I remember when Barack Obama was first elected. Ammo was flying off the shelves. I had gotten my hands on a few boxes, but most stores in my area were limiting customers to a couple, and prices were nuts.

In March 2009, USA Today reported that concerns about the Obama administration imposing a new ban on some semiautomatic weapons drove gun owners to stockpile ammunition and cartridge reloading components at such a rate, that manufacturers were having problems meeting demand.

In Wyoming, the run on bullets and reloading components reached such a frenzy that Cheyenne retailer Frontier Arms recently began rationing sales, said Becky Holtz, co-owner of the shop. Holtz said she’s also been selling semiautomatic rifles as fast as she can put them on the shelves.

“You know there’s something wrong when I’ve got little old ladies coming in buying 5,000 rounds of .22 shells,” Holtz said.

I remember the guy I was dating at the time was a reloader. We would go to the range, and then we’d police all the brass others had left behind. The brass seemed to be what he lacked most. (Although that may have been because he had an actual armory in his house filled with dozens of various rifles.)

It does seem like people are preparing yet again as Election 2016 approaches.  Much like any other critical supplies ( think milk and bread lines at the grocery store before every severe storm warning or plywood and nails in coastal areas when hurricane warnings occur), reloading supplies are a must when we are expecting a societal storm.

So, for you reloaders out there – what components are most critical to you? Reply below. Explain in comments. Think.