Is the ammo shortage ever going to end?

[RussellD]

My humble opinion is that now..... is the calm before the next storm. Elections are right around the corner and the next "event" will result in a renewed panic buying mode.

Powder is available at most gun shows of size, primers are out there, and brass has become obtainable again. Shelves at Walmart are getting full with everything except .22. Look at the case prices on .223 for a benchmark.

I have observed the cycle many times since Bill Clinton was first elected. The only difference is now we have folks calling each other names like hoarder, prepper, and zombie phobes. Therefore they have drank the kool aid and decayed into pointing fingers at the haves and have nots

 

[ladyT]

Well I'm glad someone has powder.

 

[RV4driver]

"Sorry to put a damper on your "I shoot a LOT" suppressor fun "

You couldn't put a damper on my "I shoot a LOT of suppressor fun" if you wanted to.

 

[PR24]

It's the wholesale jack wagons. A dealer showed me the invoice he was being charged by a wholesaler. $3.89 a box his cost! So, he has to sell a 50 rd box of .22 LR for just under $5.00 to make anything. The manufactures maintain they are selling for the same prices & I know how scuzzy those wholesale types are , blame them..... They own it.

 

[bbqbob51]

A member of this forum posted awhile back that he had walked into a Walmart and they had 25 bricks of the 525 count Federal Champion 22lr. He bought his 3 box limit and his wife bought her 3 box limit. He then called some non shooting friends and 2 of them did him a favor and came in and each bought their 3 box limit for him. He then posted a picture of his new 12 (!!!) box stash. That is 6300 rounds and nearly half of the store's stock sucked up by a single individual.
Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is the reason there is no 22lr available. A few people wipe out the shelves within minutes and for then next several days there's nothing. The next time there's 22lr in stock the customer thinks this is the last time he/she will ever see it and buys as much as allowed and more. Couple this with the online resellers who buy everything they can and the hoarders who feel the need to have 100,000 round in their closet/survival shelter and this vicious cycle just keeps repeating.
This shortage is not caused by the government hoarding 22lr, manufacturers holding back production or alien abductions. We are our own worst enemies!
People also should realize that rimfire ammo is kind of finicky insofar as shelf life. I had a friend come over to do some shooting and he brought along some 20 year old CCI 22lr and 1 out of 3 or 4 were squibs. The first cylinder he shot through his 10 shot 617 actually had 4 that failed to ignite. By reinserting them and re-striking another part of the rim he got 3 of them to finally shoot. One never shot and another he had to put in a few additional times to make it work. This kept happening over and over again with the old ammo he had. When he put in new ammo all shot perfectly. I should add that he had the old ammo stored in a waterproof can and was always stored in his house and not in a damp basement or garage. The moral of the story is that those of you who have dozens and dozens of bricks in their closet or survival shelter had better shoot it soon than later or it will be very unreliable when you need it.

 

[RussellD]

Sour grapes says the grasshopper.

 

[brokenprism]

Bow. Arrows. Flint.

 

[italiansport]

A member of this forum posted awhile back that he had walked into a Walmart and they had 25 bricks of the 525 count Federal Champion 22lr. He bought his 3 box limit and his wife bought her 3 box limit. He then called some non shooting friends and 2 of them did him a favor and came in and each bought their 3 box limit for him. He then posted a picture of his new 12 (!!!) box stash. That is 6300 rounds and nearly half of the store's stock sucked up by a single individual.
Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is the reason there is no 22lr available. A few people wipe out the shelves within minutes and for then next several days there's nothing. The next time there's 22lr in stock the customer thinks this is the last time he/she will ever see it and buys as much as allowed and more. Couple this with the online resellers who buy everything they can and the hoarders who feel the need to have 100,000 round in their closet/survival shelter and this vicious cycle just keeps repeating.
This shortage is not caused by the government hoarding 22lr, manufacturers holding back production or alien abductions. We are our own worst enemies!
People also should realize that rimfire ammo is kind of finicky insofar as shelf life. I had a friend come over to do some shooting and he brought along some 20 year old CCI 22lr and 1 out of 3 or 4 were squibs. The first cylinder he shot through his 10 shot 617 actually had 4 that failed to ignite. By reinserting them and re-striking another part of the rim he got 3 of them to finally shoot. One never shot and another he had to put in a few additional times to make it work. This kept happening over and over again with the old ammo he had. When he put in new ammo all shot perfectly. I should add that he had the old ammo stored in a waterproof can and was always stored in his house and not in a damp basement or garage. The moral of the story is that those of you who have dozens and dozens of bricks in their closet or survival shelter had better shoot it soon than later or it will be very unreliable when you need it.

There is NO 22 ammo shortage and this post sums up the situation very well. I can load 9mm or 38spl for around a nickle a round and that's what I'm shooting now.
I expect these hoarders will eventually get their just desserts.
Jim

 

[ladyT]

There is NO 22 ammo shortage and this post sums up the situation very well. I can load 9mm or 38spl for around a nickle a round and that's what I'm shooting now.
I expect these hoarders will eventually get their just desserts.
Jim

Wrong on several counts.

1. You cannot reload any caliber or 5 cents a round. I can't evn find brass for less than 18 cents a round. Powder like brass is expensive and increasing in price. Primers in the $40-$45/ 1,000 not counting hazmat fees.

2. On 22lr there is enough production to provide every gun owner 110 rounds a year. It takes 2.2 years for manufactures to provide 2 bricks of 22lr to 1/4 of the gun owners if they run 24/7/365. There simply is not enough production

 

[italiansport]

Wrong on several counts

1. You cannot reload any caliber or 5 cents a round. I can't evn find brass for less than 18 cents a round. Powder like brass is expensive and increasing in price. Primers in the $40-$45/ 1,000 not counting hazmat fees.

2. On 22lr there is enough production to provide every gun owner 110 rounds a year. It takes 2.2 years for manufactures to provide 2 bricks of 22lr to 1/4 of the gun owners if they run 24/7/365. There simply is not enough production

Wrong: Really! So you're familiar enough with my particular situation to make such a comment?

1.Actually you're wrong and you probably shouldn't comment unless you're familiar with a specific situation. I have an adequate supply of reloading components on hand purchased before the Obamination construed "shortage" and that's what it costs me to reload a round. I used to put in time as a range officer and I salvaged enought pistol brass to last me a lifetime. My brass costs essentially zero.

2.Many 22 owners don't shoot regularly and there was NEVER a problem with 22 availability before this hoarder mess brought on by the current situation. 22s up until this time could be regularly purchased for around $10.00 per bulk 500 and were available everywhere. My family shoots a lot so I always bought in cases of 5000 and again have an ample supply on hand.

 

[SW_shooter]

No disrespect meant to anyone but I could see .05/round being true.

Let's consider only the very basic requirements.

* Brass = free since you can pick up at range
* Primer = .02 - .04 depending on purchase, so lets use .03 as median.
* Powder = .01 - .04 again depending on purchase, so let's use .025 as median
Projectile = free if you cast your own from scrap

So that's .055 (5 and a half cents), round up or down but it still works. Now you have to not consider anything else as a cost since all other costs have been recovered by being a reloader for many many many years. Your time is free since you are retired or doing this after work hours.

As with anything there are many variables and these numbers are not gospel and in no way should be taken as the truth or only possible outcome.

 

[ladyT]

If I felt the need to shoot .22 like some of you folks seem to, I'd probably chuck all that and buy one of those pump air rifles that shoots .20 caliber pellets. 800 fps and whisper quiet without a Suppressor. No Draconian laws to worry about, no shortage of ammo and to all intent and purpose, the same weapon.

Forget about pellets. Those GAMO pellets are going for $7.99 per 50.

 

[LtBlue425]

I don't know why some people keep posting they can't find XYZ centerfire ammo. Since at least last summer we've only been short of rimfire. So much 9mm and 223 on shelves some boxes are actually getting some dust on them. If you truly haven't seen 9mm etc at your local Wally store its strictly a very local issue.

The only shortages are .22 rimfire and reloading powders. About half of the reloading powders are out of stock any given time. The rimfire is usually snapped up by store employees or bought so quickly it gives the appearance of a shortage. Its not because the factories are not producing it.

 

[Twogunnes]

Not to worry!!!

Hillary gets elected and it will get worse!!!

 

[Krell1]

Imagine what our lives will be like when it's food we are crying about and not ammo.

Food doesn't kill people, fat food kills people. Eventually we'll all be buying organic food that all tastes the same. Maybe when Obamacare's death panels kick in they'll start feeding all of us Soylent Green. As far as ammo goes, I've quit trying to find more than a couple of 50 round boxes of .22's. I buy all the reloading supplies I can when I find them. So far, I've been able to have enough on hand to keep shooting for quite a while. Reply if you get the Soylent Green comment.

 

[GregoryJ]

Solent Green = People.

22 is available at a couple LGS, although not at pre-panic prices.

 

[ladyT]

I don't know why some people keep posting they can't find XYZ centerfire ammo. Since at least last summer we've only been short of rimfire. So much 9mm and 223 on shelves some boxes are actually getting some dust on them. If you truly haven't seen 9mm etc at your local Wally store its strictly a very local issue.

The only shortages are .22 rimfire and reloading powders. About half of the reloading powders are out of stock any given time. The rimfire is usually snapped up by store employees or bought so quickly it gives the appearance of a shortage. Its not because the factories are not producing it.

My local Academy has been out of 30-30 & .303 for sometime now. You can forget about that 300 blackout too. Also 5.45 of any kind has dried up and can't be found. As for center fire ammo most retail outlets are just one delivery away from empty shelves again. You may think CF has recovered but it hasn't yet. To be on the safe side one should be planning for the next interruption in ammo supplies as it will surely occur again, sooner than later. Same goes for reloading supplies even though powder is sill hard to come by.


BTW it is a production issue. For 22lr it will take 2.2 years of 24/7/365 days of nonstop production just to provide 25% of gunowners 2 bricks of 22lr.

 

[RobertJ.]

Forget about pellets. Those GAMO pellets are going for $7.99 per 50.

What? You don't need to spend that much for pellets. I have a Crosman 2240, so I can shoot in my house on a rainy day, and I buy mine through Amazon, 500 for $7.99.

 

[smokindog]

I go REAL cheap!!!

Daisy Airgun Pellets 177 Cal 7.29 Grain Flat Nose