how did you fare through the ammo shortage .....

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I was on a 20+ year hiatus from shooting and got back into it at the tail end of the shortage. "Wadda mean, you don't have any primers?" I sparingly used my old reloading stocks until supplies loosened up. Now I try to keep a few thousand rounds in stock.
 
In about 2005 the prices started to climb. The reason given was the War on Terror. 7.62x39, 9mm, and 5.56x45 got expensive and then got scarce.
Watching the costs of raw material rise at this time I started buying. Loading supplies, and loaded ammo. As much as I could afford from any source, as long as it was of decent quality.
Now I'm looking at reducing the number of calibers I shoot. And have the ability to handload that caliber.
Then came 2008 and the election. Everything dried up, even guns.
Always watch for trends. Always keep informed. Always prepare for the worst. And you'll be ahead of the curve.
 
i reload 45 acp--bought enough primers/powder and have about 4k hulls, 250lb. lead so i never had to worry about running out too soon. just bought a semi tommy gun--most likely will have another 2yrs worth but will restock as needed. also have about 8k in 22lr. and i just add bulk packs to replace what i use. bulk at wally world used to be around 12. now close to 20.:scrutiny:
 
I store my ammo in .50cal cans and have one, two, or three cans-full of every caliber I shoot, plus a few marked "miscellaneous". I just maintain them at "filled to/near capacity".

This made the last "shortage" easier to weather. My inventory surely pales in comparison to the average pawnshop, but I guess maybe an anti or regulator would be horrified. It just seems minimally-stocked and reasonable/prudent to me, and of course I recommend everyone keep a reasonable and prudent supply of everything from ammo to beans to toilet paper. Hey, I live in the sticks and a man's gotta shoot, eat, and poop, right?
 
let's see...7,000 primers, 100lbs of various powders, 1 1/2 cases of 22LR, 1500 loaded rounds of LC 223, lots of other brass, 150 lbs lead shot, 2 garbage bags of wads, 1 garbage bag AA hulls, 300 lbs pure lead, 90 lbs lino, 70 lbs w-w. I had to scorunge for rem 71/2 primers, other than that the inventory got drawn down a little but it's back to normal.
 
Simple, I create minimum savings requirements and whenever I buy a large amount, I always save at least one full mag worth of ammo.
 
You better be ready if Obama is re-elected. There will be another run on ammo and guns, and this time it will be for real.
 
Luckly...I had a fair stock of the bullits, primers and powder for the calibers I (mostly) shoot. I don't do high volume when I go shoot and my work load kept me off the range most of the last three years. I do, however, need to restock the shelf.

Mark
 
During the last 3 months of 2008, Americans bought 3 billion rounds of ammunition. I was shooting a lot and budgeted about $300/mo for reloading supplies so I was prepared.
 
The only thing I was short on during the 2008 Obama-scare was large rifle primers. I was good to go on everything else. I've been reloading 40 S&W, 223, 308, 38 and 357 since 2005, so I was well stocked on all that stuff.
 
Ammo shortage? What ammo shortage?? We had an ammo shortage??

I buy little to NO ammo in the stores, so it didn't affect me...

DM
 
For once in my life, my timing was pretty good. I had been saving my brass for about a year, then a friend sent me his Dillon 450. I was buying primers, powder and lead a box per gun show or so.

When the stuff hit the fan, I was pretty well stocked. I just didn't buy anything for about a year. When availability returned and prices moderated, I re-stocked.

Thanks for the reminder about National Ammo Day. I need to go to WM and buy a couple Bulk Packs of .22 LR. :)
 
Shooting Pueblo Tactical rifle matches blew through my stockpile of factory 5.56/.223.

At least I'm a better shot for it.

I used to do a LOT of reloading. And I still have most of the components I'll need to get into it again. Biggest thing I need to buy this year is powder.

Reloading is my winter project.
 
Shortage? What shortage? Man, I RELOAD!!!

I never experienced the shortages everyone else was complaining about. I've been reloading nearly 45 years and have a big stockpile of components from primers to bullets so I'm good for the next, oh, say thirty years or so.
 
Not too well...

I learned a good lesson though. Stock up in good times
and always buy .380 acp when you can :D
 
Heck got a 20 gauge shotgun and a rifle that shoots Russian ammo, so the 20 ga. was easy to find the Mosin was to easy to get a can of 100s of round for under $100.
 
There was an ammo shortage?

Seriously, when Obama was elected (with a Democrat House and Senate) people panicked about pending restrictions with a clearly anti-2A government in place.

The Saturday after the election I went to a local show and saw people trucking crates of ammo out to their cars. I mean folks were buying 3 or 4 crates each. The ammo dealers were running out of most popular calibers. I'm sure it was the same all over the country. The ammo binge continued for at least 18 months. It took about 2 years for manufacturers to catch up with demand and of course Econ 101 tells us that increased demand plus low supply equals skyrocketing prices.

It was the same with high capacity semi-auto firearms. Everyone assumed the AWB was coming back.

Supplies are better now,and prices have dropped somewhat (although not back to pre-panic levels). My rule of thumb is to always have enough on hand for an emergency. As an example, I checked my inventory recently and found that I have 800 rounds of 30-30 ammo on hand... and I hardly ever shoot 30-30. Don't know how much 5.56 and 7.62 is out there.
 
fal762x51 said:
You better be ready if Obama is re-elected. There will be another run on ammo and guns, and this time it will be for real.
Click to expand...
Barrack Obama, the best gun and ammo salesman in history. Funny thing is, it all turned out to be a false alarm. BO don't have the political power to push his agenda. People were panic buying. The ammo factories, and retailers were very happy with it all. A few forward looking people saw the panic coming and stocked up.

On one local internet rag, one fella was adverstising he would be parked on the side of the road selling ammo from a card table. At inflated prices of course. It was all quite amusing to watch. It will be most amusing if BO II happens. Most of the people "in the know" are saying BO will then show his true gun control power.
 
I have always had a decent stockplie of ammo, going back some 20 years ago. Sometimes I would go half on something (like a great deal on 7.62X39 ammo), with my brother if I didn't have enough money to cover it all. Other than that I have always looked for good deals on ammo and when I found them, I would buy what I needed plus a little bit more for the future.
 
I had stocked up my personal ammo supply for years before
the election ammo panic. I was able to sell to a few friends
who hadn't. I sold the ammo for my cost. They appreciated it.
 
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