How bad is the ammo n gun shortage by you?

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5 year old buck +
Been wanting a long range gun again. I've been hunting with a 450 marlin, a 50 cal muzzie, and a 45 and 54 cal flintlock for years. Letting too many good bucks go at 250 yards where there is a dip in the cormfield I hunt at.

Been seeing FMJ 308, higher end 308 ammo, some 30-06 rem cor-lokt for $$%%^ $50 DOLLARS! Can reguarly get 12ga basic trap loads, 20ga is becoming common, 22lr ammo if your not picky, almost all common handgun calibers. Neighbor plow my driveway, gave him 250rd pack of blazer 9mm was $99. Seeing oddbal stuff like 6mm creedmore, 25-06, 300wsm, 350 legend.

Been buying 308 ammo, son-in-law is into tactidoodle guns. So, since it's only 250 yards and a million calibers can do that, why not get the same caliber he has? 250 can be done with 450 marlin, but the practice is expensive and painful..... I literally shoot 4 rounds a year if that. Check the zero of the gun, which never wanders, and maybe one on good old bambi.

Now the gun..... All fancy high end sniper tactidoodle guns are available in 308. Just want a savage 11 or basic browning x-bolt. No axis, no ruger american, no basic guns. There's 6.5 creedmore savage axis guns all around, not one bullet here in NY. And kinda wierd, just about no wood guns, all plastic.....

Not one ounce of trouble getting what I need for my flintlock addiction though...... I'm big into 22lr target guns, plenty of CCI standard velocity around. My CZ loves that.
 
It is killing me. I just started smokeless muzzloader hunting. I used the action from my TC Encore Pro Hunter 50 cal traditional muzzleloader for the build intending to replace it. Well, S&W just stopped making TC stuff, so I can't replace the action on my traditional muzzleloader unless I pay triple the price on Gunbroker. I did get lucky last year and scored 8 lbs of IMR 4118 powder for a reasonable price. I've been trying to find Federal 210 primers and once again, gunbroker at triple or more the price seems to be the only source. Then you have to pay the high hazard fee for UPS shipping on top of that.

I hunted with the new smokeless last season. I would like to do some range work to refine the load this year, but I only have 3/4 of a sleeve of primers left.

As for center fire, I'm in pretty good shape. I need no range work with those except a shot or two to maker sure nothing got bumped over the winter and I have enough ammo in stock to last many seasons for just hunting.

I use NItro Company turkey loads and I probably have enough left for a few more seasons.
 
I handload so it’s not really been an issue to me. I keep a lot of components on hand but it’s not uncommon for me to decide to load up 3000 rounds and head to western Kansas or Eastern Colorado prairie dog hunting for a extended weekend.
 
I will say when this round of crazy comes to a close I will probably stockpile about 10,000 additional primers for future shortages this one’s been rough on primers.
 
I handload so it’s not really been an issue to me. I keep a lot of components on hand but it’s not uncommon for me to decide to load up 3000 rounds and head to western Kansas or Eastern Colorado prairie dog hunting for a extended weekend.
I do some casual handloading, and besides the primer shortages mentioned already, certain powders (H-1000 for example) have been almost impossible to find for about 3 years.
 
I will say when this round of crazy comes to a close I will probably stockpile about 10,000 additional primers for future shortages this one’s been rough on primers.
I can't imagine this mentality having any effect on the current shortages whatsoever.
 
For what it's worth, I've been seeing inventory in most major retailers get back to normal. Prices are even reflecting this and coming down. I paid $22 for a box of .243 Core-Lokt last week. I see 6.5 creedmore everywhere, as well as .308.
 
Everyone should own a few guns in the most popular calibers. I've been shooting 308 Win as my go-to deer cartridge for some time now. I used to do allot of Prarie Dog shooting.....and we had a primer shortage back in the 90's. I bought enough primers to last me a lifetime back then. Sitting on over a large quantity of primers.....and I don't shoot PD's anymore. May sell some this summer. :)
 
Our inventory in North Texas is doing alright. Prices aren’t anywhere where I would like them, though.


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I have a .280 I got from my FIL. I can't find ammo for it anywhere and was told if I do to expect at least $75 a box. I just stopped hunting with that because I also inherited 3 boxes of mismatched shells that only have about 3 or 4 in each box.

I've hunted with a .300 savage since I was a kid. Fortunately I bought a box of that two years ago. I know of one place that has them in stock and I just haven't made the hour trip over to get some.

All I see stocked is what you said. .223, 6.5 creedmore, and .308. I just told a friend of mine. I might have to buy a .308 just so I know I can get ammo for it. I went on a search in Harrisburg one day. Went to Bass Pro and every small sporting goods store I could find and they basically all had the same thing.
 
Ammo still pretty scarce at local retailers here in AR. A fair bit of ammo for .308. .556, .223, and common pistol calibers. Many standard hunting rounds with hunting quality bullets are still extremely limited. Best to order online at twice the price and have it.

.308 good caliber to own
 
I sold my reloading equipment last year on ebay. Prices went a bit high, nothing overly nutty.

I shoot my 450 marlin only a few shots a year to check zero and some years on deer. I dont practice as much as I used to in my new home, so I only shoot 150 yards.

I got a 25 yard range in my backyard and shoot 22lr alot. I also shoot at blackpowder competitions, mostly with flintlock and a caplock from time to time.

I got a rule, if I get a new gun, my old guns are all in good shape. Each gun has a 50 cal ammo tin full of ammo. If an existing gun needs range work, repairs, or a new scope. I do that before I buy.

Ill never need to buy another 450 marlin round again. maybe got 2 or 3 years worth of trap shooting shells for the 20ga, and probably dont need to buy 22lr anymore, but I keep rebuying what I have used.

I shoot into a pile of sand, scoop out the lead, and reuse it in my flintlocks...... I love shooting those flintlocks, but practice is a bit slow. So, I use a 22lr rifle with the same sights and added lead in the front and rear of the stock to match the balance. I've gotten a ton better offhand shooting. I could easily hit at deer at 150 offhand.
 
I do a fair amount of handloading - but when you look at the cost of ammo it’s kind of like everything else. It’s gotten so expensive. Remington core-lokt In most calibers is roughly $60 a box now. That’s just crazy. Component prices aren’t exactly cheap anymore either. While I generally shoot common calibers I also have a couple more obscure calibers - 338 federal and 6.5 x 55. The price for ammo is ridiculous for rounds like those and nobody has them in stock anyway. If I didn’t hand load for them I wouldn’t be able to find ammo.
 
I use to shoot a lot. In the summer I use to take my son and a couple of his friends out every Sunday if the weather wasn’t bad and we would shoot clay pigeons. We would short a few cases a month. That stopped thanks to Obama!

Then my wife and I started shooting hand guns a quite a bit, and the last couple years hand gun ammo was either impossible to find, or expensive as hell. We felt guilty going out and shooting a box each. Realizing we just shot a $100+ of ammo. I did restock my ammo, but we haven’t shot all winter. If I can find and buy more ammo at a reasonable price, we will shoot some this summer. But I won’t use up my stock to shoot.
 
ammo supply is garbage still in MN unless you want to shoot 223/556 at an inflated price. I've got plenty sufficient supply of centerfire components to load everything I need though.
 
I bought allot of manufactured ammo and reloading components in prior years.....when the prices were low. I suppose I have enough ammo for hunting and plinking to last my lifetime and that of some of my kids. I dont like to reload much anymore....but in some cases that is the only alternative. I consider selling some excess ammo as I dont shoot prairie dogs anymore. Got allot of new 22/250 Remington I should part with.
 
Just was in a box store and they had 5.56, .223 and handgun ammo on the shelf. There were boxes of 20-50 rounds and 1000 rounds. 1000 rounds of 5.56/.223 at $690 which wasn't bad considering where it was.
 
Primers are the tough deal.

before my uncle passed he gave me some vintage primers, I think my plinking rounds I make are gonna get made with these



if didn’t throw them out years ago.
 
Primers are the tough deal.

before my uncle passed he gave me some vintage primers, I think my plinking rounds I make are gonna get made with these



if didn’t throw them out years ago.
Yep, that is my achenes heal. They are now about 2.3x the normal price on gunbroker for 1,000. I'm tempted...I'm just hoping things will ease in a year or two. I may be sorry.
 
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