By Cranky Buddha

I happen to love the smell of gun cleaner, particularly the classic scent of Hoppe’s No. 9. In terms of my favorite aromas, it ranks right up there with new tires, gasoline and motor oil. It’s not quite up there with the smell of bacon or my wife’s Carne Guisada but it’s definitely one of my top ten fragrances. Unfortunately, my wife says it gives her a headache and since I do love her Carne Guisada (along with about a bajillion other things about her) a compromise had to be made. In this case the Hoppe’s had to go . . .

I did some research on alternatives to the old standby and found one that wasn’t priced too much like unobtainium. I also found it to be in stock at a local “big box” sporting goods store. Since I had nothing better to do, I spent my lunch hour heading over to there to pick up a bottle.

The current ammunition drought has developed some fairly Pavlovian responses in many gun owners, myself included. One of those is that I’m no longer able to walk into a sporting goods store without checking what ammo they may have in stock. Again, this has become a conditioned behavior. I had already spent my ammunition budget for the week and knew I shouldn’t even look but, well…I couldn’t help myself (see conditioned response).

It was as if I’d been digging at the “X” on the treasure map and my shovel hit the wood and iron of a buried chest. There were AR-15 magazines on the shelf, there was .22LR on the shelf, and there was .30-30 on the shelf.  They were at reasonable prices and there was more there than I have seen since December! True, there was still no 5.56 or 9mm, but I had seen and purchased a couple hundred rounds of each earlier in the week. Which brought me to my quandary.

My weekly ammo allowance had already been spent. But there was ammo. Right there on the shelf.

It didn’t take long, but I figured out a way to make the purchase split among several cards so that it would fly under my Wonderful Wife’s radar (remember my love of Carne Guisada and a bajilion other things?).

As I was walking out of the store, bag of ammo in hand, I was hopeful that this was a sign that the current drought was nearing its end. For validation I headed over to one of the local gun stores and made a beeline for the back wall. Sure enough, there were AR’s in stock. Not a lot (maybe 10), but that particular stretch of wall had been empty for the last three months or so.

I left the store in a pretty good mood until a little later in the day when I received an email from my wife. It was a screenshot of the account balances accompanied by a frowny-faced emoticon and a few rather harsh words. There will be no Carne Guisada or additional ammo purchases for quite a while. Which made me wonder…

Is supply finally catching up with demand or is the gun community just running out of money?

 Cranky writes at at Notes From a Cranky Buddha.

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116 COMMENTS

  1. Ripple effects should last a while, since many who see it for the first time will try to grab it all. Expect a long time before it gets ‘normal’.

    CCI SV is still $100/500 on gunbroker. The real market price will be on there for a while, while some get lucky and find it in stores, those with jobs and other commitments will have to buy at market price.

    • Put a drop of Hoppes #9 behind each ear before going out! Trust me you will have too beat off the girls!

      I know ammo is like the weather. All conditions are local.
      I will know when things are back to normal. That will be the day when I can walk into any (LGS/Walmart, etc.) and buy a bulk pack of .22lr for ~ $20.00.
      Around here no chance.
      Guy22

  3. Wow. Where do you live? I haven’t seen anything but 20ga, .410, 7mm and .270 in either WA or OR in forever. I have to stop when I go down to CA–there’s a hardware store I don’t think many folks know stocks some CCI when they can get it.

    I am seeing more guns, though, just not back to full stock yet.

    • Funny, all we have here in the Bremerton, WA area is .270 and .30-06… Its everywhere you go both calibers in huge abundance… Looks like its time to buy a .270 and .30-06…

    • I saw 12 ga. target loads on the shelf at my favorite shop for the first time in months.

      There has been 20 the whole time, though, and the irrational part of my brain had almost convinced me to buy a new shotgun so it’s a good thing the 12 showed back up.

      • Yup. I was also in that mode of “I need to buy guns that eat what’s left.” But before I blew the cash, that ammo was gone too.

      • Really 12 ga target? it is local. A month ago I got a (what’s 250 called?) case of 12 gauge target for 45 bucks at gander mountain here. There was case after case on a pallet in the store, multiple brands and prices.

        • Yeah we have about every thing but .22 in stock where I live. Shotgun ammo never really took a hit here.

  5. people are just getting bored. p(ban)anic has calmed. supply has not come close to meeting demand in terms of ammo. it wasn’t really up to par prior to December. as far as the black scary rifles, they are well stocked at decent prices here in ‘Zona. feeding them is impossible unless you wait in a line for hours early in the morning OR buy that same ammo on backpage from dildozers making a buck off of fellow shooting enthusiasts at 2-3x the cost.

      • Another Zonie here. Born and bred 41 year native.

        Agreed. The prices for .22LR on backpage are just stupid, as is everything else. The amount of people with unfired cheapie model AR’s asking $1,300 is amusing. This morning there was a fella wanting $900 for his Norinco SKS with a cheap ass Tapco stock. When a $600 AR is going for the same price as a decent FAL we’ve officially reached ridiculous.

        I don’t see the ammo situation getting better anytime soon. We have a shit ton of new gun owners scrambling to feed their new baby.

        • I watch 40 and 380 on gunbot, I can live with my stockpiles of other rounds. There have been more and more ‘good deals’ showing up in the past few weeks. I admit 9 and 223 are lagging a bit, but I honestly think we are coming out of it.

          I talked to my wife about starting an ammo allowance tonight at dinner (once things calm down). I suggested $100 a week, she said why not $200, I love this women(secretly I think she likes shooting more than I do)

        • Whats laughable is that 800 dollar arsenal AK now costs over 2000 in most gun stores.

          I can look on armslist or gunsamerica and pick one up all day long for the 800-1000 range.

          The interesting thing is that WASRs, which are universally known to be the worst AK you can buy, now cost just as much as quality AKs. You can still pick up arsenals and waffen werks AKs for pre-panic prices or slightly above.

        • I picked up an SLR-101S just before prices went full retard. sold an SKS for $300 the first week of December. saw the same one I sold posted on backpage a week ago for $1000 or trade for high end AR. it’s amazing how theoretical demand makes people forget the true value of their gun. anything I’ve sold has been at normal prices as to not contribute to the inflation. it amazes me how people with a common interest fighting for thier rights are so quick to stab eachother in the back for greed. who needs to pass absurd anti-gun legislation when the common gun enthusiasts is willing to buy everything up and hold it for ransom? $1k WASRs.. never thought I see the day.

        • Fellow Zonan as well…Prices are full-on retard… Seeing a bit of ammo supply every now and then but it was pretty thin before the mass panic of Dec 12 and all the ne plinkers out there feeding the baby… I still shake my head at some of the gun prices at present – and SPOT ON APBTFan – some of the AK prices are laugh out loud… Luckily i was one of those that had a ammo allowance ever since the manchurian got elected first time around…

  6. It depends on the area.

    If you’re reading this from occupied territory like California, I’d expect the ammo shortage will endure until the Disarmament Lobby enacts their new regulations.From what I understand CA is proposing a law mandating a separate state issued ammo purchase card, without which you’re banned from buying ammo.

  7. Using sites like gunbot I regularly see listings for .223/5.56 at $0.30/rd (usually for Wolf or Tula), but it sells out in minutes. I’ve been noticing $0.75 being the line where people start thinking its too much. Two weeks ago that level was $1.00/rd. I see some hope in that reduction. An easing of the panic.

    • 7.62×39 is cheap though (nowhere near the ’99 levels).

      The price in 9mm blows me away though (WTF!?)

  8. You let your wife see the credit card statements? Bad call.

    A friend told me that cabelas even had some russian .223 online in 1000 round bulk packs for $380 in stock earlier today.

  9. I went to Cabella’s yesterday. 30rd AR mags are back, and there were 3 ARs on the shelf. No handgun ammo but Independence .45 and .45LC, Lotsa 12GA Buck and Slug, even Military, and it was discounted. Only common rifle ammo they had was a few boxes of .308. So no. That is exactly what they had during the drought, and nothing has changed.

  12. Here in N. Central Texas the supply is still thin as snake’s eyelashes. I can’t even find .22, much less anything else useful. I’m starting to wonder if it ever even makes it past the loading dock at our nearest Wal-Mart.

    • Went to the wal mart in Milpitas California the other day and they had taken their ammo cabinet out and I was told they’re not selling ammo any more. Sucks as this is the closest walmart to me that used to sell ammo. Now I’m stuck with over priced LGS’s and online.

  13. I have noticed .223 and some 5.56 is back in stock at a few big online stores and the prices have dropped about 5 cents per round for the ‘cheap’ stuff’. Last I checked it was about $850 for 1000 rounds of PMC and under $800 for Russian .223

    • Gunslick Foaming Bore Cleaner doesn’t smell. Obviously it’s mainly for cleaning bores (works very very well) but does well on parts too.

      I’ve also read of a few no-stinky cleaners out there.

  16. Went to the gun show in Fort Pierce, FL today. Not nearly as many people as in January (granted, I went after 1 PM and lots of snowbirds have already left the area). Best deal on new 9mm ammo I saw was Remington UMC 124gr, 250 rounds for $119.95 – cash only.

    • 1pm? the old birds are napping and resting up for the early bird dinner specials at 4 o’clock. perfect time to go out in FL.

  18. I would have thought that Hoppe’s #9 was close enough to Channel #7, tell me I’m the first to make that mistake. Randy

  19. The only place in town to have any supply of 22lr, in recent weeks, had about 500 50rd boxes of Eley Sport (purple box) for $4.99 on Wednesday morning. They were rationing people to 2 boxes a day. By Thursday morning they had 15 boxes in stock.

    It does look like firearms are starting to catch up, people running out of tax refund money?

    • I just bought a m&p compact in 40 of Good Friday. My lgs has plenty of handguns and is starting to get scary black rifles in for about 120% of normal prices. I suspect you are right about refund checks. I owed this year 🙁 then again I’d rather pay later than sooner.

      • You owe EVERY year, my friend. And you owe more this year than last, more next year than this year. But thank you for your contributions, with out them, many would not have a free phone, so you, sir, have made a difference.

  20. The closest store to me has ammo, but the prices are above what I am willing to pay. Tula 7.62×39 for $13/box, PPU .308 for $25/ box, and .223 for $25/box. I refuse to pay those prices. I’ll check the other stores next week for better prices.

  21. I have the good fortune of my LGS being Palmetto State Armory. The AR wall is now pretty well stocked with “evil black rifles.” There’s even a Bushmaster ACR on the wall at a price less than a basic AR was selling for at gun shows as recent as last month. Handgun stock is low, but the shelves are still not completely empty.
    The ammo situation, on the other hand, is bleak at best. No .22LR to be had, 5.56 trickles in here and there and is gone within the hour. Pistol ammo is only available if you are willing to pay close to $1 per round for high end personal defense rounds.(Hornady TAP, Winchester PDX-1, etc.) Reloading supplies are impossible to find except for bastard calibers, and even those are showing signs of depleting stock. Shotgun ammo seems to be the only good news in the Carolinas. Even Wal-Mart has 12-gauge readily available. If the ammo shortage is tapering off, you’d never know it here.

    • I agree. Never saw a shortage of 12ga at Bass Pro here in Memphis. .223, otoh is nonexistent. Reloading supplies are also AWOL.

  23. After about 40 years away from guns, I started again and discovered Hoppe’s #9 didn’t smell near as good as I remembered. Happened to be at the NRA show in St. Louis shortly after that discovery and ran into a guy selling (and making) Gunzilla. Didn’t buy any then, but went home and did some research on the internet. Sounded good and I can buy it on Amazon. As far as I can tell it works well, and does not bother my nose. You might give it a try. Maybe even a review?

    • It smells a lot like diesel fuel to me. I use it, but I segregate all the dirty stuff and put it in a sealed .50 cal can, or throw it immediately into the outside trash when I’m done.

  24. Not here in PA. None of the popular calibers are in stock,anywhere I’ve looked. 9mm, .45acp, .40s&w, .22lr, .308, 5.56/.223, 7.62×39, forget it. I’ve pretty much given up even trying. I’m hoping things settle by the end of summer. But I kinda doubt it.

    • In my area too. I had to cut practice to 10 rounds a week. Though 20GA shells seem to be everywhere

    • NY as well… some of the smaller shops you can find a box or two of the popular calibers, but even 17hmr has disappeared from the box stores. and guess what NO BLACK ANYTHING.

  25. In central FL there is no end in sight. .22lr and 9mm are like gold here. 5.56 is also pretty rare.

    • I hear ya. I found lots of .40 & .45 but no 9mm. Told the wife I need more guns in other calibers 😉

  26. Still None here in Central Illinois. I check daily on my lunch break. They have 380, 40, 17hmr, and an occasional box of 45. No 22lr, no 9’s, no 223.

    That picture is a huge tease BTW..

  28. Portland Oregon:

    Ammo supply is slowing increasing, however, it is far from adequate. Ammo is usually sold out within minutes or an hour max of hitting the shelves. Stores are limiting the quantity customers can buy (1-3 boxes of each type of ammo) therefore it is not the case that one or two guys are buying it all up.

    One local BiMart store has only received 22cal on three separate days the past three months and the amount was small in each case. Big 5 Sporting Goods is now charging $35 brick with a one brick limit on delivery day (they run out within five minutes). I have seen more boxes of 9mm, .223, and 12 gauge than other popular calibers.

  29. .223 (PMC 55 gr FMJBT) is available locally for $9.99/20, limit of 5 boxes per person per day at my LGS and .38 special (PMC 132 gr FMC) $19.99/50 limit as above. No .22lr or 9mm other than Hornady Critical Defense at $19.99 per box, limit 5. No real end in sight, but at least something is available.

    For a non-stinky cleaner, try MPRO-7, I have been using it for 15 years, and it works great, no odor I can detect.

    • +1 on the mpro 7, it has a small odor, but it works better than hoppes in my opinion. Also in Michigan from suburbs of Detroit to grand rapids to big rapids and every where inbetween no popular cal. I bought a judge, but I seem to have bought almost all the 2.5 inch shells around, 45 long colt is plentiful at 1.10 a round for self defense loads, occ. 223 for 25$+ for 20. I have not seen .22 since January 2nd

  30. Wow, SoCal FTW. I just picked up PMC Bronze and Federal 230 gr .45 FMJ for $23.99/ box of 50. And 5.56/ .223 goes for anywhere btwn 60-90 cents a round depending where you look and whether it’s 55 or 62 grain (I only buy brass-cased ammo). Granted it’s expensive, but at least it’s available.

  31. It must be local. Ct in general is dried up. Was just at one of the bigger stores and all they have is 7.62x54r, 300 win mag, and miscellaneous obscure stuff. All pistol calibers are cleaned out and all the gun racks are cleaned out with the exception of your random caliber bolt actions.

  32. Central NJ(Mercer County) LGS had all the major pistol calibers in stock, but was limiting customers to 1 box per caliber. They had .22LR(limit 5 boxes of 50) and some Russkie 7.62 x 39. Very brisk trade…

  33. Local dealer has an ad in the paper for ‘unwanted ammo’ and is using that to stock his shelves. Some of the boxes look older than I (66+) but can’t open the box to check the ammo. And the calibers weren’t your normal everyday stuff, but the oddball cowboy calibers for falling block rifles. There were about four boxes of .270, a few ’06, zip for .308, .223 and pistol calibers, unless one was shooting .45 LC. I was BSing with a sales clerk when a woman came in to get a box of .22 for her CCW class. He had one box of Winchester White that went for $4. I choked and said I’d bring in some good stuff for THAT much a box! Shorts are all he has left now.
    And his racks are full of rifles: Rem 7600, Winnie 100’s, 30-30, .22, dozens of black powder and SxS shottys, a few way over-priced Savage 99’s (is it Christmas yet?).

  34. I say its a combination of supply catching up with demand and the gun community running out of funds. When this sh!t all started, my buddy had roughly $7,000 in his savings account, in one month he spent $6,000 of that on ammo, guns, and magazines back when prices were normal. People were running to the bank and taking out huge loans ($5,000-????) to purchase guns and ammunition.

    My local Walmart on Easter Sunday had 19 50rd boxes and 7 100rd boxes of 9mm. Under the 3 box limit I came away with 300rds of Federal Champion 9mm 115g FMJ. Of course once word got around that Wally World had 9mm the remaining 23 boxes were all gone within an hour.

    My local gun shop got in a few cases of CCI Independence 9mm FMJ priced at $16/box, limit one box per customer. GONE in less than 2 days.

    Some guys I know are well stocked (and well-broke) and aren’t running out when i call or text them that wally world or our LGS has ammo. So it might be a little of both. This month alone I spent $200 on 150rds of .40 ranger bonded and 300rds of 9mm FMJ. If I want to buy anymore ammo I’m going to have to do what the writer did and split the purchase between 3 cards :/

    Oh and the countless donations to the Second Amendment Foundation, the National Assoc. for Gun Rights, and the NRA are also killing funds in the gun community.

    • “People were running to the bank and taking out huge loans ($5,000-????) to purchase guns and ammunition.”

      LOL

      No F*cking way!

      • Dude I shit you not. I asked my buddy that works at the gun shop I do business with and he told me he had a few crazy customers drop a couple grand easy without blinking right after Sandy Hook. A few of them straight up told him they had taken out loans.

  35. Not that bad here in N. Ga. Decent supply of arms and ammo can be found, but still a little high priced for my taste. I think the drought might ease up by summer if we don’t have another nutcase incident and political circus any time soon.

  36. Its bin 5 months since ive seen 22lr, 9mm, 45acp, 5.56/223, 7.62x39mm, 308 or 12 gauge. Here in Saint Pete, Fl. Try Bass Pro Shop on Tues morning at 9am off I-Drive in Orlando, that’s when they get threre truck. I was talking bout Wallmart and LGS’s.

  37. Not in the STL area, it’s gotten so bad that getting a Taurus Judge for every day carry is starting to sound like a good idea, being you can actually find the shotgun shells for it.

      • Cabella’s had a bunch of it the last time I was there.
        Unfortunately I have anything that shoots that. If I did, they’d be out too no doubt. :/

        • Thanks, I’ll move them to my “cruising” list.

          Despite the 3 Wally’s, 3 LSGs (what a joke), and a few “sporting goods” stores, I generally see bupkus or maybe something far more obscure than .17HMR. Or 8mm Turk. Or .375 H&H. Or…

  38. Cool blog. I like it and want to read it more often.
    I saw a link to it on LRC.

    I intend to read it more often, only it keeps reloading/refreshing like an annoying CBS website article.
    I don’t suppose you could do anything about that, could you?

  40. Nice picture. Reminds me of the good old days. Ammo was plentiful, prices were reasonable, we’d talk about it around the camp fire after a hard day hearding dinosaurs on the great plains. Ahhh, memories.

  42. so what I gather is we are all still very much screwed on finding our common calibers… I’m willing to bet that most of us simply enjoy shooting and aren’t hoarding anything we find for the fear it might never hit the shelves again. if you really want to go shooting, you might consider snagging up something cheap in an obscure caliber. low demand= low prices + available ammo. for instance, I immediately ditched my 9mm guns and snagged up a Glock 20 when everything went to hell. yes, 10mm is spendy.. however, every time I venture to a LGS, I simply wade through the ammo zombies and sure enough, amongst empty shelves there are always boxes of 10mm. and look at 9mm NOW! far exceeds the hefty price of a hefty round like 10mm.

    • Yeah, I guess when DHS comes to evict you from your property they’ll probably be slinging 9s your way. Answering with 10mm will be a nice advantage.

  43. With persistance and some patience I have components and am loading at less than $0.40 per round for 55 grain .223. Can’t wait until prices for components come back down. Doubled down on my components orders so I could load for a friend that just bought a bushmaster for $850 with a cheap ass little red dot. South of Houston is bone dry. I bought my .22 rifle when I figured .223 would get scarce, never thought I’d see .22 so scarce

  44. I was at the gun show today and some guy had skids full of 1000 count cases of all calibers for crazy prices. The only ammo I was interested in was the 45’s and 9’s, but I was’t about to pay $500.00 for a case of 9’s or $650.00 for 45’s. I’d rather beat the bad guy with my pistol than pay these crazy prices. I was able to buy some 9’s for $16.00 a box($5.00 more than I wanted to pay) and hopefully things will get back to normal soon. I never really liked 40’s and it seems like almost no one else wants them either. Every box store or gun dealer I’ve been to has plenty of 40’s that they’re dying to sell.

  45. NO! Say it ain’t SO!! Not the Hoppe’s #9! That crisp, manly scent? Wifey no likee?
    What’s the prob?

    It’s usually good for a smile wherever I drag it.. What’s this world COMING to?

  46. I live in southeast PA, and it seems that the popular centerfire calibers are starting to seep in better than before. Problem is they sell just as fast as they come in. .22s are still hard to get, unless you want to stand in line at 7 in the morning or pay 2-5x time what they’re worth at gun shows. .30-06 and .38 Specials seem to be in abundance along with .270 and .22-250. No .30-30 for some reason though.

  47. Been thinking of switching to .40 too, just b/c the ammo is still fairly easy to find. 45 hasn’t been too bad to find, but .380 and 9mm are 1 or 2 box limits here in the KC area in the last few weeks. A month ago there were no limits at a few stores. Should have stocked up then I guess… Tula and Herters 7.62×39 have been about 8 or 9 bucks for a box of 20, but readily available with few limits…

    • Check gunbot. As of this morning, tons of .308. And some of it for almost reasonable prices.

  48. I expected things to start getting better, but I was in a local gun store that is part of a small chain and in a buying group with a larger number of local gun stores and the staff there was told that they may not see any more shipments of 12 gauge shotgun shells until as late as July. I know the guys in the shop and they have always been straight with me, so I walked out with 5 flats of 12 gauge Federal Top Gun #8 shot so I would be able to shoot skeet. This may get really ridiculous….

  49. No end in sight here to the great ammunition extinction. In MA and my fave online stores I can’t even find spitballs.

  50. Me I guess I have been lucky. 2 of the last 3 times I went into Wal-Mart they had ammo. Over the 2 trips where they had ammo I was about to pickup 1 box of .22lr Winchester White Box 555 rounds at $23.99 and 14 boxes of .22lr Remington 225 at $9.95. 3700 rounds of .22lr certainly improved my ammo levels. Granted this is some crappy ammo but it was still there. Ammo is coming in more and more frequently and in larger amounts but it will likely take months before ammo has come in large enough volume to actually keep ammo on the shelf more then a few hours.

    Thanks
    Robert

    • When its been a month without any .22lr at my Wally World, hearing that some is making it to the shelves of other Wally World’s gives me hope, and sometimes a dollar lottery ticket in my pocket and reports of a “lunch time miracle” is enough to keep me going. Congratulation on your find, Robert…enjoy it.

  52. I live 10 minutes away from work, and wally world is on the way. I get out at midnight. They stock ammo around 11-12. I cant not check….

    and I just scored (me and a buddy) 600 rds of 9mm for $150. And I hate to admit i did that. But its coming in more, but people are still making mass purchases. I only had one box of fifty left though, so i dont feel so bad. hooray for rationing.

  53. Guns are back in stock in Central FL, as well as 9mm and 45, but no 22, 40, or, oddly enough 12ga to be found. My local Devil-mart hasn’t had ammo in anything but hunting rifle rounds since November.

    • There must have been an alert to the Fudd community a few weeks back. In north FL, one thing you could find was shotgun shells. A few weeks ago I saw a Fudd in sports store, loading up on WinX 12 gauge, while telling a buddy on the phone about the UN gun grab. Now I notice that shotgun shells are at about 1/4 the level they were in local stores. Or maybe it’s just hunting season.

  54. Good sites that do not rip you off are Natchez Shooter Supply and Sportsman Warehouse. If I need speciality ammo, I will support LGS if and only if the price is not crazy. Maybe people are getting wise…I do not know. I have some seen some basic 9mm selling out at $40 a box. If people would calm down for a month and stop grabbing everything that is insanely priced, the prices will go down. Econ 101. I know this is not much, but I have grabbed 2000+ rounds in the past 3 months with not paying insanely outrageous prices. Just shopping around and using common sense.

  55. If you don’t know someone at the store, you’re outta luck.

    It never sees the floor unless the salespeople have their fill, and some are reselling the stuff and pocketing the difference.

    Can’t say as I blame them, but it seems like the old communist Russia way of doing things.

    John

  56. I saw this shit coming in 2005…ergo…I peruse ammo sites and LGS out of curiosity only…got my ammo and have had it for a while. Sorry Zimmerman, your question is rhetorical.

  58. I’m sorry, but did you decided to get a refill on your face lotion and go out with your man purse when your wife told you that the Hoppes 9 had to go?? Come on – man up and if she doesn’t like it, don’t clean the guns in the same room as her…

    Men these days… jeez.

  59. Nothing available here, no ammo, no ifles beyond a BA and a few 10-22s.
    Reloading components are gone

  60. Most stores here in the Seattle area are pretty much running near empty (day to day) when it comes to the more desired calibers .22LR & WMR, .223/5.56, .380, .357 Mag, 9mm, .45ACP, .45LC, .44MAG, .308, .410 Handgun loads. Even some of the larger calibers like .454 Casull and .460MAG are in short supply. The only stuff I really see available in reasonable amount is .40SW, .38SPCL & .357SIG. I was at a store up near Burlington WA that had a quite a decent supply of .22WMR and even some .22LR (don’t need any) they also had quite a bit of the desired calibers, but mostly in 20 round HP (higher priced stuff) very little FMJ. Seems the high priced HP stuff is hanging around at some places, but Cabela’s was out of those too, when I was there in early April. Last time I saw a decent stock of ammo was right after Thanksgiving. Might be back to normal again, by this coming Thanksgiving; provided the FEDS are done messing with our rights and haven’t enacted some absurd laws : ( I think .40SW is available more, because many police departments use it; so they likely make more. Funny, during the Iraq & Afghan wars they were saying 9mm was low as a result, but those are basically over, so where’d all the 9mm go?

  61. Finally starting to see a lot more rifles hitting the shelves around Detroit. Dunhams, Gander Mt, Cabelas, and the local gun shops appear to have largely restocked on the black rifles, but the ammunition situation is still getting worse here. Plenty of shotgun shells to be had wherever you go, but I can’t even find more than a pittance of the standard calibers even at gun shows. Even starting to have problems finding 7.62x54R around these parts…

  62. I honestly think that the drought was imposed by dhs starting there ammo buying, Obama thinking the gun ban would go through and they knew people would panic buy depleting existing supply. . Of course it backfired when gun ban failed. But we all know they’ll try again soon. So You can expect supplies to be thin for quite awhile.

    I actually have been lucky enough to get allot of ammo from wal Mart lately. Granted you do have to be there when they put it out. But I’ve gotten 1100 rounds of federal brass 223 38 cents a round and several bricks of 22 over past 3 weeks..

    l also add I’m a ffl holder and in my opinion when places like sports south and lipseys stops hiding what they have and allocating those high demand items for big dealers only. then ill believe the drought will be over.

  63. Don’t know about you other Pennsylvanians, but I’ve been able to find all the popular calibers lately (including .22lr). Quantities are still limited, but I have a few select stores that keep me restocked every week.

  64. It is tuff right now. I hav been paying $10 for a box of 20 green tips but I am finding plenty of those here. .22LR is the real elusive round here no one has any i hav been ordering online and paying $35 for a 225 cnt box of Remington something or other and those are the only jacketed 22 rounds I can find online everything else is either sold out or just plain old led. I don’t understand why people are buying so much 22LR it is not a powerful round nor is it very usefull who needs 10,000 rounds of 22LR and for what reason I would think that 22 ammo would be mor available than other calibers but in reality it is the hardest to find here

  65. What has happened to capitalism. Was it all a lie. America where the dollar is king, America where the shelves of stores are lined with a cornucopia of desire and device all yours to be had at the right price. But hark thy shelves are barren of the device of my desire. Oh say can u see my 10 22 is empty and the dawns early light illuminates the fact that this is not changing. I am not hailing so proudly now that I hav no ammo.

  66. Starting to see more ammo on the shelves at the local Cabella’s. Found 9 mm ball a few weeks ago for $17.99 a box of 50. Grabbed 2 boxes. Next week there was none. Should have grabbed more I guess. But other handgun caliber ammo is now on the shelves. A LOT more than just a month ago. Does look like the supply is slowly getting better in Olympia, WA though. Ordered a laser trainer. To heck with searching for ammo, driving the range (30 miles), paying a range fee. Will try the laser trainer and wait for supply to catch up with demand.

  67. I am glad you guys don’t reload. I can make my own and shoot every day if I want to. Lots of bullets powder and primers, that is all I need and there is lots of it out there.

  68. Did you buy it all, like all the jerks who are causing this whole ammo shortage? Or did you buy what you are going to shoot?

    If all the crazies would quit stockpiling, or buying all they can to price gouge the crazies on the Internet, we might actually be able to start enjoying the sport of shooting again.

    My kids have not been able to shoot all summer because I can’t get any .22LR unless I get up at the crack of dawn to stand in line…and hope I can score before they run out. That is so stupid, and I’m not playing the game.

    I hope everybody who has stockpiled thousands and thousands of rounds enjoys sitting on all that while it goes bad in their basement. I hope someday they accidentally pull out a 20 year old box and get a round stuck in the barrel. Then they can remember how they contributed to the great ammo shortage of 2013, and ruined the sport for months on end.

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