The Obama administration announcement that they are supporting a new Assault Weapon Ban, and a ban on high capacity magazines, has sent shockwaves through the industry. All day consumers have been buying guns, ammunition and magazines.

Brownells is fast running out of stock of 5.56mm NATO and magazines. They still have 20 and 30 round aluminum magazines in stock but they are have run out of 30 round Magpul magazines and 5.56mm ammunition. They still have some premium .223 Remington ammunition in stock, but it won’t last long.

Ammunition retailer Luckygunner.com is out of stock of both .223 Remington and 5.56mm NATO.

To deal with the buying frenzy gun retailer Cheaper Than Dirt has bumped up magazine prices. They doubled the price of a Magpul PMAG from $30 to $60. This did not stop people buying them. The Magpul magazine went out of stock a couple of hours ago. The laws of supply and demand dictate that prices will increase. I suspect many online retailers would have liked to bump up prices but were swamped with orders before they were able to react to the situation.

Ruger (RGR) and Smith & Wesson’s (SWHC) share price has continued to take a hit. According to the WSJ, investors are worried that legislation will harm sales.

TFB does not cover the politics, only what is happening in the industry itself. If you wish to follow the evolving political situation, I recommend reading the PA Gun Blog and Say Uncle.