ARE AMERICANS HOARDING GUNS?
President Obama
I don't think any other president has done as much for gun sellers as President Obama.
While still a senator, he vowed to eliminate conceal and carry laws. Once elected, there has been a noticeable trend of increased sales of guns and ammunition.
Perhaps the trend is a motivated one with gun buyers trying to avoid the 500% Federal tax President Obama said he would support on guns and ammunition. That percentage seems more like a penalty than a tax. For people who rely on deer meat and other wild game for their food supply, this would be a true hardship.
The NRA (National Rifle Association) also advertised during the Obama campaign which may or may not have contributed to increased gun sales.
Rifle Stair Rails - Bass Pro, Springfield, Missouri
Observations
A friend of mine likes to frequent Bass Pro and noticed both an increase in customers and empty shelves. While frequenting auctions, he noticed ammunition that used to bring minimal money are now bringing abnormally high prices.
He attended a gun show in January 2013, where the attendance seemed doubled from the years before.
Noticing empty shelves at Wal-Mart, while standing in line for a fishing permit myself, the conversations among the other customers were interesting, mostly including the current administration and the right to bear arms.
Some customers I've observed seemed worried, while others seemed fearful. I couldn't help noticing the variety of T-Shirts with themes like "Don't Tread on Me" and like bumper stickers with quotes supporting the right to bear arms.
A friend of mine, owner of a taxidermy shop, who also buys and sells guns, said he noticed an increase in sales and a decrease in trades unless they were trading up.
Facebook Trends
More evidence too numerous to go unnoticed are the "likes" and "shares" on Facebook.
Quotes from past presidents regarding the right to bear arms, images of stock piles of guns with slogans and even underlying hints of marshal law by the Government with images of secret compounds awaiting mass imprisonments in case of civil unrest by US citizens.
Summary:
Had I bought stock in Smith & Wesson in January 2013, my finances might be sitting a bit richer right now. I don't study the stock market or it's trends but based on observations of the gun buying trend, I'd say there is a good chance Smith & Wesson and other gun makers have an increase in their stock. Perhaps ammunition workers have job security for now.
Regardless of our economy, who is president, Obamacare health insurance, there is one thing on the minds of many Americans - the right to bear arms and the fear of looking into the barrel of a Federal gun.