One day last week I stood in line outside my LGS before they opened. Upon opening we went inside in an orderly enough fashion, but once it was known that crumby Remington target 9mm ammo was about to be unboxed for $19.99/50 rounds it became a nature documentary. Piranhas meet a calf sort of viewing.

This stuff would have been $8 a box (if they felt it worthy of stocking) a few short weeks ago.
I shook my head and calmly walked out without looking around any further.

Checking online just now and there is still nothing available. Maybe there are exceptions from one moment to the next, but you all know how it is currently.
So now I'm voting with my wallet so to speak. I will not be going out of my way or paying these outrageous prices anymore.
If that means I'm out of the game soon then so be it.

That's how I am in times like this. Don't buy ammo, shoot less.......I think in a few months after Trump wins the election, guns and ammo inventory will start normalizing.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
This stuff would have been $8 a box a few short weeks ago.

Not for months now, many months. Didn't you see Paras thread about stocking up when times were slow?

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
This stuff would have been $8 a box ... a few short weeks ago.

And on what planet was that?

The last time I got cheap 9mm training ammunition was from SGammo in March and that was $9 a box plus tax and shipping. In late May I thought myself lucky to find higher quality M1152 that I paid $16 per box with everything. That was the last time I got any alerts that any 9mm ammunition was available.

Prior to the riots is what I meant. We'd finally gotten past the drought from 2016ish, around here anyway, and ammo was not nearly as big a deal...for a while. I mean it was possible to find stuff and you'd say "oh yeah, I should buy some of that now".
I get what you guys are saying though. Maybe I'm filling in gaps of my memory too fondly.

And no, this isn't my first time seeing stuff disappear for far too long. It's just past time for me to feel the FOMO like I used to I guess.

@ $20 a box, even for crappy ammo, I'm sure some people are buying all they can, they will sit on it for awhile and flip it later for a profit.
.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
That's how I am in times like this. Don't buy ammo, shoot less.......I think in a few months after Trump wins the election, guns and ammo inventory will start normalizing.

God, I hope so. If/when that happens, I plan to lay in a supply of many cases of ammo in every caliber I own. I think I also need to get off my butt and start reloading as well. It's just time.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
Not for months now, many months. Didn't you see Paras thread about stocking up when times were slow?

I agree. This happens every couple of years and for sure before every presidential election so unless you are a complete newbie or on a fixed income I can’t for the life of me understand how you can possibly get caught short handed yet again.

I’m glad though because I have been making a mint putting 9mm for sale on GB to the highest bidder.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I think I also need to get off my butt and start reloading as well. It's just time.

Where did that revelation come from? Just now?

Many of us started with a Lee Loader and a hammer, half a century ago. Some folks take longer to get off their butt than others I guess. Some never will. We call them "out of ammo". Wait a couple of years and do an investment or a "buy in". Then don't burn it all up.

There was once a time when I knew how many 9mm's a .50 cal can would hold. Anybody that can remind me I'd appreciate it. I just remember that its too many to bother carrying. That stuff gets heavy fast. I do remember that you can easily slide, not lift one on a 2 wheeler. If you're stupid, you can turn them "end on" and put 2 or even 3 end on. When you try to tilt it back to roll it, enjoy the ride as if flings you across the gun room. Keep this in mind when some fool suggests you can't have too much ammo. Keep this in mind when you need to swim with it, lift it, or hump it uphill.

Reloading isn't a black art. It does take you a presidential election cycle to see the light. If the above poster is young, like in his early 20s, I'm sorry for the abuse I've just heaped on you. If you're above maybe 30 or 50, you're what we call a slow learner. You don't need a dedicated room or work bench. Recent count of reloaded 9mm in my ammo dump was about 8,000 rounds. All put together on the living room floor and a single stage press. No need to invest big money to save big money. Time better spent than watching mindless TV shows. My fossilized single stage Lyman was mounted on an old chair. I worked that handle sitting on the living room floor. If you're rich, you can buy a progressive. They probably make ammo nearly as good as the single stage. If you weigh your charges that is.

I have enough, not enough for my son to take his friends to the shooting range though, that would be a NOOO

I have stopped going to the gun stores, nothing to see

That just validates your excuse to buy something that is not a 9mm, 40 S&W, 357 Magnum, etc...

When it comes to the time to “repel zombies”, even target ammo is useful.

Like you I decided not to pay any inflated prices on ammo or guns. Will keep my eyes open for my “next” gun, but at this point I’m just looking to collect and had more ammo, rifles and pistols until the unfortunate lake incident . Anyone knows where to get a decent c96 for a fair price

I have enough of some calibers to shoot frequently. Funny some folks we know that used to give me a hard time for my ammo stack now have asked if I have any spare - the answer is no but have given a few mags worth from my loose ammo. Funny how that works. My kids and wife have since learned to not talk about what we have.

Just look at gunbroker and armslist ads. Fewer guns for sale, mostly ammunition that sellers want what guns used to sell for.

I haven't purchased any handgun or rifle ammunition since about January 2018 at the latest. Used to pick up Remington UMC in 9mm or 40 S&W when it was on sale to provide a supply of once fired cases for reloading. Started shooting Clays in 2018 and now almost all of my shooting is shotgun ammo which I also reload for.

Note, I learned a valuable lesson from Sandy Hook, that was to prepare for shortages. As a result I have a smallish inventory of assembled ammunition but have enough components on hand to last me for many years. I'll also note that one small benefit during these current times are that components for shotgun reloading are still available and prices haven't gone up. Probably because there is a huge multitude of shooters out there who have overlooked the fact that the Shotgun is the finest Home Defense weapon ever created.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
That's how I am in times like this. Don't buy ammo, shoot less.......I think in a few months after Trump wins the election, guns and ammo inventory will start normalizing.

God, I hope so. If/when that happens, I plan to lay in a supply of many cases of ammo in every caliber I own. I think I also need to get off my butt and start reloading as well. It's just time.

Can't get reloading supplies now either. But I hope things calm down soon. I recently traded a S+W 380 bodyguard to a mechanic friend for work he did for basically the same price I paid for it, because I loved the feel of the gun HATED the trigger......planned to replace it with an LCP II, can't find out locally anywhere......that's the only void I need to fill.

There isn't any to be had around here, except maybe for those guys who know when the weekly shipments to Walmart or BiMart happen and have the spare time to hover there and scoop it up as soon as it hits the shelves. I can't do that. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I still have a job. I'm also very thankful that I took Para's advice and did some serious stocking up on ammo, magazines and reloading components after the Sandy Hook panic finally died out. Other than some .45 Colt cowboy ammo and a couple cartons of buckshot that I bought from a SF member a couple weeks ago, the last ammo that I bought was a case of 9mm range ammo at the end of May for $220 + shipping. There hadn't been very much available even then, and the source of that ammo has been dry ever since. Now I'm seeing cases of 9mm and 5.56 range ammo going for $600 or more when you can find them.

It's crazy. I don't even go to the local shops anymore because there are lines of people clear around the building waiting to get in, usually (I hear) to find that whatever they were looking for isn't available. So I'll just keep burning slowly through my stash, picking up odds and ends when I run across them online, and then do some more restocking when things settle down again.

Went to a local sporting goods shop that normally has plenty of guns and ammo at decent prices. No 9mm or .223/5.56 at all, but they did have some .380 for $49.95. I'm not sure if I'll go back.

Same here at my location.
For years I bought my 9mm pistol range/target ammo at Walmart.
They quit selling it and I came up with a plan.
I refurbished my progressive press/reloading area and started buying components.
Recently, I acquired 6k 9mm 124 grain cast lead round nose projectiles. (local cast bullet supplier)
I stopped fooling around with 1 pound containers of Hodgdon CFE Pistol powder. I get it in 8 pound kegs now.
Powder Valley has it in stock almost always.
Now primers... That's the new toilet paper!
Small pistol primers are about impossible to find.
But in a pinch, small pistol magnum primers and small rifle primers will work for small pistol primer usage.
Just adjust your powder charge a bit.
I still have cases of small rifle primers in GI ammo cans remaining from my competitive shooting days.
My USPSA Open pistol in .38 Lapua had to use small rifle primers due to high pressures.
I have tens of thousands of rounds of experience using the small rifle primers in pistol cartridges.

Just like the previous three elections, the ammo here dried up. So I am doing the same thing I have done for the last three elections, just ride it out, don't shoot. After the election and a few months, it all comes back, including normal prices.