Why Ammo Panic Buying Does More Harm than Good

Article Posted: March 23, 2015

Panic Buying
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Panic buying..we are all guilty of it. Be it ammo or arms we all seem to increase our consumption to near gluttonous levels. Let's talk about this.

Panic buying is an entirely natural human response, especially when facing the possibility of an impending shortage or a price increase for a popular commodity. Hordes of consumers will then rush to the stores to purchase large quantities of the product. This makes perfect sense when rushing to buy the last of their favorite ice cream brand, but it can be hindering to other consumers when you are speaking about recreational arms and ammo.

Starting from 2008, there has been an increasing series of instances of guns and ammo shortages in the US. These instances may be due to changes in the political environment, an upsurge of violent crime and the threat of certain guns and ammo going out of production. The result of these shortages is panic buying.

The most recent shortage came as a consequence of the proposal from the ATF to prohibit the sale of (and eventually completely ban) steel tipped 5.56 millimeter bullets, also known for being used as AR-15 ammunition. There has been a massive shortage of this ammo in retail outlets and gun shops due to panic buying by the general public.

Note: Some people say they wanted to ban all .223, others just the green tip Nato's. The truth lies somewhere in between. Post your comments below to help us unravel this.

Why the ban on this ammo?

The ammo in question is often used by sports shooters, rather than other general gun owners. It is designed for use in rifles, although there have been new developments which have made the ammo usable in easily concealable handguns.

The ammo is known to be able to penetrate through soft armor or protective vests, and it is indeed the same ammo that is used by the armed forces. The fact that it can penetrate through a protective vest means that if misused, it can cause loss of life, and while this is a valid concern it as of yet holds no merit.

Ignorance is bliss

Before the ATF came out with this ban, very few people knew about the new "handgun" which can use these bullets. Now, there may be persons who have purchased these bullets because they can use them on the new handguns. This directly places the lives of those in the armed forces at risk. In this example the push to make things safer for our law enforcement has backfired.

It is the real customers who suffer

For sports shooters who own rifles for this ammo, it is understandable that they would start panic buying. With this proposed ATF ban coming into play, sports shooters may be forced to replace their existing rifles as without the right ammo, they may be of no use.

Panic buying means that people are stocking up on whatever is available in case the ammo is not available in the future. As not everyone will be able to get their hands on the ammo, those who miss out may be forced to purchase different, more expensive ammo that does not hold the same capabilities. The saddest thing about this is that the real customers are the ones that lose out – and all because some people may have a bone to pick with the armed forces.

Who Is The Real Looser?

Our children and youth. The all but disappearance of the classic .22 LR round is sad. It used to be that for a few dollars one could buy a box .22 ammo and a few cans of pop and make an evening of it. Not so much today. Panic buyers, horders, 22lr uppers, ruger 10-22 30 round mags, as well as shady Wal-Mart employees have made this ammo impossible to come buy. Without this readily available supply of cheap low recoil ammo, many of the future hunters of tomorrow may never be made.

What's your opinion?

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