Drip…drip…drip…

.22LR ammunition has been impossible to find for a few months.  That shouldn’t surprise you.

Occasionally a few boxes of standard-velocity ammo were available, which is fine for target guns and bolt actions.  But semi-autos usually need high-velocity ammo to function reliably.

Well this past week some quantities of high-velocity ammo have been showing up on store shelves (and disappearing almost as fast).  One was WalMart, the other was a local dealer.

Centerfire pistol ammo is still spotty.  I have seen (and bought) some .38SPL, and there has been .40S&W and .45ACP on the shelves sometimes.  Nothing for 9mm FMJ however.  And in every case, the prices are much higher than they used to be.

For long guns, hunting ammunition and shotgun shells (for birding/skeet/sporting clays) are usually available.  Buckshot is harder to find.  And .223 has been available sporadically.

UPDATE:

Mere hours after I posted this, I walked into a WalMart on a whim and found 4 boxes of PPU (Prvi Partizan) 9mm.  2 for me and 2 for Crapgame.

More, Please?

Apparently it isn’t just civilian shooters who are having trouble finding ammunition.

Police departments in Tennessee and Oklahoma say that they are having trouble getting ammo as well.  Guns are also hard to come by.

What will the net result of this be?  Less live-fire training for police personnel?  A reluctance to conduct SWAT raids for trivial offenses?

And this is happening while the Department of Homeland Security is alternately denying that they bought 1.6 billion bullets and refusing to comment on the matter.

Where will this all lead?

Where da white boxes at?

Like the rest of you, I am feeling the effects of the ammo shortage.

I am using .22 guns for practice as often as possible.  Why?  Because 9mm is nearly impossible to find.  Not surprising, given its popularity.  .223 range ammo (as opposed to defensive/hunting loads) is scarce too.  I prefer not to deplete my reserves until that becomes unavoidable.  The similarity of the Ruger SR22 to many tactical pistols (in terms of ergonomics and sights) makes it a good alternative for low-cost practice.

What is surprising is how much .380 I am seeing still on shelves.  Also, .45acp is usually available, and most of the time .40S&W too.

There’s a lot of factors at play in this shortage; war production, other government contracts, panic buying, hoarding, etc.  I cannot say if there is any opportunism or profiteering going on, beyond a few unscrupulous dealers that I make a habit of avoiding. I would imagine that it is a good time to be in the ammo manufacturing business.  None of their product will sit idle waiting for a buyer.

Retailers are weary of getting phone calls from ammo-seeking customers.  Many of us have uncovered the delivery schedules for our local retailers, and are scheduling visits to coincide with the deliveries to ensure first crack at any ammo they get.

The shooting ranges that I frequent have ammo to supply their shooting customers thus far; they are sick of being asked to sell it to retail customers.  One owner hides the boxes so that people won’t see them and ask to buy it.

Hope it loosens up soon…

Just a Bill…

(UPDATED) Well, it certainly didn’t take long for the left-wing gun-haters in the Connecticut legislature to trot out their proposals.  It’s almost like the proposals were already written, and they were just waiting for some dead bodies to stand on while they presented the Bills.  Well, Rahm Emmanuel always said to never let a crisis go to waste…

This post is a long one, so refill your glass.

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Shooters know that gun bans don’t work, and neither does gun registration.  But how do we communicate that message to the sheep who bleat their anti-gun lies?

With facts.

We need to keep the message short, powerful, and well-sourced.  And we need to target the typical arguments that an anti-gun-nut will use to convince fence-sitters.

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