Ammo "Shortage" of 2020 -- November Update

jeffrefrig said:
I DON'T reload, never learned. Because of that, 1 1/2 weeks ago I found some .38 Special, 4 boxes of 50 for $140. Today I ordered 4 boxes of 9mm for $160! Woulda, coulda, shoulda defines me as far as buying ammo last year for 1/4 the cost. Now, if I can only find some .380 to overpay for I'll really be happy! :(
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Never too late to learn. I started after Newtown. Took me several months to find components and I had to start with powders I normally wouldn’t, but I’ve loaded thousands of rounds since then and I doubt I’ve shot more than 300 factory rounds since 2013. Only regret I have is not stocking up more in components. I do believe reloaded are going to be targeted at some point. Good thing is components don’t seem to go bad so I will be stocking up when this madness lifts. I will not be paying the stupid prices they are charging for components though. I can and will wait.
 
I went to the local Sportsman's Warehouse this evening to buy some wild cherry candies for the wife. I checked out the ammo and not one box of any type of pistol or revolver ammo what-so-ever! My last trip there, they had some of the self-defense ammo, but nothing now. Rifle ammo averaged about $39.95/box of 20. A bit rich for this old man, l roll my own a lot cheaper.
 
Not much rifle & handgun ammo available at all now. What is available is nearly a dollar/round! Thank God I reload metallic, but even components are going to be difficult to replace. Can hold out for awhile, but this isn't good.
Gave up reloading 12 & 20ga because it was easier to buy cases, but I'm looking at $90/case+ now for trap/skeet/sporting loads. We have to compromise & take what is available. Premium shells only.

My weekly shooting may need to become bi-weekly, at this rate!
 
LostintheOzone said:
This shortage isn't as bad as the one in 2008.
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I don't recall the 2008/2009 shortage being this bad, but maybe the old memory is fading. ;) I remember the 2013/2014 post-Newtown shortage being extremely bad, but at least we had Walmart and that made all the difference after the worst of the initial insanity passed, at least for me. :)

This time around my options are scary limited and awfully expensive... too expensive, in reality, to buy anything right now and it only seems to be getting worse. :(

I see no signs at all that things might improve. :(
 
I stopped in the local Gander Outdoors yesterday to browse while running other errands. No center fire ammo except lots of cases of shotgun shells. Had some Aquila .22 shorts. I have a couple of rifles that will shoot them but didn't buy any.

Overheard an out of state guy (Florida) at the gun counter tell the clerk that the further south you went the better supply of ammo. Said Florida had the best supplies he had seen. (The Gander has a big RV sales/service and I assume he was on the road getting his RV serviced.)

Does it appear to others that the shortage is geographical? Here in SW Va. it is bad as I have seen it.
 
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Did some traveling last Saturday a few hours away hit a few Walmart’s and a Bass Pro the Bass Pro you could of fit the ammo they had in a wheelbarrow load steel waterfowl loads, centerfire rifle, turkey loads. Walmart had 22mag a few boxes a few boxes of odd ball rifle calibers and 12/20 gauge target and small game loads. They said they get some stuff in but it’s gone fast. Prices at Wally still decent.
 
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TTSH said:
I don't recall the 2008/2009 shortage being this bad, but maybe the old memory is fading. ;) I remember the 2013/2014 post-Newtown shortage being extremely bad, but at least we had Walmart and that made all the difference after the worst of the initial insanity passed, at least for me. :)

This time around my options are scary limited and awfully expensive... too expensive, in reality, to buy anything right now and it only seems to be getting worse. :(

I see no signs at all that things might improve. :(
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I think that you hit the bullseye with your last sentence.
 
Having gone through both the 2008 epidemic and NYs Safe Act disaster I can say this is easily the worst. The unavailability of handgun ammo is similar, but with this round its everything. All caliber rifle ammo and any shot bigger than a #6 or so is also nonexistent this time. I also don't see things turning around as quickly this time or the big dump of guns and ammo after it's over..
 
stansdds said:
Earlier this week I got an email from Cheaper Than Dirt, proclaiming they had ammo deals. Based on the price quoted, their dirt must be precious metal dust.
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Yep, got the same email. 9mm was running about a $1 a pop.
Ridiculous to me.
A couple weeks ago I went to Rural King and saw they had Taurus G3Cs in stock for $259. I’d been interested in one for a range toy and bought it. I asked if they had a box of ammo and the clerk said all they had was this and pulled out a box of Geco 115gr ball, $13.99/ box of 50.
When the cashier rang it up she accidentally billed me for 2 boxes so I told her to just give me the other box.
Glad I did.
I don’t know squat about Geco ammo but it’s marked “produced in USA”
I have a bunch of .40 but the only thing I own chambered in .40 is a Beretta CX4 carbine.
Wouldn’t mind finding a .40 Shield.
 
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ACORN said:
Yep, got the same email. 9mm was running about a $1 a pop.
Ridiculous to me.
A couple weeks ago I went to Rural King and saw they had Taurus G3Cs in stock for $259. I’d been interested in one for a range toy and bought it. I asked if they had a box of ammo and the clerk said all they had was this and pulled out a box of Geco 115gr ball, $13.99/ box of 50.
When the cashier rang it up she accidentally billed me for 2 boxes so I told her to just give me the other box.
Glad I did.
I don’t know squat about Geco ammo but it’s marked “produced in USA”
I have a bunch of .40 but the only thing I own chambered in .40 is a Beretta CX4 carbine.
Wouldn’t mind finding a .40 Shield.
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Geco is good stuff 38 and 9 I’ve used and for that price a great deal for sure.
 
One small mom and pop LGS here has a fair supply of ammo, but the prices are about 2x normal and it’s one box per customer.
 
As for Florida, I can only speak for a couple stores in Jacksonville, and there’s slim pickin’s.

If it was priced normally, there’d be none left at all.
 
I've been waiting 6 months for a clothes dryer. Lumber is hit or miss. Even the grocery store has shortages of certain things on a day to day basis. This is the result of shutting down the economy for 7 months. The shooting world is not going to support $1 a round 223. The ammo manufactures know that so they don't invest in more capacity. Once this wave passes, things will stabilize. Politics will have a minimal effect, if any. What we are hearing now is 99% hyperbole. There are a ton of Democrat seats that are up in two years and the ones that squeaked in 6 years ago are looking at 7.2 million Trump votes and wondering how they are going to get back. Gun control is the third rail of politics right now. Our gun and ammo problem is simply a supply and demand issue that will run it's course. Economics 101. You will see $10 a box 9mm again as soon as the production catches up with the COVID shutdown. Don't panic and don't spend you kids college fund buying up over priced ammo!
 
21 and 22 November there will be a gun show here in town. i'm waiting to see where the prices of guns and ammo will be there.
 
What are you guys seeing small pistol primers actually selling for. I saw a guy asking well over a hundred per thousand which is 3 times what I was paying form them. Large pistol the same.

L
 
llowry61 said:
What are you guys seeing small pistol primers actually selling for. I saw a guy asking well over a hundred per thousand which is 3 times what I was paying form them. Large pistol the same.

L
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If that is the cheapest price you can find it's a bargain. There are plenty of primers in the world but most are not for sale at any price. Larry
 
Seeing the prices .22LR are bringing, I am seriously selling about 40 bricks of my stash. I could quadruple my money.
 
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