Ammo Shortage – It’s Gone – And I Mean Virtually Everywhere…

Rifle ammo is easier to get than handgun. But not .223/5.56. If you have an off chambered caliber, it might be easier. But 45mm, 9mm, 40, .38, all gone. If you can find it, you’re going to pay 50 bucks for a box of 50 Wolf brand or worse.

Pick it up if you can.

What is the problem?

It may crimp our practice a little but most of us have thousands of rounds. So, the ones it affects are the pyjama boys who now are getting scared that most of the 300 million guns are in the hands of patriots.

Like other shortages, when you are well stocked, you don’t need to pay the exorbitant price hikes caused by the rush of unprepared sheeple.

– All the bigger stores here are showing EMPTY shelves for virtually everything (surprisingly, there are a few boxes of .22 lr and .22 Mag available). I was able to find a little bit at a couple of smaller dealers, but very limited quantities. Prices are about double what they were back in February, and firearms, where available, are either collector grade and very few or well-used.

I spoke with an acquaintance who owns one of the smaller stores, she tells me that burglaries of gun stores have skyrocketed in our area. Hers in on their own little compound on the edge of town, about 150 yards from her bedroom window. They have both multiple cameras, dogs, and a flock of geese on the premises. and her husband is a reserve deputy. Every little bit helps.

– Papa S.

Ammo Shortages
One of the reasons, I don’t practice much.
Can’t hit a starling at 30 yds with a scoped .22, but I can hit one at 11yds, out the truck window with a .45 compact.
Maybe eye glasses are in order?

I have been hunting and doing competitive shooting for 55yrs now. if I don’t have muscle memory by now, it aint gonna happen. when I was young my friend and I would come up behind one of the old trap pullers that would work the range. we would say, PULL, and watch his thumb jump. that’s muscle memory. it happened every time. I shoot just enough now to keep my firearms exercised. if you have an automatic anything put up you NEED to fire them every once in a while to keep them working. if you don’t they will let you down when you need them. I don’t care how well you clean them. I have been doing this a long time guys, but take it for what its worth, and good luck

Still living off my 22lr supply from before the last shortage!! I did buys some 5.56 and 9mm defensive ammo a couple a weeks ago. Took all the 9mm and most of 5.56, now I wish I didn’t leave the last three boxes of 5.56 on the shelf. I didn’t want to be greedy you know!!! So, in my part of Texas it is once again tight on the ammo front.

Palmetto has some .223/5.56 in stock for now:

https://palmettostatearmory.com/american-eagle-223-55gr-fmjbt-ammunition-1000rds-ae223bk.html

I posted a while back when I made a purchase from a small local ammo manufacturer, his issue is getting primers. Cant find them without paying through the nose. He told me primers are made in European countries (no proof on that). I did ask if made in China and he said no.

I figure once it starts as long as you have a fairly good supply to protect yourself, you may be able to just resupply from the bodies in the street. Just need to make sure you survive that long.

A&O

I can still find crossbow bolts, sorta kinda fits the ammo catagory, that and combustible liquids…

A lot of weapons training is easily done with pellet-BB guns using a reduced scale range. Useful for training new owners about gun safety (keep that finger off the trigger!) and use of proper sight picture. Still can get good quality air weapons that simulate real firearms very well for training. Don’t need a range but a semi-private backyard or carpet lined hallway (Command Strips anybody?) will do and no neighbors should even notice. CO2 cartridge’s by the gross are cheap compared to a box of real ammo.

If you can hit a ping pong ball at 7 yards and keep it bouncing with that BB pistol you can deal with a real problem very well.

Keeps the hard to get stuff safe for real situations and keeps your training up. Maybe Ken has a link to some semi-auto pistols, Revolvers and even AR BB guns?

I was told today that our local farm store is only selling boxes of their remaining ammo stock with the purchase of a firearm.

Sorry too fast, 7 yards with a pellet pistol. I see the same accuracy as a real firearm with a decent quality Pellet Revolver but it’s NOT for self defense just small pest removal and training. If you can zap a squirrel with it a real revolver and a larger target should be easy.

is all the shotgun ammo being grabbed up??

A funny thing happened while filling out the paperwork to receive a firearm at a local gun shop the other day. When the crowd seemed to be composed of folks who would probably not be politically offended, the individual overseeing the paperwork process got up and addressed us all. “Gentlemen, if you do not think you have enough ammunition, for whatever reason, NOW is the time to get it.” Then he sat back down and continued checking his stack of forms.
A ploy to spur sales? Someone with his ear to the ground?
Never seen that happen before, and being in my 60’s, I’ve seen a few things.

Kevin in my area I can find mostly bulk 7.5 or 8 trap loads, I love it when I can find high brass #4 or so. Both are good for training and inside the home quite effective. Even at the gun stores I visit buck and slug is rare and expensive.

Posted yesterday about no 9mm or.40 at local rural king. Today they had small stack of both. Bought 2boxes each just because.saw one guy take last 20 boxes .270 thought to myself now that’s just greedy.I asked sales person when next shipment would come She said just a trickle now and then.Their sale add for this week showed 1600 rds.556 $800 she said they got 2 cases in both sold same day, no raincheck on ammo!

One thing to help everyone with ammo conservation. Make sure to get yourself a good laser bore sight. They make them with a high visible green laser nowadays. This will get you on the paper at 100 yds. Which is good enough to temporarily deal with those 2 legged critters running amok … your not looking to go competition shooting any time soon so putting lead on the target is the main concern.

You can try ‘Sight Mark Triple Duty Laser Bore Sight Green laser’ Attaches magnetically to the end of any rifle or pistol

Make sure to clear your weapon first Darwins… Stay Safe Good luck!

Ammo?
Don’t need any since I lost all my firearms to Navajo Lake in a boating accident.
I did call 4 of the local Gun Shops to see what they have or would have, I hate it when people I know just laugh at me and hang up…. UGHHHHH

Well….my experience is going to be the exception to all of the other comments I’ve read about ammo. It could be that the demographics in my area account for it, but I can still find ammo for anything I’d be interested in. Provided I were interested, of course, just speaking theoretically here. My area is an exciting blend of ‘woke’ progressives (what they call themselves) and families who can count back generations. The ‘woken’ aren’t into guns at all, to put it mildly, and the founding descendants are probably pretty well stocked up, for hunting and such.

I don’t go in for those nasty gun thingys, but I have a friend who does. My friend said plenty of 9mm, 00 12 gauge shells, .22LR, and 5.56Nato/.223. Lots of other stuff, too, but my friend wasn’t interested in those. Maybe because it’s a shop located in a tucked away location, or maybe it’s a small community with demographics as described, but one can still purchase an AR-15 platform rifle here. My friend did that a few weeks ago. I tried mentioning that violence isn’t the answer, turn the other cheek, and can’t we just meet hate with love, and all that. To each his own, I guess… ;-)

While I no longer own or shoot those evil black guns, here is some food for thought.

Ammo shortages yes, they are here and depending on the election, likely to stay with us for months. Some oddball caliber ammo is still plentiful and cheap. So is AK47 ammo.

Not to step on anyones toes but we had three golden years of plentiful and stupid cheap firearms and ammo. THREE YEARS!

A year ago today you could get 1000rds 5.56 Lake City ammo for under $200 DELIVERED to your door.

Summer 2019 also saw a fully assembled 16” PSA carbine for less than $390 SHIPPING INCLUDED to your FFL.

Ammo and firearms shortages, historically, have been as common as interns kneeling under Bill Clintons desk.

We all had ample time to stock up. If not, we only have ourselves to blame.

Just my own flawed opinion but ammo shortages will produce better, more disciplined shooters.

Gone are the days of aimlessly blasting through 1000rds at the range, unless you have money to burn.

If you learn to incorporate dry fire into your training, you can become quite a good shooter even with limited training ammo.

Not all firearms training is ammo dependent.

As I was reading this they were showing a segment on the local 6pm news from Des Moines on this subject. Iowa CC permit requests have tripled in the last 6 months over same time last year. They are good for 6 years here. Gun range owner they interviewed says most are new to “the second amendment “. My ex military husband who taught me to shoot at military gun clubs in Europe way back always keeps a good stock of ammo and our grown son came by to ask for a higher caliber handgun from our collection because his workplace is near where they have been protesting in Des Moines, although he lives on a homestead in the country. He got some ammo too. He’s also ex military.
The weapon and ammo situation is the same here as elsewhere. I prefer a shotgun for home defense, although I have a nice 9 mm Sig for my backup.

Anyone ever heard of, cut shotgun shells, the homemade slug? Buy all the #8 you can.

Been buying 9mm and 30-06 a box at a time. My store has what looks like a lot, but is only selling it one box per day in each cal. An aside that you might find amusing; they also sell hand sanitizer and toilet paper by the case as an added service to their customers. When everyone was going crazy for T.P. (I had plenty) I picked up a case while I was buying ammo.

I buy only one particular 5.56 Nato round with its penetrating projectile. I knew ammo was going to vanish, so I purchased plenty. I have more than enough ammo to outlast my life, once I begin to send it down range at the enemy. Should I survive the first 200 rounds, I shall be very amused.

– When I was in the local farm store today, they had a line of about ten people buying firearms. Most were looking at the few handguns they had in the display case; a couple of folks were looking at AR- types. (I figure I am in deep kimchee should firearms ownership ever become an issue. I’m on way too many lists.)
I have spoken with the clerk, not necessarily the one on duty today, and have been told they keep some ammunition in the back that is only available to those people actually buying a firearm (very limited quantity, like maybe three boxes)
– Papa S.

Picked up a Mossberg .410 pump last month as a Critter Gitter. Looked at my usual source for ammo as the place I purchased the gun at did not have any .410 shells. My online source only had 6’s, 7’s, and 8’s, nothing for defense against BLM’s (Big Lying Marxists). Sure wish I hadn’t sold off all of our Black Rifles and Glock, dang it!

I recently talked with a local gun shop owner who made the statement that with this ” pandemic “, that they can’t inventory on hand and when they order something, they might get it and then again they might not. Another thing he said was ” if you think things are bad now, things will be a lot worse if Biden gts in “.

Bought 1 box of 9mm FMJ 115 grn steel case 150 rnds for $40, bought 1 box of 40SW 180grn JHP 50 rnds $40, 1 box of .380 çritical defense 25 rnds $26. They had tons of 12 slug, but no buckshot to be found. I was surprised I found any defensive rounds. The store owner was assembling AR 15’s but I think they were flying off the shelves as fast as he put them together. Store was crowded. Bought AR and G17 mags 2ea. and a weapon light/laser combo too.

7.62 x 39 available at sgammo.com. Good prices.

local farm store today central wi.
hand gun ammo 4/5 gone.
popular rifle ammo.. of 7 4′ shelves there is enough to fill a single shelf.
wish I could post pictures, explains more to see it.

Love that I own a .35 ! The Marlin .336round is still available , it’s one of the only ammo I was able to find due to its becoming nearly obscure.

I have been observing ammo drying up since the start of the new year in my AO. ( Area of Operation ) For years, I have purchased new pistol ammo for purposes of reloading the brass with a good quality hollow point bullet at later time. A good % is used for reloading target grade ammo for practice/tournaments or teaching other new shooters ( something I do through my local club on an increasing basis these days ). Several people who have purchased guns from me in the past calendar year: one is a rancher whose house burnt down. He works at my place of work for an in-town job and he raises beef cattle locally. He bought a 20 gauge shotgun from me with 2 boxes of duplex loads for anti-coyote repellent a week after his house burnt down. ( still have to keep the coyotes away with cows in the field.). He recently purchased a striker-fired 9mm from me (Ruger) and was gifted 100 rounds of 9mm FMJ and 50 rounds of JHP in the midst of the COVID19 Lockdown. Price was kept minimal as this was a used gun and he is a friend that is selling me beef later this fall. The other person that purchased ammo from me is a hip young urbanite that also works with me. He bought himself a Glock 19 and was able to find some ammo online but has been unable to buy hollow point ammo. I like working with this fellow so he was sold some hollow point ammo during the lockdown because you could not find a box anywhere locally. ( sensible young man that made a solid choice in handgun ). In both cases, one lost his home and belongings. The other was a young man that turned 21 not long ago, married and purchased a handgun for protection of his pregnant wife and self because he is genuinely frightened by what he sees happening in the world around them. It is easy for us older citizens to forget what it was like to be young and frightened enough to go out and make your first firearms purchase. I would encourage many on this site to not be too smug about our situations in regards to ownership and storage of goods because, as my rancher friend found out, you can lose everything very fast in a house fire. At my local shooting club- observations: Fewer participants at shooting tournaments. Those that do show up are those that reload and have components. ( powder, primers, brass etc.). People are still walking away from once fired brass in 9mm, 40 S&W and 380. Our range is right down the road from a recycler so the ground gets cleaned and the brass and steel shells gets taken there once a month to be sorted, cleaned and melted down. ( along with copper from bullet jackets ). The lead is gathered by several local bullet makers one of which has a… Read more »

In regards to the use of a shotgun for defense of self from large critters:

Look up: Death in the Long Grass by Peter Capstick. He is the only American author I know of that spent time hunting leopards in Africa and hunting jaguars in Central and South America using a short barreled 12 gauge and using buckshot. ( the shotgun was used to follow up on wounded leopards in the tall grass while guiding clients in Africa ).

Capstick is the only writer I know of that wrote extensively on considering other sizes of shot in 12 gauge shotshells as well. He is now deceased. His books are worth obtaining in hard copy through St Martin’s Press, New York.

Among his advice through his many books and articles:

#1 Never underestimate the power of a 12 gauge trap or target load. though they are designed to take down dove, quail or break clay, at close range they will do terrible damage to the face of a lion. ( he was surprised by a snare-wounded lioness while hunting francolin in Africa ).

#2 Americans have a love affair with the 00 buckshot round in 12 gauge. ( originally developed as an anti-personnel load to be used within a 10 gauge shotgun by the US Postal Service back in the day when mail went by train and Butch and Sundance were still taking down trains for their living ). Consider reloading your 12 gauge hulls with #1 buckshot because it stacks in layers of 3 pellets giving you greater number of lethal pellets within a given amount of space and you give up very little in terms of penetration.

#3 This does not come from Peter Capstick. This is from my own experience and Mas Ayoob has also advocated for: Smaller statured shooters that have trouble using a 12 gauge may do better with a 20 gauge shotgun that fires a load of #3 or #4 buckshot. ( pellets are roughly 22 or 23 caliber in size ).

My wife is all of 5 foot 0 inches in height and her arms are kind of short. She shoots her 20 gauge quite well and has about 50 rounds of #4 buckshot rounds with her shotgun. She now feels safer within our home if bad things were to try to hurt her or her dog.

Round ball molds in 30 caliber can be obtained from Blackpowder shooting supply ( I forgot the name of the company back east ). I obtained my #4 buckshot mold from Cabela’s years ago. It was manufactured by Lee. Buckshot can be purchased by Hornady in various sizes through Midway/USA.

Hope this helps! A shout out there to Joe C and other shotgun shooters out there.

Blackpowder shooting supply company that sells roundball molds of various sizes: Dixie Gunworks

Correction: Peter Capstick’s Death in the Dark Continent was the name of his book where he talks of taking the Big 5 of Africa. The Leopard being the 5th animal mentioned. He spends much time talking of firearms and ammo he used to do this work.

Not many people made a living by putting down a charging animal. My own experience was with black bears gone rogue within National Parks. I have my own set opinions about what works these days too.

I may have been buying ammunition throughout this.

It is out there, but not as cheap as it was. $.24 for 115gr FMJ 9 or $.38 for 55gr FMJ 5.56 vs $.16 and $.23.

The rest still exists but it is off its historic lows also.

If you go up market it is easy to find. There is even rebates on it.

We have a large portion of the population enjoying trumpbucks and an early credit on their 2020 taxes. Ammunition manufacturing doesn’t usually outpace consumption.

The weird part is that it is a mid-term election year and usually things don’t get like this.

The crazy part is … Parts. Have you tried to find a Austrian lower parts kit lately? Even Midway had them for $40 6 months ago. Now you’re lucky to find a Lone Wolf kit for $70. That is when you should be worried.

There are no specifics about where the bottleneck is regarding the ammo supply chain. Lot’s of questions that haven’t been answered. We haven’t heard much about the status of U.S. ammo manufacturers, which are “essential businesses” during the COVID pandemic. Are the ammo manufacturers still working at full production capacity? If not, what is the reason? Lack of components (i.e., primers, casings, propellants, etc.)? Lack of labor? It all starts with the ammo manufacturers. The unless there is a lack of components or labor, the ammo manufacturers should be operating 24/7 to meet demand.

My wife and I both use Remington 870’s in 20 and 12 gauge.

I helped the police armorer fix, maintain and replace worn parts on patrol car shotguns for several departments over the years in California prior to leaving. I never got a trade school certificate. I use been using and carrying Remington 870’s since age 11 for work and play in farm fields.

I’m not saying one is better than the other. Rem 870’s are just what was always around at work and home is all.

Just bought 100 rounds 38 spec full metal jacket for total of $70 from bulkammo.com. That’s going to have to last until this shortage is over.

The discussion is OVER. Time to take action and stop bitching about the future. It will get worse. Plan on it.

Brownells.com: Gold Medal Match (excellent ammo) .308 Win, IN STOCK…200 rnds for $268.99. $1.34 per round but it is available.
I started reloading 3 years ago and am stocking up on bullets, powder, primers and new casings if I can find them. That’s the way to go.
Keep your powder dry.

Not in Montana. Most people here reload

Reply to NH Michael: by the way, I’m sorry to hear about your mom’s passing & dads status. I wanted to pass on my condolences. My reply is a day late because it required some research and confirmation. My source book for info regarding shotshells and reloading using buckshot comes from the manual: Reloading for Shotgunners by Kurt D. Fackler and M.L. McPherson. This is the same manual I recommended to Joe C. on this site. To make field-expedient buckshot loads from trap loads these days, I have done (as an experiment) and lived to tell the tale (no bulged barrels, I have all my fingers, toes and both eyes are intact and functioning) the following to trap or target loads: Most target hulls are plastic and they are sealed with a crimp over a measured portion of #7.5 or #8 sized shot. ( 1 or 1-1/8 oz shot weight ). #1 I cut the crimp off (carving forward toward the muzzle end of how the shell will feed). I use a sharp knife and go around the crimp of the shell in order to remove the crimp only. ( I try to not remove too much plastic.) #2. I remove the top portion of plastic, dump out the shot (I save the shot in order to melt down for later use) and replace with similar volume of buckshot. ( #3 or #4 buckshot in a 20 gauge shell. #1 buckshot in a 12 gauge shell. ) THIS IS SAFE BECAUSE: volume per volume, buckshot is lighter in weight than a similar volume of smaller birdshot. As long as you do not try to overstuff the fingers of the shot cup on the wad, you are operating in safe pressure territory. #3. I seal the top with an overshot card made from either a paper index card or a piece of plastic cut from a old milk or juice jug. One can use a dime or a penny as a template to make lots of them with a marking pen and a pair of sharp scissors. #4 I finish the load with a single wrap of masking tape around the top of the shell and folded onto the overshot wad. ( I’m of Japanese heritage so origami is a thing for me.) Caution: these loads are not waterproof though most shotshells will not do well being total immersion. These loads will come apart in the washing machine and may come apart in the pocket of your field jacket. I have and use a MEC 600 Jr in both 12 and 20 gauge. I also have the MEC collet resizing tool for 12 gauge because I used to resize and reload buckshot hulls ( high brass ) from several police agencies. In using the MEC machine, it reproduces the factory crimp so I have to remark the exterior of my buckshot reloads to avoid possible confusion. ( sharpie permanent marker) Over the years, and to this day, most of my shotshell… Read more »

I have been visiting here off and on for a number of years and thought I might write. Re: ammo shortage. I think this is a cyclic event and this time is different because added to the list of regular shooters and preppers and ammo hoarders is the new group of 1st time gun owners. Hunting license purchases have not gone up. I was on travel near D.C. last month and watched a news feature (very positive!) about the huge number of 1st time black women pistol-buyers in the area. It was the only thing positive about pistols I have seen in the mainstream news in a very long time. Many people, even those that dislike guns of any kind, see their value when large groups can evade their space or threaten their life or livelihood. This shortage will run up until there is an abundance again and since more people purchased and more people hoarded, the amount of ammo and cost savings available during that abundance will be a good time to stock up again. Note. After that period there will be another shortage. And after that another abundance. This will be followed by a shortage.

I understand that the episode with the Black Panthers in the 60’s & 70’s led to more gun restrictions in California.
Will the NFAC result in the same thing? In GA., KY.?

Reply regarding “promo loads”or promotional loads: Usually put out by major manufacturers like Winchester, Federal or Remington-Peters. Discount dove loads available by the pallet several days prior to dove season in the Southwest.

I oz #8 shot with 2.5 drams very low price with deals like 4 boxes available for further discount. These have largely replaced people reloading their own trap/target loads out there unless and until you obtain a box/case of bad ones.

“brass” base is cheap metal that is prone to being ripped by the extractor of pump or autoloading shotguns. The base of the shell holding the primer is a cheap composite of glue and cardboard and the plastic walls of the case are thinner. All this leads/can lead to a failure to feed/eject empty round after the shot has been sent downrange.

While this can be irritating on the trap range, it is frustrating on live birds or other game. A jammed up weapon when you are hungry and watching dinner scamper or fly away has really made me angry in the past and I have never had that happen to me when facing dangerous animals that have charged me. ( Bear #3 I was purchasing my own ammo out-of-pocket because my backside was on the line )

All the more reason to take a sample of the new ammo and test it to see how it performs prior to purchasing a case of the stuff. ( saves money ). Best to find out about ammo limitations before the bear is charging you.

For the record, I have had good luck and no bad experiences using Estate shot shells from my local Bimart or from Farm Supply. I have grocery sacks full of 1x fired AA shotshells but it is cheaper to buy Estate shells than to reload at home.

Great post Frozin_Chosin: I also obtained an AR platform when I left Cali and went to another state where there are fewer restrictions. I left some ammo, supplies and lead ingots to my local gun club before I left the “Golden State” for greener pastures.

Most of us who got into reloading have done so years before Ken started this site. If you are going to hunt varmints year-round and/or compete in competitions, reloading becomes a necessity. ( I used to do both butt, given a choice, I would rather spend a day in the varmint fields as opposed to going to another tournament.)

Ken did a survey months ago where asked us reloaders for data ( price of components and powder ). In the end, you do not save money by reloading because you end up shooting more.

Some things have changed such that I no longer reload for some things: Standard trap loads because the price of lead shot has gone up so much it is cheaper to purchase a box from Farm Supply and you were always able to find these rounds during the last ammo drought.

During the last ammo drought, I did consider obtaining a specialized lead melter that allows you to pour your own shot at home. Final analysis: I am not that hard core where I need or am willing to lay out the expense of pouring my own shot at home and creating a 2 story shot-pouring tower in my backyard.

Reloading is much like gardening: The longer you do it, the more knowledge you accumulate. Among that knowledge is the observation of times of “feast and famine”. We are now in time of famine yet one can still find components available so I would say that now is a great time to get started in reloading. If a store does not have a component, come back another day.

On the topic of saving the environment: Joining a local gun/shooting club that allows one to gather lead and brass is environmentally sound because: on a periodic basis, the facility gets shut down in order to clean the grounds more thoroughly and sends the heavy metals to a local recycler. Reclaimed lead in the form of ingots, shot and cast bullets are, once again put back in circulation for people to use. My local club does this. Every club I belonged to in Cali also had a recycle program going as well.

Here’s a nice article from Hershel over at the Captain’s Journal.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/2020/07/19/explaining-the-ammunition-shortage/

WallyW, today still no canned peaches, did buy tp don’t yet need.no yeast, little flour, baking goods in general very low.still no Clorox wipes 4 months in a row. Finally mandatory mask rule, yet saw several without. Local Rural king farm store had few rifle shells bought 2 boxes each .308& 30.06.virtually no handgun ammo.Looks like you should determine biggest current stock of shells in whatever cal. Then buy new gun accordingly. Although I’m well supplied all the way around. Hmmm, maybe I could use a new .270 after all! It is a caliber I don’t currently own and they did have 20 boxes of .270 rounds🤔

Stopped by Cabela’s today @ 1 pm to look for a 20 gauge. Was told that the waiting list to approach the firearms counter was closed for the day. Best to be there by 8 am Monday through Thursday to sign up for a time. And that the weekends were a nightmare so don’t even bother.