At What Point Will You Be "All In" With Buying Ammo Again?

Tough question that will be different for everyone and we'll never know when that time arrives until it does. I recently bought 8 boxes of target load 20ga shells @$8 each. I have never paid that much for them in the past, but have seen them at gun shows for $20. Also bought some 17HMR ammo for $20, which twice the past price. But, gotta have the ammo for a prairie dog shoot.

Local Wally had 30-30, '06, 350 Legend, 7.62, .308, 3 types of Mini & Maxi Mags, Federal 325 boxed, some others today.
First time I've seen that since 2020 Feb...
Regular prices.

What we really had was hoarding - again - as ammo remained available at it's retail price in many commercial calibers. Store shelves may have been empty, yet warehouses were shipping. Not cheap, therefore, not compatible with impulsive spenders who were demanding their money be taken. They don't line up for the typically expensive stuff. Price remained an object and a lot of shooters had lines in the sand drawn. Many online said they would not buy. What we had were a lot more new shooters in the last few years, and they didn't have their cushion to feel comfortable. They hadn't experienced a panic - ammo is a Just In Time thing. There are no warehouses sitting full ready for a catastrophe. Well, they have now learned it's the same for treated lumber, toilet paper, and Ramen noodles, too. Congress taxes inventory, businesses don't have backstock. Distributors get stuck in that role now and they aren't going to take it in the shorts from the IRS. It's a delicate balancing act.

I'm not depending on bulk surplus cartridges much anymore. My carry and hunting ammo remains at a few boxes in rotation. None of that is cheap fodder - few carry FMJ steel cased for protection and certainly not for hunting. I look forward to building another hunting AR in a cartridge that suffered so little demand I could have purchased ammo every month last year. A box goes a long way, ten rounds for sighting in annually, ten rounds for carry in my state, good to go. Next year there is usually the New! cartridge to try out, and you don't need a battle pack to get results. That leaves the commodity fodder to fire up during range visits, doing what it does, giving you 3 or even 4 rounds to shoot for every one you might carry. It's not rocket surgery.

I get why high consumption shooters have continued to move away from .22LR, that problem is getting resolved with new ownership and increased capacity at ammo makers. Yet, all we did was push the problem up the cartridge chain, not solve it. Maybe if we put more of our retirement funds in ownership of the companies we think are truly important instead of the Chinese sourced "politically correct" industries, we'd underwrite the availability we really want.

When I need more of it or prices come back down to deals cheap enough I would replenish my supply’s.

It’s all about JIT, under normal buying patterns it’s efficient but throw in crazed panic buying and system breaks down.

FWIW we’re always one event away from system breakdown.

e rex said:

Maybe Never.
I reload now and cant get components so I cleaned the weapons and put them away. Been so long since I shot I've gotten out of the habit and don't really care anymore.

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I agree, Rex.

The insane prices on components and availability, not to mention factory ammo, has pushed me beyond the point of being able to enjoy the hobby. It's simply getting too expensive and fools are ruining it for us. One guy takes a stand there are a dozen fools behind him to snatch up the stuff at a 10x markup.

And for what? So the makers know they'll have a steady stream of people more than willing to bend over backwards to pay a ton? I'm over it.

I can see the “hobbyists” quitting and competitors talking a pause but if you’re committed to CC then what cost is too much?

For me CC and hunting will go on till I’m physically unable and as long as I have a box of cartridges I’m good.

After all when I was growing up Dad never had more than a box per caliber/gauge.

huntsman said:

I can see the “hobbyists” quitting and competitors talking a pause but if you’re committed to CC then what cost is too much?

For me CC and hunting will go on till I’m physically unable and as long as I have a box of cartridges I’m good.

After all when I was growing up Dad never had more than a box per caliber/gauge.

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CC is one thing,

Recreational is another.

It will be a while. The wife saw my stash and went ballistic. I tried explaining that it took a long time to acquire what I have. Needless to say, I’m good for a while.

I reload for everything I have that goes bang HOWEVER, my shortcoming was not buying both L&S pistol primers. Those were at a time $0.70 per 100/$7.00/1000/$35 per case of 5000, bought 20 cases of each,figured it would last me to old age, foolishness of being young and near sighted, used 'm all by age 35, bought more cases near triple the price ( still dirt cheap to today's prices ) , then came Carter, slick Willie, Obama, now anti-american idiot china-joe Biden, prices out of sight and NO primers anywhere, exhausted my supply, so no bang bang do I do.

danez71 said:

That would be 25% increase and far outpacing the inflated sky is falling inflation #s predictions....

You could be right, though.

When ammo settles down to inflation paced pricing, I'll be all in while grumbling about inflated inflation.

ETA: $12 per 50 of 9mm selling for $13 would still be out pacing Bidenflation by quite a bit.

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What very very few people know and realize or understand is Congress by COOKING the BOOKS create inflation as a ( bend- over- and-brace- yourself ) backdoor means of MASSIVE TAXATION with no one the wiser even when it STINKS more than ten gross ( 1,440 ) of full power spraying SKUNKS. In comparasion china-joe's tax increase's are a walk in the park, absolutely everyone pays the hidden TAX of INFLATION. Don't believe all the BS you hear and read about what causes inflation. Just one cause, CONGRESS !!!!! Don't believe me???? Buy the book " The Emperor's Clothes Cost Twenty Dollars " written by Loyld Darland he was one of the best or even the best C.P.A.' s in the entire USA, he said it took him ten years to unravel how Congress has the BOOKS COOKED. Know how to stop inflation?? Vote ALL MEMBERS of Congress out of office when they come up for reelection. See how fast inflation disappears and comes to a SCREECHING HALT.