There’s one thing that really sucks about this pandemic isn’t just the fact that folks are dying. It’s that folks can’t practice self defense (unless they’ve their own land, of course…most folks don’t).
What’s hindering folks from visiting ranges or even practicing on their own land? The availability and costliness of ammunition, for one. When you can find ammo, it is sometimes double the price of pre-pandemic ammo. I’ve found some decently priced ammo, but it is become rare now. When I find decently priced ammo, I usually buy what I can.
The type of ammo also dictates how much you’re going to spend if you need it. An example is, I bought 250 rounds of 9mm practice ammo a month or two ago, for maybe $135 (yes, that’s a deal nowadays). This week, I wanted to try to find some .45ACP ammo (because I conceal carry an XD45 and needed practice) and the lowest price I could find was $1/round! So, I may switch to carrying my XD9 instead to save costs in practicing (I’ve a large stash of 9mm ammo, too).
I also find myself always worrying about over-consuming my ammo for the sake of practicing. At first, I tried to delay practicing and went through most of 2020 without visiting the range. When I finally started practicing, I was so worried about shooting too much ammo that I was counting every round I shot.
Can you buy ammo at the range? I don’t know. I suppose it would depend on how stocked your range would be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that ammo was marked up (because range owners and employees have to eat too). When I was last at the range (maybe 3 weeks ago), I didn’t ask and didn’t look.
Aside from that, I found that practicing with a mask (a requirement of the range that I’m a member of, which I have no problem with) is a bit bothersome but doable.
Another question would be, in times like these, should a person reload? The answer should be yes, but some folks don’t have the time and can’t spend the money to buy the equipment. Also, some folks do not have the aptitude for such things. There’s also the current problem of shortages of reload materials (primers or projectiles or even powder).
I won’t mention prepping because most folks with guns nowadays don’t deeply prep. Most people don’t associate gun owners with hardcore prepping, but what about prepping ammo? There’s no hard fact regarding how much ammo a person should stash away for SHTF situations, but we’re not even talking SHTF. We’re talking Covid-19. Unless things take a drastic turn for the worse, this pandemic will not spawn any SHTF situation. So, how much ammo should a person have on-hand at all times in pandemic situations? My answer: enough to use for self defense and practice. I’ve at least 1K of 9mm right now, which should last me a while for practicing, if I practice every other month and limit my practice round count to 150 rounds or so, and while also consuming ammo when training; I’d be buying 9mm when I see it on sale at decent prices in an effort to replace what I used during practice.
Also, note that in the past year, many folks bought firearms when they’d never owned one. Those folks want/need ammo too. I’ve seen many disgruntled “veteran” gun owners grumbling that folks are buying ammo and raising the cost of it now, when they should’ve prepared (prepped) before now. Well, how can you prep ammo if you weren’t interested in firearms? It’s a very stupid reason to be disgruntled, in my opinion. Be glad that we’ve new gun owners to bolster our numbers. Those same grumbling gun owners used to not own guns. We ALL started with no (or small amounts of) ammo.
What problems have you experienced or noticed regarding owning a gun or practicing at ranges during this pandemic?