Respectfully, there is a problem with that line of thought. If the shortage is simply due to lack of materials in a free market, it should have been rectified by this time. If I were in the business of making a product that was selling like hotcakes, I would be making that product, at a higher price. 22 longs are not easily available in large quantities at ANY price. We are being denied our constitutional right to arm ourselves..
Except you can’t just “ramp up” production if your lines are already pretty full. You’d have to build a new line. But if you know that the shortage is hyped, and that the actual long-term demand is steady, building additional capacity won’t be a good decision, by the time you are ready you’ll spend 3 months making up the backlog, and then your new line is useless.
So the fact that the shortage still exists probably argues FOR the shortage being artificial, in that the manufacturers do not seem to believe the shortage is a long-term increase in purchasing.
I never said the shortage is due to a lack of materials. I said that may be “part” of the problem.
I think the current shortages of some types of ammunition is due to multiple causes....kind of a “perfect storm” affecting the supply chain.
Some of it also may be due to manufacturers deliberately cutting back on production to increase the price and profit per unit sold. It wouldn’t be the first time in history that happened.