Out of stock is the new in stock

[dogtown tom]

I have to tell you, your post is coming across as more than a little condescending, and misses much of my point (if not simply ignoring much of what I said). I certainly didn't just have some "awakening" today.

Not condescending, I'm just amused.

....But, none of us can ever possibly and accurately predict the length and depth of the next inevitable shortage, and that makes planning a nightmare, at least for those of us who actually do any real shooting with the ammo we buy.

It's not a nightmare for me. I didn't like the situation the first time I ran low ad made sure that I haven't run low since.

It's a nightmare for the unaware and those who planned poorly.

I also couldn't possibly stock up for things like calibers I hadn't yet become interested in, or for types of shooting sports in which I wasn't yet participating.

You aren't psychic ?
How about calibers not yet invented? For guns not yet invented?
I think you miss the point of being prepared. Think what that means. If you are preparing for hurricane season and lay in a supply of food and water......do you really think it matters one bit that food "I haven't yet become interested in" wasn't what you stocked? Oh heck no. There will be that point where you would love an ice cold Coca Cola.....yet all you have is warm bottled water. Your neighbor has power and canned Cokes. What will you do?

You ever think that a case of 9x19 might be trade fodder in the future for something you aren't interested in right now?

For example, I haven't competed in small bore rifle since college, so while I have 10's of thousands of rounds of .22LR plinker ammo on hand (the kind of ammo you mentioned in your example), I still wouldn't have the right type of .22LR ammo on hand if I were to rekindle an interest in shooting small bore again (because, let's face it, you aren't competitive in that area if you're shooting Remington Golden Bullet .22's, for example).

Of the billions of rounds of .22 rimfire sold each year, "target" grade for small bore competition is a tiny fraction. Most rimfire is used for informal plinking and hunting. Oddly, that same target grade ammo can be used for plinking and hunting if needed.

If small bore competition is your hobby, stock up on what you need at every opportunity. But good grief man, why buy what you don't need. Oddly I don't stock up pool chemical, pumps and pool furniture because I might install a pool in ten years. Thats faulty planning if not cray cray.

I have good supplies on hand for the types of shooting I was doing regularly the last time things were plentiful. But, as I illustrated in an earlier post, I was caught in a pinch during a previous shortage because I had just switched from a .308 Win match gun to a .260 Remington match gun. That switch meant that I suddenly needed H4350 powder rather than the Varget powder I had been using. But, that powder became almost impossible to get, and it's not like I would have had it on hand for a gun I wasn't previously using.

Oh good grief.
Maybe you should think about the consequences of switching before actual switching.
It's not like theres no way to check availability and pricing of powder and components.

These are the reasons that these shortages are aggravating, not because I was too dense to go and buy stuff when it was cheap... it's more about the fact that it's hard to predict what you might want/need in the future, and it's hard to explore new arenas of shooting when we're almost constantly feeling the pressure of the next shortage.

Well of course its aggravating if you let it be aggravating. Not sure how old you are, but you don't always get everything you want, when you want it and how you want it. Life ain't Burger King.
You have one person responsible for how ammunition and component shortages affect you.

On the other hand, yeah, I guess we could always choose to be like the morbidly obese 55 year old guy I met at a club level IPSC match one time who told me that he has over 500,000 primers on hand for his personal use, and was planning to double that supply. He probably won't live long enough to shoot through a tenth of that supply, and he surely isn't storing it to fire code, but he sure has it sitting there anyway, just in case.

So really you're jealous of the fat old guy? Well bucko.........HE ain't running out of primers is he? He's probably posting about the ill prepared millennial that he met at a match.

Sorry, I have no sympathy for you and am envious of your fat man.

 

[TacticalSpeed]

I like how some folks act like everyone not having all this disposable income for ammo stockpiles & whatever other stockpiles somehow means they are idiots or wrong etc. News flash, most people struggle to simply pay their bills. Then we have parents, other responsibilities. Stocking up on ammo or something else is not always that black & white nor doable.

Thankfully, I am not just paying bills so don't come attack me for being poor or an idiot. It is also hugely saddening to see so many people attack & talk down to/about their fellow man like everyone's situation must be the same. Do better. Be better.

 

[reddog81]

We're 1.5 years into the panic buying. If you can't make it that long you weren't very well prepared. Which one of the previous shortages went by quicker?

Maybe think twice about changing calibers when everything is hard to find.

 

[dogtown tom]

I like how some folks act like everyone not having all this disposable income for ammo stockpiles & whatever other stockpiles somehow means they are idiots or wrong etc.

No one called anyone an idiot....how do you like what didn't happen?
Being this is a firearms forum its assumed most members have guns and shoot them. If all you shoot is a box of fifty once a year.....this thread doesn't probably doesn't apply.

News flash, most people struggle to simply pay their bills. Then we have parents, other responsibilities. Stocking up on ammo or something else is not always that black & white nor doable.

News flash, most people struggle to pay their bills because they choose to have expenses without having the income to cover it. I'm a full time teacher, and have two part time jobs. I don't run up credit card debt, don't gamble, don't particularily enjoy boats or exotic vacations. I try and live within my means. I don't have machine guns, I don't reload on a Dillon press and I don't shoot competitively. Those that do (like the OP) know darn well that shortages occur. He's upset because he is really terrible at predicting the future and knowing what guns and calibers he'll be interested in when his current interests fade. Not once did he mention a lack of $$$$, but instead is frustrated that he doesn't know what to stockpile for the future.

Thankfully, I am not just paying bills so don't come attack me for being poor or an idiot. It is also hugely saddening to see so many people attack & talk down to/about their fellow man like everyone's situation must be the same. Do better. Be better.

Yet every 3-4 years we see these same sad sack threads of people bemoaning the price and scaricity of guns, ammunition and components. Again EVERY 3-4 years over the last twenty years. That tells me that some learned nothing from previous experience.

"Do better. Be better"? How about giving fellow forum members honest responses? Wallowing in the pity pool accomplishes nothing.

 

[TacticalSpeed]

No one called anyone an idiot....how do you like what didn't happen?
Being this is a firearms forum its assumed most members have guns and shoot them. If all you shoot is a box of fifty once a year.....this thread doesn't probably doesn't apply.




News flash, most people struggle to pay their bills because they choose to have expenses without having the income to cover it. I'm a full time teacher, and have two part time jobs. I don't run up credit card debt, don't gamble, don't particularily enjoy boats or exotic vacations. I try and live within my means. I don't have machine guns, I don't reload on a Dillon press and I don't shoot competitively. Those that do (like the OP) know darn well that shortages occur. He's upset because he is really terrible at predicting the future and knowing what guns and calibers he'll be interested in when his current interests fade. Not once did he mention a lack of $$$$, but instead is frustrated that he doesn't know what to stockpile for the future.




Yet every 3-4 years we see these same sad sack threads of people bemoaning the price and scaricity of guns, ammunition and components. Again EVERY 3-4 years over the last twenty years. That tells me that some learned nothing from previous experience.

"Do better. Be better"? How about giving fellow forum members honest responses? Wallowing in the pity pool accomplishes nothing.

LOL. You are THAT guy. Good day.

 

[DoubleMag]

FRIENDS! FELLOW ENTHUSIASTS!! Somewhere in the middle the truth RESTS. Wanna take your latest-greatest trophy girlfriend out to the 3*** restaurant to impress her? MUST HAVES includes the latest greatest iPhone 43a, oh, I HAD to trade for the 2022 Camaro mine was SOOOO OLD (2018). SPEND THRIFTY yourself all-you-want, don't cry the NEXT time there is a shortage (or with current legislative ATTEMPTS, Feds watching your purchases over $600 ).

.....Other side? As portrayed. I gots me 5000000000 primers, and I needs me some more. The ''55 gal drums of gas for my generator 'cause the space aliens are coming AFTER the Russian& Chinese horde invades'' Club.

FOOD COSTS are up. gas is up 70%. Other etc. And yes it's Ok to go out for chow. Again...SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE the truth RESTS. Rests; happy, content. Fulfilled...the absence of PANIC, other FUDDery.

...become a huge aggravation for me, and I'm not sure if/when this ongoing cycle of shortages will ever end. It has gotten to the...

End? I will say it will be more like, watching for dips in a market forecast chart. BUY AT THE DIPS is my forward thinking approach. And example please? 9mm FMJ ''dips'' to $16-17 on Black Friday, BUY.

In closing, with the current climate, I do NOT forsee this former ''good old days'' thinking as a working model going forward; I want to go shooting tomorrow, I will wait until tomorrow go to the sports store, and buy my ammo. Sorry, I think those days are gone. Glad to be wrong !

Thank you, PLEASE be kind to your neighbor(s) you will probably need them more & more in the near future. Have a great day one & all!!

 

[Speedo66]

You must learn from the past and prepare for the future.

One or two cycles ago AR's, magazines, and ammo prices were through the roof. People said there will never be a return to the good 'ol days of lower prices.

And what happened? AR prices tanked, stores couldn't give 'em away. Ammo prices sunk, and mags were everywhere and cheap.

And now? If you didn't buy by forgoing that Big Mac, or pack of smokes, or a night in the bar, etc, yes, it's on you. If you could afford any of those items, then you had a choice. If you're low on ammo then shooting wasn't a primary one.

 

[DustyGmt]

I did my good deed today, I was working with a carpenter who said he went to a Cabelas and there was some sale going on with Savage Axis rifles w/ scopes (idk what the deal was but he said he paid $270 ea for them which is a good deal in this market), he bought one in .223 and 7-08. He told me they didn't have any 7-08 ammo but he could find .223 everywhere he went, I don't think he knows what has happened to the market and likely wouldn't have even flinched if he paid $29.99 for a 20rd box of .223 but when he went store to store looking for 7-08, the clerks told him they didn't have any and that common hunting cartridges were backordered and warned him to buy whatever he could find at whatever price otherwise he wouldn't be hunting this year.

He told me he went to a few places looking and couldn't find any and he wanted his wife to hunt with her new rifle this year so I cut him a break and told him I'd sell him a box of 7-08 NBT's for cost, cost from like 2 years ago. He is happy to have some ammo to hunt with and I'm happy to help a fellow hunter/shooter.

 

[TacticalSpeed]

I did my good deed today, I was working with a carpenter who said he went to a Cabelas and there was some sale going on with Savage Axis rifles w/ scopes (idk what the deal was but he said he paid $270 ea for them which is a good deal in this market), he bought one in .223 and 7-08. He told me they didn't have any 7-08 ammo but he could find .223 everywhere he went, I don't think he knows what has happened to the market and likely wouldn't have even flinched if he paid $29.99 for a 20rd box of .223 but when he went store to store looking for 7-08, the clerks told him they didn't have any and that common hunting cartridges were backordered and warned him to buy whatever he could find at whatever price otherwise he wouldn't be hunting this year.

He told me he went to a few places looking and couldn't find any and he wanted his wife to hunt with her new rifle this year so I cut him a break and told him I'd sell him a box of 7-08 NBT's for cost, cost from like 2 years ago. He is happy to have some ammo to hunt with and I'm happy to help a fellow hunter/shooter.

& on the flip side, I just had someone want to sell me 5.56 at 70 cents per round. Come on, man...

 

[TacticalSpeed]

You must learn from the past and prepare for the future.

One or two cycles ago AR's, magazines, and ammo prices were through the roof. People said there will never be a return to the good 'ol days of lower prices.

And what happened? AR prices tanked, stores couldn't give 'em away. Ammo prices sunk, and mags were everywhere and cheap.

And now? If you didn't buy by forgoing that Big Mac, or pack of smokes, or a night in the bar, etc, yes, it's on you. If you could afford any of those items, then you had a choice. If you're low on ammo then shooting wasn't a primary one.

I just saw stripped Anderson lowers for sale online for under $40 each. We are making progress

 

[4570Tom]

The numerous and interconnected reasons for the current state of ammunition supply (both general ammo and hunting specific ammo) have been discussed in both this post and a multitude of other posts, and I won’t rehash it here. I am wondering, however, if others remember past shortages affecting hunting ammunition supply as much as this current shortage. Hunting ammunition became sparse last year, and is worse now. I was recently in two different gun stores, and both continued to have mostly bare shelves for typical deer hunting calibers. Calibers like 450 Bushmaster actually were available in relatively good supply, with a smattering of off-brand .308 and some 45-70. Less popular cartridges like 30/40 Krag and 358Win were available in small amounts, but I suspect they were old stock. Cartridges such as 30/30, 30-06, 270Win, 7mm-08, and 243Win continued to be absent. My memory could be off (seems to do that a lot these days), but it seems like in the past when reloading components weren’t available, 5.56 and pistol calibers were hit or miss, and 22LR was non-existent, folks could still walk into their local store and buy a box or two of deer hunting ammo. Do others have a different memory of availability? Could be I wasn’t paying attention at the time.

 

[Rexster]

One of several reasons that I have largely reverted to carrying revolvers, for the most part, is that I need more live-fire training, with ammo that has realistically-street-relevant recoil, to remain highly-confident with auto-loaders, especially Glocks, which I added later in life. At present, I reckon that I can shoot a Glock well enough for extreme short-range defense, but for street carry, where I may have to defend a family member or other third party across a large parking lot, or for rural carry, I want to be able to place shots well.

I entered this ammo crisis with some 9mm and .45 ACP put away, including many hundreds of rounds of premium defensive ammo, but if I want to vet a couple of new pistols, or vet ten new magazines, that is not much of an ammo supply.

It also helps that I have an S&W Model 17-4, with a 4” barrel, a .22 LR K-Frame, which provides relatively less-expensive live fire with a totally realistic trigger reach and trigger pull, though not much of a recoil impulse. Notably, .22 LR is more compact to store than .38 Special and .357 Magnum, a factor for those of us with relatively small homes. In our case, living in a flood-prone area, there is the added necessity of having to store things above floor level, which further reduces the cubic feet available for storage.

 

[DustyGmt]

The numerous and interconnected reasons for the current state of ammunition supply (both general ammo and hunting specific ammo) have been discussed in both this post and a multitude of other posts, and I won’t rehash it here. I am wondering, however, if others remember past shortages affecting hunting ammunition supply as much as this current shortage. Hunting ammunition became sparse last year, and is worse now. I was recently in two different gun stores, and both continued to have mostly bare shelves for typical deer hunting calibers. Calibers like 450 Bushmaster actually were available in relatively good supply, with a smattering of off-brand .308 and some 45-70. Less popular cartridges like 30/40 Krag and 358Win were available in small amounts, but I suspect they were old stock. Cartridges such as 30/30, 30-06, 270Win, 7mm-08, and 243Win continued to be absent. My memory could be off (seems to do that a lot these days), but it seems like in the past when reloading components weren’t available, 5.56 and pistol calibers were hit or miss, and 22LR was non-existent, folks could still walk into their local store and buy a box or two of deer hunting ammo. Do others have a different memory of availability? Could be I wasn’t paying attention at the time.

It's weird. I don't recall there ever being a time when conventional hunting cartridges like the 30-30, '06, .270, etc were hard to get. It seemed in all other past shortages you could always get 12ga target loads (not buckshot or slugs) or any "hunting" ammo. This time around, nothing is exempt.

 

[reddog81]

My memory could be off (seems to do that a lot these days), but it seems like in the past when reloading components weren’t available, 5.56 and pistol calibers were hit or miss, and 22LR was non-existent, folks could still walk into their local store and buy a box or two of deer hunting ammo. Do others have a different memory of availability? Could be I wasn’t paying attention at the time.

My recollection is that the end of 2013 and beginning of 2014 about mirrors what has happened over the last year. Once the popular calibers disappear people panic buy anything they might think they can use. The more rare calibers go last but then stay out of stock longer. .30-06 was hard to find or very expensive for awhile. 12ga target loads weren't ever too hard to find but just about any other shotgun ammo was impacted.

 

[Airborne Falcon]

I've always, my entire life, been a prepper. It's a way of life ... a lifestyle if you will. I'm well into my 60s. My family and I live below our means, we practice frugality and we do not waste.

That comes from being raised by a grandfather who was orphaned at a young age and survived as a railroad hobo, joined the army at 16 ... WWII when he was 30, retired from the army after Korea, bought a ranch in Texas and he instilled into my father and me the art of not depending upon anyone for anything in order to provide for your family and you.

We raised livestock, raised fish in ponds, had massive gardens ... I learned to dehydrate and smoke foods, can foods, salt cure foods .... by the time I was 12 I knew how to survive.

Guns played a key role because we hunted a lot. My grandfather taught me to reload as well ... I told the story in the reloadinfg forum.

Point being, we never depended upon factory shot shells or factory loaded metallic cartrdiges .... he'd buy it when he had the spare money, but we didn't depend upon it. We reloaded 30-30, 30.06, 35 Remington, 12 & 20 gauge, 38 Special and 45 ACP..

We bought powder and primers from Western Auto on main street. Powder would be dipped by the pound (roughly $2 a pound) and put in brown paper bags, primers were 22 cents per hundred in the late 60s. We cast our own boolits, buckshot and slugs. Birdshot we bought from Western Auto too ... 25 pound burlap sack of birdshot was $3.25 and I thought that was high when I bought my first bag.

We didn't miss much ... we had good rip raff pointers and missing birds was a black eye on one's reputation and a provider.

I prep like mad when it comes to reloading. I just did an inventory yesterday and, even after the lean past 24 months when it comes to powder and primers ... I'm back up-to over 600 pounds of good powders and 30k-ish primers having just scored a bunch of #41s and #34s.

I reload something practically every single day in my retirement. These past couple of years I didn't slow down much .... except when I moved out of my old man cave and into my new smaller mancave and I had to build cabinets and get organized and that took me awhile.

Stockpile reloading components in both goodtimes and bad if you can afford it. Just like you do food, seeds, ethanol free gas, spare parts, etc. You don't have to-do-it overnight. Just be steady snd be diligent. I've always wondered why some guys have fifty high dollar firearms and a box of ammo for each ... it just baffles me.

I think a lot of the new firearm owners have a few boxes of ammo.

I think a lot of the new reloaders have a few pounds of powder, a few hundred primers, an expensive press and a single manual.

What has made this shortage different than all others in the past are those newbies in both categories ... newbie gunowners and newbie reloaders. That and the fact that thr government was giving away free money and a lot of that money went towards buying guns and ammo and reloading supplies according to the associations and federations.

Stockpile for tough times. It's not hoarding it's prepping.

 

[Mr. Mosin]

Eh.... black powder ? Make your own powder and caps, cast your own lead balls/bullets ?

 

[Bazoo]

I have an idea for the reason of the shortage of common hunting calibers.

That is what some call fudds. They are common folk that have few common guns, and normally only have a few boxes of ammo and rarely shoot.

Well with the government shutdowns, and with the riots, they seen that their guns play a role in their feeling of security. So they bought ammo when they normally wouldn't.

I have a friend in this category. Sorta, he ain't a Fudd in mentality of gun ownership, but is in terms of preparedness. I prompted him to buy some ammo for his hunting rifle, and now he has something like 8-10 boxes of 270, a case or two of shotshells, and several bricks of 22s. Course he don't reload. He stopped buying ammo when he seen the world was going to commence turning again.

I bet there's a lot of folks like that.