Why there is no ammo or components. It's not a conspiracy.

[Lone_Gunman]

They have a customer with bottomless pockets wanting to pay absolute top dollar for their product so they are taking advantage of it.

I think consumers are willing to pay more than the government is for ammo.

Why would a company want to sell 5.56mm ammo to the government for $.35 a round, when they could sell the same ammo on the civilian market for $.50 a round?

 

[wyohome]

Hoarding plays a part in the shortage by making it appear worse than it is. Yesterday I was in a local hardware store buying some plumbing stuff and asked the owner if he was having trouble buying ammo to sell. He said he had only got half of his order of federal bulk pack (525 rounds) .22LR this week and only had 4 left. I bought all 4. Next guy supposes a bigger problem and buys out his hardware store, etc. I doubt that ammo will get much cheaper in the coming years, I have a use for it, and if it does go up I have the peace of mind knowing that I have plenty. I do the same thing with primers when I can find them. I may be part of the problem but my family and friends come first.

 

[allank]

Why would a company want to sell 5.56mm ammo to the government for $.35 a round, when they could sell the same ammo on the civilian market for $.50 a round?

Because they signed a legal contract sometime in the past when 35 cents/round seemed a good deal, and now they have to fulfill that contract.

 

[jcwit]

I guess I'm in the same boat as a number of years ago I happened into a close-out on primers. Store going out. Bought them all, not with the idea of hoarding but just because they were so cheap. Am I now hoarding, well maybe, but not what I had in mind orginally. Would have done the same thing if it was Mobil 1 motor oil for $1.00 a quart.

 

[wyohome]

One other thing: I didn't know what 'ATK' was. Don't do a GIS on that term.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

One other thing: I didn't know what 'ATK' was. Don't do a GIS on that term.

Funny, if you have SafeSearch on you mainly get pictures of motorcycles. If you turn SafeSearch off, that's another matter entirely, but why would you GIS with SafeSearch off unless you had already been looking for exactly what you found? Just saying...

 

[TexasRifleman]

Why would a company want to sell 5.56mm ammo to the government for $.35 a round, when they could sell the same ammo on the civilian market for $.50 a round?

It's a locked in guarantee to sell 400 million rounds a year over multiple years.

You think Midway or Ammoman is going to guarantee them 400 million rounds a year in volume for 5 years, with a 100% guarantee they will get paid?

No, government contracts are gravy not because of the prices, but because of the guaranteed predictability in volume. There are no returns, exchanges, or slow paying customers.

 

[PPGMD]

Want to know where the ammo is going, spend a few minutes on gun broker. There are cases and cases of ammo on gun broker. Of course they are twice the price of Walmart, even though it's Walmart ammo.

 

[GTSteve03]

I do find it interesting that the .gov has increased demand for their military calibers which are also extremely popular for civilian gun owners, yet at the same time they also refuse to sell any surplus ammo to civilians and require it to be destroyed.

If they happen to put a strain on civilian ammo ownership, I'm sure they have no qualms with that in the administration.

 

[Lone_Gunman]

You think Midway or Ammoman is going to guarantee them 400 million rounds a year in volume for 5 years, with a 100% guarantee they will get paid?

I think if an ammo manufacturer listed 400 million rounds of 223, 308, 9mm, and 45 ACP online for sale or auction, they would sell it in just a few days, and would sell it for more than the government is paying.

I think they misjudged the Obama effect, and signed up to sell the government ammo right when there was a huge increase in demand by US consumers.

I don't think it is a conspiracy. I think its a failure to accurately predict the market in the post-Obama world.

 

[TexasRifleman]

If they happen to put a strain on civilian ammo ownership, I'm sure they have no qualms with that in the administration.

Bill Clinton did that one to us but Bush let it stay, so there is plenty of blame to go around for that one.

 

[RevolvingCylinder]

The shop I buy my reloading components from is lacking in neither. In fact, some reloading components aren't much more expensive than they were over a year ago.

 

[06]

Just picked up four #s at the same price it was last yr. He did say the price was going up next shipment. He ordered me a keg and said he expected no delays. Plenty of primers and projectiles were on the shelves. If you are in the market give kingdomarms.com a shout or call paintball kingdom in Marshville, NC. If you go by please don't be drooling on "my" 50 on the display case--lol, wc

 

[Keb]

I suspect that since the Military can not re-pack and properly recover all the material including ammo which is in Iraq at various dumps, they are ordering new to replace it all. They also have a plan to make ammo & supply depots all over the middle east.

 

[redneck2]

Why would a company want to sell 5.56mm ammo to the government for $.35 a round, when they could sell the same ammo on the civilian market for $.50 a round?

When you sell to the gov't, you deliver in massive bulk, don't have to pay store overhead and someone to stock the shelves, and don't have any middle men that take a share of the sale price.

 

[Millwright]

Goitta go along with TR on this. For too long reloaders got accustomed to the economics of a "demand side" component market. Now its a "supply side" market. So we're seeing the economic effects of not only a dearth of production capacity but the inevitable "hoarding" accompanying rumors of "shortages".....Johnny Carson did much the same with an offhand comment regarding toilet paper.......

On the "Plus Side" is our government still hasn't cut back on the purchase of smallarms ammo for our troops engaged or training....which hasn't always been the case in the past.......>MW

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

TR, all of us on here know that it is YOUR personal hoarding activities limiting the supply and driving up the prices for everyone, so who are you trying to kid?!

 

[gossamer]

rickomatic:
1. The new administration has people scared/suspicious/panicked

It's funny you mention this. So it's the ADMINISTRATION that has people scared and panicked and suspicious? So that's the ADMINISTRATION I hear at the gun counter every time I go to buy ammo talking about how our guns are "gonna to be ceased by the military," and we're not going to be able to buy ammo anymore because "Obama's makin' 'em stop manufacture it?" That's wierd because those guys are typically sporting NRA garb and buying tacticool paraphenalia. Not something I'd expect from a Democrat in the Whitehouse.

And didn't the last administration do it's fair share of keeping people afraid ("mushroom cloud") and panicked?

 

[Elbert P . Suggins]

I have read half of these posts and I don't have to read the rest of them. I live 40 miles from Lewiston and personally know 3 people very well that work at CCI/ATK and the past couple of months they laid off close to 80 personal because of lack of orders and LACK OF WORK. This company was employing 100% on the average year so you tell me why these people were laid off. Good God Almighty, if you can't figure this out than I was born too late and a dollar short!

 

[TexasRifleman]

TR, all of us on here know that it is YOUR personal hoarding activities limiting the supply and driving up the prices for everyone, so who are you trying to kid?!

Hah!

I got half a box of .22 Shorts and 3 old 12 gauge dove loads from the 80's.......

Don't blame me

 

[Ned Kelly]

Well so it is acknowledged that the US govt and state agencies are buying up ammo in huge amounts to build up their stock piles.

For what?

Is that suggesting that since Obama has entered office that the arsenal's have increased and numbers of law enforcement personel have increased?

Maybe the US gov't has nationalized the ammo industry as well as everything else.

Why would I say nationalized when they do not need a bail out? Because they are giving the Federal and State governments priority in ammunition sales over civilians.

 

[NC-Mike]

I don't know but I always thought the fact we are fighting two wars had something to do with it.

Could be wrong...

 

[NC-Mike]

I live 40 miles from Lewiston and personally know 3 people very well that work at CCI/ATK and the past couple of months they laid off close to 80 personal because of lack of orders and LACK OF WORK.

By Matt Loveless
Watch the video

LEWISTON - ATK CCI/Speer in Lewiston is cutting about 8 percent of their workforce.

In mid-December, the company announced an indefinite period of downtime for a number of workers at the Lewiston plant. Now ATK will lay off 70 to 80 Lewiston employees in what management calls a reduction in force.

ATK spokesperson Amanda Covington said the affected employees were notified Thursday.

Covington said it's not the economy, that the company is still seeing a healthy market for ammunition sales. She said it goes back to a 2006 hiring boost, which was implemented to cover a backlog of orders for the growing company. Covington said they are finally caught up on that backlog, and no longer need those employees.

Newly-elected Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch said Thursday he is concerned about the loss of jobs.

In a statement Risch said, "It is disappointing to hear that over 100 people are losing their jobs at CCI/Speer in Lewiston. It is imperative that the new Congress and President work quickly on ways to improve our country's business climate. We must find ways to keep companies like CCI/Speer growing and their workers employed. They are an excellent local employer and we need to move swiftly to keep these jobs that provide the income for many families in the Lewiston area."

 

[sohcgt2]

If You are truly concerned about the shortage, stop shooting, sit on what you have, and watch the shelves start to fill back up. Everyone I know has decided the 2000 rounds they used to stock is insufficient and so they have doubled or redoubled their personal stores. Additionally new CCW applications are up. The result is more buyers buying more with no change in supply. The only solution is to reduce demand. Shot shells and rimfire ammos seem to be readily available so temporarily stop shooting centerfire cartridges and rediscover your shotguns and rimfires.

 

[rogertc1]

Truth be known. I have been hording and not shooting for over 30 years. Yes I have all the ammo and primers.

Sorry.