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Earlier this year, CBS News spotlighted a growing shortage of .22-caliber ammunition. "One of the most popular and common" -- and cheapest -- calibers of ammo for hunters and target shooters alike, CBS reports that .22 shells are in short supply these days. Interviewing one supplier, CBS reported that while as recently as two years ago it was still possible to buy .22-caliber ammunition "by the pallet-load... now they're putting restrictions on how much you can get and how you get that ammo." Retailers are shooting blanks This is a problem from ammunition retailers -- and for gun owners as...

It happens daily. Still. I get calls and e-mails asking where all the ammo is. Except it is not “all” ammo anymore. For the record, there is no conspiracy. There is no secret government contract. It’s not Bloomberg or Soros (even though their actions and pronouncements often increase demand. Ironic, huh?). The major domestic ammunition makers have been producing more ammunition than ever. They are all up in terms of total production—double, and in some areas, triple-digit increases. They are all running three shifts. And when it comes to center-fire cartridges, at least of three of the big makers are...

The two boxes of ammunition cost about the same on today's market The price of 12 gauge hunting ammunition has dropped back to near pre- ammunition bubble levels.    Wal-mart had 100 rounds of birdshot loads priced at $19.97 a couple  of days ago.   That is 20 cents per round, or $5 per box of 25.  Before the Barack Obama ammunition bubble, the ordinary price was a little lower, perhaps $4.50, with sales just before dove season as low as $3.00. .22 rimfire ammunition, particularly .22 long rifle (LR) ammunition prices are at an all time high.  This is a...

Gun owners who prefer a hollow point design to a full metal jacket might have found a new favorite. G2 Research (G2R) released it’s new Radically Invasive Projectile (R.I.P.) this month, hoping to “take the civilian and law enforcement markets by storm, and truly become the last round you’ll ever need.” G2R, based in Winder, Ga., highlights that the bullet points are manufactured with trocar angles — or simply put, edges with three angles reaching one point — to “penetrate the dermis layer more efficiently.” The G2R website explains the R.I.P. acts like a full metal jacket when it impacts...

The standard for anti-personnel bullets since time immemorial has always been the hollow point. It mushrooms out on impact, giving the bullet a much larger profile and stopping it inside the target. Unlike the full-metal jacket, which is designed to wound, it will more than likely not pass through what you’re aiming at. However, since we started using weapons, humans have never stuck with the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy and the bullet is not exempt. This newest anti-personnel round not only replaces the hollow point bullet, it also makes it look like a sissy. Meet the...

The Obama caused bubble in ammunition prices seems ready to bust.   Over the last few years people have seen ammunition prices double or triple.  Handgun and rifle ammunition has been hard to find at times.   .22 long rifle ammunition tripled in price over the last 18 months.   People would line up to buy ammunition at prices two and three times the level that they were just two years ago. All of that is about to change.   Ammunition supply looks as though it is ready to catch up with demand.   Centerfire pistol and rifle cartridges are available on most store...

One of the (if not THE) key battles for Jerusalem in 1967 was the battle for Ammunition Hill. Ammunition Hill, which we pass on our way to the Old City - it's probably a five-minute drive from our house - is a small hilltop which was a system of bunkers filled with weapons. The IDF had to conquer it in order to make it to the Old City of Jerusalem and the eastern part of the city. It sits practically on the green line. After the war, this song about the battle was written and performed by an IDF choir....

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- An explosion and fire at a Tennessee plant where ammunition is made has killed one person and left three others injured.

The first time I heard about a shortage of ammunition was from my father, who talked about how ammunition was impossible to get during World War II.  As I now own the .22 rifle that had kept much of the neighborhood in venison during the depression (he told me that it had accounted for about 200 deer over the decades, as it was loaned out to neighbors),  I made the mental note that I would not be caught short in a future conflict. As a young adult I noticed a special on Remington .22 ammunition under the Peters brand...

I had a fellow tell me this morning that he was completely unconcerned about the Ukraine situation, believing that Obama would take the "Chamberlain way out" of confrontation. No he won't, I replied, he'll take the Clinton way out -- do nothing about the larger issue but he'll cut off our access to Russian ammunition just like Clinton cut off our access to inexpensive Chinese ammo in the 90s, to "punish them for human rights violations." Didn't think of that one, did ya?

As I observed the scarcity of .22 ammunition over the last year, and considered the largess that I had accumulated over the previous decades, I considered what to do with it.   I had more .22 ammunition than I would likely shoot over the course of my remaining life.   I shoot less and write more these days. I could sell it.  Prices are high.  But, my church has reminded me that generosity is a virtue.  I decided to give some of it away.   The problem is that people do not value what they get for free.   I wasn't willing to...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is contracted to purchase 704,390,250 rounds of ammunition over the next four years, which is equal to a total of about 2,500 rounds per DHS agent per year, according to a January 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled Ammunition Purchases Have Declined Since 2009.“If DHS were to purchase all 704 million rounds over the next four years, and if they were used by 70,000 DHS agents and officers, it would be roughly 2,500 rounds per agent per year,” David Maurer, author of the GAO report, told CNSNews.com. “That would be higher than what...

t turns out that the Department of Homeland Security isn’t buying that much ammunition per officer after all… and certainly a lot less per man than most avid shooters go through in a year. Of course, I won’t ask you to take my word for it (the mind control rays could have gotten me, too), so I’ll turn it over to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which provides a link to the Government Accountability Office report for the debunking (PDF) (here’s the direct GAO The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) annual ammunition purchases have declined since fiscal year 2009 and...

"My first shot at a hog with an AMAX out of the 300 SAUM was spectacular. Hit in the neck at 258 yards and there was only a little piece of fur holding the body together at that point. Good terminal performance.” - Mark Swab’s appraisal of the Hornady .308 AMAX sniper ammunition round Despite rising unemployment, record number of people on public assistance, the US Government via the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a solicitation for more sniper ammo, in this order – they are requesting 141,160 rounds of ammunition (7,058 boxes) of...

They call it the R.I.P. round and with good reason. G2 Research has released a new ammo that is taking the market by storm and has gun owners all over the country trying to find where to pick some up.

Gun Control: Thanks to government regulations, the closing of the last U.S. lead smelter and a push for "green" lead-free ammunition, ammo prices will skyrocket. Does the Second Amendment threaten the environment? Having been stymied by court defeats such as the Supreme Court's deciding that the Second Amendment does indeed confer a right to keep and bear arms on individuals throughout the United States, advocates of a gun-free America and a disarmed citizenry are taking a different approach: Go after the ammunition through regulations that stifle domestic production and force the use of more expensive and eco-friendly substitutes. Expanded regulations...

As Breitbart News reported on December 1, EPA regulations led to the closing of the Herculaneam lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri, which is expected to push up prices for traditional lead ammo. On top of this are regulations like the recent statewide lead ammo ban in California. Signed by Governor Jerry Brown (D) on October 11, this ban forces hunters to seek out nontraditional alternatives for their ammunition. In this way, the ban mandates "green bullets" by default. Moreover, as Fox News reports, the military has set 2018 as its target date to have troops operating lead-ammo-free. "Green bullets" have been under testing...

As gun sales break records—partly because of fear of coming gun control from the Obama administration—supplies of ammo ran so low that gun stores and ranges have to ration ammunition. Meanwhile, rumors of mass purchases of ammunition made by government entities began to fly around the Internet. Making all this even worse is that fact that it hasn’t been a short-term supply problem. Now well over a year since the shortages of popular types of ammo began there are still empty shelves and rationing here and there around the United States.

The good news: the ban does not extend to ammunition used for target shooting.The bad news: It extends to more than traditional hunting.    The bill applies to the taking of all wildlife.  From the bill: (b) Except as provided in subdivision (j), and as soon as is practicable as implemented by the commission pursuant to subdivision (i), but by no later than July 1, 2019, nonlead ammunition, as determined by the commission, shall be required when taking all wildlife, including game mammals, game birds, nongame birds, and nongame mammals, with any firearm. There is no exemption for self defense, protection of...

Are you having trouble finding firearms or magazines, but especially ammunition in stock and at reasonable prices? I have had a number of people tell me they can’t find ammunition. Since early February, I have bought and sold many rounds of ammunition and a number of firearms, magazines and other accessories over the Internet. I’ve also sold literally thousands of rounds of the ammunition I found to friends and coworkers. I shared with them how I do it, and now I share here as well. I have been so busy in my “day job”, that I had not noticed there...