This has probably been ddiscussed before but it just came home to me today.  I was at the range today, shooting my 22 LR ammo up in my Stevens 44 like a drunken sailor spending money in a saloon.  I decided I had better stop at my local WALMART on the way home to replenish my supply.  It was a dissappointing trip since they had no 22 LR, or for that matter, anything else on the shelves.  I decided, no matter, I'll order some from MIDWAY.  I was shocked to see that nearly all, except the high end, expensive, target ammo, was sold out and most of it was in a no back order status.  Is this the gas shortage conspiracy of the shooting industry?  Terry

You've discovered what many already knew! The paranoia and fear that has depleated ammo of all kinds. Also relaoding supplies too! 
The fear has caused prices to skyrocket, and supplies to diminish to nothing. Ammo makers are scrambling to get back up to speed, but until they do, the panic will continue to strip shelves clean as fast as they restock.

Wal Mart does not have the cash to buy merchandise. You hear they are doing well and they are but it's from tight management of inventory on lower sales volume.   They could raise prices on ammo and make a large margin, but that's against there policy of cheap and thin margin. End result is take them off your shopping list when it comes to Ammo.  Went to WM to buy a set if Ipod wires yesterday, 20 racks labeled for IPod accessories only 3 had anything on them.  It's a sign on the times.

Best deal with the specialty dealers of match shooters supplies like Champion Choice.

Boats

I am thinking that this is no different than what happens every time we get a forcast for snow and you can't find milk, bread, or eggs on the store shelves. Hopefully this will come to pass soon.

well Fellars, 
I would like to know where this person bought a 1/2 of pallet off the dock. Ever since Jan, our Wal Mart stores had a limit of 6 bricks. And the only way you got any bricks is if you were there at the store when the truck backed in! Yesterday, I stopped at a Wal Mart that I had been pocking up a brick now and then, but not yesterday, but I did get to visit with the Sporting Goods manager, and we had a nice talk! She told me, that Last week the man that used to work for Wal Mart as the ammo buying agent, stop buy to visit with this lady, and he told here, that right after the election, Wal Mart bought every bit of inventory, that Winchester, Remington, Federal had! And now the warehouse is empty! So all that the stores are getting in is what the ammo makers can supply!
It makes no difference to me, if you believe what I just stated or not, I am just telling you all what I was told! And I beleive it, because up untill last week, if you were lucky and hit a few Wally worlds you could by some bricks for $15.00
I don't see, that the stock piling will end anytime soon, because Our Goverment has found out, that the Second Ammendment cannot be touched! But we have no provisions for ammo, or reloading supplies!

Just my take, and what I was told!
ACE

Marlinguy, 
I agree 100%, and I hope no one mis understood what I said. Wal Mart just was thinking ahead, when they bought all they could! And I agree that our Goverment cannot stop the manufacture from making ammo, I was just stating what I have heard threw the grapvine about tax's added to ammo, which we cannot stop!
sorry if i stated what I said, in a manner that lead people to think I ment that the Goverment was affecting the manufacting of ammo!
Later 
ACE

Our local WalMart went through 100,000 rounds of Federal .22 ammo in 4 days, and we're out in the sticks....

Has anyone thought about ammunition manufacturing?  The big manufacturers are putting most of their effort into govt ammo contracts, so much of the CF production goes straight to the military.  We've had the big firms operating on a war-production scale for 6 years.  It is not surprising that some of the lesser-used CF cartridges & brass & even primers are hard to get, even without hoarding.  Same goes for jacketed bullets.  The machinery that makes them is being used for military production. That happened in WW2 and it's happening again.  RF production (& probably shotgun ammo) is separate, but subject to the same demands for raw materials & labor.  Finding & keeping good help is always a problem.

Demand is up, but if you owned an ammunition factory, would you expand?  Copper, brass & lead prices climbed and stayed there until recently, so your cost of materials may well rise.  The economy is in the tank, the big auto companies have dropped production and the auto parts companies are looking for anything to keep the doors open.  The auto parts companies have made ammo in the past.  Will they do so again?  Maybe, with govt contracts to keep the doors open.  And then we have a govt probably looking for reasons to put you, an established manufacturer, out of business.  I see all sorts of reasons to not invest in increasing production.  At the same time, I see every reason to keep existing equipment running & in good shape.  Right now, you can sell everything you make.

Will the supply of ammo come back? Probably, but who will buy it?  Locally, some of the formerly big retailers of ammo are now bankrupt (Sportsman's Warehouse, GI Joe's).  Boats tells us WM has a cash flow problem.  The mail-order places are saying "no back orders".  It took us free Americans 200 days to exhaust most of the shelf supplies of ammo & components in this country.  If more appeared on the shelf at OK prices, would you need it?  Or buy it?

waterman