Mags are under high demand but there still seems to be a good supply out there ---EDIT - nevermind... it seemed like there was a good supply a few days or a week ago but I just did a quick browse and now I see what you mean. If you don't mind 20 rounders, places still seem to have them ---. From what I hear, some of the big names (like Magpul) are working full throttle to churn out as many as possible (their PMAGS). But yes, still better to stock up now before supplies run out and/or prices spike.
Same with ammo: high demand, but still seems attainable for the time being. How long of a window? Who knows.
AR parts though: jeez, talk about hard to find. Search around the online dealers for stripped lowers. Dealers that used to carry 8 different brands on stock now often have 0 left (or only the ridiculously expensive ones). I agree that in cases like this local dealers may be the way to go, even if you have to pay a little more.
I'm also having great difficulty locating an AR Lower Parts Kit in stock anywhere. Any online pointers appreciated. I'm looking for something of decent quality (don't need the super-duper tricked out stuff) but without crazy wait times. All the big sites that usually stock them in bulk seem to be sold out.
And wait times keep increasing: I contacted Model1Sales through their site to inquire about their .22 uppers for AR's and what the current lead time would be. After a few days with no answer, I called and was told 13 weeks. A few days after that, they wrote back to my original inquiry and said it was now 14 weeks. I'm sure as of this writing it's longer.
People are in panic mode and that panic will only increase as the days go on and the supply runs thinner: a feedback loop.
Even if the supply is able to catch back up with demand, I'm sure this fear in the marketplace is very soon going to show even more price spikes (some have already been seen, from what I've read and recently seen). For example, I was at a gunshow yesterday and didn't see a single AK selling for less than $600.
I have never seen so many purchases in progress at a gunshow as I did yesterday: and this was a small show. Every dealer had multiple customers seated filling out paperwork while others waited to do the same.
I think a lot is regional, but there are definitely dealers out there quoted as saying they are moving product faster than any other panic in the last two decades: AWB1, Y2K, Katrina, etc.
The dealer I most often go to isn't quite seeing the extreme activity that some seem to be, but I was told that they are definitely moving stock faster than they can get it back in.
Some online dealers are being upfront about their delays while others are just ignoring it on their websites. I would suggest calling before placing any orders (if you're going the internet route). I wish sites would just keep their main pages updated with approximate lead times on new orders: it would save them a lot of phone calls and emails. And I'm sure it would save them headache when someone places an order only to wonder where it is 3 months later because they weren't given warning upfront.
