Oddballs are dependent on what Obamascare we are suffering under. The first one I could find .30-06, .30-30, and 12 ga locally no problem. The military calibers were the only ones sold out.
This last one, nothing much could be seen for a month, but I could get 6.8SPC, and 6.5Grendel was on the shelf next to it down to the last day. They were also the first ones back.
That seemed to define who was buying what. In both cases and in between, .380 couldn't be had. Now, it's .22. The causes of what starts a panic have filtered down to the masses and they are ALL concerned now. It's not just a black T shirt problem. If anything, the guys continuing the .22 debacle are now definitely in overreaction and creating the feeding frenzy.
It's a great case study in zombie economics.
"Oddball" calibers goes to the accessories, too. I was buying and receiving 6.8 mags right thru the high point of the last scare, it took months to find PMags on the shelf.
That's the whole point about "oddballs." Step back and look at what is popular, and you quickly see what sells out Day One during the "crisis." So, the maxim is, "Observe the masses, and do the opposite." At a time when AR15 sales are still expanding, buying one in 5.56 means you get to join all the others in line looking for ammo. And basing a cartridge decision on being able to get cheap imported ammo from Eastern European sources? That supply chain is long and vulnerable to a lot of outside influences.
Some of us got to shoot .308 thru the good old days when nations were dumping it on the market surplus during their changeover to 5.56. It's all gone now. We learned that just because you enjoy a currently expedient choice, that is exactly what it is - a snap shot in time where you can't see the end, yet. But, it's out there, just the same as a new car turning over 250,000 and getting junked. Cheap calibers last about twenty years start to finish, change will come. Be ready.
