I do not disagree with you. I am just curious about how many folks have accumulated thousands of round of ammunition "just in case." In the 1970's and early 1980's, relatively few Americans owned semi-auto weapons in NATO calibers. In those times where the USSR was a more serious threat, the gun owners that I knew still felt well prepared if they had fewer than a dozen boxes of ammo. Now, a lot of folks keep numerous 30-round magazines loaded at all times and do not feel prepared unless they have several cases of rounds available. The definition of "enough ammo" seems to have changed.
I just wanted to say that I have seen enough panic buys over the years (and not just for ammo), that I no longer tend to ascribe them to evil intent. I remember that some of my otherwise reasonable friends started stocking their bomb shelters and stockpiling ammunition when Bill Clinton was elected. They were absolutely certain that the government was within days of sending in the shock troops to confiscate all the weapons in the country. The same happened when Obama was elected. It may well have occurred numerous times over the years.
By the way, I currently have 8 rifles (OK, some are carbines) as well as reloading equipment, so I am definitely not anti-gun.
On the other hand, since Hornady and Remington are adding new production lines or have recently done so, I am not too worried. Other things, like a drastic cost increase of brass (which is what put my former employer out of business), a shortage of worldwide copper supplies, a lack of primer or gunpowder manufacturing capacity (not surprising since our military has been using and buying a lot more ammo during the past few years) can have a surprisingly strong effect on civilian ammo availability. It also does not surprise me that there is less military surplus ammo available. When our military as well as others are shooting a lot more, there is less old ammunition around that will be sold at a low price as surplus.
The strange effects of perception and mild shortages was driven home to me the other night when I was helping my daughter with her homework. She was researching the 1979-80 oil embargo. I still vividly remember people in their cars waiting in line outside gas stations and sucking the places' tanks dry each time a fuel truck arrived. Some service stations were out of gas, and even-odd day gas rationing was in effect some places. There was genuine panic. The price of gasoline more than doubled and I remember hearing people saying that we should invade Iran and Iraq to get "our " oil.
As it turned out, the amount of gasoline sold in 1980 was only 3.5% less than in the year with the highest gas usage (1977 or '78, I think). I did not know this. It turns out that a huge amount of gasoline went into gas cans and newly installed gasoline storage tanks at homes and businesses instead of being available at the gas station pumps. All the cars waiting in lines with their engines idling did not help either.
I do not want to start a fight (a none-to-bright thing to do on thread entitled "The Guns We Own"
). We simply disagree on the severity of the current situation. Then again, I have been wrong before...
