The ammo shortage is something that we’ve been talking about for a while, but it seems the mainstream Media has finally picked up on the problem. In fact, the headline article running on Drudge right now is COPS BEG AND BARTER FOR AMMO.
It may shock some to hear this, but as we’ve been reporting for the last couple of months, this country in the middle of a major ammo shortage. The problem is so bad that CNSNews is reporting, law enforcement agencies around the country are cutting back on their training exercises to conserve ammo, and some have even resorted to begging for ammo.
CNSNews Reported:
Many police departments have begun to trade and barter with each other because of the high demand.
Police Chief Cameron Arthur of Jenks, Oklahoma told CNSNews, “Most police departments are having a very difficult time even getting the necessary ammunition for handguns, shotguns and especially rifles”…”With the delay in ammunition, some departments are limiting the number of rounds they carry in their handgun because of the shortage of ammunition. We get to the point where it is difficult to have enough ammo to train and also equip the officers.”
What’s causing the Shortage?
I believe a perfect storm of stupidity, fear, and government abuse has created a situation that’s causing chaos in the ammunition industry.
First, we have the Department of Homeland security buying up at least 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition; some reports suggest that number may be much higher. This, combined with the purchase of thousands of Urban Assault MRAP’s (armored personnel carriers) has created fear that DHS may be preparing for wide scale civil unrest.
This fear has led millions of people, most of whom have never even owned until now, to jump into the market and buy up unprecedented amounts of guns and ammunition. This surge of buyers has created a situation where hundreds of people are actually lining up in the front of stores like, Bass Pro and Cabala’s, hoping to find Ammo.
It’s actually pretty crazy to see hundreds of men lined up, hours before these stores even open, on the off chance the store may have received a shipment on ammunition.
The second problem is the resellers. The market has brought out the sharks, and we now have hoards of people looking to take advantage of the situation. Website like Gunbroker, an Ebay type site for gun buyers, have been flooded by people charging five to ten times what this ammo is actually worth. Sadly, a lot of unprepared people are willing to pay these ridiculous prices, which is helping fuel the fire, and drive prices even higher.
Is there a Takeaway here?
Well, hopefully you listened to us and stocked up years ago, if you did then this current crisis probably isn’t really affecting you. But I do think this should be a wake up call to every American, including those that think they’re prepared.
YOU’RE PROBABLY NOT PREPARED FOR WHAT’S COMING.
Why do I say this? Because in my opinion, the ammo problem is just glimpse at what’s to come. Think about it, the people buying the ammo are still a small minority of the country. Most Americans are not gun owners, and even among gun owners very few realize there’s even a problem. In fact, most of the gun owners I’ve talked to were shocked to hear they could no longer find ammo.
So if the few people who have figured out there’s a problem have managed to make it impossible to find ammo, what do you think would happen to this country if there was a problem with the food supply?
Everyone needs food; let me repeat that, everyone needs food! If the ammo supplies can be wiped out, by what really amounts to a handful of people when compared to those who buy food, what do you think the grocery stores will look like during a major food shortage or crisis?
There would be riots in the streets; and that’s probably majorly understating what would happen! Most Americans are not prepared to survive a food shortage or crisis; they simply don’t have the skills, or the supplies, necessary to survive for more than a couple days without food and water.
Now is the time to be Prepared
I don’t care how prepared you think you are, I urge you to really analyze your situation; analyze what’s going on in the world; look at what’s happening with the ammo; look at what’s happening is Cyprus; and ask yourself, how prepared am I?
If this same situation were to hit the food markets, the energy markets, or any other sector in this country, how long are you really prepared to survive without those goods and services? How long could you feed your family with your current supplies?
This isn’t about fear; it’s about the reality of the situation we find ourselves in.
Some, even those in the preparedness community, seem to scoff at those of us who talk about these subjects. They seem to think we should stick to talking about emergency preparedness in relation to earthquakes and natural disasters. While I 100% agree that preparing for these types of events is of the utmost importance, especially for those living in these danger zones, to overlook what’s happening in our world would be irresponsible on my part.
If you’re living in fear, then you’re not prepared. I don’t deal in fear, I don’t promote fear, and I don’t suggest you partake in it. What I do suggest, is living in reality and looking at what’s really going on through skeptical, but analytical eyes.
Ask questions, analyze the situation, and don’t take anything at face value – especially if it’s coming from the mainstream media. Remember these people are not in the information business, they’re in the entertainment business. They don’t deal in reality, they deal in entertaining people so they continue to watch their shows.
What it all comes down to is protecting your loved ones; in the end that’s all that’s really important, and it should be the driving factor behind any type of preparedness. Preparedness means, taking the steps you need to take to ensure the safety and security of those you love.
So how Prepared are you?
It is like the episode of stienfeld where dryfus challenges the soup NAZI and wins. The government being dryfus. The order in which sells first is like this gov first, LEO second, “security” companies third, us dead last.
Might also be a good time to not discuss how much ammo you have stockpiled. If it gets bad enough they may just start confinscating ammo to supply their departments.
That is good advice. Keep you preparation to your self
Question…My husband is deployed so its just me and my 2 year old son. I am certain I have 30 days of food and water for us both. Do I need more? I feel Im prepared to cook with out electricity, I have enough candles and lanterns, I even have my pets covered. But are my son and I prepared enough? Be honest.
I personally have about 3 months worth of food and water stored for my wife, dogs, and I. A month is a sufficient amount if you possess the capability leave if need be or obtain it through other means. Always better to have mow than less…
Yes having more if you can afford it will be better, even if you do not eat it you can trade it for something you will need that you forgot or ran out of, and don’t forget the meds and vitamims for you and him. water,water.water
Thanks guys. Ill keep working on the stock pile. I do have some where else to go just in case, but its a LONG haul to get there. I keep about 1/2 of everything in bags so I can grab and go if need be. Im hoping (with the the reality in the back of my mind that I may not be able to) to stay here. We are blessed enough to not take a daily medicine, but I don’t have any vitamins. Shame on me. Its now on the list.
Don’t simply depend on your prep. learn how to
forage, hunt, and grow food.
Christine,Recommend reading Lucifers Hammer by Larry Niven. THEN, ask yourself how much you need. Just finishing it. It is an eye opener to me how much I need to prepare and stockpile MORE.
Christine, as a fellow female prepper and mother of a toddler myself, I suggest checking your supply of feminine hygiene products and pull-ups and butt creams for your son- I just went to my local Dollar General earlier today and they had a big variety of feminine care products on clearance for dirt cheap (overstocked maybe, I don’t know if it’s just a regional thing but I’m putting it out there because we ladies know those things aren’t cheap! ) I swear I’m not advertising for the store,lol, just always looking for a deal and happy to share it w/anyone preparing. I’m fairly new at it myself and have learned to keep my eyes peeled for the clearance racks, being on a practically non-existent budget.
This is what the bible calls the worst the world has ever seen. I wouldn’t hope things will ever be the same. Sell all unnecessary things and prepare, because you’re already too late.
And no one thinks that making the leap from there not being enough ammo to a food shortage is kind of illogical? This is fear-mongering. Don’t buy into it.
To some degree it absolutely is. However, I don’t think that was the intent of the writer. I think his main focal point was to show in times of necessarily if billions of rounds of ammunition can be sold out by a small percentage of the population. What will happen with food and other necessities when it’s the whole country dependent upon the items.
James, I’m not sure if you follow what’s going on in the world, or maybe you choose to ignore history, but there’s nothing fun or illogical about the possibility of a food shortage.
Disruptions in the food supply are very real and they happen every time a natural disaster hits. Ask the people who suffered through Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Sandy, etc… how easy it was to find food and water before and after the storm. Ask people who lived through WWII about food rationing.
The correlation between the ammo shortage and a food shortage was spelled out in the article. There are also hundreds, maybe thousands of examples of this happening in the past (if you care to do a little research). Look up the Great Depression, droughts, and the history of major famines; hundreds of millions of people have died as a result of past famines.
I know it’s hard for the average American,who goes to a grocery store and always sees food on the shelves, to imagine they would ever be put in a situation where there was no food, but history shows these things happen with great regularity.
You can choose you ignore history, and live under the notion that our modern conveniences have somehow insulated us from danger, or you can wake up and ensure your family is taken care of.
There are a number of very plausible scenarios that could push us into a food crisis – pandemics, large scale terror attacks on the food supply, droughts, etc. What do you think would happen if this country was hit by a major pandemic or any of the above scenarios?
Most grocery stores only have a 3 day supply of food on hand, get the picture?
Ya, I was doing a little research the other day and it’s showing that a big part of the country is going to be in severe drought again this year, and a big region will be massive flooding. So ya, there is a big chance that prices on food will sky rocket, in the places that get hit with the catastrophies there will be shortages whether it be food, water, or both. And even if the weather doesn’t hit a catostrophic state, the speculation is already out and as the season nears there is always all those that panic, or see the possibility of dollar signs and that is what starts the frenzy.
People like James are why I prep because its people like him we’ll have to worry about when things go bad. It’s the people who refuse to take personal responsibility that will be the biggest threat we face.
YEP
James its ok when the time comes I will sell you some food….you got any bullets to trade for it…….
I’m always amazed by people who should appreciate free markets, but instead denigrate price gouging. Do some research — price gouging plays an important economic role. And no one is selling bullets for more than they are worth. The definition of what they are worth is what they will sell for. It might be more than they are worth to you, but not someone else. The market consists of more than your opinion.
There is a big difference between the free market and a bunch of assholes who are taking advantage of the situation. I bet you are probably one of the people screwing the fearful idiots out of there money and making it bad for the rest of us shooters and hunters. Now you got your panties in a bunch because you have been called out and deep down inside you feel bad.
The people who are selling this stuff for 10 times what it’s worth make me sick. They justifying there behavior by claiming its all about the free market when it has nothing to do with the free market but everything to do with greed. You people give the free market a bad name and care nothing about your fellow man.
That is exactly why I dropped out of the GREEN COUNTRY PREPPER group! As you say one thing to sell access you have at a reasonable price (makeing a few dollars)and entirely another…after supply is limited to go out and buy the item in demand with the sole intent to hi-jack,scalp, price gouge a brother over their own greed and zealous intent to take advantage of others monetarly. “Live by the sword, die by the sword”!
LMAO. I’m always amazed by people who think we have free markets. There’s nothing free about our markets they’re fixed to serve the elite. That’s not freedom it’s tyranny.
If you think our national desasters are bad, they will not compare to what is to come. The europeon markets are ahead of us on calapsing, so our banks and the fed. bank are pumping money not backed buy gold or silver, but by our homes, land, national parks, and our own bank acounts. The amoe they have purchased is in small comparison to the food they have already perchased. They have set everyone up the secured facilities the have set up that people think are consentration camps are garded and supplyed positions. If you want some one to do what you want you set it up so you can offer them something no one other person can, life and protection of them their loved ones and sustainability. Unless you have three years of food, water, shelter, and supplys, you had beter start learning some self sufitiant skills.
That’s funny! The cops begging for ammo? I bet there is a long donation line of people donating bullets for them to shoot citizens with. Hardy Har Har!!!
EVEN MORE AMUSING THAT IT IS OKLAHOMA DOUCHBAG COPS…What comes around, goes around! Sell your drones or have Keeting sell off his private prisons to buy you bullets and food!!!
ACTION PLAN:
1. Get out of all paper assets, including 401k.
2. Buy “Physical” Silver & Gold.
3. Stock up 3 to 6 months of food, water and medical supplies.
4. Buy a gun to protect your family.
5. Keep only enough in checking to cover monthly bills.
6. Prepare “Now” for the storm that is coming!
I would suggest buying food, water, shelter and ammo first and then if you can afford it physical gold and silver.
Yup. You can’t eat gold and silver. You also can’t protect yourself with it (unless you are going to beat the looters to death).
Very sensible perspective, Ayn…BTW love your books!
The ammo shortage is a good reason to minimize the number of different calibers you have, and to stockpile ammo as high as you can for those you keep. Obviously, this implies making your decisions about what calibers are most effective for the purposes intended, and keep those. Also consider what calibers and guns potential enemies may be carrying. You might be able to steal theirs in a pinch.
I understand that ammunition manufacturers have to make money – but if I were the CEO of one of the companies, I would stop selling to the government immedietely. I’m sure they are probably being bullied into selling it or the Government is paying a VERY high price for the ammo…
There have been a handful of firearm manufacturers who have stopped selling to Law Enforcement and State Governments in States who have passes gun control legislation… Here’s the story: https://offgridsurvival.com/guncompanies-boycottnewyork/
You called it right today. Here is a story about Cypriots cleaning out the groceries stores today because they fear they will have no money tomorrow:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/23/cyprus-crisis-russians-euro-europe-eu
As an ex-forces British pensioner,this has made interesting reading for me. I have already done some ‘canned’ cheese and have my extra store cupboard, but I keep quiet about it here.Only my family know and they are not quite sure about all this, but they are now starting to grow their own fruit and veg as well, so maybe the penny is dropping! Hope so. Will be back for another look soon. Be safe Y’all!
I have seen the shortage from police first hand. as I was waiting in line the other day I saw my neighbor who is a law enforcement officer. He was waiting in line to get ammo for his service pistol. I would rather him have ammo than the government. They were told if they find ammo the dept will pay them back to go ahead and buy what they could. Even they are limited on how much they can buy just like the rest of us. 22lr is better than gold here. What really pisses me off are the ones that are buying the ammo just to double the price and resell it. When shtf these guys will get there payback. then it will come down to the have and have nots. By the way this was on Friday and it was this national sporting goods smallest shipment of ammo they have ever seen. I have heard that the shortage was easing a bit. Not here in good ol Ky. After waiting an hour in a line of 50 people I did not get to buy a single round of ammo. If you ask me its only getting worse. Will keep trying though. I know ill need it soon.
I kept my weapons to 3 calibers–22lr, 9mm, 40 cal.
I went with the cheapest ammo to buy and bought a bunch. It seemed like I had a ton of it. I wish I would have gotten a lot more. Also might want to stock up on toilet paper. A very nice commidity to have. Easily have a years supply. Wife thinks I’m crazy on that but it always can and will be used.
One other item to consider when prepping..exercise.
While some (or all?) regularly exercise, those that haven’t – start. Get a medical check up – a complete one at that. Then, start slow and easy – and get built up. If there ever is a grid down, or “massive civil unrest” – being in pretty decent shape will make a difference. I understand if it’s expensive, and not everyone will have a low co-pay for a physical, but it’s important to get that done before you hit the treadmill or weights or both. Patience.
One other thing – being an apartment prepper, there is not a whole lot of room. Dump the stuff you don’t need, Salvation or other community stores can take it from you, and you’ll have room to put up canned goods or if you’re watchful, catch the freeze dried stuff and get a stock laid in.
Just my $00.02 worth…