Who is buying up all the ammo????

[abunaitoo]

I live on a island.
According to the shops, they cannot get any ammo from their vendors.
Powder and primers included.
So who is buying everything up?????
I know there are hoarders, but like TP, once you run out of room................
Ammo takes up less space, but it's not like they are shooting it up, like using TP.
I haven't changed my buying habits for years.
Except for .22 ammo.
Used to buy a case at a time, but when the shortage hit, we were limited to a brick a day.
I would still only buy when I got short.
Are people really shooting everything up?????

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

the new gun owners are.

[MUSTANG]

Have not been to the range in 2 weeks, but last visit there were 7 people at the Rifle Range before us. They were shooting .223, .308, 270, 7mm Mag, and 30-06. Mix of reloads and Factory shooters. Appeared they were shooting "Less" than shooters over the last few months had been shooting. After rifle shooting (Reloads) the wife and I went to the Pistol Ranges (3 houses at this range). There were 5 Shooters at the Pistol Ranges. They were shooting .22's, 9mm, .38's, 40 S&W, .45ACP. 2 were shooting factory, and 3 were shooting reloads (Not Boolit Casters). Looked like each was shooting 50 to 100 rounds. Reloaders indicated "No Primers Found" worried if the drought lated 6 months or longer; but short run said they were set. Factory shooters said they had several Hundreds of rounds on hand; but were VERY WORRIED about how things would be in 3 to 4 months .

[Springfield]

https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php...al-ammo-video/

[Gtrubicon]

I think the new hoarders will move on to something different to hoard, then they will be selling to fund their new must have

[MUSTANG]

I foresee a cascading series of shortage: current, to 20 Jan crisis, to late winter/early spring collapse of the Stock Market, to Govt crisis that the WuHoo anti Virus does not perform as well as claimed, too... So says Nostredomous Mustang

[gbrown]

https://forums.sassnet.com/index.php...al-ammo-video/

Thanks for posting that, very informative. I thought that was what was going on, that kinda reinforces my thoughts.

[tankgunner59]

I'd lay odds that a lot if not most of the new gun owners are these young folks who decided to jump onboard the wagon last minute due to the riots. As soon as the new wears off they won't be buying ammo and/or components any more. What they have will probably sit on the shelves in their homes and not be used up. Then things will start to get back to some facsimile of normal. Will prices come all the way back down, maybe not but better than now anyway.

[gbrown]

One other thing, if you don't have it, you ain't gonna get in the next 12 months +. Just saying. Think outside the box, learn some more skills, all I can say.

[StuBach]

New buyers are funny.

I’m a business consultant who deals with several different business owners each week. Years ago my dad gave my then fiancé now mother to his grandchildren/my wife a new in box original Colt Government SS in 380. At the time this was the caliber of choice for most women shooter and ammo was non existent (dad had never owned any in the 20 years he’d had the gun in safe). Finally we started seeing it so I bough up as much as I could lay my hands on for a while. Eventually started reloading and the cheap factory stuff I hated sat in cabinet.

Fast forward to this past June. One of my business owners (former navy) decided to buy a 380 for self defense cause of the civil unrest and 380 was only thing left that fit his hand well. They sold him 50rds and said that’s all they had. I said I had some old crappy (exact words) steel case 380 I could sell him and he eagerly was up for it. Ended up trading me 2 boxes of high end Winchester 30-06 rounds for one box and paying current going rate for other three (he negotiated trade and price rates). Probably could have gotten more but I wanted to be fair and help him into the hobby so figured going rate was $23 a box for like ammo so that’s what he would pay...after I peeled the $4.99 stickers off gotta love inflation.

Moral of the story: these shortages always come and go and when we come out on the other side we’ll end up paying the same for what we were buying. Difference is dollar keeps being worth less so what would have cost $5 then costs $20 now. Just wait out the current frenzy and stockpile Boolits till you can get what your looking for at a price your willing to pay.

Inflation example: in 1952 a 4 cavity iron HG mold would cost $22.50, plug that into inflation calculator and that would be equivalent to $220.95 today. Tom at Accurate charges $212 for a 4 cavity iron mold today (only iron mold maker I know). Prices don’t change much, value of dollar does.

[Chad5005]

id hate to be one of the 10 million new gun owners that could only get one box or couldn't find ammo at all.the new reloaders didn't fair much better,purchased a reloading kit and couldn't find components or found them and couldn't afford them.

[2A-Jay]

I was digging around in the Walk in closet where my Gun safe is. Also were my stock of ammo is. I found 4 20 round boxes of 30-06 Factory Ammo I don't remember buying (had to be several years old. Same time I found 10 boxes of Herters .45acp that I bought in a bulk package from cabela's more than 10 years ago. Not a single round fired in that time. Didn't find any primers/bullets or powders in there though. I am down to 3 packs of CC! SPP, 2 packs of LPP, 2 packs of LRP, 1 pack of LRP Magnum 2 packs of SRP. And I got 9 packs of Shotgun Primers that came in a batch of reloading Equipment almost 5 years ago at a yard sale. I don't load or reload my own Shotgun ammo.

When Components are available again I will be stocking up again but not for hoarding purposes .

[abunaitoo]

Back in the days when we could buy ammo through the mail, I would order 45acp, 30.06. .308. 7.62x39, and what ever surplus was cheap.
Then I discovered RELOADING.
Still have lots of the old ammo I bought.
Started buying bullet "heads", .22, 6.5, .30, 8mm, .45, and whatever else I reloaded for.
Them I discovered "CAST BOOLET CASTING"
Still have lots of bullets"heads" I bought back then.
So reloading and casting has saved me from having to buy ammo these days.
So I didn't hoard any ammo.
It's all left over from the good old days.

[No_1]

Being in my mid 50’s I’m old enough to have seen this a few times but not at this level. On time manufacturing and delivery has lead folks into a false sense of security, I.e. Walmart is open 24 hours and they have EVERYTHING!

A few years back I ask SWMBO to stock enough non perishable items to last us 6 months. After the last TP shortage I ask her to add TP as well as a few other items onto her shopping list then purchase those items when on sale or when she had a couple dollars to spare. It hasn’t taken long to get our stash back to a comfortable level where we won’t worry about not having or being gouged by those who bought it all up in hopes of a profitable turnaround.

As far as unavailability of primers, powder, bullets? Do it yourself.
——> Making primer compound <——
——> Making Black Powder <—-

And you should know how to make boolits

[Buzz Krumhunger]

If the OP can find a BRICK of .22LR to buy he’s well ahead in the game. I haven’t seen ANY .22LR for sale in a couple months.

[MrWolf]

I had picked up a 7.62x39 complete upper from a guy through the local trader magazine for $350. Got to talking and of course supplies were brought up. He was complaining about not finding any ammo or reloading supplies as he and his friends (all in 60's) shoot 500 yds plus. He said he was putting another upper up and I was thinking about trading some small rifle primers. He commented best he saw was gunbroker going around $180 per 1,000. I am still not fully unpacked and went looking at my stash. Panick set in as I could not find them. Finally did and let's say I have a lifetime supply- I think. I am 60. Point of all this is when I thought about trading 2,000-3,000 small rifle primers I got "concerned ". I could find uppers in stock for more realistic prices than primers. I just couldn't believe the feeling of not quite panic, that I would not have enough primers to last me. Was kinda eye opening but I am not giving away my stash. That what getting older does to us?

[Froogal]

the new gun owners are.

I don't think so. The ammo shortage was already happening BEFORE the latest surge in gun sales, so at best, those new gun owners would have been able to buy maybe 2 boxes of ammo, and that is ONLY if the gun store reserved enough ammo to be sold ONLY with the purchase of a firearm. ANYONE who is hoarding ammo right now could do so ONLY if they have an inside track direct to the manufacturer. ----- Maybe an actual employee of the manufacturer?

[GhostHawk]

Conservative estimate, 40 to 60 million NEW gun sales this year.

Now there desperate to find ammo for their new toy so some of them were paying 90 +$ for 50 rounds of 9mm.
In that situation, how much you think is going to trickle down to Hawaii?

The old smart guys are all sitting on stashes. And stashes of brass, lead, powder and primers as well.
They can still shoot for 6 to 12 cents per round depending on variables such as gas checks, powder and primer price, load size.

If you can't shoot, the question I have to ask is " where was your head?"

Might want to recheck priorities.

[gwpercle]

I noticed a long time ago that the periodic shortages were fueled by the internet ... The herd will believe anything and is ready to panic at the drop of a roll of toilet paper .
Every 4 to 8 years seems to be the cycle .
When Joe takes office and makes everything right again ... Lay in a supply and stock deep while the prices are down .
There will be another shortage , the prices will skyrocket ... but don't panic and don't panic buy ...
Have your shelves well stocked ... As the Scouts say ... Be Prepared !
GhostHawk ... I'm sitting on my stash and have been stashing since 2013 . Notice 2013 last shortage ...2020 this shortage ...
... 7 years ...how about that timing !
Gary

[gbrown]

Seems like we went thru a time like this back in 2012. Turned out that the Federal and state governments were ordering tons of it. Homeland security was buying a lot for training for the various agencies under it. Lot of conspiracy theories about that, IIRC.