Another ammo shortage?

AL45 · January 28, 2019, 12:58 PM

Is anyone seeing any evidence of another ammo shortage? I was ordering ammo for the hardware store I work at and was seeing more zero quantities than normal. And they showed no powder at all. Just curious.

stephen426 · January 28, 2019, 01:05 PM

Absolutely not. Based on the pricing, there should be quite a surplus right now. Ammo got VERY tight after Sandy Hook and prices went through the roof. I recall seeing 9mm on Gun Broker for $50 a box of 50 for regular Winchester White Box. Even the lowly .22 LR was going for around $10 a box of 50. I was seriously tempted to sell some off and would have made a very tidy profit.

Manufacturers kicked production into overdrive to meet demand and I think people have finally stopped hoarding ammo. Unless I see a great deal, I just pass on ammo deals. I shoot 500-1000 rounds a month so it isn't like I'm not using my ammo.

Let's just say that I am ready in case there is another run on ammo to turn a tidy profit.

Eazyeach · January 28, 2019, 01:18 PM

Plenty in my area. Walmart has even rolled back prices on a bunch of ammo.

TXAZ · January 28, 2019, 01:27 PM

For the calibers I buy (.22 to .50 BMG), I'm not seeing any shortages, and certainly nothing like the Obama-era issues.

Some of the ammo, is at near record low prices.

It wouldn't surprise me though that some of the less efficient ammo mfg's are going out of business as they can't compete with thinner margins.

jmr40 · January 28, 2019, 01:58 PM

January is usually inventory time. Lots of places don't restock until they finish doing inventory.

berettaprofessor · January 28, 2019, 02:29 PM

Just last weekend I was looking at a large shelf unit full of umpteen types of 22LR and thinking "Boy, what would we have given for this supply of 22 ammo 3 years ago!"

AL45 · January 28, 2019, 03:26 PM

Good to hear!

sparkyv · January 28, 2019, 07:14 PM

Not in west of Houston.

FITASC · January 28, 2019, 08:01 PM

Where are you and where are you looking?

FrankenMauser · January 28, 2019, 08:21 PM

Plenty to go around.

Bubbau · January 28, 2019, 10:33 PM

Plentiful around me.

**Spats McGee** · January 30, 2019, 05:56 AM

Central Arkansas seems to have plenty.

*crosses fingers so as not to jinx it

AzShooter · January 30, 2019, 10:01 AM

I see a lot of ammo in the stores. I buy all of mine on-line and have gotten some really good prices. .22s for only $.03 a round for Blazer. That's my go to practice ammo. At Christmas time I was able to pick up Eley for a great price and bought a case.

Even .38s are coming down in price.

lamarw · January 30, 2019, 12:32 PM

I recently placed an order for powder and primers. There was no issue. I reload for most everything I shoot.

I don't have any idea of store availability of ammunition. I also don't have to pay tax on the ammunition I make/shoot.

DaleA · January 30, 2019, 02:03 PM

I've noticed when the price of .223/5.56 is advertised at less than $6 per box of 20 rounds unless I get there the first day of the sale they are sold out. But there is plenty of it at higher prices and plenty of .22LR if you're willing to pay for it and plenty of $10 per box of 50 rounds 9mm if you look around a little. So no 'real' ammo shortage, just, IMhO, savy shoppers.

shurshot · January 31, 2019, 06:07 AM

When I see TONS of .22's for sale at Walmart and Cabelas, that's a good indication there is no shortage. Buy now.

CerberusRagnar · January 31, 2019, 11:42 AM

My local stores had more ammo this week than I have ever seen there. Prices seem reasonable in stores and even low online. Good time to buy ammo.

Charlie98 · January 31, 2019, 11:48 AM

Ammos are plentiful, as are most reloading components (except IMR/H4350...) The only thing I have seen is primers; there are enough primers out there, but there are some specific primers that have dried up.

M88 · February 2, 2019, 06:25 PM

Actually here in Northeast... seems quite the opposite. Prices seem to get better every email I get from many suppliers.

ms6852 · February 2, 2019, 06:41 PM

Ammo is in abundance and prices are low. You can get good deals on many calibers and brands here:http://gun-deals.com/list/ammo/.22+LR

TruthTellers · February 2, 2019, 08:56 PM

Ammo is as cheap as it's been since pre-Sandy Hook. Idk how long it's going to stay that way, given the political pendulum is swinging back to the other side and there's not a major recession occurring, I'd buy ammo now.

Not now as in this minute, but this year definitely. Plan out what you feel you need and what you want, buy over time, hit the sales, use them coupon codes. Every time I see Brownell's with a sale on CCI Standard Velocity and a free shipping offer, I buy two bricks. Federal has a rebate on centerfire handgun ammo, $2 off a box if you buy five 50 rd boxes. Great, I could use some more of their American Eagle .327 to feed my Henry.

9mm is available, unlike all of 2013... get some now. I've been planning a purchase of Winchester White 115 JHP for a while, I'm just waiting for a sale from somebody. One's gonna come eventually.

Ammo is that one thing you have to buy when it's there because it's not gonna last and it's not reusable like a high capacity magazine. I'm kicking myself over not getting any of those Blazer "Black Packs" from Black Friday last year.

ms6852 · February 2, 2019, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TruthTellers

Ammo is as cheap as it's been since pre-Sandy Hook. Idk how long it's going to stay that way, given the political pendulum is swinging back to the other side and there's not a major recession occurring, I'd buy ammo now.

Not now as in this minute, but this year definitely. Plan out what you feel you need and what you want, buy over time, hit the sales, use them coupon codes. Every time I see Brownell's with a sale on CCI Standard Velocity and a free shipping offer, I buy two bricks. Federal has a rebate on centerfire handgun ammo, $2 off a box if you buy five 50 rd boxes. Great, I could use some more of their American Eagle .327 to feed my Henry.

9mm is available, unlike all of 2013... get some now. I've been planning a purchase of Winchester White 115 JHP for a while, I'm just waiting for a sale from somebody. One's gonna come eventually.

Ammo is that one thing you have to buy when it's there because it's not gonna last and it's not reusable like a high capacity magazine. I'm kicking myself over not getting any of those Blazer "Black Packs" from Black Friday last year.

Buying ammo now is definitely the way to go. I made it a habit of buying ammo every pay period for years and had I not done this I would have been up a creek without a paddle during the 8 years O'bama was in office. Luckily I had enough to last through the administration without having to buy at the exorbitant prices the gougers were charging.
Buying every pay period allowed me to maintain my shooting skills on a weekly basis. Now with this new administration the prices will be short lived (my opinion) so I am stocking up for a nuclear winter, call it hoarding if you want but I just call it smart.

TruthTellers · February 3, 2019, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms6852

Buying ammo now is definitely the way to go. I made it a habit of buying ammo every pay period for years and had I not done this I would have been up a creek without a paddle during the 8 years O'bama was in office. Luckily I had enough to last through the administration without having to buy at the exorbitant prices the gougers were charging.
Buying every pay period allowed me to maintain my shooting skills on a weekly basis. Now with this new administration the prices will be short lived (my opinion) so I am stocking up for a nuclear winter, call it hoarding if you want but I just call it smart.

When it comes to .22, 9mm, 5.56... I don't think that word has a meaning after what we saw for a few years. If all people did was buy ammo after Sandy Hook, yet no new laws came nationally, then all they'll do in the future when such laws become reality is the same thing.

We can't make our own rimfire ammo, so no reason not to own less than 10k rounds other than financial inability.

Centerfire is different, we can reload our own. A time consuming, yet rewarding process. I say even if you don't reload that often, I do it about 6 times a year, at least have the equipment to do it in the event you have no other choice.

ms6852 · February 3, 2019, 03:38 AM

I reload all my centerfire stuff and collect 5 gal buckets of brass for ever caliber I own, what I do buy in abundance is the rimfire ammo as this is the ammo that I use to practice my off hand shooting at 200 yards for deer season as well as my weekly weak hand shooting practice. Luckily I had stored enough to help out some shooting clubs and my friends kids and any father that had taken the child to shoot for the first time. All this at no cost to anyone but me.

Bozz10mm · February 3, 2019, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Is anyone seeing any evidence of another ammo shortage?

For me it's just the opposite. I've seen more ammo availability lately than any time in the past 5 years. One caveat, I do all my ammo purchasing on line, so I really haven't checked the LGSs in a while.

January 28, 2019, 12:58 PM	#1
AL45 Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 2012 Posts: 761	Another ammo shortage? Is anyone seeing any evidence of another ammo shortage? I was ordering ammo for the hardware store I work at and was seeing more zero quantities than normal. And they showed no powder at all. Just curious.

January 28, 2019, 01:05 PM	#2
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	Absolutely not. Based on the pricing, there should be quite a surplus right now. Ammo got VERY tight after Sandy Hook and prices went through the roof. I recall seeing 9mm on Gun Broker for $50 a box of 50 for regular Winchester White Box. Even the lowly .22 LR was going for around $10 a box of 50. I was seriously tempted to sell some off and would have made a very tidy profit. Manufacturers kicked production into overdrive to meet demand and I think people have finally stopped hoarding ammo. Unless I see a great deal, I just pass on ammo deals. I shoot 500-1000 rounds a month so it isn't like I'm not using my ammo. Let's just say that I am ready in case there is another run on ammo to turn a tidy profit. __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

January 28, 2019, 01:27 PM	#4
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	For the calibers I buy (.22 to .50 BMG), I'm not seeing any shortages, and certainly nothing like the Obama-era issues. Some of the ammo, is at near record low prices. It wouldn't surprise me though that some of the less efficient ammo mfg's are going out of business as they can't compete with thinner margins. __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

January 28, 2019, 01:58 PM	#5
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,811	January is usually inventory time. Lots of places don't restock until they finish doing inventory. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

January 28, 2019, 07:14 PM	#8
sparkyv Senior Member Join Date: May 2, 2015 Location: Deepinnaheartta,Texas Posts: 318	Not in west of Houston. __________________ μολὼν λαβέ NRA Life Member

January 28, 2019, 01:18 PM	#3
Eazyeach Senior Member Join Date: January 14, 2014 Posts: 706	Plenty in my area. Walmart has even rolled back prices on a bunch of ammo.

January 28, 2019, 02:29 PM	#6
berettaprofessor Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2008 Posts: 1,091	Just last weekend I was looking at a large shelf unit full of umpteen types of 22LR and thinking "Boy, what would we have given for this supply of 22 ammo 3 years ago!"

January 28, 2019, 03:26 PM	#7
AL45 Senior Member Join Date: December 12, 2012 Posts: 761	Good to hear!

January 28, 2019, 08:01 PM	#9
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Where are you and where are you looking? __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

January 28, 2019, 08:21 PM	#10
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,427	Plenty to go around. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

January 28, 2019, 10:33 PM	#11
Bubbau Member Join Date: January 28, 2018 Location: Northeast Alabama Posts: 16	Plentiful around me.

January 30, 2019, 05:56 AM	#12
Spats McGee Staff Join Date: July 28, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 8,821	Central Arkansas seems to have plenty. *crosses fingers so as not to jinx it __________________ I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.

January 30, 2019, 10:01 AM	#13
AzShooter Senior Member Join Date: June 20, 2006 Location: Surprise, Az. Posts: 766	I see a lot of ammo in the stores. I buy all of mine on-line and have gotten some really good prices. .22s for only $.03 a round for Blazer. That's my go to practice ammo. At Christmas time I was able to pick up Eley for a great price and bought a case. Even .38s are coming down in price.

January 30, 2019, 12:32 PM	#14
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	I recently placed an order for powder and primers. There was no issue. I reload for most everything I shoot. I don't have any idea of store availability of ammunition. I also don't have to pay tax on the ammunition I make/shoot.

January 30, 2019, 02:03 PM	#15
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,317	I've noticed when the price of .223/5.56 is advertised at less than $6 per box of 20 rounds unless I get there the first day of the sale they are sold out. But there is plenty of it at higher prices and plenty of .22LR if you're willing to pay for it and plenty of $10 per box of 50 rounds 9mm if you look around a little. So no 'real' ammo shortage, just, IMhO, savy shoppers.

January 31, 2019, 06:07 AM	#16
shurshot Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2006 Posts: 1,819	When I see TONS of .22's for sale at Walmart and Cabelas, that's a good indication there is no shortage. Buy now.

January 31, 2019, 11:42 AM	#17
CerberusRagnar Member Join Date: January 31, 2019 Location: South Carolina Posts: 25	My local stores had more ammo this week than I have ever seen there. Prices seem reasonable in stores and even low online. Good time to buy ammo. __________________ Just a dad who loves to shoot. https://www.downrangediscounts.com https://www.facebook.com/downrangediscounts https://www.facebook.com/groups/DadsLockedAndLoaded

January 31, 2019, 11:48 AM	#18
Charlie98 Senior Member Join Date: September 6, 2006 Location: Great state of Texas Posts: 1,077	Ammos are plentiful, as are most reloading components (except IMR/H4350...) The only thing I have seen is primers; there are enough primers out there, but there are some specific primers that have dried up. __________________ _______________ "I have this pistol pointed at your heart!" "That is my least vulnerable spot."

February 2, 2019, 06:25 PM	#19
M88 Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 2018 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 278	Actually here in Northeast... seems quite the opposite. Prices seem to get better every email I get from many suppliers. __________________ NRA life member. Making good people helpless doesn't make bad people harmless!

February 2, 2019, 06:41 PM	#20
ms6852 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,394	Ammo is in abundance and prices are low. You can get good deals on many calibers and brands here:http://gun-deals.com/list/ammo/.22+LR __________________ ONLY TWO DEFINING FORCES HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR LIVES FOR YOU. ONE IS JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SOUL AND THE OTHER IS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

February 2, 2019, 08:56 PM	#21
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,890	Ammo is as cheap as it's been since pre-Sandy Hook. Idk how long it's going to stay that way, given the political pendulum is swinging back to the other side and there's not a major recession occurring, I'd buy ammo now. Not now as in this minute, but this year definitely. Plan out what you feel you need and what you want, buy over time, hit the sales, use them coupon codes. Every time I see Brownell's with a sale on CCI Standard Velocity and a free shipping offer, I buy two bricks. Federal has a rebate on centerfire handgun ammo, $2 off a box if you buy five 50 rd boxes. Great, I could use some more of their American Eagle .327 to feed my Henry. 9mm is available, unlike all of 2013... get some now. I've been planning a purchase of Winchester White 115 JHP for a while, I'm just waiting for a sale from somebody. One's gonna come eventually. Ammo is that one thing you have to buy when it's there because it's not gonna last and it's not reusable like a high capacity magazine. I'm kicking myself over not getting any of those Blazer "Black Packs" from Black Friday last year. __________________ "We always think there's gonna be more time... then it runs out."

February 3, 2019, 03:38 AM	#24
ms6852 Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,394	I reload all my centerfire stuff and collect 5 gal buckets of brass for ever caliber I own, what I do buy in abundance is the rimfire ammo as this is the ammo that I use to practice my off hand shooting at 200 yards for deer season as well as my weekly weak hand shooting practice. Luckily I had stored enough to help out some shooting clubs and my friends kids and any father that had taken the child to shoot for the first time. All this at no cost to anyone but me. __________________ ONLY TWO DEFINING FORCES HAVE GIVEN UP THEIR LIVES FOR YOU. ONE IS JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SOUL AND THE OTHER IS THE AMERICAN SOLDIER FOR YOUR FREEDOM.