Will work for ammo

[IMTHDUKE]

What has happened? I get all these explainations from the stores...but now even walmart has nada, zip, ammo.

Are folks buying it that fast? Are the feds buying it up?

Whats your take?

[Waspinator]

Well,

I know in my state (CT), one of our senators is trying to push for background checks for ammo purchases. He is also trying to implement some kind of red flag system that will give your information to the ATF or some agency if your purchase more then a certain amount of ammo, in a certain time frame.

That kind of talk was like lighting off dynamite behind the herd.. cause after he started in on that kind of talk, people were buying ammo left and right. Couple that with everything else going on from the local level all the way up to the federal level, it is making people nervous.

I can't blame people for wanting to stock up.. heck.. if I could find some rifled shotgun slugs in stock, I would stock up too...lol (something that no one has locally)

that's my take anyway

[Mastery]

When you start talking about taking away people's rights, they get nervous. Panic buying is just the fallout. Eventually people will have their fill of what they need, as they will come to a point that they aren't willing to drain their bank accounts to buy another box of ammo to go with the 200 boxes they bought.

When Joe Public wakes up one morning and realized the 10k he spent on black rifles and cases of ammo that he will never use is just getting dusty, things will return to normal.

[wogpotter]

In a word, PANIC!
Lots of new owners stocking up, lots of existing owners "grabbing while the grabbing is good".

Overall demand has outpaced supply & the end result is a scarcity at the retail counter. From everything I've heard online its 9 months till manufacture & distribution catch up, even working 24/7/365. Supply of materials to manufacturers is beginning to factor into the equation if that actually happens.

[hardworker]

Once all this blows over I expect the used market for guns to really blossom into good deals abound. People who loaded up on ARs out of fear will realize that maybe they don't need 4 of them and decide to unload them.

[Noreaster]

People are worried and yes they are buying it that fast. I'm trying to get enough to last through the spring/summer/fall competitions and I'm not having much luck. I don't blame people for being suspicious and stocking up. Politicians are actually looking at ways to create ammo laws (limiting types of ammo, amount you can possess in your home...) Hopefully this whole thing will blow over but don't count on it. I am angry that companies or stores decided to jack the prices up. 9mm has gone up 2-3 dollars a box and 45 acp has gone up at least 2 dollars a box. Midway is one company that isn't jacking up prices, I just wish the others would follow and not try to cash in on this crisis.

[CurlyQ.Howard]

My wife and I know two new members of the gun community, and before this year, I really would not have thought they would even consider firearm ownership let alone enrolling for specific firearms training. They are serious about it though, and I think that part of it is the realization that firearms training/ownership is something that they should have considered long ago. Believe me, if this couple have crossed the Rubicon, then a good percentage of Americans who would never have considered owning a firearm are now doing so.

[DaleA]

then a good percentage of Americans who would never have considered owning a firearm are now doing so.

This cheers me. More folk on 'our' side if you will.

Once all this blows over I expect the used market for guns to really blossom

Hardworker - I would agree with you but I also thought all the senior age guys buying Harley Davidson motorcycles would have resulted in a buyers market for them by now but that hasn't happened.

Once bought I'm not sure a gun will be sold. It's not something that 'will go bad', it might even be forgotten. And even if the heirs don't want it they might not get rid of it 'because you never know...'

[wpsdlrg]

Bear in mind that, in the relative scheme of the consumer marketplace, shooters and ammo supplies are a tiny part. So, it requires far less mass change in consumer behavior, in order to create disruptions and shortages. The supply disruption currently being experienced is due to a combination of factors : panic buying by existing shooters, outright hoarding on the part of selfish and /or opportunistic a-holes, a huge number of new gun owners, etc. etc.

In many cases, production allotments for the entire year of 2013 have already been absorbed. It isn't a quick process to ramp up production, in order to catch up with increased demand. The supply situation will only balance itself when production catches demand, or demand decreases to match supply.

So, for now, we are all stuck with things as they are.

I have seen lately some signs that the mania may have peaked. But, even if true, things still have a ways to go before normalcy returns. Even at that point, prices will probably not return (completely) to previous levels. Once prices are jacked up, due to the excuse of increased demand, vendors don't like to lower them again, unless forced by market conditions.

[chris in va]

Our LGS marked up primers 20% from the last scare and never lowered them again. Now prices are raised another 10% and I suspect it will be the normal price from now on.

Irritating.

[JohnKSa]

...walmart has nada, zip, ammo.

They are still getting shipments, it's just that they sell out within hours or minutes of when the ammunition hits the shelves.

Also, because it's now common for the stores to be sold out, more of them are having to order ammo to restock than the supply chain can reasonably support. The supply chain is designed to support "normal" levels of demand, not panic-buying.

So, not only is the ammo selling fast, but because it's selling fast everywhere (and selling out) the stores can't order enough to fully restock because there's not enough available in the supply chain to restock all the stores at once.

That, in turn, contributes to the panic. When people see that the ammo shelves are empty, they get worried about when they will be able to resupply and tend to purchase more than normal when they get a chance to buy because they think that there may not be another chance for awhile.

Are the feds buying it up?

The feds are buying ammo--they always buy ammo because they use a LOT of it. DHS, for example, runs training facilities that are used by a huge number of federal LE agents and organizations. In a recent year, DHS training facilities were used by over 70,000 federal agents from 90 different federal LE organizations.

If you think about the fact that there are something like 140,000 federal agents authorized to carry weapons and make arrests, it begins to become obvious that the federal government uses a huge amount of training and issue ammunition.

But that doesn't mean they're buying it to keep it away from us. They're buying huge amounts because they USE huge amounts.

While we're on the topic, it's worth pointing out that rumors are the gasoline that keeps the panic-buying engine running.

Are folks buying it that fast?

YES. Go ask the folks selling ammo and you get a very simple answer. As soon as they get ammo, they stock the shelves and it sells. This is why many retailers (including Wal-Mart and Academy Sports, in my area) are placing limits on how much ammo any given customer can purchase at one time.

One small online ammo seller I use received a shipment of nearly a quarter million rounds of .22LR. They enacted a 4 brick limit per purchaser to try to spread it out to keep as many of their customers happy as possible. It was all sold in less than 24 hours.

By the way, you CAN get ammunition. I went to the gun show today and there was plenty of ammunition available in all calibers. The problem is that what is available is priced very high-- that's why it's still available. The folks who sell for reasonable prices are sold out.

Basically, if you're willing to pay 70 cents a round for basic FMJ practice/plinking 9mm ammo (to use one example), you can buy all you want--or at least as much as you can afford...

[pilot141]

"My wife and I know two new members of the gun community, and before this year, I really would not have thought they would even consider firearm ownership let alone enrolling for specific firearms training. They are serious about it though, and I think that part of it is the realization that firearms training/ownership is something that they should have considered long ago. Believe me, if this couple have crossed the Rubicon, then a good percentage of Americans who would never have considered owning a firearm are now doing so."

This is my exact situation. I have been to the range twice with three of my wife's friends. None of them had ever handled a gun before. When they finally got around to asking about buying a gun, I warned them about the lack of ammo. They were surprised - they assumed ammo came with a gun, just like batteries for a flashlight. I told them that they better be ready now (during panic times) to maybe search for ammo. Since I always provide ammo when we shoot they never thought anything of it. Which, actually, is how it should be!

[SHE3PDOG]

As others have said, demand form the private sector has skyrocketed due to first time buyers and panic buying.

However, I'd like to point out, as I have in other threads, that the government ammo buying is not unusual. They buy huge bulk amounts so that they can have a steady stream of consistently priced ammo coming in. They buy manufacturing contracts, not physical product. They are simply assuring that their employees get what they need over the next several years. This is nothing unusual.

Lastly, I bet supply will start to catch up with demand some time late this summer, but the normal prices will probably never come back. While they might drop a little, I'd expect a 5-10 percent permanent increase in prices as they were before December.

[Redhawk5.5+P+]

Some of us, including me are laughing about this whole thing. To me, it's the ignorant and unprepared that are storming the stores. I solute them with a big lit cigar with my feet on my desk sitting laid back.

As long as my gun/guns were loaded, I wouldn't sweat it.

[Mike Irwin]

We've had plenty of "Where's the Ammo" threads over the past few weeks including at least two that are still active in General Discussion.

They all read pretty much the same, so we really don't need yet another one, especially one that's not in the correct forum.

Closed.