Most common ammo's in US?

[moab]

So...the best option is "both"?

100%. Your goto guns are those that are affordable to run during good times, so you can afford to keep ammo on hand and practice a lot. But you also keep something cheap and weird on hand for lean times like this. You can still buy 45 GAP and 300 Weatherby online today. I'm also seeing 25 ACP and 25-06 in my local big box stores. Can I afford to run those a lot year by year? Certainly not. But having a gun where you know you can get ammo when the muggles have stripped the shelves could be a life saver.

I still challenge anyone to actually do the math....the cost of the gun in the weird caliber put toward bulk common calibers during the 3.5 years out of 4 that the shelves are not bare would in most all cases see you through the shortage. If you can handle a more complex calculation you can add in the price difference between the common caliber in good times and the weird caliber in bad times, add in a ballpark number on rounds shot per month, and find your break even point. I think this shortage has lasted longer than most any shortage in the past (anyone feel free to chime in, I couldn't say how long the last few shortages lasted), but I'm not sure if we have really passed the 6 month mark. I think I snuck in a few normal priced cases of ammo as late as june or july.

If you are a gun enthusiast or collector than you will likely have a few oddballs around anyway, and math is the furthest from your mind, but if you are merely buying guns as a prep than I am fairly convinced oddball calibers are a bad investment. I may be missing a key factor somewhere, but I just can't see how the comfort of knowing there are a few boxes of ammo I can use at my local store compares with the comfort of knowing I have a few thousands rounds in my safe, and that a good half dozen of my friends have a few thousand of the same exact caliber in theirs as well.

I agree. Further if your collecting odd firearms for when a bad situation occurs. People arent going to avoid those off calibers and leave them on otherwise abandoned shelves. Theyre going to grab anything of value. Even if just for trade. Food and ammo are going to be at the top of everyones list.

If your prepping for such an event. And youve already got 10k rounds per caliber. Say 9mm, 5.56 and .22. The only thing i would invest in further is a good long range bolt action. Or a shotgun. Or...? Anything of use tactically or for hunting.

The only other prep i can think of is caches. But even then. Unless an odd firearm and caliber is dirt cheap. Id stick with collected calibers 9mm, 5.56, .22, .308, 12ga etc. And a cheaper but reliable gun in those calibers. If i buy an odd firearm with odd ammo for a cache or just prepping. I cant share that ammo back and forth with my common caliber stock piles guns and common ammo..

Odd calibers also limit your trading ability and worth. Yes. I can trade my odd caliber gun and ammo. But it won't be worth as much as a known gun and common caliber. Or even a known gun in odd caliber. Where are you going to find more ammo? At walmart where everyone left your odd caliber on the shelf? Not likely. People aren't that educated. Or will at least think maybe i can trade this? Maybe i can find a gun that shoots this caliber. Or maybe ill just use the gunpowder for something.

Lastly, if your down to your last firearm and its an odd one. What are your hopes for resupply. Id rather have a charter arms in 9mm. As even tho its a POS (insert whatever arm is the crappiest - i dont know much about charter arms) i can at least find some 9mm. The odds of finding that guy that rat fucked the 25-06 off your walmart shelves are pretty limited.

[NT2C]

Good points all around but here's another thought I have about the whole common vs uncommon debate. If you, as some advocate, stock and prep only the common calibers, what happens when an extended crisis hits (hey look, it's Covid!), panic buying sets in, and all of a sudden the supply of that common stuff dries up, prices climb to the "sell a vital organ" range, and the supply stays dried up for month after month as the crisis becomes neverending? It doesn't have to be a pandemic, it can be civil disorder, new laws or regs being fought out in court, the loss of a manufacturer, etc., but it just goes on and on, longer than any ammo shortage anyone has ever seen.

Are you still training and practicing to maintain proficiency?

As the weeks and months pass in the beginning you're probably not too worried because you have so much, but at some point, the thought will come to you that you're now expending a precious commodity that you might not be able to restock for years. Ammo sources may not have completely dried up or been priced out of range yet. There's likely some of the less common stuff still on shelves and in warehouses, and it's also likely still somewhat affordable. If you had a safe queen or two chambered in one of those less common calibers, and a stash of ammo for it, you could still be training and replenishing what you expend. Better still, as far as anyone at the range knows you don't have any of the more common stuff. You're just that guy at the range with a couple of oddball guns that likes to shoot them, not a potential resupply source when the balloon goes up.

[woodsghost]

It's been said: if you bought pre-crisis and have it stacked 5k or 10k or more deep (per caliber), then you can afford to expend 500 a year for 6-8 years (or 12-16 years) and still have a bunch for a rainy day.

If you got caught with your pants down, you adapt to the current situation. If I was just starting into self-defense today, I would buy a 7.62x39 rifle and a .45 GAP pistol and thousands of rounds for each.

The main idea of prepping is you prepare ahead of time. But sometimes that is not possible. The other big idea behind prepping is maintaining enough flexibility that you can adapt to changing realities and adapt quickly. This holds for world disasters, personal disasters, or flat tires on the side of the road.

I get the whole "buy what your friends have" thing. But if you are not in normal times and having to adjust on the fly, I'd say buy what you can and make due. Especially considering you might pay $.30/round for a weird caliber and $1.00 a round for a high demand caliber. In that case, you can pay for the rifle that shoots the weird caliber with savings from a 1200 round purchase.

So again there are two situations:

1) pre-crisis
2) middle of the crisis


Choices change, depending on where you are at and what your situation looks like.

[NT2C]

500 a year? That's barely a decent range trip for me.

Last range trip I made was out in Idaho last winter (don't judge, no ranges I can get to right now) and I went through 400 rounds of just 5.56, add in 9mm and .45 ACP, oh, and .380 ACP and it was probably an 800-1,000 round trip. (I was very rusty and needed the practice)

[RonnyRonin]

I would speculate that if the shortage is so long and so extreme that common calibers are totally gone or at sell-your-organ prices, than uncommon calibers are likely rising in price and disappearing in equal proportions.

Also, assuming you have your common guns that you actually intend to use in a time of need, than training with your uncommon guns may or may not be useful training for them. Training with a revolver or a tokarev has a non-zero value for staying sharp with the glock I will actually have with me in the squeeze, but it's also not great. Same goes for the funny lever or bolt action; it might be useful for procuring food but its not really going to keep me trained up on my AR that I would actually grab in a fight. An AK closes the gap but the manual of arms can bite you on a bad day.

As shortages lengthen or worsen, I'd perhaps consider shrinking my rainy day, "don't touch until doomsday" stash for the sake of training, but it would be a constant sliding scale as things got worse. How much ammo would I rather have in reserve than be rusty? 1000 seems high, but I think 500 is probably a trade I'd take. While a few combat loads of rainy day ammo is a long way from my ideal it would likely be more than I could shoot in anger before catching one in return. Certainly I would shoot less and less every year; dry fire and airsoft can go a long way and sometimes I'd prefer them to a funny gun with a different manual of arms, but in general I don't think it takes as much ammo as some of us expend to stay sharp; very focused purposeful training would be the name of the game. I suspect most americans would benefit more from an empty gun playing force-on-force scenarios than from another range day; but both are of course preferable.


Reloading is of course another factor; in general I think reloading components get scarce only slightly behind ammo, but it is another option. When I did the napkin math for my friend and his reloading setup I calculated a 10 year ROI based on his shooting schedule. For me it was probably closer to 50 years, but as prices go up of course that break even point gets closer and closer. for some guns at least brass is a renewable resource and bullets can be cast, so only powder and primers need limit your inventory.



I might go zero an optic and function test some new parts this weekend, I will certainly be counting my rounds far more carefully than normal, but I've planned far enough ahead I don't need to consider whether I can afford to go or not. If this current shortage lasts the rest of my life I'll just have to hope I put enough loctite on this particular optic mount because it might be what my grandkids are depending on. The little snots better hope they are left handed....

[RoneKiln]

Good points all around but here's another thought I have about the whole common vs uncommon debate. If you, as some advocate, stock and prep only the common calibers, what happens when an extended crisis hits (hey look, it's Covid!), panic buying sets in, and all of a sudden the supply of that common stuff dries up, prices climb to the "sell a vital organ" range, and the supply stays dried up for month after month as the crisis becomes neverending? It doesn't have to be a pandemic, it can be civil disorder, new laws or regs being fought out in court, the loss of a manufacturer, etc., but it just goes on and on, longer than any ammo shortage anyone has ever seen.

I saw that in '08 to '09. If that happens again this year, I'm selling half a dozen rifles, a crate of magazines, and a crate of 22LR ammo. Cause after the last time, I prepped for it to happen again. Which means I prepped to profit, not just weather it. I considered it a diversification of my investments. With a bit of luck it'll buy me a new roof. . Prices still aren't near what they were in '09.

I can do extensive training with dry fire exercises. I can do more training with 22LR conversions for my glocks and AR. I will do less training with 9mm, .40 and 5.56, but I'll still do a little. I am considering taking some force on force classes, which in my area means I also need to invest in airsoft gear (simunitions are technically still "deadly weapons" in my state and therefore not available).

I'd rather have cheap and plentiful ammo available to purchase and be able to fire several thousand rounds a year without concern, but I have options to train quite well without that.

If anyone isn't prepared for a long dry spell, look up dry fire exercises. 22LR conversions for ARs are not only still widely available, but also often on sale. I've been hearing some cool things about laser kits for dry fire exercises too. Look into a good airsoft pistol that mimics your EDC. Fill a glass of water to the brim and practice running around the yard without spilling it while holding it out like a pistol. That does wonders for shooting while moving.

One of my tactical pistol instructors told me about a kid coming from China and taking a very high end course attended by only top notch competition shooters. He had never touched a real gun in his life. Everyone was wondering what the heck the kid was doing there. Yet he trained with an airsoft gun for hours every day for over a year. By the time he got into the class he only had to learn recoil control. He finished top in the class.

Edited to fix a typo.

[woodsghost]

; dry fire and airsoft can go a long way and sometimes I'd prefer them to a funny gun with a different manual of arms, but in general I don't think it takes as much ammo as some of us expend to stay sharp; very focused purposeful training would be the name of the game. I suspect most americans would benefit more from an empty gun playing force-on-force scenarios than from another range day; but both are of course preferable.

I agree 100%. I also think a funny gun can be used to practice and improve marksmanship fundimentals even if the manual of arms is different. For rapidly getting on target and making good hits, a semi-auto or even bolt action .22 can be very useful.

I could be wrong, but I don't think marksmanship fundimentals change much even as platforms and manuals of arms change. I think those fundimentals need to be our focus. Well...they are my focus.


@NT2C, I know lots of people like to shoot more than 500 a year. The last 7 years, it has not been an option for me to much over 100 rounds/year with rifles and much over 400 rnds/year with pistols. That did change in 2020, and I've been knocking rust off of skillsets. I think in 2020 alone I've shot 500+ from my rifle and probably 300-500 from my pistol. My focus has done a 180 from a CCW focus to a rifle focus. But a lot changed in my life in 2020 which made it all possible.

[moab]

; dry fire and airsoft can go a long way and sometimes I'd prefer them to a funny gun with a different manual of arms, but in general I don't think it takes as much ammo as some of us expend to stay sharp; very focused purposeful training would be the name of the game. I suspect most americans would benefit more from an empty gun playing force-on-force scenarios than from another range day; but both are of course preferable.

I agree 100%. I also think a funny gun can be used to practice and improve marksmanship fundimentals even if the manual of arms is different. For rapidly getting on target and making good hits, a semi-auto or even bolt action .22 can be very useful.

I could be wrong, but I don't think marksmanship fundimentals change much even as platforms and manuals of arms change. I think those fundimentals need to be our focus. Well...they are my focus.


@NT2C, I know lots of people like to shoot more than 500 a year. The last 7 years, it has not been an option for me to much over 100 rounds/year with rifles and much over 400 rnds/year with pistols. That did change in 2020, and I've been knocking rust off of skillsets. I think in 2020 alone I've shot 500+ from my rifle and probably 300-500 from my pistol. My focus has done a 180 from a CCW focus to a rifle focus. But a lot changed in my life in 2020 which made it all possible.

What changed for you?

[moab]

Good points all around but here's another thought I have about the whole common vs uncommon debate. If you, as some advocate, stock and prep only the common calibers, what happens when an extended crisis hits (hey look, it's Covid!), panic buying sets in, and all of a sudden the supply of that common stuff dries up, prices climb to the "sell a vital organ" range, and the supply stays dried up for month after month as the crisis becomes neverending? It doesn't have to be a pandemic, it can be civil disorder, new laws or regs being fought out in court, the loss of a manufacturer, etc., but it just goes on and on, longer than any ammo shortage anyone has ever seen.

I saw that in '08 to '09. If that happens again this year, I'm selling half a dozen rifles, a crate of magazines, and a crate of 22LR ammo. Cause after the last time, I prepped for it to happen again. Which means I prepped to profit, not just weather it. I considered it a diversification of my investments. With a bit of luck it'll buy me a new roof. . Prices still aren't near what they were in '09.

I can do extensive training with dry fire exercises. I can do more training with 22LR conversions for my glocks and AR. I will do less training with 9mm, .40 and 5.56, but I'll still do a little. I am considering taking some force on force classes, which in my area means I also need to invest in airsoft gear (simunitions are technically still "deadly weapons" in my state and therefore not available).

I'd rather have cheap and plentiful ammo available to purchase and be able to fire several thousand rounds a year without concern, but I have options to train quite well without that.

If anyone isn't prepared for a long dry spell, look up dry fire exercises. 22LR conversions for ARs are not only still widely available, but also often on sale. I've been hearing some cool things about laser kits for dry fire exercises too. Look into a good airsoft pistol that mimics your EDC. Fill a glass of water to the brim and practice running around the yard without spilling it while holding it out like a pistol. That does wonders for shooting while moving.

One of my tactical pistol instructors told me about a kid coming from China and taking a very high end course attended by only top notch competition shooters. He had never touched a real gun in his life. Everyone was wondering what the heck the kid was doing there. Yet he trained with an airsoft gun for hours every day for over a year. By the time he got into the class he only had to learn recoil control. He finished top in the class.

Edited to fix a typo.

There's a video of that kid in that class on yt. Its truly amazing how much airsoft helped him. I think he played competitive airsoft. But had never shot a real rifle.

I shot a 249/250 in the USMC. Out to 500m. Id been shooting since a young child. I'm a Yakama descendant. My father was Native Yakama Indian. And a hunter, trapper and fisherman. So it was very important to him that i know how to shoot. I shot .22s from about the age of 5.

But what really taught me to shoot was a bb gun. He would stop everyday and buy me 1000 bb's for a quarter. And the next day i would shoot up those thousand rounds. By pouring syrup on the bottom step and shooting flies. I also got hired to shoot birds robbing the local fruit orchard.

But that kind of accuracy and repetition is what I believe made me such a good shooter. And solid training from a young age. I shot lots of larger calibers. But i dont think it matters what you shoot. If you put in enough reps pointing a gun and shooting it at a target. You'll improve your shooting greatly. Especially if you make your target smaller as you get better. At least for distance shooting.

He also taught me the BRASS system from the Marine Corps. Hed been in as well as my grandfather. BRASS stands for breathe, relax, aim, stop, squeeze. But most importantly for distance shooting is you squeeze until the bullet goes off catching you off guard. You shouldn't know when the rifle goes off. I see a lot of guys struggle with this.

In the end, if you break it down to its smallest components. Shooting is simply lining up two sights on a target and getting a round on it. You can do that with an airsoft gun or a bb gun.

Thats not to say it replaces actual caliber training with a real firearms though. Just like the boy from China that only shot airsoft. He still had to learn recoil. But if you watch that video. The kid has the fundamentals down. Hes smooth and fast. He just had to adjust for muzzle rise and recoil.

So if you can afford a thousand real rounds per year. You can afford several thousand from your living room chair to your airsoft or bb gun target. Hell i used to set up beer cans in my bedroom and shoot at those. But my point is if your a shooter you should put in twice as many shots with an airsoft or bb gun. As you do real rounds. It will improve your shooting greatly.

*I've never thought of this as a prep though either. Maybe its time to buy a bb gun and 20k rounds for it. So i can teach my future grandson or daughter.

[RoneKiln]

So if you can afford a thousand real rounds per year. You can afford several thousand from your living room chair to your airsoft or bb gun target. Hell i used to set up beer cans in my bedroom and shoot at those. But my point is if your a shooter you should put in twice as many shots with an airsoft or bb gun. As you do real rounds. It will improve your shooting greatly.

*I've never thought of this as a prep though either. Maybe its time to buy a bb gun and 20k rounds for it. So i can teach my future grandson or daughter.

Damnit. Now I have to research airsoft and pellet guns. Quit being so motivating.

[woodsghost]

@NT2C, I know lots of people like to shoot more than 500 a year. The last 7 years, it has not been an option for me to much over 100 rounds/year with rifles and much over 400 rnds/year with pistols. That did change in 2020, and I've been knocking rust off of skillsets. I think in 2020 alone I've shot 500+ from my rifle and probably 300-500 from my pistol. My focus has done a 180 from a CCW focus to a rifle focus. But a lot changed in my life in 2020 which made it all possible.

What changed for you?

I assume you meant this part.

What changed is 1) I was embarrassed at my 2019 deer season performance, 2) I freed up cash by selling a lot of gun stuff in early 2020, and 3) I decided zombies were a bigger threat than mass shooters at the mall. There have been a lot of riots in this country lately.

I did some math and realized I had run more rounds through my lever rifle too, so technically I've run probably 700+ rifle rounds this year.

If I had known all about how 2020 was going to turn out I would not have got the .357 lever gun/deer rifle in June. I would have put that money into armor and even more ammo. And a gas mask or two. Hind sight is....20/20?

Also, 4) I changed jobs in 2019, got better pay, and paid off daughter #2's medical stuff early. She cost a lot pre-nataly. She cost more before birth than the actual hospital stay.

And if you are asking what happened after 7 years, I got out of school, got on my feet, eventually got an entry level job, then graduated to a professional position in a different industry.

[boskone]

So if you can afford a thousand real rounds per year. You can afford several thousand from your living room chair to your airsoft or bb gun target. Hell i used to set up beer cans in my bedroom and shoot at those. But my point is if your a shooter you should put in twice as many shots with an airsoft or bb gun. As you do real rounds. It will improve your shooting greatly.

*I've never thought of this as a prep though either. Maybe its time to buy a bb gun and 20k rounds for it. So i can teach my future grandson or daughter.

Damnit. Now I have to research airsoft and pellet guns. Quit being so motivating.

I have a Colt airsoft 1911, purchased for basically just this reason (cheaper practice).

At household ranges, the biggest issue I've had is that it went through two cardboard boxes (4 layers of corrugated coardboard) and chipped my back door. Strictly speaking the operations are also slightly different, but it's a surprisingly close match in most respects.

If I had known all about how 2020 was going to turn out I would not have got the .357 lever gun/deer rifle in June. I would have put that money into armor and even more ammo. And a gas mask or two. Hind sight is....20/20?

I'd honestly think about selling one of my ARs if there were a lever gun in 6.5 Grendel. (Without basically building an entirely new gun from a donor chassis, that is.)

[RonnyRonin]

I'd honestly think about selling one of my ARs if there were a lever gun in 6.5 Grendel. (Without basically building an entirely new gun from a donor chassis, that is.)

you'd need a mag fed one; browning BLR would probably be the place to start.

[RoneKiln]

I have a Colt airsoft 1911, purchased for basically just this reason (cheaper practice).

At household ranges, the biggest issue I've had is that it went through two cardboard boxes (4 layers of corrugated coardboard) and chipped my back door. Strictly speaking the operations are also slightly different, but it's a surprisingly close match in most respects.

I can easily make nice looking plywood backstops. The bigger issue for me is the pellets rolling around the floor and my cats.

My brother got really into airsoft with his inlaws. He's going to massively narrow down the research for me.

I've also been tempted for years to get a pellet gun suitable for small game. I may invest in one mid next year.

[boskone]

I'd honestly think about selling one of my ARs if there were a lever gun in 6.5 Grendel. (Without basically building an entirely new gun from a donor chassis, that is.)

you'd need a mag fed one; browning BLR would probably be the place to start.

Or for Hornady to make a Leverevolution line of 6.5mm. Not likely, though.

I actually looked, but since there's no levers (here in the US, at least) with an appropriately-sized base there'd be a lot of machining. Since I lack the expertise or the machinery, that'd be pretty pricey.

Might get a bolt one of these days.

[RonnyRonin]

I think it would be a liability nightmare for hornady to make any leverevolution ammo in "normal" rifle calibers.

If the BLR can be had in both .223 and 6.5 creedmoor, surely you could finagle a grendel in there.

[moab]

I have a Colt airsoft 1911, purchased for basically just this reason (cheaper practice).

At household ranges, the biggest issue I've had is that it went through two cardboard boxes (4 layers of corrugated coardboard) and chipped my back door. Strictly speaking the operations are also slightly different, but it's a surprisingly close match in most respects.

I can easily make nice looking plywood backstops. The bigger issue for me is the pellets rolling around the floor and my cats.

My brother got really into airsoft with his inlaws. He's going to massively narrow down the research for me.

I've also been tempted for years to get a pellet gun suitable for small game. I may invest in one mid next year.

They make trough like targets that catch the airsoft bbs. They even make one that traps .22 iirc. I think my son in law had one.

For airsoft we use cheap but ok guns. And make a backdroo of cardboard with a box under it. It does not sound as powerful as yours. But it hits the cardboard and then falls down into the box.

For learning pistol back in the 70s my father gave me a crosman pellet pistol. No one ever trained me. But i was shooting with both eyes open way back then. I could skip a soda can from a pretty long distance up our dirt road. It was a lot of fun.

The thing i didnt learn. Was urban warfare. Either then or in the military. Back then everything was long distance and fireteams assaulting in the open. Back then it was EU forest war. Not desert urban war.

Id like to take some classes eventually.

[MPMalloy]

The thing i didnt learn. Was urban warfare. Either then or in the military. Back then everything was long distance and fireteams assaulting in the open. Back then it was EU forest war. Not desert urban war.

Id like to take some classes eventually.

We did some MOUT once during DS/DS. Once.

Scary A.F.

[woodsghost]

The thing i didnt learn. Was urban warfare. Either then or in the military. Back then everything was long distance and fireteams assaulting in the open. Back then it was EU forest war. Not desert urban war.

Id like to take some classes eventually.

This has changed a lot in the last 5 years, let alone the last 25 years.

Drones loaded with explosives are a big part of the most recent changes.

Car bombs are quite the thing.

Anti-material rifles are pretty useful.

And urban team tactics are pretty different from "defend my house" tactics. But "defend my house" will teach some basic fundimentals.

I guess this strays a bit far from "common ammo in the US."

[moab]

The thing i didnt learn. Was urban warfare. Either then or in the military. Back then everything was long distance and fireteams assaulting in the open. Back then it was EU forest war. Not desert urban war.

Id like to take some classes eventually.

This has changed a lot in the last 5 years, let alone the last 25 years.

Drones loaded with explosives are a big part of the most recent changes.

Car bombs are quite the thing.

Anti-material rifles are pretty useful.

And urban team tactics are pretty different from "defend my house" tactics. But "defend my house" will teach some basic fundimentals.

I guess this strays a bit far from "common ammo in the US."

Hey. I started this thread. And its been going on for 5 years. I think we can afford to stray.

[RoneKiln]

Well... Not too far back in the thread someone posted a container of pellets. It's looking like that's what will be most common for many of us for a year or two.

[lailr]

Good points all around but here's another thought I have about the whole common vs uncommon debate. If you, as some advocate, stock and prep only the common calibers, what happens when an extended crisis hits (hey look, it's Covid!), panic buying sets in, and all of a sudden the supply of that common stuff dries up, prices climb to the "sell a vital organ" range, and the supply stays dried up for month after month as the crisis becomes neverending? It doesn't have to be a pandemic, it can be civil disorder, new laws or regs being fought out in court, the loss of a manufacturer, etc., but it just goes on and on, longer than any ammo shortage anyone has ever seen.

I also got hired to shoot birds robbing the local fruit orchard.

Man, I did the same thing at a local junkyard with rats. Owner would pay me a quarter a rat, and I'd run around with my old Remington single shot .22

[echo83]

Well... Not too far back in the thread someone posted a container of pellets. It's looking like that's what will be most common for many of us for a year or two.

Yeah, that was me...in 2018...man, if I knew then what I know now.

Seriously. Last time I went to my LGS, the only buckshot in stock was Wolf, and they had a limit of 2 boxes (10 shells) per person. Each box of 5 was $11.75.

Welp, looks like I'll be on the .22 lr/ .177 pellet train for a while.

[woodsghost]

Well... Not too far back in the thread someone posted a container of pellets. It's looking like that's what will be most common for many of us for a year or two.

Yeah, that was me...in 2018...man, if I knew then what I know now.

Seriously. Last time I went to my LGS, the only buckshot in stock was Wolf, and they had a limit of 2 boxes (10 shells) per person. Each box of 5 was $11.75.

Welp, looks like I'll be on the .22 lr/ .177 pellet train for a while.

Try Atlantic Firearms and their "Black Aces" ammo. I have no idea where it comes from but they claim it is quality, stiff, and it is about half what your store is charging.

https://atlanticfirearms.com/products/b ... 2706998147