I recently received the big hunting season promotional flyer from Bass Pro Shops and was shocked to see that there was no ammunition and very few guns in it. They were promoting archery supplies, game cameras, clothing, hunting boots, and optics, but no ammo. Not that long ago, a page or two of these flyers were dedicated to ammunition, most of it for hunting, but plenty of pistol rounds as well.
I can remember looking at every flyer from Dick’s, Cabella’s and similar outlets during the Obama Administration, waiting to see when they would have .22LR on sale. When it went on sale, I would run out and buy the three-box limit. If the store was near my office, I would go at lunch, possibly for a couple of days in a row. Now, sales of ammo appear to be a thing of the past. I can only assume it is because ammunition prices are so low stores cannot afford to put it on sale.
With .22LR half of what it sold for then, 9mm FMJ selling for $10 to $11 for 50 rounds, and 5.56 coming it around $400 for a case of 1,000 rounds, we are enjoying some of the lowest ammo prices in more than a decade. Sure, some large hunting rounds with fancy bullets can be $6 or $8 each, but almost everything I shoot is $1 a round or less. Even the high-end self-defense 9mm JHP rounds top out at $1 to $1.20 a round for 9mm, although .45 is more. This is your chance to buy it cheap.
Stack it Deep
As a prepper, I consider brass, copper, and lead to be precious metals. OK, so they are not as pricey as gold and silver, but the day may come when they are more valuable. It’s been said that you can’t eat gold. you can’t eat brass and lead either, but with the right gun and a little skill, it can put dinner on the table.
If all you have to do after the SHTF is hunt, you won’t need that much ammo. If you get into a one-on-one self-defense scenario, you shouldn’t need too many rounds. But if you get into a large-scale defense-of-homestead battle against multiple opponents, you could need hundreds of rounds or more. If you get into scenarios where you have to provide covering fire or suppress the enemy while someone else on your team changes positions or withdraws, you could find yourself firing multiple 30-round magazines. That’s why you should carry at least six and have plenty of ammo in your stash. Not every engagement is going to be settled in a few rounds.
If you are lucky enough to have an FRT, then you could burn through even more ammo. This is also where drum and other large-capacity magazines come into play.
Getting Canned
Speaking of stacking it deep, I saw Spam was on sale at Amazon for $25.48 when you buy 12 cans. That’s $2.12 per can, a little less than the current price of $2.23 per can when you buy eight at Sam’s Club. And that price is $6 off their normal price. For both outlets t have such a big sale, I guess Hormel must be having a Spam sale. (If so, Walmart hasn’t found out. It’s still $3.88 a can there.) The media may be telling us that beef is in short supply and prices are rising, but at the price on Amazon, Spam is $2.83 per pound. That’s less than some cuts of chicken.
Do I prefer steak to over Spam? I sure do. Heck, I prefer hamburgers over Spam, but I had Spam and eggs today for breakfast as part of our program to eat our older cans and replace them with new ones. (Like they say, store what you eat and eat what you store.) The last time I bought steak, it was on sale for $11.98 a pound, down from its normal $16.98. For that price, I buy six cans of Spam instead of a pound of steak, I don’t have to freeze Spam, and it has a much longer shelf life. Perfect for your prepper pantry.
Sounds like a good time to buy some Spam cheap and stack it deep. I also saw a couple Auguson Farm items on sale.
So what do canned meats and ammo prices have to do with each other? Just examples of commodities preppers need that you should buy when they are on sale. Pick up a few cans of Spam or a few boxes of ammo when you see them at a discount, and you’ll be that much better prepped. And if you don’t need it, you can always trade it or give it to someone who does.
Buy Low, Sell High
Have you seen the price of gold and silver? Both have been climbing, so you may be better off buying food or ammo right now. On Thursday, the spot price of gold closed at $3,396.90 and silver at $38.35. That’s not a vote of confidence int he dollar. Bitcoin also recovered a good chunk of its recent losses, flirting with $118,000, although you will find it hard to “stack” bitcoin. You will also find it hard to spend your bitcoin if the grid is down.
If you look at prepping as a journey, you can take your time and snap things up with the time is right. Get the basics and then expand your stash when your budget and the price are in alignment. Prep wisely.
