Where's all the .44?

[flundertaker]

I understand the scarcity of 5.56, .223, .308, .40, 9mm, .22LR, etc but I cannot figure out where all the .44 mag has gone to. For one I dont believe the 1.6B round purchase order DHS has contains a single round of it. secondly, most newbs have been erroneously lead to believe that an autoloader is where its at these days. That leaves a relative few, many of whom reload. So wheres all the .44 mag ammo these days? I am already seeing 9mm and .40 coming back in stock but have yet to see a single box of American Eagle or WWB. I have about 500 rounds of hunting and SD loads on hand but really want to get some FMJ for plinking.

 

[perrazi]

the ammo companies load what sells quickly when things are like this. some calibers are only on the manufacturing roster on a "seasonal"basis,which means when they get around to it and caught up on the popular stuff. all the major companies are now at 100% production and have been for some time. that means 24/7 with some down time for machine servicing. they have stated it will from 6-9 months before the dealers have any amount of stock on shelves at current buying rates. you will see some ammo on a sporadic basis,but everything component wise is being used for ammo now.

 

[model70hunter]

During the last Panic I was on the east coast for business. Flying home the person next to me was an upper level manager for Olin Chemicals. For those who don't know,Olin makes Winchester ammo. John Olin bought Winchester after they went under in the big depression and saved Winchester. They sold the Firearms division.

I also shot on a trap and Skeet team at the Olin range, not Olin's team but against them.

Now I'm as sly as a chipmonk and as fast as a Fox and tried to find a way to get ammo. Let me say that I could have married his daughter and still wouldn't have been any closer to a box of shells.

He did tell me they manufacture by cycles, they make a run of Center fire hunting so it gets out in time for hunting season, they make enough 22 LR for the year and move to what ever else is scheduled.

We all would love to see a production line for each caliber but that is not how it is now done.

 

[rburg]

He did tell me they manufacture by cycles, they make a run of Center fire hunting so it gets out in time for hunting season, they make enough 22 LR for the year and move to what ever else is scheduled.

We all would love to see a production line for each caliber but that is not how it is now done.

Rimfire ammo is on a dedicated line, making nothing but that. They're going to need a few more lines of it to catch up. They don't run variable speed lines. Its a binary, on off kind of production. Its running full tilt or its not producing anything at all.

I have no idea if center fire ammo can be produced over the full range of calibers. I would think a line capable of making .25 Auto would be hard pressed to produce .458 mag.

 

[mesinge2]

Its at my house.

My latest purchase:

 

[mkk41]

Rimfire ammo is on a dedicated line, making nothing but that. They're going to need a few more lines of it to catch up. They don't run variable speed lines. Its a binary, on off kind of production. Its running full tilt or its not producing anything at all.

I have no idea if center fire ammo can be produced over the full range of calibers. I would think a line capable of making .25 Auto would be hard pressed to produce .458 mag.

Just like a your home reloading set-up , most modern ammo loading machinery has certain parts that are adjusted or swapped out to load other calibers.

 

[kennyb]

reload....save a ton of money and have fun doing it

 

[gregintenn]

I understand the scarcity of 5.56, .223, .308, .40, 9mm, .22LR

Would you be so kind as to explain the scarcity of 22lr amo to me?

 

[arjay]

It's out there,but it's easier to get from a scalper.

 

[brokenprism]

Its at my house.

My latest purchase:

The rest is at my house. I have about 1200 rds. I bought 600 rds from PBR in Dec and they sent me .44 Spec. I was going to exchange it, but realized .44 Spec is as hard or harder to get, so I kept it. I buy vintage .44 when I can -- no one seems interested in 70s/80s stuff. I bought a bunch at Christmas, right after CT, and a month later it was all gone. I bought some American Eagle 240 gr JHP, which looks promising -- it's not often you see 'value' lines with JHPs. It's about time.

BTW -- I just bought a box of Silvertip .44 mag. Wasn't bad -- $25 a box. They had 6 available, 5 now. I've heard it's adequate for carry so i'll give it a try.

 

[scwv67]

My LGS had a case .44 Mag and two cases of .44spl this morning.

 

[steamloco76]

The scarcity of .22 ammo isn't hard to explain at all. Millions of us own multiple .22 LR guns. When we take our families to the range, we shoot lots of .22 ammo. Now, add the millions of new gun owners over the past couple of years into the mix. I'd wager at least half the newbies bought at least one .22 LR-most likely a hungry semi-auto. Next add November's election results which set off a flurry of rumors about ammo restrictions. Couple that with the December tragedy in CT along with in incessant media coverage and BAM! You have the perfect storm to suck-up all the .22 that was in stock, and now everyone is scarfing up every single newly produced round like it will never be made again.

 

[Tumbleweeds]

I'm glad that I've got almost 5000 rds of Winchester wildcat .22lr before the panic hit.

 

[ladyT]

I picked up 2 boxes of the aluminium Blazer 200gr JHP @ $33.99 a box. A bit expensive for me but I was down to 20 rounds and thought I should have at least 100 rounds on hand. Anyway this ammo crises is begining to wear on me and after 3 months its not looking any better.

 

[flundertaker]

Well it's feast or famine. After not being able to find any 44 I got a tip from a board member here and scored a couple boxes of silver tip online, then a couple more boxes from my lgs, who typically has none then I ran into the Georgia arms guys at a local show and I bought up another 300 rounds. So I went from zero to 600 in about a week and scored some reloading components as well.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk 2

 

[AzogNewOrleans]

I bought 2 boxes of 44 special Blazer ammo I found at big chain sporting goods store yesterday. Fired it from my 629 today at the range. Went through one box and I had 8 misfires out of a box of 50. Blazer Ammo was cheap and now I know why. Won't be buying that again and won't trust it for anything other than range shooting.

 

[NE450No2]

Its at my house.

My latest purchase:

So of the 44 Mag ammo you have on hand, which loads do you like the best, and why...

 

[mesinge2]

Actually, my favorite load is the 240 gr Fiocchi Extrema JHP. They use the Hornady XTP bullet, are less expensive than the Hornady offering, and usually clock out at about 150fps faster in an equal barrel length.

 

[Malpasowildlifer]

ammoman.com has a bunch right now as of yesterday. By the case though

 

[LimaCharlie]

The LGS here have lots of .44 magnum on the shelf at pre-panic prices. I also have lots of it at my house.

I started stocking up on ammo when Bill Clinton was elected in 1992 and there was an ammo shortage. There was another ammo shortage in 1994 when the AWB was voted in. There was another in 2008 when Obama was elected. It will take at least a year before things get back to normal providing nothing else happens on gun control.