Winter time Reloading chores?

[AlaskanGuy]

Wow, its dark winter here... days are very short, cold, and wintery.. usually the time of year I spend restocking my ammo supplies from the previous years shooting/hunting but .....

now there are no components. do I:

A. just do things as normal and not acknowledge there is a real shortage, and maybe it will go away?

B. Admit there is a shortage, and dip into my super secret stash of components and load away?

C. Admit there is a shortage, and go ahead and accept that due to my remote location, the shortage could take several years to level out here. start rationing and set myself an allotment of components from my secret stash that should last me several years if I shoot to stay tuned up in my working cal's and hunting/protection guns?

D. Admit there is a shortage, and that things under this leadership may get far worse and never recover due to even tighter regs and bans. this would mean to me that I can only fire a weapon to put meat on the table, and be very very careful with every single component as to not waste anything. i could prolly make it for 20 years or more in this mode, as I am 60ish now.. hopefully the rest of my life, but not very fun!!! i prolly only shot 20 rounds to take the last 10 deer/3 bears and sight in sort of stuff.

well, what do you guys think? remember, I live on an remote island the size of puerto rico with very very few people. supplies like components must come in on a barge. there is no ground service what so ever, so I cant fly in powder and primers. i have to first find components in the lower 48, then have them shipped to seattle (a gun friendly city, HA) and then get them put on a ship sailing north to ketchikan, then find another boat to bring them over to Prince of wales Island.. a logistical nightmare in times of plenty, but in times of shortages... we are so small, we are not on anybody's priority list for direct shipments, a fact shared by small villages all over alaska.

ALaskanGuy

[horseman]

Components or loaded ammo...I see no difference really. You still "have" the components, they're just ready to shoot now. That's of course if you have the loads developed that you want to use. Interesting question though as I've been thinking along the same lines. Just load every thing I have on hand (bullets are my short list) then just pack up all the gear and store it away. (I'm actually considering this) A rather gloomy proposition to say the least. 5000 bullets or 5000 loaded rounds, which is better.....? I know what pretty much every reloading person will say, but in reality if things get to a point where components are no longer available period, perhaps loaded rounds would be more advantageous as it would be easier to carry/package/store ammo than carry a reloading press/presses and components around with you. What a conundrum....

[RBHarter]

Unfortunately I'd be awfully busy for an awfully long time and without any doubt run out of brass way before parts . Heck I'd probably have to do nothing but cast for 2-3 12 hr days to get all of the big ingots into little ingots into bullets . I've got 2 , 50-60# slugs of dead soft 99.9 certified , that's lot of .380, .454 , and .490 balls . There's the WW clean ingots in lee 1#&1/2# and corn muffin that's probably 300# , and at least that much in 2.5# muffin ingots of cores that's almost WW % copper . That wears me out just thinking about casting 4,000 + bullets , at an average of 150 gr ea. I still have 8-900 ea empty 223,9mm , 38/357,40, 45 ACP and a couple of bags of new 45 Colts ,AR and 38 short . Probably 06' too and 200 1x 308 to 358 Win ...... No I don't even want to think about filling it all up .

[AlaskanGuy]

well, if we go ahead and load stuff up, then we have to break down stuff if for some reason we need to shift focus to another cal or who know why.. still have flexibility if we leave things down at the component level. also being a bullet caster, i can fashion just about any bullet I need as long as I have lead, which is pretty easy to get a hold of on my island due to the commercial fishing industry, but the biggest issue is actually trying to speculate if this shortage is going to go on and on or is just a passing fad like the 2013-2014 shortage was... i wanna shoot... i like reloading and messing with stuff, but its also a very important tool to procure food supplies around here... no real stores within 100 miles or more...

[GasGuzzler]

I don't shoot much at all. Sad I know. So what I have done is buy both loaded OEM and all the components to last a very long time (I'm 46YO) and sit on it all (instead of selling at stupid high prices) so that I still have stuff later. That doesn't help because I live north of DFW, Texas, not Alaska. There is nowhere close to buy any components for me but it's not like what you deal with. I guess my reply helped ZERO. I "find" surplus items from time to time and sell them in times like this for 112% of purchase price which is less than REAL and momentary value to "help" those that don't plan plus make enough here and there to buy a hamburger but I'm no flipper.

[RBHarter]

Gas sounds like you need a shooting vacation . Me too .

I have quite a lot of factory ammo also .

[AlaskanGuy]

a shooting vacation? sounds awesome...

[AlaskanGuy]

if anybody see's any sign of this stuff letting up.. let me know...

BTW midway had some ramshot powders available today..

[sonic306090]

Load Away! It will make time fly:)

[mr surveyor]

since I average a little more than once a week, year around, going to the "amusement park", I now have to limit my hole punching in paper. I have more than enough paper that needs perforating, it's just that getting the parts to make the hole punchers is a bit more difficult these days. Even if I'm down to only 4-5 hole punchers a week, I'll still make that long ten minute drive to the park bench at the amusement park.

Freedom

jd