Ammo and This Election Year

M

Misssissippi Dave

New member
The last election brought the most recent great ammo shortage. What have you done since then to get ready for the next great ammo shortage? All election cycles are different and ammo shortages come and go.

My factory ammo on the shelf is not as great as it has been over the past year. I did add a new progressive press and I'm working on stocking up on components if nothing else to allow me to reload when ever I feel the urge.

Have you stocked up on ammo?

Have you taken up reloading?

Do you feel the next great shortage is a long way off so you need do nothing?

Do you have a favorite place to buy what ever in bulk?

Did you add a caliber or two just so you could shoot something?
 
I think I have enough ammo to get me through the next four years, unlike four years ago.

I buy a lot online because during the crunch four years ago I couldn't find anything locally.

I buy from Midway USA, Georgia Arms, Wholesale Hunter, Sportsman's Guide, Graf & Sons, and Brownells.

A better plan is to be sure you are registered to vote and then vote with RKBA in mind.
 
Reload for everything center fire.
And practice mostly with .22s and blowback airguns.
Yup, it really works, and cuts way down on the amount of reloading, too.
 
When the last ammunition shortage hit I started reloading again. I had some problems getting components at that time, but I was able to buy enough to keep shooting as much as I wanted.

I have this feeling that we might be nearing another shortage, so I actually ordered components earlier than I normally would. Sure enough, some larger containers of powder and primers were sold out. I hate to contribute to the problem, but I actually bought a lot more than I normally would, just in case.

I'm not in any rush to purchase projectiles, since I had no problem getting them during the last shortage. Plus, they don't requrie a hazmat fee, so I can order in much smaller quantities of 500 to 1000 bullets and still receive free or inexpensive shipping from most suppliers.

I short. I changed by producing my own ammo at home and ordering my supplies in bulk when they run low, which keeps my costs low and ensures that I always have enough.
 
Just a favor to ask of future posters (not the OP)..... if the supply of cartridges does happen to drop.... please don't come to the forum and brag about how you've cleaned out the local LGS or Walmart. It simply indicates a combination of selfishness and ignorance, and is not something to be celebrated.... IMO.

I spoke with a fellow at the LGS not too long ago, and he related how some knucklehead had wanted to buy every box of 9mm or 45 ACP (can''t remember which) he had in stock. He allowed him two boxes, no more. Now, that's an owner who is considerate of his other patrons.
 
You did not say what you were doing Misssissippi Dave.

I personally can't see a rhyme or reason in finding dots to connect between a National Election in the good ole USA to guns & ammo.

A discussion between ecnonomic issues affects upon guns & ammo makes more sense to me.
 
I'd recommend that everyone buy up what they can afford, as do I, and stock pile it before the danged horders get it all like they did in he last crisis.:cool:
 
Shortly before the last presidental election I stocked up on .22 ammo. It was a round I enjoy shooting and could afford to get cases of it. I also like shooting center fire pistols. I was not always able to find the amount of ammo I normally would shoot, so just shot more .22 to make up the difference. Prior to Nov 08 I only kept one to 2 weeks worth of range ammo on the shelf. Now I keep cases on the shelf.

It just happens to be the start of an election year and I have gotten back into reloading not all that long ago. A progressive press produces more than enough ammo in a week's time to let me shoot what I feel like shooting. I also got a Sig P250 last year and added enough kits to be able to shoot 9 mm, .357 Sig, .40 and .45 all with the same basic pistol. This added some calibers I didn't already have for a good price. It also let me compare these rounds in the same platform.

I really haven't seen the economy improve much, if any, over the past 4 years. Ammo is easier to find at the moment but prices really have not come down. Reloading has reduced my cost per round for center fire ammo. I think it also will help me to shoot longer if or when the next ammo shortage comes. The last one came at the same time as an election. Who knows, the next one might also be timed to another election. This could be due to panic buying or a lack of something needed to produce ammo.

Since ammo is currently available, it is purely a question of do you think a shortage will happen again? If you do, what have you done to make certain you are ready for it?
 
I was stocking up for quite a while before the big scare, so I was already set, and I still am because I counldn't afford to restock, so I saved most of that ammo, I still have about 80% of it all, so I'm golden.

I even took my ($700+-) 44 mag money to buy my first 44mag Redhawk, and just about broke the UPS man's back to stock pile ammo, mind you this was "Before" the scare.

Then I got poor, but it was a blessing in the hiding, because I got some great deals on some 44mag rounds before (2-3 years later) I got my new/used beautiful LNIB blued 5" Redhawk with hogues mono rubbers mounted, and the stock wood's. $425++=around $475 OTD.

Point? Plan ahead now, and stock up if you really have to ask that (OP) question.
 
I personally can't see a rhyme or reason in finding dots to connect between a National Election in the good ole USA to guns & ammo.
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+1

Do you feel the next great shortage is a long way off so you need do nothing?
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Yes I do. The last shortage, was self-induced. 2 wars overseas, rise of preppers mentality, and record profit-making in gun-related industry - fear brought on by your favorite gun organization.

There will always be plentiful of ammo in our country. Don't think any 4 yrs administration (the best thing about our politics) can have a permanent change in our lifestyles (whatever your flavor is),
 
Just a favor to ask of future posters (not the OP)..... if the supply of cartridges does happen to drop.... please don't come to the forum and brag about how you've cleaned out the local LGS or Walmart. It simply indicates a combination of selfishness and ignorance, and is not something to be celebrated.... IMO.
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AMEN. :cool:

I would also like to respectively request my fellow shooters to do the following...
  • If a shortage does occur, DON'T buy ammo at 2x-3x the normal retail price from opportunistic gun show vendors! You are contributing to the problem! :mad: The same statements about selfishness and ignorance apply.
  • DON'T stock up on ammo you don't really need, particularly cartridges for guns you don't have and are unlikely to get. (Same statements apply.)
  • DON'T buy extraneous hi-cap mags for pistols you don't own and AR uppers for cartridges you don't shoot "just in case". You are just driving the price up. There is NO real shortage of these items, only self-induced shortages; IMHO the chances of another national AWB in the near term are just about nil.
 
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I reload and buy online in bulk when I find a good deal, I never worry about shortages because I have always planned ahead. I keep a good supply of calibers I shoot no matter who is in office, when I want to shoot, I don't want to have to go hunt ammo before hand, and find it unavaliable.
 
I wonder if the retailers are laughing at their profits while encouraging a panic in buying. This morning WHILE I WAS ON THE COMPUTER I received a email for specials at Sportsman Guide. I opened the email immediately, found some 12 gauge shells I have been short on, and placed a order within 2 minutes of getting the email only to get a update page saying the shells were back ordered for 4 months until August! What exactly is going on here?
 
Eh, I have more stocked up now than I did 4 years ago but that's more due to being able to buy in bulk and patiently picking up good deals as they came along. I just figured that ammo is not going to get cheaper so may as well get it when I can afford it.
 
Utopia, I feel your pain. I placed an order from Sportsman's Guide about 2 years ago just when the self induced shortages were letting up and they were out of some ammo I ordered. They asked me if it was OK to BO the ammunition and I told them yes. They said it would be available within 2 or 3 weeks. I more or less forgot about it and in about a month they sent me a card asking me if they could still BO the order and to call them if I wanted them to still send the ammo (in 2 or 3 weeks) the price was good so I called and told them I still wanted the ammo.
Long story short, I kept getting those cards about every month asking me the same question and telling me it would be available in 2-3 weeks. I called them a couple more times to confirm I still wanted the ammo. I finally got sick of their little charade and gave up on them and didn't bother calling. I really don't know what their game was and I've never ordered from them since then.
 
I have stocked up on primers and just started relaoding for my primary competition pistol cartridges in case I can't find any ammo during the eventual shortage that will be coming. Now I don't but into the scare that anything will get banned but I remember 2008 where I could barely find ammo and when I did it was overpriced. Now I have a decent stock of ammo for all my calibers I still need a little more 223 maybe this week I will get them. And I have my eye on another 1000 primer box at my local gun shop.
 
...buy online in bulk when I find a good deal, I never worry about shortages because I have always planned ahead.
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That's what I do. The last shortage affected me not one whit.
I have this feeling that we might be nearing another shortage, so I actually ordered components earlier than I normally would. Sure enough, some larger containers of powder and primers were sold out. I hate to contribute to the problem, but I actually bought a lot more than I normally would, just in case.
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This is how shortages start.

There's a rumor (maybe even a really good one with facts to back it up) that a shortage is coming. People go out and buy "a lot more than they normally would, just in case" and the next thing you know, the rumor becomes reality.

The ammo industry is largely oriented to be able to meet a predicted demand. If enough folks go out and "buy a lot more than they normally would", a shortage will result.
 
There's a rumor (maybe even a really good one with facts to back it up) that a shortage is coming. People go out and buy "a lot more than they normally would, just in case" and the next thing you know, the rumor becomes reality.
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Just like Johnny Carson 1973 started a month long toilet paper shortage buy announces it already was taking place. Sear's catalog sales went up too.:D And farmer's were selling corn husk's at an alarming rate
 
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