Is the market slowly recovering?

[MCMXI]

Went to Academy t-nite and there was not (1) round of rifle, pistol, or rimfire on the shelves.

The local Murdochs has 6.5 Creedmoor on the shelves with a two box per person limit ... Hornady 140gr ELD Match for $30 a box. I was tempted to buy some but was holding 2lb of H4350 that cost $30 each and figured and I can assemble the same ammunition for $0.53/round or buy it for $1.50/round. A no-brainer.

 

[Nature Boy]

How can you with a straight face imply this is not a supply problem?

Because it isn’t.

Did a factory burn down? Have there been any external forces limiting manufacturing capacity or distribution? Hurricanes, floods, acts of God or government?

No.

By all accounts, manufacturing output is at an all time high. That’s the supply side.

You want to know what the problem is? Look in the mirror

 

[kmw1954]

Having worked in distribution for 17 years many of our products came from world wide. Herbs and spices being one, but here with our reloading the component manufacturing is also world wide. Much of the primers and powders come from overseas. Which means they must be shipped, handled, shipped again , go through customs there and then here. All those steps take manpower which again has been effected world wide. W/O manpower nothing moves and nothing gets manufactured. The suppliers can't sell what they can't get. That works for both completed products and those still in the manufacturing chain.

Some one mentioned the price of primers on Gun Broker. My hope is that those profiteering from this at $100.00 per 1k I can only hope they get stuck in the end and have to eat it. Personally I will do w/o before I pay scalper prices.

 

[kmw1954]

Because it isn’t.

You want to know what the problem is? Look in the mirror

Really, a personal attack, WOW!

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

How can you with a straight face imply this is not a supply problem? When a Manufacture such as Fiocchi tells a distributor that there is a 24 month backlog for orders of 223 and 9mm ammunition.



Thank you Walkalong, and as we have been warned there is nothing political about this question. If you think there is then please keep it to yourself. If this starts to drift then by all means shut it off.

Well not really. Regulation and statutes are political. What I think the point is it’s not partisan and it’s always best to leave personalities out of the discussion. But for sure the regulations and laws effecting explosives manufacturers, lockdowns, labor laws, health laws and emergency dictates are big factors to the lack of products. Politics and economics are always related.

 

[Nature Boy]

Really, a personal attack, WOW!

No it isn’t

I’m not implying you are solely responsible for the problem, but the royal you, the collective consumer, who have been buying up everything that comes available, and hoarding it away. That’s a temporary issue that resolves itself when enough people stop doing it. When will that happen, who knows.

 

[mokin]

Handloading components are still scarce but I saw .308 Winchester ammo on the shelf today. At the pre-panic price. I thought about buying a box just for the brass (something I would have done a year ago) but passed. It gave me hope.

 

[Blue68f100]

The local Pawn Shop north of me (Mount Pleasant) is well stocked in most all powders, a few common bullets but no primers except shotgun. Was a pleasant surprise to see most all the shelves full with powder. Even had H4350, Varget on the shelf.

 

[AJC1]

No it isn’t

I’m not implying you are solely responsible for the problem, but the royal you, the collective consumer, who have been buying up everything that comes available, and hoarding it away. That’s a temporary issue that resolves itself when enough people stop doing it. When will that happen, who knows.

That's what I read us the mob of consumers.

 

[brewer12345]

I'd guess that whatever back stock might have been left was brought out for the Xmas sale push.

 

[kmw1954]

Well not really. Regulation and statutes are political. . Politics and economics are always related.

That is a fact and sadly we cannot control the dictates of foreign countries but then that also applies to all trade goods. My belief is that the problem is material and manufacturing world wide. Many of them have been shuttered because of this pandemic. But again that isn't the question that was asked.

As plainly as I can the question is are you seeing any let up? are you now slowly able to obtain components or is this just a figment of my imagination?

And yes the range I work part time at is also seeing whole ammunition's becoming a bit easier to find. Of course there are still a few that are near impossible to find.

 

[kmw1954]

I'd guess that whatever back stock might have been left was brought out for the Xmas sale push.

Do you really believe there was a back stock of anything?

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

That is a fact and sadly we cannot control the dictates of foreign countries but then that also applies to all trade goods. My belief is that the problem is material and manufacturing world wide. Many of them have been shuttered because of this pandemic. But again that isn't the question that was asked.

As plainly as I can the question is are you seeing any let up? are you now slowly able to obtain components or is this just a figment of my imagination?

And yes the range I work part time at is also seeing whole ammunition's becoming a bit easier to find. Of course there are still a few that are near impossible to find.

Well, like I posted, it’s going to be hard to tell around my way. Two of the three shops I go to are not going to carry reloading supplies anymore. Too much effort for no profit. As for new box ammo, none of the three are getting back orders filled for anything but muzzle loading caps, #10, #11, and 209’s. So answer is around north Florida, nope. Not much change yet.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Do you really believe there was a back stock of anything?

—-
Well, I think it’s pretty likely when the states, counties, cities etc ordered lockdowns and companies had to send people home there were products on pallets waiting to ship that have been sitting. Now “some “ of those folks are going back to work and what got left in the warehouse is shipping. Maybe

 

[brewer12345]

Do you really believe there was a back stock of anything?

No idea, but if there was it got wheeled out in the last few weeks.

 

[stonebuster]

Not around my area. Heck Cabelas, Bass Pro, Sportsman’s Warehouse etc...etc..no longer have shelf space for primers or powder to even give the illusion that they expect them in...lol.

I went my local Bass Pro to pick up HP-38 I ordered and asked the guy in the gun dept if they were getting any SPP at all. All he said was " none."

 

[Howland937]

I've had 1000 federal spp for trade on here for nearly a month

If you didn't live so far away I woulda traded you. I've got a couple thousand of the CCI 550's and my guns can't tell the difference anyway.

I was at 2 different places today that have reloading sections. Cabela's and a small chain called Vance's that's indigenous to central Ohio. Some powder, very few projectiles and zero primers. I've had better luck at mom n pop type places than chain stores of late.

 

[Glenn Berryhill]

I am without a doubt, no expert on this subject. But I have read and heard that ammo factories are having staffing issues due to COVID, so there is to some degree a supply issue. I'm hoping that the demand will slow down and supply will catch up. Only time will tell.

 

[Mr. Zorg]

No it isn’t

I’m not implying you are solely responsible for the problem, but the royal you, the collective consumer, who have been buying up everything that comes available, and hoarding it away. That’s a temporary issue that resolves itself when enough people stop doing it. When will that happen, who knows.

Well it's some of both.

Recently imported primers - where?

Reports are Remington was operating the Lonoke AR facility at 10% capacity before the sale to Vista Outdoors, and one of the first things Vista Outdoors did was implement similar COVID-19 measures as previously implemented at their other two similar facilities - so Remington had been operating that facility well below capacity for most, if not all, of its 2020 ownership period of that facility.

Why would Remington opeate that acilty t 10% capacity during an extraordinary demand period? What if raw materials suppliers weren't real keen on extending credit to a sinking ship?

This is not a single answer root cause situation, and that's been true all year by reports posted here at THR.

 

[CQB45ACP]

It’s pretty simple. People buy more because they are afraid there won’t be any in inventory There isn’t any in inventory because people keep buying more.

All things being equal, things will return to some degree of normal when these conditions are met:

1. People look at their stash and realize “holy crap, I have xxx,xxx primers. I guess I better slow down”

2. People refuse to pay $0.50 ea for a primer

3. When the bubble in the supply chain is relieved and inventories at major retail locations lasts longer than 15 seconds

Not my question but thanks

 

[CQB45ACP]

Has anyone who lived through and paid attention to past shortages tried to objectively look at the differences or similarities with this one?

This one smells different to me. But I didn’t pay close attention before.

Has the perception of hoarding changed? (It has to me.). Is the old hoarding the new stocking up? What’s the number? (Not after an actual number obviously)

A year ago I would’ve thought California’s artificial 10K limit on primers was plenty. Now I believe it’s plenty only IF your next 10K are readily available (or you perceive they are).

There are years old YouTubes of reloaders I would’ve called hoarders. Not any more.

 

[Walkalong]

Really, a personal attack, WOW!

I don't believe he meant that personally, he just meant in general, and I have to agree, what has changed suddenly is the demand, which has outstripped production. So, we can blame production or distribution, but can we expect factories to keep more machines and people than they need sitting around idle waiting for a surge like this?

Kind of like the chicken and the egg. Me, I am just trying to be patient and wait for the good times when almost all of a sudden demand drops off not only to normal, but below, because people are all bought out, and manufacturers are now sitting on inventory they can't sell without making the public a deal.

Sales my friends, sales, just be patient.

 

[Walkalong]

Not any more

A lot of folks have come around to understanding buying a little extra here and there when prices are good to build up a buffer against possible down times is a good thing. We all have our idea of what is too much, etc. People panicking and wanting to buy 20K primers now hurts the supply chain, the folks who bought 20K in time of plenty and sales did not.

 

[FROGO207]

This time it seems different than all the others to me as well. This time the oddball ammo and that for shotguns has dissapeared completely as well. Last few times there was a bunch of hunting ammo in rifle calibers and some 12 GA promo stuff left on the sheves, not this time. I think everyone is getting it that we may be in for many further restrictions to curtail the 2A and ponying up the cash to build a stash.

 

[CQB45ACP]

I don't believe he meant that personally, he just meant in general, and I have to agree, what has changed suddenly is the demand, which has outstripped production. So, we can blame production or distribution, but can we expect factories to keep more machines and people than they need sitting around idle waiting for a surge like this?

Kind of like the chicken and the egg. Me, I am just trying to be patient and wait for the good times when almost all of a sudden demand drops off not only to normal, but below, because people are all bought out, and manufacturers are now sitting on inventory they can't sell without making the public a deal.

Sales my friends, sales, just be patient.

Maybe, but there’s a bad moon on the rise. It won’t take much to eviscerate the hobby/sport/recreation side of firearms without approaching anything that will interfere with the 2A. Ergo, when the sales come (if they come), they’ll be going out of business sales.