Shooting "guilt" is finally getting to me...

Yesterday I shot 30 rnds of 9mm FMJ instead of the whole box, today I found 30 rnds of 22 LR left in a belt pouch out in the barn for a couple of years..in days gone by, I would have tossed them...shot them today, only one FTF!!!!!

Hokkmike said:

(forgive me - ex English teacher)

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There are no ex English teachers, only former English teachers.

Ron

The past couple days I have been going through a case of waterlogged 20GA skeet loads. Reclaiming the wads and shot. A majority of the primers are good as well. After I am sure they are dry I will reuse them too. All Remington factory ammo. Why someone would leave several cases of shotgun ammo on a cement floor in a cellar that floods several times a year is beyond me.

Having pangs of guilt is a sign of weakness. Never, ever feel guilty about anything.

Ron

Like many people, I wish I had stacked deep about a year ago. Like about 10k of tula 9mm deeply (my Glocks don't mind it). What I did do right was invest heavily in 22 LR when the crazy started- at the time, no one cared about it, and there was plenty available.

I'm shooting as much if not more than usual and have absolutely no guilt. In fact I'm glad that I have the ability. I was caught short in the 90's and swore that it would never happen again. I reload and cast my own bullets and made sure to maintain a +/- 3 year supply of components along with a larger supply of .22.

The only guilt - for those who followed astute advice, but Also had the cash to plan ahead with heaps of ammo

- is guilt over not cleaning guns quite as often as they could use.

My other regret is not storing over 2,500 rds. of 9x19 Luger ammo.
Did people forget that there would always be the chance of another terrible school tragedy, or a "Stockton CA", or "San Ysidro"?

I try to shoot every day. With it being winter the weather is nasty and it's hard to do every day. I still average5 days a week. No guilt here.

JCooperfan1911 said:

I also have nearly a pallet of rimfires, something on the order of 100,000

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Ok, I'm a little jealous. I thought I had a good stockpile....

I've not stacked it anywhere near as deep as some have reported. But I still shoot as much as I feel like, with no guilt. I bet if I scoured the homestead here, I might be able to scrounge up nearly a brick of .22s. Is that carrying this whole stockpiling thing too far

Typetwelve

Let me put it to you this way: guilt or no guilt, what makes you happy...going shooting or not going shooting? Easy one because the answer is: going shooting! If ammo and reloading components are tight then cut back on your range time but don't shut it all down, close up shop, and sit around feeling bad about it. There's no pleasure in that and no reason to feel guilty because you enjoy going shooting, even if you have to scale it back a bit. Eventually there will be more ammo in the pipeline and more reloading supplies so try and relax and spend some meaningful time with your guns at the range.

I see no reason to feel guilty about thinking ahead as well as have the money and sense to stock-up beforehand.

I shoot more now than ever as I have lots of ammo and components to make more, as well as the range I goto being mostly empty because of a lack of ammo for others. It's nice to be able to fire 200-400 rounds a week at the range while others fight to buy and shoot 50-rounds. I shot today and a guy in a stall next to me asked me if I reload because I was picking up my brass. When I told him how inexpensive it is for me to load 100-rounds, he shook his had in disbelief.

Ive sidelined the automatics and pretty much just take the .22 revolvers and bolt guns. Shot for 4 hours the other day and only burned up 200 rounds of shorts. At that rate, my stash will last me at least until the midterm elections. After that, I will have to reevaluate based on the outcome.

I'm shooting what I have a good supply of, when I get down to components for 1000 rds of any specific cartridge I'll stop until I can resupply and move on to the next cartridge until I hit that amount again. Weird way to say it but you know what I mean.
I'm going to be shooting my 357s and 45-70 more than anything else because that what I'm well stocked for. My 10mm , 45acp & 380s will have to sit, I don't reload any semi auto pistol cartridges because usually they're cheap enough to not be worth my time- I didn't think that all the way through and need to get 10mm dies and bullets so I can keep that gun running. I only have about 30# of various powders and 6k various primers so I'm not in as good of shape as many. I just plan to make every shot count and shoot a little slower.
This sucks!

Typetwelve said:

It really bums me out to admit this, but the guilt of shooting is starting to get to me.

Let me explain a bit...

After late 2012, I basically stopped shooting until around late summer of 2014. With prices going insane, I felt absurd shooting what ammo I had for fear that there wouldn't be a time when I could replace it...or, at least, replace it for what I considered a "reasonable" price.

Fast forward to now. I now reload, but all of us know how that scene is going at the moment. Materials are scarce, insanely expensive, or non existent.

I've been shooting steady all summer and while I still have all kinds of reloading supplies...I'm beginning to get the "guilt" when I reload and go shooting. I'm contemplating cooling it for the time being...which really stinks as shooting and reloading is really my only hobby. My buddy stopped shooting completely last spring. He doesn't reload and mostly buys/shoots in real time so he has no real stores to draw from.

Either way...mostly rambling, wondering what others are experiencing.

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Same here. I quit shooting last winter, and for the same reasons. I also didn't shoot from about 2014-2017. (For the same reasons.) It's also my only real hobby (mostly). So much so that my gf wishes I'd go back to it LOL.

There are two sides of the coin however. We can stop shooting now, for fear of not having ammo and not being able to shoot, which is essentially the spot we're in now (not shooting) or we can shoot until we're out of ammo, and then be forced to stop shooting. Either way, no matter what, we are going to go through a period, possibly for years, of not shooting.

Personally, I didn't build my stashes to not shoot when ammo supply/pricing got stupid.
I stocked to keep shooting.
So I'm going to shoot.

Nuts to that man, you learned a lesson and planned accordingly for this exact reason and now you’re prepared. You should be proud, not guilty

I don't know if the OP is really feeling "guilt" or is just on tenterhooks like the rest of us about not wanting to fire through his stash with the uncertainty ahead in terms of resupply.

But idk, maybe he does actually feel guilty. But guilty about what? Like your shooting when other less fortunate people can't? Nah, if you're well set up to shoot regularly and reload on through this difficult time good for you for being prepared. The problem is nobody knows how long this shortage will last and since the punches just keep coming I would think it was wise to conserve a little bit.

I certainly never could have predicted what's happening but that's exactly why I stacked it up, I've learned my lesson from years past. I don't know what the future holds and I have a certain amount I feel is appropriate to keep for "non recreational shooting" and a certain amount I like to have for range use. The number for range use can fluctuate but not the other.

I shoot 9mm more than anything else but I won't be shooting it very often for the time being, I have had a case pre-ordered for the better part of a year now and can't wait til things come back to normal because I miss shooting my 9's on a regular basis. I will be a reloader too once I can get the components.

I don’t care what’s going on, I love shooting, so I go out when I can and enjoy it!

I never did the mag dump thing, so my needs are not as great as some. Last year or so I have been shooting a lot of tradtional muzzleloader. You can spend a whole afternoon on 30 shots. I would also say that the trigger work transfers nicely. After shooting a ton of open sight black powder, picking up a scoped 30-06 felt like cheating.

magyars4 said:

Yesterday I shot 30 rnds of 9mm FMJ instead of the whole box

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Think of the ammo starved shooters that would be happy with a partial box and finish all your FMJ.

I have a feeling the guilt is more of a personal thing. Like when you take a bite out of your savings account with no idea when you will be able to put money back in, and has nothing to do with whether or not others planned ahead and have ammo. I have started doing more dry fire practice and have been more thoughtful about my range time for that very reason. I have managed to find ammo that wasn't outrageous a couple times and bought some just to replace what I used and keep my stock at its current level.

Sons and I still shoot regularly. Just less ammo taken with us and conscious decision to slow down..no 'just for fun' mag dumps. We have been able to regularly find ammo locally, the stuff we shoot..9mm, 223/556, 22...not often and not a lot but it 'seems to be 'out there', at least around here. Son 'makes the rounds' about 3-4 times a week...kinda a hobby now.

Plus, altho way expensive, I can still buy online..even at $.60 per for cheapo, russian, 9mm or $.75 per for 223...

I’m shooting far less than I have in the past but enough to stay proficient. I’m also increasing stockpiles for obvious reasons.

At first I thought this was going to be short lived and when Trump was reelected it would be over by mid 21. But with the win in GA and Romney likely to nullify Manchin vote if he did vote against radical gun bans and ammo bans that is sunk. Now I think we may be in for the longest dry spell since the 94 crime bill. Worst because the left has learned from the accidental loop holes they left in. This time around I doubt there will be work around. I also expect 80 percenters to be gone. How long before High cap mags are 100 bucks again.