Thanksgiving is past and Christmas buying is in full swing. If you are looking for anything that has to do with guns or hunting, this could be your lucky year. Prices are way down and even the high dollar guns are affordable to the average gun buyer. In the last week we have received flyers in my gun shop with any AR-15 you might ever want at about half what they were last year this time. Even the other black guns like the Ruger Mini 14 and Mini 30 are priced $250 to $300 under retail. A couple of the gun manufacturers are throwing in a free 22 rifle when the dealer buys an AR-15. Several that sell Colt ARs are giving free with the gun a case of 223 and a free laser. A couple are giving away a free red dot sight with any AR.  FN is giving free a green laser, bipod, scope rings and extra mags with their 308 rifles. Browning has their century old BAR sale priced below what it was in 1985. And no charge for their special digital camo on a composite stock, sling swivel studs and an interchangeable recoil pad.

 

If you are looking for a great hunting rifle, Smith & Wesson has their I-bolt rifles priced at dealers at $250 under normal dealer price. Howa, who made the Weatherby rifles for years and who make one of the finest hunting rifles on the market have their model 1500 (same gun as the Weatherby Vanguard) at a special price to dealers $250 under normal dealer price. Even guns that I very seldom see on sale, such as Ruger model 77s and Ruger #1 rifles are sale priced well under normal dealer price. Weatherby rifles are priced way down, as much as $300 under normal dealer price. These are the deluxe MK V rifles and the Vanguard. Even the Weatherby handgun is sale priced. The single shot CFP (which I always thought meant center fire pistol but actually means Compact Firing Platform), is on sale at well under half of retail. It comes in 22-250 and 223.

 

Cowboy action shooting has dwindled down a lot over the last 2 years but with the prices on the cowboy guns way down, this might get a few people back into the sport. Chaparral Arms guns are marked way down. These include the various 1876 rifles in all configurations, the 1866 carbines, the 1873 carbines and a lot more. Dealer price on these are down about $300 under normal. If you need revolvers for the cowboy shoots, the company Puma, which is a distributor for guns made by Pietta, has several series of 1873 revolvers priced at a dealer price half of what it was a year ago. Beretta , who bought out Uberti several years ago, is also running many of their guns at extreme sale prices including the copy of the Colt Bisley and many others.

 

Want an over & under for Christmas. Your choice is almost unlimited. Almost every maker has dropped their prices considerably to move gun for Christmas. Remember these companies NEED to move these guns, not just WANT to move them. Inventory is during January and anything left over is taxable, so it is always better to sell them and only make a few bucks on it than pay taxes on it and keep it in stock for another year.

 

Springfield Armory has their XD and XDm pistol sale priced and is throwing in 3 extra mags and a mag pouch free. Walther's pistols have been sale priced also as have Smith & Wesson and Magnum Research.  Even Surefire flashlights has lowered their prices. The sale prices are not only on guns but accessories too. Even some ammo that is a glut on the market is sale priced. Tactical ammo, like 223, 308, 9mm and 45 acp that the manufacturers began producing 4 shifts a day 24/7 a year ago is now cluttering up dealers shelves and is sale priced. So guns and ammunition, for the most part, are easy to find and sale priced for this Christmas season.

 

Some new guns are hitting the dealer's shelves too. Most new guns will be released in a bit over a month at the SHOT SHOW but some that were advertised last year at the SHOT SHOW are just now being produced. Mossberg has a new AR-15 type rifle in 22 LR called the International Tactical 22. An exact copy of the standard AR-15 it comes with a 10 round magazine. Mossberg also has their new model 464 brush carbine in 30-30 finally out. It comes in their MarineCote stainless finish, holds 6 rounds, comes with a grey laminated stock and fiber optic sight. With Marlin closing down to move their plant, good lever guns will be scarce, so this should be a good move for Mossberg. Stag Arms, the folks that make the left hand AR-15s now have a new 22 LR conversion kit in a lefty available. Ruger's new SR-40, which is the SR-9 but chambered in 40 caliber is finally out. This should be a big seller, especially in the law enforcement market.

 

Beretta has reworked the looks of their PX4 Storm pistol giving it a sleeker look and supposedly a better feel in the hand. That seems to be the trend these days. Smith & Wesson has reconfigured their M&P pistol into a new series, actually 2 new series, the SD9 and SD40. SD standing for Self Defense pistols. They have a new special trigger they call the SDT, Self Defense Trigger, betcha didn't figure that out did you? They say is redesigned for improved control and precision.

 

Several recalls still out. Beretta has recalled all their NEOS semi auto 22 pistols. Trigger group/safety problems. You can find out more by calling 1-800-Beretta. Garmin has recalled many of their GPS units due to a problem with the batteries overheating and catching fire. You can find out more at www.garmin.com. Remington's recall of their 17 HMR ammo and their 17 HMR caliber model 597 rifle is still in progress. You can find out more about these at 1-800-243-9700. Recalls have never bothered me. It just means the companies are trying to fix a problem and make their product better.

 

A couple of truck manufacturers are supposed to be offering hard steel gun cases under the seat in new 2011 models. They talked about this last year but it never came about. Whether it will or not this year is still up in the air. Some states are saying it will put more guns in the hands of the bad guys. A gun rack that is out is the Big Sky rack. These attach to the roof of the cab of your truck. It is called the SBR and BSR rack. They come in a 1 gun or 2 gun configuration and sits above your head when you are driving. They are completely out of sight from outside the vehicle. They also come as a sidewall rack, mounting to the sidewall of the vehicle. They have padded brackets and the guns are vel-cro'd in.  In another sales tactic one of the car dealers down south of us in Phoenix is giving away an AK-47 with each vehicle bought. Several car dealers have done this before and apparently it was pretty successful.

 

Home defense shotguns are the rage these days. There is even special home defense ammo for them. Remington has their new HD Ultimate Home Defense shotshells out. The HD stands for Heavy Density and the pellets are heavier  than normal lead. This is to stop the pellets from going thru drywall walls into another room or another apartment. Each shell has 2 #2 pellets and 2 #4 pellets for more energy but less penetration. Remington also has a new 410 shotshell out designed specifically for the Judge revolver. It is loaded with 4 #00 pellets and is intended for self defense up to 20 feet away. Muzzle velocity is only about 600 fps out of the Judge revolver and 1300 fps out of a shotgun. Hornady has their 12 gauge TAP load (Tactical Application Police load) that is a lower velocity load. It has the normal 8 pellets of 00 buck at a lower velocity of about 1100 fps. This is to allow the shooter to get back on target quicker and help them work the pump action faster.

 

If you have young shooters in the family, Rossi has taken up the sales tactics of H&R of years past. They offer a single shot youth shotgun with a matching extra barrel. The shotgun comes in 20 gauge and the rifle is a 22 lr or in 410 gauge with a 22 lr barrel.   And it comes in several colors including pink. Bob Denning will have to have one of these, or maybe two. Plus there is a rebate on either of these sets.

 

You can expect most gun shops to offer sale prices on just about everything this year. A bit over a year ago, in September 2009, I announced new sale prices on all our custom series, dropping the prices by an average of $200 per series plus starting the special sale on 2 of our calibers every two weeks. . A couple of friends who also build custom guns kidded me about this, calling us the Wal Mart of custom guns. At the time I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but it felt right. Thanks to a lot of loyal friends and customers it turned out to be a good decision as orders have picked up considerably. I expect to keep the sale prices thru most if not all of 2011.

 

I have had several calls about our next HHC. It will be in March, good Lord willing, but I haven't set the date yet. I will get back with Alan Wilson, the owner of the Wilderness Hunting Lodge in Monterey Tennessee and as soon as I find out from him what he has available, I will set the date, book the lodges and let you know. This is a great hunt and a chance to try out new guns and calibers that we will be offering in 2011. As normal Kase and I will have a truck full of guns there for you to handle, shoot and hunt with if you like. This last hunt ended up with 40 hunters there from all over the country. I have several asking about bringing their youngsters or wives. This is a great idea. We have had several hunters bring their wives and young shooters with them for the hunt. It is a great hunt for this and a great way to bring home a lot of meat for the freezer. If you can swing it, by all means join us for the next HHC. In fact if your wife is wondering what to give you for Christmas, have her call Sherry, Alan's wife, at 931-260-1600 and put down your $250 deposit for the hunt as your Christmas present. I can't think of a better Christmas present. You can see more about the hunt at www.wildernesshuntinglodge.com.

 

Til next time, take a youngster shooting. They are our future.

God bless.

Gary Reeder