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Thoughts on ammo shortages

We've all seen our share of ammo shortages. I don't let them bother me because, over the years, I've scrounged enough brass that I have to give it away just to get into my shop. But I was thinking about the subject on the range yesterday while I was sighting in a new scope.

For a long time, it seemed to me that there were two types of shooters: Hunters and target shooters. Hunters would come to the range once a year and burn 10-20 rounds of factory ammo sighting in their rifles. For the rest of the year, they might burn 20 more rounds in the field. Target shooters all reloaded and mostly shot ammo they way we made it: carefully. Only a few people would come to the range, burn a bunch of ammo and leave the brass behind.

Now it's not uncommon to find 50 or 100 perfectly good brass cases either in the buckets or on the ground and that doesn't even begin to count all that worthless steel case junk. I understand that because of politics, people who used to just keep 20-50 rounds in the drawer now feel compelled to have a full case of ammo under the bed, in case of a possible zombie apocalypse. But I think it has a lot to do with people who want to shot but don't feel they have the time or interest for reloading. After all, doing it right takes a lot of time.

Anyway, I'm done woolgathering. Thanks for your patience.
 
Most of those people ive found think its too expensive to reload and they dont really know anybody to teach them. Then over half of those just got their first gun or fired their first practice round after sandy hook gun scare.
 
I seen that all the time at the old range I was a member at. It was a public range that also had memberships.
Mainly black gun folks that also had to have that hunting rifle just in case they needed it. Well a lot of them not all but A LOT of them are what they like to call themselves "Preppers". Well it kind of has make me laugh. They shoot junk steel case ammo and buy it by the truck load. They have more MREs then one could ever want, so many cases of water that California is having a drought.
Yet I havent met one who reloads, cast bullets, knows how to grow or tend a crop or even butcher any animal they harvest.
How can one be a "Prepper" when all they are doing is hoarding. Sorry just had to rant.

Then we had the hunters who dont shoot enough to worry about reloading. They would always make sure there brass went into the bucket or they gave it to someone there at the range wanting it. They also were willing to help any other shooter out with advise, letting them shoot there rifle to see how it felt and on and on.

Not to many reloaders were at that range.
 
mrspradlin said:
I seen that all the time at the old range I was a member at. It was a public range that also had memberships.
Mainly black gun folks that also had to have that hunting rifle just in case they needed it. Well a lot of them not all but A LOT of them are what they like to call themselves "Preppers". Well it kind of has make me laugh. They shoot junk steel case ammo and buy it by the truck load. They have more MREs then one could ever want, so many cases of water that California is having a drought.
Yet I havent met one who reloads, cast bullets, knows how to grow or tend a crop or even butcher any animal they harvest.
How can one be a "Prepper" when all they are doing is hoarding. Sorry just had to rant.

Then we had the hunters who dont shoot enough to worry about reloading. They would always make sure there brass went into the bucket or they gave it to someone there at the range wanting it. They also were willing to help any other shooter out with advise, letting them shoot there rifle to see how it felt and on and on.

Not to many reloaders were at that range.

You have put into words, so many points that I have tried to make. Thank you!

Favorite paraphrase: You're not a prepper....you're just a hoarder.

And I'm one of those hunters that doesn't shoot enough to reload. But I've got a few hundred empty 223 cartridges in the basement. Someday I'll find someone who reloads and give them away.
 
I happen to shoot at a range that is made up almost entirely of reloaders. If you are not there when a newb leaves their brass, it is scavenged immediately! But since I am a scavenger myself, I am also crowded out of my loading room with buckets of brass!
 
johnfred1965 said:
I happen to shoot at a range that is made up almost entirely of reloaders. If you are not there when a newb leaves their brass, it is scavenged immediately! But since I am a scavenger myself, I am also crowded out of my loading room with buckets of brass!

It is surprising how those people will try to pick up your brass while you are still shooting.
 
NewLiberty said:
I don't participate in shortages.
Yeah, I'm still working of a case of .22LR I bought maybe 25 years ago and one of my shooting buddies got a chuckle over the TG&Y* price tag on one of my boxes of .22 ammo. When the panic was on, two years ago(?), I carted several thousand brass .223 & .308 cases to a gun show and sold them for what I considered an outlandish price, until I noticed most of the vendors were asking double. At least I got them out of my shop and could get access to my loading bench again. The only times I've bought factory ammo in the last 10 years are when I invite acquaintances to the range to shoot. Only family shoots my reloads.

*TG&Y stores went out of business in 1986.
 
I never "felt" the shortage. I've been scrounging brass for 30 years. I got a little worried at one point and bought some high priced powder in quantity, but that was it. I'm set for 2 years. I'm finding more brass at the range, these days, so I think we're going back to the norm. Until the next scare next year, when Hillary takes office.
 
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I bought 10k pieces of LC 5.56 back in the mid-'90s while I was still an active HP shooter, and have still got most of it, along with various amounts of WW & R-P 223. And recently, when WW223 was available, I bought another 1k to use in bolt guns. What bothers me more than anything is the shortage - or more accurately, complete unavailability of WW branded brass. I prefer to form & fireform my 6XC from 22-250, and don't recall the last time it was available from Powder Valley, Graf's, or anywhere else. Same goes for WW 6.5x55 that I like for my 6.5x55AIs. What's the deal there? I'd read somewhere that Olin had sold their brass mill, and further that they'd given up trying to deal with union labor at their East Alton ammunition plant, and had moved operations to Florida. If this is true, I can see why there's a shortage of WW brass - maybe they're still trying to get caught up on the demand for loaded ammo?

Whatever the case may be, now that we're finally able to find primers & powder, brass is in short supply. I do hope the worst of the hoarding epidemic is in the past, but with the clown we've got in the White House, who knows what's next?
 
The military require all their brass to be crushed and or not to be sold for reloading. At our gun club you can not pick up only your own brass. any brass left on the ground is property of the gun club. They sell it buy the pound . Some weekends the get 3 or more 5 gallon buckets full. Larry
 
savagedasher said:
The military require all their brass to be crushed and or not to be sold for reloading. At our gun club you can not pick up only your own brass. any brass left on the ground is property of the gun club. They sell it buy the pound . Some weekends the get 3 or more 5 gallon buckets full. Larry

mate thats down right unAmerican
 
The military still sells their brass at an online auction you have to sign up for. I see it on there all the time and know a guy that bought a ton of 308 about a year ago. It is mass quantities and you have to sign a form basically saying it wont be exported
 
EddieHarren said:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/casings.asp

More outdated "Internet Dis-information" from an expert.
Not a expert or have I kept up with the news But at one time it was being done. MY BAD
Larry
 
army brass up here at Ft. Lewis is sold at DRMO auctions.
It can go for stupid prices and some times they DO NOT tell you the lot was "cooked". Meaning it was put in a big HOT furnace to burn off the duds or live rounds. And that brass is worthless to reload
 
I see all of the above instances. My only complaint are to those who are awesome to excersize their 2nd amendment rights, but keep the loaded firearm irresponsibly secured at home and never practice with it... As a reloader I have taught my neighbors how to, and share equipment and experience to assist. Usually it's to help develop a hunting round, then they'll be back next year when out of ammo.

I'm looking for time to cast bullets, too busy in the garden but winter makes a lead pot sound really nice...

-Mac
 
The gun club i belong to has to share our rangers with the city prison guards. ( on city ground long story) find mostly pistol brass and some Rifle brass which is always Lapua.
But it has started to disappear as one or two of the new guards are reloaders, have scored a good supply of 308 Lapua brass have processed all this and have it ready, i also have about 100 lbs. of Linotype(FREE) am now melting down in one pound ingots got this from were i was working when the print shop switched to a new system.
 
Clarification:

The DoD, more specifically, DLA did enact a policy to NOT sell brass to the public; only "authorized" demilitarization facilities. That decision was quickly reversed the next year when they lost truckloads of cash; not reversed through political pressure.

The issue now is that it is certified as "munitions residue". That required those pesky waivers and such; but still available for he public to bid on the DRMO. There is no "guarantee" that there won't be live rounds mixed in. I know of no process for "cooking" brass mentioned in previous posts, but it could be so. Seems to me that the direct costs of that process would significantly cut into the DoDs profit though.
 

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