Thoughts on the Ammo "Shortage..."

[jahwarrior72]

and they are: i think it's bullshit.

a few weeks ago, i was Gander Mountain, where i spoke to a gentleman from Exeter who bemoaned the fact that .380ACP was nowhere available. i nodded in agreement, and said it seemed to be that way at most major retailers, like Cabela's, Walmart, and Dick's. i suggested going to smaller, local shops. i've had no trouble getting 9mm and .45ACP in them, when Walmart shelves were barren.

a wek after that, i again went and bought 2 cases of .45, from Bill's Sporting Goods, in Scranton. i asked about the shortage, they looked amused. "no shortage of .45ACP here, buddy," motioning behind the counter. while they don't carry much in the way of specialized, hollow poin, frangible, Nitrillium cored, teflon coated incendiary rounds, they have more than enough ball ammo to supply any hungry shooter. "the .380, though, is moving fast. lots a folks getting pocket guns these days, so i figure that's why we seel out so fast."

earlier this afternoon, i took my brother to J&G's Sports in Throop. he was in the mood to buy another wheelgun. as he looked around for something with the right price tag, i looked behind the counter.

ammo, ammo, ammo. from UMC to Blazer, Hornady TAPs to Gold Dots, and everything in between. 9mm, .380, .25, .357SIG, .45, .44Sp, .44Mag, .38Sp, .38SW, everything. everything.

"i don't know about any shortage, my friend," said the older gentleman, Joe. "we've had no problems getting anything from our suppliers. you needed something in particular?"

"well, not me, but a lot of guys i know are hard up for .380ACP."

"tell 'em we got it." they charge about $20 for box of 50 rounds of range ammo, and about $30 for 20 of Hornady Critical Defense.

i was almost tempted to buy some, just to say i did.

we were there for almost an hour; my brother decided on a .38Sp Comanche, but something came up during PICS, so he put a deposit down, and took home a few boxes of .45, 9mm, and .38Sp. i grabbed a mag carrier, and some .45 for the range.

so, what's the deal? for a long time, i avoided buying ammo at local shops, because it was cheaper to buy it at Walmart. why is it now nearly the same price, and more readily available?

i don't see the shortage. am i missing something?

[Paradigm]

I can't speak for anyone else, but here's my scenario:

- Wal-Mart is 5X closer than the nearest shop
- Wal-Mart is open a lot more than the nearest shop
- Wal-Mart is definitely cheaper than the nearest shop
- The closest shop with prices close to Wal-Mart is 30 min away

I buy a box when it comes in. I haven't done much shooting this spring, so I'm not hurting for ammo.


*Your experience may vary

[Feddog82]

Jah, I agree 100%. The only ammo my local shop has had problems keeping in stock is .380 but everything else is a go any day of the week. His prices are still very fair, only went up $1 a box since the beginning of the "shitstorm". I personally just got 500 rounds of wolf .223 55gr fmj for $149.95 yesterday. Also targetmaster on 202 in chaddsford probably has about 500 kazillion rounds of every caliber imaginable. It's all a grand bullshit plan to screw us out of something that we love and rightfully deserve.

[NP1724]

Guy at Gander Mountain told me they are paying a premium just to get their ammo and thats why Wolf .223 is $10/box. I think he is full of shit and they think someone will buy it. Down the street at Anthony Arms they had some Wolf .223 at $6.16/box.

[JoeWilliams]

Been a couple times I haven't been able to find ammo in smaller shops, but it's more dependable than wal-mart. Just the other day I went in, picked up a box of PMC .45 ball ammo for my wife ($17, couldn't pass that up!) at one shop, and two boxes of 147 gr Winchester PDX1 Bonded ammo for my Beretta at another. Between the two, they also had 124 grain PDX1, Gold Dots, and Golden Saber in 9mm, .40, .45, and various flavors of .38 Special and .357 Magnum. Also various flavors of ball ammo for 9mm, .40s, and .45s. Not as plentiful as in days past, but still no shortage. Frankly, I think the situation is starting to get better, even though I haven't seen ammo at Wal-mart in a while. That doesn't distress me. I refuse to buy gun stuff from them anyway.

[Fudmottin]

Most of the online stores seem to be out of 380 ACP.

I'll have to check with Target Master. They are only a few minutes away from where I live.

[truecrimson]

"Joe Sixpack" may be much less familiar with his local gun shops than with Wal Mart. He may find it much easier to check the ammo counter while the wife is looking at Maybelline, and the kids are destroying the toy aisle or drooling over Resident Evil 5 than to say "Honey, I'd like to run by 'Bobs Great Gun Emporium'." which may result in derogatory noises and eye rolls, which the married (or committed) man has been trained to try to avoid. He also previously could pay less for the ammo at Wal Mart than he could at the local gun shop.

Add in the panic over what may be coming, and suddenly this same Joe Sixpack who used to look at ammo every other visit, and buy a box now and then, now feels compelled to buy all the boxes of X caliber if he finds any at all. He also feels compelled to call his friends and say "Hey Sam, The Wally World has 4 boxes of Y caliber if you're looking for any." This reverberates through the supply chain, and big retailers who try to make massive orders to distribute to large numbers of retail locations with enormous traffic come up short and it drives up their prices.

After Wal Mart Cabellas, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shop, Dicks, Dunhams, etc are probably the average persons second most common location for buying ammo, and now they are coming up short.

Bob, Down at the Great Gun Emporium is only ordering for one location, and only in "small" qauntities compared to Wal Mart or Cabellas. He sees a fraction of the traffic and moves a fraction of the qauntity that mass market retailers do, so he is able to get his orders filled, and keep more in stock than they are.

[Shawn.L]

these shops you speak of, what are their prices?

I mean I have been in shops that are stocked, but ammo is twice what I would find reasonable. $30 for 50 rounds of 45ACP ??? if its like that then no wonder they can keep stock longer.

you are posting as if we are all making these shortages up. Have you looked online lately for ammo?

ammoman
JG
AIM
Wideners
sportsmansguide
ammunitiontogo

all out of stock on most everything

natchez is listing 9mm plinkin ammo at what???? $30some dollars per 50 !

these are the places I look because I buy by the case. I shoot a lot (relatively at least) and my wife and son (who is an ammo killer) shoot too. I need to buy in bulk and at a discount.
I f the diff is like $5 a box it doesnt mean much when you only buy 1 or 2 boxs, but it adds up when you are buying 20 at a time.

[jahwarrior72]

these shops you speak of, what are their prices?

I mean I have been in shops that are stocked, but ammo is twice what I would find reasonable. $30 for 50 rounds of 45ACP ??? if its like that then no wonder they can keep stock longer.

you are posting as if we are all making these shortages up. Have you looked online lately for ammo?

ammoman
JG
AIM
Wideners
sportsmansguide
ammunitiontogo

all out of stock on most everything

natchez is listing 9mm plinkin ammo at what???? $30some dollars per 50 !

these are the places I look because I buy by the case. I shoot a lot (relatively at least) and my wife and son (who is an ammo killer) shoot too. I need to buy in bulk and at a discount.
I f the diff is like $5 a box it doesnt mean much when you only buy 1 or 2 boxs, but it adds up when you are buying 20 at a time.

in my local shops, i've bought 50 round boxes of .45ACP for $15 and $20, depending on the brand. i get 100 rounds of 9mm for about the same. the .380 has always been high, as far as i'm concerned, but i haven't noticed a marked increase.

Bill's Sporting Goods
1907 N Main Ave
Scranton, PA 18508

J & G Sport Center
600 Sanderson St
Throop, PA 18512
570-383-0759

[Shawn.L]

in my local shops, i've bought 50 round boxes of .45ACP for $15 and $20, depending on the brand. i get 100 rounds of 9mm for about the same. the .380 has always been high, as far as i'm concerned, but i haven't noticed a marked increase.

Bill's Sporting Goods
1907 N Main Ave
Scranton, PA 18508

J & G Sport Center
600 Sanderson St
Throop, PA 18512
570-383-0759

you must be lucky out there in Scranton then, cause around here its pretty bad. And from what I hear its like this in many other places too.
I was just last week outside Tampa FL and saw Wolf 7.62x39 at $11something a box of 20 in a small gun shop. They had 45ACP in limited amounts (a few boxs) at equally crazy prices IIRC it was over $30 for 50 rounds of Blazer Brass.

Prices from nationwide suppliers, online retailers, all the shops in my area, the shops i visited in FL, the places across the state and country people have posted about here on the forum and other forums, they are all crazy high and availability is rough.

I just called that JG and they said they have 45ACP at 23.95/50 for Federal and $26/50 for Winchester (might have that backwards) and $22something for Wolf.
after taxes thats close to or over .50/round depending on brand.

when you post wonering about why people are looking so hard for maomart ammo in stock its cause (talking 45 here still) they are paying .30/round.

when i need to buy 1k thats a difference of around $200.