Federal, CCI, Speer and Remington Ammunition

[webguy]

Vast majority of new firearm owners are stating that their purchases (including shotguns) are for home security. Doesn't help understand why every shotshell, deer rifle caliber, etc... are gone from shelves completely.

Watching for shot shell availability is a daily affair if you want to stock up and be ready for the clay season this spring-summer.

I started buy my favorite 12 and 20ga upland loads by the case. Doesn't look so crazy now.

Couple months ago Fleet Farm had trap loads for a $1 off per box. The guy was stocking the end cap and I said "any limit"? He said nope, take them all if you want. I told him fill up my cart. Yes, I'm that guy. However, we do a lot of annie oakley shootouts in the summer, so I want to make sure we have enough. So... I think there is some psychology behind the buying, even me. Now stocking up on Toilet Paper... not happening. Ha ha

 

[matto]

I was in Cabelas in Wichita, KS 2 nights ago and they had a rolling cart over in the firearms section with the remnants of that day's ammo receipt. There was a smattering of oddball cartridges, a little 308, 2 different varieties of 5.56 (American Eagle 55gr and white box Winchester 62gr), and a fair amount of CCI 22lr in 100 round packages. It felt like Christmas! I bought my limit of the American Eagle 5.56, which was 160 rounds (8 boxes).

Vista provided an opportunity for high school trap teams to buy ammo for the season. We didn't know how many kids we'd have on our team or even if the school would allow us to compete, but we bought 80 flats anyway. That's a good faith estimate based on our normal team size. The price was reasonable at $53. The other coaches and I just felt that we couldn't pass up the opportunity to secure ammo for the season. I think they offered the same deal to 4H.

 

[PeteRevvv]

We have Federal ammo plants in my area. From asking around, they only have so many lines they can run at one time for the trained staff they have so they made what they could for seasonal shotgun ammo and then sent everyone to rifle/handgun ammo. Rumor is they might not get back to shotgun until just in time for fall seasons as they run to catch up with defense rounds. Many companies have made the mistake of bulking up for boom markets and had hard times letting go recently hired people plus paying out unemployment when purchase cool off.

 

[Chestle]

Now stocking up on Toilet Paper... not happening. Ha ha

Don't need to play that game.

One word: Bidet Every once in a while the Euros get something right. You'll never go back to wood pulp.

Bought this back when the first panic hit. Not a single regret.

Toilets - Sam's Club

www.samsclub.com

 

[5 stand]

Here's an excerpt from a letter to their bulk purchasers from Fiocchi:
Ammunition Update

Below is simply a recap of what we are facing.

This year has provided the ammunition manufacturers multiple challenges that never could have been anticipated. We all started off the year with empty warehouses, and zero inventory to provide clients products. We are at the mercy of what can come off the machines daily. This same problem has trickled down to the raw material manufacturers. Manufacturers are now at mercy of what they can provide off their manufacturing processes daily. Now it has trickled all the way down to the chemicals or raw goods that make the component. Nitrous Cellulose is in short supply as powder manufacturers have used up 100% of their stored inventory. This is just one example.

Secondly will still have covid. Covid has Europe at about 50% - 60% production capacity for any materials. Materials in our industry and any other. Not one manufacturing facility can bring back 100% of their people to do the jobs needed. Not being capable of keeping employment extends to the ports in Europe, the shipping companies, all the way down to the janitor. There are extended delays in moving products across the globe at the moment.

Then we have our ports in the US. We had over 20 containers stuck at a port prior to Christmas, upon the NE coast. The permit office had closed due to Covid. Not a darn thing we could do. The office did not re-open until Jan. 18. We are just now receiving some of these containers that held raw materials, and finished goods.

There is a true shortage of ammo, in a time the demand is higher than ever in history. Keep in mind the shortage is caused by many factors. The volume Remington typically supplied the US market is still not there. The volume of imported ammunition is not coming in as normal. There is a substantial lack of supply.

We do hope these challenges do not persist too long, Fiocchi is doing all we can, looking at every angle to improve the situation where we can.

 

[remy3424]

A good common sense explanation that everyone can understand. Tough situation for all who didn't see this coming, which is most of us, with shotgun shells and most rifle cartridges. Everyone knew handgun, 22LR and 5.56 would be tough to find along with all components, we just saw this 4 years ago...I should be ok for the next 4 years (maybe 10), hope it is not much longer than that! Hang-on fellas, it looks like it will be a bumpy road!!

 

[John Singer]

I spent most of this past year working in the firearms industry. It was my first year in sales.

I was amazed at the number of hunters that:

1. Wait until the day before the season opens to purchase ammunition.

2. Do not clean and maintain their guns.

3. Bring their broken, filthy, guns in for someone to clean and fix.

I maintain my guns. Also, I have always kept an adequate inventory of both target and hunting ammunition on hand.

I have target and hunting ammunition for the next 2 to 3 seasons or more.

People who do not prepare but are used to waiting until the last minute to purchase ammunition will be looking for someone to blame rather than taking responsibility.

 

[KSnative]

I spent most of this past year working in the firearms industry. It was my first year in sales.

I was amazed at the number of hunters that:

1. Wait until the day before the season opens to purchase ammunition.

2. Do not clean and maintain their guns.

3. Bring their broken, filthy, guns in for someone to clean and fix.

I maintain my guns. Also, I have always kept an adequate inventory of both target and hunting ammunition on hand.

I have target and hunting ammunition for the next 2 to 3 seasons or more.

People who do not prepare but are used to waiting until the last minute to purchase ammunition will be looking for someone to blame rather than taking responsibility.

Good observations, except that people who do NOT wait until the last minute tend to get blamed for the shortage ("hoarders") - and the last "minute" in this case is well past "months" and stretching out to exceed "years". Just asking - at what point in time did you elect to acquire 2 - 3 years of ammo supply, and why -- and didn't that contribute to the shortage problem?

Not faulting your choices - frankly, any among us who has not been stocking up substantially just don't have their eyes on the horizon IMHO. Might want to buy a couple dozen "high capacity, military grade" magazines while you are at it (why no shortage - yet? Soon, perhaps).

But it really is kind of a no-win situation, and I think those who blame the consumer here are falling prey to the same mindset that has idiots confronting me for not wearing the COVID promotional mask on walks in which I do not come within 100 feet of any human being, amidst an abundance of COVID-killing sunshine.

 

[webguy]

I spent most of this past year working in the firearms industry. It was my first year in sales.

I was amazed at the number of hunters that:

1. Wait until the day before the season opens to purchase ammunition.

2. Do not clean and maintain their guns.

3. Bring their broken, filthy, guns in for someone to clean and fix.

I maintain my guns. Also, I have always kept an adequate inventory of both target and hunting ammunition on hand.

I have target and hunting ammunition for the next 2 to 3 seasons or more.

People who do not prepare but are used to waiting until the last minute to purchase ammunition will be looking for someone to blame rather than taking responsibility.

That doesn't surprise me at all. Interesting observations. Maybe it's good that these people are buying products/services, etc., But then again... maybe not. Birds of a feather...

 

[John Singer]

Just asking - at what point in time did you elect to acquire 2 - 3 years of ammo supply, and why -- and didn't that contribute to the shortage problem?

Oh, I do not know.

Most of my ammunition supply are my own reloads.

About 25 years ago, I lived in an isolated small town in Northern Michigan. I did a lot of duck hunting then and typically used 6 to 7 boxes of ammunition each season. One season, birds were unusually abundant and I was running low on steel shotshells and I had no reloading components on hand. I ended up driving 4.5 hours to pick up ammunition to finish the season. The only stuff I could get was inferior to my reloads.

Since then, I have refused to have that happen again.

I guess that my behavior for the past 24 years has finally caused a shortage, eh?

I am confident that manufacturers will catch up to and eventually exceed demand.

 

[KSnative]

Didn't mean to put you on the defensive, no allegations intended or implied. But is your stock up limited to non-tox waterfowl loads, or does it extend to what might be considered defensive loads (rifle, shotgun and pistol)? I'm guessing - both. And not one thing wrong with that, if that is the case.

I just wish I was more confident that manufacturers will have any demand to catch up to, once the current regimes gets done with what's left of our constitutional rights.

 

[John Singer]

Didn't mean to put you on the defensive, no allegations intended or implied. But is your stock up limited to non-tox waterfowl loads, or does it extend to what might be considered defensive loads (rifle, shotgun and pistol)? I'm guessing - both. And not one thing wrong with that, if that is the case.

I just wish I was more confident that manufacturers will have any demand to catch up to, once the current regimes gets done with what's left of our constitutional rights.

I see no reason to stock up for civil war.

I guess that my amygdala is not that easily stimulated.

 

[KSnative]

I see. What about generalized unrest, would that do it for you?

Have you ever been shot while being denied the fundamental right of defending yourself? It clarifies the mind greatly as regards one's needs. Steel duck loads aren't at the top of the list.

I'm not trying to frighten you into being wise enough to maintain adequate defensive stocks. I don't care if you do, or don't. I do care about my right (and yours) to do so and have first hand, direct, personal experience in directly related subject matter.

I offer you my personal guarantee that it is far more satisfying, and rewarding, to be able to shoot back than not, should the occasion arise. If you are fortunate enough never to gain personal understanding of this fact - congratulations.

 

[John Singer]

I see. What about generalized unrest, would that do it for you?

Have you ever been shot while being denied the fundamental right of defending yourself? It clarifies the mind greatly as regards one's needs. Steel duck loads aren't at the top of the list.

I'm not trying to frighten you into being wise enough to maintain adequate defensive stocks. I don't care if you do, or don't. I do care about my right (and yours) to do so and have first hand, direct, personal experience in directly related subject matter.

I offer you my personal guarantee that it is far more satisfying, and rewarding, to be able to shoot back than not, should the occasion arise. If you are fortunate enough never to gain personal understanding of this fact - congratulations.

I am sorry. I thought this was a pheasant hunting forum.

 

[KSnative]

Not ducks, non-toxic shot, hoarders, or ignoramus patrons of your employer's shop?

What about stocks? OK with you if we talk about Wall Street, Elon Musk, or Bitcoins?

I wouldn't want to step on your creation here.

 

[Bob Peters]

I see. What about generalized unrest, would that do it for you?

Have you ever been shot while being denied the fundamental right of defending yourself? It clarifies the mind greatly as regards one's needs. Steel duck loads aren't at the top of the list.

I'm not trying to frighten you into being wise enough to maintain adequate defensive stocks. I don't care if you do, or don't. I do care about my right (and yours) to do so and have first hand, direct, personal experience in directly related subject matter.

I offer you my personal guarantee that it is far more satisfying, and rewarding, to be able to shoot back than not, should the occasion arise. If you are fortunate enough never to gain personal understanding of this fact - congratulations.

I agree with being prepared for generalized unrest, but it still doesn't explain the hoarding. Look at any statistics where firearms are used in defense and the number of rounds used are really low. No need to stockpile 20,000 rounds when if you run into that one in a million situation you ain't gonna need more than five or six rounds and probably less.

 

[gimruis]

No need to stockpile 20,000 rounds when if you run into that one in a million situation you ain't gonna need more than five or six rounds and probably less.

I agree Bob. Its similar to the stock piling of TP we saw last spring too. No one needs a bunker of toilet paper or ammo. You'll run out of food way before you run out of TP. But you can't tell someone that they can't buy ammo or TP, so they continue to do it.

 

[labrador]

Lol you are delusional if you think the demorat win coupled with their permissive views of the summer of love participants haven't played a MAJOR role in the availability of ammo.

Why have many other sectors of the economy been able to come back to acceptable levels of supply? The writing is on the wall, your party intends to do everything they can to restrict 2nd amendment rights. Meanwhile, they also intend to be extremely soft on crime. I don't care if you accept it or not but you blaming tariff's imposed on China for the ammo shortage is laughable.

I don't know what WAFL means but you can use whatever words you want when addressing me. I promise I can handle it and not report you unlike many of your brethren.

 

[KSnative]

Um no I think all factories reduced staff cause of the Covid crisis so that is the reason not because Democrats won the election. Good grief and Trump had all the Tariff's no stuff could hardly be brought in from out of the Country. Yeah it was the Democrats, WAFL-

The munitions factories that I have had the occasion to visit (on site, not video games) had one thing in common - a high degree of automation and lots (LOTS) of physical separation between flesh. That comes in handy when a Copperhead round or LAWS rebuild pops. Absolutely ideal for early reopening, with low COVID risk.

RE: foreign imports squashed by the Orange Meanie. Which of our primary external sources (Italy, China?) were not undergoing COVID outbreaks
an order of magnitude worse than our own?

The adage that comes to mind is a bit stale but it sure fits - never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

 

[BRITTMAN]

I agree Bob. Its similar to the stock piling of TP we saw last spring too. No one needs a bunker of toilet paper or ammo. You'll run out of food way before you run out of TP. But you can't tell someone that they can't buy ammo or TP, so they continue to do it.

Depends... Doesn't the Mormon faith demand at least 3 months supply of food and water be kept on hand. A year supply of food or more being the ultimate goal.

Ammo hoarding is somewhat of a broad definition. One case of shotgun shells maybe a decade of use to one person and a long weekend to others. Upland, waterfowl (if the flight is in) and target shooters all have different thresholds.

I would hope that most HS trap teams will get some priority in shell purchases. Each participant will need 2 - 3 cases of shells at a minimum for the spring season.