Poll: Preparedness ammunition stockpile philosophy ...

[3MTA3]

How so, I'm not tracking your train of thought here, exactly how do "hoarders" effect price and availability when they did their deeds long before the shortages and prices went up!

I got most of my 5.56 back when it was available by the pallet, @.32 cents per round, 10mm auto @.45 cents per, and 7.62x51 around .50 cents per! The spendy one was .30/06 @.85 cents per! Again, all available by the pallet and no limits other then if your 1 ton truck could actually carry it all in one trip!

Similar here, but I think I was a bit later than you. Right after Trump won in 2016 the bottom fell out as manufacturers had been producing with the expectation of high demand on that Hillary guaranteed win. PSA was dumping Lake City XM-193 @ $280/1000 shipped and I was finding deals on CCI Brass 9mm in plastic cans between @$99 to $119 at Sportsmans. Took advantage on other deals on 7.62 and 22LR as well.

I posted several times through the spring and summer of 2017 that it was time to go long and that it wouldn't last hoping I was wrong. I don't see what I did as hoarding, as each round had a specific purpose. If I and others hadn't bought then it would have made no difference to the price today.

 

[3MTA3]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, no one has bought mass stocks of ammo right before/after an election or that sort of thing that has caused a run on the market driving prices up.

Thank you.

Not moi. I got in the game a few panics ago and slowly built up a fair stock of 5.56 using a dollar cost average approach by spending a fixed amount of cash that worked within my budget every payday. I vowed I would not put myself in that position again and went long when the bottom fell out in early 2017.

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Follow up question due to curiosity: for those that are (more or less) in the "Enormous stores of ammo are essential. Stack it high and deep! Can't have too much!" camp, for what purposes or emergency scenarios do you see expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition? Thanks.

I and my neighbors have spent generations on the few hundred acres we collectively own. We've invested years of labor and hundreds of thousands of dollars preparing for self sufficiency. For us, there is no "bugging out" as there isn't anyplace "better" to go...by design. Because we have abundant water, the ability to produce more than enough food to sustain ourselves and have stockpiles of material for use as well as barter, we could be seen as a target of plunder. That being the case, and considering the length of perimeter we would have to defend, it only makes sense to have prepared for such.

 

[GWS]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, no one has bought mass stocks of ammo right before/after an election or that sort of thing that has caused a run on the market driving prices up.

Thank you.

I'm getting the impression that you think you're owed something. That ammo buyers should not buy all they want so that there's some left for you.
It's been my experience that the world just doesn't work that way.

 

[The Heretic]

If I'm understanding everyone correctly, no one has bought mass stocks of ammo right before/after an election or that sort of thing that has caused a run on the market driving prices up.

Thank you.

My philosophy is to buy low, sell high. When it comes to ammo, I don't sell - much. I did sell a couple cases of ammo last year, and upgraded to SD ammo from mostly ball ammo. I sold some Black Talon (shy of 500 rounds) I had been holding onto for 25+ years because it was in high demand as a collectable and SXT is just as good or better. Same with most of the ball ammo I sold - I had it for more than a decade, maybe two.

Otherwise, I 'hoard" ammo, by buying goodly amounts of SD ammo at decent to good prices and hanging onto it - e.g., I have 11K rounds of 5.7x28 that I bought at an average price of 35 cents per round (right now it is about 3X that price). I do not "scalp" by buying a lot of ammo and turning around and selling it the next day. I buy with the intention of needing it some day.

It isn't hoarding that causes prices to increase, especially when the ammo is bought at decent stable prices, it is panic buying.

 

[RX-79G]

I'm getting the impression that you think you're owed something. That ammo buyers should not buy all they want so that there's some left for you.
It's been my experience that the world just doesn't work that way.

No, my point is that ammo buyers, collectively, shouldn't shoot themselves in the foot. If everyone had simply continued as they had, prices would have never fluctuated at all.

But we aren't very good about thinking of ourselves as a community.

 

[GWS]

How so, I'm not tracking your train of thought here, exactly how do "hoarders" effect price and availability when they did their deeds long before the shortages and prices went up!

I got most of my 5.56 back when it was available by the pallet, @.32 cents per round, 10mm auto @.45 cents per, and 7.62x51 around .50 cents per! The spendy one was .30/06 @.85 cents per! Again, all available by the pallet and no limits other then if your 1 ton truck could actually carry it all in one trip!

I'm speculating that this fellow is significantly younger than us "hoarder" types. Otherwise he'd understand that our various stashes weren't acquired in a couple gigantic purchases but rather, they were amassed over years or even decades. A few boxes here, a case there etc. Pallet loads were a bit extravagant for the bulk of us due to the factors of cost and/or "Where the hell am I going to put all this stuff?" or "Where can I hide it from my spouse?"
Like somebody said earlier, this person's anger is misplaced and probably should be directed at the flippers who have been buying up the ammo to turn over at extortionate prices.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Somebody is WAY out of touch with reality here!

Nobody shot themselves in the foot here, if you didn't buy it when it was still cheap and available, that's all on you! We, singularly or collectively didn't do anything to move the needle before, or during the latest shortages, it's all those who didn't buy it when it was cheap that suddenly decided to race out and buy up what they could, just after the run on the arsewipe, those are the folks you need to point your finger at! Your barking up the wrong tree here!

 

[Ura-Ki]

I'm speculating that this fellow is significantly younger than us "hoarder" types. Otherwise he'd understand that our various stashes weren't acquired in a couple gigantic purchases but rather, they were amassed over years or even decades. A few boxes here, a case there etc. Pallet loads were a bit extravagant for the bulk of us due to the factors of cost and/or "Where the hell am I going to put all this stuff?" or "Where can I hide it from my spouse?"
Like somebody said earlier, this person's anger is misplaced and probably should be directed at the flippers who have been buying up the ammo to turn over at extortionate prices.

YUP!
For the record, the only Pallet of ammo I ever bought was Hornady M1 Garand, because I go through it in several rifles and a buddy with an M-1919, who split the cost with me! I was tempted to pick up a pallet of IWI manufactured M-262 when I ran into it, ( hind sight, I Should have) but I just bought a couple cases while I was there!
I also had the hind sight to pick up a goodly supply of Black Powder and a bunch of lead and primers while it was still super cheap and you could find it almost everywhere, even the spendy Swiss powder! Nope, I refuse to get caught out, and I refuse to stop shooting while every one else is in a panic!

 

[The Heretic]

Follow up question due to curiosity: for those that are (more or less) in the "Enormous stores of ammo are essential. Stack it high and deep! Can't have too much!" camp, for what purposes or emergency scenarios do you see expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition? Thanks.

SHTF.

Minimum stock is 1K of rifle ammo per caliber per person, preferably 2K of ammo. Since I have three people (including myself) to prep for, and four defensive rifle calibers, the count adds up quickly.

Then there is the idea that I could easily have double or triple that amount of people (or more) if family/friends show up. Then add in neighbors and/or bartering. If all of these people can be trusted, then more people is better when it comes to defense - 20 people defending an area is better than three.

That "minimum" of 1K per person could be used up overnight in a worst case "zombie apocalypse" scenario. A minimum loadout of ammo per person would be 200 rounds, multiply that by 20 people and that is 4K rounds, multiple that by say 5 attempted incursions, and you get 20K rounds.

 

[OldTengu]

I buy more than I shoot lately. My buying habits haven't really changed through this. No matter what, I try to buy a firearm and some ammo every paycheck. Sometimes it's one or the other. Lately it's been more ammo because I am running out of non-nfa items that I want.
I don't care if it makes me a hoarder. I do the same schit with canned food and fishing gear. And gun parts. If it hurts your feelings, call your mother.

 

[Old Dog]

Geez, threads like this... Guys just now getting pissed at other gun owners for going and and buying lotsa ammo during this pandemic?

I spent almost 10 grand on ammo in the year leading up to the 2016 election -- as soon as Hillary was nominated, I became aware (bubblegum, I was sure she was gonna win). Even though I got through the previous shortage with no problems, I decided to really go all-in. The brown truck was leaving cases at my door a few times a week.

I've bought maybe eight or ten boxes of ammo in the past year and a half -- all at my local Bi-Mart, and only because (1) it was there, and I knew I could give it to some guys I knew who needed it and (2) because it was reasonably priced, considering (thanks, Bi-Mart, for being true Americans).

Unless I buy a new gun in a caliber I don't presently own (unlikely), I, and my kids and their spouses, will be happily shooting -- A LOT -- for the next thirty years or so.

 

[3MTA3]

Somebody is WAY out of touch with reality here!

Nobody shot themselves in the foot here, if you didn't buy it when it was still cheap and available, that's all on you! We, singularly or collectively didn't do anything to move the needle before, or during the latest shortages, it's all those who didn't buy it when it was cheap that suddenly decided to race out and buy up what they could, just after the run on the arsewipe, those are the folks you need to point your finger at! Your barking up the wrong tree here!

Also we aren't the guys driving up prices now. Why pay a buck a round when you already stocked up at less than a third of that? Hell no, not when we are already stocked up. High ammo prices are why I bought the CMMG conversion kit - I have a lifetime supply of 22LR when I want to train.

It isn't the old guard that drove the prices up. it's those late to the game that finally woke up and then panicked. There are more first time gun owners since the 2020 elections than any other time in history. A lot of people wolr up and smelled the coffee and that's where the demand came from.

 

[Knobgoblin]

I'm speculating that this fellow is significantly younger than us "hoarder" types. Otherwise he'd understand that our various stashes weren't acquired in a couple gigantic purchases but rather, they were amassed over years or even decades. A few boxes here, a case there etc. Pallet loads were a bit extravagant for the bulk of us due to the factors of cost and/or "Where the hell am I going to put all this stuff?" or "Where can I hide it from my spouse?"
Like somebody said earlier, this person's anger is misplaced and probably should be directed at the flippers who have been buying up the ammo to turn over at extortionate prices.

I think you're pretty close to the mark.

None of us "sprang forth, fully formed ".

I had a nice little system, waaay back in my early 20s, of picking up a box or 2 of either white box 5.56 NATO or 5 rd box of 12ga buck or slugs once a week. It wasn't even every week, if I was particularly broke.
So it was rare that I'd get 100rds of rifle ammo in a month, or get more than 20rds of buck/slugs. I thought that 200 rds of anything was a "stash ".
That was well over 25 years ago. My realities are simply different now. Cases, not boxes.

 

[The Heretic]

When I ran into good deals on ammo online from retailers, I bought some, and then shared the good deal with those here. I should have, and wish I had bought more than 500-1K rounds each time, but I tend to buy ammo somewhat conservatively, not knowing how well it will work in my guns unless I had already tested it, and I do not buy with the plan to resell, but to use, even if the use is for emergencies.

About the only time I bought as much as I could, was when I was buying 5.7x28 because there is only one manufacturer and the ammo can be hard to get in the best of times. Even then, I shared the deals I found online with the members of this forum.

I think some people have a wrong idea about what "hoarding" means.

verb

1. amass (money or valued objects) and hide or store away.
   "thousands of antiques hoarded by a compulsive collector"
   
   Similar:
   store, store up, stock up on, stockpile, put aside

And BTW - the current situation is another huge motivation for buying large amounts of ammo; times of scarcity and high cost, make me want to stock up on items during times of plenty and low cost. I am approaching my 7th decade on this plane of existence, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that preparing for bad times, for times when necessities are scarce and/or expensive, is a good thing. Food, water, shelter, security and financial resources are all things that are good to have in adequate quantities.

 

[The Heretic]

Also we aren't the guys driving up prices now. Why pay a buck a round when you already stocked up at less than a third of that? Hell no, not when we are already stocked up. High ammo prices are why I bought the CMMG conversion kit - I have a lifetime supply of 22LR when I want to train.

It isn't the old guard that drove the prices up. it's those late to the game that finally woke up and then panicked. There are more first time gun owners since the 2020 elections than any other time in history. A lot of people wolr up and smelled the coffee and that's where the demand came from.

Indeed, it is the people who stock up in times of plenty that make it easier for those that didn't heed our warnings/advice. Because we already have plenty, we don't buy when stock is scarce and/or expensive. That means there is more ammo for the panic buyers.

There have been quite a few times in the last 12 months when I passed up on a decent deal on ammo from NWFA members here, because I already had "enough" of that caliber of ammo - and I can afford to buy ammo at the inflated prices some people are asking, but I don't because I am not desperate for ammo.

 

[Soli]

Follow up question due to curiosity: for those that are (more or less) in the "Enormous stores of ammo are essential. Stack it high and deep! Can't have too much!" camp, for what purposes or emergency scenarios do you see expending tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition? Thanks.

For the better part of two decades I've feared that ammunition would simply become unavailable. Been wrong, obviously. But laws/regs are instituted with reckless abandon now a days, so not happening Right Now is no comfort. "If there is any doubt, there is no doubt."

So main purpose is simply to have it to shoot. Ancillary purpose, being a prepper, is that ammo is pretty fungible. Even now it's one of the easiest things to turn into other things. Not an investment (no return), but holds its value over time. More so if things go pear shaped.

 

[Bam]

Pre covid and when you could buy 1000 rounds of quality 9mm for $140, I would stop by the local gun store and pick up 1000-2000 rounds a month. This was my routine for almost 16 months.

Right now I make a trip to the range every two weeks, average between 200-500 rounds. Despite my stock pile, now that certain places no longer have limits, I still pick up enough ammo for each trip to the range.

I enjoy being able to go back to the range and not worrying about how much I shoot, but I also like knowing I still have the stock pile to keep shooting if the supply runs dry again.

 

[Stomper]

Y'all should've listened to Chris….. I knew it was only a matter of time.

 

[The Heretic]

Y'all should've listened to Chris….. I knew it was only a matter of time.

The anti-gunners been working on this for decades. Fortunately, it is not practical.