Stop buying ammo!!!

[BuckRub]

I believe Mike Irvin's post #24, the government would do that. First, it weakens our country. Second, they give you just enough so you'll think you do live in a Free country. We are Free-as long as we live according to how they want us too.

[Beagle45ACP]

The only ammo I've purchased since the panic really geared up was 120 rounds of .45 hollow points. The only reason I even bought that many was because I had never shot it through my Baby Deagle and wanted to put ~100 rounds through it to test reliability.

[TheNatureBoy]

Since I have enough of everything to last at least 5 years I've been very cautious about purchasing any components at all since the drought began. The only exception was those I purchased for the Savage Model 12
.22-250 I bought about 3 months ago for my daughter. I have been to a few gun shows and noticed how inflated the prices were for components and ammo and walked away shaking my head. Someone in a previous post mentioned that we control prices and I agree with him. On the other hand I understand purchasing components when they are available. Especially if you haven't been able to for a while. I also understand asking for 3 times more than the original price knowing that someone is gonna buy them.

[WWWJD]

I have no choice but to wait this all out; I didn't then and don't now, have the budget to buy anything on a whim at regular or inflated prices. I can only buy enough to shoot. There's nothing to be bought in central KY last time I was out and about. Don't have the time or (again) money to run around constantly looking for stuff either, or the patience to stand in line for 2 hours at Wal-mart just to see what they get on a truck. Guess I'll have to wait for everyone else to go broke first.

I lucked into a box of Sierra Matchkings on Midway the other day. They're sitting on the desk in front of me; no powder to put behind them though.

[Justice06RR]

Question to your question: who are you to tell people to stop buying ammo?

The problem is, you can tell people what to do but you can't force them what to do. Some people have stopped buying ammo (because there's none to be found to begin with) while others still line up at stores during opening hours for their 3-box limit. And some still pay insane prices for ammo online and in GB...

[campbed]

If we all just hold our breath for one week, it will fix global warming! Forever!

How about this instead. Buy smart. I've bought all of my ammo since November, have paid avg of .09 and .33 for 22LR and 9mm respectively.

Not proud of the .33 for 9mm, but I go to the range twice per month, and run 200 rds of each.

Avg for 9mm is coming down fast for me, last two purchases are .30 and .28 avg.

I keep enough in stock for 1 year. I won't go to the range less due to not having ammo, period.

Good luck out there.

[Newton24b]

no one will stop buying ammo.


its like this, if and when i find ammunition that i need, im going to buy every damned box the store will let me. i havent seen ANYTHING in 22 rimfire in months. rifht now i am using up a 25 year old brick of ammunition. i need more. when i see, i will get.

now the problem is this. auctioneers hitting up big box stores and getting all they can when the store puts ammo out. most of my local stores have a group of auctioneers waiting, 3-4 hours every day in the parking lot waiting for ammunition to be stocked.

[Mike Irwin]

"I believe Mike Irvin's post #24, the government would do that. First, it weakens our country. Second, they give you just enough so you'll think you do live in a Free country. We are Free-as long as we live according to how they want us too."

[myusername]

I've stopped buying ammo until I see some more normalized prices.

At some point if US production can't meet long term demand either new plants will open or importers will start bringing in ammo from new plants overseas.

I don't know but I suspect the US is the only place experiencing an ammo shortage.

I just noticed my usual online supplier where I paid $225/1000 for 9mm last fall has some at $599 - 3X normal and that's cheaper than it has been, even when they can get it.

I don't know who's gouging, if it's the retailers or the distributors or both, but I know the price has nothing to do with demand, it is price gouging and profiteering plain and simple.

I'm not going to replace ammo until I'm down to SHTF minimums of around 250 rounds per caliber.

[wayneinFL]

I don't know who's gouging, if it's the retailers or the distributors or both, but I know the price has nothing to do with demand, it is price gouging and profiteering plain and simple.

If it had nothing to do with demand, everybody's shelves wouldn't be bare.

[zincwarrior]

I haven't bought ammo in a month (not voluntarily). It doesn't seem to have helped.

It will get better. I track .22LR orders every tuesday/wednesday on gunbroker for fun. Bulk uctions (more than 2 less than 10 of Federal 525 bricks) orders have fallen from $95 per brick in March to $64 as of this week. I've seen several in the last two weeks that didn't get a bid and had to rebid.


Its happening. Its just slow. From an article I read, manurfuacturers experienced increased sales for 6 quarters last time and expectations of high demand to the end fo year. I still believe we'll see more availability in the 3rd Qtr of this year (about 4 quarters into the current crisis), with iprovement thereafter.

I'll also note rifle and pistol availability appears to be increasing now.

[Muncher]

First post!

Seriously, retailers NEED to start adjusting prices to meet demand, with the caveat that prices will track accordingly as demand subsides. Nobody wants to be accused of unfair gouging, but all that does is feed the flippers who have no problem with unfair gouging on armslist and gunbroker.

It's not unfair, it's economics. But instead of the retailers getting the blame, they're just outsourcing the gouging. I'd rather the retailers maintain stock and their storefront rather than take a bath by letting a limited supply fly right through their shops and on to the internet.

I think people need to start re-evaluating the knee-jerk instinct to boycott any business that raises prices during a supply crunch. As it stands, we can have fixed prices or a steady supply. Even rationing doesn't do much to alleviate the shortage, as the flippers will get all their buddies from the Legion hall or VFW or whatever to rent a bus and clean out the local stores in a day.

If the prices don't scale to meet demand, there may be no end to this shortage.

And, for what this is worth, I think these prices should apply to EVERYONE, including government agencies. However, I can't imagine that price is an issue when dealing with taxpayer funded entities that have a corner on the concept of "essential need." I'd like to see an ammo manufacturer tell DHS "you have enough for now."

[Salmoneye]

I have bought zero ammo or components since fall...

Nada...

Zip...

I could use some small pistol primers, but I'll live a while longer...

[Mike Irwin]

"Seriously, retailers NEED to start adjusting prices to meet demand..."

They've done that.

It's an elementary tenet of capitalism that high demand brings higher prices as available supply shrinks.

It's another tenet of capitalism that as demand decreases and supply increases, prices will decrease.

Contrary to what a lot of people seem to think, the system is operating EXACTLY how it's supposed to.

Regarding gouging...

You can only be gouged if you AGREE to be gouged.

No one has a gun to your head forcing you to purcase X thousand rounds of a particular cartridge at an extremely high price.

But, if you WILLINGLY BUY that ammo at that price, you've screwed yourself and the only person you have to blame is you.



To be perfectly frank, I'm rather shocked and distressed at:

1. The number of people who simply don't get those basic concepts of the American economic system.

2. The number of people who are more, rather than less, demanding Soviet style price fixing simply because they don't like the price of 9mm ammo.


Jesus wept...

[deepcreek]

People will run out of money soon and their "investment" will tank, keep an eye on Armlist for good deals on ammo.

[Spats McGee]

Yep. Eventually, the folks who thought they'd flip all the ammo and EBRs will run out of cash and decide that they need cash more than they need umpteenthousand rounds of 22LR, or that AR, or whatever they hoped to flip. It'll happen even sooner for those folks who maxed out their credit cards buying during the panic. I don't begrudge them the desire to make a few extra bucks, cause I could have used a few extras myself, but . . . I'll be waiting.

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

Mike is exactly right. This is the ups and downs of a free market system. Ammo at reasonable prices is still around, you have to find it though. If someone wants to pay $75-100 for a brick of .22lr, more power to them, I'm not. I still have plenty. If I were out of ammo and finally had good weather to shoot, I'll be honest, I cannot tell you what I would pay. It would be worth more to me then, then it would with my shelves full of ammo... When I go out shooting, it is my "me time", so how much is "me time" worth? I suppose it varies to how deep someone's pockets are. A firearm without ammo is a collectable, I don't collect things. Some were caught unprepared, some just getting into shooting and some are just running out after months of "hard to find ammo".

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

We have watched people pay outrageous amounts for "beanie babies, furby's and cabbage patch kids", while I always though they needed their head examined, it all boils down to " it is their money, they are free to do as they wish". Their decisions may cause a temporary up flux in the market, but given time it will settle. While I do not expect prices to ever be as low as pre-December, they will stabilize. They will be whatever the average customer is willing to pay.

[ClydeFrog]

I took a cell pic yesterday of a local Super Walmart shelf.
I passed it around to a few buds. The Super Walmart in a middle-class/upper middle class area had; 0 handgun rounds, approx 12-14 boxes total of 7mm rifle caliber, .410 shotshell(5/6 boxes), approx 4, yes just 4 boxes of 12ga shells & 2 boxes of Winchester 30/06 rifle rounds.

The staff had a printed sign saying Walmart customers were limited by store policy to 3/three boxes of ammunition per day!

CF

[kraigwy]

I've got enough primers, powder, and bullets to keep shooting. Short of 22s but enough to get me through the summer matches, just not enough to do a lot of practice.

Just because I have "enough" don't mean I'll always have enough. So every time I see primers, or powder, that I use, I'm buying it.

I'm old, I might die before components come down to cheap prices. I don't want to die with money in the bank, so I'll buy what I can, when I can find it and keep shooting.

Sorry if I wont go along with the "stop buying" plan, but I bet I'm not the only one.

If we stop buying for a month, after that month is over we'll be right back to where we are now.

[KyJim]

Don't blame me for the trouble. Since all this began, I've bought a total of four boxes of ammo. Three of those were today.

I had to stop by the automotive section of Walmart at 7:00 a.m. today. I had a few minutes to kill, so went by the ammo section. A line was forming so I thought I might as well kill my time in line. About ten guys total in line. No .45 and the first couple of guys got what little Federal Champion 9mm they brought out. I ended up with three boxes of Tula 9mm at $10.25 a box. I won't run it through my nice 1911s but I figure that's why I bought a couple of polymer pistols.

The clerk never bothered to stock it. He just opened the box and out it went.

[Silver00LT]

I boycott GB and local guys who price gouge.

I am still able to find components that cost the same as the pre-panic prices. Other than that I buy in bulk to keep my costs down. If they have limits that is fine...I don't buy stores out of anything.

[Alabama Shooter]

Who thought America would be the Soviet Russia of ammo?

[Silver00LT]

No kidding...I haven't purchased a domestic made box of ammo in 7 months.

[bikerbill]

I stocked up on 9mm a year or so ago and have enough for the foreseeable future ... It's depressing to see empty shelves every time I go to Cabela's, but this too shall pass ... in the meantime, I got a really cool slingshot and am having a lot of fun with targets in my yard ... there's always a way to poke holes in paper ... and I don't have to wear earplugs ...