Posted on 05/04/2009 10:33:03 PM PDT by FromLori
shops across the country are reporting a run on ammunition, a phenomenon apparently driven by fear that the Obama administration will increase taxes on bullets or enact new gun-control measures.
Ron Cardwell fires his 9 mm semiautomatic at a paper target at a range in Aurora, Colorado. 1 of 3
"In the last two months it's gotten very, very difficult to find ammunition," says Richard Taylor, manager of The Firing Line, a gun shop and shooting range in the Denver, Colorado, suburbs.
"There are a lot of rumors floating around that the present government would like to increase taxes on ammunition. I think [there is] just a lot of panicked buying going on."
While campaigning for the White House, Obama supported re-enacting the now-expired ban on assault weapons. But there is no indication that the administration will take up that measure -- or any other gun-control initiative --anytime soon.
Nonetheless, some gun owners aren't taking any chances.
(Excerpt) Read more at sidebar.cnn.com ...
Winchester and Federal are using almost all of the components to produce their ammo... which is of higher profit margins. Components will appear in quantity when they catch up with backorders. NRA and Arfcom (AR15.com) are the sources.
LLS
I've got about 200 rounds of precisely reloaded .380 88gr. JHP which I've posted online here. No one wants to drive to where I am to get it. So, things aren't as bad as the media, etc. are making it out to be.
No, he doesn't want to go there....
I just checked (05MAY2009, 0744) at Cabelas. Sure, they list lots of 9mm (and other) ammunition. At close to normal prices, as well.
IT'S ALL BACKORDERED.
Most of the other online dealers specify up front whether the item is in stock. Cabelas only puts up the backorder warning when you try to put the item in your "shopping cart".
Two weekends ago, the guys selling bulk ammo (at mildly inflated prices) had stuff from USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Serbia and UK. It sold out on the first day.
Exactly what I was thinking. Our local Walmarts recently got in .45 and 9mm.....and even boxes of .380 were on the shelf!
Plus the cost of shipping ammo adds a lot to the order.
Problem is, I don't think that this stuff is making it into the country right now.
I've been hearing that our communist overlords are making it extremely difficult for importers to bring in the bulk Russian ammo.
Yeah, I know that I'm just working with rumors here, but does anyone have any information on this? Has anyone ordered the sealed spam cans of ammo (from Cabelas or anywhere) and actually had them arrive?
Huh?
I recently bought .45 and 9mm at Walmart for the same price as a year ago.
Anyone buying food and ammunition may not be the idiot you think they are.
All the online vendors are charging more than last year for the same ammo. Walmart is also one of the few that isn't profiteering but they also are often stripped bare. At gun shows and online vendors the prices are up and out of stock.
Plus the cost of shipping ammo adds a lot to the order.
In the “new economy”, bullets and beans will beat gold.
Our Walmart got 10 boxes of Blazer 9mm last Tuesday night. It was all gone the next morning when I stopped by. They haven’t had any since.
I ordered 640 rounds of 7.62x39 on December 11th. It arrived for in-store pickup the last week of February. They sent me 3 emails changing the delivery date, including one that said I had to call customer service to keep it on backorder. When I called, the service rep tried to talk me into canceling my order because the ammo wasn’t going to arrive any time soon. After I told him I’d wait, I received the ammo less than a week later. I paid 19 cents/round by using one of their $20 off coupons and I know they didn’t want to sell the ammo that cheap!
In the “new economy”, bullets and beans will beat gold.
Also, if you have to move your wealth, it’s hard to tote around $10,000 (or $100,000) in ammo or food without a big truck. That amount ($100,000) of gold weighs less than a gallon of milk, and can fit in the pockets of your cargo pants.
two weekends ago the cabelas in wheeling wv had one box of 45 ACP ammo no 9mm, no 357, plenty of 40 cal for some reason and lots of cowboy ammo (45 Colt, 38-40,44-40)
People wanted 380 but there was none to be had. They had plenty of that stupid 45 GAP ammo, but no one I know has a pistol that shoots that.
I DID however get a great deal on remington 5.56 at $8.99 per box. I bought 20 boxes.
And NO 7.62x39 at all.
What I'm seeing...coastal Oregon...is old ammo being sold at 4 times the rate it was bought for. Chinese, laquered Wolf...stuff people stockpiled when it was super-cheap.
A few days later another kid behind the counter let it slip to me that some folks get calls from Wal-Mart employees when a shipment arrives, so they can come right then and snatch it all up.
I'm seriously thinking of talking with the store manager and advising him about this and chewing on him for allowing it. Put a limit on it all and let the average working guy have a shot at buying 2-3 boxes. Greed. It's always present.
Yep. And the constant press only serves to extend and sharpen the run. It does serve one useful purpose, though. It counteracts the carefully-constructed image of gun owners being a tiny minority of radical right-wing cranks.
It does amaze me how otherwise intelligent people can blithely declare, "He's said he's not going to do it right away, so that should be enough reassurance for you." The market says otherwise. Perhaps the people making that sort of statement ought to examine it a little more closely.
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