waffentomas
Member
I work for a large retailer of outdoor sporting goods... think Cabelas, Wholesale, Bass Pro, Gander, etc. Not sure what my employer would feel about me discussing this, so I need to protect myself.
I manage the dept. where ammo, firearms, etc are sold.
As most of us know, the ammo shortage is pretty bad.
Back in Nov when Obama was re-elected, we had a pretty good run on AR platforms, no shocker there. But after Newtown, and the gun bills immanent arrival, things went nuts.
We went for about a month with no ARs coming in at all. Customers were waiting at the doors for us to open, run to the back, and buy as many as we would allow. We eventually scaled that back to two, then one per customer, now it's five.
Ammo was plentiful, as were reloading components.
Once the ARs dried up, people came in and bought whatever we had. Minis, CETME, Springfields, HK, AK, SKS whatever. Once the Semi platforms dried up, the .22lr semis left the building in droves with the 10/22 takedown being the most highly prized. Handguns were being bought by people who had never owned a gun before, and by people who had plenty of guns but were just buying to buy.
Buy mid January, ammo was was running short, and shipments couldn't catch up. Then the news hit about DHS and their ammo buy...reloading items disappeared along with the remaining ammo.
Around the end of Feb., the guns sales slowed down significantly, and by March were back to normal. But the ammo was gone.
Since then, here's what's happening at my store and in my company:
We receive 2-4 average sized shipments of ammo a week. We have only recently received much product USA made. Some Federal and WW 5.56 comes in but it's mostly PMC or Russian. Our supply of 5.56/.223 has lasted about a week without selling out, mainly due to rationing. Now, customers wait at the door for ammo, not ARs. We know guys buy their daily limit, go get coffee, and come back. We see them on their cell phones telling their buddies what we have. No judgment, it's just the way it is right now. 7.62x39 has been steady, but we still run out before more comes in.
Most of the ammo we get is made out of country, Korea, Israel, Russia, etc. No ammo runs there, so they ship to the U.S. We have gotten very large shipments of ammo about 2x a month, but cannot keep it on the shelves long enough to get a resupply. It's gone too fast. All calibers of handgun ammo is gone in hours. We have also run out of .30-30, .45 LC, and 10mm, even .22-250 and .270, 7mm Mag have had problems.
Handgun ammo doesn't come in ever in enough quantity to last more than a few hours,, unless it's .327 mag. 9mm is the most highly sought, and we have had altercations over the last remaining boxes of that and .22lr.
Customers buy handguns all the time and leave with no ammo.
.22 lr is still the toughest to get, and keep. It's gone in an hour. CCI is the most in demand because there is a perception, true or not, that it cycles the .22 semis the best.
We do not see the shortage abating soon. We do have plenty of ARs, and magazines. Handguns are still selling, but we just don't have the selection we usually do. SW Bodyguards are a hot item still.
Reloading components are tougher yet. We get primers in, maybe, 1 or 2 times a week at most, and only a couple dozen boxes at most. Gone in an hour unless it's shotgun primers. Powder is just as bad. We mostly get the Hodgdon powders and affiliates in like IMR and WW. I haven't seen any Alliant in two months, and very little Accurate/Ramshot, though some. We get in 40-100 lbs, and it's gone in a couple of days depending on what we get. 50BMG doesn't move...4064 and Varget are the most highly prized in my experience. We had 4 lbs of Varget show up a few weeks ago, and that's all I have seen in three months. It's a lot like ammo, reloaders are buying whatever we have and working up loads again as their favorite powders are non-existent.
It's better right now just to buy ammo, and not start reloading, as the components are too hard to find (for a decent price). We get very little .308 bullets or .224 bullets. These seem to be the toughest reloading item to find. If you are lucky enough to find a couple bricks of CCI Small rifle primers and get 4 pounds of 3031, you are still stuck without bullets. If you are lucky you find a 500 ct. box of Sierra 77gr .224 bullets, but if you don't have a 1 in 7 or 8 twist, they'll tumble. Even so, you have enough powder for about 1200 rounds, and only 500 bullets, it's frustrating.
The most amazing thing is that customers STILL come in and look astonished when we tell them we have no primers or .22lr or 9mm. Where have these people been?
We don't gouge, either. Prices have gone up. We used to sell a 20rd box of .223 for 6 bucks, now, our COST is over 7 bucks for the cheap stuff.
If employees want stuff, they get it first, but they have to be working to get it, we don't stash a bunch in the back just for them. If you are working when it comes in, grab your limited allotment, and that's it.
I hope this helps some folks understand. I'll answer questions too.
thanks.
I manage the dept. where ammo, firearms, etc are sold.
As most of us know, the ammo shortage is pretty bad.
Back in Nov when Obama was re-elected, we had a pretty good run on AR platforms, no shocker there. But after Newtown, and the gun bills immanent arrival, things went nuts.
We went for about a month with no ARs coming in at all. Customers were waiting at the doors for us to open, run to the back, and buy as many as we would allow. We eventually scaled that back to two, then one per customer, now it's five.
Ammo was plentiful, as were reloading components.
Once the ARs dried up, people came in and bought whatever we had. Minis, CETME, Springfields, HK, AK, SKS whatever. Once the Semi platforms dried up, the .22lr semis left the building in droves with the 10/22 takedown being the most highly prized. Handguns were being bought by people who had never owned a gun before, and by people who had plenty of guns but were just buying to buy.
Buy mid January, ammo was was running short, and shipments couldn't catch up. Then the news hit about DHS and their ammo buy...reloading items disappeared along with the remaining ammo.
Around the end of Feb., the guns sales slowed down significantly, and by March were back to normal. But the ammo was gone.
Since then, here's what's happening at my store and in my company:
We receive 2-4 average sized shipments of ammo a week. We have only recently received much product USA made. Some Federal and WW 5.56 comes in but it's mostly PMC or Russian. Our supply of 5.56/.223 has lasted about a week without selling out, mainly due to rationing. Now, customers wait at the door for ammo, not ARs. We know guys buy their daily limit, go get coffee, and come back. We see them on their cell phones telling their buddies what we have. No judgment, it's just the way it is right now. 7.62x39 has been steady, but we still run out before more comes in.
Most of the ammo we get is made out of country, Korea, Israel, Russia, etc. No ammo runs there, so they ship to the U.S. We have gotten very large shipments of ammo about 2x a month, but cannot keep it on the shelves long enough to get a resupply. It's gone too fast. All calibers of handgun ammo is gone in hours. We have also run out of .30-30, .45 LC, and 10mm, even .22-250 and .270, 7mm Mag have had problems.
Handgun ammo doesn't come in ever in enough quantity to last more than a few hours,, unless it's .327 mag. 9mm is the most highly sought, and we have had altercations over the last remaining boxes of that and .22lr.
Customers buy handguns all the time and leave with no ammo.
.22 lr is still the toughest to get, and keep. It's gone in an hour. CCI is the most in demand because there is a perception, true or not, that it cycles the .22 semis the best.
We do not see the shortage abating soon. We do have plenty of ARs, and magazines. Handguns are still selling, but we just don't have the selection we usually do. SW Bodyguards are a hot item still.
Reloading components are tougher yet. We get primers in, maybe, 1 or 2 times a week at most, and only a couple dozen boxes at most. Gone in an hour unless it's shotgun primers. Powder is just as bad. We mostly get the Hodgdon powders and affiliates in like IMR and WW. I haven't seen any Alliant in two months, and very little Accurate/Ramshot, though some. We get in 40-100 lbs, and it's gone in a couple of days depending on what we get. 50BMG doesn't move...4064 and Varget are the most highly prized in my experience. We had 4 lbs of Varget show up a few weeks ago, and that's all I have seen in three months. It's a lot like ammo, reloaders are buying whatever we have and working up loads again as their favorite powders are non-existent.
It's better right now just to buy ammo, and not start reloading, as the components are too hard to find (for a decent price). We get very little .308 bullets or .224 bullets. These seem to be the toughest reloading item to find. If you are lucky enough to find a couple bricks of CCI Small rifle primers and get 4 pounds of 3031, you are still stuck without bullets. If you are lucky you find a 500 ct. box of Sierra 77gr .224 bullets, but if you don't have a 1 in 7 or 8 twist, they'll tumble. Even so, you have enough powder for about 1200 rounds, and only 500 bullets, it's frustrating.
The most amazing thing is that customers STILL come in and look astonished when we tell them we have no primers or .22lr or 9mm. Where have these people been?
We don't gouge, either. Prices have gone up. We used to sell a 20rd box of .223 for 6 bucks, now, our COST is over 7 bucks for the cheap stuff.
If employees want stuff, they get it first, but they have to be working to get it, we don't stash a bunch in the back just for them. If you are working when it comes in, grab your limited allotment, and that's it.
I hope this helps some folks understand. I'll answer questions too.
thanks.
....dashes out on road trip to Lawrence......
