Why is everyone "panic-buying" firearms all of a sudden? Is it because of the Coronavirus pandemic?

For me, personally, it's less of a panic-buy and more just a matter of timing, but the reason I bought one is a combination of things:

> I don't live in the best neighborhood. People are poor, addicted, or homeless, or just criminal. Or they're mentally unsound. I've had people offer to sell me meth at least twice within blocks of my address, marijuana a few times throughout my general commutive area, one guy offered to sell me discounted booze, another guy once came up behind me at a bus stop and said “you keep looking back here like you want a taste of this shit” — he was holding a big yellow envelope and standing next to a pickup with a wreath on the front (this was obviously near Christmas and not something I'd ever seen before — I was waiting for him to leave so I could take a picture). At another bus stop within a block or two of that one, another guy offered to sell me something out of a big garbage bag he described as being “like Xanax, but stronger”.

> There was recently a “protest”/riot a few blocks away from where I live, in which people were throwing tear gas back at the police and someone actually lit a dumpster on fire and rolled it down the street at the police (thankfully someone stopped it and prevented things from escalating).

> I've been wanting to get one for a while and couldn't justify the expense at the time.

> As the saying goes, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” If I need to stop a bad guy who wants to do me harm NOW, a gun on my person is going to come into the situation a lot faster than a gun carried by a cop who, in order to have at my location, I need to first call dispatch from my phone, possibly end up on hold (which has happened when I've called in suspected gunshots a few times — yes, 911 can and will automatically put you on hold before you say a word to anyone working the lines), tell them what's going on and where I am and that I need cops at my location pronto, and wait anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes for cops to arrive. Meanwhile, Mr. Bad Guy can be doing damn near anything to me and the cops may not show up until after I'm dead.

> While I'm generally not out so late anymore, I once noted that what sounds like gunshots seem to occur most frequently after 1am, more commonly after 3am.

> A guy was once apparently shot in the head a block and a half from where I live, while sitting at a bus stop outside a store parking lot, while I was working just a few blocks down the street.

> First responder sirens of all kinds are pretty common around my neighborhood, and there have been a few times where police, ambulances, and/or fire trucks were parked outside my place.

I'd previously attempted to buy a rifle about the time of writing, but in March, but the distributor ran out and I ended up patiently waiting two months before deciding that with recent accumulating factors, the money would likely be better spent on a carry gun than a range gun and decided to take the refund.

I don't see a need to buy as many guns and ammo as my wallet will allow, unlike what others appear to be doing. I don't need to accumulate that many guns in such a short period. I have other things to spend my money on. I don't get much as it is and was told just this past week that I won't be seeing any more paychecks until at least mid August since I work for a local school and have been getting “normally scheduled” pay, until the school ran out of funds to allow it.

I'm very much a firearms enthusiast and would love to accumulate a good-sized collection, but it's not financially viable at this point in my life (pandemic aside). So, instead, I'll resign to having a carry gun/belt/holster, a few hundred rounds or so to cover practice and carry, and I'll just try to stay inconspicuous so I'm less of a target for would-be attackers in the area.

Speak softly and carry a big stick, as Theodore Roosevelt would say.

Poster Comment:

Weird is what I say.