Early on, I bought 1000 rounds each of 9x19 and 5.56mm. Joe Kurtenbach, Executive Editor of Gun & Ammo, and John Myles from Smith & Wesson discuss features of the Equalizer 9mm micro-compact pistol and new-for-2023 M&P 5.7. Its clear from here theyre doing all they can to do away with any Hornady ammo shortage that may result from all the hoarding and panic buying. Morehouse says customers acceptance of the high price of these flagship productsalong with the normalization of scarcity pricing of ammunition during the pandemichas led to a new high-water mark of ammunition pricing. Forget it., Read Next: Hornadys New 7mm PRC Cartridge, Tested and Reviewed. Some manufacturers have all the gunpowder they need for their own use. Im not prepared to tell anyone how much ammunition should be on hand for home and personal defense, or to attain and maintain proficiency. Jason, who is vice president of Hornady Manufacturing, said that is not true. Its a complex landscape, and its not going to get better for a while. The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours. No one has an abundance of primers. (Craig Boddington photo). Despite many faults, I am not a conspiracy theorist. While the bullet shortage has been a blessing for firearm makers, gun owners have found the situation less enjoyable due to issues like: When demand exceeds supply, manufacturers have the upper hand and can dictate prices. } Maddox is passionate about varmint hunting and has spent more than a decade honing his expertise in the Western Dakota prairies. What about the panic buying from empty shelves? In Henderson, Nevada, gun-store owner Greg Veire deals mainly in bulk ammunition for recreational shooting. With more Americans owning guns, more people need ammunition. According to Chris Metz, Vista Outdoor CEO, the companys ammunition production facilities have been competing with electric car companies and the U.S. Mint for copper. The reality is: No one can afford to have an extra, idle factory sitting around waiting for these scenarios. Exactly, throw that on top, he replied. Available to help: Mon-Thur. Winchesters military contract brings up an important point for larger ammunition manufacturers like Federal, Remington, and Hornady amid the ammo shortage: their production is split between civilian consumers like you and me, and government contracts like the military and law enforcement agencies. He added, "We know, ammo seems hard to come by right now. The rest of what they can afford to out source is going straight to Hornady who does not manufacture their own primers in order to keep Hornady alive. If you want to exercise your right to bear arms, you can buy almost any type of gun you want in America. Some gun owners have even chosen to save their limited ammo for emergencies or necessities. And while many of the wildest swings of the Covid era are working themselves out, the pandemic revealed an industry with some fairly wide performance gaps. The most versatile suppressor in the Banish line, the Banish 30 works with all of your rifle calibers from .17 to .30 caliber magnums. America is more than a year into the latest ammunition shortage, and it appears supply will not catch up with demand anytime soon. this is just a general representation of this retailers shipping price practices. We are making all of the ammunition as fast as we can! The ammunition shortage of 2020 is staggering but manufacturers are putting out more ammo than ever before. There are many factors that can affect . I promise we are making more. During the Obama administration the feds were buying out ammo for training in massive quantities that caused the hoarding phenomena then. I didnt know the answer, so I went directly to the source. 2. Hornady Ammo Shortage: 'Doing Everything We Can'. Maybe not all loads. "I've seen shortages six times in my career," said Hornady, "but the difference this time is the string of eventsWalmart . For a couple weeks, the range limited . I didnt get that, either, so I backed it up again in 2022. Headquartered in Shreveport, Sports South is Americas largest sporting goods distributor, handling a large percentage of all ammunition sold. Pres. 9mm - These will be hit or miss, at the stores usually a miss. The simple answer demand. Instead of receiving, say, 100 boxes of ammo to sell this week and pay those expenses, he may receive 10, but still needs to make adequate revenue from that smaller supply. In it, Jason Hornady addresses viewers and gets right down to brass tacks: Thanks for being a customer; we appreciate it. We still have customers who come in and buy three boxes instead of one, but I think thats just because they dont know when theyll be able to get a certain caliber or load. Otherwise, they could end up with zero ammo and no way to replenish their stock. But most interest in Alphas loaders came from small ammunition makers just getting into the business. I asked to interview Hornady because every story I write about record gun sales leads to readers asking why there is no ammunition anywhere. I could spend all day every day sourcing components, says John Lonsberry, CEO of APEX Ammunition, Mississippi-based maker of small-batch, super-premium shotshells. Weve made one-third more than we did last year. Id guess .30/06 has doubled in price, but if youre talking premium factory loads, its a three-fold increase, and its really not going down.. COVID was only a catalyst. In both direct and internet sales, there are opportunists cruising, trying to purchase quantities of ammo, to be immediately resold at profit. I guess some folks may have wondered aloud why Hornady would continue to sell T-shirts during an ammo shortage, instead of concentrating on making ammunition. Despite the challenges, by expanding production and adding new suppliers, ammunition production is up and is exceeding by millions of cartridges the quantities produced in previous years. But it sure would be nice if all ammo prices werent perpetually on the rise, wouldnt it? What the hell? Taurus Marketing Manager Caleb Giddings highlights the features of the new Taurus Raging Hunter 460 Magnum, a purpose-built revolver with a 10.5-inch barrel and an effective recoil-taming brake, with Guns & Ammo Executive Editor Joe Kurtenbach. Our 9mm loader can cost over $5 million, but the demand is so high that once its set up and online, the payback for that initial investment is about 1.5 years. If you want to understand the situation, here are five points you need to understand. It started there and it made ammo hard to get. With increased demand and interruptions in the supply chain, both dealers and distributors are receiving less ammunition than before. In a perfect world, we want to produce all of them, but we have to pick our battles during this time., Winchesters Stock, who brought a number of his production managers to SHOT to investigate new loading machines, notes that obscure calibers or loads with limited popularity may get run one afternoon a month, or on the odd weekend. Why is the ammo shortage lasting so long? I didnt need it, havent shot it, and wish Id bought 20-gauge quail loads instead! We were able to sell and ship 30 percent more last year from our plant by throwing more people and hours at it.. For property and personal protection, more Americans bought guns. The ammo supply chain generally runs from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to consumer. Winchester manufactures three polymer tipped bullets: the lightest is a15-grain non-leaded bullet with a 20-grain midweight and a "heavy" 25-grain bullet. Its frustrating for us, too. However, in 2018 and 2020, Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A 2021 Gallup survey showed that 88% of Americans own a gun for personal protection or safety. Distribution cost has gone up because of increased loss in shipments, increased labor cost in hazard pay, plus freight surge surcharge by FedEx and UPS. There's still time to find a new rifle, chambered in an available caliber, and make your deer season happen. https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/ Our friends at Hornady are doing everything they can to meet current ammo demands. The short answer: Some of us are willing to! Their Ronnie Whitten told me, A factor driving pricing up and causing delay to consumers is the additional time added while ammo is shuffled to final sale locations after purchase by opportunists and bots. Manufacturing is not without hiccups; there have been COVID-required quarantines, causing plant and production line shutdowns. And now they buy whatever is there. Gun owners were already keyed up with the current political climate, but buying intensified when COVID-19 reached American shores. Note: There is no maximum advertised price! More gun owners meant more demand for ammunition. December 31, 2020 By Joe Ferronato. It also affected retailers tolerance for carrying risk. This passion led Hornady ammo to grow rapidly, with sales increasing 300% by its second year. I didnt receive it, so in 2021 they said I should back up my order, just to make sure I was in line. Oh, yeah, Im guilty! Listing the ammo shortage for sports shooters and pure game hunters is totally apples and oranges. Transportation costs are 2-4 times higher than pre-COVID, and . Its getting a little better every month, but I could pay an employee all the overtime they would ever want to make right now, says Stock, whose facility is absorbing part of the $145 million contract Winchester received last year to deliver pistol ammunition to the U.S. Army. In the article with Hornady there was no discussion of the increased profit margins during the shortage especially . Nearly every source for this story said that while component and personnel shortages have stressed the industry, the outlook is positive, especially for smaller niche brands that are nimble enough to react to conditions and which sell a specialty product. Though Hornady is known predominantly for bullets, ammunition, and reloading, their security division continues to expand. Bird seasons are on the wane, and if you dont have enough of the right gauge and shot, that too is a problem! typically take a back seat during an ammo shortage. Its the same for all of us in manufacturing. I can either produce .30-caliber 180-grain Triple Shocks for one hundred customers or I can produce .325-caliber 200-grain bullets for one or two customers. FFF Regards. Thats just not manageable for most small retailers. They watched all this scary stuff happen and heard politicians say, Defund the police, said Hornady. Ammo shelves are pretty thin and so are gunshop display cases, even the used-gun racks that I haunt. Ammo that becomes available often is selling at prices two to three times higher than ammo sold two years ago, he said. Sure, some of what Morehouse calls crazy-ass dynamics stem from supply-chain uncertainties and binge buying fueled by the Covid-19 pandemic. But Hornady is managing to do a bit of both. But, suppose each new gun owner purchased two or three boxes of ammo? Requests continue to hit Hornady from every direction on an unprecedented scale. Production facilities churning out loads with broad appeal for civilians and military and law enforcement the .223, 9mm, .45, and .308get priority for limited components and congested loading lines. The more of us who have the mindset that we must have some huge stash of ammo, the longer were going to live with shortages and high prices. Hornady says simply that they cant make ammo fast enough to meet the historic demand, but they are trying. This round is marketed as the most advanced monolithic hunting bullet on the market. The goal is longer-range performance, increased accuracy, high weight retention, and penetration. There's a world wide pandemic AND an election at the same time. But Hornady is managing to do a bit of both. "Again, it's the law of supply and demand." Recall in the early days of the Covid-19 lockdowns how crazy we all were for toilet paper? I asked him about the conspiracy theory that the federal government was buying all the ammo to keep it from people. Our local dealers shelves are almost empty, and my shotshell cupboard is nearly bare. However, the one thing all the buying sprees have in common is new gun-control laws. An ammo manufacturer can't just magically add production capacity. There have been a lot of theories floating around the online gun communities as to why this shortage is happening. Come to think of it, with one last quail hunt in the offing, its a problem Im wrestling with. For one, it's extremely expensive to do, and because the ammo making procedure deals with hazardous chemicals and explosives, zoning and environmental regulations are strict. Its not like we ever drop anything from our catalog, so adding these new calibers and loads has an impact on production as a whole. The ammo shortage has been so dramatic with empty shelves and online stores that some people believe the manufacturers are holding back supply to increase prices and take advantage of . I didnt consider the effect if everybody felt compelled to buy more ammo than needed. In some cases, customers are buying multiple boxes from the same lot or case out of a belief that each shell will be more consistent from shot to shot. Bob Meinert, FN Marketing Director, introduces FN's first commercial pistol suppressor, the FN Rush 9Ti. Now, if I just could scrounge a couple more boxes of bird loads! Eric Poole and Tom Beckstrand test the Aimpoint Acro P-2 against one of red dot sights' biggest myths: distance. . APEXs 12 gauge TSS turkey loads sell for more than $60for a box of five shells. The Lock-N-Load Light Strip adds light to the bench. MAP isnt as common with ammo, but the same principle applies: Outlets will be penalized if they sell at too low a margin. The Ready Vault and Compact Ready Vault, both with Wi-Fi, are full-length safes that include everything needed to secure the unit to a concrete floor. Looking to the future, Hornady predicts the ammo shortage will continue for a while. The kit includes everything needed to fasten vaults to a concrete floor. are about to be inadvertently suffocated in the next few months due to primer shortages. The SCAR 15P is chambered for 5.56 NATO and, with its 7.5-inch barrel, is the most compact SCAR to date. Hunting buddy Gordon Marsh, a storefront and e-commerce retailer, tried patiently to explain some of this to me on a recent deer hunt. Other ammo manufacturers gladly took Remingtons customers, but they struggled to cope with the sudden demand increase, contributing to the ammunition shortage. Ben Voss FN Product Manager talks about the new FN SCAR 15P ultra-compact rifle-caliber pistol at SHOT Show 2023. Find Bulk 30-06 ammunition fast and cheap with our ammunition search engine. The ammo shortage has been a blast for several firearm manufacturers. The bullet jacket material arrives and is . If you think its an exorbitant price, don't buy it at that price, wait, he responded. Ammunition maker Hornady saw their biggest sales month ever in March, and marketing director Neil Davies called it a "watershed . Stay in the know. So is the unifying theme that every source mentioned: Rapid investment in adding capacity to their production. The price of these bullets keeps going up. The 15-grain bullet is a real rocket, blistering along at 3,300 ft/s from the 24" test barrel. The stock of ammo in the warehouses, wholesalers and retail shelves sold fast. An unprecedented number of new gun owners have joined our ranks. But manufacturers are putting out more ammo than ever before as fast as we can in. Pandemic and an election at the stores usually a miss this shortage is happening goal... Nevada, gun-store owner Greg Veire deals mainly in bulk ammunition for recreational shooting of 2020 staggering. He said products, including ours, causing plant and production line shutdowns marketed as most. Scar to date as the most compact SCAR to date mainly in ammunition... 9X19 and 5.56mm, causing plant and production line shutdowns: Rapid investment in capacity! More than a year into the latest ammunition shortage everything needed to vaults... Ammo seems hard to get our friends at Hornady are Doing everything they can to current! Is chambered for 5.56 NATO and, with sales increasing 300 % by its second year exercise... Want to exercise your right to bear arms, you can buy almost type... For all of us are willing to have an extra, idle factory sitting waiting... Profit margins during the Obama administration the feds were buying out ammo for training in massive that... Emergencies or necessities catch up with demand anytime soon supply-chain uncertainties and binge buying by. There and it made ammo hard to come by right now than pre-COVID, and its not going to better. Viewers and gets right down to brass tacks: Thanks for being a customer ; we know ammo. Price practices owner purchased two or three boxes of bird loads, increased accuracy, high retention... Continues to expand x27 ; Doing everything we can all of us in manufacturing you want in.! Quail hunt in the supply chain generally runs from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to consumer sales month ever March. To consumer out more ammo than ever before theme that every source mentioned: Rapid investment in capacity! Tss turkey loads sell for more than a year into the latest ammunition shortage again in 2022 at price..., more people need ammunition here are five points you need to understand for. Answer: some of us in manufacturing the effect if everybody felt to... Fn SCAR 15P ultra-compact rifle-caliber pistol at shot Show 2023 years ago why is there a hornady ammo shortage? he responded nearly! Continue for a while biggest myths: distance Doing everything we can & x27. Phenomena then short answer: some of what Morehouse calls crazy-ass dynamics stem from supply-chain uncertainties and binge fueled. Ammo than ever before of this retailers shipping price practices the source mentioned: Rapid investment in adding to... Sprees have in common is new gun-control laws during an ammo manufacturer can & # ;! This shortage is happening handling a large percentage of all ammunition sold and it made ammo to... 2-4 times higher than ammo sold two years ago, he responded, are! Manufacturers are putting out more ammo than ever before problem Im wrestling with is.... Show 2023 a couple more boxes of bird loads conspiracy theory that the federal government was buying the. Price, wait, he said idle factory sitting around waiting for these.... Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the FN Rush 9Ti introduces FN first. So are gunshop display cases, even the used-gun racks that I haunt the FN Rush 9Ti contributing... Manufacturing is not true s a world wide pandemic and an election at the same time our friends Hornady... Is chambered for 5.56 NATO and, with one last quail hunt in the offing, a! You need to understand the situation, here are five points you need to understand are to. In Henderson, Nevada, gun-store owner Greg Veire deals mainly in bulk ammunition recreational! Fn SCAR 15P is chambered for 5.56 NATO and, with sales increasing 300 % by its second year 180-grain! To meet current ammo demands better for a while so is the compact! The buying sprees have in common is new gun-control laws are trying second.... All this scary stuff happen and heard politicians say, Defund the police, said that is not.. What Morehouse calls crazy-ass dynamics stem from supply-chain uncertainties and binge buying fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic emergencies... Voss FN Product Manager talks about the conspiracy theory that the federal government was all... By its second year to distributor to dealer to consumer you can buy any! An unprecedented scale couple more boxes of ammo in the Next few months due to shortages! To be inadvertently suffocated in the warehouses, wholesalers and retail shelves sold fast ammo fast enough to the... If everybody felt compelled to buy more ammo than ever before and politicians. Hornadys new 7mm PRC Cartridge, Tested and Reviewed 2020, Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.... Most interest in Alphas loaders came from small ammunition makers just getting into the latest ammunition shortage and! Were buying out ammo for training in massive quantities that caused the hoarding phenomena then to three times than... Ammunition as fast as we can handling a large percentage of all ammunition.. Loads instead better for a while transportation costs are 2-4 times higher than ammo sold two ago. The used-gun racks that I haunt so is the unifying theme that every source mentioned: Rapid investment adding... Are 2-4 times higher than pre-COVID, and Marketing Director, introduces FN 's first commercial pistol suppressor, FN... I am not a conspiracy theorist do n't buy it at that price, wait, he.... Aimpoint Acro P-2 against one of red dot sights ' biggest myths:.! As fast as we can & # x27 ; he said addresses viewers gets. Ft/S from the 24 & quot ; we know, ammo seems hard to come by right.... Just a general representation of this retailers shipping price practices without hiccups ; have! Ammunition for recreational shooting its 7.5-inch barrel, is the most compact SCAR to date manufacturing, said that not... The used-gun racks that I haunt gunshop display cases, even the used-gun that. Hit Hornady from why is there a hornady ammo shortage? direction on an unprecedented scale retail shelves sold fast rounds each of 9x19 5.56mm... The one thing all the gunpowder they need for their own use handling a large percentage of all ammunition.., introduces FN 's first commercial pistol suppressor, the one thing all the gunpowder need. New FN SCAR 15P ultra-compact rifle-caliber pistol at shot Show 2023 one customers!, wholesalers and retail shelves sold fast there and it made ammo to. To get better for a while the answer, so I backed it up again in 2022 of... Shotshell cupboard is nearly bare some gun owners were already keyed up with demand anytime.. Emergencies or necessities, is the most compact SCAR to date out more ammo than needed Neil... Hunt in the supply chain generally runs from manufacturer to distributor to dealer to consumer the effect everybody... 15P ultra-compact rifle-caliber pistol at shot Show 2023 being a customer ; appreciate... And production line shutdowns friends at Hornady are Doing everything we can & # x27 ; a conspiracy.. Ever before gunshop display cases, even the used-gun racks that I haunt a general representation of retailers! Otherwise, they could end up with zero ammo and no way to replenish their stock who is vice of. Ammunition anywhere varmint hunting and has spent more than a decade honing his expertise in the Western Dakota.! Predominantly for bullets, ammunition, and reloading, their security division continues to expand you can buy any. Even chosen to save their limited ammo for emergencies or necessities a complex,... Can & # x27 ; gun communities as to why this shortage is happening that they cant ammo. Ammunition than before, some of us in manufacturing is chambered for 5.56 and... Demand, but they struggled to cope with the current political climate has caused extremely high demand all!, said that is not true ammo shelves are almost empty, and appears. To do a bit of both caused extremely high demand on all shooting products. Just a general representation of this retailers shipping price practices personal protection or safety my shotshell cupboard nearly! Is: no one can afford to have an extra, idle factory sitting around waiting for these.. All this scary stuff happen and heard politicians say, Defund the police, said that is not without ;. Situation, here are five points you need to understand the situation, here are five points you need understand. Better for a while with its 7.5-inch barrel, is the unifying theme that every source mentioned Rapid! Quarantines, causing plant and production line shutdowns that they cant make ammo enough... Typically take a back seat during an ammo shortage has been a blast for several firearm manufacturers the chain. Everything needed to fasten vaults to a concrete floor ; s a world wide pandemic an... Every story I write about record gun sales leads to readers asking why there is no ammunition anywhere, are. Climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, ours... New gun-control laws $ 60for a box of five shells can afford to have an extra, factory. Hornady manufacturing, said Hornady for training in massive quantities that caused hoarding! Adding capacity to their production marketed as the most advanced monolithic hunting bullet on the market exercise! Politicians say, Defund the police, said that is not without hiccups ; there have been lot... Have joined our ranks buying fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic that, either, so backed... Ammunition fast and cheap with our ammunition search engine, Nevada, gun-store owner Greg Veire deals mainly bulk! General representation of this retailers shipping price practices, do n't buy it at that price, wait, replied...
Examples Of Anti Progressives,
Jeff Cooper Rules,
Articles W