will lack of ammo deter gun purchase?

Nope......if it happens, it will be for a cartridge which I already own! memtb

If I come across a gun that I want for a decent price I buy it. Been burned to many time from hesitation. The gun can sit until I can find or make some ammo for it. I have others I can shoot.

coondogger said:

I've got my eye on a Sharps rifle. Anticipating its purchase, I started scanning the internet for ammunition or reloading components. I found neither. Now I'm thinking, why should I buy a rifle for which I can buy neither appropriate factory loads nor components. Anyone else putting off gun purchases for that reason?

Click to expand...

Absolutely; especially if it is for an oddball like a BPCR round. I have a bought a few guns (thanks Joe Biden!) but they were all for cartridges I already shoot and have ammo/components for.

I wouldn't buy a gun I planned on shooting if ammunition was either unavailable or prohibitively expensive. And there are very few guns I would consider owning just for the purpose of owning vs shooting. I already have plenty of those anyway.

Lack of ammo is certainly keeping me from buying a Tikka in 6.5 Creedmore.

If you Really want a gun, and you are able to ....Be.... very patient for ammo, buy it.
And maybe somebody near you on Armslist will offer the required ammo at an acceptable price.

I have five handguns in 9mm, and only need a single gun for carry throughout the year.
The variety exists (as with many of our rifles) because I like owning several high quality products and enjoy 'comparative ergonomics', or whatever the gurus might call it.

Probably not.

As it is, our current mentality focuses around ownership of the firearm itself (and a box or so of appropriate ammunition) - without the many thousands of rounds, range costs, and time invested in making it a viable... Ehrm, tool for self - preservation (tool, really - LOLz!!!).

It's kind of like making it to the wrestling varsity team, then letting yourself grow obese and getting both Diabetes and Heart Failure after you settle in to your accounting cubicle at work.

Only that you never really made it to the wrestling varsity team to begin with, and just paid for the illusion with cash.

I'm certain there are several other analogies which can be made in parallel - cars, mortgages for houses one can't really afford, etc.

'Murica! :lol:

Lack of ammo hasn’t deterred me. I’ve bought more guns and started more gun projects in the last 10 months than I ever have

It did deter me until I started reloading in December. I could've bought an awfully nice gun with what I spent on components and equipment but ammo is not an issue anymore. First "new" gun of 2021 arriving at FFL tomorrow.

coondogger said:

will lack of ammo deter gun purchase?

Click to expand...

No, a temporary lack of available ammunition for a well-priced, desired firearm will not cause me to decide against an immediate purchase.

OTOH, a well-priced, desired firearm that is chambered in a centerfire cartridge that I cannot easily reload (e.g., 5.7x28) will, in almost all cases, keep me from purchasing that firearm.

Since I would be waiting until 2024 to even think about having it delivered, and that I was paying over five thousand for it, I would buy it if I wanted it.

Without any further thought.
(Except about a brass front globe sight.)

I would have plenty of time to sufficiently supply the loading stockpile while waiting the three to four years lead time...


All this is, of course, after the five years of saving to get one...


I’ll add too, there is never any 50AE ammo on a shelf I have ever seen. I bought a Desert Eagle and dies without thought to if I could find ammunition or it’s price.(Which is ridiculously high...)

No It has never stopped me if the deal is there. In fact while deep into the last shortage I purchased a pile of .22 firearms because others had given up on finding ammo and just sold them off. More to the point though is getting something before it might be banned or restricted. I actually had never thought about the AR platform and when rumors about restricting them started I purchased multiple lowers just in case. Built a few up and sold a few off but still did not loose any money on the ones I sold. YMMV

I've purchased several guns since this shortage began. I purchase ammo when I see it at a fair price. I do go out of my way to search for ammo. I utilize a laser cartridge more than I shoot live ammo. Not as much fun but it gives me satisfying interaction with the firearm and certainly helps to improve my grip, sight picture and trigger pull.

If you have no access and/ or no ammo, not buying makes sense (caveat being a super price). I ordered a Shiloh right at a year ago and I was told that I am about a month away - I had ammo/ components (not excessive inventory but enough to shoot) when I ordered it, I am excited about the arrival. I am not walking in tall cotton but the plants have sprouted.

In general, I don't think new buyers will stop a gun purchase. I'd say most folks who look into getting their first firearm are aware of how hard ammo is to get, and it will be super-expensive. For folks who plan to do the minimum, likely self--training (gulp), a 50-round box of 9mm and 1 magazine of SD rounds might be the extent of what they purchase.

But for firearm regulars, like me, sure, I'd pass on a firearm if the ammo was crazy-rare and expensive. Heck, I'm not even looking for new to me caliber firearms.

I've been talking about (right here on THR), and figuring on buying myself a new Weatherby .257 Weatherby for a few months now. However, those plans have been put on hold, and it has nothing to do with the unavailability of ammo and/or components for adding a new cartridge to the stable - I'm sure .257 Weatherby ammo and components will be available again before too long.
On the other hand, our well (literally - our well) has been giving us fits for a month now. We might have to have a new one drilled, and I don't know for sure yet, but that could be upwards of $20,000 before we can turn on a faucet, do the laundry, or even flush the toilet without pouring water in it that we hauled from town.
So, priorities...... My .257 Weatherby Magnum is on hold, no matter how much ammo is or isn't available for it.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a gun I wanted if the opportunity presented itself.

A lot of people are complaining about lack of ammo. I spend way too much time online looking for reloading components but there hasn’t been anything I haven’t been able to find. I was gifted approximately 3,500 .40 S&W cases 3 months ago. In 2 hours I had dies, conversion kit and bullets purchased. It took me a month to find the HPs I wanted but when I did, before the order arrived, I purchased some more at the LGS.

I’m in the process of purchasing the 7mm bullets I’ve been searching for from a THR member.

But it’s an investment in time.

Those complaining about price have a valid complaint IMHO.

I suspect that it is a lack of guns which is deterring most gun purchases these days,

At any rate, in the OP's shoes I'd buy it. At least in this particular case, I'd need blackpowder and primers, which I already have, and a mold, which I know is available from several custom makers. The only trick might be finding brass, depending on the exact cartridge, but enough Googling should manage at least a small supply.

I suppose that if I was entirely dependent upon a factory supply of ammunition my thinking might be different.

.308 Norma said:

... We might have to have a new one drilled ...

Click to expand...

OUCH!

At the midpoint of my seventh decade, my firearm's acquisition days are basically over and at this point I'm into liquating certain items in my inventory.

Unless you plan to go blackpowder (like the Sharps 1859), you are stuck. If it is a good deal then buy it. Ammo will come back and weapons will get expensive.

BobABQ said:

Lack of ammo is certainly keeping me from buying a Tikka in 6.5 Creedmore.

Click to expand...

And surprisingly, at least where I live, 6.5CM and 300BO has always been on the shelf - granted there wasn't a ton of it; but it was always there. Around here folks are more into handguns and rifles than shotguns so that was a surprise

Yep, I refuse to get into a new caliber right now. If I can't find components to load for it or can't find any factory ammo, I am not going to buy it. Having a firearm without ammo is just not happening here!

I almost pulled the trigger on a S&W 66 .357 combat magnum some months back. If I had a stack of .38spl ammo to at least shoot it til I could slowly stack up .357 I would own it right now. As it is I have like 6 boxes of .38spl and a couple 25 rd boxes of JHP's but 4 of those boxes took me this entire year to acquire. I regret it now and wished I had just bought the damn thing. I wanted it for my wife.......and me.

WheelGunMan said:

I've purchased several guns since this shortage began. I purchase ammo when I see it at a fair price. I do go out of my way to search for ammo. I utilize a laser cartridge more than I shoot live ammo. Not as much fun but it gives me satisfying interaction with the firearm and certainly helps to improve my grip, sight picture and trigger pull.

Click to expand...

What do you use, what's it called. Sounds like something I should look at. My shooting plans are often foiled and it leaves me sitting grumpy at my house. I need something like this to play with