No phone call in the middle of the night is ever answered without some trepidation. Late night calls, whether you're making them or getting them, seldom bring good news.

Sunday night, I got one of those calls. It came from a robotic calling system, but the news still wasn't good. My early- morning flight home following the Midnight 3 Gun competition in Bend, Oregon had been cancelled. I was now rebooked- without consultation - onto a flight leaving at 10:20 p.m. that same evening.

The airline had essentially stolen a full day of my life -and booked me on a red-eye as a token of their remorse. I hate red-eyes because they seem prone to delays, especially if they pass through an airline's hub. This one- booked on the mashup formerly known as American and US Airlines- was headed for Charlotte. Last year, the same two airlines collaborated to delay me (twice) and then strand me there overnight. Adding insult to injury, they'd passed out meal coupons after all the restaurants had closed.

In response, I'd rented the last available car and driven home. I slept several hours, then drove to the airport and turned in my rental car, picked up my personal car and then driven home. All that, FYI, was accomplished before the later flight had even left Charlotte. Seems it had been delayed.

Fying is no longer fun - and anyone with more than three domestic flights this year has seen the slide in service- and attitudes -firsthand. But I was determined not to let those unexpected extra hours in Oregon go to waste.

Instead of sulking about the airport, I kept my rental car (for an additional $154-thanks, American) and paid visits on sporting good stores- large and small. What I saw was intriguing -and paralleled information subsequently collected from other regions.

First, not every area of the country is suffering across-the-board ammo shortages. After a TSA agent inspecting my baggage decided that my rifle ammo for the match wasn't "appropriately packaged" and removed it from my luggage (it was bulk packed). When I arrived, I got a voice mail asking that I call the airlines "about my ammunition".

So...instead of having enough match ammo to actually get in some practice, I had none . I was already planning on getting shotgun ammo there, but I had another reason to be very motivated to do that sooner than later.

What I'd feared would turn into a search was actually a one-stop shopping trip. Big 5 Sporting Goods had plenty of ammunition- and they weren't the least bit reluctant to share it with me-at a price that made me think I may have been getting gouged at home.

So the unexpected delay gave me the chance to see what other retailers were selling and then compare that info with some of the "reliable sources" I regularly communicate with across the country.

Looks like there are once again some common trends.

First, the racial violence in Missouri has increased consumer uncertainty. That is creating very strong traffic near the Missouri violence. That uneasiness has spilled into Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

As one of my dealer contacts explained, "customers are expressing concerns about the importance of securing their businesses and protecting their families." Those concerns, he added, weren't so much out of fear, but of being "wisely prepared".

Many of the retailers I've spoken with say much the same thing- the state of the country today makes people want to be prepared. That preparation includes the basics to survive a "normal" emergency, but is broadening into preparations to defend businesses and families from thugs taking advantage of uncertain situations.

Overall, however, gun sales continue their gradual slide from the crazy levels of 2013. And consumers -especially new ones- are doing business with the stores where they've gotten help or feel comfortable with their sales staff.

That's a very common remark I heard from consumers. When speaking with other shoppers, it was common for them to warn me away from stores where they believed prices were high or the salespersons were guilty of either pressing -or ignoring- shoppers.

And we're getting reports of stores shutting down in areas where sales were previously off the charts. Some of those stores appear to be ones that have taken advantage of a superheated market to "maximize their return" on their inventories.

Now, consumers are letting these dealers know they were buying from necessity, not desire. Even in uncertain times- like today- when faced with comparable selections of products, it seems consumers express their ultimate customer satisfaction by voting with their feet.

Unfortunately, there aren't any alternatives to the airlines today. If there were, many business travelers would be using them.

Railroad resurgence, anyone?

--Jim Shepherd