My article, "How to survive the ammo shortage of 2013"

Trebor · March 14, 2013, 07:12 AM

Here's my latest Michigan Gun Rights Examiner article with tips on how to survive the ongoing ammo shortage.

How to survive the ammo shortage of 2013

"As guns and ammo sales continue to hit record highs the ongoing ammo shortage has become a major frustration for many shooters. Here are tips on how to keep in practice even with a reduced ammo budget."

kraigwy · March 14, 2013, 09:31 AM

Dry firing should be un-related to ammo supply. I don't care if you have 10 cases or 10 bullets, dry firing is critical to good marksmanship.

I totally agree about the laser sights in dry firing. That red dot bouncing around the taget tells you what you are doing wrong or right.

"Shoot More 22": Good luck with that. 22 is harder to find the loaded ammo and components.

Good article, but I'd add to the "reloading" part using cast bullets.

I can shoot 38s dern near as cheap as I can 22s (back when you could find 22s).

ROCK6 · March 14, 2013, 06:52 PM

I'm actually set. I stumbled on what I thought was only 2000 rounds of .223 but it's those South African tubs totalling 5400 rounds...it was a nice surprise. I also found an ammo can full of those 550rd bricks of .22LR; it has a half-dozen in there.

Even with my stocks, I'm getting into reloading and have been policing up my brass and keeping it. My goal this year is to get my reloading setup for my most used calibers.

I am kicking myself as I passed up several decent deals on .22LR this past year; cases of CCI ammo which I prefer. I despise the morons crying about people should only buy what they need for a range session and not "horde ammo"...I think more people need to buy more often to keep the supply up with a regular demand so there are less cry babies when situations like this hit.

My son and I had the day off on Monday and we had a public range all to ourselves and went through a few thousand rounds of .223, .22LR, 12gauge, 9mm and .45. We even did a few coordinated fire and maneuver drills which was a lot of fun. All of that ammo was just excess stuff already loaded or partial boxes that were set aside for a range session.

My only shortages were .22LR...I wish I had more...like 10,000 more as you can shoot a 1000 rounds or more in training (we have several conversion kits). Also .380 is kind of short for my wife. Her primary CCW is a Bersa and she can go through 200-300 rounds during a regular training session. I would like to have an extra case or two stashed in the future.

Air Soft is an intersting concept. My son and I have done this in the past and it's a pretty good "tool" to practice tactics and maneuver drills. Even the "force on force" exercises are fun and a good way to practice skills, but you do get a false sense of what cover is with plastic pellets. The good news is those little bastards hurt when doing CQB!

ROCK6

rc · March 15, 2013, 01:45 AM

You survive by not buying in desperation and shooting other things like air guns and rimfires for practice when you normally would shoot centerfires. It's about muscle memory and trigger control more than recoil. An air gun can help you maintain more proficiency than dry fire practice. I think air guns that are close in design to your primary handgun are a great training tool especially for newbies who are afraid of recoil and have not practiced good gun handling. Air rifles are a good substitute for rimfires in some circumstances like plinking and target shooting. If you don't have 100 rounds of 22s for hunting right now, where have you been?

mj246 · March 15, 2013, 03:12 PM

I'd definitely rank reloading as a better pursuit than trying to shoot more 22. For one, even though reloading supplies and components are low too, they are not nearly as hard to find as decent priced 22lr. I found some 22 for about 10 cents per round a couple months ago and passed, but should have gotten it because the only round nose 22 I've seen since were 50 round boxes for $9.00 each! At $0.18/rd, that is more than my brother reloads 38spl for and nearly as much as I reload 44spl for (right now about $0.24/rd).

Still, the dry fire and airsoft are the best ways to keep up training-wise. Though it doesn't help as much for those of us that just plain like the sport of shooting real firearms as a hobby, instead of just to practice for SD or hunting.

March 14, 2013, 07:12 AM	#1
Trebor Member Join Date: December 19, 2001 Location: Michigan Posts: 89	My article, "How to survive the ammo shortage of 2013" Here's my latest Michigan Gun Rights Examiner article with tips on how to survive the ongoing ammo shortage. How to survive the ammo shortage of 2013 "As guns and ammo sales continue to hit record highs the ongoing ammo shortage has become a major frustration for many shooters. Here are tips on how to keep in practice even with a reduced ammo budget." __________________ Rob Reed NRA & SigArms Academy Certified Instructor (Pistol) Graduate - LFI 1 & LFI 2 Providing instruction in Metro Detroit & Lansing areas.

March 14, 2013, 09:31 AM	#2
kraigwy Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 11,061	Dry firing should be un-related to ammo supply. I don't care if you have 10 cases or 10 bullets, dry firing is critical to good marksmanship. I totally agree about the laser sights in dry firing. That red dot bouncing around the taget tells you what you are doing wrong or right. "Shoot More 22": Good luck with that. 22 is harder to find the loaded ammo and components. Good article, but I'd add to the "reloading" part using cast bullets. I can shoot 38s dern near as cheap as I can 22s (back when you could find 22s). __________________ Kraig Stuart CPT USAR Ret USAMU Sniper School Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071

March 14, 2013, 06:52 PM	#3
ROCK6 Senior Member Join Date: November 6, 2004 Location: Georgia/Afghanistan Posts: 314	I'm actually set. I stumbled on what I thought was only 2000 rounds of .223 but it's those South African tubs totalling 5400 rounds...it was a nice surprise. I also found an ammo can full of those 550rd bricks of .22LR; it has a half-dozen in there. Even with my stocks, I'm getting into reloading and have been policing up my brass and keeping it. My goal this year is to get my reloading setup for my most used calibers. I am kicking myself as I passed up several decent deals on .22LR this past year; cases of CCI ammo which I prefer. I despise the morons crying about people should only buy what they need for a range session and not "horde ammo"...I think more people need to buy more often to keep the supply up with a regular demand so there are less cry babies when situations like this hit. My son and I had the day off on Monday and we had a public range all to ourselves and went through a few thousand rounds of .223, .22LR, 12gauge, 9mm and .45. We even did a few coordinated fire and maneuver drills which was a lot of fun. All of that ammo was just excess stuff already loaded or partial boxes that were set aside for a range session. My only shortages were .22LR...I wish I had more...like 10,000 more as you can shoot a 1000 rounds or more in training (we have several conversion kits). Also .380 is kind of short for my wife. Her primary CCW is a Bersa and she can go through 200-300 rounds during a regular training session. I would like to have an extra case or two stashed in the future. Air Soft is an intersting concept. My son and I have done this in the past and it's a pretty good "tool" to practice tactics and maneuver drills. Even the "force on force" exercises are fun and a good way to practice skills, but you do get a false sense of what cover is with plastic pellets. The good news is those little bastards hurt when doing CQB! ROCK6 Last edited by ROCK6; March 15, 2013 at 07:40 AM.

March 15, 2013, 01:45 AM	#4
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,765	You survive by not buying in desperation and shooting other things like air guns and rimfires for practice when you normally would shoot centerfires. It's about muscle memory and trigger control more than recoil. An air gun can help you maintain more proficiency than dry fire practice. I think air guns that are close in design to your primary handgun are a great training tool especially for newbies who are afraid of recoil and have not practiced good gun handling. Air rifles are a good substitute for rimfires in some circumstances like plinking and target shooting. If you don't have 100 rounds of 22s for hunting right now, where have you been?

March 15, 2013, 03:12 PM	#5
mj246 Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2010 Location: PA Posts: 282	I'd definitely rank reloading as a better pursuit than trying to shoot more 22. For one, even though reloading supplies and components are low too, they are not nearly as hard to find as decent priced 22lr. I found some 22 for about 10 cents per round a couple months ago and passed, but should have gotten it because the only round nose 22 I've seen since were 50 round boxes for $9.00 each! At $0.18/rd, that is more than my brother reloads 38spl for and nearly as much as I reload 44spl for (right now about $0.24/rd). Still, the dry fire and airsoft are the best ways to keep up training-wise. Though it doesn't help as much for those of us that just plain like the sport of shooting real firearms as a hobby, instead of just to practice for SD or hunting.