We get the question almost every day: why is ammo so hard to come by, and when will these crazing prices go back to normal? Well theres a couple factors, and a big ol magic 8 ball question.
1. The Fellas Down South
As I’m sure you’re all aware, a large portion of our guns and ammunition are manufactured in the good ol US of A. With the current political situation (a Democrat as President), many in the states will panic buy and hoard in fears of bans and shortages. We same the same thing happen under Obama.
Another factor is the current unrest. Alot of people are uneasy after the protests this summer, and like it or not, fear contributes heavily to gun sales. This is likely a factor in the 3.2 million new American gun owners in the first half of 2021, and each one of them will be looking for ammo. Which leads us to…
2. COVID
Well given the last two years, alot of people are afraid of the government cracking down, the increasing crime, and the loss of our freedoms. From people I’ve talked to, there seems to be varying degrees of optimism, ranging from “the end is near” to “things will be back to normal shortly”.
One of the biggest takeaways is the realization that the government can’t guarantee their personal security or food supply. Firearms are a way to help a household become self sufficient, and are a consistent and appealing way to put dinner on the table. From my conversations with instructors, the PAL courses have been full up coast to coast, with many new license applicants coming from non-traditional demographics like women and urban folk.
3. Cost of Increasing Supply
The big companies have seen this before, and know these ammo prices are (mostly) a bubble. So who can blame them in not wanting to spend the millions to set up the manufacturing infrastructure just to have the demand fall back to baseline. Unfortunately that means that we gotta suffer in the short term, and the supply won’t be catching demand any time soon.
However you can only hoard so much, and the longer the demand remains steady the more infrastructure these large corporations will look into building. Additionally, there is an increased demand for commercial reloads from smaller outfits (such as the local Alberta based Bullet Shop and Custom Handloader), which will help ease some of the demand.
When will it end?
You’d need a magic 8 ball for this one, but it seems like ammo prices should be stabilizing in 2022. Our suppliers seem to have more in stock then ever before, and our backorders get filled faster and faster.
Some good news is the recent restart of Remington this year, which means another major source for more boolets. However I heard the same thing in 2020, and with the scarcity of primers and powders it doesn’t seem like we will see a significant return to pre-pandemic pricing anytime soon.
The answer is the same as always in this hobby: buy it cheap, stack it deep.