How bad is it going to get?

[Mcglockin7]

So I haven't been into guns long enough to remember the 2008 ammo shortage but I was just curious, was it really as bad as what I've been reading? Walking into a gun store or shooting range and not being able to find my caliber of ammo just seems insane.. But lately I've heard that at one point it got so bad this was actually happening. After seeing people walking out with boxes stacked on boxes of ammo at local gun shops and at the gun shows, and dealers saying they are running out of ammo freaks me out. Will it actually get to the point that it will be impossible to find 9mm and 40 cal ammo? I really don't want to get into a buying frenzy just to get suckered into the hype but at the same point I don't want to pay 30 bucks of 9mm ammo, or even worse not be able to locate any to purchase...

 

[ckcollins2003]

Reload. Problem solved.

 

[Mcglockin7]

How much for basic reloading equipment? I know there is a link on here but give me the short and narrow.

 

[turnerdye1]

$125 can get you started for everything you need except for components. This is what I did and I havent looked back. Buy the primers and powder local to save the hazmat fee and buy the bullets in bulk and you'll save some money as well or shoot more for the same price lol.

 

[SSGSAD]

I don't know how many years ago, but I used to buy Federal 550 paks of .22 from Wal Mart for $9.95 they just went up again, to $19.95 .....

 

[sadclownwp]

before the ammo shortage of 08...

Remington Thunderbolt ammo, 11.99 for 500 rounds
Winchester white box FMJ 9mm 5.99 for 100
Federal .357 mag box 7.99 for 50 rounds.

The it seemed like it all disapeared for 5 months, and gander mountain would not let you buy more than 2 boxes of ammo, if they had any ammo you needed at all

 

[wsenefeld]

Since I reload, I don't worry about there being another shortage. I do worry about what it would do to ammo/reloadibg supplies after the shortage. I remember when a case of .223 was $120/k...

 

[T/C Guy]

Reload. Problem solved.

Not necessarily. There were times when primers were harder to find than ammo. And when primers were available they were usually rationed.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

True. I dont think it will get that bad... Based off the polls it looks like Obummer may not be around to try to take the guns and we might get a little more gun friendly candidate.

 

[Broom_jm]

Even if the Devil doesn't get elected for another term, the next ~6 months will see ammo and components harder to find, with prices climbing steadily. During the last "run", the folks making factory ammo sucked up just about ALL the components (and still couldn't make it fast enough), so it was even hard to find what you needed to reload.

This time around, I'm not playing that game. I actually put together a spreadsheet of the rounds I shoot and reload for, which is everything but 22LR, along with what components I was missing. I've got a few things left to buy, but then I'll be set for the next year or more, with no worry about inflation OR not being able to find what I need to shoot or reload.

I'm not some survivalist gun-kook who has tens of thousands socked away...but I sleep well at night.

 

[Phase2]

It was rather tough for a while. .380 was almost impossible to find. 9mm and .45 was fairly hard to find and limited when you did. .40s were the only ones that seemed to be relatively available.

 

[shibumiseeker]

People got stupid paranoid when Obama was elected and the price of ammo just about doubled within a month and several companies made a major increase in their prices the day after the election, for which I will choose to never do business with them again. Folks say it's their right to jack their prices, I say it's my right to avoid supporting them.

Before the election I could go to most gun stores and buy primers and powder off the shelf. I could buy any common caliber at most stores that sold ammo. After the election it was almost a year before I could on either. Before the election I could buy primers online and get them within 2-3 days. A couple months after the election the prices were a little higher from the major suppliers (50% or so) and it was taking 2-3 months to get an order filled. It took a year or so for that situation to ease. People were selling primers for $100+ for a box of a thousand and people were paying that (not me). Popular powders like Varget were the same way. I was keeping close friends supplied with primers and powders at the current prices from reputable dealers since I stock a large quantity for personal use anyway. Most of my friends might only shoot a couple thousand rounds a year and I shoot a lot more than that.

Ammo costs just about doubled with lots of profiteering and hoarding going on. And with ammo and components being scarce enough, we were deep in the middle of two wars and the metals commodity prices (lead, copper, brass) prices had undergone major increases unrelated to all that.

On top of all that, ammo prices before the election were at historic lows when adjusted for inflation because there'd been a decade+ long flood of surplus ammo depressing the market which didn't reflect the current productions costs so people were used to paying much less than the manufacturing cost for common calibers.

Prices of ARs went through the roof with $500 guns selling for over a grand, and AR parts were nowhere to be found for a year and backorders taking months to fill.

Yeah, people went crazy stupid and the doomsday predictions didn't pan out. Obama turned out to be the best gun salesman ever, and the right wing paranoids didn't help any by spreading all sorts of rumors about what was going to happen.

This time around if Obama wins there may be more panic buying, but the difference now is that we are no longer fighting two major wars with one having ended and one winding down, and the manufacturers have dramatically increased their production capabilities, so while we may see higher prices, I predict we won't see the months long waits for common calibers and AR parts. There may be some scarcity, but I don't think it will be as bad as last time around.

 

[straight-shooter]

Let's see here, i'm gonna go out and hoard all the ammo i can get my hands on. Then i'll set on it and not use any of it because i'm in a panic. Didn't really solve the reason for buying it now did it. At least i buy my ammo to shoot and not set on it till it hatches. People that get in these panics just make me set back and laugh.....

 

[Adamz04]

What straight-shooter said is what i did in 08 and im still sitting on some of that ammo now. This time around i do believe there will be the same type of rush but im just going to pick up a few boxes now to shoot over the next 10 months and not go crazy like i did before. HOPEFULLY he doesnt win another term because if he has 4 more years with nothing to lose i bet everyone will wish they had bought more guns and ammo.

 

[amboran]

Supposedly the war in Iraq (and Afghanistan) was partially to blame for the increase in ammo prices due to supply and demand. Maybe...probably not.My wife bought her first handgun the night Obummer was elected...not because of Iraq war. That's why we now have lots of .40 ammo

 

[windellmc]

Of course this time it looks like we will have Romney who signed a permanent AWB in Mass. as Governor or Obama who tried to use Gunwalker to push for new gun laws.

At least for now the 5.56 panic has already started. Lots of places are out as of this weekend.

 

[Darral27]

I remember having to shop all over town for a box of 9mm ammo. Even reloading equipment was on back order everywhere. News on tv and radio where talking about people buying ammo by the pallet. It was pretty rough.
I did just buy reloading equipment and I have spent about 400 not including the bullets, powder and primers. I have been saving brass for about a year now and have a bit saved up.
If Obama gets elected for another term there will no longer be a need for him to try to hide his true plans. I think it will be a lot worse than last time. Not at election time. But once he starts going after his anti gun agenda.

 

[mydoghasfleas]

If you shoot regularly, do yourself a favor and just start reloading. With or without an "ammo shortage" you will be better off in the long run even with the start up costs involved.

If however you dont shoot regularly, and your guns just collect dust, you may not want to reload. But I would still have some ammo stocked up in the calibers you would use. (just my opinion)

 

[fng120]

I hated this. Damn politicians.

 

[SaintsNSinners]

Every paycheck I buy 1 box for the guns I use regularly that way I have some on hand. And don't have to scramble to find ammo