More people buying ammo instead of another gun?

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No Mods, it's not about ammo prices. Repeat, not.

Anyway...compared to a few years ago, is a much larger fraction of seasoned shooters now resolved to simply feed their guns through and even beyond the next unanticipated panic?
 
I'm about covered on my gun needs. There are a couple I want, and I'm still building an AR, but generally all I need is to keep the ones I've got fed.

New guns are great, but I buy mine to shoot, not look pretty inside a safe. Without ammo, that's about all they do. And no, I was not prepared for the ammo scare this time around. Won't happen again.
 
Haven't really done much of either (buying guns and/or ammo), for a few years now. Stocked up on ammo some time ago, long before all the buying frenzies and subsequent shortages took place. As for guns, there will always be something out there that interests me but as far as financial considerations go, other more important things have precedent in the overall scheme of things.
 
I got caught a little short during the shortage myself. Had some ammo but I am buying ammo now to get me through the next shortage if one does appear. Having 12 different calibers makes that a little hard sometimes.:D
 
Folks always focus on whatever is in short supply.

Today you can buy all the guns you want, anything you're likely to want is sitting on your dealer's shelf, or can be had pretty easily.

Ammo is catching back up, but still lagging, with .22s lagging the worst. So folks are much more concerned to buy ammo than guns.
 
If I am not mistaken, we've set records for the number of guns sold in the last few years. New shooters as well as people buying up potentially banned guns. Perhaps that has reached it's peak and now all the shooters are now looking for ammo to store up. Maybe today, as in right now, gun sales are lagging a bit but I don't think that gun sales, in general, have been soft. Of course, ammo and reloading components are still on the tight side but that seems to be leveling off as well except for the .22 ammo.
 
I'm in this catagory - I have everything I want on the Bucket List except a few items like my (hopefully) still to be delivered Glock 42 and the unreleased Beretta Pico. I do want a fancy .22 lr plinker that looks naughty like a Umarex MP5 A5 but I'll admit I'm not buying a dedicated .22 lr piece until I see a chance of feeding it without taking a day off work to research and purchase ammo for it.

I hand load all my center fire stuff. But I have guns in the safe that I really have not shot only because I always have something else I want to play with. I have been concentrating on my 9mm Px4 and G26 but today it'll be my snubbies in .38 and .357.

The gist is that I don't need any more guns to make me fulfilled but i need ammunition in the form of .22lr. :) I won't spend another $600 on a gun right now but I'd buy $600 worth of .22 if I could find it locally.

VooDoo
 
My gun buying is limited right now because I can rarely find any of the guns I want, and when I can the prices are usually very high.

My ammo buying is limited in exactly the same way. So no, even if I was "resolved" (or seasoned), I am not able to buy ammo instead of guns.

In both cases there is a consistent issue that if I do see something I want and I don't buy it right then/there, it will be gone. E.g. a local store had a large pile of ammo I don't have any brass for so I bought 5 boxes. I could have bought 20 but I just wanted enough for a range trip or two. The next day I changed my mind and decided to get more...but the large pile was gone. 24 hours.

I see the same thing with reloading supplies amd even things like magazines. There is plenty of stuff on the shelves, but it usually isn't anything I'm after. When it is, it's gone the next day.

Good thing I don't have any unmet needs and this is all just a inconvenience vs an emergency.
 
I'd just be tickled pink to find some gunpowder right now! I make almost all my ammo, and cast most of my bullets as well, "store bought" ammo is for you rich guys! :p
I will not be caught without a good supply of ammo no matter what, when my supplies run low I slow down on consumption until I can re-up. I'm still not a "hoarder" , I buy what I need to feed my habit.
 
Reloading used to be and has always been a way to shoot more for less. In certain times it also becomes requirement in order to keep shooting. If you add bullet casting to the hobby, then one is only needing primers, some gas checks and powder to keep going. I was dang lucky and made it through all of this mess and continue to shoot about 3-4k rounds per year of mostly pistol caliber and some rifle rounds. 95% has a cast bullet. My .223 is still feed with pulled jacketed bullets. I am shooting 38 special and 9mm for about 1/2 the price of what scalpers are wanting for 22LR with cast bullets.
 
I was not caught unaware of the coming panic. I stocked up on loading components right after the 2008 elections.Since I don't shoot factory ammunition the shortages have had zero effect on me except in 22 RF ammo. I have maybe 100 rounds of 22 long rifle for the rare occasion that I need it.
 
Neither, fortunately was ahead of the panic and only bought during when the price was right. Did pay a little more at the LGS for some guns/ammo/reloading supplies, but I'm okay with that. :)
Should have enough here for 2-3 years.
May trade/sell/buy in the near future, but nothing pressing.
 
It's funny...about 10 years ago I resolved to keep a stock of at least 1000 rounds for my primary calibers, such as .223, .45, 9mm, .22LR etc., primarily as a SHTF "prep", along with food water, etc.

As it turns out, the S has not HTF, but the stash of ammo makes it very nice to not have to worry about running to the store every time I want to shoot, as well as allowing me to shoot as much as I want when everyone else is standing in line waiting for the walmart ammo shipment.

The "stash" has grown over the years, but I don't buy unless I see a good price. I haven't bought ammo in some time, but I'm starting to see some deals that are making me think about it again. Buy it cheap & stack it deep.

I think the more serious someone is about shooting, the more likely they are to have a stockpile to weather the shortages. The friends I have who shoot a lot, are uninterested in buying at inflated prices as they have plenty already. Those who shoot just once or twice a year are lucky to have half a box at any given time.

I'm actually very close to pulling the trigger on a Dillon 650 instead of another gun.
 
I dunno about anyone else,,,

I dunno about anyone else,,,
But the last several years have altered my ammo habits.

AnteObama, I would keep a 50 round box or two of cartridges for each gun,,,
At the most I would keep an extra brick of .22 LR on the shelf,,,
Now I am trying to keep a years worth on hand.

AnteObama, I would decide to go to the range and pick up ammo on the way,,,
Sometimes I took what was on the shelf and replaced it on the way home,,,
Now I can never be certain I can buy what I need on a moment's notice,,,
So I ran some numbers and came up with "bench stock" levels,,,
My goal is to keep a years worth on hand at all times.

So yeah, now I have to budget for ammo in a different fashion,,,
Because I might need to buy a large amount when it appears on a shelf.

2,000 rounds of 9mm
2,000 rounds of .38 Special
2,000 rounds of .380 ACP
1,000 rounds of .357 Magnum
500 rounds of .44 Magnum
500 rounds of .44 Special
250 rounds of .25 ACP
and of course 25,000 rounds of .22 LR.

I built it up over a time period of 4 years,,,
Starting right after the first ammo drought after Obama's initial inauguration.

Now when I want to go to the range,,,
I grab what I want to shoot out of my bench stock,,,
Then after the trip I start looking to replenish my bench stock level.

It's not hoarding,,,
It's maintaining a bench stock.

Aarond

.
 
Geneseo1911, I agree with the idea that buying reloading and/or casting equipment is a good third option to buying guns or ammo. As far as I can tell, there is no abnormal shortage of reloading hardware, even though supplies such as pistol powder are currently scarce.

Reloading adds a lot of satisfaction to my shooting hobby. Shooting off factory-made ammo (except for .22lr) is not nearly as much fun as seeing my own stuff perform just the way I want it to, every time.
 
Ed Ames makes an excellent point when shopping retail for ammunition and components. Under the current circumstances, the smart shopper needs to realize that *if* they turn their back on shelf stock, there is no assurance it will be there "later". That doesn't mean hoovering up everything you see, just an acknowledgement that it's much more fleeting in presence than past circumstances.

I learned a similar small lesson in non-firearm retail shopping. Occasionally products will be sold at deep clearance pricing. (Usually as "discontinued for that store"). When you run into such products, carefully consider how much you want - right then. The minute you turn you back on it it all of the remaining could disappear into the cart of the next shopper.
 
I’ve said this before but I’d rather have 1 gun, 10 magazines and a thousand rounds than ten guns with one hundred rounds and one magazine each.

I have 2 guns that I carry and I’m more concerned about buying ammunition and accessories for them than in purchasing new guns.

If I were to buy a new gun I’d want something compatible with what I already have. I.E. a 5904/06 to go with the 6906 or a Shorty 40 to go with the 4006
 
The price of ammo isn't leaving much money for more guns. No point having them if you can't get ammo to shoot in them.

The shortage of powder means reloading is of limited help unless you'd stocked up beforehand.
 
No, I am not buying ammo anymore. I am saving up for a full auto, SBR suppressed. Unfortunately there is a 8 month+ delay on NFA items..

You guys can have all the factory ammo. Ive given up on Rimfire and only shoot what I can reload.
 
I've picked up a few guns since the first of the year. When I shoot, I just replace the ammo shot.
Still setting on .22 I purchased from CMP a couple years ago. That stash should last me another 10 years
 
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I bought a Kel-Tec P3AT for $265 OTD the other day that I wasn't planning on buying. But it was too good a deal to turn down as a buddy of mine just bought a gun shop (he made like $40 on the sale). After I bought it I stopped to ask if he had any ammo and he said no. Lucky the range I took it to did.

On hand I have at least 2,000 rounds for every pistol caliber except .44 magnum and .454 Casull, and enough reloading components for another 2,000 rounds. Rifle is at least 1,000 rounds and the only caliber I'm not setup to reload for in my collection is 7.62x39 (all the factory ammo is steel cased). Yes I've actually reloaded .22lr to see if it could be done.

Now that I've made my purchase I won't buy another gun till I've bought 2,000 rounds of .380 ACP and have enough components for 2,000 rounds for reloading. Then I'll buy another gun.

The new rule of thumb I believe personally is that till you have 2,000 factory rounds and 2,000 rounds based on reloading components, then you shouldn't buy another gun if you don't want to get hurt by a ammo shortage.
 
Those of us in Illinois have the rare privilege of shopping for our first carry gun. I bought one last month, but it's in a new caliber so I do have to stock up on ammo for it. It has, however, rekindled the joy of gun shopping. :)
 
I typically buy one gun per year, sometimes two if I see an inexpensive deal. This will probably continue.

But, I have definitely spent more since the last gun purchase on ammo than on any of my guns, and it was more than in years past. That, and my shooting has not increased at all.
 
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