Was straightening up in my reloading/gun room. This room also houses some of my collectable stuff. Glanced up on a shelf and what did meet my eyes, but 850 unprimed cases of .38 Special, 9 MM and .45 ACP. I had forgotten I had them, since they are in the collectable portion of the shelving. Old age!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

The memory taketh away and chance giveth!

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The best I can with what I got

I don't seem to forget I have something, I do seem to forget how much I have. About two years ago I would have sworn I had 85K of primers, it turned out I only had 64K! I was all red faced!

The opposite happens also. I thought I had about 3500 FMJ 223, but it turned out closer to 7K. (Now my brother think the "extra" 3500 should be at his house at no charge!)

Keeping an exact count at extended age is a little hard! There was and is a reason I didn't/don't want to write this down! My guess is when I kick the bucket, it is going to be like Christmas Morning........... every day...........for weeks!

All I can say in my defense is: If someone asks "How many guns do you own?" And the exact and correct number pops into your mind, then you don't own enough! (unless you are just starting out, then you already know the number is too low!)

Ivan

You have to have enough that you can’t remember how much or how many so you can accumulate more!

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Not as much as some here. However, I have about 100 lbs. of each caliber in brass. I am shy a bit on .45 Colt, maybe 30 lbs. of brass there.

Have two rooms of "stuff". Probably should inventory the "stuff". Also some more stuff in the garage. Can't let the wife know what I have got though....

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

I do know one thing. Before the Covid, I thought I had enough primers/powder. Just when things were getting tight, I grabbed a sleeve of SPP. Now I'm so glad I did. At least I can shoot for a while, but it don't take long to go through 1000 primers.

You know that you need more when................

you can tally up the numbers in under 20 minutes.......

or only have to move ten feet.

I did that work a few months ago. Was bored due to the restrictions put on us by Covid. Weighed it all and wrote it down so the old man does not forget. Still in pencil & paper mode!

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

None of you have any right to bitch about shortages. You are screwing someone else.

Sorry that you think so. Most, if not all have purchased things for years while quantities were available. I for one have never emptied a shelf of any reloading supplies in the past and am darn sure not going to do it now at these prices. I do not see how we have been "screwing someone else". I am not talking about the guys who have been selling stuff to take advantage of the shortages. I am talking about the folks who have stocked up in the past and are using it for their own enjoyment now. I for one have not bought any components in over two years.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

While I am waiting for the supplies to get back to a sort of "Normal price", before buying......

I just add my extra money to my stock broker.

More than one way to skin a cat.

I see a nice vacation in two years.

My stuff runneth over. AJ now you need to "find" about 10 LBS of powder and you can fill those cases.
I buy what I can find, It's better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it.

Have enough......

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

We hear this all the time! If you started being a "Gun Guy" over 3 years ago and didn't start stocking up, SHAME ON YOU! If you're newer than that to the gun world, now you understand why were are prepared! It will take awhile but your chance will come, just don't waste your opportunity when it arrives, It might be a very small window!

Ivan

I see this all the time. I shoot SXS sporting clays events in several states so I shoot a bunch. Someone will call me and ask if I have shot, powder, primers etc. Yes I do because instead of buying a flat of shells I bought 5 rather than just get 1000 primers I bought 5000 and so on. In todays world you buy what you can when you can or you might not burn powder tomorrow.

Up until the mid 90's I loaded on a "As Needed +1K" principle. Then in 94 I bought a brick of primers a week. In 2007 I lost my job and cashed in about 125K primers. And when things got stable for my family again, I started replacing my stash, a case at a time! In 2012 I lost that job and cashed in my reserve of bulk lead, about 700 pounds in ingots. I still have not found a replacement.

I shot Cowboy Action to the tune of 5k to 8k a year including my adult kids and practice, I found buy bullets better time wise then casting, I bought my bullets by the 10k per caliber (38, 44, 45, 45-70) after my stroke, I found I didn't have patience for the rule Nazis, and only shoot informally now and haven't gone through my last batch of 5500 45 Colt rounds, so my reserves have held up well. But when there is a bargain, still count me in!

Ivan

I've always bought componets when I found them and the price was 'right'. This goes back decades!
Even bullets and brass in calibers I didn't even own at the time, most I eventually could use at some point.
Reloading dies as well,,odd calibers at really good prices,,,take them along. You can always sell them for good $$ or trade.

Going to as many gun shows as I did over the years and not waisting time sitting behind a table, I nearly always found components for sale at near giveaway prices for their time..
Buy 'em when the opportunity of really cheap prices presents itself.

These shortages are not new and always come around from some sort of political or social mess not of our doing. Not much you can do to change that.

Every week at our range get together I hear the same 'what did you find,,anything at XX store or shop,,ect'...
Spending all their time trying to track down who has primers or powder or .22's or shotshells. Email alerts or other Iphone msg's to tell them who may have what in stock.
Then hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get first in line or on-line to get a rationed amt for a purchase at todays prices.
Crazy.

“Organized people never make the exciting discoveries I do!”

Every time I wade through the mess in my loading area or my work bench I seem to discover at least one or two things I didn’t know I had.

Froggie

Or forgot that I had........

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Funny.

In a box in the attic I discovered about 20 brand new NHMTG / Okay AR magazines, 30 rounds.

I found in another box 2000 General Dynamics M193 bullets, perfectly polished and ready to load.

This past weekend while searching for 6.5 needmoor brass, I found a bag of 41 mag brass I looked for a month or so ago. I also found 200 210gr JSP and 100 200gr JHP 41 cal bullets I had completely forgot about having.

This happens when I lay something down for just a moment...

Seems people can become somewhat bitter about components. I had around 45K primers when this latest mess started. I'm nearer to 35K now.

I've loaded several thousand 9mm, .38 Spec, .223, .308 Win and .45 ACP in the last 18 months or so. I haven't shot all them up, but I've continued to shoot. I've also loaded lower volume rounds like the needmoor, .454 Casull, .41 Mag, .45 Colt, 7X57 and .257 Roberts.

In the last two years or so I have bought a few large rifle primers and used some of them to trade for what I was lowest on. I have sold none.

My first memorable primer shortage was around 92 or 93, and I learned.

The vast majority of my primers were bought for less than $20/K

We that have been around for a while bought a few here and there over the years. Primers keep well, I'm still using CCI 250 rifle and 350 pistol primers bought in the 80's. Maybe $10/K then.

Not many advantages to being older, but experience can pay dividends.

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

The strangest story along these lines concerns 2000 Federal SPPs whose packaging got damp on the shipping dock of a local distributor. I got them cheap but was disappointed with the number of misfires. I just put them on the shelf instead of throwing them away, and was gratified thirty years later when I decided to try them again… 100% ignition in my 639! Life is good, but you call that hoarding?
Froggie

I have some old Winchester primers and Remington primers in my collection. I should say had. I bought them several years ago for $5.00 a brick to sit on a shelf and look pretty. With the present craziness on the prices, I figured I would try them. All went bang.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

One of the great things about being really old is that, unless you're a natural hoarder, you just don't need as much 'stuff' as you did when you were young. I realize that I don't need as much because I don't have as many years left to use it all. Keeping in mind, that when one hit's his nineties, he may slow down a tad and lose some strength, eyesight, energy and motivation, why keep all that brass, primers, powder, bullets, lead etc etc etc...? I've always maintained my stock based upon how many rounds I think I'll be able to shoot within X years left on my 'ticket'; I shoot a LOT less these days.
I sincerely wish all you young folk live to be a ripe old age and have the supplies to continue your hobbies at a pace that makes you content with life in general. I'm hoping that I have the time and energy left to finish off my conservative supplies, leaving a nice clean and empty workspace for whoever finds it...

IMHO,
J.

Right on Johnnu2! I'll be turning 75 next month and its amazing how much superfluous stuff I've acquired in 65 years of shooting and I finally realized that I only need enough to support the few guns I still shoot. The Lord knows how many dollars worth of "things" that I've sold off in the last few years that I don't even miss and I keep finding more stuff for which I no longer have a use. Don't believe the the baloney about the Golden Years.

YUP....

I'm a little past you Irish..... got rid of my '62 fuelie vette in my 60's when I realized I just couldn't control it under full throttle (the ONLY way to drive it);
then thought I'd go back to general aviation after retirement in my mid-60's until I realized that I couldn't see very well and definitely couldn't hear those fast talking, low-patience NY air traffic controllers. No more hunting because I'm more of a danger to myself than the game animals. Still go to the club/range once a week; we do more talking than shooting, but it is GREAT. Hanging on to my guns because, at very least, I can open the safe and sit in my chair and admire them all. :-) Old age really isn't that bad for me (so far :-) Actally, it has turned out to be the BEST time of my entire life.

J.