We've got another run - a panic run on ammo! Lucky for me is that I learned my lesson the first two times. This time around I saw it coming. All I had to see were the morons buying toilet paper by the ream. The stock market tanking was just the extra nudge I needed to start buying the ammo I needed or wanted or figured I might need should ammo dry up.
I got rid of a lot of ammo before leaving NY last June and when I say a lot, I mean tens of thousands of rounds, probably around 15-20K. I only left there with the ammo that fit into the amount of ammo cans that would fit on the floor in the back of a full sized cargo van. While it was quite a bit, it was much less than what I had in my inventory prior to that. Had I been arrested in NY for anything and my home searched I would have made national news on libturd media outlets for the arsenal in my basement (well, what the libturds call an arsenal anyway). Mind you, it was all legal, I did not live in New York City where there is/was a 200 round limit on the amount of ammo you can/could have in your home (some sort of a fire department regulation, restriction or law). Go figure but those shameless libs back there will screw you over for 201 rounds.
I have digressed so let me get back to the point: I was down a lot of ammo so when I got to Texas so I started replacing I soon after I got here. I have been buying it steadily ever since. By March 10, 2020 I had replaced about 4,500 rounds of it, excluding about 1,500 rounds I used up at the range since getting here. So the net of replacement ammo equaled about 3,000 rounds more or less; I was in no particular hurry.
Then the Novel Corona Virus situation befell us. Folks started going crazy. They wiped the toilet paper right off the shelves. Bottled water washed away like someone had breached a damn. N-95 dust masks (and any other dust masks) blew away like dust in the wind! Gas mask filters are as impossible to find as a friendly face in a mustard gas cloud. I had placed an order for replacement of old dated masks that I had been meaning to place for months but as you are aware - I am THE Great Procrastinator. I placed my order with this crap only a little bit in mind because I never anticipated this mess; although, I guess it is what pushed me to order them. I have not received them yet, my order was placed on February 9th for a few filters, the company that makes them said they had them in stock at the time! Then the big all out mass buying binge: eggs, bacon, meat, orange juice, baby diapers, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, aloe gel (you can make hand sanitizer with alcohol and aloe gel) and whatever else were all selling like tomorrow had been cancelled.
I figured with the market plummeting after the Saudi & Russian oil spat, and with promises of COVID-19 decimating us and our economy, and with folks already going totally bonkers and panic buying everything - ammo panic buying would not be far behind. I knew what was coming immediately but also looked ahead beyond the next few months to November and the presidential election. You can bet that even if the current panic abates soon, another may very well take place not all that far in advance of the election. Then again, the current one may not abide by experts' projections as to how long the Corona Virus crisis keeps going. If what the democrats wanted to add to the Senate bill is any indication of how much they are really willing or unwilling to address the COVID-19 issue then I expect it will go on for a very long time even if the virus dies out on its own. That's because they seem to be trying to assure the economy tanks by their absolutely ridiculous hoped for inclusions in the bill to combat the virus and protect our economy. The whole mess was and remains insanity, it truly is TEOTWAWKI to some degree because life will never be quite the same after this mess.
So what to do, I put a few grand into the stock market and increased my shares of VSTO (Vista Outdoors that owns Federal Ammunition and such). I had made a small profit already since first funding the account in August and I've made a tidy profit already from what I just added recently.
Then I placed my first ammo order - shame on me but it was for some 38 Special ammo by Remington (not Federal but far not their stock is doing well nonetheless). I ordered 250 rounds of tat 38 ammo. Then I placed additional ammo orders March 14, 16, 22 & 24 for another 3,200 rounds, of various calibers, with a grand total of 3,450 ordered since March 10th. I got all of that ammo from a single online dealer, at an 8% discount less than their normal prices and all with free shipping! In fact most of the ammo I have bought since moving out of NY, and a lot before I left NY, has come from the same dealer. My go to dealer for all that ammo ordered this month, and a lot ordered since August 2019, was Target Sports USA where I have a Prime membership. (I do not get anything for the plug, I give it because I like them and am quite satisfied with their prices, selection, delivery time, customer service and their ethics.) I have to hand it to them - as opposed to a dealer like Cheaper Than Dirt that raised prices astronomically (in my opinion) on at least some ammo for this current panic buying spree and who seemingly treat their customers like dirt - the folks at Target Sports USA evidently did not raise their prices, kept offering free shipping on ammo bought by the case for anyone and kept offering their 8% discount with free shipping on any sized ammo order for Prime members.
Most of the ammo I ordered since March 10th has been delivered already and I expect another delivery of it tomorrow. That leaves my last two orders (made yesterday and today) undelivered, heck not even shipped yet, but with the explosion of ammunition sales over the past two weeks that was not to be unexpected by this time and I will patiently await those two final orders. I also store bought 60 rounds of certain rifle ammo at Wally World where I normally do not shop for ammo but they had it cheap and now is not time to quibble with the fact their ammo sale regulations suck. The fact is, I was rather surprised the ammo I bought yesterday and today (online and at Walmart) was still in stock but there it was at their regular pricing both at Target Sports USA and Walmart.
I probably will not be buying any more ammo for quite a while since I do not think this panic buying will go away soon and I believe prices will remain prohibitively overinflated, not only from dealers but from their suppliers; so even an ethical dealer like Target Sports USA may have to raise prices if their suppliers do so first. If prices go back down, so be it, I can commence buying, at a slower rate, anything I feel needs to be added to my inventory. If the panic buying remains ongoing for months or maybe longer, it will not bother me, I am set for a good long time and even will be able to enjoy going to the range and shooting quite a bit with certain calibers.
Yep, I learned my lesson last time, that lesson being: recognize the signs, watch for them, when the signs first appear start to buy what I need or want, if things start to worsen make sure I get whatever I may need in the as best I can afford and do it fast enough before it runs out or becomes prohibitively priced. Add to that the facts that: I am withdrawing all of my initial investment from the stock market, I will pay for the ammo with some of that money and put the rest into my bank account, and I am still able to leave behind all of my profit from the stock to see where it goes. That way I cannot lose any of my initial investment, at least not in the stock market, and you can imagine I am a happy shootist. Now if only I live though this Novel Corona Virus mess to shoot it all and spend it all.
Stay safe and healthy all, I am trying to do the same.
All the best,
Glenn B
 |
| A Good Ammo Pre-Panic Buy With More Coming. I ordered just before the panic set in and got everything I wanted/needed with a case of Winchester Super X 35 REM & 500 rounds of CCI 22 Short still to be shipped. |
I have digressed so let me get back to the point: I was down a lot of ammo so when I got to Texas so I started replacing I soon after I got here. I have been buying it steadily ever since. By March 10, 2020 I had replaced about 4,500 rounds of it, excluding about 1,500 rounds I used up at the range since getting here. So the net of replacement ammo equaled about 3,000 rounds more or less; I was in no particular hurry.
Then the Novel Corona Virus situation befell us. Folks started going crazy. They wiped the toilet paper right off the shelves. Bottled water washed away like someone had breached a damn. N-95 dust masks (and any other dust masks) blew away like dust in the wind! Gas mask filters are as impossible to find as a friendly face in a mustard gas cloud. I had placed an order for replacement of old dated masks that I had been meaning to place for months but as you are aware - I am THE Great Procrastinator. I placed my order with this crap only a little bit in mind because I never anticipated this mess; although, I guess it is what pushed me to order them. I have not received them yet, my order was placed on February 9th for a few filters, the company that makes them said they had them in stock at the time! Then the big all out mass buying binge: eggs, bacon, meat, orange juice, baby diapers, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, aloe gel (you can make hand sanitizer with alcohol and aloe gel) and whatever else were all selling like tomorrow had been cancelled.
I figured with the market plummeting after the Saudi & Russian oil spat, and with promises of COVID-19 decimating us and our economy, and with folks already going totally bonkers and panic buying everything - ammo panic buying would not be far behind. I knew what was coming immediately but also looked ahead beyond the next few months to November and the presidential election. You can bet that even if the current panic abates soon, another may very well take place not all that far in advance of the election. Then again, the current one may not abide by experts' projections as to how long the Corona Virus crisis keeps going. If what the democrats wanted to add to the Senate bill is any indication of how much they are really willing or unwilling to address the COVID-19 issue then I expect it will go on for a very long time even if the virus dies out on its own. That's because they seem to be trying to assure the economy tanks by their absolutely ridiculous hoped for inclusions in the bill to combat the virus and protect our economy. The whole mess was and remains insanity, it truly is TEOTWAWKI to some degree because life will never be quite the same after this mess.
So what to do, I put a few grand into the stock market and increased my shares of VSTO (Vista Outdoors that owns Federal Ammunition and such). I had made a small profit already since first funding the account in August and I've made a tidy profit already from what I just added recently.
Then I placed my first ammo order - shame on me but it was for some 38 Special ammo by Remington (not Federal but far not their stock is doing well nonetheless). I ordered 250 rounds of tat 38 ammo. Then I placed additional ammo orders March 14, 16, 22 & 24 for another 3,200 rounds, of various calibers, with a grand total of 3,450 ordered since March 10th. I got all of that ammo from a single online dealer, at an 8% discount less than their normal prices and all with free shipping! In fact most of the ammo I have bought since moving out of NY, and a lot before I left NY, has come from the same dealer. My go to dealer for all that ammo ordered this month, and a lot ordered since August 2019, was Target Sports USA where I have a Prime membership. (I do not get anything for the plug, I give it because I like them and am quite satisfied with their prices, selection, delivery time, customer service and their ethics.) I have to hand it to them - as opposed to a dealer like Cheaper Than Dirt that raised prices astronomically (in my opinion) on at least some ammo for this current panic buying spree and who seemingly treat their customers like dirt - the folks at Target Sports USA evidently did not raise their prices, kept offering free shipping on ammo bought by the case for anyone and kept offering their 8% discount with free shipping on any sized ammo order for Prime members.
Most of the ammo I ordered since March 10th has been delivered already and I expect another delivery of it tomorrow. That leaves my last two orders (made yesterday and today) undelivered, heck not even shipped yet, but with the explosion of ammunition sales over the past two weeks that was not to be unexpected by this time and I will patiently await those two final orders. I also store bought 60 rounds of certain rifle ammo at Wally World where I normally do not shop for ammo but they had it cheap and now is not time to quibble with the fact their ammo sale regulations suck. The fact is, I was rather surprised the ammo I bought yesterday and today (online and at Walmart) was still in stock but there it was at their regular pricing both at Target Sports USA and Walmart.
I probably will not be buying any more ammo for quite a while since I do not think this panic buying will go away soon and I believe prices will remain prohibitively overinflated, not only from dealers but from their suppliers; so even an ethical dealer like Target Sports USA may have to raise prices if their suppliers do so first. If prices go back down, so be it, I can commence buying, at a slower rate, anything I feel needs to be added to my inventory. If the panic buying remains ongoing for months or maybe longer, it will not bother me, I am set for a good long time and even will be able to enjoy going to the range and shooting quite a bit with certain calibers.
Yep, I learned my lesson last time, that lesson being: recognize the signs, watch for them, when the signs first appear start to buy what I need or want, if things start to worsen make sure I get whatever I may need in the as best I can afford and do it fast enough before it runs out or becomes prohibitively priced. Add to that the facts that: I am withdrawing all of my initial investment from the stock market, I will pay for the ammo with some of that money and put the rest into my bank account, and I am still able to leave behind all of my profit from the stock to see where it goes. That way I cannot lose any of my initial investment, at least not in the stock market, and you can imagine I am a happy shootist. Now if only I live though this Novel Corona Virus mess to shoot it all and spend it all.
Stay safe and healthy all, I am trying to do the same.
All the best,
Glenn B
