get your ammo while you can!

[Sling Blade]

Nobody here is talking about a zillion rounds. So how much is to much? Who decides? Who enforces? It's just about priorities. You want to buy a flatscreen tv with a sixty five dollar a month cable bill, another guy wants to have a four hundred dollar a month car payment with full coverage, others want to buy ammo. It's not right or wrong. I will tell you though if the guy with the ammo ever changes his mind and wants to go a different direction he will always be able to get his money back. The guy with the tv and the car never will.

True dat. But when I see people having 10K+ worth of ammo I gotta wonder if they are spending their money wisely, and should be investing instead in more useful purchases in the long term instead.

 

[SheepDog223]

True dat. But when I see people having 10K+ worth of ammo I gotta wonder if they are spending their money wisely, and should be investing instead in more useful purchases in the long term instead.

Why do you have to wonder if they are spending their money wisely? Is it out of concern or just being nosey?

 

[cyborg]

I too am a believer in stocking up on ammo for each gun I have as well as a couple of other common calibers for guns that I do not have. I do not necessarily think I will be involved in a siege where 10K rounds of ammo will be expending or anything like that. I am looking at it more as a hedge against inflation, potential barter items and essentially a lifetime supply. WIth hyperinflation a solid possibility and legislation that limits sales and the potential for a SHTF scenario caused by who knows what which could stop the delivery trucks it just seems like a wise idea.

If you might need to defend your home on occasion and hunt regularly to feed your family ask yourself how much ammo you might need to accomplish this for a year or a lifetime. Stock up accordingly.

 

[Wenis]

Ammo rarely gets less expensive along the timeline.
There's no reason to buy something when it's cheap if you know you're going to use it. My pattern, because I shoot frequently, is to buy more than I use each time and cycle the old stuff out. Then I gradually build up a supply. 10,000 rounds is not a lot if you shoot frequently.

 

[drew]

10,000 rounds is not a lot if you shoot frequently.

Especially if its across a couple calibers.

 

[Grunwald]

10,000 rounds is not very much at all or a heck of a lot. It all depends on the firearm. Last weekend I drove to checkout a new shooting spot and took an AR with me, along with 9 mags. That's 90 rounds and they were gone in no time. Granted, I was just having fun and not trying to be a proficient marksman, but I like to do that with smaller caliber rifles sometimes.
Had I taken a Mauser or something in the same class then 90 rounds would have been a lot of rounds to fire (and my shoulder to take).

When I go to the pistol range, I usually say goodbye to about 250 rounds. Do that 4 times a week and that's 1,000 rounds per week or 52,000 per year. Is it a lot of shooting? Yes... but it is doable. Go only once a week and you're still talking 13,000 rounds per year.

 

[Riot]

However, it is true that Obama did not push an anti-gun agenda and things started to return to normal.

The masses them selves caused the shortages not anything real. not anything that actually need to be prepared for.

Huh? Obama caused the "panic buying". Sure, we only have ourselves to blame for getting spun up about HR-25...and I'm sure that the gun and ammo manufactures (themselves) threw fuel on the fire to watch us burn our own money. But to say that Obama was innocent in this is just plain ignorant. There were plenty of things that added to the ammo shortages beyond our own vivid imaginations...

DOD banned the resale of spent brass to civilians (luckily it got repealed).
Environmentalists attempted (and still try) to ban the use of lead in bullets.
Obama posted on his campaign website his ideas about assault weapons (change.org)

Long before emerging as a leading Democrat contender for the White House, Obama had developed a stance that called for banning assault weapons. As part of a survey conducted by a Chicago non-profit when he was running for the Illinois state senate in 1996, Obama stated his support for a ban on assault weapons in Illinois.

Later, he said Bush erred by not renewing the Assault Weapons Ban in 2004. Debating Republican candidate Alan Keyes in the race for the U.S. Senate, Obama said that assault weapons “have only one purpose: to kill people,” adding that a ban on assault weapons is a “common sense” gun control measure. “I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the Assault Weapons Ban,” Obama said, referring to Bush.

Obama’s Campaign Stance on Assault Weapons

As the campaign for the presidency began in earnest in 2008, Obama renewed his call for an assault weapons ban, saying that Congress should enact a permanent ban on assault weapons.

After winning election in November 2008, Obama’s transition team launched a website for the incoming administration, change.gov. The website’s urban policy page expressed the goal of Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden to see a permanent assault weapons ban passed, saying “such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets.” Within days, however, that policy section was removed from the website.
Obama Administration’s Stance on Assault Weapons

Shortly after Obama was sworn into office, attorney general Eric Holder told reporters that the Obama administration intended to authorize a ban on assault weapons.

Speaking at a press conference announcing the federal government’s crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S., Holder responded to a reporter’s question by saying, “As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons.”

It was the second time Holder had spoken of renewing the ban. The first came during his confirmation hearings before Congress, when he said that the administration would seek a permanent ban on assault weapons.

However, Obama nixed the idea of seeking a renewal of the weapons ban weeks later, telling ABC News that “none of us are under any illusion that reinstating that ban would be easy.”

Appearing with Mexican President Filipe Calderon just days later, Obama said that he had “not backed off at all” his campaign pledge to reinstate the ban on assault weapons, appearing to leave the window open for such action to be introduced in Congress. However, such a move has not been made.

President Barack Obama and Assault Weapons - Obama on the possibility of an Assault Weapons Ban

Just because Obama hasn't signed a bill (yet) to control firearms and/or ammunition doesn't mean he won't. I'm also guessing that the nay-sayers of this thread forgot about Operation Fast and Furious? Guns flowing to Mexico and used against a BP Agent (Brian Terry)...all under the watchful eye of the ATF. Now all the Southern boarder states have to report two or more "assault rifle" sales (basically any semi-auto bigger than a .22lr) to the ATF. Sounds like Obama got exactly what he wanted...gun control without having to have a single vote through congress.

But, yes, this "buy now!" crap is getting old. I'm sick of hearing about how I should buy Gold and Silver at its peak along with starring at $50 for a box of .308 Winchester and $199 for an SKS that looks like someone ran it over with a truck at the local "gun store". Honestly, I think it's sad when Big-5 and Bi-Mart have better prices on all their gun stuff than do Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabelas (and I'm not just talking about sales, I'm talking about EVERYTHING gun related).

So what is the answer? Buy a little at a time, especially when you see it on sale. Plan out your purchases and expect delays. When your desired caliber is missing from the shelf, just try again next week. If everyone followed this guideline, there wouldn't be any mass shortages or price hikes. But so much for wishing. In the end, we're all sheeple to the frenzie.

 

[loucfir]

So what is the answer? Buy a little at a time, especially when you see it on sale. Plan out your purchases and expect delays. When your desired caliber is missing from the shelf, just try again next week. If everyone followed this guideline, there wouldn't be any mass shortages or price hikes. But so much for wishing. In the end, we're all sheeple to the frenzie.

I enjoy this debate.....

 

[salmonriverjohn]

The only time that you may run into a problem with "too much ammo" is if the house catches fire

 

[SonicBlue03]

Is this the same type of restriction that Obama was going to sign imminently after getting elected? I just want to make sure we're still on the same imminent concern, and not a whole new one three years later.

 

[kenno]

I wish I had invested in russian firearms and russian ammo

 

[SonicBlue03]

Methinks Dario works behind the gun counter at Bi-Mart. Dario, your time might be better spent massaging the poor fragile egos of the open carry fringe group here that are a little butt-hurt over Bi-Mart's corporate policies than selling us the rest on the need for ammo. Jus' sayin'.

 

[marty8587]

I've quite a bit of ammo stockpiled, bought on sale and Layed away for when I want to shoot and don't have money to do so. One thing I have noticed is the price keeps going up, so I look at it as an investment in my future. Gone are the days of $10.00 for 500 rounds of .22!

 

[Both Eyes Open]

So to stockpile ammo seems like a good idea, shooting often to keep in practice also seems like a good idea. It goes without saying that rotating your stock of ammo is also a good idea. This brings a question to mind... How long does ammo keep on the shelf, say in your closet. If you have 10k rounds for 10 different firearms (ok, thats alot but just for an example) you would be hard pressed to rotate that stock. Is there a shelf life for ammo??? What are your thoughts on this?

 

[SonicBlue03]

So to stockpile ammo seems like a good idea, shooting often to keep in practice also seems like a good idea. It goes without saying that rotating your stock of ammo is also a good idea. This brings a question to mind... How long does ammo keep on the shelf, say in your closet. If you have 10k rounds for 10 different firearms (ok, thats alot but just for an example) you would be hard pressed to rotate that stock. Is there a shelf life for ammo??? What are your thoughts on this?

Which is a very fair and good question. Nowadays now that most stuff is non-corrosive and manufacturing is better, the answer is, "a really, really long time." I think it probably varies - for example, a sealed ammo can of 5.56mm kept in a dry area is going to last a lot longer than 12 gauge on a closet shelf, but I don't know if there's any guideline published out there.

I shot some 20-year-old 5.56mm stuff I had a couple of months ago and had zero misfires.

 

[19 Adam]

The amount of ammo is a personal choice (at the moment) but you may want to think about your potential lifetime usage now while you are still free to buy any amount you can afford.

If you have never served in a combat position you might want to ask a veteran about how much ammo you could use in an extended deployment. The answer will vary depending on what war/conflict the veteran served but the amount may surprise you. Having a stable supply of ammo somewhere will be very important if things continue to get unstable in society.

I know there are members who will find reason to disagree with me, no full auto, they will kill you first, you can t carry that much....but it is a topic still worth considering.

 

[Sling Blade]

Why do you have to wonder if they are spending their money wisely? Is it out of concern or just being nosey?

It was truly out of concern. Seriously.

 

[nubus]

There is a fine line between "stockpiling" and having a "prudent reserve" on hand. I prefer the latter.

 

[Rix]

There is a fine line between "stockpiling" and having a "prudent reserve" on hand. I prefer the latter.

And the difference is....?????

 

[PDXSparky]

There is a fine line between "stockpiling" and having a "prudent reserve" on hand. I prefer the latter.

So, which is this, "stockpiling" or "prudent reserve"?



This is not MY garage either.