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Well, two years into the current ammo shortage, and I have to say it has been a mixed blessing getting some of the uncommon cartridges as a way to "panic-proof" my ability to get ammunition.
Through the last 15 years or so, it was worthwhile to have an extra gun or two that used an uncommon caliber in case there was a buying panic, and the most common cartridges became unavailable. Things like .45 GAP, 10mm, and .357 Sig managed to stay in stock many places online, even after the 2012 election, Sandyhook, and several other smaller panics that saw 9mm and .40 vanish from shelves for months. Glock 37s were an especially good deal, as they cost about half what a used 9mm Glock went for. And the .45 GAP ammunition was available in both FMJ and Speer Gold Dot for about a dollar more per 50 than similar 9mm ammunition. Far cheaper than .40 S&W. This was mostly due to the fact that many departments had dropped it to go back to 9mm. So there were masses of ammunition sitting in warehouses. Both 10mm and .357 Sig were not really being used by many departments, but there was enough demand for ammunition makers to continue producing regular runs of both of them, keeping the supply up.
With the plague, the summer of protests, and the run-up to the 2020 election, it looked like another panic similar to the others was hitting. And just as in the other cases, the oddball rounds stayed in stock long after the other rounds were sold out. I was still buying .45 GAP at close to the same price almost a year into everything. And neither 10mm nor .357 Sig completely sold out everywhere. Yay me! I dun good. BUT... Then the panic didn't end. The demand didn't go back down. And there were major disruptions in the supply chain, limiting ammunition production because certain supplies became unobtainable due to high demand. That high demand still remains. And because there is such a demand for more common rounds such as 9mm, the production of many other, less common rounds has been put on hold for the next several years. With the limited production and supplies of loaded ammunition still out there, 10mm looks like it will weather this pretty well. Several of the other rounds aren't quite so lucky. .45 GAP looks like it will be a pretty low priority, as the demand that built up the initial surplus on the market is no longer there. I doubt Speer will be getting to that one for at least another 2 years. .357 Sig is somewhat in the same boat. Other rounds, especially revolver rounds like .32-anything, or .44 Special will also probably be made of unobtainium for the foreseeable future.
If you were smart enough to stock up on some of these oddballs, you are now faced with the dilemma of what to do. You have a gun or several guns, and potentially enough ammunition to keep them fed for a while. But said ammunition is irreplaceable for the next few years. What do you do? Shoot some of your reserve, to keep your shooting skills up? Or hoard it against a rainy day when you might need it?
I don't know the answer to this one. I have a Glock 38 on my permit, and enough .45 GAP to keep it fed with JHPs for self defense for a long time. But I am loathe to dip into that reserve for fear of not being able to get it again for a really long time. On the other hand, both 9mm and 10mm are available. Albeit at 2-3 times the price before the plague. Is it worth it to me to spend significantly more for ammunition that I can replace? I am still mulling this over. These days I seem to be sticking to the 9mm, which I can get more of, and simply shooting less. A lot less.
Through the last 15 years or so, it was worthwhile to have an extra gun or two that used an uncommon caliber in case there was a buying panic, and the most common cartridges became unavailable. Things like .45 GAP, 10mm, and .357 Sig managed to stay in stock many places online, even after the 2012 election, Sandyhook, and several other smaller panics that saw 9mm and .40 vanish from shelves for months. Glock 37s were an especially good deal, as they cost about half what a used 9mm Glock went for. And the .45 GAP ammunition was available in both FMJ and Speer Gold Dot for about a dollar more per 50 than similar 9mm ammunition. Far cheaper than .40 S&W. This was mostly due to the fact that many departments had dropped it to go back to 9mm. So there were masses of ammunition sitting in warehouses. Both 10mm and .357 Sig were not really being used by many departments, but there was enough demand for ammunition makers to continue producing regular runs of both of them, keeping the supply up.
With the plague, the summer of protests, and the run-up to the 2020 election, it looked like another panic similar to the others was hitting. And just as in the other cases, the oddball rounds stayed in stock long after the other rounds were sold out. I was still buying .45 GAP at close to the same price almost a year into everything. And neither 10mm nor .357 Sig completely sold out everywhere. Yay me! I dun good. BUT... Then the panic didn't end. The demand didn't go back down. And there were major disruptions in the supply chain, limiting ammunition production because certain supplies became unobtainable due to high demand. That high demand still remains. And because there is such a demand for more common rounds such as 9mm, the production of many other, less common rounds has been put on hold for the next several years. With the limited production and supplies of loaded ammunition still out there, 10mm looks like it will weather this pretty well. Several of the other rounds aren't quite so lucky. .45 GAP looks like it will be a pretty low priority, as the demand that built up the initial surplus on the market is no longer there. I doubt Speer will be getting to that one for at least another 2 years. .357 Sig is somewhat in the same boat. Other rounds, especially revolver rounds like .32-anything, or .44 Special will also probably be made of unobtainium for the foreseeable future.
If you were smart enough to stock up on some of these oddballs, you are now faced with the dilemma of what to do. You have a gun or several guns, and potentially enough ammunition to keep them fed for a while. But said ammunition is irreplaceable for the next few years. What do you do? Shoot some of your reserve, to keep your shooting skills up? Or hoard it against a rainy day when you might need it?
I don't know the answer to this one. I have a Glock 38 on my permit, and enough .45 GAP to keep it fed with JHPs for self defense for a long time. But I am loathe to dip into that reserve for fear of not being able to get it again for a really long time. On the other hand, both 9mm and 10mm are available. Albeit at 2-3 times the price before the plague. Is it worth it to me to spend significantly more for ammunition that I can replace? I am still mulling this over. These days I seem to be sticking to the 9mm, which I can get more of, and simply shooting less. A lot less.
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