Scarcity of ammo

What caliber of ammunition were you after, and does the military use it?

It is true that ammo is going up in price for a good reason, but not all of it is directly related to the WOT.

Prices of metals like lead, copper, and brass (made of copper and zinc) are driving the prices up. Also, demand is up all over the country and worldwide...

It is true that the US Gov't is buying up large amounts of mil-spec .223, .308, 7.62x39mm, and 7.62x54R to supply our boyos over in the big sandbox, as well as supplying the Iraqi Army/Police.

Isn't all ammo made basically from the same raw materials?

BTW I was looking for .308 and 7.62x39 mm.

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So did they have it?

The way that I understand it is this. The U.S. Government is buying very large amounts of ammunition for the war effort, but also you have developing countries such as China and India that are buying up vast quantities of copper for electrical/infrastructure needs. Brass, as we all know, has copper in it also. Raw resources being mined and sold at an astounding rate.
Buy cheap and stack deep my friend.

It's the Chindians.

Massive building going on in their booming economies.

More buildings = more need for electrical copper wire.

Copper is used in brass for cases and jacketing for bullets.

I HAVE heard this from my local dealer regarding my AR's fodder!

Caliber relating to military use does not matter. 40 and 45 ammo are very scarce right now. I get Police Departments calling every day for this stuff. There is no duty ammo available at any price. No LE Distributors have target ammo either.

I have been advising them to hit places like Wang Mart and Dicks for target ammo. Maybe they will cut them a deal for bulk purchasing.

Time to start reloading!

Yes, the ammo shortage is real. It doesn't matter if it is military ammo or not. Because of the military demand for ammunition, the ammo companies are producing more to keep up with the demand. To produce more .223, 9mm, .45, .308, etc. means they produce equivalently less of everything else. Buy it when you find it and hoard it. Also, invest in Olin Corporation.

Olin just sold the metals division here at a 140 million dollar loss. They did keep the brass so that they could supply Winchester division.

We are expecting massive job losses before it is all done.

I have no idea what the lead time and investment costs are to get ammunition manufacturing up and running. I would expect that if the manufacturing were sited off-shore the permitting process would be very quick and less onerous compared to U.S. I am surprised that more foreign ammunition isn't coming into the civilian market; the margins should certainly be there at the current prices and the demand is strong.

Maybe some of us should move to Belize, or someplace warm and looking for foreign investment, lease some equipment if it is available, and go into business.

another reason I stick with .22 and .22mag...lol

It's still out there and with a little research- you can find good deals. One thing I've done is if the online dealer is out of my type of ammo, I'll use the notify by email(if they have this feature). That way you will be notified as soon as it comes into stock. I think Natchez, Midway, and maybe Cheaper Than Dirt have this feature. WalMart still has some of the best prices on the more common rounds. Another option is to pick up a copy of Shotgun News. It has ads from the bigger dealers that sell to the public.

ammo shortage

one thing is there is not a line dedicated to one caliber.they run a batch and then change to another caliber or case.if the order is big they use all lines nessary to produce the contract.
best bet is to reload with lead bullets.my 1913 / 03 shoots 1 inch groups at 100yrds.311291/170gr with 13 gr red dot.

even non military calibers are getting hard to find because the ammo manufacturers are putting more of their resources into meeting government contracts. So they aren't making as much .38 special or .30-'06 or other calibers that the military doesn't use.

Not an ammunition shortage in my area. Sounds like a bunch of hyped up crap if you ask me; prices have stayed the same too.

I wish that were the case here. Prices have gone up and supply has dried up.

.223 bulk junk is harder to find, but plenty of .223 premium out there. I have yet to see a "bare cupboard" at Wal-mart, Scheel's, Cabela's, or my local shop. I wouldn't say there's tons of ammo to be had at low prices, but it's there.

Some of you guys make it sound like the bread lines in the '30s.

Shortages are real. So is massive price increases. Check the internet for things like .223, .308, etc. You will find that an average 55gr .223 FMJ is selling for around $400/1000. It was around $225/1000 less than a year ago. Even see if you can find any .223. Most of the distributors are out. Shortages of powder and primers, plus brass and bullets do exist. Not sayin that all ammo is gone, but the battle packs of 7.62x51 South African (140 rounds) that I paid $19.95 2 years ago go for around $75 to $85 a pack. But, you can't find any surplus.

If you want 1 box of Remington 30.30, no problem. Wal Mart has it, but look at the price. I was told by a distributor that Remington and Winchester had committed to military production of .223 and .308 in huge quantities. The raw materials are being redirected to mil production away from commercial. I have seen bare shelves at Sportsmans Warehouse and Academy's here in the N Texas area.

If you have unlimited finances, then no problem.

When making so much ammo for the military they (ammo companies) are not making as much civillian types of ammo. They only have so much capacity.

Dr Peter will be one of those people that wake up one day and can not find much ammo.

He will be on here posting 'WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL OF THE AMMO?"


If ammo is cheap and plentiful you should buy it and resale it for a nice profit.