Changes in buying patterns?

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Sniper66

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During the great panic of the past few years we all had preferred methods of scouring our sources for all things gun related. Now there seems to be ammo everywhere and plenty of reloading components. In the past I searched the internet, LGS, gun shows, and retail outlets. These days I buy almost everything I need at gun shows, the Tulsa Gun Show in particular. I go twice a year and have found suppliers who sell reasonably priced ammo and reloading components. For example I just bought Hornady V-Max 17HMR ammo for $94.50 for a brick and Varget powder for $26 a lb. I don't bother to make the rounds of the LGS and local big retailers (Cabela's) any more. How about you guys?
 
Sniper66

I stopped doing gun shows some time back when there were getting to be fewer ammo vendors at the shows. Started ordering online and have been able to find everything I need that way. Hardly even look around at the local retailers any more.
 
I almost went to a gun show yesterday because it’s cold and wet outside but I decided to clean the house, do dishes and laundry. I think it was time better spent.

I don’t remember he last time I got a smoking deal at a gunshow or if I ever actually did.

I buy in bulk when great deals come along.
 
In CA the ammo situation is rife with mischief and mayhem thanks to the new laws.
I buy the minimum amount of factory ammo for my immediate needs and hand load cast lead for target shooting.
 
Most of my ammo needs are filled at wal mart. I have to go to a store like bass pro in Destin or Academy in Pensacola to get my Hornady 300 BLK sub-x, or order it online from somewhere like Midway. When I go to gun shows, sometimes I run across deals on ammo that I will buy, but not often. If a vendor is liquidating something for cheaper than wal mart, or if I can get a quantity discount, I'll jump on it.
 
I buy 90% of my supplies from a local store. A few items from BassPro or Academy. The rest is from Midway.
 
My buying and shooting have both slowed a lot over the past year. In the past I bought 500 rounds or more online at a time but now I just grab a box or two at Walmart every once in a while.
 
I was always a buy a bit now and again when it is on sale type of guy so the panic was not a big deal to me. I did slow my .22 shooting and instead turned to shooting my 32 centerfire, 9mm, and 38 SPL handguns as it was easier to reload and restock than buying that expensive .22 ammo. This was not my first dance with a shortage of shooting stuff and felt sorry for some of the others that got into shooting just prior to or in the last one. I try to shop locally but find the best deals at about 15 different preferred on line vendors for bulk primers, propellant and various bullets. Buying ahead is always a good hedge against shortages and the inevitable price increases we get. Doing so slowly and in a wise manner win the race.:thumbup:
 
In the past I have bought a lot of components at gun shows. Especially if they looked fresh. When those sources dried up I started buying online. Powder valley has been my goto since the shortages of '07-'08. The only factory ammo I buy is rimfire.
 
I’m a little spoiled since Brownells is only 15 minutes away, so that is where I get all of my reloading supplies. During the shortage I’d shop the internet but now it’s local stores unless there is a killer deal online.
 
I buy from all over. Bulk ammo, and HTF parts on the internet. Generally, I prefer to look at
a gun in a brick and mortar LGS before I buy it. Can't say my purchasing habits have changed much .
 
Dibbs said:
I buy from all over. Bulk ammo, and HTF parts on the internet. Generally, I prefer to look at
a gun in a brick and mortar LGS before I buy it. Can't say my purchasing habits have changed much .
Click to expand...

Most of my new stuff is online.
 
I haven't bought anything at a gun show in years.

The local chains and LGS carry what I need. I just wait for sales. Or I buy online.
 
I havent been to a gun show in about 3 or 4 years. Last one I was mad when I left because I went looking for double shotguns and lever rifles but kept finding killer deals on handguns that I couldn't buy because I was out of my home state. One deal stands out, a charter 32mag for $180. The shop owner for the shop beside my house was at the next table. I was talking to both arranging to buy the revolver and pick it up in my home state. No luck, seller wanted $50 to ship it to the guy he was talking to face to face. My guy ended up telling me to come see him at the shop and he would make me a deal on a Taurus 85ch which he did and I didn't end up liking the gun.
 
Almost totally internet for me. I’m ashamed I can’t shop local. Local shop I buy guns from quit stocking reloading stuff and everyone else raised their prices through the roof and selection is horrific. Lately for me it’s midsouth and powder valley. When I was buying equipment and non bulk stuff it was graf and sons and midway.
I still buy some bargain ammo at Walmart and academy. Most guns and parts from a LGS.
 
With the local LGS selling at 15% above MSRP I buy online at 50% off, pay the $40 transfer fee and save a small fortune. It’s also why I haven’t bought but one new gun in 5 years.
 
Well, in my current state of residence, Washington ... another ballot initiative has passed (I-1639) which renders ALL semi-auto long-guns "assault weapons" with a mandatory waiting period and -- get this: training required (even to buy a Ruger 10-22) which doesn't currently exist in this state ... so yeah , buying patterns here are gonna change, drastically. This on the heels of I-594, which mandated "universal background checks" and thus made private (face to face) sales illegal. Yeah, I'll be moving somewhere upon my retirement.
 
Guns typically come from the local gun "showroom" (big gun store) or my favorite pawn shop, which has a pretty good dedicated gun area.

Ammo comes from Bass Pro.

I don't do much online anymore since things calmed down a few years back.
 
Depends on what I'm buying. Commercial ammo, powder, bullets and other expendables all locally purchased. Reloading equipment, magazines, mostly online direct from manufacturer (Lee Precision, Magpul) or Midwayusa and sometimes Amazon.
 
Ammo is cheaper bought online and delivered to my door than at local stores. Ditto for magazines. I can't find optics that aren't either cheap as hell or stupidly expensive locally, so again, I buy them online and have them delivered, which ends up with me retuning a number before finding the right one. Guns are the only thing I buy locally. I've got to actually handle them, and the shipping + ffl fees come close to local prices, unless I find a deal online.
 
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