Found: Ammo

As the ammo shortage continues, I keep checking the stores. Specifically, I've been watching for self defense ammo to return. I have been threatening to switch to a different type, as it seems Hydrashocks aren't appearing for awhile.


Stopping in a large local sporting goods store yesterday, I saw that 5 boxes of 40 S&W Winchester SXT in 165 gr. had appeared. At $19.99/box, I bought them all. Since I carry my Glock 23 so often for defense, these will work fine. (I'm down to a box and a half of Hydrashocks.) I will run one box through my gun to ensure they work, and use the rest for carry. That will last me awhile longer.

I don't hear about many people carrying this round, but for $20/box in today's market, I'm willing to go with it. Besides, I have confidence in just about any modern self defense load as long as I know it runs through the gun. Something is better than nothing, and I'd rather carry a fresh magazine of a round no one is particularly excited about than a magazine full of really old, tarnished, dinged up rounds of a more popular variety.


While no Hydrashock is around in 40, 6 boxes of 147gr. Hydrashock 9mm appeared, so I took all those off my shelf for my Glock 17.


I also picked up 300 rounds of Winchester White Box in 9mm, as well as the last 6 boxes of American Eagle 40 ammo- 3 boxes of 180 grain, 3 boxes of 155 grain.

Looking at the receipt from the last time I bought ammo, I see that the Winchester White Box has risen $3/box in less than 2 months. Wow.

I also saw that another large sporting goods store, the one I frequent most for ammo, is going out of business. I was quite saddened and was instantly reminded of our country's current situation. Of course, the shelves were completely bare of ammunition. They do have some holsters I have my eye on, but they are only 10% off right now, I'll have to wait and see if they're around when they drop the close-out prices even more.


For now, I was glad to find 220 rounds of self defense ammo, and another 600 rounds of target ammo. Though, my wallet really ached when I put it back in my pocket.

Ammo Shortage Update

Made the rounds (no pun intended) around the stores today searching for ammo. Specifically, I've been looking for Federal Hydrashocks in 40 S&W, which has been my carry ammo.

None.

One sporting good store happily has had plentiful target ammo in several brands for most common calibers, so that has not worried me (though price has gone up).

Hydrashocks for .38spl are usually still around here and there, which is fortunate as I often carry a J-frame revolver. When I found 6 boxes of 40 S&W in Fargo, I should have bought them all. I only bought two.....

I'm considering changing what I carry in my Glock, simply due to the fact that a local gun store always seems to have plenty of self-defense ammo available in everything but Hydrashocks.

Found: Ammo

Not suprisingly, there has been quite the ammo shortage as of late. Finally over the last couple weeks ammo is appearing in stores again. I checked a chain sporting goods store and happened to hit them right after they had gotten a huge shipment of ammo in. For four weeks prior, they recieved 1 (50) round box of ammo each week. I picked up several boxes of 9mm, and a couple of boxes of 40 S&W which were on sale, which I could hardly believe since the availabilty is almost nill. I also picked up one box of 38 spl. That coupled with the 4 boxes of 40 my friend was able to pick up for me actually brought my overall horde to around a thousand rounds. I suppose I'll shoot a little now.


Self-defense ammo, however, is still quite difficult to find. On a weekend trip to Fargo I was able to score a couple boxes of Federal Hydrashocks for my Glock 23, which I was happy to find. Hydrashocks for the .38 spl are still handy in most stores here.

As of last night, my local Wal-Mart had 4 boxes of 9mm, 2 boxes of .38 spl, and no 40 or 45 ammo.


I would love nothing more than to drop a large amount of money and majorly stock up on ammo. A fast approaching wedding, honeymoon, and house purchase is preventing it. At least my fiance is quite good to me and lets me pick up ammo in moderation.

Ammo Shortage?

It would seem that in the days post inaguaration of our new fearless leader Barak Obama,

there is a possible ammo shortage. Looks like everyone is buying up all the ammo they can. My buddy, a police officer called me and let me know there was a "cops only" sale at a local sporting goods store, and he could get me 10% off ammo.

"Sure I said, pick me up 500 rounds of 9mm and 100 rounds of .40"

When my phone rang on the day of the sale, I almost knew what my friend was calling about.

"There isn't one round of 9mm in this whole store"

Crap. I should have seen this coming. All I've got at home is 100 rounds of .40 and 20 rounds of 38! Crap!

"Is there any 40 ammo?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah"

"Okay, pick me up a couple hundred rounds"

Turns out there was only 6 boxes left of .40 ammo in the store, of which 4 became mine. Had I known it would be that short, I would have bought all 6. I've been trying to trim the budget after buying a house and and getting engaged.

I jumped online the next day to check a website for ammo, and was almost horrified to see that 7 out of 8 pages of 9mm ammo was sold out!

I've been so busy helping my dear and wonderful fiance plan a wedding and buy a house that I didn't put any thought into the whole Obama thing....and now I feel like I've been caught with my pants around my ankles.

Until there's more ammo out there, I'm not shooting much, I'm just hoarding what I have. So much for my indoor USPSA competitions that just started up again......

Shot in the Wallet

This Sunday I'm shooting a 3 gun match at the local USPSA club. Pistol, Shotgun, and AR-15. Ran to the store to get the ammo I need. I bought cheap stuff (not Wolf cheap, but its not a bag full of Hornady or something).

200 rounds 9mm

60 rounds .223

25 rounds #7.5 shot lead shells

$80+

I hate that.

Ammo Shifts

I love to shoot. I'd probably shoot every day if I could.....with a host of different guns.

But alas, the price of ammo. Its crazy. I used to only shoot every few months....3-4 times a year.....200 rounds each time. So less than 1000 rounds per year.

I'm trying to shoot a lot more without breaking the bank amidst my other hobbies (expensive guitars, backpacking). I'm probably shooting 300-500 rounds a month, and I'm just starting to dip my toes in this compeition thing.

So, I've been picking up hours at work just to pay for shooting/competing. I find myself measuring pay not in dollars/hour but rounds/shift.

I can sign up for "critical call" on Saturdays. I get $70 just to stay in town and be on call, time and a half if I get called in. Just being on call is probably 350 rounds.

Thus, the "Ammo Shift".

Feed the Children

Recently I pulled all my ammo out of my range bag just to see what I had laying around. I'm feeding a .45, a 9mm, .22lr, and Monday I'm picking up my .38spl. In fact, I already bought ammo for it, since ammo at the shop/range is a bit more spendy. So, I picked up some Hydrashocks and some cheaper ammo in the same grain so I can buy it and walk straight back to the range. : )

Not long ago, I was at a church service where they were showing pictures of what an average family ate in a week from several different cultures. It was a lesson in both the type and the quantity of food. Let's just say America eats a lot of....crap.....but we all knew that.

Long story short, I thought it would be fun to put up pictures of what my "family" eats.

I'm guilty of buying a lot of cheap ammo (WWB, American Federal, Blazer) for range time. It let's me shoot a bit more. I have Federal Hydrashocks for all my defense rounds. The gun in my nightstand is a Kimber Custom II, though I have not fed enough HP's through it yet to feel confident that they will feed when it counts, so for now there is roundball.

I also have CorBon DPX (made in my state) as well as some Remmington HPJ for the 9mm. Hydrashocks are recommended by everyone I talk to, but a lot of people here are really getting into DPX. The gunshop I frequent, as well as a former Secret Service agent/self defense instructor I met all dig DPX.

Like so many parents, I struggle to afford to feed my children as much as I want to. I find I must freqently skip meals because the cost of ammo is so high. I'd love to feed them 3 times a day, 7 days a week, but right now we're living off 1-2 times a month. Tragic. All my guns look gaunt, skinny, and malnourished. They lack the signs of serious wear that a yearn to give them. This life is not fair......