Rim Fire Ammo Shortage.... already?

alucard0822 · Aug 17, 2020

Much depends on how much ammo you "need" vs how long you can make it last. With small kids I go through a fair amount of 22. Normally keep a couple bricks, but soon as poo fit the fan back in March, I have been snagging every brick of CCI subs or SV that I could find at a decent cost, which wasn't a lot. Slowed down shooting to preserve it, and have enough for years at this rate. Learned from the last decade to keep defensive pistol and rifle ammo stocked up, and top off component stocks when it's plentiful and cheap, then just reload to replace what I shoot over time. Factory defensive ammo is stocked deep and not touched unless I buy a couple boxes to replace what I plan to shoot.

erwos · Aug 17, 2020

The shortages are always the same, guys:
Phase 1: 9mm and 223
Phase 2: all the other popular centerfire calibers
Phase 3: FMJ bullets and primers
Phase 4: rimfire
Phase 5: shotshells

How they resolve themselves is not always in the same order. Unfortunately, this is an election year, so this is likely to continue until next summer when/if Trump loses and/or the GOP loses the Senate (hopefully not both!).

lazarus · Aug 17, 2020

Doctor_M said:
I'm glad that I laid in a good supply.... although, I had to move it all to a new area of the house recently, so I wasn't glad then. But now that it is all settled, I'm back to being glad.

I hear you. I moved last year and my wife was laughing at me and I was cursing myself.

Fortunately I am not planning to move for at least 15-20 years now. So the extra couple hundred pounds of ammo and reloading bullets is only going to contribute to foundation settlement.

22 subs have been really hard to find online. As has a lot of 22lr. The later is available, so long as you aren’t looking for something in particular. But I’ve got many years of 22lr. As well as all other ammo. So I am cool. I mean, I want more and I got a .45acp right as this crap started. So I don’t have nearly as much factory ammo as I’d like. But I’ve got about 300 or so cases, 1k large rifle primers, 1k bullets and plenty of powder to load all those bullets again and again. Well and factory ammo for awhile. .308/7.62 if I start shooting my new AR-10 and .45acp are probably my lowest stocked ammo and realistically even if I hit the range more than I think I will, it’s 3+ years of ammo.

TheOriginalMexicanBob · Aug 17, 2020

I get that rimfire ammo requires different machines, etc. to make and is separate from centerfire...but the brass as a necessary raw product can easily be redirected towards centerfire production rather than rimfire. From a strictly business point of view it makes sense to direct raw materials to the most in demand and profitable area as that where the demand is.

How the upcoming elections turn out and whether the civil unrest continues will decide even more on how the product mix gets apportioned. Actually it may not make much difference...Biden wins and ammo sales continue to skyrocket. If Trump wins the civil rest continues and ammo demand continues to soar.

JamesDong · Aug 17, 2020

TheOriginalMexicanBob said:
I get that rimfire ammo requires different machines, etc. to make and is separate from centerfire...but the brass as a necessary raw product can easily be redirected towards centerfire production rather than rimfire. From a strictly business point of view it makes sense to direct raw materials to the most in demand and profitable area as that where the demand is.

How the upcoming elections turn out and whether the civil unrest continues will decide even more on how the product mix gets apportioned. Actually it may not make much difference...Biden wins and ammo sales continue to skyrocket. If Trump wins the civil rest continues and ammo demand continues to soar.

Fine, whats the profit to manufacture price amount? 22 may be a better deal for the manufacture maybe it's not. Point is moot unless we know those numbers.

TheOriginalMexicanBob · Aug 17, 2020

Manufacturers make what distributors order...if the demand is primarily centerfire in specific calibers that's what they make. They make production adjustments as orders dictate...common sense. Raw materials are not infinite and can only be obtained according to sales projections and the abilities of vendors of the raw materials to deliver them.

rbird7282 · Aug 17, 2020

K31 said:
There was a thread on this about a month ago. When centerfire ammo is in short supply, manufacturers move away from production of rimfire.

And if no centerfire is available, people start buying the only thing they can get.....rimfire

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beancounter · Aug 17, 2020

JamesDong said:
Not sure where to post this since I'm new but is it running short already? Last two times I have been to Walmart in Kingsport, Tn they were OUT! 3rd time ago all they had were a couple buckets, I got 1, should have bought both. (they only had 2)

Bottom line... is it happening up there? If so it's going to be like 5 or 6 years ago nobody has anything. I have several thousand rounds but I shoot it a LOT, every day. Best pray for Trump winning because if he loses your guns may become scrap iron.

You mean like the Royal Bumpstock Ban decree?

Docster · Aug 17, 2020

Bolts Rock said:
Laughs in "Didn't you learn the last two times this happened?"

^^THIS. Best answer. Why these "Ammo Shortage" rant threads start every time another shortage comes about is beyond me. The cause(s) may be different but the fix is always the same;
--learn from the LAST shortage
--buy a little at a time all the time, "stack deep when cheap", use Dollar Cost averaging, etc.
If you're not keeping ahead of the curve you will always be bitching about being behind the curve every time. Tough luck...

Bisleyfan44 · Aug 17, 2020

Docster said:
^^THIS. Best answer. Why these "Ammo Shortage" rant threads start every time another shortage comes about is beyond me. The cause(s) may be different but the fix is always the same;
--learn from the LAST shortage
--buy a little at a time all the time, "stack deep when cheap", use Dollar Cost averaging, etc.
If you're not keeping ahead of the curve you will always be bitching about being behind the curve every time. Tough luck...

denimdan85 · Aug 17, 2020

Docster said:
^^THIS. Best answer. Why these "Ammo Shortage" rant threads start every time another shortage comes about is beyond me. The cause(s) may be different but the fix is always the same;
--learn from the LAST shortage
--buy a little at a time all the time, "stack deep when cheap", use Dollar Cost averaging, etc.
If you're not keeping ahead of the curve you will always be bitching about being behind the curve every time. Tough luck...

Many were not gun owners the last time there was a shortage.

teratos · Aug 17, 2020

denimdan85 said:
Many were not gun owners the last time there was a shortage.

Soooo....

There is this thing with guns and ammo that happens for a lot of reason where people panic buy and hoard. Obviously it is multifactorial, but you can probably pick out which events those are. This too shall pass. Friendly advice; stock up when you see good deals. Even if it is a box of 9mm or .22, buy a box or two once a week. You'll be happy you did when things get rough. It will happen again. You could even consider stocking up on cheap ARs when that is a thing again. The next panic you will be guaranteed to make a profit on it.

IX-3 · Aug 17, 2020

teratos said:
Soooo....

There is this thing with guns and ammo that happens for a lot of reason where people panic buy and hoard. Obviously it is multifactorial, but you can probably pick out which events those are. This too shall pass. Friendly advice; stock up when you see good deals. Even if it is a box of 9mm or .22, buy a box or two once a week. You'll be happy you did when things get rough. It will happen again. You could even consider stocking up on cheap ARs when that is a thing again. The next panic you will be guaranteed to make a profit on it.

I wish I had bought some of the $600-700 Ruger AR’s my LGS had all the time last year. Or some of the M&P15-22’s.

lazarus · Aug 17, 2020

IX-3 said:
I wish I had bought some of the $600-700 Ruger AR’s my LGS had all the time last year. Or some of the M&P15-22’s.

I haven’t looked too close, but components don’t seem to be rare yet. Maybe reduced selection, but prices don’t seem to have skyrocketed (at least as of a couple weeks ago). Get a lower or three. Build some rifles.

tallen702 · Aug 17, 2020

lazarus said:
I haven’t looked too close, but components don’t seem to be rare yet. Maybe reduced selection, but prices don’t seem to have skyrocketed (at least as of a couple weeks ago). Get a lower or three. Build some rifles.

Components aren't rare. Quality components are getting there. Want cheap Chinese knockoff BCGs? There are plenty to be had. Want something budget-friendly that won't shatter a couple hundred rounds in? That might mean a 2-4 week wait. DSA is on a wait, Polymer 80 is on a 5+ week backlog with no ship date in sight due to supply-side issues, There's an aluminum shortage going on right now and it's only going to get worse by year's end which means lowers and uppers will be in short supply soon unless companies start making ARs out of steel or some other material (because again, polymer is seeing a shortage right now).

As for the ammo shortage. I learned from collecting obsolete calibers that you buy when you can and stack it deep. I'm sitting on 7k rounds (not including .22lr) and enough powder, brass, projectiles, and primers to load another 1k. I've got 3k .22 rounds (between LR and Short) which should keep me going through this round of panic buying.

Every time I'm out at walmart, near a gun store, at Rural King in WV, etc. I buy what I can because this type of crap is only going to get worse before it gets better.

Bolts Rock · Aug 17, 2020

tallen702 said:
As for the ammo shortage. I learned from collecting obsolete calibers that you buy when you can and stack it deep. I'm sitting on 7k rounds (not including .22lr) and enough powder, brass, projectiles, and primers to load another 1k. I've got 3k .22 rounds (between LR and Short) which should keep me going through this round of panic buying.

Well that covers the half shelf in the ammo closet for .45 Colt and .45acp.....

*Laughs in third world dictator*

denimdan85 · Aug 17, 2020

teratos said:
Soooo....

There is this thing with guns and ammo that happens for a lot of reason where people panic buy and hoard. Obviously it is multifactorial, but you can probably pick out which events those are. This too shall pass. Friendly advice; stock up when you see good deals. Even if it is a box of 9mm or .22, buy a box or two once a week. You'll be happy you did when things get rough. It will happen again. You could even consider stocking up on cheap ARs when that is a thing again. The next panic you will be guaranteed to make a profit on it.

I bought slowly but surely since 2013 when I became a gun owner. I bought a few extra cases, that I really didn't need, when the lockdowns started while ammo was still available at pre panic prices so I am not needing in any way. While it sucks in the short term, this is a net benefit to the 2A cause. These shortages mean that more are becoming gun owners and realizing the necessity of the 2A. These people will hopefully realize the need to stock away during the good times and hopefully when the panic happens again in a few years, we will bring more people into the fold.

Tungsten · Aug 18, 2020

After 2013 I bought enough .22 to last a lifetime. I'll sell or trade half of it if prices get too insane.

5.56 and 9mm are also stacked deep and I'm not selling regardless of the price.

JamesDong · Aug 18, 2020

tallen702 said:
Components aren't rare. Quality components are getting there. Want cheap Chinese knockoff BCGs? There are plenty to be had. Want something budget-friendly that won't shatter a couple hundred rounds in? That might mean a 2-4 week wait. DSA is on a wait, Polymer 80 is on a 5+ week backlog with no ship date in sight due to supply-side issues, There's an aluminum shortage going on right now and it's only going to get worse by year's end which means lowers and uppers will be in short supply soon unless companies start making ARs out of steel or some other material (because again, polymer is seeing a shortage right now).

As for the ammo shortage. I learned from collecting obsolete calibers that you buy when you can and stack it deep. I'm sitting on 7k rounds (not including .22lr) and enough powder, brass, projectiles, and primers to load another 1k. I've got 3k .22 rounds (between LR and Short) which should keep me going through this round of panic buying.

Every time I'm out at walmart, near a gun store, at Rural King in WV, etc. I buy what I can because this type of crap is only going to get worse before it gets better.

Depending where you look.... Dicks looks like they're going out of the gun business last I looked, they had nothing as far as bullets. Bass pro much better selection of components.

Tebonski · Aug 18, 2020

Democrats tearing up the cities means Trump will win Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin and thus the election. Thank you BLM and Antifa. True patriots electing their nemesis.

In two years we'll have $499.00 AR's and $15.00 Thunderbolt bricks at Midway with free shipping $49.00 or more. In stock only!

Rim Fire Ammo Shortage.... already?

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