Has the current market caused you to rethink how varied your ammo usage is?

I cast and reload. My main limit is time, primers, and the ability to source brass. I have added one cartridge since the panic started and it is the sort of thing I will shoot a couple hundred rounds a year through and I bought it because I wanted it as part of a collection (Combloc sidearms). Other than that, I shoot what I please. Since I have been having a ton of fun shooting black powder in the last year or so, if it came to the point of privation I could make do with my percussion guns for decades if need be.

The main thing this current market has taught me was that my component reserve needs to be a lot deeper.

Remained the same. Since I did not set off one single round in 2020.

Unchanged for me , If I did not have the internet I would not even know it was going to take two years for primers to come back .

I am a lifetime shooter/ hunter. I certainly do not "hoard" ammo, like you hear so much about, but when ammo is scarce I am smart enough not to keep blowing it off just for entertainment sake. Thus, for my primary rounds at any given time I have at least a couple hundred rounds OR because I reload for almost everything, I have components four a few hundred or so. Just my lifetime pattern...but seriously speaking, if there happened to be a real long term shortage, I probably wouldnt have to worry about it affecting my hunting / routine sight in practice.
That said, For my anticipated and realistic hunting /self defence scenarios, I have chosen to keep/ obtain several calibers in popular common cartridges that expand my access. My thoughts being that as opposed to limiting to only a small number of cartridges that may potentially become for whatever reason unobtainable, a wider range of calibers will offer more access. Thus, My long term favorite cartridges are 8x57 and .308. On the fringe occ. used, 45-70 and 30-30. Recently obtained or retained but well stocked/ reloaded...270 Winchester, 22-250.
Currently being focused on....my black powder arms. I have three calibers, .58 (shooting cast Minies), .54 cap and ball, and a 50 inline. I have focused on them a bit as far as tuning actions and sights, obtaining black powder and caps, etc. Surprisingly, black powder and components are much more readily available. And worse case scenario......Black powder can be made at home, effectively and legally. Caps can be improvised, and for my flintlocks...god made plenty of flint.
Sooo...not actively consolidating, not so much expanding what I had but reinforcing, and more fully utilizing what I have.

I have enough where if anything was on the shelf, I have a firearm I could use it in. Luckily, I haven’t needed to pay scalper prices because it’s been a few decades since I learned the “be prepared for the next panic” rule.

Absolutely not. The idea of consolidating the firearms I own due to ammo concerns makes no sense to me whatsoever. Last year I finally got into two cartridges that require case forming, a first for me. One has a parent case that's obsolete and out of production, the 6.5JDJ. The shortage has an effect on how much I shoot but that's it.

22LR,40 SW ,357 MAG COVERS IT

No worries here. I am an accumulator at heart and buy whatever I see that piques my intrest or someone wants to sell at a reasonable cost. I reload for 35 calibers IIRC and have cases of rimfire put away. Learned long ago to buy when times of plenty and stack deep. Planned for a minimum of 5 years no supplies and stored accordingly. The last go round I purchased many .22 firearms as people were giving up after not being able to get ammo. Just sayi'n.

Hasn't really changed my mindset at all as I like having the spice of life normally. I will say this has made getting a 28ga higher on the list than it was before but it was always on the list.

I would buy a couple handgun rounds if they were consistent with my idea of 'reasonably priced'. I do have 'enough' not to utterly panic at the moment. (If the zombies attack, I may be closer to panic.) What bothers me is the lack of good .22 lr ammunition and components like bullets, powder and primers. I have enough to get by, but I would like to have some in reserve; or at least have some reserve at my friendly neighborhood gun shop.

If the future tends to jack up the prices of 'bulk ammo' in .45 ACP hardball or standard .38 Special, I may have to start reloading those again. But I haven't really changed my desires in calibers any.

As a reloader availability of ammo does not mean much to me any more. What does affect me is shortages, mainly primers. I try to keep enough primers on hand to get me through. It seems that I always have a powder that will work or I can usually find something.

-Jeff

MCB - GREAT question.

My absolute rule for caliber ownership, I must be able to reload the for the it, except rimfire.

Rule 2 - must be able to purchase, REASONABLY priced components. Realize the word reasonable cost is not part of the dialogue at the present time, but I have enough to keep going.

I did NOT have a crystal ball, but, I watched people squirm, a LOT, the last time this occurred in recent history.

Common calibers is not a bad thing.

There was a thread here a while back asking how many calibers each person owned. It was a good thread in that you could see that most people didn't care much for consolidation. I'm in the boat of not consolidating and if I remember correctly I have around 24-25 different calibers I currently keep in stock. Takes up a good amount of storage cabinet space, but worth it.

I HAVE REVOLVERS AND LEVERS IN 22LR & 357

mcb said:

What about rifles and shotguns?

Click to expand...

I just don’t shoot any new ammo anymore. It’s all absurdly priced. Luckily I have a very large reserve stockpile so put me in the “no change” camp.

I consolidated to common calibers years ago----over time it expanded again-----this panic I did add a .22mag rifle because the ammo was plentiful -----but mainly shoot .22LR and 12 ga---so things really haven't changed all that much.

I expanded. In handgun, I entered 2020 with .45, 9x19, 9x18, .32, in centerfire. I have plenty in those cartridges, but I did watch price and availability. As that stuff got scarce, I saw the price on 7.62 Tokarev and 9x23 Largo was remaining reasonable, and I had pistols that only required a barrel swap to convert. So, I grabbed the barrels and ammo, and actually spent the majority of my handgun shooting with those.

I've got handguns I could/would carry in 9mm, 40, 357 Sig, 10mm, 45 acp and even 45 GAP, owned them way before the current panic.
I like variety and/or obviously am a sucker for niche calibers.

I don't reload. But I did stack moderately deep in better times. My former rule of thumb (goal, really) was keep 3k practice rounds for all of my calibers. I managed that for 30 carbine, but slacked off in 2019, figuring I could just get more. I had about 13k of 22LR. When pandemic started, I traded a lot of 30 carbine and 45 ACP (I'm down to 1 pistol in that caliber) for 9mm and 5.56/223. I'm back to about 1500+ rounds for most centerfire (except 45 ACP, about 900 rounds as I only shoot it once per year) calibers, or about 8-10 range trips. I keep about 100 rounds of SD in all calibers. I've now have about 9k in 22LR. I plan on following my rule of thumb going forward, when prices are close to what they were in early 2020 (say plus 25% or less).

Not a lot of change for me. I consolidated several years back. I did get out of 40 S&W during the shortage so I guess I continued to consolidate.

I reload so I have not had to slow down on my shooting at all. If anything I would guess I have shot more this year then years in the past.

When I buy a new gun, the first accessory I get for it is a set of reloading dies. That is if I don't reload for that caliber already.

WB

I got into a few new calibers in spite of the shortage, not because of it. I had been thinking about casting for a while, and it did give me the push to get into that.