Ammunition vs. gasoline as a commodity

[jagdpanzer347]

Greetings all. "Why do you need so much ammo?" "Are you going to start a war or something?" I would venture to say many members of the forum have been asked these, or similar questions by non-enthusiasts. Has anyone tried to explain that ammunition is merely a commodity? Much like gasoline or cans of peaches or toothpaste. For brevity's sake, I won't even touch on the nature of the surplus market or possibilities of future taxes/restrictions.

Remember when you could buys cases of XM193 or Q3131A for 150.00? Or how about the recent past when South African 7.62 was 149.00 per 980? Remember when gasoline was 1.25 a gallon? I use gasoline as my primary example because it's rising cost effects everyone.

So I will say to someone in this type of discussion, "What if you had purchased 10,000 gallons of gas when it was .99 per gallon?" "You would have saved ALOT of money long term, correct?" Yes, I do realize even when properly stored and treated gasoline doesn't have a very long "shelf life". Oddly enough, that has never came up in one of my discussions.

So those few cases of South African I bought not so long ago are now worth easily twice what I paid for them, etc., etc. Any thoughts?

-jagd

 

[grimjaw]

It's a sensible argument.

I like shooting, and I'd rather feel that I'm tossing nickels and dimes downrange than silver dollars. Buy early, buy in bulk, save money. It's more about economics for me than anything. I will end up shooting all this stuff up, or selling what I don't shoot at what I hope isn't too much of a monetary loss.

jm

 

[DogBonz]

maybe...

What if you had purchased 10,000 gallons of gas when it was .99 per gallon?" "You would have saved ALOT of money long term, correct?" Yes

Not pee in your Cheerios, but that depends A LOT. I don't have my financial calculator with me, but when was gas $0.99/ gal? And that will depend a lot on where you live. But if you follow the "Law of 72" that means that if you earned 10% on your money (which is not hard) that means that the price of gas would have taken 7.2 years to double. So, that means that if you double the price of gas in the beginning of 2000, and double it, that will give you a reference point. If it is higher, than yes, you would have saved money, if it is not, then you may have lost money. It is called "opportunity cost".

 

[DogBonz]

Up Date

According to the US Department of Energy, the National average price per gallon of gas was $1.26 on 01/03/2000. The same week in Jan 2007 the price was $2.25. That means that if you were able to average that 10% that I quoted before, that you actually LOST $0.28 per gallon.

 

[OrvilleYertleson]

Not to mention that gasoline goes bad.

 

[pacodelahoya]

That's why I am stocking up on ammo now. Look at the proposed 10 cents per round tax in Chicago. I think hard times are coming period. Whether or not it saves me money in the long run. What if it simply isn't available, or I can't aford it during the next depression?

My wife was upset when I bought a Romak 3 right before Christmas.

Now, when I see them advertised, they have already went up in price by at least two hundred bucks. When I point this out to her, she admits that it was a good choice to make.( I couldn't even find one for months)

 

[DogBonz]

Now There IS a reason

Look at the proposed 10 cents per round tax in Chicago. I think hard times are coming period.

Now that is a real reason for buying.

 

[Onmilo]

I look at it this way.
As long as I have ammunition and as long as gasoline is available,,,,I can get gasoline.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

Very good work Dogbonz. Thankfully, the discussions I have had with the afore-mentioned non-enthusiasts never progressed to this level of analysis! The important thing was that it made a few people look at "ammo hoarders" in a slightly different light, even if only temporarily.

Just for the record, I do whole-heartedly subscribe to the "buy it cheap and stack it deep" philosophy. The restrictions on and even total ban on the future importation of surplus ammunition is a large concern for me. The levying off some ridiculous "bullet tax" perhaps even more so. In the mean time, I will buy as much, mostly imported, ammo as my budget allows.

Please note this is not so much for the SHTF type scenario, as it is to allow a life time of enjoyment of the shooting sports at something at least resembling a reasonable cost. Thanks for the replies all.

-jagd

 

[ProficientRifleman]

Ammo

Buy ammo! With enough ammo, you can get all the gasoline you want!

 

[Tbu61]

This might only apply to me......

I'm retiring in 5 months and I know that my disposable income is going to plummet. Sorry, but a 20 year career in the military took a little wind out of my sails and I'm ready to throttle back a little bit.

No doubt I will have a little extra time in the future and I might want to go shooting (duh!) I'm packing away a little extra ammo here and there so I can AFFORD to pull the trigger once in a while. I consider it my retirement fund.

The concept is to be in a position to have everything I ever needed before
I'm in a position of not being able to buy it. Not so much as a hedge against inflation.

tbu

 

[Valkman]

I just went through this while moving - had to have others pack our stuff and of course there was lots of ammo. Heck, there's a case of .308 and I don't have a .308!

But how much ammo I have on hand is not as important as how many components I have for reloading. I know what Tbu61 is talking about because I went on disability 7 years ago and cannot afford all the stuff I want. But I bought Dillon reloading stuff a few years ago and save lots on the bigger calibers - I couldn't even shoot some of them without reloading.

 

[DogBonz]

jagdpanzer347

I pretty much understood what you were getting at, I just didn't want you to be caught by surprise if you intend to go down that road. I just didn't want one of us to get caught off guard making an argument that may or may not be true.

I too, have a little ammo lying around, but not because I'm worried about the price of ammo out pacing inflation or manufacturing cost increases.

 

[Leanwolf]

ONMILE & PROFICIENT RIFLEMAN - "As long as I have ammunition and as long as gasoline is available,,,,I can get gasoline."

Yeah. Right. Until......

You run into some man who also has a rifle, ammo, and gasoline, who does not cotton to lowdown thieves, cutthroats, and bandits.

L.W.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

dogbonz

We're cool bro'. I think on the same page as well. I honestly didn't even really consider inflation in my analogy. The figures on gas prices were quite enlightening. However, it would seem both gas and ammo prices have peaks and valleys. For example, the price of gasoline around the time of Hurricane Katrina. It was well over 3.00 a gallon for a while in my neck of the woods. Also, look at the afore-mentioned price of 7.62NATO ammunition compared to a year and a half ago. The market price is two to three times what it was selling for in that time frame. Obviously these can't be direct comparisons because of the greatly reduced supply of the ammo in question. Stay safe.

-jagd

 

[telomerase]

The price of weapons has historically skyrocketed from time to time... look what the Warsaw Jews had to pay for theirs.

Ammo is a good investment... especially because if enough private citizens have ammo, we won't need it

 

[Derby FALs]

Check into gasoline co-ops.

 

[torpid]

I use the gasoline comparison myself.

I point out for example that a 20 round box of Remington .45-70 that went for around $19.49 last year when I got my levergun is now $28.49 (and rising!).

And the ammo doesn't "go bad" like gas when it sits on the shelf.

(yes, yes... reload!)

 

[model4006]

i cant believe no one thinks that when the war is over ammo prices will drop like crazy.

i remember riding with my friends in the car in about 1997-1998 and gas was 76 cents a gallon here. its been 1.99 as of late. NE Ohio.

 

[marklbucla]

A tear literally came to my eye when I found out that Academy raised their 9mm Blazer prices from 3.86/50 up to 4.86 last spring. (And then later even to $5.69 a few months later). While it may not sound like a big increase, it's huge in the long run.

I bought about 10 cases of the Federal Field & Range when they were having their back to school sale in August 2005. I seriously doubt I'll ever see a box of 12 gauge go for less than $2.50 again.

Similarly, I passed on a Springfield 9mm Ultra Compact that sold on Gunbroker for $450. Now, If I can find one, they're going for more than the EMPs.

Point is that if it came to a point where I took out a new credit card and paid the full interest on it, it would have been a great deal still compared to now.

 

[45Badger]

Just bought a *^%$&I*JGH^G^&*&*@$*ing Glock 19 so I could shoot cheap ammo. Wally World value packs just jumped from $12.88 to $14.56.

Screwed again.

Back to the bench to crank out more .45 acp.............

 

[marklbucla]

Wally World value packs just jumped from $12.88 to $14.56.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

 

[MechAg94]

Please note this is not so much for the SHTF type scenario, as it is to allow a life time of enjoyment of the shooting sports at something at least resembling a reasonable cost.

This is exactly the point. When it comes down to it, you really don't need cases and cases of ammo for 99.9% of SHTF scenarios, but I am happy I stumbled into the couple cases of .308 that I have.

 

[mr.trooper]

Buy ammo! With enough ammo, you can get all the gasoline you want!

Too bad that no amount of ammunition can buy morality.

 

[1911Tuner]

Ammunition

The quote:

> "Why do you need so much ammo?" "Are you going to start a war or something?" I would venture to say many members of the forum have been asked these, or similar questions by non-enthusiasts.<
***************

Oh yes...All the time. These are the same types of morons who ask you how much money you make...or how much you have in the bank...or how you felt when your mother died. I don't suffer fools like that very well, and my standard response has been on the order of:

"No. I'm saving it to repel the alien invasion from the planet Zorbon that's scheduled for next year, according to reports from my contacts on Mars."
accompanied by a slightly exaggerated