What did we learn from The Panic

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The craziness let everyone check their Doomsday Scenario Plans in the Guns & Ammo Dept. So? What did we learn?

1) I buy primers, powders & what-not when the prices are down. This assures that I always have a pile of components AND I pay the lowest cost over time. Reloaders score double in the self-reliance category.

2) I learned that I could see the obvious areas to take a hit, the assault rounds, hi-cap mags, and other Evil Accessories. I didn't imagine that things like the standard, dime-a-dozen 9mm would be so affected. That was a surprise.

3) Having a variety of toys in different configs and calibers meant I could let a few things go and Cash In on the inflated prices. cha -Ching!!

4) Don't under-estimate the impact of Fear, Panic, & Greed.


Any other personal insights?
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Puffing up is no substitute for smarts but it's a common home remedy

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

2
I personally benefitted from not being stuck in just one caliber. By having choices, I could usually get a box or two of something in order to keep shooting.

I was also motivated to "play" less and work on fundamentals more when I did shoot in order to make the best use of my ammo. I have seen some improvements from that. :)
Proud to be one of the NRA's worst nightmares: lesbian, pagan, educated liberal democrat-ish GUN OWNER.

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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JIT (just in time) inventory doesn't work. When I buy ammo, always buy a little extra. And keep some back. 22LR especially. It's cheap and 2500 rounds of good 22's would only cost around $100 in the old days (last year).
"Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism. Our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction." ~ Alexander Solzhenitzyn

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I learned that:

1) My excessive stock of 9mm, 9 mak, and 7.62x39 wasn't excessive at all!

2) I need excessive stock of 223 when available again

3) I should have bought a few extra AKs to sell off during the panic! :ninja:
or maybe that's the selling point to SWMBO= I NEED to buy these as an investment!!!

4) if Dems are strong next Pres election cycle, stock up again!

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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Made me glad that I have always been a bit of an ammo hoarder to begin with- I've always subscribed to have enough on hand to keep shooting for at least 2-3 months, since the shortage back in 2000 on 7.62 and in 2008 on more stuff. Made me realize that I wasn't nearly enough of a hoarder either- should keep 6 months on hand for this kind of silliness!

I also didn't expect 9mm and 22 to take the inventory hit that it did, so at least it got me into reloading. Agreed with Scratch. When you buy some, buy an extra box (or two) it never hurts to have a little extra on hand.

So will now continue to buy components (that I can acquire at a reasonable cost) whenever I see them. Hell, it's costing me about the same to shoot 9mm as it would be to buy 22 lr at these current stupid prices (If I was getting them through non-standard channels)
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

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Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I confirmed that most people do not read deeply, making it very easy to send most people into a panic.

Once the panic is over, you just need a rifle and a pistol, each with a hundred rounds.

You don't need a T-Rex with belt fed beer cans.

All the rest is fun, so quitchyer whinin'.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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Things I learned:

1. Once things return to normal, make sure to pick up an extra box or two every time of what used to be the garden variety, unsexy calibers. (read: 9x19 Parabellum and .22LR)

2. Get a shotgun, not because Uncle Joe says so, but so that I'll have something to shoot when the Next Panic hits. :::looks around balefully at all the shot on the shelves, next to the bare 9mm and .22 shelves:::

3. Take up reloading.

3a. Pick up extra primers and such once things return to normal.

4. Never underestimate the stupidity of the American public.
Anything unattempted remains impossible.

Like coffee? (or tea?)

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Re: What did we learn from The Panic

8
Many good points above.

Most surprising to me has been the scarcity of 22lr, hardly a sexy or tacticool round.

When I started my gun collection as an adult, I imagined I would limit it to a few common calibers, the better to cache and share. In practice, this has turned out to be more complicated than I envisioned. Some guns nominally use the same caliber, but I have tended to prefer different ammo for them anyway (e.g., I keep copper jacketed 22lr for the 22/45 and unjacketed lead for the 10/22). Still, in a SHTF situation, it is good to know they could still share ammo in a pinch.

To OldScratch's point, yes JIT ("just-in-time") supply lines are very fragile. One day the global giants like Walmart are going to learn this lesson, to their peril.

Makes you stop and think about all the other essentials in our lives that pretty much depend on JIT supply lines, like food, water, gasoline, etc.
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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.22 WMR was one of the last calibers to sell out. A good bolt-action rifle in that round will be a goal for 2014. Savage 93G comes to mind.

I don't blame anyone for wanting to stock up when supplies start to return, but there are going to be a LOT of people doing the same thing, so expect small quantities by June and large quantities not so much until November or early '14. Ho ho ho!

This is going to take awhile to even out.
"il corporativismo è la pietra angolare dello Stato fascista" Translated, this means: "boom-shacka-lacka-lacka,-boom-boom-boom.

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I've learned that a whole lotta opportunistic douchebags are advertising things on auction/classified sites using the term 'pre-ban' for things that not banned.
Hell is where:
The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I've learned that:
1) it is time to get into reloading
2) stock up at least 10,000 rounds if not more of calibers that you like to shoot
3) don't put off getting things that are on your 'someday' wish list. For me that was an AR (now on order for 3+ months)
4) that supporting gun rights is going to be a continuous battle
Probably the most important thing I learned is that the far left, as exemplified by sites like DKos, is no different than the far right.

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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Simmer down wrote:The craziness let everyone check their Doomsday Scenario Plans in the Guns & Ammo Dept. So? What did we learn?

1) I buy primers, powders & what-not when the prices are down. This assures that I always have a pile of components AND I pay the lowest cost over time. Reloaders score double in the self-reliance category.

2) I learned that I could see the obvious areas to take a hit, the assault rounds, hi-cap mags, and other Evil Accessories. I didn't imagine that things like the standard, dime-a-dozen 9mm would be so affected. That was a surprise.

3) Having a variety of toys in different configs and calibers meant I could let a few things go and Cash In on the inflated prices. cha -Ching!!

4) Don't under-estimate the impact of Fear, Panic, & Greed.


Any other personal insights?

Agreed. The point about off beat calibers is good. Any one have an inexpensive Webley 38 S&W ?
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety" Ben Franklin
Beto in wisconsin

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I think I may stockpile calibers I don't shoot like 223, in addition to other ammo solely for bartering. I've seen shops trade a $500 pistol for $250 worth of 22lr.
"Profits are privatized. Losses are socialized."

"We postulate that man is an artifact designed for space travel. He is not designed to remain in his present biologic state any more than a tadpole is designed to remain a tadpole."

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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shinzen wrote: ...Made me realize that I wasn't nearly enough of a hoarder either- should keep 6 months on hand for this kind of silliness!

I also didn't expect 9mm and 22 to take the inventory hit that it did, so at least it got me into reloading. Agreed with Scratch. When you buy some, buy an extra box (or two) it never hurts to have a little extra on hand.

So will now continue to buy components ...
Exactly.

And as Glocklobster said:
I think I may stockpile calibers I don't shoot like 223, in addition to other ammo solely for bartering. I've seen shops trade a $500 pistol for $250 worth of 22lr.
"I believe a man lost in the mazes of his own mind may imagine that he's anything." The Wolf Man (1941)

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I learned to get all I can before the horders get there.....

I learned to get up very early to be first in line at WalMart just in case some ammo came in...

I learned to have friendly conversations with other buyers at the ammo counter when there's nothing to buy...comizerating can be fun.

I learned to love my Taurus Public Defender since it'll shoot either .410 or .45 long Colt....double the odds of finding something.

I learned its good to have spread out caliber weapons, .22, .380, 9mm, .38special, .45

I learned that there's a doctoral thesis on economics here for some grad student...writing about what happened, how we reacted, and why.

I learned that the best place to find ammo is in the small gun shops in rural towns...take a drive to the country and stock up.

I learned to establish a "prudent reserve" of each caliber of ammo.
"Get off my lawn."

Re: What did we learn from The Panic

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I loved Fat Freddie's Cat. Wonder Wart-hog, too.

For me the bottom line of this situation is get it while the gettin's good, and too late is indeed too late. We should forget the fiction that "it's never too late". Yes, sometimes it is.

Time is NOT on our side. :whistle:
"il corporativismo è la pietra angolare dello Stato fascista" Translated, this means: "boom-shacka-lacka-lacka,-boom-boom-boom.

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