hello everyone,
im a newbee in the forum and in guns for that matter. I just bought a s&w 38 special military and police 2 weeks ago. Well obviously ammo is hard to find these days both in the stores and online. I mean you go to youtube and type in "ammo stockpile" people are just stocking up. However i was lucky to buy some 38 special last week. And lately i have been seeing 9mm ammo on the shelves but still no 38 special. So is ammo finally coming back on the shelves making ammo shortage yesterdays news? Or will there still be a shortage of ammo for time to come?

I've been ordering online lately. Some brands are out of stock and back ourdered etc. But I've found plenty for my .40 anyway. It ships UPS ground, so it take up to 5 days to get here, but no big deal otherwise.

Based on what I have seen for sale in stores and online, I think the ammo supply has improved a lot in the past 2-3 months. It will probably continue to improve until Obama gets around to his gun control agenda, and I believe that it is on his "to do" list! Success with health care will embolden the liberals in Washington to pursue other legislative goals. When that happens, we will see another shortage.

I order some .38 spec American Eagle, 1 box, and 2 boxes of .357 American eagle and got them pretty fast...from LuckyGunner...I seem to find .38 spec ok its the .357 I have a hard time with...Ordering online seems easier but you have to wait a few days....I think my orders were shipped FedEx...Try LuckyGunner.com.....

I have been trying for several days now to order some Hornaday Critical Defense rounds in .38 cal. Cabela ond several others are out. Has anyone been able to find this ammo. My local store also is out.

I bought a new Airweight a few weeks ago at an Academy store and they had zero .38 Special ammo in stock. Local Walmarts have been without .38 ammo as well. But it wasn't hard to locate some online. Prices are higher than they used to be but it's there.

As for the Critical Defense ammo...Ammunition To Go had it in both standard and +P loadings last time I looked.

Some guy at our local Wally World split two boxes of .38 Special with me Saturday night. That's all that they got in, and we agreed we'd each get a box, since we were standing there. They got in one box of .357 Magnums, and I bought those too. I just don't believe that there is really a shortage; I think someone is just basically screwing people now, and getting inflated prices by holding back on supply.

its so sad and this isnt over

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

My local WM has been doing quite well in 9mm, .40, .45 and .357. Seem to get some in each week. This past week they only got one box of .357 JHP and today it was still sitting on the shelf.

yeah ive been seeing .357 .40 and 9mm at the walmarts. 38 is still lacking. however yes you can find it online. Like sportsmanguide.com, like someone mentioned earlier, lucky gunner as well and others. The shipping of course expensive, buying in large quantities is more cost efficient when buying online. Hopefully 38 will start showing up on the shelves at a decent price soon.

Handgun and popular rifle ammo still seems to be an issue in Southern Maine at least. I just picked up 400 rounds of Remington UMC .223, so I'm just happy I have something to shoot in my Mini-14 for awhile.

What is strange is some places have very little ammo, brass, bullets, primers, powder and others have a fairly descent amount.
I stop in one store in Utah that you wouldn't even know there was a shortage as far as bullets, brass and loaded ammo go, now powders and primers are less then ideal but you can still get a 1000 if they have what you want and powder is based on what comes in.
My store here in NM they have no primers, some powder, rations on ammo, brass is mainly once fired, and prices are up
Walmart has some but prices are up like a federal box of 550 22lr are up $5-6 dollars from last year.

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DAV

Here's some info a fellow list buddy sent me on this very topic.

/c

…if ammo and component availability was going to get much better in the foreseeable future?

Read this:
ATK Receives $93 Million in Orders for Additional Small-Caliber Ammunition - Nov 09, 2009

Or this much lesser but still market-affecting one: News and Press Releases - Winchester Ammunition

And this “excuse”:
News and Press Releases - Winchester Ammunition

Although this contract would seem to be still keeping them busy: Olin Corp | Defense Procurement News

And this from last month (you have to scroll down to the “Winchester” section:
Olin Announces Third Quarter 2009 Earnings

Finally, from our “neighbors” up north: CBC News - Canada - U.S. ammo hoarders frustrating Canadian hunters

One thing I am not going to forget, if and when this is over, is how Gander Mountain is gouging the public with their pricing on ammo.

I hate the shortage, but it's just what the aspiring tyrants in Washinton D.C. need to see.

Gander Mountain was gouging people on prices before the shortage.

I saw a bunch of 100 round boxes of winchester .38 special at walmart this weekend for $32. I've seen plenty of .38 spc here in houston but at $20 a box of 50.

Two days before deer season here. Common loads are nearly impossible to find. LGS staff was bringing out all the back room partial boxes and almost collector grade stuff. They were marking it up or just leaving it at the full box price for as few as seven rounds.

I just picked up one box of Winchester NATO 124 grain FMJ at Academy Sports for $12.99 +tax today. They had several boxes, but was not sure if this would wear out the barrel on my slightly used Sigma. It has a pressure warning on the side of the box. Anyone every used this or had any bad experiences with this ammo?

The last 2 weeks there were quite a few WWB 100ct 38spl at DFW Walmart.
Yesterday one Walmart had 10 100ct boxes - $32+ per box.
Couldn't afford to buy anymore.

Our Wal mart has had no 38 spl for months and last week they had a case at $32 per 100. I got 2 as that was all the cash I had on me. I went back and it was all gone. They have had a steady flow of 9mm. I think all the people who have been buying up all the ammo have finally got enough and there will more on the shelves.

There are a few smaller gun shops around here that have stopped ordering primers, powder and other stuff. I have been in there several times since early summer asking about primers. He finally told me "we stopped ordering last spring because of the backorders". They said they would start ordering again after the first of the year. They stopped trying I guess. That sure is an unusual way to run a business.

Not me. I am going to buy some ammo of some kind every week or two. I have been hoarding since 1994 and I ain't going to quit now.

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Georgia On My Mind

I was just at the local Army Navy store today. They had CASES of .223, .308, .40 S&W, .38 Special and even the recently impossible to find .380 ACP. They even allowed me to buy 1000 CCI Small Rifle Primers. I usually don't buy components here, but I have learned to not pass up these primers when I find them. They even had a few Colts, a Les Baer and LWRC AR type rifles in stock on the shelves. And a Springfield M1A! Not to mention the guy who was there picking up his Microtec AUG clone. Things were looking pretty good. Buy it all while you still can.

Dave Sinko

I went to a gunshow this weekend and saw lower prices for ammo and black rifles. Still not a lot of primers though.

Only in the past week have I been able to find any .38spl ammo, and I paid more than I wanted to for it ($19/50). It was the first I have seen in probably 9 months of looking once every week. 40 S&W has become readily available at alll the local WM's though.

After returning from a local gunshow, we hit seven local stores that carry ammunition on an informal "state of the ammo shortage".

First, the gunshow report.

There were at least four vendors at the gunshow that were selling hundreds of cases of commercial and surplus ammunition. There was no shortage of commercial or surplus ammo at the gunshow.

All seven local gunstores had ample supplies of rifle, pistol and shotgun ammunition. Plenty of rimfire ammunition. Every single store had full shelves and cases stacked up in front of the shelves.

One of the stores had more than 30,000 rounds of commercial 55gr. ball ammo in 1,000 round cases sitting on the floor behind the counter.

I pray this continues. At the rate stores are stocking shelves, and at the rate manufacturers are oversupplying, there is going to be a helleva sale after Christmas during the annual spring dead zone for guns and ammo.

At the gunshow there was plenty of ammo. What was curious is that I spent all day Saturday sitting at a table with a buddy across from one of the largest ammo dealers and he had come prepared. There were no less than 5 employees behind his table (it's usually just him and his son) and he had a register dedicated to just case sales with a big sign that said "FORM LINE HERE FOR CASE SALES".

There was no line. Ever.

3 of the 5 employees looked bored. I counted less than 15 case sales when I was paying attention. Lots of 100 and 200 round sales. Hardly anyone was selling cases. Normally at the gunshow you see folks who have bought cases of ammo borrowing those carts to haul it to the front of the show to the curb. Didn't see one of those all day Saturday.

Fatigue is setting in. Or else folks are saving up for Christmas.

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Texasflyboy

At the Dick's Sporting Goods in Fairfax VA I saw at least 25 cases of UMC .38 Special in the yellow boxes sitting behind the counter. All the stores I visited today had .38 Special in one variety or another.

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Texasflyboy

Dick's and Sportsman Warehouse in Chattanooga-- shelves are stacked high.

Ah...

Now we see the change in the ammunition shortage.

It was:
"Ammunition shortage"

Now it's:
"Ammunition shortage at market sustainable prices."

The dealers that have high-priced ammunition are going to have to come off of it to get rid of those stacks of it before inventory tax time! It was a sellers market and dealers were making more margin on ammunition than they have since 1994...but that is quickly changing as ammunition isn't selling as briskly as it had.

I'm not purchasing ammunition until the dealers get "right" on their margins again and it becomes a buyers market.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I agree. Now the price needs to return to normal. There is no reason that .38 Special FMJ rounds should be twenty bucks a box. I refuse to pay it, and I know several others who refuse as well. I've got enough for defensive purposes, and until the prices get back right again, it's going to stay that way.

What I was surprised to see is .32 auto. It has been near impossible to find (practice ammo) for a long time. Now it's on the shelves gain.

was at a scheels in dsm,ia last week. all kinds of ammo,good supply of powder, lots of primers except federal. prices were about what they were last summer when supply was a lot shorter. at the new bass pro just about 10miles away they had almost nothing in reloading supplies, no 22lr, and only a little rifle and handgun ammo in stock. lots of shotgun shells everywhere though.

Wallyworld around here has had a fair amount of 100 round, WWB, .38 special here lately for $30.97

I am done with buying jacketed .45ACP bullets, either FMJ or Hollow Points. Forever.

.03 per bullet:



In a week or two I will get back a Lyman 358311 and a Hensley & Gibbs #51GC from Erik over at hollow point molds.com and I will be set for .38/.357 mag hollowpoints.

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Texasflyboy

Good for you. It's time that the makers of overpriced, non nickel cased, defective ammo and the price scalper stores reap their true reward, lost business.

Man, that's strange... that same ammo is $22.97 at my Wally World (Texas)!