Difficult time finding ammo... - The Firearms Forum

Nolaphoto1 · 01-19-2010, 10:48 PM

Anyone else having a difficult time finding their favorite ammunition? At my local private gun shop, they are out of just about everything and are taking whatever the distributors can scrounge up for them. At the big chains like Academy, I expect a less than stellar selection but even they are feeling the shortage. SO I turned to the online guys...Cabelas...out....Midway....out. The hardest to find is .22LR standard velocity. 9mm is available in spurts. .223 is a mixed bag of brass and steel cased imports. .308 gold medal match is impossible to find except online but at $40 a box for 20, I don't shoot it that often. :-( A friend of mine can't even find a single box of .38s anywhere.

glocknut · 01-20-2010, 01:23 AM

Even if you can find some....who can afford it?

Mike
Gn

Maximilian II · 01-20-2010, 01:30 AM

Still getting .44mag Remington and Winchester here for around $20 a box of 50. Similar price per box and round for .32ACP, with slightly less availability. Not shooting much else lately but I do see 12ga. is really cheap now, 100 rounds birdshot for maybe $30 at WallyWorld.
I'm looking for Fiocchi .32ACP without luck though. Their FMJ's are the STUFF!

Zane71464 · 01-20-2010, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nolaphoto1

Anyone else having a difficult time finding their favorite ammunition? At my local private gun shop, they are out of just about everything and are taking whatever the distributors can scrounge up for them. At the big chains like Academy, I expect a less than stellar selection but even they are feeling the shortage. SO I turned to the online guys...Cabelas...out....Midway....out. The hardest to find is .22LR standard velocity. 9mm is available in spurts. .223 is a mixed bag of brass and steel cased imports. .308 gold medal match is impossible to find except online but at $40 a box for 20, I don't shoot it that often. :-( A friend of mine can't even find a single box of .38s anywhere.

Yes, YEs and YES! And the 22LR's seem the hardest to come across these days. 30/30 not so bad to find here/$14.00, and .243/$17.00, .357/ $24-$28.00, 7mm REM MAG/$28.00, 9mm if you can find them..the $ is whatever the "store" wants to slap on them...hand hard to find.....45acp I stocked up on a long time ago and cant recall the pirice but it was high as well, and etc.,,,The government cant do too much with our guns, but the ammo they can regulate IMO.

Suwannee Tim · 01-20-2010, 03:33 AM

You have to be patient and you can't hold out for the best possible price. I've found 22, 223 and 40 at Wally Mart and 22, 223 and 308 from Midway and Natchez. Go on the web sites and set up a product availability notice, when you get the email, buy then, don't wait.

Zane71464 · 01-20-2010, 03:40 AM

So very true, thats a good way to go.

Suwannee Tim · 01-20-2010, 04:45 AM

I noticed that powder, primers and bullets all had poor availability. First powder slowly became more available and is not in reasonably good supply. Primers are becoming more available, lagging powder as is ammo. I think things will loosen up this year. The election of Brown in MA might help, it will make people a little less paranoid about the Dems ramming some kind of gun control legislation down our throats.

Zane71464 · 01-20-2010, 04:54 AM

With the election of Brown in MA, I think "we" might be in store for a few changes. I know it can only help, thats for sure.
But there for a while, I was looking up powder for 9mm & 45acp loads and they were all but un-available. But hopefully we are making our way back up hill a bit.

Insulation Tim · 01-20-2010, 05:58 AM

.......I just keep hitting the basement every night or so and spend and hour or two working the reloader.

I don't even bother to look in the stores anymore.

hogger129 · 01-20-2010, 06:04 AM

i'm not feeling it at all. i can usually always find my winchester 100-round boxes of .45acp at farm n' fleet. last time i was at gander, they had plenty.

mrkirker · 01-20-2010, 06:38 AM

Plenty here in shops I frequent. The Great Panic of '09 has passed.

Double D · 01-20-2010, 07:34 AM

I have probably 7-800 rounds of 223. I sell them for 7.25 a box of 20. People are gouging.

Nolaphoto1 · 01-20-2010, 08:34 AM

I have about 600rds of 223 in a dry box and with the hit and miss availability I don't shoot it that often. I have 500rds of .22lr on order. I thought I was doing good by shooting the standard velocity target loads but it seems that the "suppressor craze" has had taken its toll on its availability. I don't want to have to hoard and store ammo just so I can spend an hour at a range but it seems like that is exactly what I am going to have to do. Did you ever think you'd wake up in America and see a day when gun and ammunition manufacturers couldn't keep up with demand?

Bubblehead · 01-20-2010, 08:49 AM

I'm finding that when the small, local gun shops in my area have loading supplies available, they jack up the price by a minimum of 100%. I always try to support my local businesses but in this case, I won't return to them for anything. I don't like it when the locals screw their local customers.

rocklinskier · 01-20-2010, 08:55 AM

Here in Northern CA, I am suprised to be able to find almost any common handgun ammo. Prices are a bit high, ($20 per 50 for .45--$14-16 for 9mm) but not as bad as some I see listed here, and for the most part as good as any online supply (especially when you add in shipping cost). I have two places I shop (not walmart), and between them, I can seem to get 45 ACP, 9mm, 40, 308 ($16/20rnds) without too much trouble. Now, that being said, it does vary from maker to maker, and the prices are less than beautiful, but it is there.

What I am having trouble finding is 9mm and .45 bullets for reloading. I did find a decent deal on some lead 200g lead SWC the other day and bought 600 of them to hold me for a couple of months. Nobody seems to have any FMJ's though. Powder is also pretty hit and miss.

The live ammo seems to be getting a little more available, hopefully the components will soon follow.

BETH · 01-20-2010, 05:12 PM

Hoffman's guns in Ct. has more ammo than anyone needs-look at the store pictures

REISINGMOD50 · 01-21-2010, 11:16 AM

I took up reloading 9mm and .45 ACP years ago. Some reloading components are hard to find and have jumped in price, but still I can reload for about 11 cents a round. In addition, people that never thought of owning a gun are buying them and those will guns are loading up on ammo. There election of Odimbo the Muslim is the root cause of the shortage of ammo. In addition, the wars around the world with muslims have dried up the surplus ammo market. The days of cheap ammo and available surplus is gone forever.

RandyP · 01-21-2010, 02:34 PM

It sure is nice to reload - ain't it? - lol

I was getting low on bulk 22LR but my local Cabelas got in a nice supply of Federal copper clad at about $20 a box so I stocked up with several.

Haven't had to buy any centerfire since I discovered Lee Precision.

Texxut · 01-21-2010, 10:13 PM

Wally World still gets in the Federal 550 bulk 22lr and they aren't gouging for it either. $14 something a box. I buy surplus ammo for my comblock rifles and reload everything else.

CampingJosh · 01-21-2010, 11:33 PM

I just moved, and my new town has only one ammo retailer: Walmart.

And this particular Walmart seems to only order one box of each caliber at a time. There are three boxes of .223 on the self, but no more than one of anything else (shotshells excluded). There has been no .380 or .38 Special the whole time I've been here.

I need to get to the next town east, which supposedly has 4 gun shops. It may just take me a few weeks more to find time.

LDBennett · 01-22-2010, 08:02 AM

This guns, ammo, and reloading components shortage started right after the Obama election. It was caused by the panic buying of the shooting public. They bought anything gun related and hoarded it for fear Obama and his fireinds in Congress would find a way to stop slates of gun related products. It still goes on today.

It is not the government creating the shortage (except for military items used by the US troops in the middle east) but us, as we stock up on anything gun related. I'll admit I did order more than my normal stores for the reason stated above but I have always kept a good store, mostly to avoid running out during a marathon reloading session. I had to wait for 6 months for the entire order to get filled and primers were the long pole in the tent. But I got them all including some .308 147FMJ Winchester Bulk bullets that I have been trying to get for the last two years. My stocks are good for several years, say until 2012 (election year?). I also stocked up on 22 ammo as CA passed a law prohibiting internet sales of handgun ammunition. Pistol ammo sales will only be through dealers and will require ID, a finger print, and a log of my ID details.

So don't blame the government for our hoarding (that's such a terrible word for planning ahead and taking action to protect yourself). The government has more than enough other faults to hit on.

LDBennett

01-19-2010, 10:48 PM	#1
Nolaphoto1 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Houma, LA Posts: 109	Difficult time finding ammo... Anyone else having a difficult time finding their favorite ammunition? At my local private gun shop, they are out of just about everything and are taking whatever the distributors can scrounge up for them. At the big chains like Academy, I expect a less than stellar selection but even they are feeling the shortage. SO I turned to the online guys...Cabelas...out....Midway....out. The hardest to find is .22LR standard velocity. 9mm is available in spurts. .223 is a mixed bag of brass and steel cased imports. .308 gold medal match is impossible to find except online but at $40 a box for 20, I don't shoot it that often. :-( A friend of mine can't even find a single box of .38s anywhere. __________________ Jeff Gun List: Beretta A300 12ga., Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk1, Savage 10FP heavy barrel .308 w/ 4-12x 50mm Ballistic range finding scope and Harris bipod, Bushmaster AR-15 M4-A2, Springfield Armory XD Tactical 9mm, Marlin Model 60 .22, Browning Buck Mark .22, and Springfield Armory 1911-A1 Stainless Steel "Loaded," Browning BL-22. I also "shoot" with Canon cameras. Does that count? Wish list: H&K USP, Beretta 92-FS, CZ-75B, Anschutz 64MPR, FN-FAL,& an M-1 Garand -->

01-20-2010, 01:23 AM	#2
glocknut Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: THE FORUM MASCOTT... Posts: 12,482	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Even if you can find some....who can afford it? Mike Gn __________________ Where O where are you tonight? Why have you gone and left me alone? I searched to world over and a thought i found true love... You met another and PTThhh you were gone....

01-20-2010, 01:30 AM	#3
Maximilian II Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Northwest GA Posts: 1,381	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Still getting .44mag Remington and Winchester here for around $20 a box of 50. Similar price per box and round for .32ACP, with slightly less availability. Not shooting much else lately but I do see 12ga. is really cheap now, 100 rounds birdshot for maybe $30 at WallyWorld. I'm looking for Fiocchi .32ACP without luck though. Their FMJ's are the STUFF! __________________ Karma is just justice, without the satisfaction. And I don't believe in justice. -Joe Sarno, bagman.

01-20-2010, 03:33 AM	#5
Suwannee Tim Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,227	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... You have to be patient and you can't hold out for the best possible price. I've found 22, 223 and 40 at Wally Mart and 22, 223 and 308 from Midway and Natchez. Go on the web sites and set up a product availability notice, when you get the email, buy then, don't wait.

01-20-2010, 03:40 AM	#6
Zane71464 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ohio NRA Member Contributor Posts: 5,358	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... So very true, thats a good way to go. __________________ Two Words; "Simple Man", song by Charlie Daniels sums up my thoughts on a "few things"!

01-20-2010, 04:45 AM	#7
Suwannee Tim Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,227	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I noticed that powder, primers and bullets all had poor availability. First powder slowly became more available and is not in reasonably good supply. Primers are becoming more available, lagging powder as is ammo. I think things will loosen up this year. The election of Brown in MA might help, it will make people a little less paranoid about the Dems ramming some kind of gun control legislation down our throats.

01-20-2010, 04:54 AM	#8
Zane71464 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Ohio NRA Member Contributor Posts: 5,358	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... With the election of Brown in MA, I think "we" might be in store for a few changes. I know it can only help, thats for sure. But there for a while, I was looking up powder for 9mm & 45acp loads and they were all but un-available. But hopefully we are making our way back up hill a bit. __________________ Two Words; "Simple Man", song by Charlie Daniels sums up my thoughts on a "few things"!

01-20-2010, 05:58 AM	#9
Insulation Tim Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ohio Contributor Posts: 2,298	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... .......I just keep hitting the basement every night or so and spend and hour or two working the reloader. I don't even bother to look in the stores anymore. __________________ Tim *"Remember the Ark was built by amateurs....Professionals built the Titanic"*

01-20-2010, 06:04 AM	#10
hogger129 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4,064	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... i'm not feeling it at all. i can usually always find my winchester 100-round boxes of .45acp at farm n' fleet. last time i was at gander, they had plenty. __________________ Samuel Adams once said, "among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life, secondly to liberty, thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can."

01-20-2010, 06:38 AM	#11
mrkirker Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 3,067	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Plenty here in shops I frequent. The Great Panic of '09 has passed. __________________ *I don't know if dogs have a heaven, but there will be dogs in mine.*

01-20-2010, 07:34 AM	#12
Double D TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: North Florida Contributor Posts: 8,075	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I have probably 7-800 rounds of 223. I sell them for 7.25 a box of 20. People are gouging. __________________ I own a bunch of scary guns. You want em? Come and take em..... Liberalism is a serious, non curable, mental disorder... NRA LIFE MEMBER Oath Keepers Member NRA Certified Instructor 30 Yr CC permit holder.

01-20-2010, 08:34 AM	#13
Nolaphoto1 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Houma, LA Posts: 109	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I have about 600rds of 223 in a dry box and with the hit and miss availability I don't shoot it that often. I have 500rds of .22lr on order. I thought I was doing good by shooting the standard velocity target loads but it seems that the "suppressor craze" has had taken its toll on its availability. I don't want to have to hoard and store ammo just so I can spend an hour at a range but it seems like that is exactly what I am going to have to do. Did you ever think you'd wake up in America and see a day when gun and ammunition manufacturers couldn't keep up with demand? __________________ Jeff Gun List: Beretta A300 12ga., Lee-Enfield No.4 Mk1, Savage 10FP heavy barrel .308 w/ 4-12x 50mm Ballistic range finding scope and Harris bipod, Bushmaster AR-15 M4-A2, Springfield Armory XD Tactical 9mm, Marlin Model 60 .22, Browning Buck Mark .22, and Springfield Armory 1911-A1 Stainless Steel "Loaded," Browning BL-22. I also "shoot" with Canon cameras. Does that count? Wish list: H&K USP, Beretta 92-FS, CZ-75B, Anschutz 64MPR, FN-FAL,& an M-1 Garand

01-20-2010, 08:49 AM	#14
Bubblehead V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Pioneer, CA Posts: 480	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I'm finding that when the small, local gun shops in my area have loading supplies available, they jack up the price by a minimum of 100%. I always try to support my local businesses but in this case, I won't return to them for anything. I don't like it when the locals screw their local customers. __________________ There are only two types of ships: Submarines and Targets.

01-20-2010, 08:55 AM	#15
rocklinskier V.I.P. Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 295	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Here in Northern CA, I am suprised to be able to find almost any common handgun ammo. Prices are a bit high, ($20 per 50 for .45--$14-16 for 9mm) but not as bad as some I see listed here, and for the most part as good as any online supply (especially when you add in shipping cost). I have two places I shop (not walmart), and between them, I can seem to get 45 ACP, 9mm, 40, 308 ($16/20rnds) without too much trouble. Now, that being said, it does vary from maker to maker, and the prices are less than beautiful, but it is there. What I am having trouble finding is 9mm and .45 bullets for reloading. I did find a decent deal on some lead 200g lead SWC the other day and bought 600 of them to hold me for a couple of months. Nobody seems to have any FMJ's though. Powder is also pretty hit and miss. The live ammo seems to be getting a little more available, hopefully the components will soon follow. __________________ Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free ~Ronald Reagan.

01-20-2010, 05:12 PM	#16
BETH Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: naugatuck,Ct. Contributor Posts: 6,673	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Hoffman's guns in Ct. has more ammo than anyone needs-look at the store pictures

01-21-2010, 11:16 AM	#17
REISINGMOD50 Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: North Georgia Mountains Posts: 34	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I took up reloading 9mm and .45 ACP years ago. Some reloading components are hard to find and have jumped in price, but still I can reload for about 11 cents a round. In addition, people that never thought of owning a gun are buying them and those will guns are loading up on ammo. There election of Odimbo the Muslim is the root cause of the shortage of ammo. In addition, the wars around the world with muslims have dried up the surplus ammo market. The days of cheap ammo and available surplus is gone forever.

01-21-2010, 02:34 PM	#18
RandyP V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 430	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... It sure is nice to reload - ain't it? - lol I was getting low on bulk 22LR but my local Cabelas got in a nice supply of Federal copper clad at about $20 a box so I stocked up with several. Haven't had to buy any centerfire since I discovered Lee Precision. __________________ Lee Anniversary and Lee Classic 4-Hole Turret, presently reloading .380, 7.62 Nagant (32-20), 9mm and 45ACP

01-21-2010, 10:13 PM	#19
Texxut V.I.P. Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Utah Posts: 264	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... Wally World still gets in the Federal 550 bulk 22lr and they aren't gouging for it either. $14 something a box. I buy surplus ammo for my comblock rifles and reload everything else.

01-21-2010, 11:33 PM	#20
CampingJosh TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Indiana Contributor Posts: 4,788	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... I just moved, and my new town has only one ammo retailer: Walmart. And this particular Walmart seems to only order one box of each caliber at a time. There are three boxes of .223 on the self, but no more than one of anything else (shotshells excluded). There has been no .380 or .38 Special the whole time I've been here. I need to get to the next town east, which supposedly has 4 gun shops. It may just take me a few weeks more to find time. __________________ Nothing posted on TheFirearmsForum.com constitutes legal, accounting, gunsmithing, or other professional advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with qualified professionals for real advice. Your life is lived at your own risk. Don't blame me for the dumb things you do.

01-22-2010, 08:02 AM	#21
LDBennett Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hesperia, CA Posts: 5,714	Re: Difficult time finding ammo... This guns, ammo, and reloading components shortage started right after the Obama election. It was caused by the panic buying of the shooting public. They bought anything gun related and hoarded it for fear Obama and his fireinds in Congress would find a way to stop slates of gun related products. It still goes on today. It is not the government creating the shortage (except for military items used by the US troops in the middle east) but us, as we stock up on anything gun related. I'll admit I did order more than my normal stores for the reason stated above but I have always kept a good store, mostly to avoid running out during a marathon reloading session. I had to wait for 6 months for the entire order to get filled and primers were the long pole in the tent. But I got them all including some .308 147FMJ Winchester Bulk bullets that I have been trying to get for the last two years. My stocks are good for several years, say until 2012 (election year?). I also stocked up on 22 ammo as CA passed a law prohibiting internet sales of handgun ammunition. Pistol ammo sales will only be through dealers and will require ID, a finger print, and a log of my ID details. So don't blame the government for our hoarding (that's such a terrible word for planning ahead and taking action to protect yourself). The government has more than enough other faults to hit on. LDBennett