Ammunition Rationing

deafdrummer

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Has anyone had trouble buying ammunition around the country? Post up if you have! A friend in Austin was not able to find a SINGLE 9mm bullet for sale last Sunday for a handgun class. Some people I know have pointed out that Walmart has a sign in the ammo department saying that customers are limited to three boxes of a particular caliber per day.

Glad I bought mine a long time ago and know how to reload 12-ga buckshot.
 
Anyone who remembers the gun ban sabre rattling during the '90s Clinton administration will remember the same thing happened to ammo back then. Sales of ammo jumps and outpaces production. Production will catch up with demand eventually, or demand will calm down again. Same with firearms.

When production matches demand, prices are mostly level.

When production is not keeping up with demand, prices increase.

When production exceeds demand, prices decrease.

When people are afraid they won't be able to buy firearms or ammo anymore, the demand (naturally) suddenly increases. This is because people are buying whatever they can get. And, of course, production isn't ready for this sudden increase in demand, so the shelves are bare. But they will ramp up production, but it will take time.

I wouldn't be surprised if people buy guns and ammo low and sell high like the stock market. Inflated prices for everything.
 
Yes, we've had that problem. It is either sold out, excessively priced, or not what we need. Lots of shot gun shells available but otherwise . . .

We're practicing more with our bows now.
 
I've thought about bows and arrows... It's been over 25 years since archery class in college, though...
 
Front page of our local paper today:

Run on ammunition stripping shelves at Lowcountry gun stores

Dealers are holding customers to a few or even one box at a time, when there’s any ammunition of that caliber left on the shelf to buy.

“We want to make sure all our customers have the same chance for target shooting,” said Ron Sprovero, owner of East Coast Guns in Summerville. ATP Gunshop and Range, also in Summerville, and Carolina Rod and Gun in West Ashley also reported limiting some purchases.

Runs that empty the shelf tend to happen every few years, particularly after elections or political moves that leave customers concerned about possible new regulations, said Mike Kent of Kent and Associates.

“People who just got in the game or who are panicked right now” are causing the current onslaught, said Kent, whose company puts on gun shows in the region, including the Charleston Gun and Knife Show at the Ladson Fairgrounds set for Feb. 16 and 17.

“Ammunition is expensive. It has gone through the roof. It’s kind of crazy right now,” he said. As just one example, a 1,000-round case of .223 caliber cartridges has jumped from $400 to a range from $800 to $1,000.

Ammunition tends to be in shorter supply this time of year as manufacturing slows down after the holidays. The current run has exacerbated that shortage and left manufacturers scrambling.

Some customers anticipate the runs and tend to buy by the case or cases. They routinely keep hundreds if not thousands of rounds on hand, and wait until prices drop to buy again, Kent said.

“I think the people who have bought a lot of ammo are sitting and laughing right now,” he said.

This round of clear-the-shelves ammo buying comes on the heels of a surge in gun purchases, itself on the heels of new calls for restrictions following the Newtown, Conn., elementary school mass shooting in December. President Barack Obama’s administration is pushing restrictions such as banning “assault weapons” — semi-automatic, large-magazine firearms such as the one used in Newtown.

New gun buyers in the Lowcountry and the state have driven the number of concealed-weapons-permit applications to levels never seen before.

About three times as many people have permits now as had them in 2008. The number of permit applications nearly tripled from 2011 to 2012.

The buying spree has been so pronounced that the number of federal background checks for concealed weapon permits nationwide declined in January, apparently because dealers simply ran out of guns, according to an Associated Press analysis. The largest declines were in Southern states, where a higher percentage of residents tend to be gun owners.

“Serious sport shooters keep enough (ammunition) on hand and won’t pay the crazy prices,” said Matt Smith of West Ashley, who doesn’t buy more than he wants for practice, but knows people who have bought more than they normally would.

“I think some of their panic is warranted. People get nervous when the Second Amendment (right to bear arms) is broached,” he said. “I think people should be able to protect their person, their families and their property with anything the government has, so long as the person is law abiding.”

The shortage is expected to drive more buyers to gun shows such as the Charleston show, where ammunition tends to be for sale in large quantities by the case or the bulk bag rather than by the box.

Most of Kent’s shows attract four or five ammunition vendors, he said. Individual vendors have been skipping some shows to save supplies for bigger shows.

One dealer canceled a Myrtle Beach show appearance this weekend to have the ammo for Charleston next weekend, he said.
Run on ammunition stripping shelves at Lowcountry gun stores – The Post and Courier
 
This stinks, too:

Comcast pulling gun ads

BY BO PETERSEN
bopete@postandcourier.com
Gun shop ads have been pulled from the air by Comcast cable television, the latest media outlet to further restrict the advertising in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting and subsequent outcry. The ad drop is a step down from what had been a practice to accept the ads if they did not feature guns.

"Consistent with long-standing NBC policies, Comcast Spotlight has decided it will not accept new advertising for firearms or weapons moving forward," said Chris Ellis, senior communications director.

The move follows January decisions by ESPN, Time Warner, Groupon and other outlets to restrict gun-related ads, reacting to a nationwide sentiment to limit public exposure to at least some firearms and related advertisements.

Eric Elliott of VIP Marketing bought local spots coinciding with the presidential State of the Union address on Tuesday, to advertise Ladies Night at the ATP Gunshop and Range in Summerville, when he was notified the ads would be curtailed, he said. The notice referenced a Comcast content guideline that has been revised, adding, "For clarity, Comcast will not accept advertisements from gun shops, gun shows or shooting ranges. Comcast will accept advertisements for pawn shops provided that the advertisement may not mention or show any weapons ... Commercials that include weapons or fireworks as props will be approved on a case-by-case basis."

Elliott is confounded.

"Is it that they are trying to make a statement? If so, what is the statement? The most popular programs on these cable systems are shows with guns in them," he said. "I think the decision could have been thought through a little more. Everyone in the country (has) had the little children and community of Newtown, Conn., on their minds and in their hearts. Other mediums such as broadcast, radio stations and our local newspaper have had no problem promoting ATP and its services."
The Post and Courier, Charleston SC

(That is the Ladies Night that I went to a few weeks ago.)
 
I've thought about bows and arrows... It's been over 25 years since archery class in college, though...
TCS, I, our daughter and son-in-law, and two grandsons all shoot compound bows. We set up a "range" in our backyard. I like bows and arrows because they are cheaper than guns and ammo, easier to keep supplied with arrows, don't require long drives for practice, don't require range fees, no licensing/registering involved, easy to store the equipment, and easy to learn. We have bows of different sizes and strengths for each family member. We bought a couple of them at pawn shops (very good deals), and some at cheaperthandirt.com and amazon.com. I got some good target arrows for myself (weakest member of the family) from llbean.com.

You can probably get right back in the saddle again with no problem. :)

I'm 61, first time with archery, and I'm doing OK. :giggle:
 
It won't stop anyone from buy ammo illegally, from black market for example.

I don't blame on gun owners over road rage incident that involved armed man who threaten to shoot me last month, however it does lose some of my faith.

I don't think I've ever heard of people buying ammo from black market in America...
 
I don't think I've ever heard of people buying ammo from black market in America...

because they are black market - you don't see them.

It can be done from border countries - Mexico and Canada.
 
I don't think I've ever heard of people buying ammo from black market in America...

Neither have I. Guns, yeah. But ammunition's never been a black market item. Until now, because this is going to create a market for it. Isn't it great?
 
because they are black market - you don't see them.

It can be done from border countries - Mexico and Canada.

uh.... we can go buy it in Canada...
 
because they are black market - you don't see them.

It can be done from border countries - Mexico and Canada.

There have never been restrictions on ammunition sales. The only regulations there have been is, 18+ for rifle/shotgun shells, and 21+ for handgun ammunition sales.

That's it. There's no black market for ammunition. It's a silly concept. Except that this legislation is going to create a market for it, because criminals are going to find a way. Because that's the nature of crime.
 
Neither have I. Guns, yeah. But ammunition's never been a black market item. Until now, because this is going to create a market for it. Isn't it great?

what for? there's really absolutely no point in creating black market for ammo... that's just as ridiculous as buying & selling water bottles illegally :lol:
 
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