Ammunition Supplies

45long

I'm hearing a lot about shortages of ammunition. Here where I am in California, a lot of people go to Wal-Mart to buy ammo. It has gotten so bad that if your not there first thing in the morning after a shipment comes in, you won't get any. They have been selling out within the first couple of hours. My regular gun store has half the calibers it usually carries. .223 has doubled in price when they can get it.

So. I was wondering what the rest of you were seeing across the country. I load my own, but I'm not sure how long those supplies will continue either.

melkor

Plenty available, all calibers, just inflated prices, which have gone down a bit in the last month. Illinois [:D]

MBK

Just heard some guy went to Silverthorn, CO and bought about 50 of the 550 round 22 LR Bulks.

I think I am hearing about real hoarders.....maybe Wallyworld should limit to 5 boxes.

Iowaredneck

Just got the last 4 boxes of Remington UMC 223 at my walmart in SE Iowa.

44mag

I may be wrong but, this whole ammo gouge is just the clinton mess all over again. I firmly believe that the ammo co`c start the rumors just to be able to gouge their customers. Personaly, I would like to see all ammo users stop buying any and all ammo until the mfg`s stop the price inflation.
Did they drop their prices when the scrap price of lead, brass and copper hit the bottom? NO, they just kept raiseing them. This is just my opinion.

jpwolf

Have the mfg's raised prices? Or just the retailers?

The Madhatter

Ammo supply here in central Ky seems to be fine. Some prices have started coming down(just not my beloved .357's) There is a ready supply of .223 and 7.62X39,9mm and .45acp are plentiful and can be found fairly cheap still if you look hard enough for sales. I never buy ammo from Wally mart,with the exception of .22 bulk,they just jack the prices up to high. I have a few friends that horde ammo but not many. One friend has roughly 80,000+ rounds holed up in different places.

Don McManus

It is a real crap shoot.

I just picked up 400 rounds of current production Lake City .50 BMG for $ 3.51 per round, but cannot find a decent price on .30 Carbine or 7.62 x 39 ammo anywhere. Cabelas has been selling American Eagle 5.56 for under $ 0.40 a round for the past month or so (sad day when that seems like a reasonable price), and seems to have a large supply. .45 ACP and .357 Mag, on the other hand seem to still be increasing in price.

Federal layed off a significant number of people in November, and did not announce any re-hires that I've heard, and the price of brass and lead has dropped through the floor.

It is very possible that the industry, just like the steel industry is doing, is limiting supply so as to maintain the pricing level. Government regulation makes it much more difficult to open an ammo manufacturing facility today, so these manufacturer's are protected from competition, and may be taking advantage of that fact.

On the other hand, I've bought more ammo over the past six months than I will shoot in six years, and have heard the same type of statements from many others. If my actions are reflective of many owners, well, it is fairly obvious who is causing the problem. Better safe than sorry, I guess.

Rack Ops

I was under the impression that commodity prices were crashing. I would think that ammo prices would be way down...at least on materials.


Also, the new President is expected to draw down the war in Iraq, which takes away a huge consumer of ammo.


Maybe a brief period of respite before the inevitable taxes, ect, come down the pike?

Matchshot

quote:Originally posted by Rack Ops
I was under the impression that commodity prices were crashing. I would think that ammo prices would be way down...at least on materials.


Also, the new President is expected to draw down the war in Iraq, which takes away a huge consumer of ammo.


Maybe a brief period of respite before the inevitable taxes, ect, come down the pike?



Dillon 550 and precious metals and powders: Brass, steel, powder and primers.

DrGonzo11

I feel like I just sacrificed ammo prices for gas prices. ummmm........I can stop driving[:D]

oreegun

Reload. That's what I am doing. Here in Oregon it isn't just that the ammo prices are up but the dies and powders are off the shelf. Small rifle primers are impossible to get retail and I had to order them through the net with that hazardous material addition of $20. I feel that it will pay for itself after time and reloading is really fun and gets me into the shop and out of the wife's hair.

brier-49

The Olin corp posted it's largest ever profit in the last quarter of 2008.

flat8

Here in the Southwestern desert .223 is non-existent. .38 special is going fast. .357 magnum is also gone, gone, gone. .308 can be had at inflated prices. Plenty of 9mm and 40 . . . but .45 is hit or miss. 7.62X39 seems plentiful.

Rocklobster

Another dying gasp of the free-enterprise system that this country originally used to make it the greatest country this planet has ever seen. It's called "supply and demand."

chaoslodge

I just finished traveling through Va, WVa, Ky and NC. In WVa there seemed to be plenty at the Wally Worlds as well as in Ky. NC and Va seem to have lower inventories in their respective Wally Worlds.

Tommytornado

Today at my local range I asked about this topic. He said he has gotten a lot of answers but one was common. According to the owner he is having a hard time getting ammo because of the possible ammo serialization that might get passed. He said that it might not be a national thing but some states might do it. Basically, like buying a gun you would have to pass a background check.

DrGonzo11

From what I've seen and read, the Feds have no intention of passing into law any ammo serialization system, I'm sure alot of them would like to see it happen, but NONE of them want to take responsibility for the clusterf*** that would ensue. On the State level however I can see some form passing in a few states, but I think almost immediately you would see an amendment allowing grandfathered ammo to stay, once they realize what an undertaking and how dangerous attempting to collect it all would be.

codenamepaul

Went to Cabela's in Hartford yesterday. No 223 components, no .308 components to speak of. Talking about cheap stuff. No .308 match ammo, no 223 match. Very little else. Didn't look for much else tho'

I bought 2 boxes of Berger .308 match and 2 of Hornady BTHP match. Few thousand LR and 500 50 BMG (CCI 35's) primers. And 1000 CCI benchrest primers (LR)

DrGonzo11

Yeah, i can't find hardly any handgun ammo in .40, .45 and mostly 9mm, the few places that do have it have hiked the prices above $17 a box for 9mm. and i'm in Kansas City, we have 2 bass pros, 1 cabelas, 10+ dicks sporting goods, a few sports authority's, god knows how many Wally worlds and several gun shops.