Do you consider ammo cost/availability?

Flintshooter said:

When gun shopping do you take the cost of shooting enough to be proficient into account?

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No ... but I think that is a very good question and for many folks the answer is probably Yes.

My view may be skewed because my son is a dealer, but I honestly believe by far the vast majority of new gun purchasers will only ever buy more than a couple boxes of ammo. They sort of figure out how to load the gun, fired it a few times, and call it good enough. People who do much training or shoot regularly are relatively small subset of gun owners. That said, ammo availability is a concern for a first time purchaser (assuming they plan to shoot it, some people do buy guns never intending to shoot them). Even though supply is tight, I would stick with standard calibers because long term those will be most available and parts/service/resale is much better.

Yes.
Not having access to a range limits my ability to test loads. I also reload for three calibers (.380, .243, .38 Sp/.357 Mag.) for two rifles (.243 & .38/.357) and two handguns (.380 & .38/.357).

I do.

I like to shoot. A lot.

I find that most of the time, my intended purpose can be accomplished with a common caliber.

5.56/223
7.62/308

9mm
357/38
45acp

22lr

that being said, I have a special place in my heart for less common calibers. Specifically:
30-30
45 Colt
10mm
357 Sig

Before this panic, I bought a Glock and 1911's in 10mm plus a Glock 357 Sig; apparently cheapest ammo was not a high priority.
However, as you said, 10mm and 357 Sig FMJ was still available after all the 9mm and even 40 S&W FMJ was gone, or priced higher.

A new shooter buying a gun?
10mm even from a full size steel 1911 or Glock 20SF may (or may not) be more recoil than they can tolerate.
A 1911 in 38 Super might be suitable and ammo was one of the last I saw available.
Glock in 357 Sig? The recoil is on par with 40 S&W but it has more blast (loud).

My wife and teenage son are infrequent shooters but do not think recoil from a Glock 22 (40 S&W) objectionable.
If I was going to teach a novice to shoot I'd start with a Glock 19 or Shield 9mm, maybe a 9mm 1911.
I would not start a novice with my 20SF or 1911 in 10mm nor would I encourage those as a 1st pistol.

I would also note most good dealers keep a small supply on hold for new gun purchasers. So although they might not have anything on the shelf for you to stock the cabinet, chances are pretty good if there is a gun the display case they have a box of ammo to go with it.

Pre-madness, I absolutely buy a gun based on ammo availability and cost benefit analysis.

If I was a new gun buyer who would sleep better at night if I had a gun, I would absolutely buy a 45 GAP (generic example of a non-common cartridge) if it meant I would be able to have a small stock of ammo to go with it.

I don’t know if new gun owners think on this level though. I just made that statement from the mind of a life long firearms enthusiast who has weathered a few shortages, panics, etc. I am looking upon it with that hindsight.

I think more accurately a new gun buyer would still buy the 45 GAP but they would buy it maybe not realizing it is a niche cartridge and only buying it because that is all there was ammo for and never thinking about the long term future.

One of my good friends bought a 41 Magnum Taurus 415 as his first gun back in 2010 (non-panic times). He knew very little about guns but knew he wanted a revolver. Somehow he ended up with the 41 Mag and 100 cowboy rounds because it must have checked a few other boxes. Probably because it was smallish with a shorter barrel and there was ammo available at the gun show. I don’t know how he weeded through the hundreds of 38s he must have seen at the same gun show where he bought it but that just shows you a little bit about how non firearms enthusiasts behave when buying a first gun or maybe even any gun.

Somehow his first gun was in a niche cartridge and is now a somewhat collectible piece.

I don't know if I ever actually sat down and looked at it like that but my answer is yes.

With two exceptions (both rifles) I bought every single gun I own either during or right after the Obama Ammo Panic.

I've said this a bunch of times but with one exception every single handgun I own is 9 mm and the majority of them will operate on a Glock 15 magazine.

I made both of those decisions based on the price of 9mm and the price of Glock magazines.

Cost? No. Availability of ammo? Yes. I agree with IllinoisBurt - most of these new folks will do like a lot of folks did a few generations ago - fire some shots and into the sock drawer it goes........If I was new and buying AND I planned on frequent training/shooting, ammo cost is secondary if you can't get any to begin with.

Basically, yes. I take those things into consideration. As well as my ability and desire to reload a particular cartridge.

I bought a .30-06 instead of a .300WM precisely because I didn't want to pay more for ammo, or have to rely on reloading to feed it.

In the past I've experimented with some less common rounds but at the end of the day they don't do anything that the more common rounds do. With handguns I've never strayed too far from common rounds. Although my 1st centerfire revolver was a 41 magnum. I couldn't afford to shoot it. The last ammo I bought cost me $30/box in 1978. Since then I've mostly stayed with 38/357 and 44mag revolvers, 9mm, and 45 pistols. I did have a short fling with 40 S&W until I bought a 10mm. At the time I bought 10mm it was sort of an odd ball round, but today I can find ammo for it anywhere common rounds are sold and it is cheaper than 45.

I've tried a lot more rifle rounds including 280, 338-06 and 35 Whelen. I can shoot 130-220 gr bullets in my 30-06 and do anything the other 3 rounds do. But even at that today a 223 and 308 cover anything I need to do with a centerfire rifle.

If they are NEW into guns, probably getting into a standard caliber is probably best right now, even if they have to spend $$$ for that first couple boxes of ammo. Use it for basic familiarity and training, leaving one full load + 1 or 2 reloads to keep for contingency.

Unless something goes completely off the rails (which it may), the ammo companies will continue to produce the standard rounds as first priority, and eventually they will be able to get more. Buying a gun that shoots a more specialty ammo (.32 auto, .41 Mag, .32 Winchester Special) now may increase their chances of still finding a larger quantity on the shelf now, but future availability may be in doubt, especially if all the 9mm or 5.56mm produced is instantly sold.

I would totally avoid a new shooter buying a weapon chambered in truly unique ammo (.455 Webley, 7.5mm French) where there maybe only one current source (probably foreign like PPU, S&B or Fiocchi). Definitely not a recipe for long term success if they are just starting out, even if the LGS has three boxes of ammo on the shelf right now.

From my observations lately here in California people show up at a gun store then buy whatever is available without looking at ammo availability. I actually watched a guy walk into my LGS. after waiting outside in line for a half hour or so, and stride up to the counter then point at one of the only 3 handguns available and say “That one. I want that one right there.”
He was pointing at a Glock 21. The clerk started asking him questions about what he knew about the gun and he matter-of-factly said “I don’t care. I want a semi auto. That’s a Glock. I’ll take that.”
He didn’t care about anything else it seemed.

Judging by the looks I see on guy’s faces and counter discussions I hear at the Ammo store down the street I would say there’s a lot of gun buyers buying what they can get then lamenting the ammo situation.

I choose the cartridges I shoot based on price, and, having gone already through an ammo shortage, I know the availability is up to me. Meaning while it's available, cheap, and plentiful, buy often and stack it deep.

For a new gun owner right this second it depends. .22lr is still available and not that expensive. 9mm and 5.56/223 isn't readily available, and when it is it's expensive. If this gun owner plans on putting thousands and thousands of rounds through his or her gun, it's better to overspend right now on ammo, because in 6 months they'll probably be able to buy as much as they want and the savings will overtake the costs of a more expensive cartridge.

If this person doesn't plan on shooting much, it doesn't really matter.

Flintshooter said:

When gun shopping do you take the cost of shooting enough to be proficient into account?

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Nope, but this is my rec room:



I already load for 30+ calibers and 4 gauges.

and this is my backyard:



New shooters I always advise to stick with something they can afford to practice with, and with light enough recoil to become quickly decent with. 90% of the time it's a polymer "something" in 9mm and an AR15 in .223/5.56 for those wanting an HD long gun.

Not really OP in most cases. I pick calibers mostly based on what's new or fun. In a few cases, maybe, because I don't purchase guns in older, already almost obsolete, chamberings, and if I pick a caliber with several nearby cartridges that are all similar ballistics, I pick the more common...for instance 243 Winchester instead of other 6 mm chamberings. I recently chose among 450 Bush, 458 Socom, and 50 Beowolf in favor of the 450 Bushmaster due to the ability to use .452 bullets in it so I guess you could say that was because of cost and availability. But also, the 450BM shoots more flat, retains more energy, and is less affected by wind than the other two so there were many reasons to choose it.

I stay away from the magnums primarily because of recoil and not needing that power.

I do wish there would be a clear fallout, however, between the 6.5 grendel, SPC, etc, so I could decide which one I "need."

There was a phase that I went thru almost 20 years ago when I would buy a bunch of excellent-quality&price ammo (almost always milsurp) before I owned or even had access to a firearm chambered for it. Silly me, but it worked out well on a couple of occasions ... and I still have some of it in the bunker.

AAMOF, the great pricing that Dan's Ammo had on cases of Danish M2 Ball back in Spring'02 is the specific reason for me, 2-3 months later, acquiring my very first (of many) M1s.

A Happy Time, in some respects.

Based upon the number of 44spl and 41mag revolvers I own I'm going to have to say no.

Nope I reload for everything but 7.62x39 and 5.56

No...
Cost of ammuntion doesn't enter into the equation.
If it did I probably wouldn't shoot .375SuperMag(which basically no factory loads for) or .41Magnum.
I reload for everything I shoot except shotgun and .22 rimfire. If I buy a firearm in a new to me caliber, I buy reloading dies and components to reload it.

While my rec room is nowhere near as nice as Chuck R's, heck, I don't even have a rec room!
I agree with him, nope, ammo cost or availability doesn't factor into my gun purchases. Not counting shotguns, I am set to reload for every center-fire cartridge that I own.
Maybe if I was just starting out it would be a consideration. But, then I would probably stick with the (normally) commonly available choices.

Even in previous years such as Oct 2008, and between panics—-

Yes. Ammo prices were a major determining factor.

Wow! Just saw this—-
Since yesterday, JGSales’ price for 1,000 rds. of Tula 7.62x39 Jumped from $330 directly to $379 !!

And this is Before tax and shipping are added.