About the ammo shortage; Best read yet.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

https://prospect.org/economy/great-a...on-conspiracy/

Good info here.

[Mal Paso]

Wow, Thanks!

[jdfoxinc]

This administration is anti small business. They are harder to control.

[8mmFan]

https://prospect.org/economy/great-a...on-conspiracy/

Good info here.

EXCELLENT writeup. Thanks for sharing!

8mmFan

[tommag]

The article suggests steps the government could take to alleviate the problem. Yeah, right. I don't see our government wanting more ammo in the hands of the serfs.

Side tracking a bit, I saw a familiar face and name in the article. I knew Doug Tangen when he was a deputy in Cowlitz County. Real good man.

[GhostHawk]

That was a good read, thank you OP for posting.

[MrWolf]

Interesting article. The current administration has zero concerns about small business and anything to do with anything that could be associated with citizens independence. Making government more efficient violates the make government bigger mantra. The comment about China, for example, being able to possibly control materials we need is spot on. We are in trouble as we now rely on far to many other countries.

[jakharath]

Great read. Beginning to think that the stock market is doing more harm than good.

[MUSTANG]

Freedom is at risk when power is Legislatively Instituted into the collective hands of Walls Street (often significantly owned and controlled by foreign interests), the Federal Bureaucracy now considerably controlled by the same family names generation to generation), and our Federally Elected Officials (once again significantly controlled by the same families through multi-generations). At the same time; when the Federal Government actively restricts new competitors entering the market place through excessively restrictive regulation, limitations on licensure and contracts, and preference given to Large Corporate Structure - we see the Freedoms of US citizens eroded and power continually centralized into a massive Federal Government at the expense of individual, local, state, and regional interests. It also facilitates the weakening of US sovereignty and safety.

I had a discussion in the Barber Shop a few weeks ago where I have encouraged a variety of "Regulars" to start reloading (and even a couple casting); I have even "Subsidized" a few with critical components such as selling a couple hundred primers at "Old Prices" to get them started. Any way; the discussion got around to why the primer and now to a lesser extent the powder shortages. They wanted to know "Why Don't you start a Small local Primer Manufacturing Company". After I explained the land requirements, facility requirements, "Skills Requirement", building of machinery (even using concepts from the 1920's), Environmental and Safety requirements, Regulatory Compliance, and Lack of Interest from Banks and Financers - they understood the challenges. Although there is an ability for an individual to "Roll their Own" Primers, the mid ground between that and a small to medium business standing up operations compared to a Mega Corporation is a totally different manner. I'll say it again, a massive and growing Federal Government is a threat to Individual Liberty and Freedom.

[Thunder Stick]

Thanks OP. Interesting article. Makes me wonder what percentage of our available ammo is imported by foreign manufacturers. Will they, and smaller domestic ammo companies, be able to take up the slack?

PMC
Aguila
Geco
PPU
Magtech
ZQI
Black Hills
CorBon
Lehigh
Armscor
Nosler
Norma

[contender1]

A very insightful look at the business of ammo & such.

[gwpercle]

As long as Big Brother lets me keep my boolit moulds and reloading tools ... I can get by .

I tried to read the article but evidently you must have an account ... I don't want an account ...
Gary

[dverna]

Some of the stuff in that article is questionable. For example, blaming the swings in demand due to hunting season demand is a stretch. Companies are not stupid. They do not wake up one morning and say, "Wow, hunting season is two months away. Let's start making .270 ammo, etc etc". They do not wait for orders either.

They have sales history that is used to estimate what to produce ahead of demand. They have every desire to level their manufacturing load.

As to LEO and government contracts, those quantities are known as well and those contracts reduce operating costs by providing a solid base of demand and encouraging production efficiencies. They can run 10's of millions of rounds of 9mm and 5.56 knowing there will always be a market; and ammunition is not difficult to store in huge quantities.

While producing powder and primers is not easy, we know producing ammunition and bullet is not rocket science. Consolidation of the ammunition producers is not the problem IMO. It is not to difficult to set up a small manufacturing plant to produce jacketed bullets and ammunition (just do an internet search) as I have looked into it. So if/when the market is getting "raped" by the "big boys", others will step in when the profit is there.

BTW, we all remember Russian primers at $16/k retail (likely less than $10k to the importer)...heck I still have thousands. Imagine the cost of a billion primers from China. And we all know that imports from China will NEVER be restricted.

Do not put to much into the article. They are telling you what you want to hear. Some is true, some is not. We are in a global market and, for at least the short term, still a capitalist country where private enterprise can flourish if someone can make a buck or million.

[Geezer in NH]

1 stroke of a pen and foreign import ammo will be gone.

[1eyedjack]

Wonder how much money Olin & Vista Outdoors contributed to Uncle Joe & the other traitors in this admin ?? The government breaks up monopolies when it supports its agendas not going to see that happening anytime soon...

[Huskerguy]

So, as I read this article, it seems to point the finger at private industry consolidation. Of course, everything becomes a problem when one company holds all the cards. However, how many of us were applauding when the government got out of the business of making ammo (thus sucking up resources) and went to the public sector. Less government is always better is it not?

Then they point out how these companies have not been profitable in the past but are now. Well, duh and then there is complaining that more plants aren't being built! What? It isn't profitable all the time and plants are extremely expensive to build but we want the companies to do it anyway!

How about free enterprise take over and some people with the means, go forward and invest in manufacturing ammo, nothing is stopping them. If there is money to be made, people will take advantage of it.

I found the article poorly written with conflicting counter points. Less government, more government enforcement, you can't have it all.

[trebor44]

Great article and portal to a rabbit hole. There is one paragraph (regarding Alcoa) the exemplifies the collusion between the business community and government, e.g. electricity is a requirement for aluminum production, Alcoa need the electricity produced by the Grand Coulee facility, the government controlled Grand Coulee. Why did they (GOVERNMENT) not leverage that control?
What part of 'too big to fail' flies over the heads of consumers? Party affiliation is for the gullible, those in power (be it private sector or government) rely on the lack of knowledge by the consumer (voters). Want a revolution? Then get rid of the incumbents and those who portend to be "powerful" champions of the peasantry.

[Polymath]

As long as Big Brother lets me keep my boolit moulds and reloading tools ... I can get by .

I tried to read the article but evidently you must have an account ... I don't want an account ...
Gary

It is a pop up not a paywall , just click the Xon the top left to get to the article.

[Mal Paso]

It is a pop up not a paywall , just click the Xon the top left to get to the article.

That never loaded on mine, thing just kept going round. LOL

[Shawlerbrook]

That is the best explanation of the market I have ever read.