So, some goldbug site reports that his sister's cousin's mother's boyfriend went to Wal-Mart and tried to buy some .22, and the computer told the cashier that they were out of ammo and wouldn't be ordering any more. And the cashier called the CEO right there from the register, and it was totally true!
And this story got picked up by CNS.com, which as a verifiably true source generally ranks somewhere between PrisonPlanet.com and Debka Files. And then Rush Limbaugh, demonstrating by his many layers of oversight that he is as Main Stream as any other Media, repeated it on the air...
...and my inbox, as well as every gun forum on the internet, blew up. zomg! WALMART ISN'T SELLING AMMO ANYMORE!!1!eleventy!
And it took World Net Daily, of all outlets, to actually pick up the phone and, you know, call Wal-Mart to find out if it was true.
Does nobody think that if the administration had arm-twisted Wal-Mart into discontinuing ammo sales, the first person you'd hear it from wouldn't be a cashier in the sporting goods department, but rather Barry O. himself, doing some nerdy student government brainiac version of a sack dance behind the podium in the White House Briefing Room?
Exactly. At a time like this, when the gun grabbers need all the political capital they can get, Walmart selling out would warrant a ticker tape parade.
ReplyDeleteKind of like how you know if TSA ever actually stopped a serious terrorist threat they'd be shouting from the rooftops to justify their budget (or ask for more)
Seriously...its WalMart.
ReplyDeleteAll you have to do is ask yourself "could they make money selling it right now?" If the answer is yes, then they do in some sort of cheap and technically true but simultaneously disappointing fashion.
Rumor-mongering 101:
ReplyDelete1. The rumor needs to be topical
2. The rumor needs to be plausible
3. The rumor needs to be juicy
"ZOMG! WALLY-WORLD ISN'T SELLING AMMO ANYMORE!!!!" hits the trifecta.
I heard a wild rumor that NY State is banning all magazines above 7 rounds.
ReplyDelete7-rounds? Other than a 1911, what has a 7-round mag? Who would believe such a crazy story?
I heard the same thing in 2009, you know, the last time everyone went bugnuts crazy and bought every cartridge between here and timbuktu. Same source and everything. Snopes needs to have an article on this one.
ReplyDeleteMeh... EVERYBODY is out of ammo (unless it's a truly odd cartridge that only a collector would love... And everybody will be back as soon as the production ramps up, with newer HIGHER prices.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is out of ammo. I heard about the shortage and stopped to check. This was my closest Mall Wart last weekend
ReplyDeleteLots of the ammo listings at Midway USA are marked "out of stock, no backorder". I would guess Walmart has some similar designation in their supply chain for circumstances such as these, when there is no information on when they will get enough new supply to cover new orders. Meanwhile, next time I'm home I'll be checking inventory before I go shooting and will be using the calibers and guns for which I have the most comfortable supply.
ReplyDeleteEven when Walmart gets the supply pipeline flowing again, I prefer other retailers such as Mill's Fleet Farm which is quite firearm friendly.
7.62 x 54R has doubled since my last case, though now I can't remember if I got 440 or 880 last time, so it may have quadrupled. That is irritating. Though at least I can still buy a case.
ReplyDeleteI finally got the itch to get another Mosin, though I saved enough to get an SKS if one was laying around reasonably, and now I bet the Mosin is going to run a couple hundred, and forget the SKS.
Maybe I'll be able to get my daughter a Cricket at least.
I refuse to buy any more than I absolutely need at this point to get through the other side of this as far as ammunition goes, same with magazines and even weapons. I'll wait for things to go back to normal, or for a new normal to show up. I doubt if 2x or 4x last years prices is sustainable. At least I hope it isn't.
Bram, that is what the Gov announced last night. It still has to pass all the various committees and the like, but this being NY I figure its likely....
ReplyDeleteGeez, I spend ONE DAY working instead of wasting my time adding my insight to the comment sections of blogs and the whole internet loses its mind.
ReplyDeleteSee, this is why I can't get any real work done.
Exactly my thoughts, I don't say rumors are always false but sometimes I wonder if the get started to boost sales. Maybe we could start a rumor 0bama holds stock in Ruger and Winchester.
ReplyDeleteGotta say I wrote them as soon as I heard to ask if it was true and got a BS letter back on how they were reacting to the shooting and part of Mayors to take our guns but no conformation or denial of the ammo sale issue. . . Customer service fail if you ask me. Good to hear they are not stopping the sales but you can't tell that from the empty shelves. . .
ReplyDeleteRuth - I was being sarcastic. It will pass the NY legislature and be signed by the Governor today.
ReplyDeleteUh, this may sound strange, but why are so many people acting like Hurricane Katrina is gonna hit their Neighborhood in 12 hours, and they are running to the Store NOW?
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, but when I heard that PMags have a one Million count on Backorder, I just scratch my head wondering why people didn't stock up last year?
It's like waiting until one is stuck on the Pot and realizing there only 3 sheets left on the Roll.
I just don't get it.
Well, I had an AR on my want list for quite a while. I suppose if I was paranoid, and had more money than brains, an AR for 2k with 50 magazines at $100 a pop would seem like a reasonable purchase.
ReplyDeleteI also know there are a lot of speculators out there that have purchased pmags and ARs in order to sell them at a later date. I would say right now is when I would unload whatever it was I had purchased. Or at least a large portion of it. A friend of mine bought a ton of Glock mags for resale, he got them at the old price though so even if we go back to normal he'll still make a buck or two on them.
I feel for whoever bought the last AR in the shop, chambered in God knows what, for four times what it will sell for in a year.
Bob Owens checked it too, by, you know, actually calling some Wally World honcho. Some commentors at his site still aren't buying it. I also hear that Wal-Mart is out of stock of "Martial Law Declared" signs.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, if it were legit smirking Joe Biden would be tap dancing in front of the cameras and Obama would have at least mentioned it. Michael Moore would be standing in front of a store right now lecturing the rest of us. Piers Morgan would be crowing about "No more machine guns from Wal-Mart!"
Rush said he heard it, not that it was true. You sure are hatin' on Rush lately.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:19,
ReplyDelete"You sure are hatin' on Rush lately."
'Lately'?
New here, aren't you?
Steve Skubinna,
ReplyDelete"Bob Owens checked it too..."
Didn't know that yet. WND was just the first hit I got on Google, and I ran with it. (Which is more background research than Rush did. ;) )
And, this indicates we should depend on "the media," in all its ramifications, for truthful reporting of....anything?
ReplyDeleteBubblehead Les:
ReplyDeleteWe got caught napping.
The likelihood of BO getting re-elected, given past electoral experience, was low. Nobody expected what happened at Newtown. [Well, a few did, but most of those expected a jihadist attack on a school a la Beslan.] Nobody could have predicted these two events, in such close proximity.
Further, the vehemence with which the Left is now pursuing universal disarmament is definitely surprising. Progressives have taken off the mask and are unashamedly pursuing goals that would have been anathema only a few years ago. Progs believe the winds of history are at their back. Only time will tell if they are right, or if they have over-reached and this "panic" is the start of a backlash.
Anon: I'm betting on backlash myself. Every time the progs touch this tar baby it bites them in their ass. This time will be no different.
ReplyDeleteI'm selling a motorcycle on Craigslist, value ~$3,000, and someone offered an AR-15 and 600 rounds of ammo in exchange for it. If they want to go sell that AR and ammo for 3k and then buy the motorcycle, they're welcome to, and they might actually succeed in this craziness. But I'm sure as hell not going to trade on the inflated value of an AR!
ReplyDeleteDavid,
ReplyDelete'Kinda bike you got?
I saw the Wal-mart not reordering rumors yesterday too. So I went to the google for clarification.
ReplyDeleteSeems the whole issue is the police are out of ammo due to the panic buying and they conviced wallyworld to supply them first before putting the winchester white box on the shelves for Johnny Q Public. No lie I read it yesterday on my internets.
The ammo situation with Walmart probably rests more with the ammo manufacturers noticing they can sell everything they're able to make right now to the rest of the retail market, so why should they go to Bentonville and get mugged?
ReplyDeleteI suspect that if the administration wanted to, it could easily get Wal Mart to stop selling ammunition. The Labor and Commerce Departments have some big hammers, and the ammunition profit is probably not that high.
ReplyDeleteWe aren't all that monolithic. I suspect that the firearm dealers would be thrilled with a requirement that all firearm sales go through them, and the magazine manufacturers would be equally happy with a size limitation.
We'll happily hang separately.
Tam,
ReplyDeleteIt's a 2003 Honda CBR600RR. It was fun for years, but my riding buddies have all moved away and I've had too many close calls riding on the street to enjoy solo rides anymore. It was a good part of my life for a while, but it's time to move on. Plus it frees up extra cash for my 4-wheel habit (Autocross/Track day prepped '97 M3) :)
By the way, I'm moving to Knoxville this summer, any advice on ranges down that way? I think you're friendly with the folks at Coal Creek Armory, right?
"I suspect that if the administration wanted to, it could easily get Wal Mart to stop selling ammunition. The Labor and Commerce Departments have some big hammers, and the ammunition profit is probably not that high"
ReplyDeleteThe ammo profit sucks, but I bet the case of mountain dew, three bags of jerky, bag of chips, oh shit I forgot a hat, and hey look a they have Serenity on sale at the counter; profits are pretty high.
Dunno if this link will work but here's the ammo counter at Academy Sports in Hoover, AL last Thursday.
ReplyDeleteThe 40 cent per round .45 was tempting as I've been having trouble motivating myself to cast for my 7 cent each reloads.
Gotta get to it though as a friend wants to share cost to produce 2k rounds yielding 1k for each of us.
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=4A9BEF965EF51FA6!239&authkey=!ALMuthcN5btmBLM
staghounds,
ReplyDeleteWal-Mart is of a size that I'm not sure how scared it really is of the government.
Is there any single entity that pays more collective taxes in the US?
Like the punchline goes, "...and when you owe the bank a billion dollars, you can tell the bank what to do."
I was thinking in terms of audits, rulemaking and regulation unfriendliness, waiver difficulties, slow and rigid inspections, total enforcement. Those sort of things.
ReplyDeleteI believe that when you owe the bank a billion dollars, you and the bank find ways to get along rather than have some M. A. D. fight.
Wait, the voice of reason and clarity in this was WorldNutDaily? Okay, apparently I slipped through a dimensional portal in my sleep. Time to go take a nap and see if I wake up back in slightly-less-crazyland.
ReplyDeleteTam,
ReplyDeleteIf that is the case, we can pretty well dictate policy in China at this point.
7 round magazine maximum? Boberg Arms XR9-S and XR9-L pistols will work within that limitation.
ReplyDeleteXR9-S (9mm Luger +P capable)
Capacity: 7+1
Barrel: 3.35"
Length: 5.1"
Height: 4.2"
Width: 0.96"
Weight: 17.5 oz. (w/unloaded mag)
http://www.bobergarms.com/
However, I suspect that the New York Legislature did not know that most 1911 carriers use 8 round mags nowadays, not 7 round mags. That is in line with the imperial "that is all you need, so we will allow it for now" mentality.
"If that is the case, we can pretty well dictate policy in China at this point."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure China keeps in mind that if relations go too far south that the US could just repudiate the debt.
The Luger, P38 Walther, and Makarov only take 8 round mags.
ReplyDeleteAnd you know how much the Stasi, Gestapo, and NKVD hate being outgunned.
Considering the "If we don't like it, it's an Assault Weapon!" actions by Howler Cuomo, I'm wondering if Remington is going to move?
ReplyDeleteBe a good idea.
Firehand, you remind me I need to write my Governor and encourage him to invite companies like Remington to our gun-friendly, right to work state.
ReplyDeleteListen, goldbug rumors and TEOTWAWKI hypes are the reason I can get $2600 right now for a bag of junk silver coins containing $2100 of silver...
ReplyDeleteGold, silver, mags, lead, 'taters, or twinkies...whatever the market will bear is the market price. BTW it ain't price gouging unless it's an emergency, and it's unlikely your life depends on getting a bag of coins, a box of bullets, or a sugar fix.
Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances, buy low sell high, call it what you will; I call it capitalism.
PB
PB,
ReplyDelete"Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances, buy low sell high, call it what you will; I call it capitalism."
I have never called it anything but.
I know Tam, you made that clear in the last paragraph of your subsequent post...which is where I meant to put this comment.
ReplyDeleteSo I did, where it has drawn the expected response from the target market, as it were.
PB