The I LOVE THIS GUN Thread

[Bimble]

Originally Posted by KSJEEPER

I could afford WAY more guns, if i were lucky enough to be in an industry with falsely inflated prices and paranoia driven shortages... damn it...

Is that what it's all about? I went looking for .308 and nada! I thought I heard primers are scarce, too. I swear, we're our own worst enemy.

[UPSam]

Originally Posted by beefjerky

What's up with the foreign ammo? I can see where the US manufacturers might get backordered, but have we sucked up the world ammo supply too? Are their recent trade taxes, bans, etc, or is the rest of the world stocking up too?

Surplus was drying up, metal prices have been skyrocketing until recently, dollar fluctuations etc.

Guns and ammo is basically a dog of an industry long term. If you throw in more risk with just temporary rewards, nobody is really interested in jumping into the game.

The delaying effect of import permits accelerates as demand for permits increases. I am sure homeland security isn't waving ammo imports through either.

The ammo situation is not as recent as guns. Shotgun shells started heading up 3+ years ago.

Retailers do see increased sales but many have been through this before and realize that the big money is selling the stuff you had before the run started. Once prices start rising you are spending almost as much to replace inventory as you got for what you just sold. That last order is usually sold at a loss or held until the next frenzy. You may very well have manufactures and distributors with substantial unsold inventory.

I actually bought up a boat load of 30rd Mini 14 mags during the height of the 1994 magazine frenzy for a good deal. The manufacturers regular customers actually preferred to hold less than a normal inventory and just blow it out before it touched the shelves. Nobody is going to come back to your shop if you sell them 5000 rds of 7.62 x 39 at 50 cents/rd after the price drops to 10 cents.

Surplus ammo goes from good seller to boat anchor in the blink of an eye. I really regretted every large buy I ever made.

[UPSam]

After reading this thread yesterday, I got paranoid and decided to dig through all the unopened moving boxes in the garage.

95% of the ammo I have is for guns I do not own. Put it all back.

[Bimble]

Originally Posted by UPSam

After reading this thread yesterday, I got paranoid and decided to dig through all the unopened moving boxes in the garage.

95% of the ammo I have is for guns I do not own. Put it all back.

Back when I had a Mini-14, I bought a couple of thousand round of 223 from a buddy who had just sold an AR... and then promptly sold my Mini-14 and got a Contender in 223. Can you say life-time-supply? I have no idea when I'll finish shooting that up!

[Caribou Aqua Buddha]

Originally Posted by UPSam

After reading this thread yesterday, I got paranoid and decided to dig through all the unopened moving boxes in the garage.

95% of the ammo I have is for guns I do not own. Put it all back.

I've had that happen, go out and buy a gun to match the ammo.

[Dagofast]

I got to see and feel one of the new SA XDm's yesterday. A 9 and they also had a .40 in stock. I really liked the 3 different sized back straps to tailor the grip to small, medium or large hands. Clever idea. 19 rounds of 9mm is pretty amazing too.

Does anyone know if they plan on bringing out a "m" version of the XD45? And if so when?

[HardCase]

Primers beginning to re-appear? I was in my favorite local gun-shop this evening and they had a fairly decent supply of both large and small pistol primers. I bought one box of 1000 of each, didn't want to be piggish or part of the problem. No rifle primers yet, but they had shotshell primers as well. A couple of weeks ago the primer-shelf was totally bare. Anyone else seeing any 'thaw' in ammo or component supplies?

[hillbillypolack]

H&K 45 Tac, great pistol, just as smooth as buttah. .

[Aurelius]

Originally Posted by HardCase

Primers beginning to re-appear? I was in my favorite local gun-shop this evening and they had a fairly decent supply of both large and small pistol primers. I bought one box of 1000 of each

Hoarder!

No rifle primers yet, but they had shotshell primers as well. A couple of weeks ago the primer-shelf was totally bare. Anyone else seeing any 'thaw' in ammo or component supplies?

According to someone from my range, ammo is beginning to reappear on the shelves of local Walmarts. Prior to this, boxes of ammo were bought up instantly. Curiously, there was never a shortage of shotgun ammo and components, at least in this area. Neither have I seen any shortage of 'black guns'. In fact, at the most recent gun show in Orlando I saw more 'assault rifle' lookalikes than I ever have before, and prices on AR-15's were the same as they were a year ago.

[Farnsrocket]

WalMart shelves here in central Ohio are empty cept for some shotgun shells and odd ammo!

[HardCase]

Originally Posted by Aurelius

Hoarder!



According to someone from my range, ammo is beginning to reappear on the shelves of local Walmarts. Prior to this, boxes of ammo were bought up instantly. Curiously, there was never a shortage of shotgun ammo and components, at least in this area. Neither have I seen any shortage of 'black guns'. In fact, at the most recent gun show in Orlando I saw more 'assault rifle' lookalikes than I ever have before, and prices on AR-15's were the same as they were a year ago.

I'm not in terribly bad shape for primers and also loaded ammo, had a decent supply gradually accumulated over the past 20 years already. I was getting a little low on primers......which, I suppose, depends on how long this shortage lasts. I don't shoot huge amounts, probably a couple thou rounds per annum anymore altogether.

Shotshells have always been available here although I've noticed that there aren't as many cases of the bulk stuff as there used to be, and the prices are slightly (but not much) higher.

Guns....no ARs or similar stuff around here since mid-November except for the occasional consignment POS with a stiff price-tag. Last weekend I noticed either 6 or 8 identical DPMS ARs, the telescoping stock 16" carbine versions, on the rack, asking price about $1025@. That seems about $200 high to me. A few days later the rack was empty. I asked the clerk and he said they'd gotten 12 last Friday afternoon (I was in there on Friday evening) and by 11am on Saturday they were completely sold out.

I'm still not seeing 'bulk' ammo in common/popular handgun or rifle calibers. If you want 416 Rigby, and are willing to pay the price, it's available.

[Medicine Creek]

nice.

Originally Posted by hillbillypolack

H&K 45 Tac, great pistol, just as smooth as buttah. .

[Aurelius]

Originally Posted by HardCase

I'm not in terribly bad shape for primers and also loaded ammo, had a decent supply gradually accumulated over the past 20 years already. I was getting a little low on primers......which, I suppose, depends on how long this shortage lasts. I don't shoot huge amounts, probably a couple thou rounds per annum anymore altogether.

There's supposed to be a silhouette competition at our range this weekend, but turnout is expected to be lower than usual due to the fact that people just don't have enough ammo to last them through 2 relays. A friend who participates in machine gun matches tells me that they've cancelled the one scheduled for this month. Again, the problem is that competitors just can't find enough ammo.

Shotshells have always been available here although I've noticed that there aren't as many cases of the bulk stuff as there used to be, and the prices are slightly (but not much) higher.

I don't see why there would be any shortage on shotgun ammo and components in your state - shotguns are not listed on any proposed 'gun ban'.

Guns....no ARs or similar stuff around here since mid-November except for the occasional consignment POS with a stiff price-tag. Last weekend I noticed either 6 or 8 identical DPMS ARs, the telescoping stock 16" carbine versions, on the rack, asking price about $1025@. That seems about $200 high to me. A few days later the rack was empty. I asked the clerk and he said they'd gotten 12 last Friday afternoon (I was in there on Friday evening) and by 11am on Saturday they were completely sold out.

I wonder why it differs so much from one part of the country to another. AFAIK, there has never been a shortage of ARs in this area. You always see plenty of them on the racks in local gun shops, and prices haven't risen a penny.

I'm still not seeing 'bulk' ammo in common/popular handgun or rifle calibers. If you want 416 Rigby, and are willing to pay the price, it's available.

I just ordered 2000 .38 caliber bullets from a local cast bullet manufacturer. For the first time, they actually had to check their inventory to see if they had that many available. From what they tell me, they can't produce enough 9mm bullets to even meet the local demand.

[Mr Kawasaki]

Originally Posted by Aurelius

I don't see why there would be any shortage on shotgun ammo and components in your state - shotguns are not listed on any proposed 'gun ban'.

The people I have talked to about this are less worried about a gun ban than they are about ammo being taxed into oblivion. People are buying calibers they don't even own.

I shoot a lot of .22lr and my supply is dwindling. The only thing I find funny about this is the reaction I get from the people who work the sporting goods counter at Wal-Mart. I asked for a bulk pack of Federals the other day and the kid just looked at me, huffed and walked away.

[HardCase]

Originally Posted by Mr Kawasaki

The people I have talked to about this are less worried about a gun ban than they are about ammo being taxed into oblivion. People are buying calibers they don't even own.

I shoot a lot of .22lr and my supply is dwindling. The only thing I find funny about this is the reaction I get from the people who work the sporting goods counter at Wal-Mart. I asked for a bulk pack of Federals the other day and the kid just looked at me, huffed and walked away.

Plenty of .22 in both bulk and more high-end stuff available around here. I did notice a guy buying about 10,000 rounds of the stuff last evening however. He's a well-known local hoarder/asshat/idiot. I suspect that his home is a veritable Fort Knox of ammo and other odd-ball speculative stuff.