Is it worse this time?

[oldred]

I was already stocked up up before the current crunch began, not hording I just have about a two year's supply of everything except 22 lr of which I probably have enough to last me as long as I will be shooting. I have gotten a few phone calls from people inquiring about buying some ammo (especially 22 lr) or supplies but I have nothing to sell even at what I considered a couple of ridiculously high offers for the 22 lr and both pistol and rifle primers, one guy offered me $50 for a 325 box of Winchester 22lr! Has it really gotten that bad this soon? Are the shortages as bad this time as they were the last? About the only thing I got caught short on the last time was the rimfire stuff and even that was just starting to show up again about the time I started to run dry but good grief it's only been a couple of months and to hear some of the local guys crying about ammo would make it seem like there's not been any for a year or more. I fear it may be a long dry spell this time before reloading supplies become reasonably available again and if the last time was any indication of price increases I seriously doubt pricing will ever be anywhere near what it was just a couple of months ago. Looks like there could be some lean times ahead.

[williamwaco]

Seems much worse to me.


Last time, ammo was hard but not impossible to find.
If I went to Walmart every day, I could get about one box of .22lr per week.

Primers were harder to find but not impossible.

[km101]

Yes, it's that bad and gonna' get worse. Reloading supplies will be scarse until the mfgrs. get ammo supplies back up to norm, and that will take time. Some "gurus" estimate it will take 9 months, and some say about a year for things to return to normal. And these are the best estimates. Be glad that you are stocked!

[plmitch]

It seems the same to me overall. I’ve still been able to find the things I’m looking for .22 ammo, powder and primer. Sure I have to spend a few dollars more but to me it’s still worth it to have those items.

[HighHook]

I have my friends and Aquatints asking me for 22lr knowing i have some. I dont know what to say... I went with-out money last year stocking up my little ammo can. now everybody wants it knowing its there. Geeesh...

[tomme boy]

It seems to me that in the last 5 years, there has been a 300% increase in the # of people that are shooting now. Part of that has to do with all of the states that are now letting people carry a gun. Now those people realize that shooting is fun. Now add all of those extra people and you have a shortage if just a third of those people go out and buy just one box of ammo. WE CREATED THIS MONSTER OURSELVES. Now, don't bash yourself for having extra anything. Do you have more than one day of food in the house? Do you have a fire extinguisher in the house? That is just being prepared.

[bob208]

just tell them you don't have any. you got cought with your paints down like everyone else. use it as a shtf drill.

[TXGunNut]

I think, from my limited sampling in this area, that it could very well be worse this time. I spent a bit of time at a public range today and they could have sold 40 boxes to shooters if they'd had it this weekend. They had .40, 45, 38 and even 380 but they were limiting sales to keep CHL students in ammo. Their suppliers feel it may be 2 years before things are back to normal. Bought some gun maint stuff at Cabelas a little while ago and had to ask about primers, sign said "NO POWDER". I wasn't going to buy any @ $42/K but I had to ask about large rifle match primers. No dice, and poor guy was tired of answering that question.

[x101airborne]

My neighbor and I are good friends and he is straight from Cuba (naturalized and pays taxes) and I appreciate him a lot. He is a good person and we have our codes for someone in trouble and we both know to come a runnin and gunnin if we hear it. I GAVE him a marlin 22 rifle and a brick of remington 22 hp's just to keep him stocked. It (for me) is like having a backup vehicle, or a hideaway gun, or a bugout location. He doesn't shoot a whole lot, but he hunts, and fishes, and gardens, and helps me around my house with projects and I help him process his meats and make sausage, and give him garden tips, share some of my wild hogs with him, and he is a master electrician and AC tech and house painter. All in all just a gerally handy guy to have on hand. So I dont mind giving him some of my "extras". Now for someone just to go out and blast away, oh hell no. It really depends on who it is and what they are like for me to decide wether I want to share my stash with them or not. That is how I base it. Would it be beneficial for you to sell something to someone?

[oldred]

Well I won't be selling any of my stuff but like you I probably would share with a friend in need if he/she truly is in need. Not likely to be nearly as much plinking going on around here for a while however, I have a pretty good stock of most items but at this point the scarcity just kind of takes some of the fun out of it.

[SciFiJim]

HighHook and oldred, If people already know you have it, then they know and will bug you about it. You should sell off a small quantity to a couple of different people and then start saying that you sold too much and shot off the rest and are out like everyone else. If you keep telling everyone you are out, they will eventually stop bugging you. To make it convincing, you will have to put away the rimfires for a while though.

[btroj]

I don't know anyone who would come begging for anything.

Our local news is teasing a story on the ammo shortage tonight. Will be interesting to see what they say.

[TXGunNut]

I don't know anyone who would come begging for anything.

Our local news is teasing a story on the ammo shortage tonight. Will be interesting to see what they say.

I remember the "gas shortages" of nearly 40 years ago. Turns out they were caused by media-induced panic and folks riding around with full tanks of gas because they didn't know if they would be able to buy gas when it their tank was empty. Sound familiar?
A buddy of mine needs some LP primers. If I have a few extra they're his if he'll replace them when things settle down. If they don't, it'll be good to have him for a friend. He's a scrappy little Marine who's only a little more sociable than I am.

[HighHook]

Hey scifiJim, These are the guys that are used to blowing off a 2-3000 rounds of 22lr on a day at the desert. I told them i will give you some for emergency but thats not the case here. They need to wait till its plentiful and back down to 3 cents ea. or those days are over.

[P.K.]

Hey scifiJim, These are the guys that are used to blowing off a 2-3000 rounds of 22lr on a day at the desert. I told them i will give you some for emergency but thats not the case here. They need to wait till its plentiful and back down to 3 cents ea. or those days are over.

And long gone, Gander Mountain this weekend had a "sale" going. 1600 rounds in a plastic ammo can CCI I think. 99.99 after a 20.00 mail in rebate. The last box of 555 win I bought was 17.99.

[Boerrancher]

Guys it is tight out there. I can still buy a few things but much of it is gone. The only thing I am a bit short on is Small rifle. I say short, but not really, I am just not where I would feel comfortable should this dry spell last a couple of years. I do most of my hunting and shooting with muzzleloaders, and only shoot my cat'ridge guns a few times a year just to make sure I can still shoot, and the scopes are still zeroed. I can hunt and shoot so much more inexpensively with my 20ga/62cal trade gun, and it is big enough to hunt anything on the North American Continent with, and at the same time It works good for turkey, quail, and small game by shooting a shot load out of it.

I think I know where I can buy another couple thousand Small Rifle Primers, which I will most likely do this week and then I will feel a bit more comfortable. I caught the local Walmart having a clearance Sale on Winchester No 11 caps, which I use on my 32 cal squirrel rifle, and I bought all they had. I think I am sitting on several thousand No 11 caps, which is a lot of shooting in a ML that is only used for one thing and one thing only and that is shooting squirrels. I don't target practice with it much any more as the fixed iron sights are zeroed and it will take a squirrels head off at 40 yards, so I could quite possibly have a life time supply of No 11 caps for it, unless my middle boy decides he likes mine too well and has to have one of his own. Kids you love them to no end, but keeping them in guns and ammo is a chore.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Larry Gibson]

Seems much worse in my travels up and down the westen side (Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona); 7.62x39 and 5.56 milsurp berdan primed is going for .80 cents to $1.00 a round. 7.62 NATO almost never seen. Black rifles are in the $1700 - $2900 range. M1As in the $2000 - $3500 range. Even Norinco SKS's are going for $400 - $600. Shelves are bare of most powders, primers and bullets. Shops have only about 1/3 the handguns they normally carry and what's left are longer barreled revolvers.........

Larry Gibson

[oldred]

Well here I was telling everyone I was stocked up on everything and now I find that is not quite true! On the other thread on "22 LR ammo woes" the discussion got around to 22 short and suddenly it hit me that I have only three 50 round boxes of Remington 22 short for my little Beretta Minx which only takes the shorts. I don't shoot it much but it's my pocket gun here on the farm and I have used it to dispatch the occasional snake (only the Copperheads and Rattlers) and I would hate to run out of ammo for it. I called around to see if anyone had any 22 short but just as I expected I think some of them almost laughed at me for even asking, I did find one 50 round box at the local farmers CO-OP and I am about to hop into my truck and drive up there to snatch it up right now!

[captaint]

I recently had a guy at work say " so, I know you load your own ammo, and it's really cheap. Think you
could", and I stopped him right there. Can't do it. It's even unlawful. No way. That was the end
of that. Hey, he's not even somebody I would call a pal. Stop. Might be different if he was a friend. Mike

[27judge]

Over the years ive had a few people laugh at me for reloading when ammo was so easy to buy. It seems a few of those people have already asked me to reload some ammo for them, things do change . My problem is 22 lr there are just none around here, but with casting all my own bullets for everthing i shoot ,i can reload just about anything for less then a brick of 22 lr at the prices they are asking . tks ken