Posted on 06/25/2013 9:44:56 AM PDT by iowamark
I haven’t seen anything that suggests foul play of any kind, to me, it’s strictly supply and demand, and it shows you what panic in a market looks like.
Rationing and price spikes are the result of demand far outstripping supply.
Sure, government ammo purchases should give you pause, it’s the reason we’re all armed.
A trusted source provided this:
“Take for example .22LR ammunition. The industry as a whole (all manufacturers combined) is setup to produce 4,200,000,000 (4.2 Billions) .22 LR annually. That is running all the machines, full capacity all the time, all manufacturers together.
There is NOTHING they can do to produce more.
That corresponds to 230,137 cartridge per State per day, which is 460 bricks of 500 .22lr per day per State. That means that if less than 50 people per day in each State are buying 10 bricks of .22, it is enough to dry up the entire supply as it is being manufactured.”
News from ammo makers seems OK too, but it’s right to be wary. Trust but verify. How do you do that?
If you don’t have ammo, you’re stuck in a high market. If you’re like many Americans, you’ll comfortably ride this out until the market corrects.
Naturally, you don’t want to spend tons of money building new equipment for a short-term shortage that may be over by the time the new equipment comes on line... but is there any move to increase capacity?
I think the panic is over and supplies will start to catch up with slowly decreasing demand.
I just got 9 boxes of 9mm from Wally World the other day. I felt like I won the lottery, so I see it improving out there.
I'm not happy about IRS agents and homeland security buying so much ammo when the nation is running huge deficits, but let's be real: the feds use just a very small fraction of what's out there in .223 or 40 S&W. Their use of these calibers is not the cause of the shortage, it's the panic that their policies create.
That is a good question.
I'm surprised there aren't entrepreneurs & manufacturers jumping in to make ammunition — perhaps even looking at the whole process itself to find a better/cheaper way to produce it (ground-up analysis/design).
For now, the panic may be over... but what about when the shooting-war starts?
Fast and Furious, Benghazi, IRS, NSA... all of these point to a lawless and violent government — do you honestly think that corruption will not result in violence?
There is something they can do (and what a lot of mfrs are doing). They can expand manufacturing capability buy building new machines and hiring more operators.
“... but is there any move to increase capacity?”
Good question. Historically the US has been a SUPPLY AND DEMAND type of economy. But with this Government, whose voter base has viewed the Constitution as hostile to their advancement...who knows?
The point is with this Christian hating government that only answers to itself, behind closed doors, and is willing to use all govt. agencies, and regulators as it’s secret Army of gatekeepers to enforce it’s ultimate hidden agenda.
They have a record of strong arming independent business and citizens who happen to have different points of view on government...all bets are off as to whether or not some investor has inquired about opening an ammo factory.
Remanufactured .45 @ $.45 / rd.
vs. pre-shortage Wally World WW White box @ $.30 / rd.
No thanks.
What happens when the buying stops? Is this a panic or a trend? Manufacturers want to know.
Oh, and then there is the shortage of brass and copper to make the cartridges.
As to better, its like fusion. The solution is always 20 years away.
As to cheaper, sure. Its called steel cases. Of course your chamber wears out faster.
...is there any move to increase capacity?
The “can’t risk investing in overcapacity” concern really isn’t there. Any maker would buy any machine they could get their hands on. (And these are monstrous, specialized, expensive machines).
They can only make so much, and when everyone is buying more than they’re shooting, the shelves will be bare. Normally, the makers were making enough to equal about what people were shooting. Those days are gone until things calm down.
If I were a manufacturer, I would be making as much right now as I could. I would not expand production by buying new equipment etc. as before long the panic will stop and they would be left with idle machinery.
They do use a little of it. It is mostly used for training purposes, such as ROTC rifle and pistol teams, and for competition in the armed services.
The National Match Course for pistol has a .22 rimfire phase.
Army wins national pistol title for first time in decades
I think the analysis of .22 LR is very helpful. The feds do not use this cartridge and yet there’s a huge shortage and prices are high.
So use of 22 is probably up, even as use of centerfire is down.
Have not seen 9mm at our Wally's in 6 months, an they have a "three boxes of anything" rule. Yesterday they had 4 boxes of 30 06, two boxes of 240, and a box of 410. That is it.
It will catch up, but will the price drop back down to a reasonable rate?
I’m surprised there aren’t entrepreneurs & manufacturers jumping in to make ammunition — perhaps even looking at the whole process itself to find a better/cheaper way to produce it (ground-up analysis/design).
‘There is NOTHING they can do to produce more. ‘
Thats false. There’s a lot that can be done and at least one firm has reportedly acquired extra mfg space and machinery. We can also import more from extra capacity abroad. The article incorrectly sees the situation as static.
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