Ammo

Mark W

Mark W

Well-known member
I am pretty sure I have complained about the lack of ammo in my area. Got to a store 15 minutes after opening that just got in a shipment of 500 boxes of .22LR. They were gone by the time I arrived. Their boxes of 9mm FMJ that cost me $12 (on sale) was now $45. They had a few hundred boxes and sold out in the time I was there browsing.

Got lucky yesterday and happened to be at Fleet Farm when they brought out some new Fast Stell shells. Was able to grab 3 boxes before they were gone.

I have heard many reasons for the zero inventory of shells and bullets but not quite believing them. Who can explain why ammo is in such short supply. And back it up with facts?

I recall the last time this happened it took over 3 years to reliably find ammo.

Mark
 
Baffling to me.
I'd like to hear if others are seeing this??
Can you mail order in your state?
 
There are lots of possible reasons for the shortage, such as supply chain problems, hoarding, government contracts etc., same as several years ago. I don't recall an ammo company stepping up with a statement as to exactly why, it's usually some feel good baloney about valuing our business and doing their best.

What I have noticed in my area is that there is less target shooting than normal. Some of the ranges have nobody on them when they would normally be utilized. Whether people can't get ammo to shoot, or are hoarding what they have isn't clear to me.
 
I was genuinely concerned I would not be able to get enough of the ammo I wanted for the upcoming season. I checked all of the online sites several times a day and finally got what I wanted after a few months. Of course the site that finally had what I wanted won't ship to me in NY so I had to have it shipped to a friend out of state. Bud's and Rogers will both ship to me in NY but they have not had anything I want in quite a while. I think we will be seeing an ammo shortage for quite a long time to come.
 
This is the best explanation I've found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIgvoJKovIg


I honestly believe that's the explanation. We've been stopping at 5-10 gun stores all across the country per day selling our PFC gun oil, and what we're seeing backs up what he's saying. Any time they get ammo in, it immediately goes right back out the door... partly from people hoarding, and partly from the X-million new gun owners out there. Then that creates panic buying, then more hoarding, then more shortages, then the cycle repeats. Kind of like the toilet paper and hand sanitizer from a year ago. Except a year ago we didn't have politicians trying to outlaw butt wiping!


I was talking to 2 guys that stopped by our booth at an outdoor show this weekend. The one guy was bragging that he'd just bought 5 boxes of 9mm at $30/box. The other guy looked at him and said "you don't even OWN a 9MM!!" The guy responded "well, maybe I'll have to get one now!" I said "you just explained the problem in a nutshell"!
 
I have thankfully stocked up on steel and subsequently sold a lot of rounds I rarely use to pay for other frivolous toys.

Regardless, I stop at cabelas occasionally (its 5 min from my office) to see if they have skeet ammo because were low on it. They don't even have the shelves for shotgun ammo anymore. I don't mean the shelves are empty. I mean they literally took them away and filled the space with other junk. I was dumbfounded.

Hoping this slows down before the 2022 waterfowl season or I'll be stuffing pieces of beer cans into my muzzleloading shotgun to down ducks.
 
It has been very hard to find all sorts of ammo. The .22lr seems to be the hardest to find. I would agree there is hoarding going on.
 
At Cabelas (10 minutes from my shop), they get ammo in 2 days a week if I recall. The same fellas are lined up way ahead of time to be there to get all they want.
They are first in line to purchase and clean out the inventory before regular folks can get in. That's hoarding in my book.

If you check our CCI and their video, they are running at full capacity while still maintaining social distancing. SD is merely a control device now and covid-19 is long gone. There will always be viruses and many viruses are Coronavirus but we've lived all our lives with that.
Most manufacturers that are large enough to be scrutinized have to be aware of gov't intervention and tattle tails. (sorry about being a bit political). As a Biologist, I know too much about all this drivel.
Lou
 
So after reading other comments and doing digging around, I believe this is hoarding combined with some reductions in production due to Covd19.
But it seems hoardings is the main culprit.
Same knee-jerk reaction when Obama was elected.
Gun dealers and ammo wholesalers laughed all the way to the bank then and now they are again.
Even though everyone knows that ammo restrictions would they pass at a national level. Nor have I heard for a call for such restrictions gaining any traction at a national level.

The one that really gets me is .22 ammo hoarding. Really??? Let's use some common sense here people.

If was going to hoard anything it would be centerfire magazines with more than 10 round capacity.
There is a slim chance new sales or transfer of those will be prohibited at some point in the next 3 years. Doubtful, but could happen.
Slim chance the "assault rifle" ban will be resurrected as well, but doubtful it could pass at the national level either.
 
I see an AR type ban coming real soon in this administration. Biden is proposing a ban on ?ghost guns?. Many think this means the sale of kits that criminals are buying to become armed. While this ban may sound good one has to dig deeper. I can foresee a time where I will need parts to fix any one of my guns. Think ordering parts might become more difficult in the future with the banning of ghost guns? I sure do as every part could then be considered a part to build a ghost gun.

Mark
 

Carl,

In this day and age you cannot use the words "common sense" and "people" in the same sentence.

Smartphones fixed that... [;)]

We went thru the .22 shortage years ago here, and it took years to recover, at much higher prices.

Think about it. EVERYONE has a .22. May not be used often, or even operable, but there is at least one somewhere in the family.

Last fall I saw boxes of .22 Shorts. Wonders never cease.


If I had only one caliber to choose for sustenance, it is the .22, but that's just me.


VP
 
People buying up commodities and jacking up the prices like anything else. Sure you will find the people in line at Cabela's are then marking up and selling online to make a quick buck.

Limit purchases and you get straw purchasers buying for a single seller.

No use hoarding magazines when states like Delaware want to pass a mandatory buy back. I could see people 3d printing mags and laughing all the way to the bank.

Rick
 
My understanding is that barrels, receivers and/or lowers (AR & similar guns), maybe bolts, with no serial numbers would be banned under the "Ghost Gun" ban.
I personally don't have a problem with that, why would a manufacturer create a barrels, receivers and lower with no serial numbers in the first place?
What about proof marks, are they proofing their barrels but not putting serial numbers on them???

I don't believe that any other "normal" maintenance parts are included. But I will do some checking.
 
Senate Bill 6, which would require gun owners to comply with the magazine buyback or face criminal prosecution, also outlaws the sale of magazines with 17-round or greater capacity. If the bill becomes law, state gun owners will have until June 30, 2022, to sell their magazines to the government. The bill would allocate $15,000 to fund the mandatory buy-back.
 
Carl said:
My understanding is that barrels, receivers and/or lowers (AR & similar guns), maybe bolts, with no serial numbers would be banned under the "Ghost Gun" ban.
I personally don't have a problem with that, why would a manufacturer create a barrels, receivers and lower with no serial numbers in the first place?
What about proof marks, are they proofing their barrels but not putting serial numbers on them???

I don't believe that any other "normal" maintenance parts are included. But I will do some checking.
Click to expand...

I just checked to be sure, my replacement 1100/1187 barrels don't have serial numbers. My domestic shotguns and rifles have SN's on the receiver, not barrels. Some of the European firearms have barrels with SN's. I don't have any black rifles so can't speak to that. So I have a problem with the executive order, now I can't buy a "ghost gun" replacement 30" barrel for my duck gun.
 
Prior to Gun Control Act of 1968 serial numbers were not required. Other countries control all pressure controlling parts of a firearm. (barrel, receiver, bolt).

Just more crap for law abiding citizens to comply with so politicians can buy votes while accomplishing nothing.

Rick
 
I may be mistaken about barrels being included.

ARs a just different, since the barrel & receiver (upper) is normally sold as one one unit, unlike most shotguns where you can buy interchangeable barrels.

Bottom line, the "ghost-gun" legislation/action is aimed at buyers who buy an AR upper and an AR lower, some with no serial numbers, separately to avoid buying a "firearm".
 
I was at a gun store last week and saw a young couple come in and buy 9 boxes of .45 target rounds........at $80/bx. $720[huh]
 
Carl,

On the AR the lower is serialized and a controlled item. If the AR lower is sold as 80% complete under the current law it is not required to be serialized and controlled. Unless they start regulating metalworking tools there will always be a way to manufacture a firearm.


Rick
 
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