Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Ammunition Shortage of 2013 Update IV


Though still out of whack the ammunition shortage of 2013 continues working to right itself.

The last posting indicated some anecdotal evidence that the ammunition supply stream for some of the most popular rifle and handgun is beginning to see additional flow.

Such a view has not diminished for such pistol calibers as 9mm Luger, .40 Smith & Wesson, .380 Auto, and .45 ACP as well as .223 Remington/5.56mm and .308 Winchester.

Less encouraging is the supply of .22 Rimfire though even here a shooter looking for this cartridge caliber can locate it, but generally only is the person is willing to spend time on the Internet or else put miles on the family car driving from one gun shop to another.

A look at the Internet supplier Ableammo (www.ableammo.com) shows the company has listed about 19 varieties of 9mm ammo, 20 flavors of .45 AUTO and a fair supply of .223/5.56mm.

Apparently less well endowed with ammunition is Bud's Gun Shop (www.budsgunshop.com) whose web site at the time of viewing was not as extensive as was Ableammo.

Even so, Buds Gun Shop's web site does seem to show improvement compared to a previous viewing.

While the electronic shelves of Cheaper Than Dirt's (www.cheaperthandirt.com) look pretty well stocked a study at some of the prices for several popular handgun calibers indicated they were above those encountered at the two previously mentioned web sites.

The same was true when I compared what I saw last Friday at my local Gander Mountain store in regards to the cost of 50-round boxes of 9mm ammunition and .380 ACP ammunition to what I saw on the Cheaper Than Dirt web site.

None of this is be construed as either an endorsement or a caution in patronizing any of the mentioned on-line businesses.

Ammunition availability and cost to the consumer may both be easing but the marketplace remains volatile with demand still largely exceeding demand and with hording still an issue.

All this being said, it remains prudent for prospective ammunition purchasers to shop around, monitor web sites frequently and be prepared to place an order when a good deal comes along.

Just don't go overboard and order what you don't need but which someone else does.
 
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

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