Thoughts on the Continuing Ammo Shortage

Drudge linked to this article providing a local view of the ammo shortage. The basic story--as we've been hearing--is that manufacturers are making ammo as fast as they can, but people are still panic buying. I disagree.

There was panic buying of ammunition right after Sandy Hook, which unfortunately took place at the same time many Americans were buying new guns. The number of households owning firearms increased last year for the first time in decades. But the panic buying is over. 5.56/.223 and the popular handgun cartridges are showing up on the shelves again, even if the number of boxes is low. Even bulk ammo is beginning to show up. It is .22 that is still missing.

So if most other ammunition is recovering to normal stocking levels, why is .22 not? Obviously, I don't have an in-depth study or statistical information. Just some personal observations and anecdotal evidence from talking to salesmen and some of the people that are taking advantage of the shortage and have created a secondary market for reselling ammunition. What appears to be happening in my area is that certain people have learned when shipments come in, and they buy as much as the store will allow them to purchase. And they do this over and over, day in and day out. And then they are selling or trading the ammunition for higher prices. One guy I know makes regular trips to a Walmart (and other stores, I'm sure) because it has maintained low prices, buys as much as he can, then resells it or trades it to a pawnshop in a nearby town. He recently bragged that he had traded in enough .22 ammo on one trip to buy a new handgun.

Obviously, if prices were allowed to rise, it would eventually become too expensive for the secondary market to thrive. But larger retailers are loath to alienate customers by raising prices. The common strategy has been to limit the number of boxes purchased, but it hasn't been very effective. Perhaps a stepped pricing would work--e.g., your first box is normal price (to keep the customer base happy), but each subsequent box is twice as expensive (or some other multiple) as the prior box.