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.
WHere do you live? My guess is it’s not PA.
Do you by chance bring that to Knob Creek?
These have a favorable reputation here.
Are you still trying to use those old Confederate Dollars?
Same at my WM here...cant even find 9mm’s.... tried all 4 locals...
Most of the on-line stores seem to be out of stock on primers of all types. Founds some at my local retailer over the weekend, but there’s definately limited supply.
And all of the cheap milsurp is long gone, too. This is not necessarily a bad thing: motivating more people to obtain the equipment and skills needed to “roll their own” may have some pretty big benefits down the line.
lol. me too.
I got a fair amount of that. Ammoman had really great prices on SS-109 about a year ago, so I bought it cheap and stacked it as deep as I was able.
At the time I had some doubts. Now, not so much.
I took the plunge into reloading about 10 years ago. Now I'm damned glad I did it.
L
Seems though the gun shows have stuff but several dollars more - figures ....
My husband is having the same problem with ammo at Wal-Marts in the Denver area too. None to be found.
They get .223/5.56 in sporadically. You just have to catch it. They just got the Silver Bear in and it's a lot cleaner than the Wolf although the cheap Wolf is fine in most AK’s and some AR 15’s, you just have to clean a little more. This is the only place I have been able to consistently find bulk at decent prices. Much cheaper to buy large quantities. last week they had some really nice Corbon in 850 boxes but it was gone the same day. Looks like they are low again, just check it daily but they do have the Silver Bear and it's really pretty decent for the price, good for the range.
When they did the gun show at down town Houston, George Brown Convention Center, They sold out .223 & 7.62x39 in 1½ hours after the show opened...
Gotta give ammoman a plug, Eric has treated me very well.
Thanks for the list.
I’ve read many articles recently from many media sources, citing an ammunition shortage and its impact on police training and qualifications. Every article I’ve read blames the war in Iraq (and they are nearly identical—do all those writers come from the same Journalism school?).
This of course does not explain shortages of .38 special and .45 ammunition, of which the military uses little or none; say the same for .22 rimfire, .270 Remington, 7.62 x 39mm (the Russian service cartridge) and .380 pistol cartridges, which also seem to be in very short supply.
I personally believe it is a combination of things: (1) gunowners fearing the Obama Administration will limit or cut supplies, or levy heavy taxes on ammunition; (2) retailers stockpiling ammunition in hopes that the prices will skyrocket in the wake of the above, and/or (3) shortages caused by the manufacturers themselves to drive up prices.
The consumption by the military does not adequately explain the shortage, and suspect that the mainstream media is reporting this to further its own agendae.
I know that since November it’s getting very hard to find any ammunition and that several guys I know who reload cartridge cases say they can’t find gunpowder anywhere, or only in small amounts at huge prices.
Several sources, online and locally, used to have a large ammunition selection; now they have almost nothing. Additionally, even non-performance practice-type ammunition seems to me to be selling at about double what I would have paid for it a year or two ago.
Where in the world do you find propellant and gunpowder? Most guys I know who reload can’t seem to find any, or in very small amounts at huge prices.
Some of us could read the handwriting on the wall well over a year ago. I stocked up, and stocked up big.
I'm right at the 'legal' storage limit. And I've got enough bullets and empty cases to last almost indefinetely.
L
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