I have been occupied with other problems lately and haven’t checked. Last time I went to Gander Mountain to buy some .22 there was none to be had. They told me to be there Thusday morning and stand in line when the truck arrived.
Still the same situation?
yep.
It’s awful.
I keep a few rounds of about 15 or so calibers on hand. When I dip below say, 1,000 rounds of one, it’s time to restock. It’s been a while since I have, and when I went to the store to get some .22, they laughed at me.
I mean, I haven’t been under a rock; I knew objectively that ammo could be scarce, but I was flabbergasted when I went to Walmart and saw the cabinet empty of everything but shotgun shells. Local gun stores were the same.
I went to a gun show last month, and the 525 count box of .22 that used to cost about 9 bucks at Walmart is now going for 75 to 90 bucks. I simply won’t pay that.
.223 and .308 for a buck or 1.50 a round? Fuck that.
I found a box of .45ACP at Walmart yesterday. It was on of 3 boxes in the cabinet. The guy next to me bought the 100 round box of .38 and some .410 shells. That emptied the shelves!
I gave it to my wife to give to her dad for father’s day, since he was complaining last week about not finding any.
Thanks, Barry.
It’s mostly the same in southern coastal New England as well, most of the big box MegaLoMart type stores get the same group of scumbag flippers and gougers arriving just as the ammo is being put out, usually with freinds/family/other accomplices in tow, buy up all the ammo they can, then end up smarking the prices up 2-3 times retail price and selling it on Gunbroker and other auction sites
I’ve seen 525 round bulk boxes of Federal marked up to $150ish, that ammo generally sells for around $20ish at the BBS
I don’t buy from scalpers, gougers and other scum, sadly, some people do
My local sporting goods store has limits on what you can buy to try to make it harder for the scumbags to get product to sell (5 boxes and one unit of bulk per person per day), yet still ammo is hard to find, last weekend though, they had their allotment of .22LR ammo last almost three days before restocking was necessary, it was Federal American Eagle 40 round hollow points and Automatch 325 round bulk that was available
Thankfully, I have a small back stock I built up over the last few years, when ammo was more affordable and available, so I’ve been able to shoot without having to dip into my “emergency stash”, I just had to cut back on my shooting a bit to make it last
The secret is to “buy two / shoot one” when prices and availability are good, every paycheck, buy two bricks/boxes of ammo, one to shoot, one to store for a rainy day, and you too can build up a back stock to carry you through shortages
Explain to me – someone who doesn’t use guns with any regularity – why the shortage? Is it hoarding by those who expect it to be soon illegal or restricted, a change in the law, a supply pipeline problem, or what?
An increase in new shooters, people stocking up in anticipation of shortages, the government increasing its own purchases of ammo (which leaves less current production capacity for manufacture of rounds for civilian sale), inability for manufacturers to ramp up their production rapidly to keep up with the increasing demand, and some raw material shortages. It’s pretty much a perfect storm situation, and the dealers I’ve spoken to don’t expect things to get any better for at least six months or so.
I’m very worried we’ll never see 2012 prices again. Especially now. I’m hoping availability will get better in another year. Remington has announced expansion plans in my home state. Supposed to be complete in 2nd quarter of 2014.
Ammo will get easier to find in another year or two.
The #1 bullet I use is .22 CB short. A round totally unsuited for repelling zombies or UN invasion troops. None to be had. I guess the ammo companies are devoting all their resources to producing the more popular calibers.
It goes:
- People buy up lots of .223, .308, 7.62x39mm etc. because they think it will be gone.
- People go to the store, can’t find any and buy .22 because it’s cheap and most have a .22. They buy lots.
- Profit. At least somebody does.
I can’t even find any .30-30, a 118 year old round. Not terribly popular otherwise. People must be worried about zombie cowboys coming back.
I can find lots of weirder stuff, like 7mm-08.
Remington .22 is utter shit, I don’t want any of that. Luckily I have an okay supply. I should’ve just hoarded and profiteered now… Luckily Walmart, Cabela’s et al. aren’t going to jack up their prices much. You just have to find out when they get shipments and cross your fingers.
Handgun ammunition and .22lr disappeared around here almost over night. There is a local gun shop that has plenty for sale as long as you are willing to pay more than premium prices. His going price for a five hundred round brick of .22lr is $100.00. He is selling high cap magazines for the same sort of mega inflated prices. He isn’t very busy, and most of the shooters I talk to are done with him all together.
A month or so ago, our local Scheel’s store shelves were beginning to recover. They seem to have .45acp, .40, .357 and .38 special in stock most of the time. Today was the first time I was able to get 9mm. The prices are higher that the pre -panic norm, bit not too bad.
The manufacturers are laughing at all those who are hoarding. I’m reasonably certain (without cite) that they created the panic, either themselves or through their bot, the NRA.
I don’t shoot but my neighbors out here in Hunt County, TX have been on a spree lately, I hear people emptying large magazine semi automatics and even bump firing like crazy every evening, I think Texas might be responsible for the shortage.
I have 840 rounds of 5.56 x 45 mm NATO (.223 Remington) on stripper clips, with bandoleers, in a .50 cal ammo box. I don’t remember how much I paid for it, but it was like twice the price of the same thing I bought over a decade ago. (I still have some of that left.) I checked prices recently, and I’ve seen prices of $1 per round. I can remember when I thought 30¢ per round was getting expensive.
Here is a pic of my .308 in my basement.
It’s worse than it’s ever been. I went to a local sporting goods store and asked where the handgun ammunition was. The guy laughed and pointed at the glass case which had a box of .38 Special hollowpoints and .22 Magnum. That was it. He said that he had a line of people waiting for the store to open on Friday when he puts it out, and it was all snapped up in less than 2 minutes. Of course, he got only 10 boxes of 9mm, the rest of his order went unfilled.
It’s the same at every gun store within 50 miles of me. It’s hard enough getting the common calibers (9mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP), imagine how hard it is to find something exotic like 10mm or 357SIG. It’s next to impossible. I haven’t seen any 10mm other than what I already have in well over a year. What does come in is strictly rationed.
The hoarding going on is amazing. It’s so hard to get that when someone hits the jackpot and happens to be there when an order comes in they try to buy all of it, everybody else be damned. There are people who are sitting on thousands upon thousands of rounds and are proud to tell you so, while casual shooters can’t even find a box of Winchester White Box.
Related to the tragedy of the commons, I guess. Someone doesn’t want to hoard, and maybe can’t afford it, but he doesn’t know if he’ll see it again, and knows that if he doesn’t buy it all then the next guy will.
Gonna go shoot some 7.62x25mm tomorrow. At least that’s not low, because stores don’t really stock it.
I assume you are ascribing the ammunition shortage to the actions of Obama, I am curious what he has done to make this so…
He hasn’t done anything, nor has the administration. I asked the same question in April(and was accused of trolling for asking what led to ammo hoarding; sensitive issue for hoarders) and it appears there are no new laws limiting ammo and no evidence that “the government” is stockpiling ammunition.
Hmmm, that thread was a train
I think there have been ammunition shortages since Obama was elected in 08’ even though gun control has not been part of Obama’s or even the Democrats legislative agenda. Even since Sandy Hook, it looks to me that Democrats have not really been trying that hard to do anything about guns or ammo (note: I am not a gun owner and I do not follow it that closely, but I do follow politics and this does not seem to be a serious focus for anyone except the pro-gun rights folks).
Anyway, I would still like ducati to explain why he thinks Obama is responsible for the ammunition shortage, or if he just trying to be funny in a partisan way.