Coronavirus panic Ammogeddon 2.0?

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TruthTellers

New member
Let's say that this pandemic causes the companies that make guns and ammo, the stores that sell ammo, etc. to close for 3 months. That means you're out of a source to buy more ammo unless you either have a big stockpile of ammo or you reload and already have a stockpile of primers, bullets, and powder.

So, the only way for you to shoot at your range, be it one you're a member to or your backyard, is if you have a lot stocked away.

What I shoot the most is .22 and stuff I reload like .32 and .45. I could use more bullets, going to make that order this week, and primers are always necessary so I figure I'll be buying a few thousand more of those too. Powder tends to last a long time when you're using handgun calibers and flake powders like Unique.

So, I'm pretty well set, but most people who own guns don't reload and they think once the ammo is gone, it's gone.

I don't blame them, but if you only own a couple of guns in the common calibers like .22, .223/5.56, 9mm... why did you not already have 5000 rds of .22 and 1000 rds of .223/5.56 and 9mm already?
 
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sigarms228

New member
Ammo is a vary volatile commodity and a number of situations can result in a shortage including mass shootings, pending gun ban legislation, and upcoming elections. That is why I always keep a fair supply on hand stocking up when supply is good and prices are cheap having learned the hard way years ago.
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator
That means you're out of a source to buy more ammo unless you either have a big stockpile of ammo or you reload and already have a stockpile of primers, bullets, and powder.
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Yes. After watching what happens in the typical panics, I keep enough on hand at all times to keep me shooting at my expected level of range activity for as long as any panic is reasonably expected to last. Maybe a year or more, depending.
What I shoot the most is .22 and stuff I reload like .32 and .45. I could use more bullets, going to make that order this week, and primers are always necessary so I figure I'll be buying a few thousand more of those too. Powder tends to last a long time when you're using handgun calibers and flake powders like Unique.
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Yup, it all lasts a long time. Which is why I buy in bulk when availability is good and prices are low and refrain from buying when demand and prices are at panic levels. I won't be buying any ammunition or gun supplies for the duration of this mess unless something happens that causes prices and demand to crash.
 
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rickyrick

New member
I’ve learned to keep two years worth of ammunition at my highest activity level.

My amount of shooting time has been low lately, so I haven’t bought any ammunition in approximately a year. Definitely haven’t purchased in 2020.
 
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Ignition Override

New member
Including those who only plan to 'flip'/resell ammo, it doesn't make sense..

Did so many other gun owners Not know about several panics, starting in 2008?
Why did they wait for actual shortages Before they decided to buy extra ammo?

If they were not underage, financially broke, or in a foreign country for years, why did they repeatedly make such bad decisions?
 
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TBM900

New member
Not everyone owns a firearm
Not everyone believes owning one is a priority in their lives
Not everyone can afford to spend hundreds on a gun & ammunition
Not everyone is pushed equally to that moving/arbitrary point at which the lightbulb turns on
 
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TXAZ

New member
There is a fair amount of research and preparation on crises, what the public can live with and where the pain points that cause undesired reactions.
We're still pretty good meeting Maslow's Hierachy of needs for the vast majority of Americans. You can predict anarchy in a subsegment of society when higher level needs are not met:

1) Air ........................... minutes
2) Acute health needs ... hours
3) Water ....................... days
4) Sleep ........................ days
5) Shelter from environment .. hours to months (depending on environment)
6) Food ........................ days to weeks
…
…
…

999) Designer shoes :)

The higher up the pyramid you go with an unmet need, the more likely and more rapidly civil unrest is likely to occur.

For some people, guns might be in the top 10, for most of society probably not.
Conversely the dynamics and rules change in realized civil unrest (riots, coordinated attacks, etc) and items like guns rise to the top 5 for many.

Hopefully we don't get to that point, but as China and India exports are currently halted on many feeder goods and stock (steel, plastic, pharmaceuticals, etc), the logistics chain for a simple items like plastic bags could shut things down (how are you going to sell and transport items that used to arrive in bulk in certain types of plastics (milk jugs,high strength bags, ...) but the product mfg can't get plastic bags anymore and isn't setup for cardboard boxes, or paper bags)
Another month of early logistic chain issues could drive some to a breaking point (like underserved inner-city areas where good stores are sparse) to where civilian guns are desired for self preservation and anti-burglary / rioting / chaos should that breakout.

We'll see.
 
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smee78

New member
I stopped in a local pawn shop on Friday and a lot of the gun racks were bare? I asked what's with all the empty space and they said a lot of people have been buying guns because they are concerned about how long this will last and the civil unrest that may follow. They said the customers were saying "they did not want to be with out a gun"...….. I laughed because NOW they think they need a gun???? I'm sure ammo is facing a similar experience. Go figure?

I did see a nice S&W 32 Long that I will go back and look at though so.....:rolleyes:
 
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Ignition Override

New member
Academy Sports, four days ago, wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. My ammo reserve planning which began years ago still required me to buy some Shoot- N- See targets.

About 1/3 of Academy's ammo was there, in Collierville TN, Memphis suburb.
Considering how much they stock, roughly 1/3 was still quite a bit of ammo.
 
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RETG

New member
Plenty of guns on the racks (no sure how many in the storage room in the back, plenty of ammo on the shelves (not as loaded as usual but plenty to be had), and TP racks were half full this AM (different store).
 
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ATN082268

New member
I really don't get the panic to buy tons of ammo during the virus scare. How much do you think you'll burn though in self defense situations? Or are you stockpiling for the end of the world type situation?
 
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Ignition Override

New member
This was heavily edited.
Guns can be very cool to compare, but can't help me legally procure what is unavailable.

Items such as …..pharmaceuticals :)..... absolutely Must be acquired, and my latest rifle, the Czechpoint VZ-58, would not help us in such a scenario.

Who would want to be seen as an "armed assailant", and have it called in?
 
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Geezerbiker

New member
I was at the local BiMart store the other day getting some fishing stuff when I guy was picking up a set of dies. I joked with him to be careful reloading can be addictive. He acted like I was nuts and said it was better than not being able to get ammo. I'm wondering how many guys are going to take up reloading only to loose interest later when ammo is plentiful again?

Tony
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator

<<<Warning. Since TFL is a firearms forum, topics must be firearm related. Ammo shortages are firearm related, but that doesn't mean it's ok to branch out into detailed discussions about Coronavirus or Coronavirus policies.>>>

Some cleanup work has been performed. Incidental mentions of the virus are not an issue, but we can't wander away from the topic of firearms and turn this into a discussion about medicine, virus spread, virus treatment and containment policies and the politics surrounding them.
 
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GarandTd

New member
I pick up bricks of 22lr occasionally which I've been seeing on shelves. Its what I've been shooting more of lately. Shooting more 22 allows me to build up inventories of the other calibers. Thanks to this pattern in my shooting, I didn't have to dash out for ammo. The current situation does have me wishing I had a reloading press and regretting not owning a full size bow.
 
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Paul B.

New member
I don't have any real answers regarding the mad rush on buying guns and ammo. I'm guessing probably fear of potential civil unrest. Roving gangs looting and pillaging. Maybe they envision some kind of Mad max scenario.

Many long years ago I was mentored by an old gentleman that left Europe well before WW2. He supplemented his retirement casting bullets and selling reloaded ammo using those bullets during WW2 when ammo was almost impossible to buy. That old man taught me to cast bullets and even set me up when I first started loading my own ammo at age 16. He passed about a year later. The point is during the Obama and other shortages, I had enough powder brass and lead to keep on shooting while other either paid scalper prices for ammo or components or did without. It doesn't take me too long a time to run a batch of 9MM bullets for the pot to finished product. I have brass prepped and primed so it's a matter of setting up the die in the pressure, adjusting the powder measure and loading away. I can do that today or any other day for just about any of the firearms I shoot on a serious basis. Not so much with some of the more "exotic" stuff but plenty of jacketed bullets for those if need be. I never really was much of a prepper per se, but I never knew which particular firearm caught my fancy when I wanted to go shooting so tried to keep a fair supply on hand,
Paul B.
 
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