Anybody getting extremely frustrated ammo hunting?

Three or four weeks ago there was something on shortages on the local TV news. You could hear someone saying "no more .380."

Last week a friend was at Cabela's and went to get some .45 ACP cartridges. They had none. That really surprised me. Shades of WWII?

Today I visited a city gun store that just relocated. They had no .45 ACP (did have GAP), no .357, no .38 Special (they did have some .38 S&W). They did have a lot of 9MM and .40.

I remember a temporary shortage of .38 Specials in some bullet weights and styles forty five years ago, but nothing like this.

I was rather low on .38 Specials, so I drove from there to a family owned sporting goods store further out. No .357 except some LeverReolution, and the only .38 Specials on the shelf were premium +P loads. I prefer non +P, but beggars can't be choosers. While I was getting some of those. some FMJ white box practice ammo and some mid-range wadcutters came out and I got some of those also.

The were low on .45 but had plenty of .40.

I had read about the situation here but didn't think getting .38 Special would be a problem. Wow!
 
Well, after work the other day I got to be part of the problem! :D

Yep, I took the entire shipment of 9mm and .45 that Walmart got for the weekend (possibly even week).

I know some people who haven't been able to get 9mm for a long time so most if it won't be staying with me though. They only got 200 rds of .45 in.

.40 seems to stay on the shelves a day or two longer than 9mm and .45. I haven't seen .38 or .357 outside of a gun shop for a long time.
 
Our Walmart; I saw some 44mag and 45acp come in about 3-4 days ago. I went in yesterday, and there was still some of it on the shelves. Still 25 auto. Plenty of rifle. Usually some 357 mag here and there. Then again, this is Wyoming. Everyone owns a gun. We don't normally need to hoard ammo, because we normally don't get that low on it. My local gun stores (Only looked at 2 of the 3); had pretty much any ammo I needed. Granted, a bit pricey. But it was there. 32, 380, 9mm, 38/357, 41, 44, 45..... all of it. I just ordered a case of 38spl, 357, and 45acp online last week. (That's what I normally do for plinking ammo). It was all delivered and no back order. Guess you just go to know how to look for it. Oh, and for plinking lead ammo; 45acp was $13 a box of 50 (including shipping). 38 was $14 a box.

After those who don't NORMALLY shoot finish stocking up on their couple of boxes; things will settle down a bit. Those who shoot a lot, usually reload or buy in bulk. The average person walking into wally world probably isn't the average shooter. Once they have 4-5 boxes of each of their calibers, they'll think they have enough to last a lifetime. (I'd go through that in a couple of days if I wanted to). Things will settle down. I don't expect the prices to settle down too much. But I do expect the supply and demand to level off. And FWIW; I love ordering lead bullets. Great for paper punching; but without a copper jacket, and wadcutter makes a great defense round if needed.
 
Finding Ammo?

I started stocking up last summer when the major candidates were blowing all of their smoke. I took a chunk of change from each 2 week paycheck and started stocking primers, powder, and brass (once fired). At election time I stocked up on social ammo (read that as SD). I also found and bought Barnes all copper 185 gr .45, 155gr .40, 158gr .357 bullets. I have some very good loads in case I have to load my own Social Ammo. Two weeks ago I called Zero Bullet co and inquired about what was in stock for local pickup. Drove by and paid cash up front, and they loaded my tilted to the right SUV out back with 5000 rounds of 40cal copper jacket not plated. Primers are the hard to get item right now, so get powder and brass. There is a ton of cheap once fired brass you can google and get with NO shipping charge. Bullets are easy to get. Just get what you can when you see it. I did not see this coming before Clinton, I did see it this time. Patience is needed but you will be able to find what you need, it will just take a little time. And yes Reloading is more popular than ever. I love my Twin Dillon SDB's.
 
This whole thing really sucks for guys like me who go to the range once a week and ACTUALLY SHOOT THE AMMO WE ARE BUYING, as opposed to the revolutionaries who are filling their closets. I live in Tennessee, and you know its ridiculous when the local anarchist gun shop owner tells you your a little tweaked in the head for buying so much ammo. For those of you who have a ten year supply, stop hoarding you fricken paranoid freaks!
 
I did not know there is a law against buying all the ammo one wants? So what. Is this not the USA? In a case like stinger why not load your own?
 
I only go to the range maybe once a month. they limit themselves to 1 box a visit of particular ammo so all I have to to is stop buy when shopping and I'm good when I want to shoot. (eggs, lettuce, london broil, .357 mag , 3 lemoons)

If nothing else i find it exillerating. sure it's a bitch I can't stock up in one stop but it means gun owners are growing in the country.
 
Piper Cub-

I take it you are a pilot? I fly for a living and am gone too much to spend my time at home reloading ammo. What is really ticking me off is these ma and pa gunshops casing the local Walmarts reselling the ammo in their own shops for $5-$6 more per box. But, your right. This is America and people are free to do as they choose.
 
How likely is it that a range will not have ammo for customers to buy when using rental guns?
I'm going to Florida soon and I won't be too happy if there is no ammo at the range!
 
I think my range days are over until this whole ammo thing blows over, im am now super glad I bought 6 30 rd mags for my PTR-91 and filled them all along with 4 20 rd mags. a box of 300 shot gun slugs. I am a little light on the 9mm hyra shocks but have one high capacity mag full of them and a box of regular ammo. I just bought a ruger LCP and am looking for a box or 2 of 380 hyrda shocks (I dont need 30 boxes of it lol) just enough to fill my mag and a spare and maybe one extra box.

Guess what people when they disolved the milta and turned it into a "national gaurd" which can be federalized they disolved any organization of the people against the government. So guess what your 9mm is not going to do much against a attach helicopter, the only thing you can do is pray that military members will not fire on there own sons/daughters/friends but I was in the military and they do a damn good job of scare tacticing people into all kinds of ****ed up **** with all sorts of threats of loss of freedom, jail time blah blah blah.
 
"This is America and people are free to do as they choose."

Your right and you have the choise to not buy it, the way I see it get just enough to keep in your self defense weapon and get a new hobbie. There was a guy in a gun store selling a HK4 on cosignment for 1200$, I mean yea its an HK and HK's are sweet but not 1200$ sweet (I dont care how many barrels it comes with lol). I was able to get a few cool guns before the extortion started (was never able to get my chrome lined gas piston .223 before they started to exceed 1500 and 1700$ oh well such is life) and now its time to move on to a new hobbie, after I get my PE I think I will work on a masters degree that should keep me busy for a while and finish my pilots licence before they shut down/tax out of existance small aircraft airports. I just got a ruger LCP and its a sweet little gun, now I just need a few boxs of hydra shock and a few boxs of plinking ammo so I can see how it shoots and then load a few clips and put the gun in my pocket and put the ammo away and start into my new hobbies. Also I need to find/make a few blanks for the first round in the chamber since the ruger does not have a safety I figure if I have a blank loaded all I have to do is fire the blank to load a real round instead of racking the slide back and the blank will induce a panic where as racking the slide just looses time and I dont want a hot round in the chamber in my pocket with no safety.

I dont know how people are affording all this ammo and over inflated firearms in these economic times, I guess the hard economic times have not got that hard yet, you will know when its hard when you can go to wal mart and pick and choose the ammo you want because every one else is so destituted they cant buy it anymore, just hope to god your carrer field is not expendible.
 
So your getting out of the shooting hobby due to the high cost of guns and ammo but are going to pursue your masters degree and a pilots license? I've taught many people to get their pilots licenses in the past and the cost of ammo is a drop in the bucket compared to what your about to spend.
 
I wouldn't even want to guess what the cost would be these days for all the flight licenses I got in the early 70's. That masters degree isn't cheap either, depending on where you go to get it. Ammo and a few days a month at the range are a drop in the bucket compared to those aspirations.
 
I'm pretty frustrated. I've almost quit going to Wal-Mart for handgun ammunition, because the ammo shelves at the ones in my area are almost always bare save for some .22s (mostly the expensive Stingers and Mini-Mags) and occasionally maybe a box or two of .357 Sigs. Federal bulk-pack .22s are but a fond memory. Not much to choose from in rifle ammo, and buckshot loads and deer slugs are usually sold out as well.

Bass Pro and many of the smaller gunshops are badly picked over as well, especially for target ammunition. You can find premium defense loads every now and then, but they'll cost you (good thing I've got a couple boxes of SD loads set aside for each of my guns).

Last Monday I scored one of the new Lipsey's Ruger .44 Special flattops...and then discovered that almost every gun shop in the Kansas City area was out of .44 Special ammo. I managed to find a couple of boxes of MagTech "cowboy action" loads at Cabela's and another two boxes of aluminium-cased Blaser 200-grain Gold Dot HPs in that caliber...and each of those boxes of ammo set me back $33 bucks. (One gun dealer quoted me a price of $50 (!) for a box of fifty rounds...and those were Remington 246-grain LRNs. I wasn't nearly that desperate, needless to say.)

At those prices, I'm almost afraid to take my new Ruger to the range.
 
I went to one of my local gunshops the other day and got all happy, I saw one box of Speer Gold Dot hollowpoints in 40SW sitting there and right away asked to see them, as I always do, to make sure they were the right thing, and the box says "short barrel" on it. I wondered why I would be so lucky as to happen upon the last box of 40SW hollowpoints, let alone an awesome brand. Now I know why.
 
I still stop by Walmart to see if I can score a box or two of ammo, mainly 22LR, but I always leave plenty for the next guy. But next time they have only 2 box's of Federal 22lr, I'm buying them both, but if they have three, I'll leave a box.

Just over a year ago, I was getting broke buying ammo, and not guns, only because my buddy warned me prices were going up and they did, quite a bit.

Now, I'm rolling in $8.33 (Sportmanguide) box's/50s of 9mm 115g Fiocchi's ($10 NATO rounds) , $12.50 box's/50s of 9mm GDHP +P 124g, $15.00 box's/50s .38 135g GDHP +P short barrel x 50 (was 60). and other good deals on .38s, but can't remember what good deals I got from AmmoMan.com.

15 boxs/100s $18.??;'s of WWB lose 9mm left.

I never did plan on any shortage, I just bought ammo to save money in the long run.

At that time there was no shortage, in fact, I think it was the opposite.

Thank God I didn't buy that 44mag. I spent the money on ammo.

So I'm good!


PS: I did buy a few box's of Generic 44mag +Ps for $25 a box that are any bit as good as Remington, just more power. I like to try to blow up peoples M29s.:D
 
Good luck with some 380

I went to almost every place here in Anchorage that sells ammo and couldnt find any 380 for my new LCP($429 w/ laser and beltclip). :D My last stop before heading home was Wild West Guns to see Ken (WildAlaska). I look over his shelves real quick and ask him if he has any 380. The guy starts laughing maniacly at me and everyone seems to be staring at me.:o He walks back behind the counter and, still laughing opens up 2 mix matched boxes of 380. There were maybe 75 rounds, and no more than 10 the bullets matched. Said he'd give me the whole lot for 5 bucks. Problem was I only had 3 on me. Said he'd do 20 on the card. I talked my roommate out of 2 bucks and became one of the luckiest guys in town.:) Ken saved the day, and I was able to hit the range the next day. All the ammo, surprisingly, worked great. I just wish I knew what exactly I was shooting. :rolleyes:

-c/Kord!

P.S. I did manage to pick up a case of 9mm for $100 the other day, so the ammo hunt is going better than expected.
 
"How likely is it that a range will not have ammo for customers to buy when using rental guns?"

Likely, or maybe just iffy - call ahead. I was talking to a customer at a gun store on Friday. He was trying to find .380 to teach a class and had been to 4 stores that day - this was 100+ miles from where we live and we were both standing in one of the ammo aisles looking at empty shelves.

When I mentioned where I lived and that I had everything except .380 he said the range would be interested in buying ammo if I had any to spare.

Dang. And they require you to shoot their ammo.

Oh, and the store did have a few boxes of .380 on the front counter, but it was some high-tech self defense stuff for $32/20 rounds.

John
 
That's the thing, if these guys require you to shoot their ammo, and they don't have any, are they going to relax their rules a bit and let you shoot Walmart ammo (if you have any that is)?

I've asked my lil sister to call them up and find out what the story is for that range in FL.
 
I live in So. Maine and I am having problem finding any 9mm ammo for plinking/practice within a 30 mile. The 3 local Wally Worlds are out of ammo every time I stop. The few local gun shops only have hollowpoints, and I am too poor to be shooting $1/rnd ammo for plinking. Cabela's was out of almost all 9mm except some +p, +p+, and some CorBon 20rnd boxes for $31.99 a box. With only 100 rounds of WWB left in my safe, it is not looking good.

After a stop at the a couple local Wally Worlds and Cabelas this morning, I wasn't able to find a single box of 9mm. One of the Wally Worlds told me they get 1 or 2 boxes per week, and that is all they can get from their warehouse.

Guess I'll have to just shoot Snap-Caps :(
 
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