[1stgen1916saa]

" Adapt and overcome " , it is what I was taught in the Army. I suspect it is the mantra of all of the branches of service, albeit in different forms. The current ammo situation had got me thinking about it and how I could find some much needed calibers that I currently don't have enough of, namely frontier calibers for some of my SA shooters. I have always had a lot of .45acp, 9mm, and .38 special ( thousands of each in fact ) but only had a hundred or so of less common calibers like 44WCF and 45LC. Since all ammo has become harder to acquire, at a reasonable price that is, I thought maybe others might be in the same boat and that trading could be a mutually beneficial way to get there. I was pleasantly surprised to find this to be a great way to get what I needed. In fact it has morphed a little for me in that I have traded parts for certain ammo calibers and sold 2 guns and took payment in the form of a mix of cash and ammo. In fact a strange side effect has occurred, I now have to purchase a shooter 32 WCF to enjoy shooting that caliber ( I only have 1 32WCF, my grandfather's gun I had restored, which I don't plan on shooting ). I never anticipated this but sometimes people have calibers that might not be on your list of needs but you grab it knowing it is also hard to find. I now have close to 2K rounds of 45LC and 44WCF each and another 1K of 32WCF, all while still having a lot of 45ACP and 9MM, the 38 special is all gone but I have alot of. 357 to shoot in my K frame Smiths. The only drawback to this has been BP ammo, have gotten some but not enough as it is even more scarce. I am not willing to pay the 'extortion ' amounts that people are trying to get on GB, they say there's a sucker born every minute, well judging by what people are willing to pay on GB ( alot of cases more than $2 a round ) I would say that it's more like ' born every 6 seconds. I think it's safe to say that ammo has the potential to be a new form of currency, at least in the firearms community.

I forgot to mention that I don't reload so that is not an option for me and I suspect many others too. Also it doesn't look as good for component prices as they have soared as well. Hopefully this trend will turn around soon and we can get back to some normalcy, until then Adapt and Overcome HOO'AH.

 

[TrueGritFnG]

send you a msg a while back. just ensuring you got it

 

[ColtsDad]

Great that you were able to get what you wanted.
2k is nice number for 45 Colt , probably what I’m lacking in most .
.38s have always been scarce for me , I’d say over 5 years straight, scarce.
I have 2 diamondbacks and 1 Cobra , so no plus p.
This is the natural progression I think after new shooter is ready to move up from .22

I’m actually going today to buy PMC , maybe 130gr .......... for $45
Kinda steep , but not compared to other calibers.
An example - same seller has 3 five rd boxes of Rem 12ga 3 “ double aught .
SEVENTY DOLLARS ! , that’s five per shell !
case or flat of #8s pretty sick too , price wise.

I buy deals though - all my brass x39 , .357 GS ad 45colt ( both Rem.) has been 50cents per round from Target Sports over the years ......... or don’t buy at all.

I actually would love to be in big poker game with ammo .

 

[M38A1]

Like you I was dismayed by the online prices of common calibers and specialty calibers like .38-40. I realized that I had been limiting my searches to online sales and they were out of stock anyway. When I started visiting smaller out of the way gun stores in my area I found both types in limited quantities. In most cases their prices were not that outrageous either. So I have been slowly adding to my supply locally.

 

[1stgen1916saa]

send you a msg a while back. just ensuring you got it

No, I did not get one. Try it again, I don't remember what we were talking about.

 

[inspcalahan]

and by not reloading what you will be shooting of those "not as common" calibers, you'll be able to flip the brass back easily as well, thereby lower your output cost even more over time.

 

[hearsedriver]

The only frontier caliber that Ive seen in stock locally is 32-20. $45.00 per 50 which sounds cheap right now. Wish I had a 32-20

 

[emlupi]

You are quite correct about reloading components. There are none to be found and those that are have been priced at absurd rates.
Profiteers are working together to buy up whatever is available and then resell it on the internet sites at ridiculously inflated prices. Trying to take advantage of the panic buying that is going on in this present political and social environment.
Personally, I refuse to be drawn into this mania and so I will wait for the insanity to subside. Fortunately, I have enough stock to keep shooting for a while. Hopefully, in the meantime, the frenzy will calm down and we can get back to some sort of normalcy.
The prices for bullets started going crazy when the Chinese began driving up the price of metals during their economic upturn. Then there have always been panic runs on certain items like primers, powder, and evil black guns. But this time things have gone really crazy!!
How I long for the days when we used to go to Commercial Row at Camp Perry and buy all the powder, primers, and bullets you could want for ridiculously low prices. It doesn’t seem that long ago.

 

[Recusant]

If the shortage continues this may become a reality: