masshunter
Active member
Stopped into the Walmart in Houlton Me. last week and picked up three 100rd sleeves of Federal Target &Field 12ga 7 1/2 for $24.96 + tax. About $6.50 a box. Not too bad.
Ammo shortage finally getting better???
- Thread starter BrianID
- Start date
Rustydust
Active member
I was in Boise earlier today taking an appliance to the shop to be repaired and since the shop was less than a mile from Cabela's I decided to stop in. Plus I had to pee bad and at my age that is not to be put off any longer than necessary. The shelves were as barren as Joe Biden's comprehension skills. A few pistol bullets, odds and ends of rifle bullets but no primers or powder. Meh. Did not need any anyway. Shortest time spent in Cabela's ever. Spent more time peeing than walking the isles I think.
The powder and primers haven’t been easy to find at a reasonable price but if you continue to look you will find them.
Below is a picture of the ammo shelves at the Cabelas close to my house. I’ve looked on the ammo shelves of over a dozen stores in TX, NM and Idaho in the last month and it seems much better than it was 6 or 12 months ago. Ammo and reload supplies are not even close to as easy to find or cheap as they were pre COVID but it does seem to be improving.
Below is a picture of the ammo shelves at the Cabelas close to my house. I’ve looked on the ammo shelves of over a dozen stores in TX, NM and Idaho in the last month and it seems much better than it was 6 or 12 months ago. Ammo and reload supplies are not even close to as easy to find or cheap as they were pre COVID but it does seem to be improving.
I went to Bass Pro last night. I am looking for a modified case. Nope, nothing there either. I looked at the shelves for bullets. They had several box's of 20 cal stuff and some in 22. They had two box's of 7mm bullets and some 30 cal. Maybe 20 box's total. All their primers are kept behind the counters and pistol primers was all they had. I was thinking its going to be a tough deer season for some with no ammo on the shelves.
I’ve seen all kinds of center fire ammo at all kinds of stores the last couple months from 223 to 338 Lapua. It still isn’t as half as good a pre COVID but much better than it was 6 or 12 months ago. I even saw tens of thousands of primers on the shelf at a gun store in Idaho Falls last week. They were overpriced at $0.09/primer so I was not interested but at least they are showing up on the shelves. Bullets to load are also much more common on the shelf than they were a few months ago but still only a shadow of what was available pre COVID. I bought 8lbs of H4350 for around $250 last week. A little overpriced but I’ve been looking for H4350 so it was worth it to me.
Last edited:
I think everywhere is short on primers. The only places that have them regularly are selling them at scalping prices. Everyone needs to stop paying the scalping prices if we want to see the price gouging go away. Fortunately I have plenty of ammunition and supplies to load my own for years. It is frustrating when I want to experiment with a new load and can’t find the components at a reasonable price.
Kevin23
New member
Originally Posted By: reb8600Originally Posted By: Kevin23Originally Posted By: zheltonAnybody notice 410 shotgun shells are non existent? At least in south arkansas, north louisiana and out around dallas/ft worth. Can find 20,12,28
That really is due to a shortage. They are running mostly 12/20 now to keep up with demand, and 16, 28, 410 are in a shortage. Similar to how rimfire companies ran .22lr and didn't produce any shorts for a while.
The rest of the "shortage" is due to people buying everything they see. Ammo mfg are making more rounds per day than EVER right now, there is no overall shortage. Its just people are hoarding and buying it all the second they see it on the shelf whether they need it or not (was toilet paper in shortage last year? or did people buy 10 years worth because they were scared)
Now people are starting to realize they don't need 100,000 rounds of ammo, and the shelves are starting to retain stock.
Prices will be high for a long time, it will take several years of constant stock and normal material/labor costs in mfg before any prices come down.
Where are you seeing 20 gauge? Shelves here have 12 and 2& gauge.
Every local shop around me. They have target loads, buckshot, and heavy pheasant loads. No slugs or steel shot to speak of if that is what you are after.
Its not cheap, $10-13 a box for target loads.
That really is due to a shortage. They are running mostly 12/20 now to keep up with demand, and 16, 28, 410 are in a shortage. Similar to how rimfire companies ran .22lr and didn't produce any shorts for a while.
The rest of the "shortage" is due to people buying everything they see. Ammo mfg are making more rounds per day than EVER right now, there is no overall shortage. Its just people are hoarding and buying it all the second they see it on the shelf whether they need it or not (was toilet paper in shortage last year? or did people buy 10 years worth because they were scared)
Now people are starting to realize they don't need 100,000 rounds of ammo, and the shelves are starting to retain stock.
Prices will be high for a long time, it will take several years of constant stock and normal material/labor costs in mfg before any prices come down.
Where are you seeing 20 gauge? Shelves here have 12 and 2& gauge.
Every local shop around me. They have target loads, buckshot, and heavy pheasant loads. No slugs or steel shot to speak of if that is what you are after.
Its not cheap, $10-13 a box for target loads.