Cornering The Ammo Market

Even the local mainstream media can no longer ignore the shortage of ammunition that’s sweeping the nation. As demand soars in an environment of diminished supply, prices are following suit; they’re soaring to record, and in some cases obscene, levels.

“We just didn’t see this coming,” said Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gun and Coin in west Charlotte. “It’s unprecedented.”

In business for more than 50 years, he has never seen a shortage like this.

Rationing, along with sticker shock and more commonly gazing in awe at empty shelves, is the new normal.

Funny thing is you don’t hear any liberals or news media hollering about price gouging by the evil, greedy ammo dealers like you do about gasoline dealers and oil speculators after an East Coast hurricane. If anything all you hear from the left is, “Who needs that much ammo anyway?” or, “Stick it to those right wing idiots! I hope that don’t get ANY ammo at all!”

I guess that’s because “everybody buys gasoline” but only gun-nuts and right-wingers buy ammo, so getting reamed at the ammo counter is okay but get reamed at the gas pump is an outrage. For a group of people who preach “equality for all” and “kumbaya” this smacks of elitist “do as I say, not as I do” hypocrisy that stinks worse than a tree-hugger’s pits.  I wish pot would somehow jump to $3,000 for a quarter bag for the next couple of months. Then we’d have a good laugh.

One example that boggles the mind is .22 long rifle ammo. As recently as last October you could easily find shelves full of the common “brick” of 525 rounds at Wal-Mart for about $11. Yesterday I came across online a box of 50 for $23.17. That’s an equivalent price of $243.29 per “brick”, or an increase of 22 times in only four months. If that rate of growth continued, that $11 box last October would cost $128,000 this coming October.

If you’re in the right place at the right time there is ammo to be found, including .22LR. This means knowing when your local store is receiving a shipment and being there when it arrives. Even then you’re likely to be limited to two or three boxes per customer per day (so make sure your spouse goes with you to the ammo store and double up). Last week, quite randomly on Thursday at about 7:30 p.m. I got lucky and arrived at the Wal-Mart ammo counter while it was being stocked. I was able to pick up a couple “bricks” for the “Everyday Low Price” of $21.77, which is still almost a 100% increase since last October. By yesterday I had a friend willing to pay me $30 pre brick. A 27% return on my investment in four days, or 127% on ammo I purchased last year. I didn’t sell them.

So, we’re looking at REAL WORLD (in the store, on the street, and online) ammo increases of 100% to 2,200% for what WAS a common, low-power, throw-away plinking ammo. Something anyone could own and shoot all day long while hardly spending ten bucks.

So what about the higher-power handgun and rifle defensive and hunting rounds? Good luck finding any brand of any quality at ANY price. I’ve had a very small quantity of high quality, .308 hunting ammo on backorder since December 17 with no ETA in sight. The only good thing about that is my price is locked against inflation; but if I never get my ammo it doesn’t matter what the price was.

What if that increase happened to bread or gas or deodorant or toilet paper or electricity? 

Now think about this. Most people attribute the massive run on ammo (and guns) to Democrats saber-rattling on gun control. Meaning, the WORDS of politicians are driving people into a frenzy. What would happen if they actually took action?

Well, they are. But not in the way you may think. No, I’m not talking about new gun control laws. I’m talking about ammo purchases by the government itself. See, one way to corner a market is by buying up all the supply. And by some estimates, the US Government has purchased some 2 billion rounds of ammo in the last 10 months.

According to conservative radio host Mark Levin as quoted at Breitbart.com:

“To provide some perspective, experts estimate that at the peak of the Iraq war American troops were firing around 5.5 million rounds per month. At that rate, the [Department of Homeland Security] is armed now for a 24-year Iraq war. A 24-year Iraq war! I’m going to tell you what I think is going on. I don’t think domestic insurrection. Law enforcement and national security agencies, they play out multiple scenarios. … I’ll tell you what I think they’re simulating: the collapse of our financial system, the collapse of our society and the potential for widespread violence, looting, killing in the streets, because that’s what happens when an economy collapses. I suspect that just in case our fiscal situation, our monetary situation, collapses, and following it the civil society collapses, that is the rule of law, they want to be prepared. I know why the government’s arming up: It’s not because there’s going to be an insurrection; it’s because our society is unraveling.”

Wow. Strong words. Strong math. Something is definitely going on. While keeping in mind these purchases are being made for NON-military, DOMESTIC-based agencies, with two billion rounds the US government could shoot every American (including illegal immigrants) six times!  Of course the number is “only” about 2 times since even trained officers miss their target in life-threatening situations 67% of the time.

Notwithstanding that Obama has publicly stated America is actively disengaging from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the question becomes why do they need this much ammo?

The only official response comes from the Social Security Administration who, after recently purchasing several million rounds, responded that these rounds are needed for regular training and qualification for federal officers. There’s only one problem with that. These purchases are for hollow-point rounds, not training rounds. At two to three times the cost of training ammo and with no benefit to the training itself, nobody trains or quals with hollow-point defensive rounds. Or, at least they shouldn’t – especially when you’re borrowing forty cents of every dollar you spend. So either the government is lying or they’re wasting our money while contributing to the massive shortage of ammunition available to private citizens.

Or, as Levin says above, the US Government is preparing for some massive event on American soil.

Like a financial collapse?

So, the next time a liberal asks, “Why do you need that much ammo?” you can honestly answer that you’re only following Obama’s lead.

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