Why the continuing ammo shortage?

[Gunther]

In Pennsylvania the shortage continues. Gettysburg Wal-Mart empty, yellow sign six boxes only has reappeared, Cabelas in Nov. was pitiful with ZERO primers except shotgun, the PD I work for ordered 80,000 rds SXT and we were told we might get them in 8 months and that is drop shipped from the factory. People are scared, and demand remains very high. I predict 2010 will see more of the same with strong demand, "for as long as we can get it!"

 

[scottaschultz]

ATK produces tens of billions of round each year. More than half is for civilian use. Military ammunition consumption currently is far less than half the ammunition sales in the US.

I don't know where you get your information, but according to ATK's most recent annual report, "ALL of ATK’s segments derive the majority of their sales from contracts with, and prime contractors to, the U.S. Government. ATK’s U.S. Government sales, including sales to U.S. Government prime contractors, during the last three fiscal years were as follows:
Fiscal U.S. Government Sales Percent of sales
2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,486,456 76%
2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,257,000 78%
2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,817,000 79%"

Scott

 

[Mags]

Ammo is abunadant here in NM and on the net at good prices too. I just picked up 350 rounds of Lake City M80 ball 308 for 180 shipped, that surprised me. So I don't know or care if the "great ammo shortage of 2008-2009" is still going on.

 

[mljdeckard]

I felt very foolish when I was caught almost dry when the crisis hit. I now have a cushion of at least 500 rounds per critical gun, but that doesn't mean I'm done. I still want ammo to actually SHOOT.

 

[oneounceload]

I now have a cushion of at least 500 rounds per critical gun, but that doesn't mean I'm done. I still want ammo to actually SHOOT.

Seems like you already do........

 

[rodregier]

mljdeckard refilled his strategic reserve, now he wants to acquire practice stocks.

 

[oneounceload]

That would depend on the gun and caliber

for me some would only require 50 rounds, some might require 5000

 

[Magic_Man]

I can now find .40 & .223 on a regular basis @ Wal Mart, but 9mm & .22LR is still MIA.

 

[Tommygunn]

I think there are signs the ammo shortage is ending. I was actually able to obtain 200 rounds of .380ACP ball and a box of .380 Hollow point earlier this week.
Some other ammo was also available.
The only bad thing I noticed was 5.56mm. was gone ....but that's happened before and the store has replenished it before too long.

 

[Ky Larry]

I was in Bud's Police Supply in Lexington today.They seemed to have plenty of ammo. Now if they would only start carrying powder, primers, and a wider supply of bullets.......

 

[mljdeckard]

No. I will never again be caught dry.

 

[danprkr]

Last gun show I was at the gun prices were becoming reasonable, but ammo was still high. And, sitting on the dealer's tables even at the tail end of the show so I'm guessing it's letting up.

 

[Guns and more]

As far as I'm concerned, the shortage is over. I bought .380 from Natchez last week at $17.95 for 50 rounds of S&B. (Don't bother looking, they're out.) I was limited to 250 rnds, but at least I can go to the range again.
Wal*Mart seems to always have .223 in value packs, and often has 9mm.

 

[mr.scott]

All the walmarts around here have tons of .22lr bricks.
I find 9mm and .40SW, .357sig every time I go. .45, .357mag, .380, and .38spc are still spotty.

 

[searcher451]

Why the shortage? Take a look in the mirror.

Every time I swing past WallyWorld, two or three times a week, I'll stop in and head past the ammo section. If something is in stock, like .380 or 9mm JHPs, I'll grab it, time and again. I was doing the same thing with 9mm FMJ until recently, when I finally stopped to count the number of boxes/rounds that I have on hand. Holy cow.

Am I alone? I don't thnk so. Each of us, in his own way, has contributed to the ammo shortage, and has been doing so for more than a year now.

 

[Zoogster]

It is not really a shortage so much as an expectation of previous levels.

The Obama scare has had more people purchase guns for the first time than anything else in recent history.
I cannot tell you how often I heard people talking about buying a gun because of Obama who never were into guns before.
(Many of these people were also purchasing handguns in mass, clearly not familiar with gun politics or likely targeted firearms.)
Statistics on the national level showed the same thing was happening everywhere.


These new shooters are people that now need ammo who never needed ammo before. So the number of ammo consumers increased significantly.


Add to that the hoarding of some with both cartridges and reloading equipment, and you have reduced availability and increased, or at least steady rather than falling prices.
Each time the price tries to fall a fraction tons of people storm into stores to buy it or order in mass. Preventing further drops in prices.
However I am not seeing a lack of availability anymore, just remaining high prices.

 

[iScream]

I've pretty much stopped buying 22LR now and apparently most others around here have as well. All the Wal Marts around me have had tons of 22 for weeks now. I have about 40,000 rounds in the closet.

I'm trying to build up a little supply of 9mm now. I'd like to stock up about 5000 rounds and then just replace what I shoot but it still goes really fast when Wal Mart gets some in. Some people think Wal Mart isn't getting any in but they actually get a couple cases at least once a week. There are just a bunch of us stopping by several different stores a couple times a week. Even then I only get lucky at about one of the stores per week and manage to buy the 6 box limit. I have about 1200 rounds right now but I'd like to shoot at least 500 rounds per month so 1200 won't carry me for long.

-Chris

 

[Ignition Override]

If we consider the vast number of AK clones, SKS, even Mini 30s and some others which use 7.62x39 ammo, and the fact that our favorite
Russian-made brands have come back to about $220/1,000 with no backorder needed, that's pretty good.

.223 also appears to be widely available since last summer.

There's a really good reason why cheap Remington green/yellow box.22 LR is so easy to find. No more for me; very frequent gas blow-backs, so I'll always prefer the reliable (formerly "Commie") x39 and surplus x54R.

Have fun with your "Karabina Simonova" etc. Do Svedanya.

 

[RP88]

I can find 9mm ammo at the shops, but nothing good like Winchester or anything. Decent HP ammo is still gone. AK and AR ammo is everywhere, though. .22 is still abundant. The only thing still missing is .380. Surprisingly, there was never a run on .40SW near me.

 

[freakshow10mm]

I don't know where you get your information, but according to ATK's most recent annual report, "ALL of ATK’s segments derive the majority of their sales from contracts with, and prime contractors to, the U.S. Government. ATK’s U.S. Government sales, including sales to U.S. Government prime contractors, during the last three fiscal years were as follows:
Fiscal U.S. Government Sales Percent of sales
2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,486,456 76%
2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,257,000 78%
2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,817,000 79%"

Scott

Do you understand how large ATK is? Do you understand the range of products the ATK corporate structure has? ATK doing only $4,323,205 in sales? Are you kidding me? Do some research on ATK.

 

[rmmoore]

I agree that a significant portion of the "shortage" is due to new shooters who never felt the "need" to buy a gun before, and are scared NOT to buy one NOW.

I have a few members in my own family that recently bought a new gun, some of them the first one that I can ever remember. Although I am a "gun-nut" (blame it on my dad), the women in my family usually left "that stuff" to the men. Quite a few ladies, in my family at least, have become proud new owners in the last year.

There's an old saying about strength in numbers. Every gun sitting in a night stand, a dresser drawer, or a in a gun safe, is sending a message. Even if it's collecting dust. I'll deal with the shortages, as long as they don't become permanent, just to send a message to DC

Can you hear us NOW????

 

[scottaschultz]

Do you understand how large ATK is? Do you understand the range of products the ATK corporate structure has? ATK doing only $4,323,205 in sales? Are you kidding me? Do some research on ATK.

Those figures from ATK's own annual report to their stockholders ( http://www.atk.com/Downloads/annualreport_ATK_2009.pdf ) is in thousands of dollars. Of course they had more than $3,486,456 in sales from government contracts. It was almost $3.5 BILLION dollars in government contracts. Their total sales from all sources was closer to $4.6 billion for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2009. The point of my post is that all of their business segments, including ATK Armament Systems, rely on government contracts which accounts for 3/4 of their sales. While 1/4 of their sales from commercial products is certainly significant, it is nowhere near as crucial to their business success as their government contracts.

Scott

 

[docsleepy]

rmmore -- you're exactly right. I never owned a firearm before, but thanks to the President, I now own a considerable number. Two gunsafes. One press. Dies for 4 calibers. A gazillion primers. Several pounds of powders. Several thousand of rimfire ammo, and the ability to make (over time) several thousand centerfire. My wife and I have concealed permits; all the kids are now proficient at several firearms. Extended family are now becoming familiarized......

....this President did more for make firearms familiar to more people than anyone in recent memory!....


and I'm still buying. And learning how to bed actions, change barrels, the list just goes on and on.....


This weekend I'll be teaching a friend how to reload for handguns. Two weeks ago I taught another how to reload 38spc after previously teaching him how to reload .223 for accuracy. That fellow has been buying up Garands for his offspring....and now with the drying up of M1 ammo, he wants to learn how to load for M1's also....


The best thing we can do is to take friends to a good safe well-managed range and let them learn how much fun this can be. Every time you do, you swing a vote in the direction of continued freedom.

 

[Motodeficient]

Yes I believe it is people like me who aren't helping the shortage, if there is one. 2 months ago I had never owned a gun and only shot a couple in my entire life. However over the past year or so something just hasn't felt right in our country, and decided it was time to buy a gun. Now I have 3 guns, a couple thousand rounds of various ammo, and looking for more guns and more ammo all the time.

 

[TexasBill]

.22 is plentiful around here. CCI MiniMags, Remington, Winchester, you name it. I have about 5,000 rounds on hand now.

Was in Gander Mountain the other day; good supplies of most calibers, except .380, a reasonable selection. Academy also had a lot more on hand than they used to.

BTW: I think the entire firearms industry and the NRA ought to make Barack Obama their Man of the Year. He has done more for them than anyone else I can think of.