Ammo as a barter item??

[IceWave]

As time goes on, I've really had to question the idea of using ammo as a barter item. I can understand trading most things but ammo is just one thing I wouldn't want to trade away. It'll be a precious item (even for reloaders) that won't be easier to get as time goes on in any crisis. Those who have chosen to stock up on some are, in my view, less likely to use it against other preppers since along with ammo, those people will have likely put back other goods.

Why would I want to trade away something which could be used to kill me and take all my stuff? And in this case, I don't think I'm being paranoid. Just saying it's a risky item to want to barter away.

 

[ofuzzy1]

Bingo!

Never even consider trading something that could come back and hurt you!

 

[West]

Ammo as a barter item??

Shur, barter it as it's flying by your heads, mr. bad guys....

Plus a system too dispose of the stock if anything might happen to you, might be a good idea.

Barter whisky and eggs.

 

[About Time]

Ammo

Depends on how long a " barter sysyem " is in place and YOUR needs.

 

[momof23goats]

never barter your ammo.

 

[IceWave]

http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?t=185663

That's the thread that made me question why some people want to barter ammo. Personally I never thought it a good idea even though I didn't question other people wanting to do it. But now I feel that it should be brought to the table.

I would never get rid of mine except down the barrel.

 

[Troke]

You may not have a choice. It could become the medium of exchange.

Personally?

Tough to do, but if you have no choice (barter or go without salt or whatever)

BTW, salt will make a great barter item if TS really HTF.

A German (?) obvserver with Lee's Army was astounded to see Lee's soldiers eating salt by the handful after they overran a Union supply depot.

You have no idea how you will crave salt after being without it for a while. We have so much salt in our usual diet, we don't miss it.

 

[TECH32]

You may not have a choice. It could become the medium of exchange.

Personally?

Tough to do, but if you have no choice (barter or go without salt or whatever)

BTW, salt will make a great barter item if TS really HTF.

A German (?) obvserver with Lee's Army was astounded to see Lee's soldiers eating salt by the handful after they overran a Union supply depot.

You have no idea how you will crave salt after being without it for a while. We have so much salt in our usual diet, we don't miss it.

Shades of "Alas Babylon...."

 

[Airborne Falcon]

Depends ... you could use it as a barter item depending upon who it is you are bartering with.

Good guys ... distant family .... sure.

Bad guys .... no. Not unless you want to barter them some dud stuff loaded with sand and bad castings or something like that. But be prepared to really upset them and make them angry if you do that.

Then, you could just barter the hot lead to the bad guys ... so to speak. That's another way of looking at bartering ammo.



Russ

 

[BV141]

IceWave,

your dead on! Never willing give ammo away to any unknown person.
Per Russ, family and dear friends for ammo sharing but no one else.

I've never understood bartering ammo.

Why empower a potential enemy (or a future enemy).....

bv

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Without giving some specific circumstances it would be impossible to say if bartering ammo may be a good idea or bad. It could well be that ammo may get you what nothing else will.

If you're concerned that the ammo you barter may be used against you then you probably need to review your security. Most enemies who would rob you will not need to buy their ammo from you first.

.....Alan.

 

[cvk]

Good friends and family????? What makes you think that you will be able to trust good friends or family if things get bad enough. There is NO ONE that won't turn on you under the right circumstances!!!!!!

 

[cryhavoc]

Hmmmmm.....barter ammo.....

That's actually a tough one, when you consider potential circumstances of TEOTWAWKI.

Cold - Hunger - Thirst - Medicine - ???

One thing to remember, post-TEOTWAWKI: NO ONE is going to want to get shot. Period. Even with a 'lowly' .22lr....hey, no ambulances, hospitals, EMTs five minutes away. You might not be using as much ammo as you might think.

Potentially, a wound to the leg with a .22lr could go septic, then you could die of infection...slowly....painfully. Picture being 'gutshot' with a .22lr...yeah...not pretty.

I'm torn. Don't want to barter ammo....but can't eat it either.....


cryhavoc

 

[blackguard]

We don't barter ammunition, period

wife and I have a hard and fast rule on that, never. Also something to remember about barter is for the sake of security do NOT barter from your home or retreat locale...very poor opsec if you do..

go to as neutral a location as you can find where you can control security and then barter. use a different route going and coming from the exchange site and never pass along information regarding you and yours. Word travels fast and once the stuff hits...information will be better than gold..."oh yeah the guy in the big red house i got it from him, he has a ton of them..."

 

[timbo]

Help me out here folks..was the book 'Patriots' or was there more to the title?

What Im thinking on that bartering ammo for essential service and or goods was brought up in that book.

What had happened was that sometime after the bust up and the isolation of groups there was a trade fair and was made up of several towns in the area.

It might have been as much as a year after the big event.

With this scenario,I wouldnt have a problem using my .22 rounds for barter. I have accumulated a significant amount with this thought in mind.

By this amount of time a lot of the bad boys that were around would either have moved on or would be dead. The people that needed ammo would be just like you but didnt think ahead on storing up ammo.

I can see it taking the place of ready cash when someone needed items that they didnt have.......including salt.

A couple of hundred years ago in Europe,salt was used as the coin of the realm in some nations and was controlled by the royalty. Not that gold wasnt used,but for most people salt was just as if not more precious.

 

[registered_lurker]

For barter to become the norm, the economic situation must be very bad indeed.

You don't barter ammo with people you depend on, you give it to them.

It they are not the people you depend on, you don't give them ammo. You save that for yourself and the people you depend on.

 

[Gadsden]

I don't know. Bartering ammo tells the person you've bartered with you're probably not a great target in that a) you have ammo, b) you need provisions, c) you're friends and family probably have ammo and guns to shoot the ammo.

I could see these as messages worth getting out.

 

[Dex]

I agree with Trooper. If you use common sense in where you barter this item, you should be ok. It could very well get you things that gold and silver may not get or maybe you could get more for ammo than gold and silver...very subjective.

I would not discount it completely. On the other hand I'm not stock piling ammo for barter either. Its bulky and heavy, carries some liability and one of my more valuable preps so I would probably only use it when absolutely necessary for barter.