Quote Originally Posted by Jacket View Post
I get real suspicious when ever I hear gun merchants cry “shortages”. I have heard the same old song crying “shortages” for years. It works and people flock out and buy stuff just like Bennie Babies and Xboxes.

The last Tanner gun show I went to about 5 years ago the guy told me “These are the last 7.62x39 that will be imported to the US.” I heard the same exact BS in the late 90s.

The big mystery to me is how are pieced together bastardized AKs are selling for $1000.

Marketing.
Not sure what is meant by "bastardized" AK if talking about Arsenal? My Arsenal SLR is made with an all new Bulgarian Arsenal milled receiver and barrel as well as all other internal parts. My Arsenal SGL is made with all new Russian Saiga stamped receiver and barrel as well as all other internal parts. The trigger groups and furniture are US made by Arsenal Vegas to Bulgarian and Russian specs. The Arsenal guns are all new, not from parts kits like true bastardized parts guns sold elsewhere. The Arsenal US guns may be some of the few foreign made guns sold here that are not bastards.

Without the US made parts the foreign AK's can not be sold in the US. Good luck finding a legal AK in this country that is not made with some US parts. That's what makes Arsenal's so pricey knowledgeable buyer's know they are getting a quality product for there money. By the way, having the Arsenal name on your gun along with the word "shortage" never hurts value, if the guns are already in your safe. Just make sure you know what you are spending over a $1000 on, some may be worth it. Nobody is requiring anybody to buy anything from Arsenal if they think it is not worth the price. Nobody is saying that other AK's will not perform just as well as Arsenal's. As a collector, I'm always concerned about resale value when I buy any gun. I have less than a $1000 total in my pair of Arsenals.

You are right every Tanner show I go to has a bunch of bone heads lying to everybody saying we can't import Russian ammo anymore. This is just a sales tactic used on uninformed buyers, and it works.