Okay. Goes without saying, but things are weird out there right now. Along with those weird things, I’m including what seems to be an ammo (and gun) shortage. Pickings are slim and getting more expensive. So what are gun folks like me supposed to do?
As I mentioned, I’m minimizing my exposure. That includes less range time for me. I’m growing more confident that I made the right decision as I see ammo getting harder to find and prices going up. While I’d rather be out there slinging lead, the truth is I’m not. But that doesn’t mean I’m twiddling my thumbs while cabin fever rises.
Dry Practice
Or dry fire. I really don’t care what people call it.
While it’s no replacement for slinging lead at the range, it’s an activity that I find fun and, done properly, can improve ones skills. I plan on sharing some posts over the next few days (or weeks depending on how things progress) containing the dry practice drills I am doing. Thing is this activity is a great way to reduce the diminishment of shooting skills while ammo resupply is questionable.
There are some great books out there on drills. The one I am currently reading is Dryfire Reloaded by Ben Stroeger. I’m taking my time with it. I’m taking a look at a single drill and trying it out for a few days (up to a week). I don’t have all the recommended accessories to run all the drills as prescribed, but I’m tweaking them to make them work as well as I can for me with the tools I have available. Again, I’ll share some of these on the blog over the next few days.
Taking Inventory
With ammo prices going up and getting harder to find, especially for very common cartridges like 9mm and .223 Remington, I’m being very judicious with my ammo usage and purchases. I order to make informed decisions on what ammo I will use (and for what activities) or purchases I will prioritize, I’m taking a little time to make sure I know what I have.
This isn’t the most entertaining activity. But it can definitely eat up some time. At the same time, I’m checking to see what prices are doing.
It may not be a bad idea to decide how much to inventory to keep around and ration the rest for key activities until the ammo shortage normalizes. How much to keep on hand, how much to use for recreation or training, and how much to purchase are all personal decisions we have to make for ourselves. Couldn’t hurt to be responsible and sensible while making those decisions.
Gun Cleaning
I like to keep my guns clean and I usually pretty diligent about it. However, as the collection has grown some firearms have received more “TLC” than others. With that in mind, I found gun cleaning to be a relaxing and enjoyable way to burn up some time. It’s never a bad idea to ensure firearms are in working order and taking the time to clean them and function check them is a good way to do that.
Are you using less ammo and spending less time at the range? If so, what are you doing with your time instead?