Ammunition Shortage

For the past several months, there has been a national ammunition shortage.

Gun dealers have seen a huge surge in gun purchases and, along with that, a huge surge in ammo sales. Many now have empty shelves.

The neighborhood gun store (up the street from me) has no ammunition to sell.

I happened to luck out last month when I went to a gun show in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and managed to buy some boxes of 9 mm ammo (at reasonable prices). I already had 9 mm ammo at home, but as the Boy Scout Motto says: Be Prepared!

What's going on?

According to Shooting Illustrated:

Manufacturers are making ammunition as fast as they can, and some retailers are raising prices astronomically. This is happening mostly because humans, lazy like we are, fail to properly prepare for bad times. It also brings up the question of how much ammunition do you really need to have on hand at any given time.

As demand increases, so does use. In uncertain times, folks begin shooting and training more so they will be better prepared. The more intense the shortage, the more intense the use. Given the current situation, which happens to be preceding a very important presidential election, the current ammunition situation has the potential to last for quite a bit of time. Are you ready for that? If you don’t have the ammo you need now, it might be the better part of a decade before you can acquire it without selling your soul or first born.

So, how much and what types of ammunition do you need? Obviously, it depends on your situation. According to my sources in the ammunition-manufacturing industry, sales always follow highs and lows. Savvy shooters buy ammunition when the demand is low because it costs less and more is available. I recently saw on social media where a guy went to the gun shop to purchase 9 mm ammo and the only thing on the shelf was a dozen boxes of .327 Fed. Mag. ammo.

Ideally, you should strive to always have about a 10-year supply of ammunition on hand. How much is that? Well, it depends on how much you shoot. Regardless, part of your cache should always be what I call “war chest ammo.” This is ammunition you might need if you really need ammunition—top-shelf, defensive loads for your primary handgun, rifle and shotgun. At a minimum we’re talking 200 rounds of rifle and shotgun, and about 500 rounds of pistol ammunition.

Now, I’m sure some believe that during a total societal collapse you’ll need even more ammo. That may be true but, in that situation, you’re going to need a lot of other survival stuff, too.

Their solution? When ammo supplies stabilize and prices come down, buy in bulk.

To read more, go here.