# Is the Second Panic (gun ammo) just about over? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696 "2013-09-12T20:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/21 "2013-09-14T05:43:16Z")
Semi-update: I was at a WalMart’s today and saw a couple dozen boxes of .40, 9mm, .380, etc… I think I found the reason for the increase in supply. Almost 40 dollars for a box of, presumably, 50 rounds. .45s are going for a little over $1 a round. Supply and Demand 101. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/22 "2013-09-14T12:20:32Z")
Around here, the “550 packs” at Walmart (550 round boxes of .22LR) are almost impossible to come by. When a Walmart gets some in, they sell out within an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/23 "2013-09-14T12:43:39Z")
What an alternate universe. ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/24 "2013-09-14T15:26:31Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > What an alternate universe. Nah, ammo’s hard to get in Canada too. All these Americans are buying it all up and there’s precious little that Canadian stores can get. At least we have some Canadian remanufacturers that can help the supply north of the border. -trupa, Canadian handgun shooter. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/25 "2013-09-14T15:45:35Z")
But at least there’s no insane panic that you have to clean out WalMart(\*) as soon as there’s any stock, is it? (\*BTW, that alone – ammo at _ **WalMart** _ – takes it into the parallel-universe realm for many of us) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/26 "2013-09-14T16:03:35Z")
Hoping so. Just fucking ridiculous how much ammo people are scooping up the split second it appears on store shelves. Then there’s people like me, who can’t even go shooting _ **because there is no fucking ammo available!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/27 "2013-09-14T16:12:07Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Hoping so. Just fucking ridiculous how much ammo people are scooping up the split second it appears on store shelves. Then there’s people like me, who can’t even go shooting _ **because there is no fucking ammo available!** _ Well, they have to buy all the ammo now so that they’ll have nothing to show for it when Obama takes all their ammo away. It’s ingeniously stupid. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/28 "2013-09-14T16:49:49Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Hoping so. Just fucking ridiculous how much ammo people are scooping up the split second it appears on store shelves. Then there’s people like me, who can’t even go shooting _ **because there is no fucking ammo available!** _ If the Government were actively involved in trying to ban or limit Spam (pork product in a can), or batteries, you’d see folks buying up the available supplies. Blaming the hoarders, in light of the current administrations blatant anti-gun stance, is unfair and illogical. If and when the Government ceases their irrational thrust toward eventual disarming of the citizens, I gather shelves will be well stocked with ammo. Hoarders may still hoard, but the stores will be restocked right away and target shooters can once again make impromtu ammo purchases on the way to the county dump or public range. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/29 "2013-09-14T17:09:38Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > If the Government were actively involved in trying to ban or limit Spam (pork product in a can), or batteries, you’d see folks buying up the available supplies. Blaming the hoarders, in light of the current administrations blatant anti-gun stance, is unfair and illogical. > > If and when the Government ceases their irrational thrust toward eventual disarming of the citizens, I gather shelves will be well stocked with ammo. Hoarders may still hoard, but the stores will be restocked right away and target shooters can once again make impromtu ammo purchases on the way to the county dump or public range. You should admit there’s an element of irrationality of the buyers’ side as well. Ammunition manufacturers are almost certainly exaggerating the possibility of confiscation in order to drive up sales. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/30 "2013-09-14T17:37:36Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Teddy? No, the _first_ one - Og Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/31 "2013-09-14T17:41:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You should admit there’s an element of irrationality of the buyers’ side as well. Ammunition manufacturers are almost certainly exaggerating the possibility of confiscation in order to drive up sales. This. I’d also be interested to find out the origin of the “Obama’s gonna raise the federal tax on ammo by 4.723 gazillion percent, so stockpile nownownow” rumor. Sadly, I know at least two people who have been telling me this for over five years now. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/32 "2013-09-14T18:15:17Z")
The whole “the guvmint is gonna take away our 2nd ammendment rights by taking away our ammo not our guns” is an old, OLD trope in the gun owner community. I remember hearing it from both my Grandpa (back in the clinton administration) and my best friend’s mom (back in the early post 9/11 Bush days). The belief that the government is always on the brink of raising taxes insanely on ammo or making it flat out impossible to buy it by buying it all up themselves is nothing new or unique to Obama. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/33 "2013-09-14T19:46:03Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > What was the first panic? And what triggered the second one? I suspect they were tied to the last two presidential elections or inaugurations. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/34 "2013-09-14T19:46:04Z")
Yes. 22LR is the last to catch up to the demand, but everything else is reasonably well-stocked. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/35 "2013-09-14T20:00:51Z")
And then there’s those of us who stockpile ammo as a matter of course, and who have ridden out this shortage with nary a flicker of concern. I will admit I’m getting a bit low on 9mm. I think I only have 500 or so rounds left. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/36 "2013-09-14T20:03:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > And then there’s those of us who stockpile ammo as a matter of course, and who have ridden out this shortage with nary a flicker of concern. I will admit I’m getting a bit low on 9mm. I think I only have 500 or so rounds left. 😛 I have an ammo can of 840 rounds of 5.56 x 45 mm, with bandoleers and stripper clips. I think I have a couple/few hundred rounds left from the last time I bought it. (Or I may have shot it all up.) Since I don’t actually _shoot_ the guns I have, this will last me a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/37 "2013-09-14T20:11:23Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > If the Government were actively involved in trying to ban or limit Spam (pork product in a can), or batteries, you’d see folks buying up the available supplies. Blaming the hoarders, in light of the current administrations blatant anti-gun stance, is unfair and illogical. Hell, back in the 70’s, Johnny Carson joked that there was going to be a shortage on toilet paper, and suddenly, there was… ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/38 "2013-09-14T23:58:59Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I ended up selling my .44 Magnum because I couldn’t find ammo or reloading components. Things like this stun me. I have never, ever, ever, in all my life, seen a store out of ANY common ammunition around here (Kansas City). Every Wal-Mart, K-Mart, gun store, etc. I’ve been to has never run out of 9mm, .22, .44 magnum…prices did increase by about 10-30%, true, but I always could find any ammunition here I wanted. The only ammunition I saw brief shortages of was .223, but then it always seemed like you could at least find 1 or 2 boxes on a shelf. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/39 "2013-09-15T04:31:44Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Things like this stun me. I have never, ever, ever, in all my life, seen a store out of ANY common ammunition around here (Kansas City). Every Wal-Mart, K-Mart, gun store, etc. I’ve been to has never run out of 9mm, .22, .44 magnum…prices did increase by about 10-30%, true, but I always could find any ammunition here I wanted. The only ammunition I saw brief shortages of was .223, but then it always seemed like you could at least find 1 or 2 boxes on a shelf. It’s nuts to sell a 44 magnum in any environment unless one really just didn’t care for it in the first place. It’s an extremely versatile round - from 44 special for defense to 240 grain jsp hunting rounds to big 300 grain +P thumpers. And it’s a cartridge that will never become obsolete. Even once caseless ammo becomes the new standard in 50 or a 100 years, they’ll still make .44 mag. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696/40 "2013-09-15T06:06:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You should admit there’s an element of irrationality of the buyers’ side as well. Ammunition manufacturers are almost certainly exaggerating the possibility of confiscation in order to drive up sales. Well, consider this … ammo doesn’t deteriorate much if stored correctly. You can’t hoard gasoline … it goes up in price, you pay whatever they want, but ammo … buying a bunch locks in the present price. There’s no downside if you have room to store it. If it becomes scarce, you’re covered; if it goes up in price, you are at an advantage. If it goes up in price and then becomes very scarce, it’s become an investment. “Irrational” isn’t the word I’d use. The one possible potential problem would be if guns and ammunition were banned. If you are inclined to let the Government confiscate your weapons and ammo, you take a loss, but if you successfully hide your stash, then you have a useful survival cache. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-second-panic-gun-ammo-just-about-over/668696.md?page=3)