Jump to content

The Ammo Shortage Continues


Geee

Recommended Posts

the-ammo-shortage-continues
Pajamas Media:


The Ammo Shortage Continues
Why are manufacturers still unable to meet demand?


May 14, 2010 - by Bob Owens

Scan the ammunition shelves at sporting goods stores, your local gun store, or even Walmart and odds are that you won’t find what you are looking for. The most common cartridges are in short supply, and many stores ration ammunition a box or two at a time to spread their meager stock among their customers.

This isn’t new. But why is this nationwide ammunition shortage still happening?

The shortage began no later than 2007, when law enforcement agencies began having problems placing massive bulk orders, their typical purchasing strategy. The Associated Press tried to blame the shortages on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a falsehood that was easily debunked by pointing out that the military has its own dedicated small arms ammunition plant that — running at peak efficiency — was producing a half-billion rounds per year more than the military was using at that time.

Instead, the primary reason for that shortage turned out to be law enforcement agencies themselves, because of a horrifying incident that shook law enforcement nationwide to its core. On February 28, 1997, in North Hollywood, CA, Larry Phillips, Jr. and Emil Matasareanu, two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, engaged in a 44-minute shootout with an outgunned Los Angeles Police Department. The two suspects fired more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition, and each was shot multiple times with police handguns. The 9mm police pistol bullets bounced off their homemade body armor. Phillips eventually died after being shot 11 times; Matasareanu died after being hit 29 times.

In response, law enforcement agencies nationwide embraced civilian versions of the military M4 selective-fire carbine as a long arm suitable for engaging heavily armed and armored felons beyond pistol range with greater precision and stopping power. This focus on deploying carbines only intensified after the 9/11 terror attacks, as agencies began preparing to deal with potential terrorist threats as well as criminal acts. SWAT and ERT teams first used these weapons, but they quickly spread to supervisors, and within a few years, officers and deputies. They are now euphemistically known as a “patrol rifles” and carried as a standard-issue long arm in patrol cars around the nation (even on some university campuses).

The widespread use of patrol rifles among law enforcement and the possibility of terrorism meant an increase in range time for many officers using their duty sidearms, and an almost entirely new law enforcement market for 9mm, 40 S&W, and 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington caliber carbines. When combined with China gobbling up core ammunition components such as brass, copper, and lead for their exploding industry, the shortage was simply explained by a massive increase in demand that has yet to let up.

That demand only escalated as a result of the recession and the 2008 election. President Obama is no friend of the Second Amendment, which caused gun owners to stock up on firearms and ammunition in fear that the administration would push for a restoration of failed gun control laws that expired during the Bush administration. The economic instability of the recession and a resurgent acceptance of shooting sports also created many first-time gun buyers, many of whom developed into avid shooters who use significant amounts of ammunition.

As I concluded last February:

Shortages of ammunition and firearms can be expected to continue for as long as it appears our overreaching federal government is a threat to our individual liberties, our economy continues to falter, and our police agencies keep militarizing. It’s going to be a long ride.

Indeed, nearly a year and a half later, ammunition is still in short supply.snip
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It appears that the extreme shortage for most calibers of ammo is over now.

 

For a while, it was virtually impossible to find most common rounds at any price. Reading shooting related forums explained the situation very quickly. Obamanation fears.

People who normally didn't shoot a box of 50 at the range once a year were buying up thousands of rounds at any price. This impacted more active sports shooters who would grab any and all ammo if found to sustain their hobby. (That's me!)

 

About four months ago, the expensive stuff became available. Now the less expensive practice ammo has returned to the shelves but it's about 25% higher than it was B.O. (Before Obama)

 

Thanks Barry! At least my pistols are worth a lot more now than B.O.

 

obama-gun-salesman1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SrWoodchuck

I still can't find .45 Long Colt for under $50-$60 @ box. It's not for me, MrsSrWoodchuck needs it to feed her pet Anaconda!

 

If any can help feed a starving Anaconda, let me know; it's terrible to just watch it lay there, doing nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since I attend every gun show possible (any that fall between May 1st and December 31st) I am not experiencing any shortages. I pick up as much as possible for the weapons I own. I have noticed that vendors are trying to pass of reloads as new ammo more than in the past. The only other problem is that I had to buy a new safe for storage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's awful, SrWoodChuck. Wish you had a Snake-PayPal account.

 

:lol:

 

I still can't find .45 Long Colt for under $50-$60 @ box. It's not for me, MrsSrWoodchuck needs it to feed her pet Anaconda!

 

If any can help feed a starving Anaconda, let me know; it's terrible to just watch it lay there, doing nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • 1711688469
×
×
  • Create New...