Fears about restrictions ignite a demand for ammo (The "Obama Factor")

The politics aside, interesting discussion of economics of shooting in these times.

edit, forgot link:

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=15&a=400864

Fears about restrictions ignite a demand for ammo
5/23/2009 7:10:01 AM

By John Weiss

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Ralph Hettig needed only two words to explain why he can't get all the firearms and ammunition he would like to sell at Wild Good Sports -- President Obama.

"It's entirely the Obama factor," he said. If John McCain was elected, "there wouldn't be any of this," he said.

"This" is a big rush to buy firearms, especially handguns, and ammunition for fear that Obama will try to curtail who can buy ammunition or firearms, how much they can buy or how much it will cost, said the veteran Rochester firearms salesman. His store is on North Broadway.
--snip--

"Everything has gone up," said Jim Woolums of Rochester. "Lead has gone up the most." He once paid $16 for a 25-pound bag to reload his shells, but that went closer to $45 last year. While it's down to about $22 now, it's still expensive, he said.

It was the price of shells that also convinced Kyle Trocinski of Dakota and Tom Soland of Rochester to shoot less. "I haven't been out this year," Trocinski said. "I used to be on a league, but the stuff got so expensive, I don't do it anymore."

-snip-

Bill Clinton must be breathing a sigh of relief. No longer is everything his fault, or even that of "the Clenis!" Now, it can all be set square on the shoulders of Obama. The "Obama Factor".

I've actually found AR15 magazines for sale recently, and at a good price. I recently had a State employee tell me he was able to find enough ammo for officer training, and I'm talking lots of 10,000 rounds. A couple of months ago he couldn't find much of anything.

My supplier says he'll have 5.56 in stock pretty soon and expects to be able to keep it on hand.

used for hunting. What type of weapon takes AR15 magazines?

The most popular semi-auto sporting rifle sold today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AR-15

Tehcnically an AR-15 is a "armalite model 15" however the design is not patented so any manufacturer can make one. Most "AR-15" are not AR-15 if that makes sense. Just like you can buy other brands of bandages but people still call them all band-aids.

This one is mine. It's a simple A1 upper without a ton of bells and whistles.

They come in all sizes. Most guys buy thirty rounders. The twenty round ones are nice because it makes it easier to shoot off of a sand bag or bench. In states that allow hunting with a center-fire rifle you have to use a five round mag.

A good price for an AR mag is around $13.00 for a thirty rounder. They used to be much cheaper. I like to keep at least six on hand but it's kind of easy to let them accumulate.

Compared to a good shotgun, AR15's are downright cheap to own and shoot. I must admit there's nothing more enjoyable than a Saturday morning occupied with shooting skeet. It's been far too long since I've gone.

The AR-15 uses the same 20-round and 30-round magazines as the M16 rifle and M4 carbine. They're also known as "USGI magazines" or "STANAG magazines," because in 1980, NATO drafted STANAG (STANdardization AGreement) 4179 which would have made it the standard rifle magazine for all 5.56x45mm rifles in NATO use (making it easier for allied troops to swap mags and ammo. STANAG 4179 was never adopted, but a lot of rifle manufacturers hoping for contracts from NAGTO armies designed their weapons to use this magazine design. Note that the key point in compliance with Draft STANAG 4179 is how the magazine fits into the magazine well of the weapon; the shape or size of the magazine doesn't matter, as long as it meets that requirement.

Other weapons that will accept STANAG magazines include the Belgian FN FNC rifle, F2000 rifle and Minimi/M249 SAW light machine gun; the British Enfield L85 rifle, L22 carbine and L86 "light squad weapon"; the Italian Beretta AR70/90 series of rifles; the Spanish CETME Model L rifle; the French FAMAS G2 rifle; the Israeli IMI "Tavor" TAR-21 rifle; the Brazilian IMBEL MD-2 rifle; and curiously, the Iranian "Khaybar" KH2002 rifle.

Because of the ubiquity of STANAG mags in the US, quite a few rifles intended for sale on the civilian market use this mag design, such as the Remington 7615 pump-action rifle, the Kel-Tec SU-16 rifle, the Robinson Armament M96 rifle, and the SIG 556 rifle.

I've given up going to Walmart to look for cheap Winchester White Box ammo to plink with at the range. I haven't been shooting in at least 6 months.

My local Academy sporting goods has hod quite a bit so I have been able to replenish. Now try to find any pistol ammo or even .22LR and you are just out of luck. And this right after I put a .22lr conversion into one of my AR15's.

Back in February, just about the only handgun ammunition you could find in stores around here (southern King County, WA) was non-"+P" .38 Special and .25 ACP; all the defensive calibers (even the .380 ACPs) were sold out, along with .223/5.56mm, 7.62x39mm and .308/7.62x51mm. No shortage of birdshot, though, and I haven't had trouble getting .22LR (though there's less of it than normal).

Lately, though, almost everything is available except 9x19mm, though not in large quantities.

Stupid is as stupid does, even some of the libertarians are laughing at the wing nuts over this.

So why do you think they would be afraid?

Could it be because President Obama and most of powerful players in Congress and the Attorney General all have prominent anti-firearm histories?

Could it be because the last time we had a Democratic president he enacted the Assault Weapon Ban and, until very recently, President Obama had advocated re-instating that ban as part of his Urban Policy on whitehouse.gov?

Gun owners are not stupid, and they have long memories. The resultant rush on firearms and ammunition is completely logical.

The wimps need to hide behind their iron viagra.

But attributing the phenomenon entirely to that is wishful thinking. Obama's own statements in the past, and more significantly what he has NOT said recently when given perfect opportunities to do so, are the real issue.

...and that's Obama's stated position.

It has nothing to do with his ethnicity, but thanks for playing the race card.

Such an awesome debate tactic!

It is clear that I was talking about the racism of impotent gun fetishists.

Try again.

"I'll take 'Misunderstood Freudianism' for $400, Alex"

Guns are an equal opportunity fetish.

That's the ultimate fetish, power and control over people's very lives. Would you have all submit to
your idea of what is correct? I have no wish to force anyone to own a firearm against their will.
But if I wish to own the make and model of firearm I choose and use it in a lawful manner than who
are you (or anyone else, including the government) to interfere in the private affairs of another?

I guess they need to bring it up when they can't get it up.

David

I've seen an 80% increase in black customers. (I own a shooter supply company)
Hmmm... I guess they're "racist" too?
If so, who are they afraid of?

I just love it when someone opens their pie hole and regurgitates the mantra of another idiot.
It might have had some impact the first few time the race card was thrown out there, but it’s strength fell rapidly when it was applied to every situation, especially this one!
It's become old and weak, and makes the whole party look like chicken little, or the boy who cried wolf.

We (dems) are sometimes our own worst enemy, because we are judged by a select few that speak without getting their facts straight and about shit they don’t know anything about.

I really dislike the old adage “your judged by the company you keep”!

what you are talking about.

It's people like you that keep racism alive.

and have seen roughly an 80% increase in my sales to "black" customers.
I would have to say your full of shit on that opinion.

You need a new deck, that one card is worn out.

of idiots that have no fucking clue.

Another fool fueling the racism fire.

One is the fact that we've got two wars going on. That means that a lot of the manufacturing base for ammunition is tied up producing rounds for the military. It doesn't help that one of the most popular civilian rounds, the .223, uses most of the same components (primers, brass, etc.) as the main military round, 5.56. There isn't as much production going on for civilian use as there would be otherwise.

Second, there's been a lot of stockpiling going on ever since about 2005, mainly because of concerns raised by Hurricane Katrina. Seeing a major American city be basically abandoned by those in power led a lot of people to decide that they need to be prepared to take care of themselves.

And lastly, yes, there's some panic buying by people who believe the stuff Savage and Beck push about how Obama is going to ban ammunition sales, or start seizing guns. Of course it's not helped by stupidity from the Dems about obviously impossible proposals, like "microstamping" ammunition and restricting ammo sales to 50 rounds a month.

I'm not joking.

we sick to death of our children being killed by bullet. by enraged men killing women with bullets.

we are the ones mopping up the blood and guts and nursing the ones injured by bullets.

we are sick and tired of it.

Tell us, do you consider women who own guns (about 1/3 of all gun owners in the States)
gender traitors?

Needed way too much capital and it had a way too low ROI. Made a good case study though.

Men are vastly more likely than women to be shot, robbed, murdered, etcetera, etcetera. Including crimes involving a gun.

can you give a source?

I don't think you need to be made a fool of much further.

If it wasn't for Wolf (and Monarch) there would be an even huger shortage of ammunition than there is. Someone in Russia is making scads of money off of this.

I shoot a lot of Mil-surp, so I have the former Soviet Empire to thank for my ammo!

What is really sad that it is now hard to get 22lr ammunition :(

I got a 22lr conversion for my AR-15, just so that I could avoid some of the craziness around 223 ammo, and whaddya know, 22lr started to dry up (At least the decent quality bulk packs.)

See my post up near the top. I can't find .22lr now.