Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters How many ammo and reloading shortages have you lived through?

All of them. This is the worst one

In a few years there's going to be some great estate sales.

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In a few years there's going to be some great estate sales.[/quote]

Mine will be glorious!

I’ve been through a few price and availability crises, but I’ve never been caught short or paid outrageous prices.

Plan well, grasshopper.

It might be a reason to take up bullet casting or jacketed bullet making. Every little bit helps. 🙂

I rember a shortage in tge mid 80's.
Primers if I remember right. Was a couple years before I
got in the game, but the old codgers i ran around with talked
about it. One always bought in quantity, the other just as needed.

There was a lot of back and forth over "The Hoarder" supplying
"The Leeech".
Good times. Miss "em.

3 that I can remember, now what did I have to eat last night?

@Steve Redgwell, lead is right up there on the liberals agenda. But you are correct, every little thing helps! Still waiting on some Rimrock bullets for my 38/357mag.


I hope primers become available sometime this year!

We've never lost the country to communists before.

I've never experienced a serious shortage for me. Sometimes I have had to look for a certain powder that I've run low on though. IMR4064 was one lately, but I picked some up in Tulsa.
The Democrats (and the Democrat controlled media) are often rattling their swords and it causes the panic, which causes the shortages - that and something similar to what MD wrote: there are people who have plans on making large amounts of money due to the panic.

These guys with plans on screwing the fellow shooters upset me almost as much as the Democrats.

Just updating my post on P 1

Over 20 years ago, I reduced my dependence on commercial manufacturers by making my own bullets - lead and jacketed. I got the designs I wanted. The decision was based on what I hunt and where, not what was being touted as the latest and greatest in the media. When talking about bullets generally, they don't have to be complex, or made of expensive materials.

It depends on what you're hunting and the confidence that a particular brand or design brings you. Some people get the warm fuzzies about copper bullets. Others, partitions. Frankly, none of them work when you cannot find any. Using old fashioned cup and core bullets made in my shop never made me smarter, better or a better hunter. It just got me what I wanted with no supply worries. Bullets were one less concern when the shortages hit. That was the important thing.

For me, shortages are usually about not being able to find a particular powder. I don't know how many shortages we've had since I started hunting and shooting. One thing is for sure, despite living next door to the US, CDN hunters and shooters are always experiencing some kind of shortage.

My state has very low limits on how much gunpowder you can have on residence. Of course if you register with the state and pay an extra fee, they'll grant you their permission to possess more.


I've seen brass and bullets start to become available. Same with gunpowder, some is starting to come back although you may have to wait awhile if your married to Varget. Primers are still pretty scarce. Learned my lesson here!

This is the worst. I was too young, poor and ignorant to buy any pre-86 nfa. GB1 screwed us on imports. WJC put me on the path to preparedness and made me poor as I took out loans to buy several semi's PRE-AWB. I hoarded primers then as well.. 2001-2016The war on terror and the Up arming of DHHS and Barry's brownshirts post 2012 created shortages. My shooting was static during BHO's first two terms, as I focused on making sure my kids had ammo to shoot in 4-H, ie 22 and shotgun shells.

I have been fortunate to be able to obtain components from friends and relatives estates, some auctions, etc. My son will have a much better start in this hobby than I did.

Now I see the shortages as a result of a divided country, millions of new gun owners and continued escalation of internal tensions that contribute to fears of a civil war/race war/ revolution. In all of my years, we have never seen a pandemic, racial tensions, a contested election, our govt corruption exposed/ laid bare and such a brazen attack on our civil rights. This country is ripe for a massive upheaval. Our enemies- foreign and domestic have been laying the groundwork for 75 years and are making huge strides in capitalizing on it, soon.

Buy it if you can find it. Buy other necessities as well. If you live in or near an urban center. GTFO! I wish this was cathartic, it wasn't.

I lived through enough that I am well stocked now.

Just curious, I got all the ammo I wanted for free during the Vietnam war. Was there a shortage of ammo during that war?
I know there were shortages on stuff like 4 wheel drives, dad couldn't get a 4x4 during the war. I'm sure there were other shortages. Ammo???

My dad said you could not find rifle ammo until 1947 or so.

Dad formed his own 22 caliber bullets from spent 22 rf casings during WW II. There was no deer around home back then and driving across the state to where there were deer during the war was improbable.
But he had a stash of 20 gauge and 12 gauge ammo and there were lots of pheasants to eat then.

All of them. But after Bam Bam I gradually started buying a little more than I would for the next year or so. It’s worked well.

Only one. Any after the first, it's shame on me.

I loaded for a 6.5x257 Arisaka in1956 and have been at it since. Not an expert,
but experienced. Made lots of mistakes, but haven't blown up any guns and
still enjoy it. Recently while cleaning under one of the benches found six boxes
of Norma 6.5 Jap I had purchased back then. Had a neighbor that was a
gunsmith and he used to fireform the brass for my Dad so I could load it.
Too bad the gun is long gone, traded for a Model 722 Rem. in 257 then after
college and the service a serious malady set in. "Rifle looneyism" per our
own Mule Deer"s diagnosis.
Also found a few cans of powder, one of IMR4350 with a price tag of $3.00.
Believe me I looked but didn't find anymore! I guess I have lived through all
the shortages panics and what not since after WWII. This too shall pass
unless capitalism really is gonna die in this great country.
Old Cuss