A friend of mine asked me a question the other day that I could not give a definite answer. I told him I would ask the USCCA Members and get their opinion.
He went to a gun store to purchase a handgun and was told by the owner that amination was scarce and very hard to get. The handgun was available in a 9mm but not ammo. He called 6 other stores in the area and was told the same thing.
He called me and asked; “Why should I buy a gun that ammo is not available for it?”
What do you all think?
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I would suggest loaning him the ammo till thins turn around. 
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I would get the gun. Ammo can be found, very overpriced, but you can find it.
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I would say buy the gun, and he will eventually find ammo. I just experienced the exact same situation. I bought a snub nose 38 Special. The dealer where I bought the gun didn’t have any ammo to sell me for it. There is no dealer local to me that has 38 Special in stock. After days of looking, I did eventually find one box of SD ammo for it online at a price I was willing to pay for it (I am not going to pay $2.00 a round for ammo).
So, I now have one box of ammo for it. It means I can only take it to the range once to shoot a few rounds of it to familiarize myself with the weapon, and the rest I keep for carry. Had I just given up and said “there’s no ammo available, why buy it?” then I wouldn’t have this great little carry gun.
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One can say that at minimum, all one needs is one full cylinder or magazine, 5 to 10 rounds, or however legally allowed to carry/load. I’ve been able to find ammo, just more expensive recently.
Maybe he ca read up on different calibers, brands, and find something of interest, starting slow or small, and affordable. That was how I started. Good luck to your friend on his journey. I learned a lot about being “responsible”.
When I took my license classes, the instructor and range where it was conducted had as a option - a special supply of ammo and on-site loaner guns for those taking the class, just in case they were without. They took us under their wings. 
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Ammo IS AVAILABLE on line all the time (perhaps you cannot buy this way 
)
The only thing is that 9mm cost more than we are expecting.
Is your friend looking for range firearm or defense tool? Perhaps .22LR is an option for him? It works for range perfectly… and to be honest I’ve started like this for self-defense classes as well.
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That was my thought.
True. Well at least here in my neck of the woods in GA. My local gun-shop limits purchase to one box (eg 9mm) per visit…IF they have it. The shelves are quite bare but still can get some.
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Unless I lose my mind and buy something exotic. I thank the Lord, I have stockpiled ammo and have components to reload more. Reloads go to the range, factory rounds for self defense.
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As others have said… Buy the firearm, you can find ammo it just isn’t cheap. Buy enough to ensure it works and load up a mag or two for defensive use. Then wait until prices come back down to stockpile a good stash.
Alternatively, buy a firearm in a less popular caliber that maybe has ammo available now. But when ammo prices return to “normal” this year or next he will probably be wishing he’s got that 9mm.
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Flip the question. Do you want to be the last person without a gun?
Ammo can be found. Maybe not enough for range week, but enough for some training and a full mag. I could see where shortages might affect the type of firearm purchased, though. I wouldn’t fault someone who shied away from 9mm for now. (Not my opinion, I’m just saying I could understand that decision.)
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Buy a hammer, they are still legal. In a few months you’ll either be paying an extra $200 tax, disarmed or you’ll be sent to an internment camp or a deprogramming station.
Baseball bats and machetes are still available!
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Buy the gun. Ammo, he will find some if he is diligent enough and is willing to pay what is asked. I see buy it now prices on 9mm for range ammo (blazer brass, American eagle, etc.) for about $0.75 a case with delivery to well over a dollar for a single box. While it is still a lot of money, if you don’t have the cash, or your buddy doesnt, see if you can get a couple guys to go in on one of the case buys. Get it a little cheaper (but still expensive) and spread the cost around a bit if dropping $750-$1000 at once is a bit much to swallow.
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Yes, buy. GunBroker.com and AmmoSeek.com have plenty of ammo, just have to search a bit for the best price.
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In CA, we can’t legally order ammo online but an FFL can order online for us.
Nor can we legally give or sell our own ammo to friends,
AFAIK, it isn’t a crime to lose a box of ammo
Nor is it a crime if you happen to find a box sitting on the fender of your automobile
However in CA, it probably will be illegal by the time you read this,
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If the pistol he wants is a steel frame 1911 it will still make a dandy club until ammo becomes available,
Tupperware, not so much 
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One man’s opinion:
Absolutely buy a firearm soonest. Actually, buy three - Rifle or carbine, shotgun, pistol.
If your friend does not yet have any firearm, then the whole series of standard questions regarding intended uses, and many others, should be considered. You can help! (Rifle, Shotgun, pistol?) What will your friend be using it for?
I assume that like any firearm, self defense is at least a consideration - but if the purchase is a first time buy, and the intent includes self defense, hunting, sport shooting… the multiple needs should be considered. Local law too of course - the purchases may be highly restricted. But buy! And many extra magazines of the maximum capacity allowed by local law.
Interestingly, I think that your friend should also absolutely pick up a membership in the NRA (even though not perfect, the NRA is still THE shooter’s largest organization). They should also become a “member” of the 2nd Amendment Foundation AND the CCRKBA - and since they might indeed have to defend themselves and/or family, they should become members of the USCCA. Just makes sense to me, whether they can/do/may carry concealed or not.
If I had to pick only one or two, I’d go NRA and USCCA. Just my personal thought. I am a member and contributor to all of them. For that matter, I think every single firearm owner in the U.S. should join all of the above. That would mean a probable 100 million member NRA and 2nd Amendment Foundation. THAT would be some political clout, and for the 2nd Amendment Foundation some real funding. We need it. Those kind of numbers - especially if willing to make the 2nd amendment and gun rights a single issue voting consideration - might make those in the political anti-2nd amendment camp rethink some things. Maybe. Or, might mean we could see some real movement in who is in office.
RE: ammo, even now 9mm ammo and other cartridges are available on line, at least in low quantities, prices seem to be about double (or more) what they were pre-shortage, but you can get ammo if you look and are patient - and willing to pay. (I’m really shocked that there is such a shortage of skeet/trap rounds from the major manufacturers - I haven’t found AA Sporting Clays ammo for 12 gauge anywhere.
I’m sure everyone will have thoughts on getting started, but I’m in the camp that Your friend will need at least 100 rounds for initial familiarization (plus get a non-firing laser trainer too for part-task training, and possibly a bb or pellet pistol for training), and 25 to 50 rounds to load defense only magazines and provide a very limited reserve.
At current pricing I’m seeing about $1 / round for 9mm FMJ, maybe up to $1.50/$1.75 and about $2.00 to $3.00 for self defense rounds. I just picked up 50 rounds of Federal 9mm HST for $75. Steep, not for practice really at that price, but I got two boxes, one for reserve and one as a part of training drills where I will fire two magazines (ish) with the full up rounds after a session with 115gr FMJ.
If purchasing a 9mm pistol, one might consider making sure it’s +P rated, as in the shortage, sometimes you might be able to find +P when nothing else is available.
When the shortage begins to ease in a couple months (one can hope, eh?) or even now with limited availabilities, your friend should begin to acquire at least two boxes of 50 rounds a month - and shoot 50 at least, keeping 50 for the reserve. OR something like that. Each person will have their own schedule and rationale, but everyone should have a reserve. The quantity of reserve will depend on a lot of different factors, too many to think of here.
[Reviewing other comments, came back. When I was a younger man I was friends with a guy who had been a partisan in one of the Soviet satellite states until that group of fighters determined that the West was not going to help them and the cause was lost. He escaped the USSR and made his way to the U.S. and entered legally. His departure had not been legal :-). His arrival here was. He did well, and when I visited his home he was about 80. As we were touring the house and the little farm he had he pointed out where his home defense weapon was - it was a semiauto rifle in .22 long rifle , easily accessible from any room in the home. I offer that here because, although .22 LR does have its supporters for the self defense role, most of us (including myself) prefer something with a good bit more energy. But here was a man with a history of the most rigorous small group combat operations, choosing the .22 LR for his home defense weapon. In his case, he knew from extensive operational experience what he could do and what he would need to be able to do - and chose the .22 rifle.]
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Neat story. I had a Russian prof in college who had defected from the USSR after WW2. He grew up in Poland, just across the border, as his dad had been a White Russian General.
He kept a loaded Radom in every room of his home
He recommended having 300 rounds of good ammo set aside at all times.
Why 300 rounds—only six boxes?
Because that is the most that can be carried in your overcoat coat pockets without causing attention and can be cached in a relatively small space.
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Ammo is available depending on what you are willing to pay. A local firearms dealer in no different than car dealerships. The car dealer is not going to push you to the Internet for a potential better buy. We all have to work a little harder to find what we want.
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Ok so the thread went in a completely different direction than what I thought just by glancing at the topic…
I thought this would be about the looming threat of Representative SJ Lee’s bill that will make the 2ND Amendment pointless… I’m glad it wasn’t. 
I think your friend should buy the gun. I had to re-up on 9mm ammo after going to a USCCA training last Saturday. It was not easy on the wallet but you do what you gotta do. It’s crazy because I remember (as some of you do) Walmart ammo prices back in let’s say 2016. I wouldn’t have anywhere to put my haul from Wal-Mart if I paid what I just did for some 9mm ammo back in 2016. 
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