Saturday, February 03, 2007

Ready...Set...Rant

I'm getting more than a little ticked off with ammunition availability as of late. Streichers seems to be forever out of my favorite .40 S&W ammo, PMC Starfire remains discontinued and while they've said it'll business as usual soon, the soon isn't something to hold your breath for. The local gun shops are a joke as far as decent selection goes, not that I'm knocking the relatively inexpensive Winchester White Box FMJ's that die by the caseload just to keep me trigger happy, but try getting something decent for personal defense.

I usually like to order ammo online from Midway. Just got their voluminous catalog the other day along with an email informing me that I've got a discount coming if I place an order before 2/5/07, which is Monday. So what the hell. Just for the catalog alone I should thank them, so I look into the ammo available. And it sucks. The closest thing to my HST faves are the older Federal Hi-Shoks, so I order a box of 20. Tried these babies out neck and neck with the new and improved versions, and there really wasn't all that much of a difference so it isn't like I'm settling for slow ass Gold Dots, or Golden Sabers.

With shipping and handling it came to $26. For 20 rounds of ancient technology. And guess what? Surprise, surprise, the "special discount" didn't have anything to do with ammo.

Just can't see how these guys are staying in the ammunition sales business. No Rangers...except for the 155 grain varietal that no one wants...no new Federals, and while I'd like to try the CorBon all-copper bullets again...just to be sure...they don't expand all that well and I'm not a penetration-is-god nut to begin with. I understand why the prices keep going up, but add the scarcity of decent rounds and its enough to put a guy into one helluva funk.

Really shouldn't have settled for the Hi-Shoks, but now we're even for the catalog. I'll keep checking in with Streichers, and if worse comes to worse and my supply of good ammo diminishes even further, there's always the Ranger-T's to go back to if I can remember the dude's name who sells them online. But as far as Cabella's and Cheaper Than Dirt, and Midway, forget it. Arm and a leg for shipping just to get the third best because they're always out of stock of what you want.

Guy at Wal-Mart tells me that all I need do is bring him a product number and he can order whatever ammo I want as long as it's available. Hate to do that. Dying to give my business to local mom & pop shops but they get their giggles by selling Black Talons for $60 a box and other ancient history rounds that the rubes are convinced are the next best thing to death rays. I don't mind paying more but not to be insulted at the same time. Hell, if I want to be insulted I can email Moxie and await a reply.

I'll return you to your regularly scheduled programming, but if you hear of any decent ammunition that's actually AVAILABLE, drop me a line. But please, no Ammoman. Guy gives me the creeps. And I've got enough Double-Tap sitting around to start WWIII but the .40 cal rounds from him are smoking ass wood loads but I really need something for the baby glocks that'll work against dark of night, almost, but not quite human critters that fool us by walking on two legs.

5x5, lima charlie, hotel michael, over and out

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