So Much For, "Buy a 9mm Cause You Can Always Find Ammo For It"

[CDW4ME]

I actually found 357 Sig at 0.40 per round yesterday. Crazy times.

Couple weeks ago 40 S&W FMJ obtained at .36 - .38 round (25% higher than prepanic), its all gone now.
I too saw 357 Sig for .40 a round ...

Sure is nice to have a Glock 32 and a Glock 23 with 357 Sig barrel, options.

I paid 25% more for the 40 S&W, thats the price of not stocking up better.

 

[COSteve]

I you were around when Obama got elected it was the same thing. It hit rifle ammo harder then. I remember paying 60 cents a round for .223/5.56 if you could find it. That's when I learned to reload & stock up for this crazy gun & ammo market.

Those days are back!!

American Eagle .223 55grn FMJBT ammo is currently $600.00 for 1K plus shipping at BulkAmmo.com and BulkMunitions has the same for $664 plus shipping in large part because they both have them in stock.

ETA: I just found that Palmetto State Armory has 1K boxes of American Eagle .223 55grn FMJBT ammo for $579.99 + $26 shipping which works out to right at 60¢ per rd delivered.

(I guess that it's not the time to say that I still have some 2K+ worth of M193 55grn bullets, powder, primers, and tons of empty LC NATO brass to keep loading the same thing for $81 per 1,000 [8.1¢ per rd] . . . . . . is it? )

 

[GarandTd]

I saw American Eagle 5.56 in a local shop for .50¢/rd. I wasn't impressed with the price at the time. Went back a few days later after I decided they had some so it was worth it, but it was gone. Lesson learned.

 

[Forte S+W]

For the prices of 2 conversion barrels, if you wait until the prices are good, you can buy 1000-2000 rounds of 9mm.

If the goal is always to have ammo on hand, I think it makes more sense to spend money stocking up on ammo than on buying conversion barrels. Remember, even after you buy the conversion barrels, you still have to buy ammo--why not spend all the money on ammo?

Because the ammo isn't available or otherwise demand has driven the cost up past the point of being so economic.

Case in point, currently in my area, 9mm Luger is most often cleaned out locally, and when it is available, it's expensive premium high pressure stuff which has been marked up substantially.
.40 S&W on the other hand, has so far been readily available everywhere and is only slightly more expensive than it was was previously.

Also, currently I've been seeing Conversion Barrels going for about $90-$120 online lately, so I'd like to know where you can get 1000 let alone 2000 rounds of 9mm Luger for that price at any given time of the year, much less currently.

Oh, and if you're talking components, not the actual cost of ammunition, then be sure to factor in the price of reloading tools, since not everyone is set up to reload, and if we're going to assume that everyone is setup for reloading, then for the sake of fairness we might as well remove the cost of Conversion Barrels from the equation as well and assume that folks already own them to begin with as well.

 

[jmhyer]

Again, I'm not knocking 9mm, just pointing out that the myth that it's always available is false. The fact is that the supply chain of anything can be disrupted for many different reasons.

As far as caliber selection is concerned, each of us will use what we think is best for us. I have no issue with people who decide 9mm or 380 or even 25 cal works for them. That's their choice and their results. However, just because someone picks a caliber, it doesn't automatically mean that it's by definition the best for everyone.

That's what I'm against. The attitude that, "I picked this so it's the best choice for everybody and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it" that's so prevalent on discussion forums. So, once again, for me, calibers other than 9mm are my choice. Further, stocking up on handloading components to make ammo rather than stocking commercial ammo works best for me.

However, as always, YMMV

I get your point. I went to buy my first semi auto before the elections in 2008. I would have liked to have gotten something in 9 mm for all of the reasons that have been discussed above. However, due to my timing, 40 caliber was the only ammunition available. All 9 mm and 45 ACP ammo was gone from the shelves. Therefore, I had to buy a handgun and 40 Cal... It was the Springfield Armory XD service model. Well I don't shoot 40 Cal very much these days, I still have that firearm and it is easily the most accurate one that I own.

 

[JohnKSa]

Something DEFINATELY changed. This has a whole new feel to it, doesn't it?

No, it most definitely does not. It has exactly the same feel as the last panic and the one before that and the one before that...

Because the ammo isn't available or otherwise demand has driven the cost up past the point of being so economic.

If the goal is planning ahead, then this is all being done before there are availability issues.

In that case, it makes sense to me to spend money stocking up on what I will actually need (ammo) instead of spending it on conversion barrels.

If I'm in the middle of a panic and haven't stocked up, then it still doesn't make sense to me to buy a gun and conversion barrels. I would buy a decent gun in a caliber I can find ammo in and then spend all the rest of the money I have allocated on ammo. Again, spend as much of the money on ammo as possible and as little as possible on other things.

Also, currently I've been seeing Conversion Barrels going for about $90-$120 online lately, so I'd like to know where you can get 1000 let alone 2000 rounds of 9mm Luger for that price at any given time of the year, much less currently.

The comment I quoted was about buying two conversion barrels and the specific firearm was not mentioned. So it's not a given that conversion barrels that cheap would be available. But let's go with those numbers anyway. That's $180 to $240 for two barrels.

Yes, going back to early in the current presidency when the ammo prices were really low and supply was really high, it is accurate to say that one could get "1000 to 2000 rounds of 9mm Luger" for the cost of 2 conversion barrels. Especially if one were to wait for a sale and buy in bulk--which would be the smart thing to do. I went back through some of my records and found a purchase from 2017 where I got a case of Federal 9mm FMJ ammo online for just under 16.5 cents a round on sale and free shipping to boot.

So for a little less than $165, I bought 1000 rounds of ammo. I don't remember the details of the sale, but assuming it would have allowed buying in less than case quantities at that price and still with free shipping, I could have gotten around 1450 rounds for $240.

The key is keeping an eye out for good deals, buying in bulk when they come around and always keeping a good stock on hand. You can really save a lot of money that way--and it's a significant stress reducer to know that you can keep shooting as normal regardless of supply/demand variations.

 

[TX Nimrod]

I you were around when Obama got elected it was the same thing. It hit rifle ammo harder then....

I was “around”. I had no trouble finding 9mm ammunition then, although the choices were limited. Primers, powder and bullets however.....



.

 

[seanc]

It has exactly the same feel as the last panic and the one before that and the one before that...

Wrong. Previous panics were driven by fear of confiscation or impending bans on future purchases. This cycle of panic buying is based on actual chaos in the streets.

 

[pete2]

My idea of the 9MM and the .223/5.56 always being available is that when it hits the fan, the U S military uses 9MM and 5.56, that will be the only ammo available except what you already have on hand at the time. When it hits the fan the mfgs will only be producing ammo for the government.
My 2 cents, but I'm right on this.

 

[Mike38]

My idea of the 9MM and the .223/5.56 always being available is that when it hits the fan, the U S military uses 9MM and 5.56, that will be the only ammo available except what you already have on hand at the time. When it hits the fan the mfgs will only be producing ammo for the government.
My 2 cents, but I'm right on this.

When people say 9mm will always be readily available, I assume that's what they mean. That, and stored / hoarded in homes. If 'It' happens, and one is forced to scrounge for ammo, chances are better that you will find 9mm and .223 more often than something like 10mm and .270.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Sure is nice to have a Glock 32 and a Glock 23 with 357 Sig barrel, options.

With a couple of exceptions, all my Glocks were originally chambered in 40 S&W for that very reason. A lot easier finding one of three calibers than being limited to only 9mm. Nothing like 650 ft/lb out of a Glock 35 shooting 357 Sig.

 

[jmr40]

Common ammo is the 1st to sell out, and 1st back on the shelves later. If you're looking for any ammo right now you planned poorly.

 

[COSteve]

With a couple of exceptions, all my Glocks were originally chambered in 40 S&W for that very reason. A lot easier finding one of three calibers than being limited to only 9mm. Nothing like 650 ft/lb out of a Glock 35 shooting 357 Sig.

Maybe you should consider a Glock 40 then. Then you'd have a 6" barreled 10mm, 40s&w, 9mm, and 357 Sig!

BTW, my custom G20L I developed back in 2004, long before anyone thought of one, produces a blistering 1,579fps and 925ft/lbs of ME with a 165grn bullet and my 'nuclear' Power Pistol handloads!

 

[CDW4ME]

Nothing like 650 ft/lb out of a Glock 35 shooting 357 Sig.

I don't have a 357 Sig barrel for my Glock 35 ...

At least I've got one for the 22 and 23.

 

[KyJim]

For the prices of 2 conversion barrels, if you wait until the prices are good, you can buy 1000-2000 rounds of 9mm.

If the goal is always to have ammo on hand, I think it makes more sense to spend money stocking up on ammo than on buying conversion barrels. Remember, even after you buy the conversion barrels, you still have to buy ammo--why not spend all the money on ammo?

Or you could just buy One Gun to Rule Them All --- a Medusa Model 47.

 

[stinkeypete]

Mike nailed it, above. When the Zombie ‘PacoLips comes you can scrounge 9mm ammo of of just about every zombie with a kydex holster, every abandoned home or whatever that you shelter in. Not to mention sniping at outlaw mall ninjas from 300 yards with your 30 cal rifle and shopPing that way. Rick with his Python seems to have his Hollywood Cowboy merit badge as he never seems to run out of .357 Magnum.

TV plots seem to imply that reloading ammunition is something only a maladjusted genius with a mullet can figure out. It’s actually about as hard as making a tasty egg sandwich.

Just because it’s sold out doesn’t mean you can’t buy a set of dies and start cranking out your own tonight.

 

[wild cat mccane]

The one that gets me...

If people are shooting more or more gun owners getting some stock...okay.

BUT
-If you are trying to stock up to have a lot of 9mm range ammo (and 9mm is the one that is truly gone bananas)...silly time to do that. In fact, I'm unloading my range ammo to put what I'm getting at double I paid for to buying more in the future. For example, I just sold 5 boxes of 9mm CCI Blazer 147gr for $100 yesterday. Outrageous, but it was bought the day I listed it. When it cools, I'm half way to a 20 box case of expensive FMJ like CCI Lawman or Federal TSJ.
-If you are trying to stock up for fear of life and death, Gold Dot and HST have be available this whole time and at the SAME price. I've now maxed my HST store for life. If you truly believe the world is getting desperate (I for one find this silly as the entire world is experience financial issues which is actually a good thing to be sharing a crisis)...spending $20 on Federal Champion (worst ammo available)...what's the point?

Today I just bought 200rnds of normal priced Gold Dot 223 62gr. In times of trouble, should be the most sought after round. In fact, it's 55gr FMJ range only ammo that is in and out of stock at cabelas on a minute by minute basis.

So whatever the rationale if it's panic buying, it isn't logical.

 

[SHR970]

COSteve wrote: That's why many of us who reload don't bother with the 9mm.

And before BOTH of the last panics I pointed out that even though bargain 9mm is cheap if you are set to reload and stocked on components you wouldn't be left out in the cold. Scrounged brass is easy enough to aquire. Lots of powders work; maybe not the best but they work. Small Pistol Primers are something you should have plenty of. Bullets, even plated round nose are better than NOTHING. It doesn't take much space to store 500 or 1000 just because.

During the last 2 panics I was still shooting when everyone else was dry.

 

[smee78]

And this is another reason why I diversify my collection. I love going out and shooting my guns and right now I go shoot what I can find without dropping the quantity of my stash.

 

[stagpanther]

Maybe you should consider a Glock 40 then. Then you'd have a 6" barreled 10mm, 40s&w, 9mm, and 357 Sig!

BTW, my custom G20L I developed back in 2004, long before anyone thought of one, produces a blistering 1,579fps and 925ft/lbs of ME with a 165grn bullet and my 'nuclear' Power Pistol handloads!

Hmmm, I was thinking about that too with my 20SF just a tad later than you maybe. That path led me to a 8.5" 9 x 25 Dillon barrel (still have another 20SF in 10mm with fully-supported 6" barrel). How about a 65 gr inceptor doing 2400+ fps and 850 ftlbs KE?

Did you split a few cases?