Heartbreak at Wally World...

I had a heartbreaking experience at WallyWorld today and I think neither me nor my carbine collection will ever be the same…. I had to walk away from a box of 30 carb ammunition.... I had gone to Wally World for the usual cheap stuff (food) and stopped by the ammo case in the sporting goods section to see what (if anything) was in stock.... Imagine my surprise that I saw a single box of R-P/UMC 30 Carb FMJ! My shock wasn't that it had showed up, my shock was that I had never seen 30 Carb at this particular Wally World! Anyway, it looked so lonely just sitting there on a nearly empty shelf. I found the clerk and told him I wanted that lonely, orphan box of ammo (I'm a good gun owner and I knew I could give it a good home).

The young kid (15 years old maybe????) gave a high-pitched "yes sir, let me get the keys" and he charged off. That is when I realized hat tragedy was about to strike...

In about 5 minutes he came back... "Sir, the last employee working Sporting Goods took the ammo case keys home with him". What???? I am a mere 1/4 INCH worth of glass away from saving a box of 30 Carb from spending the night all by itself.

"Son, does the Manager know that another employee took the keys home?" I asked....

"Yes, sir he knows. I can't unlock it until he comes in tomorrow."

So after more conversing with a teenage kid about the value of a Wally World customer being dissatisfied, I gave up and just walked off....

I feel guilty about not pressing the issue with the manager. I mean, it’s like leaving a lonely dog out in the snow when you could just open the door and let him into the warm house. That mere 1/4 inch of plate glass kept that lonely, cold, uncared for box of carbine ammo in that near empty case - it could have been home with me in a crowded ammo box with other 30 carb ammo and a silica pack! It would have lots of Carbines to play with!

So the moral of this story? I don't know... 1) Wally World sporting goods employees are not so bright? hmmm, that’s news me.... 2) that carbine ammo is popping up in places it hasn't been in a quite a while? Well, we all have seen that.... 3) that I have carbinitis so bad that I feel guilty over not buying a box of ammo? They say the 1st step to getting help is admitting you have a problem... I have no problem, I'm just a Milsurp owner !!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, how is the ammo supply in your neck of the woods???

Getting better, thank you!

30 m1 carbine has never been plentiful in Canada. We're lucky in our area that a local gun shop carries a bit of commercial stuff but I haven't seen a round of surplus in 25 years. There seems to be a bit of 7.62x39 around, little or no 7.62x51, no surplus pistol ammunition other than some 7.62x25. We had a bit of 8x57 Yugo surplus that was 50+years old and a bit of Swiss GP11 is still around but at a dollar round. 7.62x51, when you can find cases, goes for 80 cents/round. But Canada has been that way for many years now.

We have been under a UN, US embargo for years. When our "Liberals" were in charge, they didn't sign on to the UN small arms agreement but they did implement a lot of it into our laws, including registration of all firearms, other than single shots made before 1898 with bore diameters over .323 and pistols for which ammunition is almost impossible to find. They also added many firearms to a "prohibited" list.

From the looks of things, I would say you people south of our borders are next in line for this type of legislation as your society becomes more and more under "Big Brother's thumb".

Hopefully we will be able to eliminate the registry on long guns soon. It's in the cards and we are so close, we can taste it. We will still have to contact the Canadian Firearms Center to verify the recipient of a non restricted firearm has a valid "Possession and Acquisition License".

Sorry for hijacking your thread. But it's all pertinent to the ammunition shortage in Canada. Even the UK has a better selection of surplus ammunition than we do, although I do hear things are changing there for the worse.

Tired my local Wally World had 4 boxes of .30 carbine for months--I haven't seen it lately---but at $48 a box of 50 it was going to stay there for a long time. We have two outdoor sports retailers in the area besides Dick's and Dunham's where on occassion they have ammo sales. And then there are the gun shows. Most calibers have been showing up in some quanities. >357 mag is one of the harder ones along with .30 carbine. I don't worry much about .06 because Camp Perry is about 35 miles away and I roll my own anyways along with .308, 7.62x39, .223 and .30 carbine. getting the right powder in good quanities has been iffy the last year or so along with primers which average $35 a brick. .30 cal gas checks are rediculous at $35 a thousand but what can you do.

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Seriously, how is the ammo supply in your neck of the woods???[/QUOTE]

Was in a gun shop in Aransas Pass, Texas this week & asked if they had any 9mm Makarov f/my CZ-82 pistol. "Sure", the owner replied, slapping a 50 round box of Russian Silver Bear on the counter. "That'll be $27", he said, somehow managing somehow not to laugh. "See ya", said I, exiting stage left. We're down here from Virginia, hiding from the snow & I hadn't realized how bad the ammo situation is in South Texas. Quite a shock.
Donzi

TR I don't know how you can live with yourself. That box probably had a limited supply of air in that glassed in case. By the time Johnny the clerk (I mean associate) brings the key in the damned box of 30 carb will have expired. :crying:

Really, they gotta have more than one set of keys. You can't tell me that some inept associate or upset employee hasn't misplaced that set of keys.

Oh well sound like you have my luck.

Just don't look at the obits for the next few days.

Our Wally World still has two boxes of Remington .30 carbine behind locked doors for a mere $47.50 a box. It's a good thingI have about 1500 rounds.


BTW has anyone ever noticed how retailers always seem to find the most unqualified people to work in the wrong departments. 16 year old girls should not be working in the hardware department of Sears or most sporting goods departments. I walked into a sporting goods store one day just to have a gander of what was there when this cute sassy little teen gal came bouncing up and inquired if I needed help. I immediately told this innocent I needed a fletching shaver for a 9 mm left handed arrow shaft. As she stood there confused the store assistant manager came over and told her he thought there was one left in the back room on the top shelf and sent her to look for it. After she disappeared he chuckled and asked me what I really wanted. I told him I was just browsing. Then I asked why stores like this tended to put unqualified sales clerks in such positions. and I got the same old song and dance. Corperate policy.

Corporate management wants to put a warm body out on the sales floor, never mind their ability or knowledge. Young teenagers & early 20's people work for less than people in their 30's, 40's & 50's. Of course, they don't stick around more than a couple of years (to gain knowledge & experience). Corporate philosophy is "do more with less". I worked in retail for over 20 years and saw less and less "associates" on the sales floor during my career. Consequently I, as a manager, was expected to work longer hours and more days. During November, December & January we were expected to work seven days a week. Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, too. I hung it up after that.

I moved here 8 yrs ago and yet to see .30 cardine at my local wally world. I'm glad I bought 2 cases many yrs ago. I shoot a few boxes then reload until shells are SHOT. Then repeat process. GK

time to time at Walmart around here but at nearly 50 bucks a box, a dollar a round, it will sit there too. I load my own. Brass is pretty easy to come by at the gun shows and bullets are not that pricy yet. Primers are becoming easier to find too.

The Wally's near me has a big stack of 40 S&W hardball. I just can't justify buying any when I have two 30 cal ammo cans full of reloads. The wife would kill me.....chris3

50 bucks a box makes me darned glad I reload.

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Originally Posted by coppertales

time to time at Walmart around here but at nearly 50 bucks a box, a dollar a round, it will sit there too. I load my own. Brass is pretty easy to come by at the gun shows and bullets are not that pricy yet. Primers are becoming easier to find too.

The Wally's near me has a big stack of 40 S&W hardball. I just can't justify buying any when I have two 30 cal ammo cans full of reloads. The wife would kill me.....chris3

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I won't say how much I have set back in ammo but it's significant. I had over 700 rds of Carbine and bought a case from the CMP. It's a fun rifle to shoot but it's not the first I would grab in most case scenarios. That would be the M1A or the AK. Like the other gentle man said I shoot reloads till the brass dies and then get out some new and start the process over. Gun show brass for the carbine around here is very rare,:nono: bullets are around $15 a hundred.

When bringing a new rifle home use the Patrick McManus ploy. Keep an old lamp shade in the truck or car and before you bring it in pop the lamp shade on it. "Honey look at the new lamp I bought.."
"Take that ugly thing back to your hole and I never want to see it again:super:

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Originally Posted by TDH

When bringing a new rifle home use the Patrick McManus ploy. Keep an old lamp shade in the truck or car and before you bring it in pop the lamp shade on it. "Honey look at the new lamp I bought.."
"Take that ugly thing back to your hole and I never want to see it again:super:

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A bit OT but....

I wonder if that technique would work on bringing hope a girlfriend????? :beerchug:

Ammo supply isn't to bad in Pennsylvania. I have a dicks, Dunhams, and 2 wal marts and about 4 gun shops. Some have better prices then others Dunhams is best they usually have surplus. Wal mart never has anything i think people around here camp that section.

For those that may not know walmart's stocking procedures... The store gets a printout of what will be delivered 24 hours in advance. So all you have to do is ask the employee "what is scheduled to come in tonight". If you are hooked up with a sporting goods employee, they only have to check the list for you ahead of time and call you - no camping out required. I have "heard" of a couple of instances where employees call certain "gun show sellers" when a shipment was coming in. The employee would then set the stock aside and not put it on the shelf, but sell the whole shipment to to the dealer for a cash kickback... "heard" a several employees got caught and fired and that was a contributing factor to corporate policy of limit of 6 boxes... but remember, I am old, senile and I "hear" things all the time...

Tired I haven't figured out one to sneak the girlfriend in yet but if I do I'll pass it on. I stocked up on .22 by speaking to the head associate in our local sporting goods department at Wally.

My latest misadventure is to convince them certain things need to be carried year round. We need archery gear and slugs in the summer to practice not two weeks before season. But alas it's probably just tilting at windmills again. On to La Mancha

I hear you. I bailed out of retail as soon as I got my notice of graduation, many moons ago. Always glad I did, too. Took a while to find a job, but I knew I'd be in a trap if I stayed there. I pity retail workers, except those that show up at Home Depot. Notice I don't say work. They actually run from customers in my town. :lol:

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Originally Posted by stonewall56

Corporate management wants to put a warm body out on the sales floor, never mind their ability or knowledge. Young teenagers & early 20's people work for less than people in their 30's, 40's & 50's. Of course, they don't stick around more than a couple of years (to gain knowledge & experience). Corporate philosophy is "do more with less". I worked in retail for over 20 years and saw less and less "associates" on the sales floor during my career. Consequently I, as a manager, was expected to work longer hours and more days. During November, December & January we were expected to work seven days a week. Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, too. I hung it up after that.

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Originally Posted by limpetmine

I hear you. I bailed out of retail as soon as I got my notice of graduation, many moons ago. Always glad I did, too. Took a while to find a job, but I knew I'd be in a trap if I stayed there. I pity retail workers, except those that show up at Home Depot. Notice I don't say work. They actually run from customers in my town. :lol:

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Same thing here! I mostly know my own way around the local Home Depot better than the employees. I certainly know more about how to use most of the products they sell. My Dad was a contractor, and I worked for him helping with almost every trade while growing up and going to college.

You have to run after Home Depot employees when you need to find something.
If you catch them, they NEVER show you where the product is. They just spout out an isle and won't budge from where they are to help you find it. The product is seldom where they say it is. I've often wondered if NOT going with a customer to look for a product asked for is a company policy.

I still miss the smaller local hardware stores that Home depot ran out of business. They'd take you to the section of the store, find the RIGHT part (That Home Depot doesn't carry) and then tell you how to install it.

Sam Walton killed so many small businesses in small towns and even large cities. Home Depot, et al, followed his model.

I can actually remember a time when you could find what you need at Wally world. Now they just have a whole lot of everything and never what I need.
Our local had the complete series of Battlestar Galactica and I had one more season to buy (buying one a week) when I went in to get my fix most everything was gone. When I asked a clerk I was informed they were now only carrying a small collection (4 foot of space). Even after I asked no one would go in the back to check and see if what I wanted was still in back.
We still have a k-mart in our small town. At one time it had one of the best sporting goods departments around. Today they might as well not have one for what they carry.

You guys reminded me of one other thing - when Wally opened, they stressed that everything they stocked was Made in America.... now everything is Chinese or Korean made with cheap material.... I don't mind imports as much as I mind the really REALY cheap material and workmanship...