In the middle of inflation, ammunition seems to be the only thing that is dropping in price. I urge you to stock up now.
Recently, I bought 125 grain supersonic .300 blackout rounds for 50 cents each, or a box of 20 for $9.95 from Palmetto State Armory. I also purchased CCI MiniMags at $10 a box of 100. That’s well down from the $17 to $20 they have sold for as recently as last year.
Yesterday, I received an email from AIM Surplus that offered M193 for $8.49 per box and SS109 for 8.95 per box. That’s 42 and 45 cents per round. (And for those who don’t know what M193 and SS109 are, they are 55 grain and 62 grain 5.56 rounds.) OK, so they are not U.S. made, but if you want 1,000 rounds, that’s the best price I’ve seen at least three or even five years. It may well be that the days of buying a case of 5.56 for $300 are gone for good.
Buy in Volume
As preppers, we can buy in volume because we store what we don’t consume immediately. That means we buy cases of food or ammo when on sale. That helps insulate us from price fluctuations, but only if we have enough on our shelves that we can draw upon it without using up all our stock.
Right now, food is growing more expensive and ammo is getting cheaper. To me, that’s an opportunity to stock up on ammo.
If you are looking for ammo, sign up for the promotional emails from some of the bigger online sellers. You may get a coupon valid on your first order and you’ll get plenty of emails with their latest sales. One day, your caliber will be on sale for a price you cant pass up.
Buy Training Ammo
I often carry Hornady’s Critical Defense ammo in my pistols, but at $1 or more per round, it is expensive. So I buy 50 round boxes of 115 grain FMJ 9mm from PMC for $12.95 or in 100 round boxes from AAC for $25.99. That gives me practice ammo at one fourth the price.
Of course, once you have practice ammo, it behooves you to go to the range and train. Here’s a simple course of fire: Place three targets at different distances. Draw from your holster and fire two or three rounds at one target. Then, get off the X and run a few steps to the side and fire two or three rounds at another target. Shift your position again and shoot the last target. Only then should you safe and holster your gun and go look at your targets. If those were attackers, were your shots sufficient to put them down?
You can mix this up by putting some cover on the range and running to cover after your first shots. Then shoot from one side and then from the other. You can also try it wearing a heavy backpack or stick your left arm in your back pocket and try it one handed. Then try it with your other hand.
If you don’t use all your training ammo, that’s OK. Chances are you will need to train someone after TEOTWAWKI. Or mix that ammo into your self-defense magazines. When I’ve been low on the expensive ammo, I’ll mix Hornady Critical Defense ammo with FMJ. I’ll often have the top three rounds in the magazines be the expensive stuff and then every other one be FMJ. This isn’t optimal, but it is worth considering if you only have one box of 25 rounds of Critical Defense and you have enough magazines to hold 50 rounds.
Emphasis on Guns
When I look at the last month or six weeks of posts, I see I have written about guns more than any other topic. That’s because I have a growing sense we will need our guns. I see a breakdown in the rule of law now, before the collapse, so I can only imagine how bad it will get after the SHTF.
Look at crime in the big cities. Look at the level of shootings, car jackings, theft, robberies at gas stations, home invasions, etc. Even in the Wild West, I doubt we saw so many people armed and willing to brazenly shoot it out in the middle of the streets. Learn from what is happening in the cities because it will seem tame when we live in a world without the rule of law. Look at gun crime in places like Brazil where two guys on motorcycles will drive up, rob pedestrians at gun point, and then speed away. The only defense is a gun of yor own.
Guns for Preppers
Having a three-year supply of food doesn’t do you any good if someone can steal it because you cannot defend yourself. Likewise, if your homestead produces enough food and supplies for you to be self- sufficient, what’s to stop a well-armed group from forcing you to work for them? They could make you modern day serfs, or they could just shoot you, move in, eat your livestock and then go on to the next homesteader.
Am I going to kill someone to protect a few chickens? Not today, but it will be a different story when those chickens are one of the things standing between me and starvation. I fear it will soon be a dog-eat-dog world, and you will need to show your teeth.
On April 1, I wrote “Buy Guns Now to Avoid the Run.” That advice still applies. Buy enough guns to arm your whole family. Stockpile ammunition. Hide some of it or create caches. Go armed. If you don’t have a concealed carry permit, get one. Train. It may save your life or the lives of those you love.
