No, the reason ammo makers don’t want to invest heavily in new manufacturing facilities is because there is no actual shortage. This is a bubble. Given that .22 LR alone amounts to four or five billion rounds a year produced, there could literally be hundreds of billions of rounds of ammunition in the US alone. There is no shortage. This is the Tulip Bubble. Eventually, people will realize that there is all this ammo out there and demand will drop to virtually nothing, maybe for a long long time.
Bingo!
You only have to go back a year to see that what you said about increasing capacity is true. Just like before, everyone without ammo is calling for manufacturers to make big investments to increase capacity just because they lacked prudence. Supplies caught up quickly after the last bubble, and will again, barring government interference, which can’t be ruled out. Meanwhile, there are ways to overcome the supply issues, but putting on a pouty face and fussing at business owners ain’t one of them.
You mentioned tulips. Remember the Great Beany Baby Boom? I saw one go for $2500.
