Letter Re: Ammunition and Magazines for Barter

James Wesley:
The idea of using ammo as currency has been ridiculed by many. "It'll never happen." they say. "It would take an economic catastrophe for ammo to be used as money." Not so. Today some friends of my wife came over (we were moving) and asked what we had for sale. One gentleman jokingly asked if I had any ammo (.22, .223 and .308) or magazines (Ruger 10/.22 or SKS) for sale. I looked at my wife and she nodded. Okay, she knows them well enough to feel comfortable with the exchange. I don't need to sell any of it, so it's a favor to him. I agreed to get him what he needs. It's not that these items are illegal, or even expensive (although they have appreciated in value since I got them). Rather, the local stores never have any. They get it in once or twice a year and you can only get one box per person and it's all gone the same day. It's policy now for the mainland vendors not to ship here to Hawaii. We agreed on a partial sale and trade. He will bring over some venison for a big party and grill it up for us on premises [in exchange] for a few magazines and use FRNs to purchase some ammo. I told him it was all sealed up. I knew the caliber and the quantity per canister, but not necessarily whether it was hollow point or any other factors. He would have to commit to buying whatever I opened up, match grade or Wolf [brand, imported from Russia] at market prices, plus shipping. He agreed gratefully. My wife thanked me and told me I was doing them a service and that should we return, we will have additional good will to return to. If this is how it is now, imagine later? As long as the meat supply lasts, I should easily be able to trade ammo for meat with the local hunters and who knows what else. We'll be gone in a few days so the OPSEC risk is minimal (having said that, I am packing until we're gone). - Anonymous in Hawaii