Fear and Greed Have Sales of Guns and Ammo Shooting Up - WSJ.com

Wanna know why we can't find primers and bullets?

Bubba Sanders, owner of Bullseye Supply LLC, in Brandon, Miss., said he has 'a number of doctor clients whose financial advisers have told them to invest in ammunition. Beats the hell out of money markets and CDs. You can double your investment in ammunition in a year.'

That's right - guns and ammo are now considered blue-chip investments. Worse than that, good old-fashioned American Capitalism is alive and well:

As gun-ban worries have made inventory scarce, Joshua Works, president of Mission Essential Inc., a large gun store in Hinesville, Ga., has flipped some of his own stock for a profit. Last year, he says, he sold a variant of an AK-47 for $400. He bought it back from the owner in January for $550, then quickly sold the same gun again for $750. AKs are a particularly good investment, he says. His company's sales have risen about 30% since the election, he says.
Mr. Works ran ads on local television highlighting fears of a weapon ban before and after the November election and says he's planning a new spot that promotes guns as a good investment. "You can buy gold or silver, but they go up and down," he says.

Evidently, so is good old-fashioned fear-mongering.
This, boys and girls, is why those of us who actually shoot guns are a little put out. We can't find supplies because guys like this are investing in a commodity. Nevermind that it's an artificially inflated commodity like, oh, I don't know - certain stocks in certain financial institutions. The bottom WILL fall out.

That the bubble could burst doesn't appear to be fazing buyers. "Right now even used semiautomatic rifles are selling like crazy," says Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents manufacturers and retailers.

Meanwhile, anybody got some small rifle primers they want to sell? I actually want to use them...