Surviving the Ammo Shortage

If you’ve tried to buy ammo lately, then you know what it feels like to do without—especially at a reasonable price for .22 LR—it’s as rare as hens’ teeth. The disruption in the supply has no end in sight. I shoot on average about 200 rounds a week at my rifle club. Recently, the club announced that it has reached its membership cap—demand has been unprecedented. At the national level, the government has purchased billions of rounds and has scared gun owners into a buying frenzy. Locally, the Newport city council attempted to pass a resolution recommending tighter gun control at the state level.

I attended the meeting in Newport. You should have seen the looks on the faces of a few council members visibly uncomfortable with the high number of pro-gun supporters at the meeting. That’s what made the difference in the council dropping it all together, which they did. One councilwoman with a license to carry said our support made the difference and mouthed a thank you as we were walking out.

So while federal, state, and local governments threaten Second Amendment rights, scaring gun owners into buying as much ammo as they can, the supply/demand disruption creates a problem for your training. You still need to practice, but at the same time not exhaust your precious supply. I was speaking with a gun shop owner not too long ago. He told me that one of the most important areas of training, and one that is often overlooked, is the physical strength it takes to shoot a pistol. Why not focus on building strength and saving ammo?

Do the wall drill, but without a pistol. Try holding your arm out in front of you, then focus on a point on the wall, and try not to shake. My 9mm Sig 226 MK25 weighs about two pounds, or the equivalent of two cans of SPAM (25% less sodium). Do the wall drill with SPAM once or twice a week. You’ll reap the dividends the next time you shoot.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.