Where have all the production guns gone?

[Wawyasto]

Every retail outlet is showing almost everything sold out.

Did demand for BP guns spike with Kung Flu like smokeless guns? Is it the old supply chain story? Any idea when we'll see things free up? Really interested in a Halfstock flint .54 like the Investarms Gemman Hawken but they seem to be nowhere to be found.

 

[leadhoarder]

Increased demand and decreased production because of the China virus.

 

[bluemule66]

I used to see CVA and traditions rifles for sale at gun shows, pawn shops and online. It is rare to see them now.

 

[Archer 756]

BS, virus is just an excused so they can raise cost

 

[deermanok]

Don't forget that nearly all production guns are made in Europe, which was jacked up for quite a while during the pandemic. That, along with the good old supply chain issues, panic buying, hoarding are the reasons you don't see much on the gun store shelves.
Now this stuff with Russia won't help either.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I bought them all! I have them all stacked up in my basement so I have everything. It’s my own conspiracy to deprive the American public!
Is that what you are looking for?

 

[FishDFly]

Essentially all the entire production of BP guns in Europe was shutdown due to the virus. No production, no guns.

 

[FishDFly]

I bought them all! I have them all stacked up in my basement so I have everything. It’s my own conspiracy to deprive the American public!
Is that what you are looking for?

An honest business man, that is rare in this market place.

 

[OldSmoky1967]

I bought them all! I have them all stacked up in my basement so I have everything. It’s my own conspiracy to deprive the American public!
Is that what you are looking for?

What's your address, friend? lol

 

[Davey Boy]

The old people in the companies that build everything have given up and thrown in the hat. The easiest thing to do is just stop and let the whole works crash.

 

[mushka]

My Sportsmans Warehouse has plenty of the inlines but I haven't seen a sidelock gun in that store for about half a year. They have a few handguns. American production verses European production I guess.

 

[mattwfreyer]

I worry about the longevity of the companies and their workers too. Can only stay closed/not selling inventory for so long. I sure love the Italian gunmakers in particular. Would hate to see them close down for good.

 

[azmntman]

I have three for sale in the classifieds!! More comin once these sell.

 

[Dale Lilly]

Where are all the pot- bellied stoves? Every hardware had them some time back but now they are hard to find. The reason for diminishing supply is simply diminishing demand. We are upset because young folks are not joining our wonderful pastime; that means less people buying our MLs. We are exchanging and increasing our own collections of guns but that is not enough to keep production going. I am satisfied that, twenty years from now, only custom makers will continue to make MLs. For a long period of time no production MLs were made, then the TV and movies brought them back and we clamored for them and our hobby ballooned. I think the heyday of traditional MLs is past and only a few will continue. That's how it was in the 1920s and 1930s. Enjoy what you have. Get young people involved and prove me wrong. Polecat

 

[Dale Lilly]

Let me add to my previous post. Some years ago CVA imported traditional MLs. Look at their website today; when you click on MLs every one is an inline and all are pictured with scopes. Other manufacturers/importers {Traditions] will/have followed suite. CVA suffered from two situations. State Hunting regulators bowed to the gun makers who had a new idea ... inlines were born and most states allowed them over time. To those who were used to modern weapons that made sense. It simply meant an extension of the seasons [muzzle loading seasons added] so they bought a modern ML and were satisfied. Only a few states have 'primitive' seasons. It will not improve unless some event or movie stirs the imagination of a tech saturated younger group of customers. I hope I am wrong but would bet heavily against that. Hang in and enjoy as long as you can .... and do find younger people who are interested and help them any way you are able. Polecat

 

[B P Arn]

Climate change.

 

[mattwfreyer]

Black powder fouling, now that is my kind of carbon footprint!!!

 

[springfield art]

Where are all the pot- bellied stoves? Every hardware had them some time back but now they are hard to find. The reason for diminishing supply is simply diminishing demand. We are upset because young folks are not joining our wonderful pastime; that means less people buying our MLs. We are exchanging and increasing our own collections of guns but that is not enough to keep production going. I am satisfied that, twenty years from now, only custom makers will continue to make MLs. For a long period of time no production MLs were made, then the TV and movies brought them back and we clamored for them and our hobby ballooned. I think the heyday of traditional MLs is past and only a few will continue. That's how it was in the 1920s and 1930s. Enjoy what you have. Get young people involved and prove me wrong. Polecat

One of the major tenants of the NMLRA is to get young people interested in muzzleloading.

 

[ILoveMuzzleloading]

Everyone I’ve talked to that sells the kits say they can’t keep them on shelves because there is so much interest. Manufacturers aren’t producing more to accommodate for the demand, it would cost more to adjust the production for a trend that ‘may not last’ according to their number crunchers.

When we look at production, the kits are shipped in batches, maybe quarterly each year. Usually in spring, a shipment of Traditions just came into Muzzle-Loaders.com, summer/fall for hunting season, and then for Christmas.

There will continue to be kits available for sale as there always have, January-February is just a seasonal lull in availability.

 

[smoothshooter]

Every retail outlet is showing almost everything sold out.

Did demand for BP guns spike with Kung Flu like smokeless guns? Is it the old supply chain story? Any idea when we'll see things free up? Really interested in a Halfstock flint .54 like the Investarms Gemman Hawken but they seem to be nowhere to be found.

The China Virus hit the Italians hard. Lots of the gun company’s older hands died, or went ahead and retired early. Factories shut down.
The Chinese have been quietly buying up Italian famous label leather and fabric clothing and shoe shops and bringing thousands of workers in from China and replacing Italian workers with them. So much so that when China was pressured to stop international flights out of China, they complied except for daily flights to and from Italy; primarily workers and managers from Wuhan Province. So in effect Italy was getting a steady stream of Covid-infected Chinese nationals every day. China has enough influence there that the Italian government lacked the nerve to put a stop to it all. Just like here.
Sad.