Are we too jumpy??

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WildmanWilson

Inactive
Seems we create much of the problem of ammo and gun shortages every time an election or shooting takes place. Seems we are the ones creating these shortages over being so paranoid. We also have the opportunistic that gobble up all the ammo they can to resell to the panicked public for a fast buck. There would be absolutely no shortages and everyone would have what they need if they didn't hoard for the end of the world.

At Christmas I was in a store and they were having a sale on 350 round boxes of 9mm Blazer. I told myself that I should buy a few boxes because they would be gobbled up but since I had enough at home I passed. Sure enough they were gobbled up and now they are like hens teeth again.

Ive been wanting a new CC gun but just as things were starting to calm down from the election...this shooting sends everyone into a mad dash to buy anything that looks like a gun or bullet. Please calm down people and lets take a common sense look at things instead of going into full blown panic mode.
 
IMHO a "common sense" look at things right now would suggest that there's a very real possibility that many types of firearms and ammunition that we are allowed to buy today may very realistically either not be available within six months, or may be heavily taxed and/or regulated. I don't like the panic buying any more than anyone else does, but I understand it and I can't fault it.

And telling folks on this forum to calm down won't help, anyway. It isn't us that's doing the panic buying. I KNOW people at work are buying (or have just bought) guns, and these are people who weren't even considering buying a gun before the Sandy Hook shooting and the possibility of draconian new regulations coming out. The same Mr. and Mrs. America that Feinstein is asking to turn them all in are scared to death of Feinstein. They aren't turning them in ... they're the ones leading the charge to buy up any gun they can find.
 
Anything you want, get it now. It's going to cost a lot more and be harder to find if the ban goes through even if it's not on the list. I was working in a gun shop when the 94 ban passed and it got pretty stupid pretty fast. We sold SKS rifles and cases of ammo for it and we couldn't haul enough to the gun shows with two trucks and a trailer. I remember paying $37.00 for a case (5000) of primers. I still have most of them.
 
I remember when this happened in 2008. It got me back into reloading, definitely one of the best decisions I ever made. The equipment paid for itself several years ago.

I could get projectiles in '08 and I can still buy them today, no shortage from what I can tell. The gun store was out of primers and a few types of powder, but I don't need them. Primers and powder are the easiest components to store, even in a small space and they're universal, so I don't have to stress out about what calibers I have to keep "in stock" or shooting one or two calibers.
 
No, we are prepared. If a ban goes through :( please God no..... I will just be buying ammo (because evil black rifles wont be sold).
 
We are, but as a country not just those of us in the gun culture. Watching the presidents speech this morning (afternoon, depending on the time zone) and seeing the DOW swing 20-40 points from minute to minute just based on the crowds reactions to his speech, and also the non existent content. This is a country wide thing, panic buying and selling, it is by no means restricted to just us gun-folk.
 
We make our own shortages .Ok christmas gifts =guns & ammo .+ reloading suplies .Give the MFG of products to recover after the holidays . JUST REMEMBER JOHNY CARSON WITH THE TOILET PAPER SHORTAGE .It happened the verry next day. But if you want something bad enough you will pay the inflated price.
 
Being a firm believer in the second amendment and the rights for all American citizens in general......this is just really sad how this whole thing is being speculated to being handled ( sorry , it just hurts to see the vast majority of law abiding citizens have to feel like they're rights are being under scrutiny because of the cowardly acts committed by a few nut cases out there ) !
 
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I do not load my own ammo since it wasn't worth the cost prior to all this panic buying. For those that already own their loading equipment, how would you rate the cost effectiveness as the frenzy is progressing?
 
Well given that the anti-gun control crowd has been preaching fear 24/7 for years, it isn't very surprising when the rank and file react with fear.
 
bt380 said:
I do not load my own ammo since it wasn't worth the cost prior to all this panic buying. For those that already own their loading equipment, how would you rate the cost effectiveness as the frenzy is progressing?
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I mostly shoot, and mostly reload, .45 ACP so I'll use that as my example. Best price for commercial range fodder is Winchester USA in the 100-round value packs from Wal-Mart, at $40.00 per box. So that's 40 cents per round.

I started saving my once-fired brass several years before I began reloading, so for me brass is free. I don't cast my own bullets (which would be even cheaper), I buy plated lead round nose. Current price is $72 per 1000, or 7.2 cents per round. I pay a bit more to support my local gun shop, but if I'm willing to drive farther I can buy primers for $30 per 1000, so that's another 3 cents per round. Powder is the other component, and I have never kept track of how many rounds I get per pound. Powder is cheaper in 4-pound or 8-pound containers, if you load and shoot more than I do. Figure another 3 to 5 cents per round, maybe, to be conservative? So we're at 15 cents per round compared to 40 cents per round.

For quality hollow point self-defense ammo, the commercial price is around a dollar per round. For reloading, the brass and primers and powder are the same, but the bullets cost a bit more. Remington Golden Saber bullets are running $18 per 100 right now in the Natchez Shooters' Supply catalog, so that 18 cents per round. Add 3 cents for primer and 5 cents for powder and you're at 26 cents compared to a buck.

NOTE: For liability reasons, I do not currently load self defense ammo, I carry commercial Golden Saber. However, if new regulations either outlaw it or tax it into oblivion, I may have no choice other than to start reloading my self defense ammo.
 
Ammo hasn't been the issue for me its getting the gun I want that is the problem. My dealer is sold out on the Armscor models I wanted hopefully he can get some of the others I sent him a list of. Are the obscure makers the ones that are selling out the fastest compared to Smith or Sig,etc?
 
This is a vision of what things would be like if everything went to ****. The greedy would be eating their young in a short time.
 
I understand the rush on ARs and "high capacity" mags, but I don't know what the rush to buy out all the 9mm and .45 fmj is all about. Practice center-fire ammo is getting hard to come by. I'm even more glad I bought my .22/45.

People panic though - nothing you can do about that. Also, a lot of us are probably just looking for an excuse to spend some money on more gun stuff.

Hopefully the national focus will switch back to the economy where it belongs and all this will blow over.
 
OP said:
Are we too jumpy??
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Yeah, pretty much. The only folks having this "national conversation" are those in Washington, Chicago, New York, and on the Sunday talk shows. The rest of us have been having this conversation since 1968 and we've managed to get through some rough times and expand freedom along the way. We've won in the state legislatures, we've won in the public opinion, we've won in the Courts.

The media liberals are screaming because we've really beaten them over the past decade and they're frustrated. We've shown the fallacy of odd laws that ban such things as metal boxes with springs (see David Gregory's current problem). We're also infuriating them in our insistence that the law applies to everyone. We're winning this conversation, and we're doing it through good data, good arguments, good persuasion. All they've got is fear and loathing, and those aren't good reasons in the mind of most Americans.

I was in a local, well known gun shop on Saturday, and they were re-stocking ammo. They had gotten a small shipment that they ordered before Christmas. The prices seemed a little high, but ammo prices always seem high to me because I handload.
 
I do not load my own ammo since it wasn't worth the cost prior to all this panic buying. For those that already own their loading equipment, how would you rate the cost effectiveness as the frenzy is progressing?
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I reload and cast my own bullets - I can do a box of 50 9mm for about $2, IIRC - I buy components in bulk when I can. I also don't look at reloading purely as a cost saving measure - it's also a relaxing, fun and productive hobby that compliments my hobby of shooting. In the Ammo Drought of '08 I had the range to myself a LOT.
 
I do not load my own ammo since it wasn't worth the cost prior to all this panic buying. For those that already own their loading equipment, how would you rate the cost effectiveness as the frenzy is progressing?
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Good question! So, let's take a look at the cost of a single round of ammunition. The prices I've used are based on this mornings reading of the prices at Powder valley, and I've rounded up the prices to whole cents and in some of the prices, I've figured in a fudge-factor.

I figure, that for a current single round of .25-06 ammo (which is a powder hog), with a good Hornady bullet, the current price of ammo is:

Bullet- 22 cents
Powder - 18 cents
Primer - 4 cents

I've already got the brass, because we're reloading, and I've got 44 cents tied up in a single round of rifle ammunition. By my calculations I've got $22.00 tied up in a 50 round box of rifle ammunition. Handgun ammo is less expensive because they take lots less powder, and I cast my own bullets.
 
Personally I think that LOTS of people are overreacting. I mean I went to the gun show here over the weekend and there were people who never even thought about buying an AR-15 before were now buying 1 or 2 at INCREDIBLY marked up prices.

We've had bans before, the 2A isn't going anywhere.

This is a terrible time to be buying firearms as everything is marked up big time. Some more than others but a markup of 150% on some weapons, or even higher, is a tad crazy.

What I recommend to those I know who own a .22 rifle or something like that and never thought about buying anything more, I tell them that if they never wanted something like an AR before and suddenly can't wait to get one then it's probably a symptom of getting caught up in the frenzy and not to do it. I tell them this because the gun is just going to sit in their closet and they are going to spend a small fortune for something they won't use.

I think a good rule of thumb is if you haven't bought something like an AR-15 by now then you really weren't all that serious about getting one so please don't get caught up in the insanity.

I don't know what will be banned, if anything. I have serious doubts that if any law does end up getting passed that it will be anywhere near as all encompassing as some believe it may be.

If you find a good deal on ammo or even some rifle that catches your eye then by all means get it but please don't let yourself get taken for a ride due to hysteria.

On a slightly different note, all this frenzy buying can't be bad for the economy so maybe my advice should be ignored. :D
 
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