Inflation has a lot to do with it, but other factors are limiting purchases too. The manufacturers themselves should be to blame for some of it.
Guys are simply growing weary of the same old commodity firearms - plastic pistols, plastic rifles….everything that’s shipping regularly is a “budget” gun. Those guns will always have their place, but can’t consume the market.
The rifle market is really lacking, as is the shotgun market. Stainless rifles, wood stocked rifles, wood stocked shotguns are all slow to ship.
It’s a different time and the manufacturers own a bunch of that blame. I don’t feel sorry for them. If they spent more time building what the consumer wanted instead of building what they wanted to build, things might be a little different.
I’m home with flu and bored. I’m also tired of manufacturers not owning the blame for a soft market.
Darrik,
Hope you are feeling better!
Edited your post somewhat, but heard just about exactly the same thing at Capital Sports the other day--where the head gun guy gestured toward the lineup of new rifles that weren't selling--almost ENTIRELY pretty much uniform and plastic-stocked, even when made by various companies. ( He also said that its hard to sell anything over around $1500, which is no doubt due to economic doubts--but I suspect it's partly because so many of those cookie-cutter, plastic-stocked rifles are so accurate.)
Best to all the Carraways!
John
