Can anyone please show, prove, explain this "shipments have been diverted" issue, I read this in a lot of posts, but no one can explain who, what, where, why, and when the so called shipment diversions happened. I love to read conspiracy theories, maybe they will make a movie...........................................................
The ammo shortage?
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Reloadron
Contributing Member
I read that on the Internet so it must be true. I would cite true proven references but I am scheduled for a new tin foil hat fitting and we all know how hard those appointments are to come by.
Ron
I just came back from the LGS . Quick Cash Firearms on Lloyd (off of Turfway) in Florence KY moved a couple of stores down from the Pawn Store and became Triggers. (They are still the same mini mall).
Yes they have ammo but at high prices. A box of 9mm Makarov is $29 a box. They have the Remington Special Match ammo in 40 and 45 acp at $39 a box of 25. No .22 lr.
Even their prices for pistols went up. The Hi-Point .40 was $199 and the .45 was over $200. The Hi-Point .45 acp was selling for just $159 last year. However a Panther A15 .223 was $699. I walked out of the store empty handed.
Yes they have ammo but at high prices. A box of 9mm Makarov is $29 a box. They have the Remington Special Match ammo in 40 and 45 acp at $39 a box of 25. No .22 lr.
Even their prices for pistols went up. The Hi-Point .40 was $199 and the .45 was over $200. The Hi-Point .45 acp was selling for just $159 last year. However a Panther A15 .223 was $699. I walked out of the store empty handed.
were you all sleeping five years ago.
Near as I can tell it took almost two years for ammo supplies to return to normal after Obama won the election and the dems took over congress. The shortages then and now were caused purely by panic buying. What a lot of you seem to have missed is that while the supply returned to normal, eventually, the prices never went back down. 100 rounds of federal 9mm at walmart were 14.99 BO (before Obama). It rose to around $18 during the panic buying and never came back down. It was $19.99 before this panic and is up to $22.00 right now. It is not coming back down this time either. Buying now just makes sense especially if you consider that the dems could regain the house next year.
Near as I can tell it took almost two years for ammo supplies to return to normal after Obama won the election and the dems took over congress. The shortages then and now were caused purely by panic buying. What a lot of you seem to have missed is that while the supply returned to normal, eventually, the prices never went back down. 100 rounds of federal 9mm at walmart were 14.99 BO (before Obama). It rose to around $18 during the panic buying and never came back down. It was $19.99 before this panic and is up to $22.00 right now. It is not coming back down this time either. Buying now just makes sense especially if you consider that the dems could regain the house next year.
Potatohead
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Geez...I wouldn't go back
MinnesotaFats
Member
i just got the latest guns and ammo magazine and its got a really good article on the ammo shortage...
Palmetto State Armory has .22LR for $.06 per round right now with a limit of 5 boxes(250 rounds). I bought my 5 boxes although I don't need 250 rounds just to see if they actually have them. I added a couple of other items I can kinda sorta use, 22 shot shell and some 9mm HP, and shipping was $7. If I only bought the .22lr shipping would have still been .07 which would have put the ammo at $.087 per round.
TanklessPro
Member
Good to see your involvement in 4H shooting. Did y'all ever buy more than you needed or did you buy only what you needed?
jcwit
member
As luck would have it ATK offered us a special buy of .22 ammo for old time pricing out of the factory. Which was good to say the least.
Now then that still does not help the kids who wish to practice at their home range on their own time.
JTHunter
Member
I live in Illinois near St. Louis and was shopping at two local stores today. One is part of a regional chain, the other is a fairly new "sporting goods store". This store has ammo, guns, reloading supplies, some archery equipment, and a lot of fishing supplies. BOTH stores are starting to get some ammo back in but the prices are outlandish!
The new store had Hornady FTX 110 gr in .357 at $25/20 rds. and Eley .22LR HP's for $7.25/50 rds.!!!
Rural King wasn't any better. Remington Golden bulk .22LR was $22/225 rds.
and 158 gr JSP in .357 was $35/50 rds.
I passed on it all - for now.
The new store had Hornady FTX 110 gr in .357 at $25/20 rds. and Eley .22LR HP's for $7.25/50 rds.!!!
Rural King wasn't any better. Remington Golden bulk .22LR was $22/225 rds.
and 158 gr JSP in .357 was $35/50 rds.I passed on it all - for now.
I went shooting today and when I pulled out an AR one guy asked me where I got the ammo because he hasn't been able to find it anywhere.
I very politely asked him if he had heard of the internet. Okay I didn't say it like that but I did tell him he could buy all he wanted at reasonable prices by using ammoseek or Gunbot. I think some people think the ammo is unavailable because Walmart is out.
I very politely asked him if he had heard of the internet. Okay I didn't say it like that but I did tell him he could buy all he wanted at reasonable prices by using ammoseek or Gunbot. I think some people think the ammo is unavailable because Walmart is out.
Queen_of_Thunder
member
Its very simple. In fact so simple it took me 7 months to realize it. As one of those standing in line waiting for Academy to open I watched every Monday,Wednesday and Friday as Academy employees unpacked their ammo delivery and put it on the shelf. Their regular ammo deliverys disappeared and were replaced with only a fraction of their regular delivery to nothing at times. Academy has 161 stores that they supply ammo to.. Walmart a chain of some 3,000 stores experienced the same problems as Academy. Now tell me who is a larger distributer of ammo other than walmart. They didn't get anywhere their regular ammo orders. So who can dry up walmarts ammo order.
RetiredUSNChief
Member
Heh! Man, I love these ammunition strings! They're fertile fields for conspiracy tripe, right and left...and they never fail to bring out people who evidently don't have much business sense or experience.
A lot of people, in this string and elsewhere, have already quite thoroughly covered all the tripe many people have spouted on this subject...and yes, I said "tripe". I've not mentioned any names, nor am I going to, so don't ask or assume anything about whom I may think to be spouters of said tripe.
I will say this...and most helpfully:
The ammunition shortage IS getting better. The evidence is there in both the slowly increasing availability in the retail market AND the drop in prices by so-called "gougers".
I travel quite frequently between Virginia and South Carolina. Recently, a death in the family drew me back to Indiana. During that time, my family decided we'd take some time off for vacation. As a result, I've traveled 11 states in the last few weeks, three of them routinely because of my work. Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Here are a few tidbits:
Lafayette, Indiana evidently doesn't have too bad a shortage because the Gander Mountain there was LOADED with ammunition. It was like walking into a candy store as a kid. 9mm still in short supply, but hey. Prices higher than I normally pay, but there you have it. Several LGS have supplies, too, though skimpier. Walmart stores are hit or miss but easier to find ammo than, say, Hampton Roads area Walmarts in Virginia.
A Dicks store near the shipyard I work at gets .22 LR ammunition a couple times a week...and I've picked up a few boxes to support the wife and kids shooting this summer from there. They've a 1 box limit on bulk boxes and it's not too difficult for me to check them out when they open to see if they've got any. No long lines of people waiting like scavengers before they open...just get there, have a look-see, and leave with or without a box in the morning.
I routinely check a handful of Walmarts when driving between SC and VA. I almost always find a few with 9mm, .45 acp, and .22 WMR or LR. Emporia and South Hill Walmarts on highway 58 are a couple. Several scattered along the way in NC as well.
Some gun shops in the Greeneville, SC area periodically advertise ammunition availability. A couple Walmarts I frequent in that area seem to get boxes of .45 and 9mm which don't instantly disappear off the shelves. One of them is in Simpsonville.
This is a VAST improvement over just a couple months ago.
If ammunition seems to be short in the region one spends most of their time in, then perhaps investing some time traveling elsewhere might be in order before one declares this to be a universal trait.
This is just my unsolicited input, volunteered at no cost...two cent fee is waived.
A lot of people, in this string and elsewhere, have already quite thoroughly covered all the tripe many people have spouted on this subject...and yes, I said "tripe". I've not mentioned any names, nor am I going to, so don't ask or assume anything about whom I may think to be spouters of said tripe.
I will say this...and most helpfully:
The ammunition shortage IS getting better. The evidence is there in both the slowly increasing availability in the retail market AND the drop in prices by so-called "gougers".
I travel quite frequently between Virginia and South Carolina. Recently, a death in the family drew me back to Indiana. During that time, my family decided we'd take some time off for vacation. As a result, I've traveled 11 states in the last few weeks, three of them routinely because of my work. Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Here are a few tidbits:
Lafayette, Indiana evidently doesn't have too bad a shortage because the Gander Mountain there was LOADED with ammunition. It was like walking into a candy store as a kid. 9mm still in short supply, but hey. Prices higher than I normally pay, but there you have it. Several LGS have supplies, too, though skimpier. Walmart stores are hit or miss but easier to find ammo than, say, Hampton Roads area Walmarts in Virginia.
A Dicks store near the shipyard I work at gets .22 LR ammunition a couple times a week...and I've picked up a few boxes to support the wife and kids shooting this summer from there. They've a 1 box limit on bulk boxes and it's not too difficult for me to check them out when they open to see if they've got any. No long lines of people waiting like scavengers before they open...just get there, have a look-see, and leave with or without a box in the morning.
I routinely check a handful of Walmarts when driving between SC and VA. I almost always find a few with 9mm, .45 acp, and .22 WMR or LR. Emporia and South Hill Walmarts on highway 58 are a couple. Several scattered along the way in NC as well.
Some gun shops in the Greeneville, SC area periodically advertise ammunition availability. A couple Walmarts I frequent in that area seem to get boxes of .45 and 9mm which don't instantly disappear off the shelves. One of them is in Simpsonville.
This is a VAST improvement over just a couple months ago.
If ammunition seems to be short in the region one spends most of their time in, then perhaps investing some time traveling elsewhere might be in order before one declares this to be a universal trait.
This is just my unsolicited input, volunteered at no cost...two cent fee is waived.
FastCut
Member
Just Reload....Pick up primers, bullets and save your brass and you will live outside the system of people standing in front of Wally World at 6 am to score some ammo. I ran 3000 9mm, about 1000 45's in the last couple of weeks on my Dillon and I am setting up to run 2000 5.56 in the next couple of days. Its expensive to start but buy small quantities whenever you can and store them up for the times when you can get into the basement to bang out a 1000 rounds. Its a nice way to spend time listening to the radio. I have my son swage primer pockets while I do the rest. We chat, and I give him advice on stuff while we both learn stuff. I still like to reload rifle on single stage but the 5.56 is plenty accurate coming out of my Dillon 550. I would urge everyone who doesn't reload to start assuming you shoot a couple thousand rounds of any caliber a year, otherwise the buy in can take too long to recover the true costs of reloading.
This is the problem in a nutshell. Very few people seem to be able to understand that while "3 half bricks" is nothing, "3 half bricks" when you multiply it by a decent percentage of the gun owners in America is a staggering amount of ammunition. If only 10% of the gun owners in the U.S. buy 3 half bricks, that adds up to more than 7 BILLION rounds.
Missing the point.
When there's an ammo shortage, people buying ammo they don't need contributes to the shortage. If you don't care about the shortage then it's a non-issue, but I figure anyone reading or posting on this thread has at least some interest in the shortage.
I have a LOT of ammunition, but I buy it when availability is good. That keeps my cost down and it also means that when times get tough, I can keep shooting without contributing to the shortage. Does that make a difference? Not if I'm the only one doing it. But if everyone did the same, it would go a LONG way to preventing future shortages.
The shortage is lifting here, but there are still some places badly affected. It's still not possible to buy anything at Wal-Mart unless you want to camp out for hours--and I don't want. Some of the LGS are starting to restock and I'm seeing purchase limits getting rarer and prices getting better. One LGS has 9mm FMJ for $15 a box of 50 with no purchase limits and LOTS in stock.
Maybe during the peak of the shortage, the big retailers had trouble getting ammunition, but for months, my local Wal-Mart has known exactly what they're getting and when they're getting it. They're actually receiving a lot of ammo, but it's gone as soon as they bring it out--people literally wait for 3-4 hours when there's a shipment coming in.
Same thing applies at the local Wal-Mart. But they don't EXPECT to get ammo every day either and don't get it every day under normal conditions. They supply for normal circumstances and under normal circumstances they get enough ammunition in every week to cover what they sell. In other words, it's normal for them to get ammunition shipments only once or twice a week--it's just that no one pays any attention to whether they get ammo every day or not when there's lots of ammo on the shelves.
That's certainly a factor--one of many. People didn't realize it at the time, but when Clinton cut off ammo & firearm imports from China, prices were bound to rise eventually and any future shortages would be exaggerated.
And they're not going to take such expensive measures for a temporary situation. What would they do with the facilities, machinery and workers when demand goes back to normal? It's a recipe for bankruptcy.
Sure it does. It tells you that there was no panic there about possible changes in firearm/ammunition legality and so they're selling ammunition at a normal rate and that means the shelves are staying stocked at a normal level.
jcwit
member
That is one of the most sensible and well thought out posts I have yet to read regarding the shortage I have read so far.
Onward Allusion
Member
Your math doesn't jibe with me. I haven't purchased 22LR since January of this year. I also certainly shot a lot more than 675 rounds of 22LR since Jan '13. While I don't NEED the ammo because like you I am fairly well stock, I certainly should be able to replenish what I shoot if I want to and am willing to pay the slightly inflated prices.
What you are basically saying is that anyone who buys ammo between 12/15/12 and present day is contributing to the shortage and is somehow doing something unsavory.
ShootingTargets7.com
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http://www.floridatoday.com/article...lice-agencies-find-ammunition-shortage-easing
I am so tired of this ammo shortage... It's getting a bit better in Michigan, but I can not wait until it returns as it was.
I am so tired of this ammo shortage... It's getting a bit better in Michigan, but I can not wait until it returns as it was.
Deer_Freak
Member.
People who get on their cell phone and call all their family members over 21 to come get 3 boxes are exacerbating the shortage. People who had a decent supply of ammo on hand and only buy a few boxes to replace what they have shot are not making things worse. The ammo shortage will ease off quicker if we just buy ammo normally.
Prices will come down. Right before the election I bought a 2000 round case of aguila 124 gr FMJ ammo for $8 a box of 50. It's decent ammo with a velocity very close 124 gr NATO rounds. I don't know if we will see $8 a box. But we will see affordable ammo in the future. Copper prices are very high right now. Raw materials might increase the cost of ammo a little bit. But in the end prices will be tolerable.
Prices will come down. Right before the election I bought a 2000 round case of aguila 124 gr FMJ ammo for $8 a box of 50. It's decent ammo with a velocity very close 124 gr NATO rounds. I don't know if we will see $8 a box. But we will see affordable ammo in the future. Copper prices are very high right now. Raw materials might increase the cost of ammo a little bit. But in the end prices will be tolerable.
Not at all. I said 2 things.
1. You scoffed at the idea that 3 half-bricks was going to perpetuate the shortage. I pointed out that people are judging what's going on by what they're doing as an individual but aren't grasping that they're not the only ones behaving in that manner. What one person does doesn't make a difference, but the fact that many people are doing the same thing DOES make a difference. The math is: 313.9 million people in the U.S. of which approximately 30% are gun owners. That's about 94 million people. Assume 10% of them (9.4 million) buy 3 half bricks (750 rounds). That's over 7 billion rounds.
2. Your initial post stated you didn't need the ammo. "I didn't need the ammo and was..." You just reiterated that you don't need the ammo. "While I don't NEED the ammo..." I certainly did NOT say that anyone buying ammo was perpetuating the shortage. I DID say that people buying ammo they don't need perpetuates the shortage. I said that because it's true.
The ammunition companies make enough for normal expected demand (projected typical need, if you prefer) and some extra. That "some extra" is enough for people like you and me to purchase to stock up in times of plenty, and it's enough to deal with typical minor surges in demand.
They don't make enough ammo for a significant percentage of gun owners to suddenly go out and buy ammunition they don't need just because they feel like it/they're panicked/they noticed the shelves were empty and got antsy/whatever. That's what causes shortages, and that's what perpetuates them and I don't believe there's any rational way to argue otherwise.
I've shot a lot of ammo during the shortage too, and I plan to shoot more. But I'm not buying ammo right now for the following reasons.
1. It's expensive and I like to buy ammo when it's a deal, not when the price is high. It makes no sense for me to buy expensive ammo when I know I can wait and buy cheap ammo.
2. It's hard to find and I don't like to work to buy ammo after working to make the money I'm going to buy ammo with. It makes no sense to waste time looking for ammo right now when it's a chore, when I've planned ahead and have ammo on hand that I can use without waiting in line or searching around.
3. Other people don't have ammo on hand and if they want to shoot then they have no choice but to purchase it. It makes no sense for me to take a commodity off the market that is precious to someone else when I already have all I need on hand.
In a few months, or maybe a year, things will settle down and I'll stock up for the next bout of craziness. Just like I did last summer.
I just got one of the cases of .22 ammo I ordered from the CMP in March. CMP only takes orders by the case so if you want some go online pony up $250-400 their next shipment is October with any luck.There is still time if you want to quit complaining.
DeadMoneyDrew
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- Jan 20, 2013
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This is what I don't understand. Unless you have a job that involves using a firearm, who the heck has time to spend hours a day scouring for ammo? That's insane. I stop into Wally World, Dick's, or my LGS whenever I happen to be in the area and have a few extra minutes. But making ammo runs every day? No thanks. I have to work for a living.
The Wal-Marts in my area (DE/northern MD/eastern PA) are starting to have boxes of .40, .45, and .357 available and on the shelves. No 9mm or .22, though. One Wal-Mart has taken to stocking its BB supplies in the ammo case so that the shelf doesn't look so bare.
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