Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Changing the way ammo is purchased

Not the case at all. They virtually all will tell you they are way more than a year out. Most closer to two years and they have quit taking orders.

There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of this goes on. The store owners funnel the ammo shipments to a second party who then sells it for them at some online auction site for 4 or 5 times the usual price. All the while telling the customers who come by the store that they just can't get anything in because of the shortage. It's a win, win for the store owners. They make 4 times as much profit off the ammo but avoid the accusation of price gouging because they aren't selling it off their actual store shelves for those inflated prices. People tend to remember that time they just needed a box of ammo to take their kid hunting and you charged them 80 bucks for a 16 dollar box of Winchester Power Points. But this way they get to sell it at those prices without any of their usual customers knowing it's actually them doing the selling. I say if you are going to be a price gouging a-hole then don't be a p#ssy about it. Put it out in your store for those prices.

The best thing we could all do right now is just stop buying ammo for a while. One of the best things that could possibly happen would be if over the next 2 months every ammo auction at places like Gunbroker ran their course and closed without receiving a single bid. I'm not saying that would solve everything but it would be a damn good first step. As long as people keep freeking out like there is never going to be any ammo again this will not get better. As long as people keep paying 70 bucks for a 20 round box of federal power shocks then I promise you that is exactly what they are going to keep charging your @$$ for them.

Wal-Mart and every other store should double the price of ammo and do it every two weeks until it starts to sit on the shelf for longer than 30 minutes.

Who needs to make cogent arguments pointing to obvious holes in the story we are given, explaining all the visible market forces, but conclusively arguing that those don't describe the behavior we see? Apparently, "Take your med and go into your bunker for a nap, dipschitt" is a well-reasoned rebuttal.

Fuucking retards around here. I'd be surprised to hear you can wipe your ass right. Isn't your secret crush on Fox right now? Better tune in.

More inane and idiotic assertions. You must have done quite well in public school.

I laid out some basics, as have others, as to why there are MASSIVE motivations to invest in increased production. Since production is scalable to a large extent, there is only a small fixed barrier to the minimum outlay of capital to begin to step up production to meet permanent increased demand. And since "panic buying" has created a demand that far outstrips production for the next few years, and the manufacturers could charge at least 500% of what they charged just last January moving forward, the only barrier to beginning to increase capitalization of production is?

Go ahead and come up with a cogent answer. I'd like to hear one.

1. Define “minimum” outlay of capital.

2. Define “permanent” increase in demand

3. Define “production” both now and once these increases in production you advocate have occurred.

4. Predict actions by Congress over the next six months and how those actions might affect not only the market and demand, but the legalities around the manufacture and sale of ammunition.


Then once you’ve done all that, pretend you are an ammo company and I am a bank, and you are asking me for a loan to build new production facilities. And of course, assume that I am not a “woke” bank and predisposed against loaning you money merely because I dislike your business.

Even if the ability to increase production is found and available, increases in production always impact current quality control measures.

And, what is the BIGGEST liability that manufacturers of ammunition face? Quality control.
The product liability policies they purchase may be the biggest factor which dictates production goals.

The solution is for the manufacturers to take a free market approach and charge what the market will bare. The scalpers aren't to blame, they're just addressing a market inefficiency. Some people will complain, but right now the extra profit to be made in ammunition sales is going to scalpers. The manufacturers are understandably worried about investing in a bunch of new machinery only to have the market go flat and still be on the hook for paying it off. Right now the incentive for them to increase production is limited by there artificially low prices. Obviously, there would be more incentive if they were the ones pocketing the profits.

Except mass shooting events have always been perpetrated by Ds.

How is "closer to two years" different from "over a year?"

My kids or grandkids can either shoot it, burn it, or sell it for whatever they can get after I die. I really won't care at that point.

Unless, of course, I get "SWATed" before then. And then everyone can read in the paper about all the "Sniper Rifles" and the "huge" ammo cache they confiscated. They might even mention "high capacity" lever action "assault rifles"

That's what I argued during the post-Sandy Hook .22 rimfire shortage. That way, if you really needed some .22, you wouldn't need to line up at the store's entrance two hours before opening and then have a foot race to the gun counter when the doors open. You could come any time you wanted, and it would be on the shelf. You'd just have to be more frugal in how much you purchased and used. This would allow production to catch up, followed by a lowering of prices. Instead, Walmart kept their prices as they had always been, and their entire stock was cleaned out within the first hour after a delivery, then resold at a gun show for actual market prices.

And every Tom, Dick, and gun toting Harry in the nation would be cussing the retailers or the manufacturer for price gouging and calling for a boycott of their business.

One shop I check in weekly has had 22lr sitting for months, because it was 100 a brick where everyone else was 40-50 depending on count/brand. I thought he was crazy, and i guess he was at the time....he sold it all the past week and now isn't sitting on squat for inventory.

You really 007'd the shiznit outta the ammo/components snit. To what address should the crown deliver your PPK and Aston-Martin?

Lets see.....

Clinton in office 8 years, panic ensues. Leaves office, market stabilizes.

Obama in office 8 years, panic again. Leaves office, market stabilizes, and supplies are not only good, but cheap. The most pro-business, anti-regulation President in decades is in power, but no one takes advantage of that to build additional capacity that would make them rich beyond their wildest dreams, now and for the conceivable future meeting the incredible demand that some crackpot on an internet shooting forum is certain exists. The only possible explanation is that someone is pressuring them (threatening to kill a puppy, no doubt) to not make all that money. Can’t possibly be that the industry recognizes that the market will stabilize, leaving them with idle production capacity and surplus employees. Gotta wonder why those evil pressurers failed to stop them from catching up to and exceeding demand the last two times.

Just maybe the truth is you’re totally FOS, stupider than you accuse me of being, or delusional. I’m taking door number three.

Seriously, GFY you moron.

Ummm. Either more supply (mfg’s make more), or less demand (raise prices until people stop hoarding, and only buy what they need).

Not necessarily. I have plenty of components and ammo for the rifles I shoot on a consistent basis. But my wife bought me a 308 Win for Christmas and that is a caliber I didn't have so there was no reason for me to have ammo or components. You can't paint with the broad of a brush.

Mac, your example is perfect! I’m currently wanting to move into an AR10 for my nighttime coyote hunting I’ve heavily gotten interested in this year. I have quite a bit of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo laying around since I have that in a bolt gun. I feel like if I make the move I almost have to go with the Creedmoor in the AR10 to guarantee I’ll have ammo for it but I’d almost rather go 243 wssm or plain ol 243. Folks are very limited right now if they want to play around with new chamberings.

In this environment, I'm just not going to do it.