How crazy is the current ammo shortage?
Well, one Scottsdale-based manufacturer told a local news affiliate that it now faces an $80.1 million order backlog.
“We’re working right now seven days a week, 24 hours a day in all the manufacturing plants,” Ammo Incorporated CEO Fred Wagenhals told AZFamily.com.
“We just bought 2.8 million dollars worth of machinery and equipment last week to increase our production and increase our volume,” Wagenhals added.
Along with Scottsdale, Ammo Incorporated has facilities in Payson, Arizona, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Wagenhals attributed the jump in demand to various factors, including COVID-19, the upcoming presidential election and widespread civil unrest following the death of George Floyd.
“The start was the pandemic that was going on. But there was always that fear of the election. Of who’s going to be elected of the next President of the United States,” Wagenhals explained. “But thirdly, I think the unrest in this country right now. And as you’ve seen in a lot of cities, the looting and the burning, and I think people are just scared.”
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Mark Oliva, the Director of Public Affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told GunsAmerica via email that the spike in demand for ammo mirrors that of firearms. The numbers tell the tale.
“The sale on ammunition goes hand-in-glove with the sale of firearms. NSSF estimates there are more than 5 million people who bought a gun for the first time this year and we’ve recorded more than 13.8 million background checks for the sale of a gun this year. That tops figures for all of 2019 in just the first eight months of 2020. Those new buyers are joining existing gun owners on the range to learn to safely use and store their firearms. That’s caused an unprecedented demand in the marketplace and we’re seeing this happen everywhere,” said Oliva.
“Ammunition makers are working as quickly as possibly to meet this demand,” he continued. “We’ve seen spikes before and we’ve seen sustained period of demand. This year, though, is unlike any before.”
How long the demand will remain high is anyone’s guess. But certainly, much of it will depend on who win’s the presidential election next month and how the nation responds to the victor.
If 10 million new gun buyers buy 100 rds with the gun that’s a billion rounds.i bet quite a few didn’t stop at 100rds
We stopped stockpiling ammo when our first kid entered college a few years ago. I’m reading a lot online about shortages. Certainly, the current situation is NOT as bad as post Sandy Hook, right?
Worse
WAAAAY worse
Primers folks, primers. This is the one item we cannot manufacture ourselves. If we are smart, we will buy these like nothing else. Good luck to all and be smart with what ammo you have. 9mm is $1/rd now. The put it in plain English, you can buy 2 Sausage McMuffins for 4rds of 9mm right now. That’s approximately $0.76 compared to 9mm ammo prices 6 months ago.
tips of strike anywhere matches can be repurposed for primer compund
So glad I took up reloading decades ago, don’t need or want commercial ammo with the exception of rimfire.
Larry you are drunk , go sleep it off !
I reload. Fortunately I stocked up on components at gun shows.
Take that gun control assholes.
I load my own and the shortages are deep in the primer supply. Powder is low as well as bullets but I also see price gouging. Especially secondary market sales. People are buying hundreds of thousands of primers for normal prices and reselling them for 10X. Bullets are up in price from the mfg and double on the secondary market. I’m glad that I saw this coming. I’m stocked for a while. If war breaks out I can hold on for longer than most if I live.
Uhhh….is Larry drunk or did have a stroke while posting?
I’m going with drunk. Or high.
F*** you wouldn’t that assholes! I bought a s*** ton of ammo and anticipation of it running up prior to the election. When Obama’s running, I bought AR-15 ammo for 315 per thousand and sold it for 8a hundred thousand right after he was elected. You wing that far more eyes.
Pay attention everyone, this is a classic Troll post.