Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:
The United States still faces a shortage of affordable ammunition. The Garden Administration is going to make it worse.
Ammunition made in Russia is imported into the US and sold under brands like Tula, Wolf, Bear and others. It’s generally made from cheaper components (steel case, bi-metal jacket, low-grade-primer) so ammo snobs like me won’t buy it. But cheaper components means cheaper prices, even after shipping it half-way around the world. Today on Ammoseek, 9mm 115 grain by Tula is $0.33 per round while Winchester White Box is $0.40 (limited quantities). Unless you’re shooting a lot of rounds, that probably won’t make a difference in your pocketbook.
But remember our discussion about Second Order Effects? Take away the cheapest ammo and what do low-budget shooters do: quit shooting altogether or buy more expansive ammo? And if they buy more expensive ammo, that depletes the available inventory of more expensive ammo which . . . pushes up the price to make it even more expensive.
When ammunition becomes a luxury good, only rich people and government can afford it. Disarming the masses on the cheap – welcome to The New United States, where Constitutional rights are a historical anachronism that you can’t afford to exercise.
Joe Doakes
It is implementing, in effect, Moynahan’s famous, and most stupid, policy suggestion; the thousand percent tax on ammunition.
Hence why I’ve cut way back on practice. I’m fortunate that I have a couple of friends that reload ammo, but even the components for that are getting scarcer.
I go through a lot of Russian ammo, because I shoot all my EDC’s 2x per month.
3 pistols x 50 = 150 rnds/mo
I’ve never found Russian .380 ammo, so no change there. 9mm is pretty easy to get now, but the .45 auto tab will take a jump.
During the height of the ammo desert, I bought a Taurus TX22 because .380 had become unobtanium. I didn’t want to waste premium self-defense rounds but I have a large supply of .22LR.
I love the TX. It’s about the same size as my M&P shield, and the recoil is reasonably similar. Going through 100 rnds a week didn’t put a dent in my wallet or my supply.
BTW. It’s ironic, I think, that whenever they go through the millions of rounds of ammo rat Biden left them, the Taliban will have no trouble getting Russian ammo to feed the M4’s rat Biden also left them.