Posted on 08/19/2020 4:30:20 PM PDT by PROCON
[[[Were I the owner of an ammunition company, my factory would have an additional shift added and be running 24 x 7 x 365 to capitalize on immediate market demand.]]]
They all are now. Three shifts, 24/7. Its basically war production.
They are actually having trouble obtaining raw materials like lead, brass, etc.
To add a whole new line costs up to a million dollars or more for machinery and infrastructure alone. Then you have to train people to run it all. Then when demand drops you lose a ton of money to mothball an entire line/building. Only two companies in the world make ammo manufacturing machinery.
Demand is TEN FOLD what it was in 2018 where a billion rounds of ammo were made that year.
If your line can handle 50 per day on old machinery, and the new machinery can handle 200 per day, you need to have enough increased demand for 5-6 years to cover the costs of the new machinery and plants to put them in. You can see why the U.S. government reached out to companies such as Singer Sewing Machines during WWII to keep up with demand.
For all that Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machining can do, most parts still require finishing by hand to get them to fit properly which can't be rushed and it takes years to hone that skill.
Outside the liability issues, one option might be lower order (and lower cost) machinery where separate machinists/gunsmiths could perfect one component in their workshop, such as a barrel, and then increase or lessen their bench rates as the larger manufacturers sub the jobs to them. There's also room in that model for replacement parts, especially barrels and springs.
With ammunition, like any commodity, the more you produce, the lower the value is per unit unless you have a large increase in demand. Hand-loading could offset it...got to get started...
I’ve been laying in ammo since 2004, in case Lurch won (lol).
Got what was sitting around cheap and built the arsenal around it.
16 gauge buckshot and slugs.. go find a Winchester M12 that’s been refinished for $300.
2000 rounds of .38 Super for $15 a box... wait for a SIG 220 in that caliber, not cheap but reliable.
.45 Schofield cheap from a retiring cowboy shooter... works in .45 Colt guns including Marlin 1894’s.
.300 Savage because Savage 99’s are easy to find in shooter condition.
A bit weird, but effective.
Went to Rural King in Central Indiana - they had .357. made in Hungary. Four box limit - I bought 4 boxes will be ok for the range.
He's sleepy and he's creepy,
He was once the VP,
She throats it very deeply,
The Biden-Kama’ spree!
"...It is basically war production..."
I thought he'd be zotted by now, soon hopefully.
I don’t think the ammo manufacturers are benefitting monetarily as much as the middle-men are. Perhaps if that changed, the incentive to build another line would increase. I usually buy when things are pretty cheap, I.e. available. BiMart doesn’t raise their prices on demand, hence they sell out when there’s a run. Were they to get any ammo in, I could probably get 2 boxes per caliber at the pre-run price. I prefer not to play that game. Pretty well stocked up.
(Far away from addressing my OP.. another low IQ tell.)
My wife is petite (age 67) and has broken both wrists and one arm over the years. She doesn't have the hand and forearm strength to rack a slide on a bigger gun. She has a Sig P238 which she can handle with ease and likes everything about it, so it is her carry gun. I loaded up on Sig Sauer .380 hollow points when they were available at a reasonable price. The right ammo makes a lot of difference. I guarantee she is ready and willing to empty a mag into an assailant. Cops told her to empty the mag even after the bad guy goes down. Said a woman her age just needs to say she was afraid for her life and didn't realize how many shots she fired until it was empty.
We have S&W Shield 9's loaded and chambered in the house, so she would have no problem grabbing and shooting those.
“Local gunshop said orders are 18 months out for all calibers, because many manufacturers are expecting a blue wave”
If the firearms manufactures are expecting a Blue Wave, I would expect to seem them ramp up production 24/7 because they will be out of business in the next 6 to 9 months.
I would love to be able to disagree with them, but unfortunately I believe they may be right. I see a lot of people just “wish all this crap would go away” and think if President Trump is gone everything will go back to normal. You can’t reason with these people, they are just glued to the TV all day/night sopping in all the propaganda. They have all forgotten how great the economy was before the Wuflu and they are blaming Trump for their troubles now ... ran into 2 people at work like this today.
Extreamly depressing.
Green Country Ammo
Tulsa, OK
.380 ACP-100 Grain FMJ RN-500 Rounds Bulk - $325
These munitions are from remanufactured brass cases and loaded on commercial machines.
It sounded like it.
Thanks for confirming.
Start looking for your ammo online.
I think the manufacturers are wrong on this. If Biden wins, everyone thinks the sh!t will hit the fan and the civil war will be on so, they will need guns and ammo. If Trump is re-elected, everyone thinks the libs will go nuts and the civil war will be on, and we will need our guns and ammo.
It’s a win-win if you ask me.
everyone has had 12 years since Barry the Muslim was elected"
Agree with first sentence...
Second sentence was also in the "too late" category...
Everyone has had 28 years since the red flag (Hill & Bill) went up...
Took a lot of grief in the 90's when I stocked up on cases & cases of ammo...
7.62, .223, (at 1/2 penny per round) and 30-06, 50 BMG (a few pennies per round) and .22 cal (almost free) and 9mm (dirt cheap for 500-rnd boxes)...
Most of it, now, in the hands of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren...
I don’t mean to sound like a dick, well maybe a little, but most people that are new to buying handguns at this particular point in time or have one or two but only a limited supply of ammo say a few 100 rounds, is probably not the kind of consumer that the firearms industry worries about making happy. That’s just the way it is.
But here is the lesson, when the supply catches up with demand, place a real order with an online supplier, like think in terms of 5000 rounds or so. Then set-up a min-max program where when you get down to 1000 rounds you order 4000 to return to the 5000 round amount. Anything less than 2000 rounds or 9mm or 9mm jr. (.380) is just jerking around and when things cause shortages they have no one to blame for want of ammo but themselves.
My personal opinion is that the shortage situation is going to be with us for a while longer. I base this on the fact that small pistol primers are difficult to find and coated and plated bullets are running 10 weeks leadtime. The last shortage the real problem was smokeless canister powders, mainly fast pistol and shotgun ball powders. It was 2-3 years before that situation sorted itself out but bullets were available fairly easily. I will confess that although I have an enormous amount of powder and prolly 50K small pistol primers, I’m a little short on some bullets. I do have an order in for 4000 bullets and getting ready to place another. I think I will be alright, expecting the first 4000 next week.
One of my favorite games.
Sometimes Turkey Vultures fly over. Their shadows are fair game , too.
Number one, run the freakin' business. If the shortage of supply means that across the counter prices are up, claim your share of that. I guarantee if/when the market is oversupplied, customers won't offer to pay more to help your finances.
Second, take that financial bonus and make your company a financial fortress. Money in the bank, pay down debt. Prepare for the storm, for it will come.
Third, if you're in a position financially to do so, expand...ammo, not firearms. The reason? Ammo is consumable, guns are a capital investment. People who aren't buying guns will still buy ammo.
Fourth, understand your market. The boogaloo is on the way. You'll have a market for ammo for years. You'll pay off the investment several times over.
Fiocchi is expanding their production.
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