On Friday it was announced that
The result? Just try buying any M855 ammunition online tonight . . . or the older M193 55gr. rounds, for that matter (the US Army's original cartridge for the first-generation M16 rifle used in Vietnam). I can't find any supplier with stocks available. Glenn B. reports likewise.
*Sigh*
This is just plain stupid. For a start, anyone with half an ounce of sense in his or her head has already built up a reserve of ammunition in calibers and cartridges that are important to them. I've got plenty of M855 in my ammo locker, and twice that amount of M193. I don't even shoot M855 much - for civilian shooters and our needs, it isn't necessarily the optimum round to choose. For most defensive purposes, at the ranges and for the targets we're likely to face, M193 is probably a superior choice, and modern expanding ammunition is even better. (I stocked up on that a couple of years ago.) Come to think of it, I might even swap out some or all of my M855, because given the current panic I reckon I can get two rounds of M193 in exchange for one round of the supposedly 'good stuff'!
The other thing is, panic buying only drives up prices and disrupts normal commerce in the shooting industry. Ammo makers will make what sells; but if a given caliber or cartridge is suddenly in overwhelming demand, and they cut back on producing other cartridges to make more of what's popular, those who shoot those other cartridges will find themselves short-changed. What's more, the increased production of the popular ammo won't make much of a difference, because panic buyers will grab every round they can and hoard it. Opportunists will try to sell their stocks of the 'good stuff' at exorbitant prices to desperate shooters who don't know better, and are willing to pay whatever it costs to ensure that they've 'got theirs'. It's messy, distasteful and ultimately counter-productive. (Just look at the situation with .22LR ammo, which still hasn't returned to normal following the last ammo drought.)
As I said some time ago, it behooves all of us to keep adequate stocks of our cartridges of choice at all times. That way, when something like this happens we're minimally affected, if at all. I've got my stash of 5.56x45mm. ammo safely tucked away. I'll ride this one out.
Peter
7 comments:
Well the government manipulated the gun sheep ,thru the use of brilliant propaganda, into believing that that ONE rifle was somehow the "best for all needs". Then they started the SBR fad and most clever of all the AR and AK pistol fad. Wanna bet we get some ding-a-ling marketing a 3006 semi-auto hand gun soon? Now all they need is a Hearing for a PROPOSED RULE CHANGE to spark a mindless mega panic. The Government has pushed the people to the breaking point. I wonder if they realize that this won't end they way they "gamed it"? I wonder if they care?
If one engages the services of a knowledgeable financial advisor as part of the planning process for retirement one will almost certainly receive a recommendation to pursue a regular periodic investment strategy, called "Dollar Cost Averaging."
In DCA one invests a similar amount on a scheduled basis; when stock (or metals, or commodities, or whatever one chooses to invest in) prices are low, that periodic amount buys more of the investment, when prices are high, it buys less. But it always buys some.
The same philosophy works just as well with ammunition and freeze dried food.
It seems few recognize that this is a long game that we're operating within. If one has been investing for one's long term security one has been buying financial vehicles, as well as ammunition, food, clothing and "prepper" supplies for decades.
The thing that really irks me is that I had never owned an AR (or any rifle that ate 5.56/223 before). I changed that this week, and bought a SR-15 from Knight Armament as a Valentine's day gift for my wife and myself. Didn't buy any ammo, but I did check the prices, and decided I could wait until next paycheck, because I wasn't going to make it to the range anyway before then. Saw some stuff I was sure I'd like, and made a mental note of the $0.32 per round price.
Now it's gone. Thanks hoarders. I did find something similar on Ammotogo.com, for just a bit more, but still irritating. Oh, well. There's always 7.62x39 to shoot...
M855 is armor-piercing? Who knew? Certainly it me or the other infantrymen I worked with. Though it does depend on which grade of armor you test it against. As I recall, the "old" armor only protected against shrapnel, and specifically not against rifle fire. Of any caliber. Even the "new" armor is grade-dependent, so one should ask "What are the real motives for this change?" and "Who is making money as a result?"
And this is why I set a Dillon press up just to load 5.56 a couple of years ago and bought more components than I will likely ever need when they were cheap. I tire of these artificially-generated supply/demand games and I'll always have ammo in this caliber any time I want to put a few hours' work into making some.
I just crank up my Dillion when I need ammo also. I can make 100 .45APC for around 10 bucks (given that I bought all my primers and thousands of bullets before the crazy hit). I buy more bullets, powder, and primers when the price is reasonable...
The more arbitrary and capricious rulings like this they make, the easier it will be to get some of their decisions tossed out in court, because if these "experts" can't decide, why should we believe anything else they say?
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