spoke to Winchester
I have a little less than 600 of the 900 rounds of the recalled lot# I bought from Midway (no issues with the 300 I fired). I spoke to a Product Services Rep at Winchester Ammunition this morning. I told him I was reluctant to turn over what I had without the replacement supply in my hands... I offered to pay for as much as he'd let me have, and they could issue a credit once they received the return, but manufacturers can't sell direct to consumers, and they can't let Midway have any out of their dedicated stock of warranty-replacement ammo, so... I could buy some from Midway, but that would be a stand-alone transaction... and we know Midway doesn't have any. He said they do have stock to replace the recalled ammo, and he WILL ship me 1000 rounds No-Charge, even though I'm only returning 580 or so (because they no longer package in the 900-round case full of 10-round stripper clips).
I spoke to him at length, and asked him whether the govt.'s massive buying spree accounted for the shortages everywhere, and he declined to speculate, but DID say that they are filling orders to Distributors every day, and they are making ammo 24/7. And, he said, Winchester has not raised their prices since this run on ammo began. I asked if that meant distributors and/or retailers were sitting on inventory and creating a "perceived" shortage so they could price-gouge, and he declined to comment... I asked if that meant I ought to remember (assuming the market returns to normal eventually) who was selling at prices significantly higher than they were in October (before the election). He said, "I would."
As I said, I spoke to the man at length, and I'm convinced this is a legit recall, as has happened before over the years, and not a #blackhelicopter deal, so I'm going to let UPS pick it up, and hope Winchester is telling me the truth. Never had reason to doubt 'em before, but I'll report whatever happens.
