It’s all about the ammo. I just had a conversation with a local gun store that is part of a National chain. Not even their two wholesalers can get ammo or primers. All Hornady dies except .45 Long Colt were sold out. He showed me on their dealer ordering screen. Everything was 0 in stock, no order available.
2020 makes post-Sandy Hook 2013 look like a normal day at the beach. It has been a mega-storm of pre-election jitters x 10, COVID-19 BS/hype, ANTIFA and BLM riots scaring a lot of people into becoming first-time buyers, defund the police, plus the election fraud.
If you’re just trying to get prepared in the firearms department, it’s probably too late unless you have money to burn. I watched some young millennials walk into Cabella’s last weekend with smiles on their faces, thinking that they were getting prepared by purchasing whatever was left in the counter in terms of handguns (slim pickings). Good luck on finding ammo. No training? Don’t worry, it’s just like in the movies, right? How hard can it be?
We’re into 3 generations of people who were conditioned to be accustomed to push-button solutions, that don’t understand what actual work is or how raw violent encounters can be up close and personal. Most of the gun owners have limited-to-no skills with a firearm because the idea of shooting more rounds in training sessions over 2-3 days than the cost of the firearm itself is totally foreign to them, as is competent instruction.
Peak preparedness is what you should be looking at, not peak prices. The opportunity for peak preparedness sailed long ago. Food is next.