US Supreme Court ruling

[sksvlad]

As many of you saw in the news https://people.com/politics/scotus-overturns-new-york-gun-law/ This is a Federal ruling, so even though it speaks of New York State, it applies to the whole country (14th Amendment says ALL the people in ALL states are to be treated the same under a Federal law). What it means that there WILL be more gun owners in the USA, and they WILL buy and use ammo, so the present shortages WILL persist. I understand there are no shortages in Europe (because fewer people own guns). And these new gun owners WILL use rare and antique ammo, because they don't know better. So the upcoming years will be highly entertaining.

 

[Bellifortis]

Here in Europe all types of civilian ammunition is in very short supply and if available at all, has risen in price extremely since more than a year already. A distributor told me recently that they even have problems in getting new percussion caps. The dealers here tell, that the US market is buying up all supplies because gun owners there are buying huge quantities because they are afraid of new restrictive laws. I don't believe this. Nobody in his right mind will buy 100ds of thousands of rounds to store them at home. Myself I think that the problem exists because of the huge NC demand worldwide. NC is the basic ingredient of all ammo, civilian and military. Here in Europe the NC producers are highly regulated because of enviromental impact the used acids may have. In the last 25 years quite a few producers in Europe closed down. Even the large ones reduced their assortment of the different types and stopped production of little ued special qualities. Because of the wars worldwide the demand here in europe increased immensly. So, I think that all available NC is used up to produce military ammo. There is much more money to be earned by a factory by making their maschines produce military ammo. But, I'm no industry insider. Thats only my personal view.
Bellifortis.

 

[HAZORD]

No, the people here in the Colony aren't buying 100's of rounds of ammo. It's thousand's of rounds of ammo, as well as reloading components like powder, primers, bullets, and brass!

 

[Bellifortis]

Hi @Hazord,
do you think that the civilian demand for ammo has increased exponentially in the US. A hunter here will purchase his ammo by the 100s, a sportsshooter by the thousands, in normal times. But not 100s of thousands of rounds. Has the civilian demand for ammo increased dramatically in the US as dealers here in europe tell ?
Bellifortis.

 

[HAZORD]

The hording and demand for guns and ammo went nuts here when Covid was announced and worsened with the onslaught of Antifa and BLM (which is really a fundraising arm of the Democratic (socialist) party. The same thing happened when Obongo was elected. Shelves were empty for about a year and a half after the election, but things calmed down and the shelves filled back up. The ammo is expected to be scarce for some time due to all the new gunowners and the Antifa and BLM riots. 223/556 ammo got up over $1.00 a round for a month or two, then dropped to 50 cents a round. People aren't buying hundreds of thousands of rounds. Just thousands of rounds.

 

[Millsman]

I understand there are no shortages in Europe (because fewer people own guns). And these new gun owners WILL use rare and antique ammo, because they don't know better. So the upcoming years will be highly entertaining.

I've heard from a friend who is a regular shooter that some UK ammo prices have doubled and there are shortages of re-loading materials. So yes, the UK is being affected.

 

[Bellifortis]

Even a doubling of the demand for civilian ammo in the US does not explain an apparently worldwide shortage. .22 cal. is the worldwide standard for sports-/competition-shooters. Those new buyers in the US, who are afraid of may be not being allowed to purchase in the future, will not buy a .22 target-rifle or pistol, but a .45 or 9mm or an AR15. But, one can not even find simple 0.22 ammo with many dealers here. As mentioned before, a distributor for reloading materials told me, that for new percussion cap orders they have to wait 1,5 years. Prices generally for ammo here have more than doubled lately and there is no downward trend in sight. So the increased civilian demand in the US does not really explain this world ?-wide shortage to me.

 

[US-Subs]

So the increased civilian demand in the US does not really explain this world ?-wide shortage to me.[/QUOTE]

I would respectfully disagree. It is a numbers game, you have to understand just how deep the shooting and gun ownership culture runs in the US. There are an estimated 81.4 million gun owners in the US. This is not including those under 18 years old, which could easily add another million or more. If each of those gun owners went out and bought just one little box of .22 rimfire today, that would total 4.07 billion rounds. Throw in a little panic buying, for whatever idiot reason, and no industry on the planet can keep up.

 

[Nabob]

Even in gun friendly Czech Republic the ammo shortage is persisting.
I was looking for .32ACP in two local gun stores. They said that they can sell me a box if I buy a gun. The 9 mm Luger is still available, but since 2018 the price has doubled.
I guess S&B is shipping to the US or Ukraine.

Bob