[twobit]

Hunting from year to year does not surge up and down like politics does or the threat politics has on the right to have certain types of guns. So we see a huge surge in the sales of those guns now being threatened by those in Washington.

I think one small contributing factor on the decline of the sale of traditional hunting rifles is that they no longer are made with the beautiful REAL walnut stocks like they used to be. I'm happy that all my hunting rifles and shotguns are old enough that they all have the old beautiful real American Walnut stocks and are each a work of art, and not just a piece of machinery. Many people born after the sixties never had the opportunity to be able to buy an inexpensive nice new walnut stocked hunting rifle made by real craftsmen from a time when the firearm factories were staffed by people that could each be called a gunsmith. They are not the generation that sees value in items made so well that they will last more than their lifetime and should be treated as such. I would guess that most people born after the sixties rarely keep any firearm more than ten years before selling it.

My best guns are also my oldest guns. I've got my great, great grandfather's 92 Winchester that still shoots fine, and many of my dad's rifles that were bought in the 40's, 50's and 60's. Most are fine Remingtons and Winchesters that were bought on a common working man's salary.

Show me a AK, an AR or other similar firearm that will be cherished and passed down when it is 118 years old like my model 92 is. I also have an AR, but it is just a tool. It is the Honda Accord of guns where my others are my classic cars. Will an AR ever be prized like a Garand is? You could ask if an Accord will ever be prized like a Hemi Cuda from the sixties...

Of course the big contributing factor is the fear that soon heavy restrictions will be placed on firearms sales and it is a 'buy it while you still can' panic.