joints to tighten them up.He said it was a cheap $50.00 guitar and it's ugly but it sure sounds great. Reminds me of all the folks I hear crying about their 5 lbs. trigger is too heavy for them to shoot well.Or they "need" a match barrel. Had one customer come in with a Kart barrel(which are made down the road from where I'm setting) wanting to install it in a premium 1911 he had just bought. Funny thing was the brand new gun came with one of Mr. Kart barrels. It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools for his lack of skill.

Ricci Wright

Well the morning started with a couple of private classes before we opened. One of our first customers brought one of those"Boxes of Joe" coffee from dunkin. One of my guys worked for two hours yesterday with a 19 year old kid with terminal cancer. He wanted to learn to shoot while he still could. A bucket list thing I guess. Two pizzas show up at lunch as a thank you from his parents. Free coffee, free pizza and as far as I know I'm not dying real soon. Funny, I can't seem to find anything at all to * about.

Ricci Wright

I think today is the first day of Spring and we are already seeing 80 degree days and God has painted everything outside yellow. It's a few minutes before 9 am and private classes have started. We had a full CCW class yesterday and I have an outside instructor bringing in his class to shoot tonight when we close. Yesterday was busy. The range was packed all day and lots of guns and bullets going out. Ar15's have slowed a bit but then we have been out of the popular low end guns for a couple of weeks. I find the low end S&W M&P15 Sports and Ruger SR556 guns sell well as do the upper end Daniels Defense and LWRC The middle range guns not so much.
Our main thing is of course handguns and they remain strong. Glocks and Rugers in 9mm as well as Shields in 9mm are in short supply due to the manufactures trying to fill the "Program Orders" done at the shows at the first of the year. Program orders are the manufactures asking dealers to commit to large orders and they will give a few free guns. It can be a good thing but you need to be careful. If you stock up with 60 model A1's and a month later the new improved A2 comes out guess what happens to the demand for the A1. You end up having to bite the bullet and selling them at cost or bellow.(and that is why I am selling Ruger SR40C pistols at $299.00).
Guess I should get busy packing up guns for shipment tomorrow. I've got guns going to Waycross,Ga., Chagrin Falls, Oh., Harrison,Ar., Maple Valley,Wa., Tacoma,Wa., and a couple more to Texas. Man, that auction side keeps me busy.[:)][:)]

Ricci Wright

The store and range has been hopping all day. We have received a lot of stock in the last few days and there's more on the way. Stocking up on handguns and accessories for the Christmas rush which should hopefully start by the first of Dec. We only have four or five AR15's in stock which is perfect in my opinion. I would not want a bunch of black rifles to unload right now. I do have a couple of Colt 6920 SOCOMII's hidden away in my private stock.
Lots of ammo in stock and more on the way. I just don't feel right if there's not several hundred thousand rounds close by.
We have been getting some good used guns in most of which I just list on the auction side right away. They sell quickly and we get more money from them.
We are closed for Thanksgiving tomorrow so let me take this opportunity to wish you all a happy holiday. I have a lot to be thankful for and I hope you folks do as well. Ricci.

Ricci Wright

Controlled chaos is I think the way to describe what it's been here for the last two weeks. We have guns going out so fast it's difficult keeping up with our book work. My guys have put up a gallant effort and so far I think we are winning. We have sold more AR15 rifles in two weeks than we have in the last two years. We are running out of everyday sellers like Glock and Sig and S&W handguns and our suppliers don't have them in stock to replace. The range has been steadily packed,we are going through ammo like crazy and the two CCW classes for January are booked solid. Yesterday two of our computers died and I just got mine fixed. I'm a couple of days behind on shipping GunBroker guns and have called everybody and apologized. We still have end of year inventory to do somehow. I'm looking at cases of ammo in the floor behind the counter we haven't had time to check in and I have a truck coming tomorrow with a bunch of 5.56. Life is good, just busy.[:)][:)]

Ricci Wright

I have read several accounts here that not much is going on at the gun shows. That's too bad but we are still rockin and rollin here. Started a ccw class shooting this morning at 8am sharp and then a couple of individual classes from 9 till 10. It's 7:30 pm now and we are finishing up the last of three relays of another CCW class. Between this morning and now we have had people waiting to get on the range cause it's been full. Not sure how many guns went out today but we were busy with that too. Ar15's have slowed some but not dead. I added an extra CCW class for both this month and Feb. cause the two scheduled each month were full. Got some decent used guns in today and half a dozen that folks want cleaned. I have at least two dozen guns that need to be listed on the auction side that I just can't get to. I can't wait till summer so I can * about how slow it is.[:)][:)]

Ricci Wright

Opened at 8:15 for our Sunday morning private classes. Four classes today, one guy and three ladies. We have a lot of women customers taking classes, buying stuff, and shooting. We like that. I'm guessing maybe 25% of our clientele are female. They are usually easy to work with and learn quickly. I did have a young lady a few years back who had spent a lot of time out of the country at remote medical stations and had picked up some bad habits from "specops guys". She was going back to Afghanistan and needed to pass a pistol qual. I spent several hours just getting her to stop doing weird stuff. The second day she got it and things went well after that.
Speaking of classes. While I was arranging the knife display case I was listening to one of my guys explaining safety and the difference between revolvers and auto pistols to a lady this morning. The analogies he was using were amazing. She understood exactly what he was saying. I told him after the class,"dude you rock!"
Guns are still hard to get. We're taking orders for Glock 19's cause we are only getting a couple per week. Most of the other guns are the same way. But we are really busy so my guys are selling something. I guess we are clearing out old stock which is good.
Well I have 7 guns to pack up and get in the mail tomorrow so breaks over. See ya, Ricci.

Ricci Wright

Damn I'm trying to take a little nap but the yahoos on the other side of my wall keep popping off 9mm rounds like they're free. I should have thought about it before I gave my guys a can full of 9 mm NATO ammo and said help yourselves. Staid up too late last night but there's no time for napping now cause I gotta get 10,000 rounds of .223 range ammo on it's way here. We are running through around 3000 rounds per week now. Just finished a big pepper spray order and holsters and grips are next. Gotta box up a couple of rifles for shipping tomorrow. Hey, I just noticed my ear muffs are gone from their hanging place. Somebody is gonna pay!!

Locust Fork

Sounds like things are going great!!! Happy Thanksgiving!

cranky2

Happy Thanksgiving to you also. I see good things in the new year for everyone.