I had breakfast this morning with a couple of friends at the local greasy spoon and the topic of the possible ban of M855/M109 type 5.56mm ammunition came up.

I was surprised that one of them said that he had 10,000 rounds inbound (to go with the 5K+ of 5.56 he has left over from the last bout of madness). And this is a person who shoots maybe 2000 rounds of all types (rifle, pistol and shotgun)in a good year.

When I questioned the amount and his limited use he responded that I was the pot calling the kettle black; he was referencing my reloading components.

I don't think that I'm unreasonable by keeping several hundred pieces of brass for each cartridge that I use; as for bullets I do the same thing. When it comes to powder and primers I have bought 8 or 5 pounders for years, same with primers, I buy them by the case. This has worked for me for a long time and I always have what I need regardless of what the current market is doing.

I understand that everyone accesses their own needs and acts accordingly.

I wonder when this generation of shooters pass on to the great hunting grounds; how many times will EOD be called to remove all of the leftover stocks of powder, primers and ammunition?

StarchedCover

It becomes hoarding when the "have nots" find out what the "haves" actually have.

A bunch of brass, a few kegs of powder, and a few cases of primers huh?

I suppose it's a start. At least your stuff is useful. Until somebody wants to buy some, and you offer it at the current value instead of what you paid for it while the knuckleheads we sleeping. Then you get promoted to "gouger".

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Stop hoarding and give up some 162 Amaxs already bishes!

That's the beauty of Capitalism. We are all allowed to be hoarders........well, unless one has the misfortune to live in one of those States or municipalities which limits possession of arms or munitions.

Lots of my acquaintances call me a hoarder. But every gun and all of my ammo and all of my bullets and all of my spare lead ingots fit in one moderately sized safe.

I will just say that at last check we had over 100K 223 brass....

A couple hundred brass for anything is light IMHO.

Not that I"m paranoid but I do like to try to stock up as I have cash. Its not like its going to go bad or go down in value either.

Over ten concubines is where I draw the line.

Ammo & components can be bequeathed...

Oh yeah, if EOD is called it just indicates the family is a bunch of dumb [bleep]...

and amazingly I've had the call from liberals here in town.... dad died, you are vol fire, come get this stuff and dispose of it. 10-4 be right there.....

Back in the good old days before all these numb nut hoarders existed, I never kept much ammo on hand. When I ran out or got low, I'd just go to the store and buy another box or two. Never worried about not being able to get any cuz there was always plenty on the shelves. I sure miss those days.

Would think that digitally driven just in time inventory all the way back up the chain to manufacturing is the issue.

Too many sources of supply and the fast innovation of new products to risk warehousing a bunch of stock

I would like to be a hoarder. I have several hundred rounds for each of the calibers that I use. I know that's not very much if one considers how fast ammo can be expended in a firefight. But I just can't afford to buy much more. I know if the SHTF I will think 'why didn't I buy more when I had the opportunity?' I guess it's because I have other things that are more important to me right now. It's all a matter of priorities I guess.

KC

SC, it's his money, he's free to do with it as he pleases.

It's interesting to me how ready gun owners are ready to judge other regarding what they keep on hand.

So can concubines. Remember us in your will.

I have enough of everything I shoot (cept 22LR) to last my lifetime (no more no less) so I'll leave the hoarder, gouger, prudent shopper debate to the rest of ya's.

I have however thinned out my herd due in part to shortages and in part to changing needs due to getting older.

His house is just a storage place for the Government or Police until they need it and then they will come and take it.

It becomes hoarding when you have more than I do.

Good luck on that.

will do...but the years are much kinder to components...:)

Nothing succeeds like excess

YA even if it's the wrong caliber the'll take it some one in the organization can use it

norm

Hoarding and gouging are terms created by people that don't have what they need.

Haters always gonna hate.



Travis

Not gonna label anybody. If you have the cash and it makes you feel better to have the ammo. in your possession then good for you.

I have plenty of what I need and certainly don't consider it hoarding. The level of "stock" you keep and are comfortable with is obviously different with everyone.

The only thing I have no regard for is folks who create and further promote panic buying only to resell to capitalize off of fellow shooters.

It is capitalism at it's purist form I guess but I am traditional enough in my thinking to still believe that our passion for all things rifle should come along with reciprocal respect for other folks needs/wants in a limited market.

YMMV

twofish

Hardly.

Gouging is gouging and should a gouger end up choking to death on their schit that'd be ok.

Says the hater of all haters.



Travis

Is 30lbs of Varget too much???

That's just a start to being a hobby

If someone wants to fill a conex with ammo, IDGAF.. Makes more sense to me than buying beanie babies or silver coins.

I don't know. Is it?

If you ask the guys with no Varget they'll say yes. If you ask the guys with three kegs or more, they'll say no.

Also, the guys that bitch about having no Varget, won't pay $30.00 a pound. Even after they explain they can't find Varget.



Travis

To much is just right.
Running out really sucks.

Too much of a good thing is still a good thing.

You are hoarding if the ammo spoils before you use it.

Yep!

It ain't gouging unless you paid their price. I don't know, it has never happened to me. I purchase what I can afford, when I can, at the prices I am willing to pay.

Of course it helps if one has laid in a few boxes of stuff from Shooter's Pro Shop when they were flush with inventory. And for the stuff a guy runs out of and refuses to purchase at unreasonably infated prices???? I spent the money instead on tools to cast my own bullets.

IF it was a firefight I was worried about, I wouldn't.... if that happens there will be winners and loosers. Loosers ammo becomes winners ammo. If military is involved, there will always be plenty of ammo around...

Now with scalpers abounding, trying to find what you need can always be hard. Its why 20 years ago I saw it coming at times, you never knew what it was gonna be.

My rule of thumb back then was don't buy primers less than 5000 at a time.
Don't buy less powder than it will take you to burn a barrel out.
Same with bullets, and cases.
Don't buy less than a case of rimfire at time( and I broke that 2 times that I regret... Aguila super colibri... figured how much can a guy use.... and CCI Sub prefrag... have never found it in case lots yet....)

Keep all and any brass you can. I have brass for rounds I may never own but I pick it all up, beg it off non loaders and so on. Same for shotgun hulls. When I attend a 4H benefit shoot at times, I get all the cases I can... even the cheap ones... who knows... I think I have close to 10 feed sacks full of them...

I keep all the 22 cases I can too..... scrap brass and can be made into bullet jackets in a pinch.

Shotgun shells I buy the things they call cases these days even thought they are only half cases. Usually 2-3 cases of steel a year.
When shells went up, I was lucky that when dove loads were 3 bucks a box, I bought a few shopping carts of them... running really low, but if they ever dip again it will be the same.

And FWIW, its a lot less headache that way.
Every time you buy new lots of primers, cases, powder, bullets its easy for your load to change.... so I save that headache of buying it a pound at a time.

I don't buy powder anymore either, less than the mid range jugs of around 8 pounds each give or take.

How many of you so called gun nuts have bought a 200 pound container of surplus powder?

That was a good start for us some years back... don't recall the price per pound but roughly 600-800 bucks IIRC for the keg.

Dang stuff just has not gone bad yet, even though made by Olin in 72... has been a good investment.

I've been known to order in bulk.

I guess it depends on what a person's level of fear is, and how long they expect to live. My 2 primary reasons for having guns is defense and hunting, and I have adequate supplies for the most part. I'm not going to store up tons of ammo, just so it can go to some auction someday by my heirs. For self defense, I feel I've reached some level of common sense. If hordes of the unwashed mass hysterics or some World Order jackboots attack, I don't expect to survive, nor likely would I want to. If prices go up or supplies dwindle to scarcity, there are younger upcoming gun owners who will require ammo more than I need to. I have nothing against gun luneyism, but at my age, other things have become more important to me.

That's excellent...

I'm a lover not a hater. I DGAF about "hoarders or hoarding" nor do I give 2 [bleep] about how much powder a guy bought before he ripped his sweatshirt off and ran straight into a fire for free. I was only commenting on gougers.

Shalom my friend.

When you have to stack it along the outside Walls so the floors don't collapse.

In response to the OP--the guy is going to have about 15k rounds on hand once he gets his shipment. He shoots 2k a year. That means he only has enough for 7 years of shooting at the very same pace he is going currently. That would hardly be considered hoarding given the current climate.

FWIW we shot over 20K rounds of 223 a year... I was somewhat comfortable with our stocks of supplies, but you never knew...

And we typically ordered a year ahead of time of supplies, for the 20K... IE kept on hand AT least that much as a simple spare stash.

No different than keeping on hand 2-3 spare Krieger or Pac Nor blanks in the closet...

Most of us have experienced bans and threats of bans resulting in shortages and price hikes. I have spares of my endangered weapons and mags. I restock ammo at a rate of 150% of my training use. I enjoy hoarding things that are important to me.

From a financial standpoint I enjoy pointing out to my wife that my goodies have grown more valuable at a spectacular rate of gain

I am as proud to leave this legacy as I am my money and property to my descendants.


mike r

how many shirts is enough?

how many shoes?

how much life insurance?

how big a cd collection?

I coulda swore it used to be a free country and you were free to buy or sell as much of anything that fit your personal needs and situation in your individual pursuit of happiness.

this has all come about with the "progressive" tax system fostered upon us by the Fed gov't. He has more money than he needs tax him at a higher rate! It's what they like to call themselves...progressives

Progressive insurance sucks too as George Soros owns it.

only time I like that word is when it's used to describe a reloading process.

also pizzes me off to see the word "arsenal" used to describe a dozen firearms or so and a few thousand rounds of ammo

pffft, most guys on here laugh at the pitiful amounts of firepower the media likes to describe as an arsenal.


how much ammo is enough? the amount it makes YOU feel good about having

I know you poor, schit kicking, dirty farmers all think buying low, and selling high is a sin, but there's no need to be anti-semitic about it.




Travis

Try not to be so sensitive.

If he's got the money, its his own damn business!

Phil

Capitalism is not the enemy.



Travis

i just bought 1,000 of them 2 days ago :-D id'a bought 5,000 if he had em'

I have tons of the 162gr. Gay-Max.

I've thought of selling them for a moderate profit but I don't want BGG to cry himself to sleep every night.



Travis

I'm not a hoarder, I'm just well stocked.

Here is the way I look at it.


Be it firewood, hay or straw, ammo, gas, what ever.


If you can spare a little for free or just break even selling at a fair price when someone is honestly in need then do it.

If the person in 'need' is a con or dumbass then gouge 'em.

We'd probably all be better off with about 5 guns total and thousands of rounds for those 5. 22 LR/17 HMR, 222/223, 7mm08, 338 mag., 12/20 gauge.

A six-pack is just self-sufficiency. a 12 pack is looking to the future. An 18 pack is showing off. a 30 pack is hoarding!

Sycamore

30 pack(s) or bust.....grin

According to most..Sam hoards cows.

you dog!

No wonder Natty Lite is so high!

Sycamore

The only groups that have a problem with selling high and buying low are communists, national socialists, the blacks(obviously), and the irish.



Travis

My dad timed that plan, think he's glad he didn't retire!

So basically Silver Bow County?

Sycamore

never been known to sell whats in need to friends. Given with the simple statement, if you can manage to replace it for me in the future thats enough. If not.... its life.

Wait, WHAT!?!?

Holy [bleep].

there is no such thing as hoarding, just dumb assed folks paying to much for what they got. Those that were asleep at the wheel can or not pay the going price. Hope your bud enjoys his stash of 855. This is the sign of things to come. Glad to be getting old

StarchedCover, I believe that's it's hoarding until you really need it! Then it becomes good sense!!! memtb

Thats only just a bit less than 150 pounds....thats not even close to holy chit...

I do not think that hoarding is a bad word. Nor do I think that those who hoard are bad people.

When one buys ammo or components in reasonable amounts on a regular basis, and ends up with a cache, I do not think that is hoarding.

When one buys everything off the shelf because they are in panic mode, that's hoarding.

I don't appreciate hoarders. I have not been able to find RL 15, Varget, or Unique for over a year. Maybe I should have done a little more hoarding?

Woman comes into the bank with a five-gallon bucket of quarters. Teller says, "You must have hoarded those for a long time." Woman says, "Not that long, my sister hoard half of them."

Are squirrels hoarders too?

Are squirrels hoarders too?

Difference is, you didn't see the word 'WE' in my post.

they've been available for months now..

Having so much crap in your house that you trip or get hurt getting from one room to another is "hoarding" . . .

Having more ammo or supplies than you can use up in a day/week/month/year is "being prepared" . . .

When there is a spark inside the 40 foot container in your back yard, and it instantly turns into a five alarm fire!



That MIGHT be hoarding!

It seems anymore that I only shoot two rifles regularly. Both eat 4350, so I have been buying the 8lb kegs when I can find them.

Depends on your habit. I know a guy who wakes up and drinks a 6 pack. Then a 6 pack at lunch. Then home from work a thirty pack that night. Now he is retired and only buys kegs. Hoarding depends on your usage habits.

That's racist.



Travis

Quick reply again...Thats a good buy. WE is wife and I, no one else..... FWIW.