Posted on 01/19/2009 9:15:17 AM PST by OB1kNOb
A week or so ago I read in a FReeper thread where someone made the claim that Wal-Mart was running out of ammunition and apparently lacked the resources to restock it quickly. I thought to myself, surely this can't be true. Afterall, Wal-Mart is huge enough to have access to unlimited supply to anything they choose to sell. I mean, they are Wal-Mart.
So, this past weekend I decided to conduct my own investigation into this claim. On my way home from work Friday evening I stopped by three Wal-Mart's and visited their Sporting Goods (SG) department to buy some 9mm shells.
The first store I visited I made a bee-line for their SG dept. What I saw of their ammunition shelf behind the SG counter reminded me of the bread and milk aisles a day before a predicted snowstorm. Except for a few specialty shells it was basically bare. I was wanting to buy a box of 100 9mm shells, but all they had was one box of 50. That's strange, I thought, but surely one of the other two stores I planned to visit would have what I wanted in stock, so I preceded to the 2nd Wal-Mart store just a few short miles down the Interstate.
When I walked up to the 2nd SG dept. counter a young lady was there. I made a quick scan of the ammunition shelf behind the counter. It was the same as the first, pretty much empty. I asked the young lady if they would have a new shipment of 9mm shells in anytime soon. She shook her head and said "No, in fact the warehouse that supplies us told us to quit calling them and asking when they would have anymore ammunition to deliver."
Whoa! That response somewhat surprised me. Surely though my local store in a smaller town would still have what wanted. Au contraire. When I walked up to my local store's SG counter, I didn't even bother asking the clerk if they had what I was looking for. Their ammunition counter was emptier than the first two I visited.
By the time I got home, I decided that Saturday morning I would visit a couple more Wal-Mart stores in a neighboring city 20 miles away. The next day the 4th Wal-Mart I visited was the same - very little on the shelves, and no 9mm's. By now I was wishing I had bought the one box of 50 I had seen at the first store.
I decided before I visited the last Wal-Mart across town, I would make a visit to the local gun store where I recently purchased my pistol. Surely, they would have an ample supply of shells, and I could put my growing angst to rest.
Fat chance. Their ammunition shelves looked like Wal-Mart's. They had one box of 9mm's remaining which I quickly bought. I asked the owner if he would be getting anymore in soon, and he said, he would make a note to order more Monday. Hmmm. That's a strange response I thought. I figured he would have a better handle on his dwindling supplies and would already have made a new order, that is if he could get more supply.
I then went to the 5th and last Wal-Mart on my personal investigative tour. Ammunition shelves were the same as the previous stores, practically empty, but LO! What do I spy but two lonely boxes of 50 9mm shells sitting by themselves. I quickly pointed to them and told the clerk I wanted to purchase them. As he was ringing be up he said, "You're lucky. We just got these in today.".
So, it appears the rumors are true and that Wal-Mart is experiencing a shortage of ammo. and it appears this shortage extends beyond Wal-Mart and is affecting local gun stores as well. At least in my neck of the woods that's true.
We movedinto the shop:
22 cases of Winchester 147 gr 762X51(200count)
26 cases of 8mm Mauser(440 rnds ea.)
20 cases of 9mm(500 rnds PMC)
10 cases of 45ACP(200rnds)
15 cases of Winchester 40 S&W(300 rnds)
12 ammo cans of 400 rnd 7.62X51(Bosnian)
25 cases of Tiger 7.62X39
25 cases of PMC 223
All that is left is a few cases of 8mm Mauser
Thanks for the post. I visited two different Wal-Marts in Raleigh, NC recently, and neither had 500-round bricks of .22.
I went to the gun show in Raleigh this weekend, and we waited in line to get in on Sunday afternoon (!). There were tons of people there, and the ammo dealers were swamped. And, yes I spent some of my disposable cash on increasing my cache of milsurp ammo.
Wasn’t Obama talking about a “New Declaration of Independence” or maybe a Revolution just Yesterday in DC in one of his Speeches ?
Citizens, Arm Yourselves, the STUPIDS are coming !!!
Walmart is one of the first places to get hit in a riot. Maybe they’re keeping their inventory low for that reason?
No shortages here in North Texas. Have been able to get all the .22 / 9mm / 40 / 45 that I’ve been able to stand.
Partially correct - a lot of ammo manufacturers shut down lines when the price of lead went skyrocketing upwards, pushing their costs too high. When the price returned to relatively sane levels, they started manufacture again, but that hiccup is being combined with increased demand. They’re churning them out as fast as they can, distributors are parceling out their shipments, and the end result is fewer and fewer boxes on the shelves.
For us in California, it stinks even more - we had a huge bunch of cheap ammo in the state from distributors that went out of business, then shell shock when the price skyrocketed for new orders coming in (whee high shipping charges..). The few distributors left got hammered by dealers going out of state for sales and deals, causing yet another distributor to shutter it’s doors.
What’s left is doing as much business they can, but they also were hammered by high shipping costs over the summer, high ammo costs when they bought whatever they could to fill demand, and we just didn’t have the ammo storage we normally would in California.
Walmart’s decision to curb ammo sales in ‘city center’ stores was partially a nod to gungrabbers in the state, but mostly a nod to outlying stores which sold the product faster and more reliably.
If you have a Cabela’s nearby, try them. The store by me (Omaha area), had plenty of ammo on the shelves. 9mm included. You might check their web site.
None of the five I visited had any either. That was second on my list to get.
I went to a gun show in Little Rock last weekend. Wall to wall people. Supplier had a lot of ammo on opening morning, but he couldn't take everyone's money fast enough.
Maybe that’s a testament to all you Texans already having your personal supply of ammo sufficiently up to where it should be, and not scrambling for it now like a lot of us. Send your Wal-Mart’s excess our way please. ;-)
9mm is easy, try finding 7.62x39 or 5.56x45/.223... almost everyplace is sold out.
Do you have a favorite trusted on-line supplier that you would recommend?
I asked about 45auto rounds at my local WalMart Central Mo. She looked at like I was asking if they had RPG rounds in stock. I was told the warehouse doesn’t know when they will get any.
I’m pretty well loaded up on ammo for all of our firearms, I just wanted to add to the M1 Carbine rounds.
Since my previous post I’ve been talking with one of my very best friends about taking the plunge and buying a good reloading set up, with all that entails. Its been almost 30 years since I reloaded my own ammo...but the times are a changin, as the saying goes.
Makes me wonder if I should have enough to sell for a markup later. Hmmm. :)
You can get .30-06 for your M-1 at http://www.thecmp.org/. They also have .30 carbine and 5.56, although the 5.56 is a little pricey.
I've had to reload my 20 mm titanium rounds for my electric Gatling gun.
40,000 rounds take a long time to reload {and they fill most of my basement}.
from their site --
Federal 9mm AE9DP, 115 Grain Classic, Metal Case Bullet 50 $11.99
500 $114.90
1000 $220.00
Federal 9mm 95 Grain, Jacketed Soft Point 50 $11.99
1,000 $220.00
Russian/Wolf Full Metal Jacket, 115 Grain 50 $9.99
500 $90.00
1000 $169.99
Winchester/USA 115 Grain, 100 Rnd. Full Metal Jacket, Brass Case 100 $23.99
They are out of a lot, but their site says they have this for 9mm and some coveted 7.62x39. I have bought "some" ammo from them. They are easy to work with and ship same/next day they receive your payment.
see my kyimports post. I just bought some .380 for my wife.... and NO, I am not affiliated with Kyimports in any way shape or form except as a customer.
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