Clearly, ammunition availability is really low, right now. This is a very common concern, and it isn’t anything new to those that are shooting enthusiasts.
What causes hoarding?
The answer seems obvious. Of course it isn’t easy to explain. It really comes down to confidence in the stability of the world around us. This year, we have seen Government officials, and police, stand aside and not take action against looters and rioters. We have seen Government, at all levels, try to control a pandemic by taking away the rights of individuals and crushing our economy, too. The response, of many, has been to buy guns and buy ammo.
New guns, generally, means a new group of gun owners that need ammo for their guns to train and practice. Ammo is also needed to defend ourselves and our loved ones. This is especially true when we see the police fail to protect the community.
Gun owners have seen hoarding when it comes to guns and ammo for a long time. We see it every time there is an election year and we hear politicians riling up voters by saying they plan to confiscate guns and implement new laws infringing on the Second Amendment. We also see hoarding every time there is a mass shooting that is used to try to take away rights.
What should we do, now?
There are several parts to this answer, and options. Basically, there isn’t much we can do when it comes to the lack of availability of ammo. These are the obvious options:
Suck it up. It happens during election years, and other times of instability. It is like everyone that is a gun owner, or potential gun owner, suddenly realizes that they need more ammo.
Wait. Eventually, the manufacturers will catch back up, and people will get enough stock to stop them from feeling the need to buy more. The problem with waiting is not having ammo.
Pay. The market drives price, and when there is very little ammo available, the price goes up. Way up. If somebody needs ammo, they will probably just need to pay what the market is demanding. Right now, it is a pretty high price.
Reload. Learn to reload. Normally, this is a good answer, but this year, we saw the key components for reloading also suffer a huge hit. In particular, primers have become incredibly hard to find, and they have also become incredibly expensive. Other components have also become scarce.
What should we do in the future?
Buy. This means buy when ammo is available, and stock up, and also buy when the price is a little high. Dollar cost averaging is the term. It means you set aside a certain budget and buy what you can every month.
Stock up. When prices are reasonable, buy, buy, and buy. during good times. Don’t be afraid to be called paranoid. It is called being prepared for the worse of times.
Reload. Normally, reloading is the way to go when it comes to have availability for ammo. However, components must be available. The nice thing about having the components, and the skills, is that you can build your favorite rounds when you need them. The components can be stored for a very long time, and some of them can be found for free or close to free, even during shortages.