Rex Kehrli – R.K. Guns Shows, Midwest, South, and West
Rex Kehrli, owner of R.K. Gun Shows, hasn’t seen any decline in the demand for ammunition at his shows. But where gun show customers had been desperate for any .223 rifle and 9mm, .40 cal and .45 ACP handgun ammunition, the big ticket item is now .22 LR rimfire.
“I was at a Kansas City gun show recently, and a guy had a table maybe half covered with 500 round bricks of [Remington] Thunderbolt .22 rimfire,” Kehrli says. “In just the time we were talking, he sold out—at $50 a brick.” This, when stores last year sold the same bricks for half or less.
Reloading supplies are hot at R.K. Shows, too, especially primers and brass. Top accessories are high-tech rifle scopes, especially those with tactical turrets and reticles. Lately, a number of tables have been offering thermal imaging optics, too, at prices as high as $5,000 per optic. They’ve been selling surprisingly well.
Editors note, this article appeared in the Oct. 21, 2013 edition of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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Nice article telling me what I already know very well. In my area a big problem is that local gun shop owners do the rounds every day and buy up all the 22 ammo from local retailers, then double the price and sell it at their shops. I guess as long as desperate people will buy it they will continue gouging. STOP PANIC BUYING AND PRICES WILL GO BACK DOWN!
If you think .22LR is hard to find around try looking around for .22WMR. I recently purchased a Kel-Tec PMR-30 which is as scarce as hens teeth to begin with, then went out looking for .22WMR to feed it. LOL it was almost a loosing proposition..