Pre-owned Stockpiles

[Duke of Doubt]

The average American moves every two to three years. Interstate moves, for those of you who have never had the displeasure, are incredibly expensive, and the fee is based on weight. Most bullets are lead, and lead weighs a lot. Accordingly, I would expect a lot of these "stockpiles" accumulated out there recently to get dumped onto the local market when the owner moves.

Which brings me to my "thinking ahead" concern. When I go to the gun stores/pawn brokers, the pre-owned ammo is only partly mixed in with the new ammo, and the partial boxes are "X"ed to indicate they aren't full. But we really don't know what's loaded into some of that stuff. It could be a hot reload, it could have been submerged for weeks in a flood, it could have been stored next to the furnace for years, etc. I've never had a problem, but again, I expect massive amounts of "pre-owned" ammunition to begin hitting the market soon as folks move to take new jobs or sell ammo to buy bread. Do any of you dealers have a plan to inspect or certify the bulk stockpiles you'll be buying from individuals for resale?

 

[Hungry Seagull]

Well, by the ton. I expect the homeowner to load the ammo right into the UHaul box truck turning the thing into a Hazmat move.... *

 

[jeff-10]

The average American moves every two to three years.

Where I live if you bought a hour 3 or 4 years ago for 200k and you want to sell today you need to bring 100k to the table. I think that moves 2 to 3 years figure is a little old.

Also I have at least 3k rounds of ammo, mostly .223, .40 and 9mm and it all fits in one plastic 20" 24" storage container, with room left over. I moved aprox. 2 years ago and moved it with a dolly back and forth myself a long with my guns. I think you will find the people who stock up on ammo are not people who will get rid of it all just because they moved from one location to another.

 

[jakemccoy]

Maybe I missed something. Wouldn't it be less expensive to pay the freight than to buy more ammo after the move?

If there's so much ammo that it's a huge burden to move, I imagine there is at least $5,000 invested in the ammo. Ball park, how much is freight?

 

[indoorsoccerfrea]

borrow a friend's pickup...if your ammo doesn't fit in the back of a pickup, then borrow two...

 

[Ben Shepherd]

borrow a friend's pickup...if your ammo doesn't fit in the back of a pickup, then borrow two...

Close. I rent a U-haul trailer or one of thier moving trucks. Yes, it costs a little bit, but the you don't have to monkey around with the wheel wells taking up usable space. And you ammo/powder/guns are in a weather proof area from A to B that is also pretty much safe from prying eyes.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

It's not the fit which I think will concern moving people, so much as the weight. That U-Haul box trailer will have fully-compressed suspension and the density of a travelling neutron star. God help whatever gets in its way.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

All jokes aside-

Get one that is rated for the weight you're carrying. We used to be the whole family shows up with pick-ups to move a particular family member. Then my brother decided to rent a big u-haul.

We found out that a purpose built vehicle saves a lot of time.

 

[kirklandkie]

borrow a friend's pickup...if your ammo doesn't fit in the back of a pickup, then borrow two...

my god man, how much ammo do you have!!!???

-kirk

 

[hso]

Accordingly, I would expect a lot of these "stockpiles" accumulated out there recently to get dumped onto the local market when the owner moves.

I don't know anyone that has moved that hasn't taken their ammo with them. They either ship it or they pack it into their vehicle and put the china in the moving truck.

As some reasonable folks have pointed out repurchasing ammo is a far more expensive a proposition than shipping what you've already paid for. Unless people just like paying a "stupid tax".

 

[blutarsky]

my god man, how much ammo do you have!!!???

by definition -- "not enough"

 

[Tommygunn]

When my father moved from Ct. to Alabama he packed his guns and ammo with him.

He had an enormous quantity of .30 Carbine in bags. He accidentally left some of it in a hotel room on the way down. We had some interesting speculations about what the cleaning lady thought of that!!!!

 

[RoboDuck]

If I move the cache comes along.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Oh, I've moved guns and ammo interstate myself, and some of the adventures and misadventures from that comprise tales I've told here before. I'm not talking a few thousand measly rounds. I'm talking about Stockpiles. Hundreds of thousands of rounds. Lately some folks actually have these. Someone who loses their job and gets another across the country isn't likely to pay someone to move all that lead. If he can eventually replace it some day, should he be so inclined, fine. But spend his last few thousand to get the lead out? I Doubt that. Turn it into cash.

 

[Greygoose]

If somebody has "hundreds of thousand rounds" they aint leaving it behind, and they aint selling it to a gun store

 

[2RCO]

When I moved from KY to MO it all came with me the 600 miles plus. My relatives that helped on this end asked "What the Heck are in theses boxes?" They figured out quickly once we got into the crates that the boxes were nothing.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I don't plan on moving, but when/if I do, my truck has a gvwr of 80,000 pounds, that's 40 tons(before I have to get a over weight permit). I only wish I had that much ammo. Oh, and I don't even have to pay other than beer for friends to help load Moving stuff is my job

 

[ridata]

People who own such vast quantities are generally the smarter bunch of society. Most, but not all.
These smart bunches think of things like saving up 6 months worth of expenses, not having any debt, etc. They are also the ones who get themselves pretty well situated where they are.
Hence, it isn't likely they'll move. If they do, finding a way to transport their collection is not the greatest of their worries.

I speak in generalizations. All people who stockpile aren't like this. The ones you know may not be. But only a dimwit buys hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo and doesn't keep a fair bit of cash handy for in between jobs.

 

[2RCO]

But only a dimwit buys hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo and doesn't keep a fair bit of cash handy for in between jobs.

One of the best statements made on THR today!

 

[ThrottleJockey]

+2 ridata, 2RCO

"These smart bunches think of things like saving up 6 months worth of expenses, not having any debt, etc. They are also the ones who get themselves pretty well situated where they are."

"But only a dimwit buys hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammo and doesn't keep a fair bit of cash handy for in between jobs. "

 

[paintballdude902]

i only wish i had thousdands of round right now im only sitting on about 1k plus 2-3 times that in brass but im lacking the components to load them thanks to panic buying!!


eventually when i get outa the college gig i plan on having vast ammo stock and it will all go with me where ever i go

 

[Suicide*Ride]

Duke of Doubt, when I ran a pawn shop, we couldn't re-sell any "loose" rounds due to the liability issues. Same went for any rounds that would be brought in with a firearm, whether the rounds were factory or reloads.

SOP was to take in whatever we could, to "sweeten" the deal. Later, when/if the loan defaulted, we would use the factory rounds to "qualify" with, one weekend a month, as we were req. to "carry" on the job, but never did anything w/ the reloads. Those would usually disappear "after hrs.", or over the weekends when we were closed - (probably went to one of the owner's buddies who reloaded!)

Personally, I wouldn't trust ANY of my guns to some unknown rounds, & even if I happend to know the person who made them, I wouldn't trust the rounds unless I could've watched them being made.

If you're thinking about buying reloads (or pre-owned stockpiles) from anybody you don't know & trust, you should at the very least:

check 1 of every 10
check the powder charge, both weight & if it will even burn
check the bullet size (diameter & weight)
after the cartridge has been emptied, drop the hammer & see if the primer's good.

It's 1 thing to have a hot load, but having a squib in a semi-auto pistol....

As far as "factory" rounds, if I didn't buy it when it's displayed/offered "new", well...... I'd still check 3 random of every 50, but that's just me..... I bought some 45ACP @ a gun show that was sold as "new", but when my H&K USP wouldn't cycle, (yeah... right!)
The micrometer said .454!! followed by

 

[Highland Ranger]

A friend has probably a typical stockpile - 30,000 rounds of handgun and .223/308 rounds. When he moved it fit into four milk crates. Right in the back of the suburban. Guns took up more space.

i.e. the premise of the discussion is flawed as previously observed.

Also, I would NEVER buy "used" rounds. I'd buy new or if things get tighter, factory reloads.

But why would you risk a gun on a box of potentially bad surprises?

I've never even seen used ammo sold.

Is this common in other parts of the country?

 

[CHEVELLE427]

Personally, I wouldn't trust ANY of my guns to some unknown rounds, & even if I happend to know the person who made them, I wouldn't trust the rounds unless I could've watched them being made.

With this said I have had a double charge from a factory reload some 30 years ago, that is when I started making my own.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Highland Ranger: "I've never even seen used ammo sold. Is this common in other parts of the country?"

I actually said, "pre-owned." That wasn't an attempt to be cute; I'm not referring to reloaded ammunition, but to "new" box packages, sometimes unopened but sometimes opened for inspection, owned by others before being bought by you and shot. This is very common around here. If you shoot, say, 6.5mm Japanese or 6.5mm Carcano, the odds are that the boxes you find in the gun store or pawn shop have had many owners since Norma originally loaded the box fifteen years ago. The box flaps are crinkled or slightly torn, the corners are worn down, the print is faded, and the brass inside is dull. But the rounds have never been fired. Likewise with boxes bought new by an individual from Walmart a few years ago and sold to the gun store last month along with his rifle.