Ammo shortage, are you see more or less shooters at the range and matches?

[mcb]

So as we have talked about over and over in various threads we have an ammo shortage. We also know most of that is due to a variety of reasons driving demand through the roof and that the supply is not substantially diminished, though no doubt Remington's trouble played a minor roll. In short there is as much if not more ammo moving out into gun owner's possession than any time before but demand is higher than supply. Just about everything being produced is being bought almost as quickly.

So with this mass purchase of ammo my the general gun owning population are you guys seeing more people shooting all this ammo? Or is it just sitting in a storage locker somewhere?

About the only public shooting I have been doing for the shortage is NRL22 matches and since starting this I have seen a modest increase in match attendance but that is likely due to the newness of the sport in general, and this particular club more specifically, than anything to do with the massive production and purchase of ammo. My first match was, IIRC, about 15-16 shooters and my last match last month was about 21 shooters.

So are you guys seeing more or less shooting and participation in your shooting circles, both recreational and competitive?

 

[wiscoaster]

Fewer people.

I go to the range about as often, but I limit the ammo I bring and don't shoot nearly as many rounds.

One needs to stay in practice, but on the other hand, one needs to eat as well, not to mention stay warm and keep the lights on. The electricity bills recently have been almost as shocking as the ammo bills.

 

[George P]

Same number of shooters, but most are shooting a little less or shooting stuff like .22lr instead of 9mm

 

[e rex]

I shoot a lot less now. I do cast bullets because I have the lead and not enough primers to load it with. At my age I doubt I can live long enough to shoot them all up when supplies do come back but casting does occupy some time for me.

 

[mcb]

I have bought and shot more 22LR in the last nine months than I have in the last 9 years. But that has more to do with my competitive interests than the ammo shortage. I have plenty of supplies to have continued shooting USPSA but my interests are drifting to NRL22/PRS. The shortage of primers is hurting me in that if I get serious about PRS this summer like NRL22 I am going to be hurting as I am nearly out of ammo and reloading supplies for my PRS rifle.

 

[Riomouse911]

I’m seeing about half the number of shooters.., and they’re shooting 50-100 rounds and then leaving.

Each time I go Im bringing two or three .22’s rather than the usual one and I’m shooting a lot more .38 Spl (I had a ton already loaded) than 9mm or .45 ACP.

I hope it calms down soon, I want to exercise some of my other guns and calibers, too.

Stay safe.

 

[FFGColorado]

My sons and I go up to an uncontrolled shooting area up in Roosevelt National Forest. We used to go way early to make sure we got the 'best' area, slot. But lately, we have been pretty much alone up there.
We shoot less, but still shoot all the calibers of guns we own. Slower, 10 rounds in that 15R magazine, no mag dumps..type thing.

BTW-making the Sat/Sunday rounds of the ammo places around here..not everything everywhere but been no problem finding 223, 9mm, 22LR, 38Special..even some .380acp..more expensive but not stoopid high, interweb prices. $13 for 20 223, for instance, $15 for 50 9mm...$22 for 50 .380.

 

[mcb]

I find it curious everyone is buying all this ammo at higher prices due to the market issues and yet we are not seeing increasing shooting activity at ranges and shooting events. All this ammo is just sitting at people's homes doing nothing? Seems that if your buying ammo now it should be to shoot it since your buying high and its only going to lose value in this market. People are strange...

 

[mmb617]

The indoor range I go to opens at 11 AM and I'm usually there not long after. I'm almost always the only one on the range at that time. I asked the counter guy if it's always that slow and he said it picks up a lot in the early afternoon and evening (they close at 7 PM). I've never been there on a weekend but I might stop in sometime just to see if it's busy then. It's a nice place and I worry about them having enough business to keep the doors open.

 

[lightman]

I'm seeing less shooting around here. My buddies that reload were pretty well stocked and continue to shoot about like they did, pre Covid. Those that only shoot factory are suffering.

 

[Typetwelve]

The weather this year has been horrible, so there's really only been a few "usable" weekends in 2021. Both times, I had the 25yd range all to myself, which is SUPER rare. Talking to the rang owner, things have been super slow as no one has (or wants to shoot) ammo.

I'm a brass-rat and I typically look all over to see what people are shooting. On the 25yd range, lots of brass 223 (surprisingly), and 22LR. On the 50yd range, tons of rimfire cases, be it 22 LR, 22 Mag, or some 17 variant. On the 100 yds range, lost of steel cased stuff, 7.62x54r, 308, old mil-surp brass with crimped primers.

Personally, I'm still well stocked with reloading supplies so I'm going to keep on trucking, for now.

 

[bassjam]

My range seems about the same, though with it being outdoors it's pretty empty in the winter, at least through the week when I go. I avoid weekends, and I live close enough that I still hear shooting all through the weekend so I guess even the cold doesn't keep them away on Saturday and Sunday.

Last time I was there in early Feb there was a guy with a full auto AR15, he probably went through 500+ rounds while I was there and it looked like he'd already been shooting awhile before I showed up. Then he picked up his brass, packed everything up into an old minivan that was probably worth 5% of what his gun was, which had the entire passenger area packed to the roof like a hoarder with toilet paper, trash bags, paper towels, etc. I have a feeling he had enough ammo stored up that this shortage wasn't bothering him.

 

[3Crows]

Much fewer people.

I think the lack of ammunition is impacting these businesses. The range I go to usually has range ammo at least for purchase, they were out of 9mm and .45ACP. Good that I had plenty .

I have been steady picking up ammunition of all sorts at Cabela's including primers for $36.99 per box (1,000) and powders at regular prices. The day before my wife grabbed me 200 rounds of .44 magnum and the day before I got a bulk pack of .45 ACP and the week before two bulk packs of 9mm and on and on. At Attwoods I got 250 5.56. There seems to be enough turkey rounds on the shelf to grab a gobbler or two.

 

[Pat Riot]

For a while during the frenzy the indoor range that I am a member was super busy. On the weekends you had to get there early or end up waiting 30-60 minutes.
Recently it has been slow. Probably around 50% of the lanes in use and no waiting.
The range has raised their limit of 50 rounds per customer for range ammo to 100 rounds per customer. At least they have primers to make range ammo. But, I don’t use their ammo.

Edit: I hate auto communista. It always changes ammo to ammonia.

 

[Jim Watson]

My Wednesday night indoor USPSA is down by at least half.
Indoor GSSF is holding steady or even increasing.
The indoor .22 novelty match is increasing.

As we move into Spring, I will be going to outdoor IDPA, USPSA, and knockoff "style" shoots and will see who shows up.

 

[Walkalong]

Haven’t been much, mostly sitting on what I have, shooting less.

 

[wally]

Bad weather and some personal time crisis have kept me from the range these past 2+ weeks, hope to go tomorrow. Prior to this didn't seem to be a shortage of ammo based on the shooters at my club. Did seem to be more brass scroungers working than usual.

 

[Jim Watson]

Haven’t been much, mostly sitting on what I have, shooting less.

I have a fair supply and will be shooting a near-normal schedule.
I figure that by the time I run out I will either
1. Be able to restock.
or
2. Be too old and decrepit to keep shooting anyhow.

 

[hanno]

I have a fair supply and will be shooting a near-normal schedule.
I figure that by the time I run out I will either
1. Be able to restock.
or
2. Be too old and decrepit to keep shooting anyhow.

Same here.

Haven't been to the club in awhile but that is due to my lack of motivation to sit outside in very cold weather. Especially true when I can make the trip down to my basement and satisfy the urge with an air rifle.

 

[Dudedog]

My USPSA club matches seem to have about the same number of people.
We normally have 6 stages one of which is a qualifier.
We have cut round count on the other 5 down to around 20 to help people save ammo.
Before the crunch the ohter 5 stages were generally between 20-32, avg say 28.
Doesn't save a lot but call it maybe 1 box over all the stages and for some people that makes a big difference.

I have cut way back on practice. I have a hair above 5K SPPs left but with no idea when more will show up I am trying to conserve.

 

[Zerodefect]

Dead. Much of it has been canceled.

 

[shafter]

I find it curious everyone is buying all this ammo at higher prices due to the market issues and yet we are not seeing increasing shooting activity at ranges and shooting events. All this ammo is just sitting at people's homes doing nothing? Seems that if your buying ammo now it should be to shoot it since your buying high and its only going to lose value in this market. People are strange...

People are sitting on it because they fear possible civil unrest as well as likely anti 2nd Amendment legislation. People are storing it like a squirrel stocks nuts for the winter, and frankly, they're wise to do so.

 

[tws3b2]

I live outside the city. I could hear people shooting most anytime I walked outside. Coming from all directions so not just one person or group doing the shooting. Had to be from multiple shooters. In the past six months nothing. No shooting what so ever. I have not been to the range since before Christmas.

 

[JDeere]

The indoor range here has slowed and folks are not putting as many rounds down range. I have moved to my .22s that have sat for years because I have plenty of ammo for them. I am also shooting my wheel guns and rifles because I don't go through as many rounds in a session. I still put some rounds through my edc but not like before. I'm good on supplies and ammo but don't want to burn through it until I see what's gonna go down in the future. I refuse to pay these inflated prices for supplies and ammo. Will prices ever go back to as low as they were before this mess started? Probably not but hopefully it will get better...

 

[jag1954]

Been going to Shoot Point Blank in Columbus with my buddy, usually on Thursdays, and we've seen one maybe two other lanes occupied. Could be the time of day. He told me that the weekends were fairly busy.