Like most of you, I make it a point to go through the sporting goods dept at Wal-Mart in the hopes of getting lucky. Today, May 5 2009, was one of those days! There was more, but here is what I bought:



Scott

Will check the local wally world tonight hope I luck up like you did

Yum! I commend you for leaving some for the next person.

Went by the local Walmart at lunch to pick up some things for work.

Saw the following in the ammo cabinet:
9MM Blazer Brass - 9 boxes
9MM WWB - 1 box
9MM Remington UMC - 2 boxes
40 Caliber Blazer Brass - 1 box
38 Special WWB JHP - 4 boxes
38 Special Remington UMC MC - 2 boxes
Some other calibers that I can't remember.

All the Walmarts in my area have a 6 box limit, so I got 6 boxes of 9MM Blazer Brass and came back to work a little happier.

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silverfox3913 in Alabama

I went by my local Walmart today and saw the following on the ammo shelves:



Ed

I reload! What ammo shortage?

I've been in two different Wal Mart stores over the past 3 days. One of them had 2 boxes of .44 Mag ammo, the other didn't have any handgun ammo of any kind.

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NRA Pistol,PPITH,PPOTH&TASER

The grass is greener on this side of the fence.

I went by my local Walmart yesterday and saw the following on the ammo shelves:

NOTHING

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Formerly know as Lucky Derby

I checked out my Wal Mart last night shelves were "jammed" with 4 box of 32 auto nothing else

If you can't find what you want at WM, I just got an email from Natchez about a new ammo "sale" they have. If you need 40 S&W, they have UMC 180gr FMJ:

Reg $44.86
Sale $41.99
Buy Now!

$42 a box. Now Natchez has joined Cheaper Than Dirt and Gander M.

My local WM has nothing. Dick's has nothing. Academy has nothing. Bass Pro has nothing. LGS has nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing I can use. And very little anyone else can use. Shotgun shells and rifle ammo. That's about it. I couldn't even find snap caps and speedloaders. Had to come home and order online. I don't see an end to the ammo shortage anytime soon.

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Misty

The ammo shortage won't end any time soon unless we find a new source of raw materials. Or when we are willing to pay much higher prices that are being caused by the shortages of the raw materials.

Oh, won't the "Antis" be happy!

"Hunters" (the only "legitimate" firearm users...at least until they decide to target them too) can still get what they "need" but the evil handgun shooters cannot. And, best of all, it is nearly impossible to keep a .380 ACP "Saturday Night Special" stoked these days.

Of course, it is also not peak hunting season. Maybe we will see completely bare shelves by November.

The current shortage has more to do with an inelastic supply chain than material costs and availability. Traditionally, demand for loaded ammunition and components has been fairly perdictible. Right now, it is through the roof and there is no ready "backstock."

Yes, the availability of raw materials is an issue...as it has been for the last couple of years..., but it is not "the issue." The biggest issue right now is the lack of production capability at all levels. There was an almost unprecedented run on the existing supply. Production of every component...primers, powder, brass, and bullets...must be drastically increased to meet demand.

A bit of that may happen, but I suspect that the ammunition makers see this as a being a short lived "crisis" and will do little if anything to increase their production capability. Why invest in capital improvements such as additional machinery to increase production when the demand will probably drop off by the time the new lines are up and running? Just address the current demand as well as you can with existing equipment and employees and adjust down when it subsides that way you can reap the benefits of increased sales now without the burden of paying for unnecessary equipment down the road.

Wal-Mart in Spartanburg, SC just yesterday had 9MM WWB, $19.97 100 rd value box (at least 15 boxes) and .40 WWB value pack 100 rd $32.95 (at least 10 boxes). They had various other stuff too....38, .357, etc. Bought all I could afford.
bigcat

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bigcat

Ammo shortage ended on election day! I have 75K + of primers, 50 + pounds of powder, and 20 assorted gallons of brass in necessary calibers along with 600 pounds of range scrap lead. During the hysteria, an RCBS Rockchucker press and powder measure (with a little rust) was offered for $30 and 2 weeks later I was offered a Dillion 550B complete without a set of dies for $200. One hour of time and a little elbow grease got both presses and powder measure looking like new.

I can now shoot, cast, and reload for 10 years. I did get lucky and buy a full case(5250 rounds) of Federal bulk pack 22 LR for $138 tax included.

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S&WHF 366

Went by my local WalMart today and they finally got some handgun ammo in for the first time in about 2 - 3 months .....saw 1 bx of WWB 357 Sig , and 2 bxs of Rem UMC 38 Spl 125 gr JHP.
Lots of shotgun shells and 270 & 30-06 rifle ammo, and a few assorted bxs of 22 LR. Other than that, nothing !

My Wal-Mart has had 38 special throughout, but I still have not seen a box of 357 mag under $30 for a long time.

The self created shortage is finally coming to a slow and grinding stop in my area. The area stores now have ammo on the shelves and it seems to be there for more than 30 seconds. Also most of the stores still have the 2 box per caliber per customer limit which has helped. However it won't take long if those that didn't/couldn't get "enough" ammo start mass purchasing before another shortage occurs (in my locale). Check out bigcats post.

True.....somewhat. If you don't have a good stockpile of primers you might find it tricky, however! And I use 748 powder for three different rifle calibers that I shoot a lot, 223, 308 and 45/70, and my supply is diminishing and I've not seen it in any stores in months!!!

Regarding the reloads, I was at the range yesterday and every shot the guy in the next lane shot was like a cheech and chong movie. Up in smoke! So I poke my head around the wall and say "roloads eh?" and proud as a pup he says "yup". He then actually goes out to the guys at the counter and complains about the smoke. "Don't you guys have any fans"

If you are going to reload (which I hope to do one day) at least do it right.

Sorry for the venting. I had to walk outside the range twice just to catch a little air.

stoogeweb

I to got lucky on May 1st at my local walmart they had five boxes of winchester .45 auto 100 count value box for $29.98 each they had 5 i left 2 went back the next day and they were out again.

We have 4 Super Wallmarts in the local area, but unless very lucky, get to buy little or no ammo from them. We also have an indoor shooting range, so they send folks to all of the wally world very regularly, and buy up everything, so they can add about a 50% mark up and sell to shooters at the range.
I was not very concerned, as I had made a purchase of a pistol along with 990 rounds of ammo for it. Well the pistol arrived, but UPS seems to have lost the 33 pound box of ammo.
Tracked from origin into and scanned into Atlanta, but now can not be found. I'll bet many of the gang bangers are well supplied with .38 special in and around Atlanta for a while, meanwhile, UPS seems very unconcerned about it, refuses to talk to me about ammo replacement cost.

I didn't read this whole thread so someone may have posted it concerning Midway's new two box limit. With their shipping cost and a 2 box limit the cost per round is just too high on what typiccally should not be.

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5906,1911 DK #13,M41,422's,745

Got lucky yesterday at Walmart! Went in on lunch time to run an errand and as usual I checked the ammo counter stopped and did a double take that there were actually 2 boxes in the entire case, and they were both 100 count .40's! With no clerk in sight, I know I have to go find someone but at the same time I don't want to leave the counter in fear someone will snatch them up... found a clerk in electronics and when I told him I needed help in ammo, he instantly said we don't have any... I said yes you do and follow me! I felt like a kid a Christmas leaving the store. Just an FYI, Walmart is now limiting purchase of ammo to 6 boxes per person.

Our local Wallys have been steadily getting in a trickle of handgun ammo, but they've started hiding it and restricting sales to no more than 6 boxes to a given person per day.

However, on a more entertaining note, I went to one yesterday and saw a lady with the biggest Texas hair I've seen in years (looked like some kind of back-topped mushroom) and a Hispanic fellow with an extreme mullet. It was Crazy Hair Day at Wal-Mart!! Who needs to go to the movies!

Another sign is that at the gun show last week, the ammo prices were, for the most part, reasonable. There were still $85.00 boxes of .380ACP ammo, but they weren't selling like they were a few weeks ago.

Regards,

Dave

At least some shops in Seattle area have decent ammo selection. I see .380, 9mm, .40, 38spl and 357mag even though they ration the ammo down to several boxes per customer. Prices are a bit higher than last year but not outrageous. It's a smart thing to do -- people will see ammo on the shelves and hopefully stop panic buying.

Mike

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9x19, 9x29R, 9x33R, 10x22

Same way at my local wal mart



I'm the one front and center

Went to a small local gunshop yesterday. They had ammo stacked everywhere. Bricks of 22 on the counter, cases of wolf 223 on the floor, and full shelves of every handgun caliber.

Prices were about the same as this time last year (retail). But as good as delivered prices from Graff's or Widner's.

They also had good selection of handguns and black rifles at reasonable prices, not gunshow prices.

The deals are no longer on the internet, get in your car and visit some local gunshops.

OK, the primer shortage then. (not that I noticed though)

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

m1gunner

What part of the country are you located??