Why I sold my AR15-22 and this now stupid hobby.

[satchmo72]

My hobby isn't as much fun anymore.

This is the first time I have seen a panic since I have been into shooting and I must say, this is absolutely stupid that I have to pay $30-$40 for 500 rounds of 22LR ammo when I bought it for $15-$19 just 2 months ago, if you can find bulk at all. I shoot 22 with my son, we have a great time going to MCFG and spending an afternoon together shooting for $15-20. Really? Were hoarding 22LR? All I want is to be able to buy 2 boxes when I want to go shoot with my son and not have to search 8 different local stores and 10 online stores.

This is dumb and really has me thinking that if this is what I am going to have to go through everytime some wacko goes crazy, we might find something else to do together. Maybe fishing, well, until some other wacko kills people with a fly rod.

 

[! twitty]

Sorry, the price gouging threads and general social stupidity are getting to me.

So you joined in?

 

[hillnc01]

So you joined in?

 

[satchmo72]

So you joined in?

Funny, and until you said that, it hadn't dawned on me that I was. So instead, I'll just rant about not being able to go shoot with my son because some bunker dweller has 20,000 rounds of 22LR stored up for when the government comes to take his guns.

 

[mbills2223]

So you joined in?

Got 'em.

 

[cosermann]

One of the reasons for stocking a sufficient quantity of ammunition is to be able to ride out market fluctuations (like the current one).

Would you be posting this if you had 5k of .22 lr sitting in a shoebox like you should?

I suspect the so called "bunker dwellers" do not represent the lions share of the buying going on currently, but rather the people who were caught unprepared

 

[hornadylnl]

Funny, and until you said that, it hadn't dawned on me that I was. So instead, I'll just rant about not being able to go shoot with my son because some bunker dweller has 20,000 rounds of 22LR stored up for when the government comes to take his guns.

I don't have quite to 20,000 but not too far off. The last 22 I bought was federal 550 round bulk packs when it was still $13 something at Walmart. Your inability to buy it today is my problem how?

 

[Glockowner]

Is this guy just trolling, or is he serious?


I still feel like 30 bucks for 500 rounds of shooting is a cheap day of fun. I would prefer prices not have increased, but you had a 22 so you were basically unaffected.

 

[Scottie1317]

Funny, and until you said that, it hadn't dawned on me that I was. So instead, I'll just rant about not being able to go shoot with my son because some bunker dweller has 20,000 rounds of 22LR stored up for when the government comes to take his guns.

I agree. For me guns are nothing but a hobby and when it takes me more then one stop to find a simple round to shoot it makes my hobby far less enjoyable

 

[BogWalker]

I get his views, the constant cost roller coaster can get tiresome. Just have to ride it through if you really enjoy the sport. If you don't enjoy it it is certainly your call if you want to sell out of it. Yes, it is ridiculous how people start panicking. I don't have as much extra .22 as I should, but I am definitely going to wait until the panic is over to buy more. .22 would be the last thing to come under any legal scrutiny or ban attempts I imagine. The fact is production amounts have a top limit. When buying outpaces production prices rise. Another problem is people who have 20k+ rounds bought before panic, and when panic starts buy thousands more at an elevated cost. The only reason costs stay high is because people buy into them. If the community calmed down so would the pricing.

 

[lester]

You are right; shooting is a stupid hobby. Really. As hobbies go, you are better of with golf, or model airplanes. A hobby should be something you can do carefree. Guns are not a hobby. Guns are tools. Tools that are meant to be practiced with and taken care of. There is a skillset involved with mastering the craft. You can find pleasure in shooting well. You can enjoy passing that skillset on to your kids. But guns aren't a hobby.

 

[hornadylnl]

I agree. For me guns are nothing but a hobby and when it takes me more then one stop to find a simple round to shoot it makes my hobby far less enjoyable

But how many are here *****ing about how much in stock ammo costs, yet they'll spend hours of their times and gallons of their gas checking multiple locations looking for ammo? 2+ hours and 5+ stores to save $15 on a bulk pack of 22 isn't worth my time.

 

[Expat]

Put me down as a bunker dweller if it makes you feel better. I bought my .22 ammo when it was on sale over the last few years. So now I don't have to buy at these high prices. I just consider it being prepared.

 

[satchmo72]

But how many are here *****ing about how much in stock ammo costs, yet they'll spend hours of their times and gallons of their gas checking multiple locations looking for ammo? 2+ hours and 5+ stores to save $15 on a bulk pack of 22 isn't worth my time.

I'm not quibbling on the bulk part, I would have bought smaller packages, 2 out of the 4 stores I checked today did not have ANY. The two that did, Dicks and Gander Mountain only had bulk packs, Gander had Winchester $40 per 500 and Dicks CCI, $30 for 500. I will say, I am newer to buying ammo. I have always been able to go to my local Dicks in Plainfield and buy 22LR with no problem. I did not realize it would be this way.

 

[42769vette]

Let this be a lesson to keep more than 500 rds of ammo for the gun and move on.

 

[satchmo72]

Put me down as a bunker dweller if it makes you feel better. I bought my .22 ammo when it was on sale over the last few years. So now I don't have to buy at these high prices. I just consider it being prepared.

I understand that now.

 

[LEaSH]

Damn, I've seen full grown men have an absolute ball shooting a single shot cricket and not burning through ammo like it was cheap toiletpaper.

You can still enjoy it at $.07 a shot if you try not to rapid fire all day long.

 

[Bret B]

I think it sucks about higher prices, but what is another 10 bucks when you can spend quality time with your son.

 

[Disposable Heart]

Firearms and associated material are a variety of things to different people. Guns are realistically tools, not toys. But, that can vary with the mindset of the gun owner:
Guns can be "toys"
Guns can be investments
Guns can be tools
Guns can be standoff weapons in the constant Cold War against street crime

Guns are a hobby, yes, in that an automobile is a hobby. An expensive, government regulated hobby that requires parts and materials replacement with subsequent industries feeding these fields.

The problem is timing. Just like anything else in this world, it's all about the timing. Buying high and later being forced to sell low is how it is for some people. They want to engage in a hobby not understanding that because of the various meanings guns have, the pricing goes crazy. Think of it as similar to oil speculation: An imaginary crisis arises, oil goes up (no real scarcity, just futures rising on fears of a scarcity due to an event); when the event fails to transpire, pricing goes down as the realization of the lack of scarcity prevails.

Unfortunately, for enthusiasts, shooters (not just gun owners, any ol' chimpanzee can own a gun), people looking for defense or people buying out of fear of a percieved scarcity, the artificial inflation of pricing due to lack of supply by local sources causes pricing to rise and in many cases, the products desired are not available. Also unfortunate for all in this small case is the almost constant stream of events that have artificially jacked up pricing. Pricing has not fully recovered from 2008 presidential election. Yes, the magazine and AR market went down greatly in pricing but combine the expiration of the first AWB plus every jerk with a CNC cranking out AR stuff, you have a glut. Pricing will not fully recover from this go around either for some time or at all. People want a simple answer, so they will point to taxes, or metal prices, or cost of living for ammo manufactuerer's workers, or the myriad of other reasons, not understanding that they are all correct. But there is no single answer, it's a slew of them.

If people entered the market now and are complaining, I pity them. I won't say, "you're stupid for entering soooo late to the game" but on the other hand, they are not to be babied or coddled. Guns are, like many other manufactuered products, a commodity. They have multiple uses, pricing is dependant upon local demand and are made of materials that are publically traded/have future's markets. Buying gold when it's 1600 bucks an ounce upon scares of financial collapse, then having it go down after the collapse doesn't happen immediantly, don't cry on the forums. Cry to your credit card company when they send you the bill. If you don't want to play the game, don't buy it. If you can't handle the responsibility and potental real world implications firearms ownership has (understanding their values), then opt out.

 

[NathanJefferson]

Another problem is people who have 20k+ rounds bought before panic, and when panic starts buy thousands more at an elevated cost.

I think you have it completely backwards. Those people with 20k rounds in their bunker basement AREN'T buying now and are the reason that production is as high as it is since they were buying up slack in the system before the panic so production would be increase...