Good article on reasons for ammo shortage.

[bigwheelzip]

A reasoned chronology behind today's shortages.

The Great American Ammunition Conspiracy - The American Prospect

Edit: Article extracted in post 10.

 

[huthike]

Interesting - thanks for sharing.

 

[Telecaster]

Interesting but full of generalizations, errors, and omissions.

 

[AlHunt]

A reasoned chronology behind today's shortages.

The Great American Ammunition Conspiracy - The American Prospect

The upshot of which is "stockpile". The ammo/component supply is more fragile than ever.

 

[robrossk]

Thanks for sharing. Sadly, seems no near term solution.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

#1 reason: desire for complete CONTROL.
#2 reason: GREED.

 

[fordson]

Interesting, and somewhat depressing, article. Money drive everything, especially in a capitalistic economy.

 

[Murdock]

Interesting but full of generalizations, errors, and omissions.

Please elaborate.

 

[Greyman50]

All that showed up was some pop up regarding " joining" something??

 

[bigwheelzip]

All that showed up was some pop up regarding " joining" something??

Yes, it has popups. I copied part of it here for you.

Extracted from "The American Prospect"

The Great American Ammunition Conspiracy

Two companies are at the root of the current shortage.

by Elle Ekman

October 21, 2021
Folks on the internet speculate that ammunition plants have shut down, and that companies and/or the government are stockpiling bullets to drive up demand and prices. It got so bad that the president of the biggest ammunition producer in the U.S., Jason Vanderbrink of Vista Outdoor, made a YouTube video because he was "tired of all the hate mail." Vanderbrink walked through Vista's production process and told angry gun owners that hearing about the conspiracy theories related to the "so-called ammunition shortage" is "getting really old." The video has nearly two million views.

But the conspiracy theorists are in one sense right. There is a scheme to control the ammunition market, though it's not a particularly colorful one.

At a glance, Americans appear to have a variety of ammunition companies to choose from: Remington, Winchester, Speer, CCI (Cascade Cartridge, Inc.), Federal Premium. Winchester bills itself as "The American Legend" and has been in business for over 150 years, while Remington has been making guns and ammo for over 200 years and states that their company is as "boundless as the American spirit." These companies associate their brands with freedom, independence, and toughness. What most customers do not know, however, is that they are all owned by the same two entities: Olin Corporation and Vista Outdoor.

Click here for the full article: The Great American Ammunition Conspiracy - The American Prospect

 

[vonn]

Another failure of our leaders to do what is good for the country instead of what is good for them.

 

[Claymore33]

Ammo, INC

Check out Ammo, inc website. They are new independent ammo manufacturer.

 

[lkabug]

Interesting read and much more realistic then Mr. Vandergrift's lame attempt at acting.

To the polls, ye sons of freedom!

 

[Paul in Nevada]

Let me save you the tedium of reading the article. It basically says that big companies are bad, and gun owners are conspiracy nuts. If you look at the political bent of that news outlet you could deduce that no one on their staff owns guns or supports civilian gun ownership. In short, there are no revelations here.

The author is right though that consolidation hurts individual consumers. There are a couple bigger issues hinted at here that the author does not explore which should serve as a warning to all of us. First, when industries consolidate into a few huge mega corporations, their biggest customer becomes not the American consumer but the government. They could cut us out of the equation completely and still have an immensely profitable market with greater long term stability. I think we should all assume that Olin and Vista are planning ahead for a day when you and I buy little or no ammunition. Trust me, they will still turn huge profits without us. And they will do so without the surges and drop offs in demand that have characterized the market since the 1990's.
Next, when corporations and governments become entwined on this level, they start to influence each other's policy positions and ultimately to share them. remember when Eisenhower warned us about the "Military Industrial Complex". This country has been in the business of war since 1914 and business is very good. This should scare the **** out of you today when our military and intelligence services have turned inward, and now see our own people as the greatest threat.
Finally, take a good hard look at the political activities of the mega corporations these days. I know we aren't supposed to talk politics here but politics are in everything. The corporations have fully embraced the "Social Credit" system and they apply it everything they do. Olin and Vista aren't your friends. The people in those board rooms despise you and are working hard to remake the world into something alien and hostile to you. They will take your money in the meantime but the ultimate goal is a new world order without the kind of middle class that can afford leisure activities like hunting and target shooting or the individualistic freedoms that gun ownership represents.


Those of you who constantly worship at the alter of capitalism and free markets don't realize that we have neither. Government/corporate partnerships mean a command economy with little input from the consumer.

 

[luvsmiths]

Let me save you the tedium of reading the article. It basically says that big companies are bad, and gun owners are conspiracy nuts. If you look at the political bent of that news outlet you could deduce that no one on their staff owns guns or supports civilian gun ownership. In short, there are no revelations here.

The author is right though that consolidation hurts individual consumers. There are a couple bigger issues hinted at here that the author does not explore which should serve as a warning to all of us. First, when industries consolidate into a few huge mega corporations, their biggest customer becomes not the American consumer but the government. They could cut us out of the equation completely and still have an immensely profitable market with greater long term stability. I think we should all assume that Olin and Vista are planning ahead for a day when you and I buy little or no ammunition. Trust me, they will still turn huge profits without us. And they will do so without the surges and drop offs in demand that have characterized the market since the 1990's.
Next, when corporations and governments become entwined on this level, they start to influence each other's policy positions and ultimately to share them. remember when Eisenhower warned us about the "Military Industrial Complex". This country has been in the business of war since 1914 and business is very good. This should scare the **** out of you today when our military and intelligence services have turned inward, and now see our own people as the greatest threat.
Finally, take a good hard look at the political activities of the mega corporations these days. I know we aren't supposed to talk politics here but politics are in everything. The corporations have fully embraced the "Social Credit" system and they apply it everything they do. Olin and Vista aren't your friends. The people in those board rooms despise you and are working hard to remake the world into something alien and hostile to you. They will take your money in the meantime but the ultimate goal is a new world order without the kind of middle class that can afford leisure activities like hunting and target shooting or the individualistic freedoms that gun ownership represents.


Those of you who constantly worship at the alter of capitalism and free markets don't realize that we have neither. Government/corporate partnerships mean a command economy with little input from the consumer.

Right on target ( no pun intended) A very real look at things. Thanks.

 

[Onomea]

Let me save you the tedium of reading the article. It basically says that big companies are bad, and gun owners are conspiracy nuts. If you look at the political bent of that news outlet you could deduce that no one on their staff owns guns or supports civilian gun ownership. In short, there are no revelations here...

That wasn't my take. While I was aware of the boom or bust ammo/guns demand paralleling Democrats or Republicans in power, I wasn't aware of the consolidation of the ammo market over the last 50 years. The article notes that the USG has made multimillion dollar ammo purchases sole source because of this, and that small, independent ammo producers can't survive the lean times (bust) of Republican administrations.

Never heard of the news source, and they may well be a bunch of lefties, but that doesn't mean they're wrong about the reasons for the shortage.

 

[Claymore33]

I was Blue and Gold officer for USNA who recommended ELLE EKMAN for appointment to USNA. Her Dad is good friend who served with 3/5 Marines and retired as LTCOL. Son is also in Military. Great family and SMART gal.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I was Blue and Gold officer for USNA who recommended ELLE EKMAN for appointment to USNA. Her Dad is good friend who served with 3/5 Marines and retired as LTCOL. Son is also in Military. Great family and SMART gal.

Wow, another example of the small world amongst our forum members.
I saw that she had a decade at DoD, but didn't see an academy reference. I only spent one day visiting the USNA, but came away exceptionally impressed by the place and the people there.