Ammo rations?

D

droptrd

New member
My LGS told me yesterday as went in to pick up a couple boxes of 45 that he can not sell any more to me for another 3 weeks... When I asked him [about it]? he replied - "i cant tell you why but someone higher up told me or ordered me to do thing s this way". Huh? He runs his own business. He has no boss or higher ups?

Any ideas as what the heck my LGS is talkin about? Id understand if he wanted to prevent hoarding but he was all weird about it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ammo rations are fairly common as a way to keep ammo on the shelves, but I've never heard of anything other than "X boxes per day".

And it seems strange that he would institute a policy like that now, when ammo is finally starting to show up on the shelves again.
 
Last edited:
What else have you been buying from him other than ammo? Is he politely telling you he does not need your business anymore since all you buy is just ammo? I don't know. It just causes one to wonder if he has other customers he considers more valuable for business.

He also could be telling you to become your own boss and start reloading. :)
 
Everyone has a higher up, if he's married it could have been his wife, if not maybe God spoke to him. :D
Seriously, it does sounds a little suspicious, maybe he has a silent partner that is the majority owner in the business.
 
stores are doing this now to try to keep things on the shelves and maintain customer flow. i am never a fan of rations but it is what it is and most stores are following suit.
 
When I went in to buy some ammunition (.380 I think it was), the owner said that he only had enough to sell to those that buy firearms from him. He admitted that his inventory was low and he wanted to be sure that when someone purchased a firearm from him that they would also be able to have ammunition for that firearm. It made sense to me so I bought another .380 :) Ok, just kidding on the last part but it did make sense to me. Maybe your LGS is trying to operate in a similar manner.
 
I would have told them it sounds like they no longer want my business, and I will buy my guns and ammo elsewhere if this is the case.

2 boxes of ammo every 3 weeks? You can find someone else that will appreciate your business more, sell you bullets with a smile and tell you to come back whenever you need more.
 
2 boxes of ammo every 3 weeks? You can find someone else that will appreciate your business more, sell you bullets with a smile and tell you to come back whenever you need more.
Click to expand...


Not really, not at this time. At least not around here or most other places I know of. There just ain't any ammo out there, especially for the popular common handgun calibers. Could be the LGS was just avoiding the common "buy all they have and then get on Craig's list and sell 'em". Their rationing may well be the reason they had any left at all for the OP. Read thru the ammo threads on any gun forum right now and you find ton's of folks that would give anything for 2 boxes of .45 ammo. The LGS may not get any more ammo for 3 weeks.....and thus spreading it out for all of their customers. The ammo shortage we have now is like the last one, it will end at some point and ammo once again will be fairly easy to get. Hopefully that point is soon. In the meantime, I'll just continue to roll my own.
 
As said above, that could be the date of his next shipment. He's going shipment to shipment rather than week to week like the big box stores, as they get trucks more often.
 
Well... the way the OP wrote the quote...

"i cant tell you why but someone higher up told me or ordered me to do thing s this way"

It sounds to me like he is thinking conspiracy... Secret government rules about ammo purchase limits.

Now, it could be innocent rationing to keep ammo on the shelves for as many different customers as possible, and the OP took what was said wrong, or maybe embellishing on what was really said due to his perceived fears... or possibly the store owner could have said that to drum up a little last minute fear induced purchases, before prices cool.
 
Last edited:
I think they should do this at Walmart as well. It is an inside joke when you ask the man at the ammo counter whether the line that starts at 4 in the morning for the 7am putting boxes on shelf time are the same men day after day.
 
I have bought a few firearms from this guy. One as recently as last month.

As said above, that could be the date of his next shipment. He's going shipment to shipment rather than week to week like the big box stores, as they get trucks more often.
Click to expand...
This makes sense to me. Just wondering why he went all "conspiricy theory" on me.
 
"i cant tell you why but someone higher up told me or ordered me to do thing s this way".
Click to expand...

Sounds like code for "I don't want to spend the next 10 minutes having a discussion about why I should bend my new rule for your special case." Not saying you're the type who would beg & plead for him to bend his rule in his store, but many folks would and he's probably learned by now that this is an easy way to preempt the whining.
 
I can't speak for other places, . . . but here in central Ohio, . . . someone gave me that kind of run around, . . . be THE last time he would see my face or any of my money.

I am all for the capitalist system of trade we have here, . . . and one of those laws inherent within the system: Those who shaft their customers won't be in business long.

And I say "Good riddance".

May God bless,
Dwight
 
X2 Dwight 55....

He may also be trying to deflect not wanting/able to sell you more. Anyone that assumed I was that dense to believe such a conspiracy would loose my business on principal. I would probably call him out on it also...explanation would be needed.
 
The free market allows a seller to choose not to sell, or to sell more than a certain amount.

He is entitled to the way he wants to practice his business just like an individual can choose not to buy from him.

However more than likely he will gain customers rather than lose them by rationing. There will be more people who can actually get at least some ammo there and will appreciate that he rationed his merchandise.
 
However more than likely he will gain customers rather than lose them by rationing. There will be more people who can actually get at least some ammo there and will appreciate that he rationed his merchandise.
Click to expand...

Plus, the more often you can get somebody in the store for their ration of ammo or components, the more likely they are to buy something else while they're there. But if the shelves are bare for weeks at a time, people might decide just to give up until the shortage is completely over with, so they may not come back for months.
 
I agree with rationing what you have to be able to get some ammo into more customers hands. The thing that would stick with me would be the reasoning.

The owner stating
"i cant tell you why but someone higher up told me or ordered me to do thing s this way"
Click to expand...
is complete BS. I don't like to be dished blatant BS. I would look elsewhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top