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Ammo availability

Charger442

Sergeant
Supporter
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Nov 2, 2010
    4,692
    5,595
    South Texas
    With Lapua stopping production on a dozen or so calibers' brass, the fact that most every caliber has limited selection (compared to the salad days of just 3-4 short years ago) and some are flat out of stock completely, what does the future of ammo availability hold?

    is it really material shortages? is it labor shortages? will we ever see it back to normal again?

    personally, i have been trying to find as much 260 rem ammo as i can but its harder and harder to come by. Prime dropped the caliber and it doesnt look like they are making any ammo, AT ALL.

    30-06 has been a ghost too, for some reason. only available in a few bullet weights. maybe i am just shooting the wrong calibers....
     
    I think you are looking at the new normal. Why the shortages, I think there are several including material to political, and the political is hitting the material, then the legal as well. If you can now sue the gun makers how far fetched is it not to sue the ammo maker. And who do we sue when a drunk kills someone is it Chevy or Budwiser?
     
    With Lapua stopping production on a dozen or so calibers' brass, the fact that most every caliber has limited selection (compared to the salad days of just 3-4 short years ago) and some are flat out of stock completely, what does the future of ammo availability hold?

    is it really material shortages? is it labor shortages? will we ever see it back to normal again?

    personally, i have been trying to find as much 260 rem ammo as i can but its harder and harder to come by. Prime dropped the caliber and it doesnt look like they are making any ammo, AT ALL.

    30-06 has been a ghost too, for some reason. only available in a few bullet weights. maybe i am just shooting the wrong calibers....
    Weems to be plenty of both on Ammoseek though prices are high.
     
    Specific brands/flavors...yes. There's ammo out there on the shelf, in factory boxes. Might not be what you want, but damn it sure will work. I've been buying different brands or grain weights of all sorts for my own enjoyment. Nothing has failed to show me I need a bit more discipline/experience or a little playing around with my rifle setup.
     
    Don't forget this. We're starting to see ammo come back. I just bought 5lbs H-1000 and an 8lb jug of Varget in the same order last week. The local shops have 6.5PRC back in stock, which I haven't seen in probably two years. I don't think it'll ever be as good as it was, but it's getting better.

    When the market has recovered (as much as possible,) buy in massive quantities to carry you through the next drought. This is cyclical. The ammo game is volatile.
     
    I noticed 5.56 and 6.5CM are plentiful, but the prices are still high. 6.5 is insanely priced, so much so I’ve considered just switching to 300PRC.
     
    Yea...140 ELD-M is almost at $1.50....147 ELD-M is still around $1.75.

    I tried a "new-to-me" vendor through AmmoSeek. I found what I wanted, I was happy with the product price, it shipped, and arrived as described. I thought I would be able to walk thru a Gun/Ammo show recently to find better selections or prices......nope. I'm back to hunting the internet for what I want. Not to mention hawking the Classifieds here.
     
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    Eric cortina had a video on his youtube channel talking with emil praslik about lapua shutting down production on some.
     
    ELD-Ms. I just saw some for under $2 finally.
    ammoseek shows a handful of 140 eldm under $2/round shipped, at least in case (10 box) quantities, but not much under $2. sgammo is $360/case + tax. back before this mess i was buying it in the $220/case range.
     
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    Reactions: MediumSpeed
    With Lapua stopping production on a dozen or so calibers' brass, the fact that most every caliber has limited selection (compared to the salad days of just 3-4 short years ago) and some are flat out of stock completely, what does the future of ammo availability hold?

    is it really material shortages? is it labor shortages? will we ever see it back to normal again?

    personally, i have been trying to find as much 260 rem ammo as i can but its harder and harder to come by. Prime dropped the caliber and it doesnt look like they are making any ammo, AT ALL.

    30-06 has been a ghost too, for some reason. only available in a few bullet weights. maybe i am just shooting the wrong calibers....
     
    Stopped off at a local sporting goods store near me and they have shelves full of most cal you want. 9mm and 556 are in abundance as was most .308 parent cases, prices depending on manufacturer were either decent to not worth it but its available if you are looking for it.
     
    Don't forget this. We're starting to see ammo come back. I just bought 5lbs H-1000 and an 8lb jug of Varget in the same order last week. The local shops have 6.5PRC back in stock, which I haven't seen in probably two years. I don't think it'll ever be as good as it was, but it's getting better.

    When the market has recovered (as much as possible,) buy in massive quantities to carry you through the next drought. This is cyclical. The ammo game is volatile.

    It is starting to show up....but I still think you got to be lucky. I scored 6k LRP last weekend at 125 per 1k, and I think I did ok in seeing stock and other prices. The powder, Varget cost me $60 for a pound, and I got some Unique roughly the same price....and again it seemed to be the going rate, and it was at a gun show no less. Around here you just don't fine the "normal" rifle powders I use 4895,varget,3031, it is all very hard to find. And large rifle primers just don't exist. The ones I got are in those CCI "bulk" packaging we all have seen, not commercial. Not sure what the story is with that.....but I have a good stash now. Would like some universal but could not find any.

    Stuff I shoot I load everything for. So I have not bought factory aside from cheap shotgun shells in forever. I did buy some Norma 3006 brass that was 125 for 100, and went into heart failure, but if you don't have it you don't have it, pay or let it sit. And I am not running "factory full power" loads in a 114yr old "low number" 1903, or in a garand, that is a bit hard on parts...and possibly body parts.
     
    It is starting to show up....but I still think you got to be lucky. I scored 6k LRP last weekend at 125 per 1k, and I think I did ok in seeing stock and other prices. The powder, Varget cost me $60 for a pound, and I got some Unique roughly the same price....and again it seemed to be the going rate, and it was at a gun show no less. Around here you just don't fine the "normal" rifle powders I use 4895,varget,3031, it is all very hard to find. And large rifle primers just don't exist. The ones I got are in those CCI "bulk" packaging we all have seen, not commercial. Not sure what the story is with that.....but I have a good stash now. Would like some universal but could not find any.

    Stuff I shoot I load everything for. So I have not bought factory aside from cheap shotgun shells in forever. I did buy some Norma 3006 brass that was 125 for 100, and went into heart failure, but if you don't have it you don't have it, pay or let it sit. And I am not running "factory full power" loads in a 114yr old "low number" 1903, or in a garand, that is a bit hard on parts...and possibly body parts.

    im almost certain i bought the same pack of Norma brass as you.
     
    With Lapua stopping production on a dozen or so calibers' brass, the fact that most every caliber has limited selection (compared to the salad days of just 3-4 short years ago) and some are flat out of stock completely, what does the future of ammo availability hold?

    is it really material shortages? is it labor shortages? will we ever see it back to normal again?

    personally, i have been trying to find as much 260 rem ammo as i can but its harder and harder to come by. Prime dropped the caliber and it doesnt look like they are making any ammo, AT ALL.

    30-06 has been a ghost too, for some reason. only available in a few bullet weights. maybe i am just shooting the wrong calibers....
    Weird I was at bass pro and the shelves were literally exploding at the seems with factory loads. I was in fact looking for 30-06 for a buddy who is looking to swap from Core Lokts. 30-06 SST, ELD, American Whitetail and Precision Hunter all in stock and that was just the Horndaddy flavor. Have heard the same for Sportsmans Whorehouse and Academy Sports in Clearwater too. Just looked at Midway they have 16 different 30-06 factory loads available on the shelf in case you are still shopping. Are you just talking about walking into small mom and pop stores not seeing it?
     
    Last edited:
    I did a thread on this, but Freedom Munitions is having a good sale. The 12 calibers of Christmas.
     
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    Reactions: HeavyAssault
    With Lapua stopping production on a dozen or so calibers' brass, the fact that most every caliber has limited selection (compared to the salad days of just 3-4 short years ago) and some are flat out of stock completely, what does the future of ammo availability hold?

    is it really material shortages? is it labor shortages? will we ever see it back to normal again?

    personally, i have been trying to find as much 260 rem ammo as i can but its harder and harder to come by. Prime dropped the caliber and it doesnt look like they are making any ammo, AT ALL.

    30-06 has been a ghost too, for some reason. only available in a few bullet weights. maybe i am just shooting the wrong calibers....
    Just got an email from bullet central.

     
    • Like
    Reactions: NoDopes