Ammunition sales hit record high in first year of Obama administration

Washington Post ^ | Nov. 2, 2009 | David A. Fahrenthold and Fredrick Kunkle

[Second Amendment First]

In a year of job losses, foreclosures and bag lunches, Americans have spent record-breaking amounts of money on guns and ammunition. The most obvious sign of their demand: empty ammunition shelves. At points during the past year, bullets have been selling faster than factories could make them. Gun owners have bought about 12 billion rounds of ammunition in the past year, industry officials estimate. That's up from 7 billion to 10 billion in a normal year.

[ExpatGator]

As a gunshop owner and a patriot, let me thank everyone for their astute and selfless support of AMERICAN business. You invested in freedom, both yours and everyone elses.

[GauchoUSA]

Need to stock up...

[DirtyHarryY2K]

People know we’re on the brink and TSWHTF soon.

Stay tuned and keep your powder dry!

[sam_paine]

I wonder how much of this commerce ironically helped Obama’s economic numbers....

[KoRn]

I’ve bought more ammo(and guns) during this year than every year of my lifetime... combined. Nearly 100% of my disposable income has gone to firearms related purchases this year. I’m almost at a point to where I’m sufficiently ‘capitalized’, but you can never have enough. :p

[Paladin2]

BLOAT

[Lurker]

12 billion rounds. I wonder what the US Military has on hand...

L

[Travis McGee]

The following is a public service announcement.

Here's a tip: there is still a great pistol and ammo deal out there waiting for you. If you have waited too long to arm up, or if you want one more, look at the excellent milsurp CZ-52 pistol and 7.62X25 Tokarev ammo.

You can get a CZ-52 for about $200 at any gun show or at many gun stores. You can also find them by googling around the internet. The ammo can be had for as low as 11 cents a bullet in any quantity you want. Extra mags are from $12 to $20 each.

The milsurp ammo is full metal jacket, firing an 85gr bullet at 1,600fps. These will go through car doors, kevlar helmets, kevlar vests etc like an icepick through butter. OTOH, they will also go through one bad guy and maybe hit a good guy behind him.

However, you can buy hollowpoints ("Wolf Gold" with brass shells) for about $19/50, or half the price of comparable 9mm JHPs. My test "Wolf Gold" JHP ammo expanded to .60 caliber, the same as my test 9mm JHPs.

So for $400, you could buy a CZ-52, 1,500 rounds of assorted ammo, and a few extra mags. OR, you could buy about 2/3s of a "brand name" pistol, and no ammo.

It's just a thought. This is a great bargain. The ammo is cheap and plentiful at all of the internet catalog sites. Don't wait, the libtards will soon slam the door on foreign gun and ammo imports, and the prices will go way up.

Another benefit of this pistol is that it is very accurate, with very fine sights. WIth this flat-shooting ammo, you can hit at 100 yards with ease. Downsides are brittle firing pins (buy a spare, and don't dry fire) and a decocking function that you should not trust. Just lower the SA hammer like a 1911. The safety works like a 1911, so if you are used to 1911s, it will be very easy to use the CZ-52

[manonCANAL]

One day it will rain lead

[randomhero97]

I would like to also add that Arsenal AKs (SGL-21s) are going for $499 at K-Var right now.

[Noumenon]

Black rain

[greatdefender]

[ExGeeEye]

Any thoughts?

[Doomonyou]

Just Doing my Part to help the economy.

BLOAT!

[Names Ash Housewares]

They will never make an all out grab for our guns.

But they will try to legislate them away.

Where do we draw the line folks????

I suspect if they overplay their card, they will see exactly how much ammo the citizens of this nation have.

[Eagle Eye]

Said it before, I’ll say it again, that six thousand rounds mean nothing if one won’t use six.

[Eagle Eye]

Said it before, I’ll say it again, that six thousand rounds mean nothing if one won’t use six.

[Cobra64]

Journalists...

[300winmag]

Any thoughts?

Firearms and ammo sales are now reaching a plateau after the initial (and well-founded) panic. This plateau is far higher than in the past. Prices have come down a bit, and firearms supplies are moving back up. Ammo supply is still tight, but not as bad as before.

Personally, I'm just about all "centerfired-out". Unless something amazing comes along, I don't see any more centerfire purchases in the near future.

Let me rephrase that. I've enough "militia gear", so I'm indulging in a long-denied luxury of rediscovering .22 rimfire. And while I like "buying American", my distant Slovak cousins make some fine products, too. My current pet weapon is this CZ 453 "varmint" model with a Leupold (American) 3-9x scope.

Now if they had just mentioned what ammo they used to make this test target, I'd be further down the road to getting the accuracy I know is in there.

0bama should have tried to grab all the guns the moment he took his hand off the Bible. Instead, he helped build a politically-activated user base that has an especial interest in militia weapons comparable to the ones our military regularly uses. There's a whole lot of people now who are familiar with the AR-15/M16/M4 thanks to him.

[DuncanWaring]

Probably ten times that.

[DuncanWaring]

Now if they had just mentioned what ammo they used to make this test target,

Does Sellier & Bellot make .22 rimfire?

[Cobra64]

Need to stock up...

Me too. Running low...

[CodeToad]

A simple 20% increase? I don’t think so. Far more.

[Gritty]

Thanks for the article. That reminds me I need to go get some more primers and bullets, just in case...

[ExGeeEye]

Nice.

I was wondering about the pistol referenced above. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear.

[Cobra64]

Gotta get the wimmin involved too...

[An Old Man]

"12 billion rounds. I wonder what the US Military has on hand..."

A whole lot more than that! I hope you are not planning to go head to head with them!

:<)

[ExpatGator]

Said it before, I’ll say it again, and again...lol

[RebelTex]

I want one of these:

Windrunner SA99 Takedown

Can you float me a loan? (uhhh, don't forget enough for the ammo, heheh.) ;>D

[300winmag]

I was wondering about the pistol referenced above. I’m sorry I wasn’t more clear.

If you're on a tight budget, the CZ-52 is a fine handgun, especially if you buy one or two thousand rounds of ammo with it. Moisin Nagant rifles in 7.62x54R are under $100, and ammo is plentiful. Most even come with bayonets, and a lot of them are near-new.

I'm not much of a handgun person, except for having a Walther PPS for concealed carry. Except for up-close defense, the rifle is the weapon of decision. I know I've probably offended a number of experts who can work magic with a M1911. I'm just not one of them.

However, I feel that the second weapon that you buy in today's world, after a battle rifle, is a good handgun. Then round it out with a good Remington or Mossberg pump shotgun.

[Skenderbej]

My bet would be on Wolf .22 Match ammo. But there is a lot of good match .22 ammo out there.

For me, the Federal Bulk shoot nearly as well as the match grade stuff, but for a lot less money.

[Skenderbej]

I think that Beretta CX4 will be my next gun purchase. I have the PX4 pistol and I love it. It would be great to have the carbine sister to go with it!

[Cobra64]

I have a CX4 in .40. Great shooter but since ammo’s too expensive so I’ll be selling it.

[Eagle Eye]

You can say that again. Doh! Oh I did! LOL

[Skenderbej]

I shoot just as well with my 1911 .45 as any handgun, but I do enjoy the ergonomics of my modern Sig P226 and more recently my glovely Beretta PX4.

I found that practicing a lot with my Walther P22 .22 pistol greatly improved my accuracy with the larger caliber pistols.

Also, I bought an airsoft version of the P226 several years ago and practice with that in my basement. It is surprisingly accurate at 25 feet and has helped tremendously without expensive ammo costs. For varied practice I built several triangular traps that I taped targets to and placed in different locations in the room. The bb’s get caught in the back so I can reuse them without having to worry about the baby eating them off the floor.

From one shooter to another...cheers!

[Skenderbej]

I’d like the 9mm, which is what my PX4 is. The magazines are interchangeable between the two guns. It’s still about 17 cents per shot, which is what the AK ammo cost me up until December of last year. Now AK ammo is 25 to 30 cents per shot, so the CX4 9mm looks like it would be a good replacement for the AK (although I’ll keep shooting that too)!

[investigateworld]

I believe ammo pays an 'excise tax' which is supposed to be used for wildlife and hunting programs.

Anyone tracking the portion of .gov programs that get said funds?

[Red in Blue PA]

All I can say is I did my part.

Probably bought 4000 rds of .45, 6000 rds of 9mm and tens of thousands of .22.

[ExSoldier]

Does Sellier & Bellot make .22 rimfire?

Yup. In fact, IIRC, they also make a grade of match ammo that is s'posed to be pretty good. I also think (but not sure of any of this) they make subsonic 22 for use in suppressed weapons. Not certain if it will cycle a semi, though.

[2111USMC]

I really like my Mosin M91/30.

People can laugh at bolt guns if they want to. The Mosin has won many wars.

Besides, you don’t need rapid fire if you’re taking them out at 800 yards.

[backwoods-engineer]

Thanks for reminding me. I need to buy some more bricks of .22, and another tin of “Hungarian Honeys” (7.62x54R).

[backwoods-engineer]

I really like my Mosin M91/30. Me too! Especially after mounting some Mojo peep sights on it!

[2111USMC]

“Hungarian Honeys”

LOL!

Are those the heavier yellow tip? I’ve found mine to be a tad more accurate with the heavier 182 gr bullet.

[ExSoldier]

I'm picking up an XD45 compact this week and a Kel-Tec PLR 16 next week. Both used from an online source I've used before as both seller and buyer. Very reputable. Since the Kel-Tec isn't really a hot demand item (reminds me sorta of Han Solos Blaster in the movie Star Wars) the price used is very low at least when compared to a new gun. But I really want it for a truck gun. Might get it suppressed eventually. Maybe put a laser on it. I've always wanted one of them. Uses the same mags as my RRA M4. The XD is something I've been promising myself since I had the Gastric Bypass last summer. Since June 29th I've dropped 88 pounds and still losing. Eventual goal weight is about 180 and I'm on track to get there by Christmas. This suddenly has me gravitating back in the direction of carrying a 45 again but I want striker fired with higher capacity. Glocks are too blocky for me. The grip on the XD is perfect, though.

[300winmag]

For me, the Federal Bulk shoot nearly as well as the match grade stuff, but for a lot less money.

I know. I bought one brick, but that was all I was limited to. The secret is out.

If you're not buying .22lr by the case, you're not a serious shooter. And that was even in the pre-0bama era.

[lapsus calami]

 

 

 

These Czech handcannons are interesting, but need a bit more attention to detail to be grumble proof.

 

Below is something I worked on earlier this year.

 

 

 

Replaced the rollers, firing pin and extractor with ones made with 4140 steel - all together about ±$50.

The original firing pin is rough cast and therefore a bit spooky (for me it is...), and the extractor has a possibility - not a guarantee - of the hook going away, so were replaced.

The original rollers weren't quite right with the world and wanted to dig into the lower frame. The solid heavy duty ones ended that.

 

You would want to check the extractor spring - the original for this one was missing a couple of coils and looked like it had been snipped off with a cutter. Some Brownell's spring stock solved that little problem and extractor is back to good tension - will also need to check the extractor pin to see if it needs to be staked properly to keep it from unnecessarily dropping out the bottom of the slide.

 

You want original factory mags, not those Triple K clunkers (yuk!), got some Wolff springs to make sure they feed snappy and actuate the slide stop properly - also picked up a bit stiffer recoil spring for the slide, seems to have had a positive effect on function.

 

And a final word of caution - the action may be of a strong design, but it's not necessarily produced strong from a final manufacturing standpoint. The way the barrel was machined weakens it in some key areas. Serious caution must be employed if handloading for it, since you won't know you've gotten too hot until the barrel is separated from the chamber and the extractor is flung to the hills. The weak point in the slide is the extractor slot area and will most likely crack there if there's been any abuse or "incidents", so buyer beware when checking into a '52. There's some nice, barely touched, hardly fired ones out there, but a number of beaters also. The pistol will holster into practically anything that will take a .45 auto, the magazines are nearly identical in dimensions to the .45 auto also and will nest in .45 mag holders nicely.

 

Even with the sort of shortcomings as I went over in the above, it is still a shooter. Impress your friends and neighbors and dismay a lib - get one today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[VOA]

“Ammunition sales hit record high in first year of Obama administration”

Repost:

Recently a shop called “Black Rifle” opened in Mid-Missouri.
I LOVE their radio advert...it’s great “theater of the mind”
The dialogue sounds like an announcement in a convention hall for
“the firearms and ammo salesman of the month”.
As the announcer starts to open the award envelope...”Hail to The Chief”
starts playing in the background.
And the announcer says something like “Oh well, he needs no announcement
as we’ve grown used to him winning every month!”

[RetiredNavy]

Wolf Match or SK Standard Plus will get you there. MidwayUSA has either for about $4 a box.

[TheConservativeParty]

Welcome to FR, Second Amendment First!
I started buying ammo and additional firearms Nov.5th,2008. Got all I needed (the husband says it’s more than I’ll ever need) before there even was a shortage. I say better safe than sorry. Last time I went to my supply store, I had more ammo than they did. 5000 rounds. That’ll do it for now. It’s comforting to know that so many fellow Americans did the same thing I did. As they say, the revolution starts when you go out the front door with your gun, and see everyone else doing the same thing. Until then, keep yer powder dry. Cheers!