Are your local Wal-Marts like the five that I visited, basically empty of ammo?
What are your personal favorite and trusted on-line ammo suppliers that you use and would recommend?
- OB1
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.
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.
9mm is easy, try finding 7.62x39 or 5.56x45/.223... almost everyplace is sold out.
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.
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.
Just bought some more shotgun ammo (500rds) from my local W-W at lunch. Seems they’ve still got a bunch of Federal 12GA 7-1/2 and 8 shot on the shelf. I bought out all their 22LR last week (250 bucks worth), and they haven’t restocked it yet. They HAD 6 boxes of UMC .223 55gr there for 9.47/box and I got those too. Most of what is left are hunting rifle rounds. No 9mm, .45ACP, .38/.357, or .40SW, or .308 at all. I’ve never seen the shelves look so empty. Good thing I handload everything I shoot but rimfire.
Walmart is pure anti-gun. The one where I live has gone from selling a full line of rifles and black-powder pistols to just ammo to now having a few skanky-looking boxes of ammo in a locked case to which no employee has the key. Screw them.
This is a long boring post on the joys of modern retail logistics from someone who has seen it peripherally from the IT department for years.
What you are seeing is the benefit of Just-In-Time inventory practices in the retail industry.
My guess is that retailers, who start stocking for “Holiday” in about August, don’t consider ammo to be a big “Holiday” seller. Space at distribution centers (DCs) is limited, especially around the holidays. DCs have to make sure they have enough of the right stuff to stock their stores and nothing that doesn’t move. I’ve worked for organizations who’ve actually rented 40 foot ocean freight containers and stacked merchandise that wasn’t moving in there temporarily - eliminating employee parking in the dead of winter in the process.
So starting in early November customers start cleaning out ammo from store shelves. Stores make frantic calls their DCs, the DCs probably have a limited stock and NO orders in the pipeline. Everything goes on hold until after the After Christmas Sales. My guess is that merchants for big retailers, like Walmart, are just now placing panic orders to their vendors for ammo. What you probably got was 100 rounds of the first after holiday pallet that just trickled in to some Walmart DC in your area. Over the next few weeks the problem may (may) abate somewhat as the supply chain gets refilled.
The problem is, the manufacturers don’t want inventory in their warehouses anymore that the retailers do. Inventory is treated as an expense. Therefore, this time of year manufacturers probably slow down production until Spring so they probably don’t have a lot of product in stock to refill the retailers pipeline.
Now comes the tricky part. The merchants for the retailers don’t want to get stuck with a lot of ammo that people won’t buy for months if the panic abates and they don’t want to get stuck with a lot of ammo they can never sell if the Dems do some of the reactionary stuff they say they are going to do. So should the merchants load up their DCs and restock the store shelves or should they hang fire and let the clerks, at the bottom of the retail food chain, listen to the customers complain? This is the part that gets merchandising executives big bonuses or termination orders as the case may be.
As for the manufacturers, they’ve probably been caught flat footed too. Should they start churning out ammo, knowing that if the Dems do nothing there is going to be a glut of ammo on the market and they will have to discount their inventory in order to clear it - just as their organizations are getting use to the new fat margins? Or should they restrain production in order to save labor, warehousing, transportation and materiel costs and not build up any inventory just in case the Dems DO enact some reactionary laws like microstamping that could leave them with a lot of product they can never legally sell in the US and probably can’t export? And oh yea, there’s a recession going on.
My guess is that unless some brave entrepreneur starts bringing in (literally) boat loads of ammo from overseas and cutting into market share, Olin and CCI won’t be putting on any additional shifts and we won’t be seeing full shelves in retailer’s sporting goods departments anytime soon.
Because their supply chain is simpler the problem will probably effect online retailers and your local gun shop less than major chains.
W-M in Mesquite, NV was pretty much cleaned out - NO pistol ammo and just a few rifle boxes.
Same in St. George, UT as well as Sportsman’s Warehouse.
Just returned from a trip to my local Walmart. One 50rd. box of Winchester 9mm target ammo is all they had left. I’ve got what I need (I hope) to tide me over for now, so I left it there thinking some poor newbie with a brand new Glock but no ammo will need it more than me. Then, I proceeded to the range where I encountered many new faces. Mostly fathers and daughters. In some cases, both were learning new skills toghether. To do that, you need ammo. I welcome new shooters to the community. So should you all. Lots of young women out there with newly acquired snubbies who’ll need that ammo for protection if things break bad. If you’re already sitting on several hundred rounds, lighten up and leave something for the new folks. Kinda’ like casting bread upon the water. Some dreary Saturday morning you may come running into that store desperately looking for one...just one 25rd. box of Hornady TAP, or anything ‘cause you’ve got nothing, and find someone left one on the shelf for you. Think about it.
Because this thread was scaring me (more), I went out earlier today to the closest store that sells ammo (a local hardware store).
In the calibers I need there was no problem finding cartons on the shelf. I had four brands of 9mm Luger to choose from, many 22lr blocks and cartons, and my trusty Wolf 7.62x54r (for Mosin-Nagant).
There definitely were empty spaces on the shelves, but I couldn't read most of the designations leaning over the counter. I did notice there was plenty of 45 Auto available -- even the 250 blocks.
My husband is having the same problem with ammo at Wal-Marts in the Denver area too. None to be found.
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.