I'm Out of Control

[ShtrRdy]

Given the two year plus shortage I can hardly call this hoarding.

Depending on how much reloading / shooting one does, 1K rifle primers could be anything from < a year to multiple years' supply. Even if someone is primarily a hunter & uses under 100 primers a year, it's sadly a good bet that in a few years the price will be higher.

I wouldn't tie funds up in an item I expect to be commonly available, but the primer shortage has persisted even as powder has (recently) become more available. Given the rumblings we're hearing from the anti's wrt following CA & NY's lead in making ammunition more difficult to obtain (provide ID / register, excessively taxed) I'm i buying ammo & components to last for years rather than months.

That's prudence, not hoarding.

I agree that those of us that are avid firearms enthusiasts do need to plan ahead for potential shortages in the future. But there's a point where some people believe they still need more even though they're set for several years out. When everyone feels this way we have a self induced shortage.

 

[SWHandldr]

I agree that those of us that are avid firearms enthusiasts do need to plan ahead for potential shortages in the future. But there's a point where some people believe they still need more even though they're set for several years out. When everyone feels this way we have a self induced shortage.

Most of us are capable of balancing spend & inventory. Obsessive types, not so much, so some will always feel they still need more. Doesn't seem to me that everyone feels this way.

When availability gets bad (as in since 2020) more of us do & that's a natural response. When primers are not to be had retail or online, at any price (scalping excepted), the shortage isn't self-induced.

Buying at scalpers' prices may be obsessive or cuz a planned hunt will not happen without a component. Paying their price is pretty much gonna make anyone think they want to avoid the situation another time. Buying a thousand primers once they become available again - even at a much higher price - seems a reasonable response.

If a couple years down the road, 1K Fed 210's cost $75, buying another brick or two is a) dollar cost averaging and 2) a wise move, imo. I'm 74 so well more road behind me than ahead, but I'd rather die with some components on hand, or if health forces me to stop shooting, gift my firearms & supplies to someone of my choosing than be forced to quit while I'm still able.

Or to pass with thousands of primers & many pounds of powder & have it sell for pennies on the dollar. I don't hafta concern myself with it 'selling for what I told my wife it cost' as I don't have one.