A couple folks have been asking about reloading due to the obvious ammo shortages. Guys... I've got some bad news for you. Reloading isn't an option right now either. Components are harder to find than actual ammo is. Its easy to rationalize... "oh I'll just reload". No. You won't.
Luke and I talk about this almost every day... who has powder? who has primers? Sure we've all got brass saved up and that's all good and well but it doesn't do ya a damned bit a of good without the other stuff. Freaking Bass Pro can't keep powder on the shelves.... even at their jacked up prices. Bullet selection is garbage... and primers are simply gone. Totally... gone.
The fact is... right now... stocking up ain't an option. You should've stocked up 2 years ago. Hell... you should've been stocking up for the last 10 years.
Your best bet now is to wait... or to focus on some less hip cartridges .223 and .308 are impossible to find...and when you do find .223... is a dollar a round... which is nuts. The hunting rounds are still out there. 35 whelen? You can find that. .270... .280... the short magnums... or plain old 30/30... those are all still out there. Your best bet may be to get rifles chambered in something like that.... at least until this idiotic panic blows over. I lean to the 30/06 myself or .243 myself for rifles... Shotgun ammo is still out there and easy to get... for handguns.. forget 9mm. Its worse than .223. You can occasionally still find .45acp and .40S&W and such but 9mm is just gone. This crap about 9's being cheaper to shoot? yeah those days are long gone.
And yes.
I said the panic is idiotic.
So... This is what I would do... if I had spent the last ten years with my head up my ass... ignoring all the warning signs... ignoring all the people screaming at me to stock up on guns and ammo and gold and silver... and instead... I just kept putting it off till tomorrow...
Focus on shotguns... which you can still get ammo for... and get a 30/30 or a .270 or a 30/06. Something you can get ammo for. A .22mag is a very good option as well... as is 17hmr. They are cheap to shoot, and will put food on the table... they're also hell on wheels for predators. You can still get that ammo at walmart.
Tomorrow has come and gone people. Its to late now. Now you are in the damned weeds and will have to make the best of your situation.
I warned you dammit. For 10 years I've been warning you.
25 comments:
I definitely dropped the ball on reloading. I stocked and having been stocking up on ammo, which is great, but it's amazing how many rounds you can go through in a day of shooting.
So, the panic is idiotic, how long do you think the idiocy will last?
Right now I think its entirely related to Obama. You have these dumbasses out there saying things like "With a single executive order he can ban ammo imports!!!"
yeah?
He could've done it at any time in the last 5 years too. So why weren't you shitting yourselves back then?
Fact is he hasn't done it. He isn't going to do it.
I don't know what he's scheming but I'm pretty sure it won't be good for me.
That being said, I feel good about my stuff. Anything I buy at this point is for redundancy and the capacity to arm those who didn't listen.
Focus on shotguns... which you can still get ammo for...
Biden bin sayin. Maybe that jackass be scared too.
Until the first time gun buyer is no longer some jackass dropping 2 large for an AR this shit isn't going to go away.
I switched from .308 back to 30-06 for ammo alone.
People paying .80-1.00 / rnd for .223 are just out of their minds.
Nate I followed your trail from VP. What are your thoughts on Bulleit bourbon? It may be replacing makers as my go to choice. Some damn good shit.
Bulleit is on the shelf in the vice cabinet. I like it.
Btw SB... you're exactly right about the first time buyers. Last month I saw some moron give 645 bucks for a high point 9mm carbine at a gun show.
I see plenty of shotgun, .17 and .30-06 at the 4-5 stores I visit. Not much else. And the shotgun shells have really jumped in price.
I had been saving to get a second Colt 1911 XSE Commander, but now that I have the $1100, the cost is now 2-3 times IF you can find it.
Skip the commander... get a full sized. Everyone has them... and the prices are not inflated much. You can get an excellent Taurus 1911 for 600 bucks or so.
I been thinking of selling my AR to one of these first-time buyers - just to clear the cash. But I got a few ammo boxes full of precious metals that it eats. Maybe I could sell that too, and buy a big-screen TV to watch the end of the world with. But I'm down to my last few boxes of 45 ACP and .40, so I'm not doin' live fire pistol drills anymore. Better hang on to the AR. I still think a .22 is the best bug-out long gun, wish I had one of them 10-22's. And I still got both scatter guns and boxes of precious metals for those too.
-Bill
Oh, and I think .22 CB caps or shorts are a mandatory round to keep around.
-Bill
I've got a couple 10/22s... The problem to me is.. .22 ammo is just as hard to find as .223 now. People have gone absolutely ape shit.
I've gone to 17hmr and .22mag for all of my bulk shooting... just because the ammo is available and cheap.
You should've stocked up 2 years ago.
Yup. We had a panic 4 years ago. Then we had a small window when stuff was starting to be available again. This time it is worse.
I got enough stuff for awhile, but I don't want to use up what can't be replaced.
I figure we will catch up to demand, and then all this added capacity will cause a glut.
Yeah, I'm righteously kicking myself these days. I have a modest stock, but I had the opportunity of a lifetime: sold a house *just* before the ammo panic, and I was considering sinking a few K into ammo.
Could have made out like a bandit. And then some.
But right around that time came a whole couple family emergencies I had to deal with and when I surfaced for air we were in full ammo panic mode.
Now I can't even find 7.62x54R for my old Nagant.
I do console myself that I am stepping up production of food and tobacco, so I will have something to trade with hungry hoarders in a few years.
What do you think of Taurus revolvers? I could have gotten one a .357 this weekend, but skipped it as everyone loves S&W and Ruger and talks them down.
I don't own a Taurus wheel gun, but I did take Nate's advice and by a Taurus PT1911. It has been a fine quality weapon. I think the Taurus revolvers get pretty good reviews everywhere.
My brother has a Taurus .357. I've heard some negative stuff about Taurus but not much. My brother likes his gun. Its pretty accurate.
I've got a taurus .357 tracker. Its absolutely fantastic.
Anyone that talks down about Taurus wheel guns is a moron.
Any thoughts on cheapy cheap rifle combos that are actually ok and not a waste of money?
Thinking about a .243 since it is readily available at Wallyworld. But not looking to spend much on something that I do not normally stock.
But any recommends on cheap bolt action combo rifles?
But any recommends on cheap bolt action combo rifles?
Most of the time the scope on a combo gun is junk. Usually that is not a big deal because the combos cost about the same as non-combo guns. At least they used too.
So you get a gun that you can shoot right away and upgrade the scope later.
Conan,
Anything with "Savage" on it is going to be an accurate, well-made bargain. They used to do combo packages boresighted at the factory.
Consider a Ruger "American". It's an entry-level rifle but it has an adjustable trigger, free-floated barrel and aluminum bedding blocks. They come in .243, .308, .270 and .30-06 Gun Tests magazine reviewed a .243 which turned in groups under 1 MOA with factory ammo.
Mossberg 4x4 would be another one to look at. The Ruger and the Mossberg should both set you back no more than $500.
A while back I had a plan to buy a Mosin 91/30 and a spam can of 7.62x54R every month. If one wanted some party favors to set aside for Johnny Come Latelys, it'd be hard to go wrong with Mosin-Nagants.
Wish I'd bought a bunch of Chicom SKS rifles back in the 90s when they were $100/ea, they are doing a damn sight better than my 401K.
I will never get used to seeing SKS's sell for 1000 dollars.
I mean...
Really?
Thanks Luke.
Did some Mosin collecting over the last few years. Figured good trade item or such if things go sour.
I am a friend of the Savage. If I want to be cheap and get a decent rifle, there is an accutrigger savage combo that I would trust. And you are right, it is about that $500 range.
The reason I asked in the first place:
Just saw some dirt cheap Remington 770's at the local Academy, about $350. Bolt was clunky, but then online you have fellas saying, "Just oil it and it works great. A tack driver".
It just seems too good to be true.
My local Wallyworlds are dwindling down to just .243, .270, 7mm rem mag, and 300 win mag.
I would like a nice $1K Remington or Winchester in the mag calibres....with iron sights, almost impossible to get in a new rifle.
But was thinking I could get a .243, a .270, and a good amount of ammo for the price of one of those mag rifles.
I ain't rich, and gotta make the money count, but don't want to buy something for cheap that don't work.
Remington needs to GTFO of New York state. So does LRB. DSA needs to make guns somewhere other than Illinois. Ditto Springfield, Inc.
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