Ammunition

[herrwalther]

I visited 2 gun stores this week to peruse, no real intent on getting anything. Ammo is coming back in my area. Mostly the common stuff like 9mm, 556, 12ga. Selection or price still isn't what it was. 9mm FMJ 115 was running about $22/box of 50 on average. Very little hollowpoint ammo or 147gr. 556/223 ammo was mostly M855 or M193 derivative. No hollowpoint kinds. 12ga was all 00buck, slugs, or #7 birdshot for clay busting. No turkey, 3", or other bird hunting stuff. Things are getting better.

 

[Bazoo]

I really noticed the shortage thing with the Obama presidency, after sandy hook. The attitude though before SH, was that Obama was going to do what he could to ban guns, and there was a feeling of urgency. I started stocking then. My house burnt down 6 years ago and I started over. I started buying 22s before I had a 22 rifle again, because I remember the last shortage. I have some mini mags I paid $10/100 5 years ago. It was high at the time. But it was available. I don’t regret it at all. I got a Remington golden bullet bucket for $75 at that time.... got two, shot one when I got a rifle and saved one. My wife at the time kinda turned her nose up at it, now... it’s security. It’s the ability to shoot as much 22 as we want.

 

[huntsman]

I believe we are entering a time where we have fewer choices, personally I’m waiting to see if Remington copper solids return.

I can imagine big manufacturers trying to streamline and simplify what they offer but maybe the boutique sellers can fill a void on some things.

 

[CapnMac]

Academy, Cabela’s, etc will get in a pallet of WWB 5.56 but not one box of .243.

Big box stores probably sell 243 at a rate of 1 box per pallet of every other ammo.

From memory, 243 was not that common in the big box stores; nor inexpensive at the LGS--$30 per box was not a rare price for 243 back in 2019 (I remember being happy to find 90gr JSP for $22 in 2018).

I did note, just last week, my LGS actually had 243 on the shelf, three boxes of some brand I'd never heard of, for $29.95 per each.
Now, did they have 280? Nope. Only about a dozen boxes of 270. Three boxes of 7mm08, but nothing in 7mag.

Several months ago, those shelves were clean bare--nothing came in that was not bought near right away.

There are too many to blame, and too few to laud. I have to admit that I found some of the comments in this thread appalling on their face, and the entire thread also well demonstrates why political discussions become pointless, too, even among those generally in political agreement.

 

[Bazoo]

My buddy just bought a 20 gauge. In his search for ammo, he ran across some #2 3” waterfowl loads. He’s having a hard time finding much, but I thought it an oddity.

 

[fxvr5]

Ammunition companies note what sells, and those loads get priority.

That describes all ammo, as apparent from stores that had zero ammo on their shelves at the height of the current crisis.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Ammunition companies note what sells, and those loads get priority. When hunters buy one or two boxes per year and 3-gun folks burn a case or so each month in season, what do you expect?

I am seeing much more softpoint and hunting ammunition on shelves around here, but dealers will always stock the quick-turn types at least 20 to one.

Right after the Remington plant supposedly came back to life, our local Sportsman's Warehouse received a case of green box 7x64 Brenneke. I thought it was a strange choice for prioritization of new production, but realize now it was more likely just what middleman had as old stock and Sportsman's got it put to something on the shelf alongside the the .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster. The remaining half of that case is now on clearance.

 

[ev780]

Sanctimony high on the thread it is. (anyone do a better Yoda?). Nobody ever run out of gas? Run out of milk?

A lot on newbies to our ranks. Just look at gun sale numbers. So have some patience.

I got smacked because I decided to branch into rifle cartridges at the wrong time. So yeah, I am on the forums bitching about no primers but I haven't missed a beat with my pistol play. I know the drill but I'm still pissed because the shortage is affecting ME! NOW!

A lot of hunters (most) are just not that tuned into the gun world. When that September 2017 nip hit the air, they dug out their rifle only to realize they only have 3 rounds left. Cool, use those to sight in and grab another box of 20 on the way home from work tomorrow. Go hunt and have 18 rounds left for 2018. Next thing you know it's 2021 and there is no ammo. Some heard and stocked up others were to busy at Costco buying TP.

I don't know how much stocking/panic contributed as opposed to other factors such as growth in our sport, supply chain/shutdown, or some industry consolidation. But it affects us all in some way or another.

Who knows. As the saying goes, those who don't study history.......

 

[brewer12345]

I think it is worth remembering that there is a limit to everyone's stash if they have one, and some had more than others. As this mess drags on longer and longer, more people will get low or run out if they can't find supplies they can afford. Unless you had a pretty big ammo fort a couple years ago, you are getting light or slowing how much you shoot.

 

[Catpop]

Local update from catpop
I visited 4 local gun shops/stores today:
Biggest one that normally stocks hundreds if not thousands of pounds of powder was as bare as a widows heart. I mean not one single pound of powder. (and of course no primers)
A nice selection of rifle cartridges including 300 Savage, 300 HH, 375 HH, 9x64 benecky?, Weatherby, and others, but didn’t see any 30-30 and don’t remember seeing 30-06! Oh lots of 223 and AK rounds.
Shotgun shells in 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32——24 and 32 really? But not one single 410 shell!
Now friend, if you want 28 gauge you’re in luck as I’ve never seen so many boxes in one place in my whole life. And I do own a 28, but I was well stocked there.
But I went for 410 shells and alas there were none! Oh and NO Stevens SB 410s! Theres gonna be some sad 10 year olds this Christmas! I got mine in 1961 when I was 10. Way back then it was a right of passage on the way to manhood in the rural south. Now passed on to my son when he was 10!
Gun selection which is normally in the thousands was way down also, but lots of Crickets in different flavors for Christmas. No many 22s.

Wally World had about 16 box’s of 12 ha heavy duck loads. And a few shoguns. A good supply of the Christmas rifles- Red Ryder! And plenty of ammo for them too.That’s it!

Third shop was closed- only open on weekends

Fourth shop - only some green tip 5.56 in big plastic bags 223, other military pistol rounds and get this - 5 boxes of 300 Savage. No other rifle shells, shotgun shells, 410 or otherwise.

So I came home with nuttin honey!
Happy Huntin!

 

[Insignificant bill]

Boys, I'm 79. Next hunting season I'll be 80 on a fairly limited income, how much you reckon I should stow away?

5 years worth

 

[brewer12345]

Local update from catpop
I visited 4 local gun shops/stores today:
Biggest one that normally stocks hundreds if not thousands of pounds of powder was as bare as a widows heart. I mean not one single pound of powder. (and of course no primers)
A nice selection of rifle cartridges including 300 Savage, 300 HH, 375 HH, 9x64 benecky?, Weatherby, and others, but didn’t see any 30-30 and don’t remember seeing 30-06! Oh lots of 223 and AK rounds.
Shotgun shells in 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32——24 and 32 really? But not one single 410 shell!
Now friend, if you want 28 gauge you’re in luck as I’ve never seen so many boxes in one place in my whole life. And I do own a 28, but I was well stocked there.
But I went for 410 shells and alas there were none! Oh and NO Stevens SB 410s! Theres gonna be some sad 10 year olds this Christmas! I got mine in 1961 when I was 10. Way back then it was a right of passage on the way to manhood in the rural south. Now passed on to my son when he was 10!
Gun selection which is normally in the thousands was way down also, but lots of Crickets in different flavors for Christmas. No many 22s.

Wally World had about 16 box’s of 12 ha heavy duck loads. And a few shoguns. A good supply of the Christmas rifles- Red Ryder! And plenty of ammo for them too.That’s it!

Third shop was closed- only open on weekends

Fourth shop - only some green tip 5.56 in big plastic bags 223, other military pistol rounds and get this - 5 boxes of 300 Savage. No other rifle shells, shotgun shells, 410 or otherwise.

So I came home with nuttin honey!
Happy Huntin!

I stopped in a Walmart today as I moved between the morning hunting spot and the afternoon spot. The only rifle ammo they had was some 350 Legend at prices that make me happy I reload. To my very great surprise, there was a sizable pile (3 cases or so) of 3" steel 12 gauge BB shells. This was cheaper stuff (not premium shells) and they were getting $15 and change for it, but I have not seen much available lately. They also had federal automatch for under $20 per box (350 shells?). Being well supplied already, I did not find any of this compelling enough to actually make a purchase, but there you go.

 

[DoubleMag]

Same story , different crisis. If it isn't a school shoot'em up, its a speechiespeechie. If not speechie, an election that shakes everyone's liver. INFLATION that hasn't been seen in 30 years, the gov't solution is spend, print, print; speechie (see above). Print, spend some more.
And there's always the 110 year pandemic...COME ON...whoudda thunkit on that one exactly?

I CERTAINLY hope this does pass, but ppl here & elsewhere predicted 2+ years ago this was over ....then again a year ago. No real end in sight.... if & when is DOES, IMHO...expect higher prices on lesser used calibers TO STAY.

If the OP can source ammo, but, is hedging that it WILL come down in price, all the while ammo companies are running 24/7/364, MY SUGGESTION is buy what U can ''bite the bullet.''

 

[JDeere]

Maybe you're the exception, but the vast majority of hunters I know spend thousands on equipment for 50 lbs of meat off a white tail. If those people are really concerned about feeding themselves a 1/2 beef from a local farmer is a better value for their money.

I guess I'm an exception. I don't hunt to get meat and some years I don't even pull the trigger. Not because I didn't see anything either. It's all about the hunt itself and everything around it including being with friends you have known your entire life. Life is to short to worry about doing things you enjoy that cost money. That expensive deer meat is just part of the enjoyment. That being said I don't run out and buy the new latest and greatest hunting gear that is marketed these days. It's not needed to be successful on a hunt.

I still need some 7mm hunting bullets to replace my dwindling stock.

 

[JEBruns]

I guess I'm an exception. I don't hunt to get meat and some years I don't even pull the trigger. Not because I didn't see anything either. It's all about the hunt itself and everything around it including being with friends you have known your entire life. Life is to short to worry about doing things you enjoy that cost money. That expensive deer meat is just part of the enjoyment. That being said I don't run out and buy the new latest and greatest hunting gear that is marketed these days. It's not needed to be successful on a hunt.

I still need some 7mm hunting bullets to replace my dwindling stock.

I don't think you're the exception, or at least I hope not. I think what you quoted is just aiming at folks that like to justify their hunting/fishing/etc on the basis of bringing home game. They just don't really think through the math, IMO. For most of us hunters/fisherpersons, that is some of the most expensive meat in the world! I was a big time pheasant hunter for a lot of years when I lived up north. Every once in a while, someone would ask me what I figured a pound of pheasant meat cost me. I'd laugh and say I don't know, and don't want to know! 3 dogs, kennels, food, vets, hunting clothes, shotguns, trap shooting, trucks, reloaders, licenses for 2 states, etc. It was not cheap, and I could not care less.

 

[1942bull]

Ammunition availability seems to be conditional on local demand, at least in my region (SE PA) that appears to be so. My region contains the PA counties with the most concealed carry licenses issued by the state. There are lots of handguns here. So there is a heavy demand for handgun caliber ammo. For the better part of a year it was rare to find a store with a fair (let alone good) stock of it. So on a trip to a less populated area of the state I stopped at ever gun store I could find. I scored a good supply of 9mm FMJ and JHP. Obviously the demand was not as great in that area as it was in mine. So maybe looking for ammo in an area where hunting is not prevalent might pay off. I would guess that it would require buying from dealers that might be too far to travel to. I have ordered ammo to be shipped to me from the same store I found on that trip. They always seem to have it in stock.

 

[Mark1964]

[QUOTE="KY DAN, post: 12136543, member: 254049" ... I bought my last powder order in June of 2020 when powder Valley had 90 percent of inventory in stock.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much same here. When the run on toilet paper began here, I said a bad word and immediately began to top off my ammo stock in each of my often-shot calibers. Memories of the Sandy Hook/Obama-era shortage. Just wasn't going to deal with that kind of madness again.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

My morning PSA "update" shows they have Norma .308 in 150gr soft point for 25 bucks.
In case anyone is interested...

 

[MetalMan52]

Another contributing factor may be that the manufacturers are running their most in demand/profitable calibers and not wanting to shut down to do the changeover to the other calibers or loads. I can't really blame them for this.
It's also like a perfect storm of multiple forces working at the same time to magnify the situation.
In the mean time it flat out sucks!!!!!

 

[thunderbyrd]

I think ammo must be coming back in my area cause I can get all the .327 magnum and 38 super I want. Maybe ain't too cheap, but it's there.

 

[FROGO207]

I come from a poor farming background. With the older folks always reminding those our age that another depression could be just around the corner and to lay in stocks of whatever goods we deemed needed for basic survival. We could get along in winter snow storms with no power/lights/water etc for weeks until the road could be cleared and utility trucks arrived. I was scooled on the ways of maximum self sufficiency and buy it now if you have the funds as it will always cost more in the future. This and buy one box to use and one box to put away just in case. Nobody really saw the perfect storm coming but in our family the stress level was lots lower than most others around here. Never had to so much as buy a roll of TP until it came back and was again on sale after the fact, then replaced what was used and added some more. Some ammo but mostly reloading supplies are what we will scoop up when it comes back at reasonable prices. I fear primers will be the ever present missing item for a long time in the future though.

 

[bassjam]

I guess I'm an exception. I don't hunt to get meat and some years I don't even pull the trigger. Not because I didn't see anything either. It's all about the hunt itself and everything around it including being with friends you have known your entire life. Life is to short to worry about doing things you enjoy that cost money. That expensive deer meat is just part of the enjoyment. That being said I don't run out and buy the new latest and greatest hunting gear that is marketed these days. It's not needed to be successful on a hunt.

I still need some 7mm hunting bullets to replace my dwindling stock.

The exceptions I was referring to are the ones who don't have much money and hunt because they need to in order to feed themselves/family. People like that aren't as common now as they were back in the depression days and modern licenses and tags has limited the ability for anyone without land to do that anyway. Otherwise, my point still stands that hunting/shooting is a hobby just the same as playing on game consoles is a hobby.

 

[Encoreman]

I will chime in my $0.02. First I will not bash anyone for not having enough ammo, most of us have made a poor choice once in awhile. With that said for quite a few years if you would look into the ammo stash of the average Joe, there would be a few boxes of assorted shotgun fodder, a few boxes of their hunting rifle should they have one and maybe a brick or 2 of .22, and a box or so of their pistol should they have one. Most folks relied on the spur of the moment, maybe a week before deer season go buy 1 or maybe 2 boxes, same way if they were to go to range and shoot, they would stop by and get a few boxes to shoot and none to put away for a rainy or in this case stormy day. Listen to your elders, put away some food and stuff while it is available. A pellet gun and some pellets will feed a family for a little while, a .22 will dispatch most animals on this planet. The boy scout motto, be prepared!!

 

[FL-NC]

Seems like 243 and 30-30 are now the 9mm of early 2019, in terms of cost and availability. At least that's the way it is here. Strangely, the 350 legend seems to be more available. Guess it didn't catch on as anticipated. I think the same 4 boxes have been on the shelf at my wally world for a hot minute.

 

[Encoreman]

Catpop, try getting on ammoseek. I just visited it and they had several 30-30 brands from $1.25 and up per round. They have 30-06 for $1.75 per round. Granted not cheap, but they are available. Buy a few boxes so you can hunt/shoot and keep your eyes open. With gas prices $3.25+ a few dollars of shipping and you know you are going to have some ammo is pretty good.