Is the ammo shortage ever going to end?

[blujax01]

Ammo in all calibers is readily available in Ohio.

At $5-$7 a box of 50, 22LR is still selling, so apparently that is the new "market price."

We old folks remember when a lot of stuff was cheaper. "Well, sit down boy, and let me tell you how things used to be..." Even I get sick of hearing it and I agree with most of what is said.

Lord knows the kids aren't listening.

Millennials don't remember "the good old days" and they don't care. So what that 22 used to cost $2 and now it's $6, they're not batting an eyelash. It's still a cheap date.

Besides, all the 22LR argument has been that it is "hurting the children" so I'm assuming that everyone here is shooting "Big Boy" ammo. And now that it has leveled out, the centerfire ammo increase is about 20% over 2011, much the same as everything else in this "New Economy."

Like my Old Man used to say, when I'd get to whining about : "But it's not faa-iir!":

"Boy, go get your birth certificate and show me where it says that life is supposed to be fair, and when you don't find it, shaddap or I'll give you something to cry about!"

 

[smokindog]

Everything except 22LR is stacking up on the Walmart shelves again, lasting weeks, and even getting dust on the top (mostly 50 rd boxes). 100 round boxes of 9 and 45 tend to sell rather quickly but 40 not so much as it's seems to have seen a larger percentage increase approaching the cost of 45.

As stated, 20-25% increase but I'm marking it from 4Q12!

Sure glad I was a hoarder, prepper, flipper, gouger, selfish ingrate. I'll take 20-25% return on investment in 15 months on my time and capital all day long! Plus I'm now not under any pressure to buy "the new norm". My new motto, "see it, like it, afford it, buy it!". Notice no "need it" ....

 

[Seldom]

Sure glad I was a hoarder, prepper, flipper, gouger, selfish ingrate. I'll take 20-25% return on investment in 15 months on my time and capital all day long! Plus I'm now not under any pressure to buy "the new norm". My new motto, "see it, like it, afford it, buy it!". Notice no "need it" ....

That's a decent profit but consider this. Had you bought 1,000 shares of Sturm Ruger (RGR) in late December of 2008 at $5.97 a share, you could have sold it on January 13 of this year for $80.14 per share. That's a profit of $74,170 for an increase of 1,242%. Ahhh, hindsight.

I almost did.

 

[blujax01]

^^^^^
Man, oh man - where's my hot tub time machine!

 

[CoMF]

I don't know, but I am curious to know whether there's ever going to be an end in sight for "Is the ammo shortage ever going to end?" threads and the facile arguments that tend to spawn therein.

(No offense meant to the OP, natch. I'm being semi-facetious.)

 

[the ringo kid]

Everything except 22LR is stacking up on the Walmart shelves again, lasting weeks, and even getting dust on the top (mostly 50 rd boxes). 100 round boxes of 9 and 45 tend to sell rather quickly but 40 not so much as it's seems to have seen a larger percentage increase approaching the cost of 45.

As stated, 20-25% increase but I'm marking it from 4Q12!

Sure glad I was a hoarder, prepper, flipper, gouger, selfish ingrate. I'll take 20-25% return on investment in 15 months on my time and capital all day long! Plus I'm now not under any pressure to buy "the new norm". My new motto, "see it, like it, afford it, buy it!". Notice no "need it" ....

Not here. All the WMs in my area still have mostly bare shelves on all the popular stuff. I also noticed that any brand of .45 is moving slowly as well as a couple others. Good for me since that's the only caliber I need more of.

 

[shocker]

Mid Michigan- Dunham's looks to be fully stocked with center fire handgun ammo, 22 lr too if you want to pay $20 for 50 rds of Eley target. LGS has Minimags not cheap but reasonable if one needed them for a purpose like small game hunting.

Plenty of powder and primers in stock at fair prices.

 

[ladyT]

I don't know, but I am curious to know whether there's ever going to be an end in sight for "Is the ammo shortage ever going to end?" threads and the facile arguments that tend to spawn therein.

(No offense meant to the OP, natch. I'm being semi-facetious.)

I would say the answer to your question is a simple no. One reason is there are new shooters everyday coming into the hobby and they wonder where the 22lr is and they show up on websites asking questions. I really don't see an end unless there is divine intervention and production quadruples.

 

[CoMF]

I would say the answer to your question is a simple no. One reason is there are new shooters everyday coming into the hobby and they wonder where the 22lr is and they show up on websites asking questions. I really don't see an end unless there is divine intervention and production quadruples.

Well... When you put it into that context... Still, the market's going to stabilize eventually. I just have difficulty seeing how venting and revisiting a perennial topic is going to hasten this or help it along.

 

[chief4guns]

IT's getting better!!!!

FACTS: 22 rimfire has the least profitability margin for the mfgs. Thus it was the first to go and last to come back as mfgs diverted people and mfg assetts where possible to the more productive lines. Thats just good business!! Now add the huge amount of new RF gun owners and the survivalists stocking up on the most useful ammo, again 22 RF, and you have the situation we have. It's gotten much better in the last 30 days. most places have ammo on the shelves and the prices are dropping. (SUPPOSITION) like a cow t#*d on a fire ant bed. All the people that went crazy buying are going to be about as happy as the ants in the next 90 days. Billary might be their salvation if elected. As far as all the Government buying I believe it! People are mad. (Ask the bundy cowboys) and they're tired of being shxp on by Big gvmt overreach! The obvious answer? a national police force made up of GVMT agencies. I doubt we see many more retreats when the public bows up. Especially if the conservatives loose again.

 

[blujax01]

Not here. All the WMs in my area still have mostly bare shelves on all the popular stuff. I also noticed that any brand of .45 is moving slowly as well as a couple others. Good for me since that's the only caliber I need more of.

No LGS's? Is WalMart your only option? If so, that's a doggone shame...

 

[Engieman]

Been saving my .22 brass...just as soon as I figure out how to reload those little suckers I'll be good to go. I wish....

 

[Seldom]

The local Cabelas had a few bricks of Blazers, lots of fifty round CCI SV, Velocitors, Stingers and CB Shorts yesterday. There was a two box limit though. We bought the SVs. They were .10/rnd. For me, CCI SVs are the gold standard of .22lr ammo. Me happy.

 

[tkdguy]

Nice analysis and projections into the future...

FACTS: 22 rimfire has the least profitability margin for the mfgs. Thus it was the first to go and last to come back as mfgs diverted people and mfg assetts where possible to the more productive lines. Thats just good business!! Now add the huge amount of new RF gun owners and the survivalists stocking up on the most useful ammo, again 22 RF, and you have the situation we have. It's gotten much better in the last 30 days. most places have ammo on the shelves and the prices are dropping. (SUPPOSITION) like a cow t#*d on a fire ant bed. All the people that went crazy buying are going to be about as happy as the ants in the next 90 days. Billary might be their salvation if elected. As far as all the Government buying I believe it! People are mad. (Ask the bundy cowboys) and they're tired of being shxp on by Big gvmt overreach! The obvious answer? a national police force made up of GVMT agencies. I doubt we see many more retreats when the public bows up. Especially if the conservatives loose again.

I am thinking that if the Congress and the Senate return to the red that might put a freeze on gov't intrusions, but this is conflicted by an overly bold and possibly dictator want to be.

 

[reerc]

Seems like it would be a good time to be in the ammo manufacturing business. I wonder if the margins on .22LR are too slim for them? They could raise the price what, 50%? 100%? and still sell all they could make.

 

[MEMPHISBELLE]

I was in troy Il yesterday and stopped by a gun shop. Remington bulk packs that were repacked in zip lock bags for 7.95 per 50 with a limit of 1 per customer. What a joke.

 

[Seldom]

I am thinking that if the Congress and the Senate return to the red that might put a freeze on gov't intrusions, but this is conflicted by an overly bold and possibly dictator want to be.

If you want to see what an actual dictator is really like go to Wiki and do a search on Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Then do a side-by-side comparison with the guy on the Hill.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Rimfire shortage is due to demand. Tons of rimfire replicas have hit the market in recent years, particularly "black guns"with 30rd mags dangling underneath, that had never existed before. Folks are blowing though bricks in a shooting session. Add to this a poor economy which pushes more folks into cheaper rimfire shooting... and demand for rimfire has probably doubled/tripled or more. So it makes sense to me when I see centerfire ammo piled high and dusty rimfire shelves.

I agree but I feel you left out all the rimfire shooting teams and training now. The Ruger Rimfire Challenge went so well it's become NSSF, Progect Appleseed seems to just keep growing, and my range is more and more crowded on the weekends with instructors giving training with rimfire to new shooters and there is a ton of new gun buyers out there these last few years. I don't think production has a hope of catching up as long as they keep thinking this is just a spike in the buying. I don't see .22LR being much more available for years now. I blame the M&P 15-22...

 

[ladyT]

I agree but I feel you left out all the rimfire shooting teams and training now. The Ruger Rimfire Challenge went so well it's become NSSF, Progect Appleseed seems to just keep growing, and my range is more and more crowded on the weekends with instructors giving training with rimfire to new shooters and there is a ton of new gun buyers out there these last few years. I don't think production has a hope of catching up as long as they keep thinking this is just a spike in the buying. I don't see .22LR being much more available for years now. I blame the M&P 15-22...

You have brought up an important point that many overlook and that is the number of people shooting rimfire ammo is greater than the number who own guns. An example is my immediate family. My 2 sons and their wives and my 4 grandchildren along with myself shoot rimfire ammo. Only 2 of us own guns and grandma here is the one who supplies the rimfire ammo to be shot. That's 9 people shooting 22lr but only 2 gunowners in the family. When you take that into account then the situation is worse than initially thought.

 

[AkSaber]

It's been almost a year and a half since it hit the fan.

So why are people still standing in line, for hours at a time, to hoard ammo?