A general question to all out there. I watch my favorite guns store almost weekly. It appears that the supply of firearms are catching up to demand but only slightly. Loaded ammo such as 9mm and .223 still appear almost non-existenent. Loading components, at all the Sportsmans warehouses I vist, is as if they never had any. All new brass is gone, the powder they have I could carry in one sack, primers no way unless you want shotgun, and bullets only in weird diameters. Cabelas is much the same. Possibly not quite as bad but almost. I normally buy all they have when I find someting I need and expect others do the same. Here is my point, I went into Cabelas and they had about 1500 55gr. V-max bulletts on the shelf ! I did not buy them as I was looking for someting else. That was about all they had in .224 diameter bullets but I had not seen that much in a very long time. Do you think the manufacturers are catching up to us paranoid buyers or are the shelves gonna remain mostly empty until it's illegal to buy or own the stuff? I have never ordered components over the internet. Do suppliers there have all you want. I'd like lots of input on your recent buying experiences. thanks

Nope, the "good" online sources are out of most everything, also. Midsouth, Midway, LS&B, Graf's, Natchez, all are out of the more "desireable" components.
Cabela's often has more than the other big box stores, perhaps their buying power is better. Sportsman's Warehouse is perpetualy OUT of nearly everything except a few oddball things no one wants. I went to one in Lexington KY two weeks ago, they had TWO boxes of rimfire ammo, the unwanted and underappreciated .17HM2 ammo, nothing else, nada, zip, zilch.
Our local Bass Pro store has been pretty well stocked in most items, luckily, but I didn't check on 9mm or .223, as I wasn't looking for those items anyway. They did have most of the "normal" ammunition folks buy.

Just wait it out, the saturation level on demand is getting close.

It's going to be awhile before there is any catching up done. Mainly because as fast as anyone get anything it disappears. As for small rifle primers and .223 brass it was in short supply before the real run hit do to the war. Sure glad I'm always stocked up in case well you just never know. I feel sorry for the everyone new to reloading or just wanting to reload.

I have a few friends that work at Federal Ammo in Anoka, MN (about 15 miles from where I live). About 3 weeks ago, I was talking with one of them and he told me that consumer ammo production was being ramped up. The guys that assemble the ammo are working 24 hours a day Monday through Friday. They have 2 shifts that work 12 hours on and 12 hours off! So we should be seeing loaded ammo showing up soon. Also, another friend that works at ATK, which is part of the Federal, CCI, RCBS, etc. conglomerate here in Minnesota, said the employees are now allowed to order primers through the company store. So hopefully, we will see some components soon.

Sounds like a little light at the end of the tunnel but not a bright light. Any others with information would be appreciated. Thanks

There's a fella that I have bought brass from in the past . I paid $140 for 1,000 once fired .44 Magnum . I went back a while ago and the price was $161 and he was OUT . I went back the other day and the price was $181 AND he was still out . I guess he figures that once he gets some the price will be high enough for him to recoup the lost revenue . I'm sure "somebody" will pay those prices BUT not ME . I hooked up some .44 Mag for $15 for 100 (once fired). I shoot a middle of the road load so I get many uses from my brass . Primers (large pistol) are selling for $35 a thousand and my gun store has them BUT limits purchases to 1,000 at a time . If a fella casts (ME) there will be much fewer problems . Bullets are getting in short supply so I am always looking for lead . Check E-Bay and see the price of it now . A DOLLAR a pound . I'm still getting wheel weights for twenty cents a pound and will get 120 pounds for free next week from a friend of a friend . Here in Kingman AZ we have started a reloading club . It has taken off like a shot (no pun intended) . You would be suprised what some guys have and will trade for other stuff . I got a slew (about 500) of .44 copper jacketed 240 gr. for 4 cents each . Another guy that does not cast will give one for one . He gives you enough lead for 2 bullets and he gets one . He has a HUGH amount of lead in his garage . Not to mention a group buy can get more attention than a small buy . You want 5,000 primers . Good . As a group you want 80,000 primers . Better . Big purchases are treated better . We have one guy in the trucking business so he gets guys to buy bulk in other states and no HazMat fee . Get together , you can't lose .

"Is it letting up a little?"

Wellll...that's broad question and none of us can posibly know much except on a purely local and therefore changeable basis. But I see no change here. ???

It's me again . My neighbor and fellow reloader just got back from the NRA convention in PHX . He spoke to the major suppliers and was told that production is at 24 hours a day now . They don't see the levels of available components to be at "before the rush" levels for about a year . That is unless da gubmint does something stupid . Case in point . Since they "own" two of the big three car companies they felt confident in issuing directives (that's right ORDERS) as to what they can and cannot produce as far as emissions are concerned . It's for the enviornment . It's good to be king .

I was at Cabelas yesterday and saw more powder on their shelf than I have seen for a very long time. They still did not have my favorite flavor (WW748) but they did have way more stuff than usual. Bullets however remain the old story. The not too popular 40 gr stuff ( .224 dia)but little if anything heavier. Recovery is going to take a while.

I stopped in a small town local gunshop Saturday as I had heard they had some primers in stock. They only put out a few at a time on the shelves. I was allowed to buy 300 small rifle and 300 large pistol at $3.69 / 100 plus tax. They also had some .204 brass so I bought another 100 rounds at $24 / 100. I thought that it was reasonable to limit the amounts of primers per customer.

You guy's better look at any pending legislation in your state!! Here in KALIFORNIA we are going to go lead free statewide!!!If you have stocked up on componants you might be looking to either move away or sell it for what you can get!!The California condor was the ploy the anti's came up with and it worked in an area designated CONDOR habitat!Now the anti's want the entire state!!Make sure you keep up with the latest info and do your part to protect what is ours!!PJ

I spoke to Graf and Sons yesterday. I had planed to make a small order, I haven't started hording yet. They had one item on my list. they had no Varget and no Berry bullets in my size. Several brands of 224 bullets are out also.

The same thing happened when Slick Willy became our coward-and-chief, only there was no war to blame it on.

I was in Bass pro shop and hand gun ammo is almost all odd stuff. I did see some in some of the gun shops in the Mesa AZ area one had a bunch of reloaded 223 and a bunch of hand gun ammo.

"Demand for Ammo, reloading supplies., Is it letting up a little?"

Not yet, as of Aug 5. Guess the hoarders still have a bit of money and some empty room in the garage.

I was in the retail outlet for Graff and Sons today. They had more stuff on the shelves than before, but there were still many empty shelves. The big three bullet supplyers had all made shipments

Found this yesterday:

Hodgdon's VARGET in stock !!! We will have Hodgdon's VARGET in stock for shipment beginning August 14th, 2009. Orders may be placed by calling 1.800.455.0350 or on our website www.brunoshooters.com.
Current price is $149.66 per 8lb exclusive of the $22.50 hazardous materials fee and shipping charges. All hazardous materials will ship via FedEx ground and a SIGNATURE IS REQUIRED.
Thanks!
Amy Bruno
Bruno Shooters Supply
1.800.455.0350
www.brunoshooters.com
brunoshooterssupply@hotmail.com

Walked in to our local SW and bought 1500 primers two weeks ago. Thats more primers than they have had for six months that I've seen.

The last couple of shops I've been in, had plenty of bullets and powder, and yesterday, even had some CCI400s,( limit 1000 per family). Bass Pro Shop, Clarksville IN, had a LOT of Hornady VMs and Nosler BTs in stock, as did Whittaker's Gun Shop in Owensboro, KY. Whittaker's had a lot of Sierras, but at prices I was unwilling to pay, they've jumped astronomically in price (Sierras). Luckily, except for .20 Sierra BlitzKings (39s) I don't need any bullets currently. I have plenty of good deer bullets, enough to last a long time, and rat bullets I have aplenty, also.



I'm gonna wait 'em out on the Sierra bullets, they have them priced too high right now. I might as well buy Bergers for the difference in coinage.

I've been contemplating setting up to reload a few calibers that I frequently shoot, but have put it on hold until the supply situation eases up a bit. I don't want to lay out the cash for a decent setup only to be unable to purchase components. I'm in hopes the current situation will gradually ease up over the next 5 to 6 months and I can start getting into the roll your own game. It's not that I think I can save a bunch of money doing it, because I don't believe I can, it's just that I've always had the desire to get into reloading as part of the sport. We shall see.

I was at Cabelas over the weekend and saw some of my favorite powder. I have not seen WW-748 on their shelf since November. Bullets are very slowly creeping back on the shelfs. Usually odd ball stuff first but normal stuff is also comming back. I have been able to buy what I wanted on line, which I had never done before. I assume it will gradually get better until the anti gun government makes another move towards gun control, then it will be like it was the day after his election.