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Old 06-20-2013, 01:20 AM
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So far, out of all of the comments that have posted on the All Outdoor website in response to that article... this one from a Micheal Bane about sums it up best.

Quote:

"I don't think I can agree with you on the basic premise of this article, which is blaming "hoarding" as a primary cause of the ammo shortage or "stopping hoarding" as the way to end the shortage. It's an easy explanation — we are all to blame — but it overlooks a whole series of "mega-rends" for lack of better words that contribute mightily to this situation. I've written a lot about "perfect storm" leading to these shortages, so I'll try not to reiterate too much...but here are a few points...

1) Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't after you. Look at the proposed California ammo laws and the fight over mail order ammo. As recently as yesterday I read a call for capping the amount of ammo a person can purchase, with "possess" as the ultimate goal. It's easy to dismiss the role of the current administration in all this, but the fact is that one of the anti-gunners' primary missions is to restrict ammo.

2) People are flooding into the gun culture, both through liberalized concealed carry laws and the boom in the shooting sports. More people equals more ammo needed.

3) There has been a profound change in the way people shoot (which, to an extent, we are all responsible for...but that's a good thing). I remember growing up in Tennessee and watching my father taking 5 rounds of 30-30 out of the box, loading his Winchester 94 carbine and heading out to hunt deer. At the end of the season, he'd usually have 3 of the 5 rounds left, which he'd faithfully put back in the box. Shooters, be they hunters, competitors, people getting self-defense training or simply plinkers, shoot a LOT more than they used to. Heck, we've been telling people that they should shoot a lot more for years! Think of it this way...people who used to pick up a box of .22 now routinely pick up a brick (if they can find one).

4) And Pat, from a prepper or even a competitor standpoint, how much is "enough" ammo? Suppose we change "ammo" to "food" throughout your article...how do we feel about "hoarders" -- those crazy people with 3, or 6, or a year's worth of food in their basements? Or change "ammo" to "precious metals"...there have been spot shortages of some silver coins recently...is it because thoughtless "hoarders" are buying them up and stuffing them in their mattresses?

This is not meant as a dis', but I do believe we need to think long and hard before we play the "hoarding" card on our own culture. It can backfire on us big time."

End quote:

Living here in CA, I am intimately familiar with point #1... because since about 2010, we have been under constant threat from legislation that has been introduced, defeated in committee, reintroduce in the following year legislative session, defeated, reintroduced again. Apply, rinse, repeat... just like what's on many hair care products. That triggered panic buying here years ago, I'd bet California buying already put a bit of a crimp in the supply chain before this current climate even developed. And since most people outside California did not see much (if any) effect on their supply, they probably have been largely unaware of it's existence.

Point #2... bigger audience, just like $40 a barrel for oil is a thing of the past thanks to the new middle class consumers from China and India, the boom of new gun owners/shooters is changing the pricing landscape.

And finally point #4, hoarder or prepper? Interesting debate.
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Last edited by Gunhacker; 06-20-2013 at 01:37 AM.
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