Ammunition shortages - temporary or is this here to stay?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ammunition shortages - temporary or is this here to stay? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:51:22 AM EDT

As we all know, ammo is getting harder to find these days.

No matter what caliber you are looking for -- 5.56, 7.62x39, 7.62 NATO -- it seems that stocks are drying up and prices are going higher.

Is this a temporary shortage, or is this the future? Will the shortages get worse as time goes on? Will commercial 5.56 at $4.99/20 be the only alternative in a few years?

And most improtantly, should I buy 100,000 rounds now to sock away?

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:53:30 AM EDT

[#1]

There's just too many squirrels socking away ammo. Unfortunately these loone balls will drive up the ammo prices for the rest of us.

Just look at M855! $219/1000???? They should be giving that crap away!

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:53:59 AM EDT

[#2]

someone needs to post the peak ammo chart.

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:57:13 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
someone needs to post the peak ammo chart.

why?

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:57:21 AM EDT

[#4]

I'm just keeping my fingers crossed.

I'd love to see XM-193 under $200 per 1000 delivered again.

IIRC the last couple of cases I have in the closet I think I got from Wholesale Hunter @ 179 delivered.

Buy it cheep and stack it deep,
echo6

Posted: 2/4/2006 7:58:48 AM EDT

[#5]

Wolf is still cheap and plentiful.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:02:41 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Wolf is still cheap and plentiful.

Umm.... NO!

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:03:30 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Wolf is still cheap and plentiful.

Umm.... NO!

apparently someone's afraid of saving money on plinking ammo.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:05:41 AM EDT

[#8]

Wolf has gone up in price too!

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:08:47 AM EDT

[#9]

I don't see any shortage problems with .223 Mil-spec ammo may be hard to find and pricey but there is still a lot of it out there. Wolf ammo seems to be getting better and Georgia Arms is putting some fine ammo on the market as well. 7.62 is another story though.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:14:27 AM EDT

[#10]

Everything is driven by the price of oil. What we need to do is find cheaper energy sources and I think that we need to make a big push to use hydrogen so that we can get away from giving money to terrorists.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:29:06 AM EDT

[#11]

Ammo supplies are getting short with all the ammo we're burning up in the sandbox. Once the suppliers ramp up production it should ease. Then once the GWOT is over there will a bunch dumped on the market. Then the price will tank and there will be lots of deals.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:33:09 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Everything is driven by the price of oil. What we need to do is find cheaper energy sources and I think that we need to make a big push to use hydrogen so that we can get away from giving money to terrorists.

Where does the hydrogen come from? How is it made?

(end thread hijack)

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:33:24 AM EDT

[#13]

So.... it's George Bush's fault?

hippie.gif

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:34:18 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Everything is driven by the price of oil. What we need to do is find cheaper energy sources and I think that we need to make a big push to use hydrogen so that we can get away from giving money to terrorists.

Where does the hydrogen come from? How is it made?

(end thread hijack)

from those solar panels that live in harmony with the spotted owls that maintain them

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:41:14 AM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Everything is driven by the price of oil. What we need to do is find cheaper energy sources and I think that we need to make a big push to use hydrogen so that we can get away from giving money to terrorists.

Where does the hydrogen come from? How is it made?

(end thread hijack)

from those solar panels that live in harmony with the spotted owls that maintain them

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:47:54 AM EDT

[#16]

it may be a little more expensive but you can still get it, you just have to be a little patient and wait for the back order to come in.
hell I waited 3 months to get a case of .44 magnum $120.00 for 250 rds. for me that's a life time supply.

you have to consider the future and plan accordingly. if things get bad (and they will

) these prices and availibility now will seem like a fricken buffet compared to when each round is $2.50 each and you have to register each one and bring back the empty.

bite the bullet now and get what you can, or you'll be buying it from guys like me that have it to sell, and trust me it won't be cheap either.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:51:12 AM EDT

[#17]

Why doesn't somebody in the US start producing 7.62x39 or 5.56 of similiar quality and price to say Wolf..? If there is that much demand for it, then I would certainly think it would be worth doing. And by manufacturing 7.62x39 in the US, you would side step any future possible import bans...? JMO

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:53:23 AM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Wolf is still cheap and plentiful.

Umm.... NO!

apparently someone's afraid of saving money on plinking ammo.

See the post below yours. Wolf 7.62x39 has doubled in price in in the past year.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:54:25 AM EDT

[#19]

Since prices are going up the shortage will be solved soon enough, shortages occur in the market when the price is set too low (conversely surplus' occur when the price is set too high). The problem will solve itself when either new suppliers enter the market or the price goes high enough to hit 'equilibrium" with the demand.
People buying thousands of rounds now due to this perceived shortage only serves to drive prices highers, thus causing more people to panic, and buy more ammo.

Maybe arfcom should open its own ammo plants and make milspec 5.56 and 7.62 ammo.

ETA: but to answer the title question, all shortages are temporary unless there is a price ceiling set by the goverment.

Posted: 2/4/2006 8:54:58 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Wolf is still cheap and plentiful.

Umm.... NO!

apparently someone's afraid of saving money on plinking ammo.

See the post below yours. Wolf 7.62x39 has doubled in price in in the past year.

true but it is a whole lot cheaper than american eagle or winchester. could still be worse

Posted: 2/4/2006 9:01:34 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Maybe arfcom should open its own ammo plants and make milspec 5.56 and 7.62 ammo.

Just what I was thinking. If you had a large enough group of shooters, hobbyists, etc. to be "investors" in said ammo plant. I certainly think it would work. All just a matter of logistics I suppose.

Think of quarterly dividend payouts that show up in crates....

Posted: 2/4/2006 9:18:33 AM EDT

[#22]

I think Uncle Sam has been trying to replenish its stock of ammo, and is buying up all available capacity, and is even giving IMI the go ahead for emergency allocation and pay a premium. There is really no shortage just that supplies are a bit than what it was a few months ago. To compound the woes, there also higher prices for copper due to demand from the PRC, and of course the increased costs in petroleum which increases the cost for fuel and electricity, all of which is being passed to the consumer.

Posted: 2/4/2006 9:23:45 AM EDT

[#23]

I don't understand the posts about an ammo shortage... What ammo shortage ? I don't have any problems finding ammo.

Posted: 2/4/2006 9:25:09 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
I don't understand the posts about an ammo shortage... What ammo shortage ? I don't have any problems finding ammo.

understand now?

Posted: 2/4/2006 9:31:27 AM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
As we all know, ammo is getting harder to find these days.
And most improtantly, should I buy 100,000 rounds now to sock away?

Thats an idea, but what would we do after we run out of ammo 1 year later?

Quoted:
Why doesn't somebody in the US start producing 7.62x39 or 5.56 of similiar quality and price to say Wolf..? If there is that much demand for it, then I would certainly think it would be worth doing. And by manufacturing 7.62x39 in the US, you would side step any future possible import bans...? JMO

The cost would probably go up since labor costs here are probably much more then overseas.

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:31:20 AM EDT

[#26]

Ammo shortage? What ammo shortage?

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:42:07 AM EDT

[#27]

I've been hearing the thing about companies ramping up production for a while now, but it seems to me that if the companies aren't "ramped up" for higher production by now, they're not going to.

I certainly hope that after the WOT, ammo prices tank for a while, but the longer it lasts, the more doubtful I become. Seems as though ending the WOT will begin another war.

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:47:41 AM EDT

[#28]

Time to fire up the old Rock Chucker.

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:50:16 AM EDT

[#29]

Temporary . Right now there is lots of 7.62x54R and 8mm . It may not be a first choice but you get lots of it cheap .

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:55:04 AM EDT

[#30]

Well we could get the restriction on the government selling surplus to citizwns done by Executive Order lifted and get countries to ignore the U.N. on selling ammo abroard and bingo, it's gone. More S.A., Swedish, etc. would be immediately available

Posted: 2/4/2006 11:59:12 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
hell I waited 3 months to get a case of .44 magnum $120.00 for 250 rds. for me that's a life time supply.

... and two trips to the range for some of us

Posted: 2/4/2006 3:14:02 PM EDT

[#32]

I'm not having any real problems getting most ammo, just 7.62. I like it to be reloadable (boxer primed). Wolf, the African stuff, and some of the other stuff that's available is all berdan primed. Is American Eagle any good? I'd like to find something that's interchangeable with military M80 7.62mm ball (same bullet and velocity).

I really like the idea that someone had earlier about getting dividends in crates!

Posted: 2/4/2006 3:16:44 PM EDT

[#33]

I say 2008 ammo will be cheap again.

Posted: 2/4/2006 3:31:11 PM EDT

[#34]

I think that prices will never be lower then they were 2 years ago. Most foreign surplus will not be available in the large amounts that it used to, and in a few years a lot of it will just be plain gone. If a broader military conflict becomes a reality, you can kiss a lot of what we see now goodbye.

If, in a few years, tensions ease, we will, IF the UN can piss off, see something maybe, but I DON'T see that happening.

Buy what you want now, all it takes is a Exec order to ban foreign surplus from coming in and that would cause some serious ripples in the ammo market here. If the "wrong" person gets in I can see that happening easily.

Posted: 2/4/2006 3:31:19 PM EDT

[#35]

That does it!!! I'm ordering a bunch of ammo no, just to add to the 5000+ rounds I have now!!!!

All this talk of no ammo is freakin' me out!!

Posted: 2/4/2006 3:57:25 PM EDT

[#36]

Let's see here, Dillon 550 setup for.223, check, 4K 55gr .223 FMJ's,check, 3-4K L.C. cases, check, 8lb Wc 844, check, 4K primers..check, What ammo shortage..??? I don't have a ammo shortage...and to think some people say it's foolish to load.223 when surplus is SO plentiful......

Posted: 2/4/2006 4:13:22 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
That does it!!! I'm ordering a bunch of ammo no, just to add to the 5000+ rounds I have now!!!!

All this talk of no ammo is freakin' me out!!

You should freak out... You REALLY need another 0 at the end of that number. Actually add the 0 and then double the number.

Posted: 2/4/2006 4:13:26 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
I say 2008 ammo will be cheap again.

Why you say that Mike?

Posted: 2/4/2006 4:31:59 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I say 2008 ammo will be cheap again.

Why you say that Mike?

Major military consumption will have died down by then. More troops will be home by the end of 2006 and most home by 2007. Factories will be keep producing and fill the pipe line back up with new stuff.

Real surplus particuarly 7.62x51 will continue to dry up.

Posted: 2/4/2006 4:44:12 PM EDT

[#40]

Bama is right-- Especially 7.62x51!---- I needs more! I remember in the 70's when good surplus 7.62x51 was 200 bucks a thou. (Probably the equivalent of 400 dollars now). Even then, four bucks a box was a good deal. That was before the NATO Pact got rid of their FAL's and HK's, and surplused off their ammo. Most of the good stuff is gone now, never to return.

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:02:04 PM EDT

[#41]

I just wish that I'd bought more 7.62 from the CMP a few years ago.

Does anyone know how the American Eagle stuff compares to surplus?

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:13:05 PM EDT

[#42]

I'm up to 15K+ in surplus 7.62x51 because I don't think much will be around by 2007. What's left will be subject to the laws of supply and demand. I think the .30 cals are much more in demand now then in years past. I'll admit that I have gotten interested in the .30 cal mil rifles in the past year or 2. I just regret I waited that long.

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:31:46 PM EDT

[#43]

I think this is a good time to shoot your .22 for fun,and wait
for 7.62 X 51 mm to go down in price.

There are a lot of countrys that produced 7.62 that haven't
sold off surplus for some time.

Perhaps they are waiting for a resolution to some current conflicts ?

Either way ,panic buying over the crap ammo that's left sure won't
help anybody.

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:40:48 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:
I think this is a good time to shoot your .22 for fun,and wait
for 7.62 X 51 mm to go down in price.

There are a lot of countrys that produced 7.62 that haven't
sold off surplus for some time.

Perhaps they are waiting for a resolution to some current conflicts ?

Either way ,panic buying over the crap ammo that's left sure won't
help anybody.

Many of those Countries have signed onto the UN agreement not to sell it. I don't think SA is crap ammo by any means. Both FALs and my M1As like it very much. I'll bet many of the guys here wish they had stocked up on SA 5.56 when it was available.

Buying up that surplus up has sure helped ME to be able to shoot for a reasonable price. I could not afford to shoot half of what I do If I had to buy factory stuff in 308 and 30.06.

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:41:26 PM EDT

[#45]

I will still buy SA .308 from Aim Surplus. It's good ammo and still under the magic 4 dollars a box.

Posted: 2/4/2006 5:46:04 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
I will still buy SA .308 from Aim Surplus. It's good ammo and still under the magic 4 dollars a box.

So how does it compare to U.S. surplus stuff? Same ballistics? It's berdan primed isn't it?

Posted: 2/4/2006 6:02:36 PM EDT

[#47]

Same ballistics, 147 grain bullet. Berdan primed. Brass cased.

Just did the math, my SA cost an average of $3.04 per 20 rounds, after shipping it still figured out to less then $3.30 per 20. The CHEAPEST stuff around here costs $8.99 per 20 plus .54 cents tax. It's not even as accurate as the SA for me. I've never had a problem with the SA stuff.

Posted: 2/4/2006 6:28:50 PM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:
Same ballistics, 147 grain bullet. Berdan primed. Brass cased.

Just did the math, my SA cost an average of $3.04 per 20 rounds, after shipping it still figured out to less then $3.30 per 20. The CHEAPEST stuff around here costs $8.99 per 20 plus .54 cents tax. It's not even as accurate as the SA for me. I've never had a problem with the SA stuff.

Cool! I'll have to see about getting an order out this week. It would be nice if it was boxer primed, but I guess you can't have everything.

Have any of the reloaders on here ever reloaded berdan primed cases?

Posted: 2/5/2006 8:26:09 AM EDT

[#49]

Buy low sell high. Buy whatever ammo is cheap and available now. Wait for other stuff to become cheap and available again.

Posted: 2/5/2006 8:35:01 AM EDT

[#50]

I blame the shortages on China. They are buying up metal like crazy so prices have shot up.

I am predicting China will have a burst of their bubble soon and them ammo will come down. another recession here should lower rpices as fewer people can afford to hoard/acquire more ammo.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Ammunition shortages - temporary or is this here to stay? (Page 1 of 2)

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