Ammo Shock!

[FiREhAwk]

Rant

I have been looking for .45 acp WWB for months at the local walmarts. I frequent 3 close to my house and 2 back home. I would get some 9mm and 40s&w from time to time, but I love shooting and have more pistols in .45. I have had no new ammo, except reloads (I have been reloading alot lately since being laid off, for my self and a few other close people) refusing to pay the exuberant gun store and show prices for reloadable ammo. Today at the gun show I bought some wolf 7.62x39 and .223 at insane prices. I also picked up some more TAP to fill some mags. I walked in to Walmart as part of my usual routine, as I approach the counter I see more boxes than I have seen in a long time. Amazingly there were .45 value packs! I couldnt see exactly how many but excitedly I said all of them, which turned out to be 5. Before the recent run on ammo I would never have bought 5 boxes of 100rnd packs. My girlfriends father and I have been checking for each other lately and a few boxes went to him. I was so excited I didnt think about needing other calibers at the moment, but I called him and my Dad and told them that walmart had gotten some ammo in. I went back to buy some .380 for Dad and myself and 9mm for my g/fs father. In front of me in line was an older fella who asked the clerk (different guy) if they received any .45 lately. He said they had some earlier but were now sold out. Now I realise that I am one of "them people" that I have been upset with lately. The man expressed dissapointment and joins in conversation across the isle while I am being checked out. My conscience gets the better of me, in my mind I figure I only need 2 and 2 for her dad, since he gives me his cases anyway (My dad doesnt have a .45) I show ID and get Recipt. I turn to talk to the man and express interest in selling him one of the boxes, but he has walked off. I asked the clerk which way he went, and after a brisk search I left feeling more worse than excited over my find . Sorry this got so long but if I had just left some ammo for someone else and gotten only what I need right then I would have experienced the good feeling of making that gentlemans trip and not feeling like part of the problem. Sorry again for the long rant, it may not seem like a big deal but I just wanted to get it out.

 

[Liddyfan]

It looks like there is no doubt a paranoid mania is having an impact on pricing but what justifies a price increase? One of the guys here said that the manufacturers are going up!

Walks like a duck - quacks like a duck - it's - it's a what?

All of this could be put to bed if the manufacturers would just release a statement and let the folks decide wether that statement makes any sense.

The golden throated Remington pitch man on thier website rings hollow to me. As he blathers on about the glories of Remington my blood boils and I picture the drinks and laughter flowing at happy hour - have another round on us.

 

[jeepmor]

The war has increased demand on ammo and we get the higher prices due to thinner stretched supply channels.

With the commodities prices sliding back to normal levels, the manufacturers are hanging onto the price increases as long as possible to foot the capacity expansion bill.

The posted charts illustrate the bubble has burst on lead and copper, the demand is key now. And everyone whining about the high prices and empty shelves is just perpetuating the issue.

 

[WVMountainBoy]

Hmmm...I don't know rather to scream or cry at this thread. People go out and snatch up every single piece of something...far faster than production can be met because "the price is going up" then when the demand causes price to rise, they say "SEE the price went up" and keep hoarding. They did it with gas as well and you would have a bunch of hoarders telling the other hoarders to stop so they could hoard more. AR-15 rifles and parts for them are through the roof and completely out of stock most places...and now these people are doing it with Ammo. Would be funny if Obama was in league with the gun manufacturers this whole time to make them a HUGE profit...come into office as a "anti" thus promoting a huge fright and the manufacturers get to liquidate their entire stocks at ever rising profit.

 

[22-rimfire]

The free market will make the necessary corrections and demand will stabilize. It would have happened with gasoline if the market was allowed to work properly.

If gas was $5.00 per gallon at a station or about a $1.00/gallon more than other places, would you fill up "just because"? Probably not. Same goes with ammunition.

Frankly I am shooting less centerfire and more rimfire. I have enough. I don't supply the family though. They work and can buy their own.

Hoarding? Not really. I always keep a pretty good supply on hand. I'm low (maybe a thousand rounds) on some of the target 22 stuff, which just means I shoot more of the stuff that is not as accurate for now. I don't shoot much in January or February; March will start the shooting. It is also when I start fishing more, so there are competing interests for time. My life does not revolve around shooting.

 

[chuckusaret]

So, how does it feel to be "part of the problem"?

You want me to give up shooting, one needs ammo to practice and Wal Mart only sells target ammo. I'll bet you are like the rest of us, got at least a 1,000 rounds for each gun. I admit I do but I have had a stockpile long before Obama Bin Biden came into the picture and I do like to shoot as often as possible