Looking for a answer here. I know people are saying the ammo shortage is because of O'Bama's policy. But I was out of the loop there. What Policy did he put in place which caused such a ammo shortage? I know by talking with a few dealers, they all blame the president, but no one can tell me why?

I had also talked with a factory ammo rep who stated they are trying to keep up with the demand, but only make a certain calibers once or twice a year. I knew the Iraq war caused a shortage on AR-15/M-16 ammo. But I was looking for a real reason here. Did we cause this by speculation, and bought everything we could get our hands on? I would think that just the purchase of weapons and ammo would stimulate the economy there by employing the folks who make the weapons and ammo. Just wondering because no one can tell me why, just O'Bama.

What the scare was in the beginning was 1.) Reinstatement of Assault Weapons Ban 2.) Legislation that was little known that is pending in 20+ states. All this needs is to be brought before a vote in your state. The reason why it hasn't is because your politicians know it won't pass. Anyway the legislation would make all ammunition illegal, including home reloads within 6 months of passage that was not laser encoded on the back of bullet.( The use of gas checks makes this possible. )  It's a liberal dream bill and the technology isn't up to date for mass production. In other words if you bought a box of ammo every bullet in it can be traced back to you as owner. .. So we know why there was a rush on assault weapons... The rush on ammunition was not so well understood. I could tell by some of the answers given when asked. Most  put the assault weapons ban together with ammo for their reasoning for hording... I personally blame the writer in one of the gun rags who wrote that ammunition would become more valuable than currency....[>:// I know the rag and the writer but think it best I mention neither one.....asshole.... Then you had guys like myself that know what they are going to shoot every month in factory ammo and reloads and saw things getting tighter and anticipated needs ahead some 6 months out. That's when primers, powder, and bullets started getting tight... I've had more than enough factory and reloaded ammunition to enjoy my shooting needs. Stockpiled powder and primers, the one thing I didn't expect was for companies like Berry and Rainier to run out of bullets.. For a while there I thought I was going to start melting tire weights.... at this point I had over 3k rounds loaded in ammo can.... still, that's low.....and there are guys that stockpiled tire weights too..... So, the run on ammo was pretty stupid as far as I was concerned, but hey. What better way to send a message to Obama than cleaning every shelve in the country dry of assault weapons, handguns, and ammunition... When the Mexican President asked Obama to reinstate the assault weapons ban.... Obama replied, I just don't think we are in an political environment to do that right now.... Get out and make a difference come November 2010 and take your country back !,

P.S. I travel a lot in Missouri and Kansas and when I feel the need to stretch my legs I do so at whatever town's Wal Mart I'm at..... The demand has slowed and I'm seeing 9mm, 40S&W, 38 Special, and 45ACP back on the shelves. Not 380ACP yet. Bass Pro in Columbia, Mo had a decent range of ammo too.

Lots of threads on this already.  My take:

Obama has supported increased taxes on ammo and restrictive gun laws in Illinois, was opposed to the Supreme Court Heller decision, and is a big city liberal (which almost automatically means anti-gun).

Lots of us have lived through the '86 Machine gun ban that banned the sale of non-grandfathered machine guns.  We watched thousand dollar guns go to $15,000 and wish we had "panic" bought all we could.

Lots of us have lived through the '94 Assault Weapon Ban, and lived through 10 years of expensive high cap magazines and "Pre-ban" rifles.  Again, we regret not stocking up on cheap mags and rifles.

Now we are faced with Obama/Pelosi/Reid and what do folks do?  They go out and buy all the ammo, pistols and semi-auto rifles, and magazines they can afford because they realize the next piece of legislation might not have a ten year sunset clause.  They realize that it is harder to confiscate something than to prevent it's initial purchase.  They think, "I have an AR, but my kids don't...better buy a couple...and some mags...and a whole bunch of ammo, because I saw on the news that America is responsible for the drug war in Mexico and more restrictions are a distinct possibility."

That is all true. It isn't so much about regulations that have been passed but about the [very real] possibility that some may be passed in the future. People are stocking up like never before, spending all of their disposable income on semi auto rifles, pistols, magazines and of course ammo to make them run. I actually like seeing this and it makes me happy to see (even if it becomes more difficult and expensive for me to buy what I want). Every gun and round of ammo bought sends a message to the administration that we DO NOT support gun control legislation.



<MAX>

Since it became apparent that the candidate could win the nomination and possibly the election, sales of weapons & ammunition to the general public increased tremendously.  First it was assault rifles & magazines, then pistols/magazines & revolvers, and finally ammunition/reloading-supplies.  Aside from the shortages caused by speculators/racketeers, perhaps the American people feel that they are preparing for war.––Patrice.

I have lived though all of this before, "86" and "94" and maybe the third time is then charm here. I try to buy everything I can get my hands on, (just like everyone else has) but have not panic bought.

I think the real difference here is the internet.  

Before you panic bought at your local fun shop and they directly controlled prices (to some extent) to slow the panic (to some extent, but never the worst panic).  

Today, we fear monger each other coast to coast in seconds on websites and then 2 seconds after that we are on our favorite online supplier buying all we can after "drinking the fear koolaid" whereas in the past we had a "cool down" time before we hit the gun shop and spent tons of money.  Also, credit cards are WAY more common now then ever before allowing the easily financing our guns and ammo binge buying.  

It was a huge bubble like in any other industry.  The key, is if things get banned, the bubble never pops.  

Ok, I am off to buy more guns, high cap mags and ammo, cause I am fearing more banning!