How has the ammo/component shortage affected your Shooting

[Pa. Parker Pal]

here in eastern Pa. Shotgun ammo came in drips and drabs this year. I was fortunate to have a pretty good stockpile of shells in all gauges but only in standard loads which I do not like to shoot in my Parkers. When I did find shells the price was usually inflated especially at the so-called flea markets and even at regular store outlets. Idid have some RST's from last year and was able to get some more this year. I do hope RST stays solvent.

[Harold Pickens]

It is an hour and a half for me to get to any sporting clays ranges, I dont shoot trap except for my friends wobble trap. I do hunt alot, but I bet I have a lifetime supply if that was all I did. I do love the SXS venues, esp Hausmann's to shoot with friends I have made thru this forum. I have about 10 cases of factory 16's in 1 oz loads, and an equal amount of 20's. Also a mixed case of 1 1/8 oz of 4's, 5, and 6's--so I should be good for ever for pheasant. The garage is filled with 3/4 oz 20's and 3/4 and 7/8 oz 16's. Ive got a Mec 600 jr in 12, 16, and 20--would like to find a 28. You might think that the unavailability of ammo might hurt gun prices, but certainly isnt the case.

[Bill Murphy]

I don't have the stash of loaded shells that I used to have. However, all of the loaders are set up and working. To be honest, at 76 my components will probably outlive me. As ammo supplies wind down, I will probably switch from skeet and sporting clays to box birds and tower pheasant shoots. More expensive, but less taxing on the ammo supply. Everyone should have a "plan".

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

box birds and tower pheasant shoots. More expensive, but less taxing on the ammo supply. Everyone should have a "plan".

Thirty years ago when was into skeet/trap hard and heavy I wanted to get to the pigeon ring but finding an avenue wasn’t easy . And those that did kept telling me I’d be broke in two years as they figured I’d shoot every weekend and play all the purses . In hindsight after a slight introduction to Colombaire and box birds this past year they were most likely correct . But even in the shall we say twilight years I could still see myself shooting pigeon rings every chance I’d get just maybe not playing all the money . I’m not sure why I really like the pigeon ring , but I don’t care for pigeons at a tower shoot , go figure

[Mike of the Mountain]

BTW, haven't shot a clay target since September. Time to start up again as the Southern is only 3 1/2 months away.

[Kevin McCormack]

I reloaded for years, mostly 12, 20, and 28 ga. In the heyday of my bunker shooting career, I was into loading between 10 and 12,000 rounds per year in 12 ga., almost a necessity for practice. Synchronizing the availability and variety of components needed was always a problem in some form or another. When ammunition became unbelievably cheap (Bass Pro held sales twice a year; 12 or 20 ga. Remington or Winchester target ammo was $2.39 a box with NO LIMIT on purchases per person!), I re-evaluated my needs for having large volumes of ammo on hand; this coincided with my quitting bunker competition in the late 1990s.

I finally came to the decision that if my time was worth anything at all, I wanted to spend it breaking clays instead of standing in front of a loading press. I packed up all my components and presses and took the whole lot to our local gun show and sold it. My experiences reloading reminded me of the old cliche of owning a boat: "Two of the happiest days of my life were the day I bought it and the day I sold it!"

Now of course things are totally different: the fits and starts of ammo manufacturing, transport and delivery, the impact of the pandemic on labor, and the devil-may-care attitude of many retailers, some of whom may rightfully be labeled 'gougers' on ammo prices, have all combined to produce an opportunistic "seek and you shall find" impetus for those in search of shotshell ammo. Much like water, pricing seeks its own level under these conditions: one of the larger ammo purveyors at our local gun show offers 12 ga. target ammo at a relatively steady $90 per flat. He usually has a good stock but it goes quickly at those prices; by mid-afternoon of the second day of the show he is usually down to partial flats only. My personal approach has been to buy as much of it as I can afford when and where I find it, which so far has worked well.

Our small shooting group (6-8 guys) who meet weekly put in a large order with a major ammo wholesaler about a year before the pandemic really took hold. Under a minimum purchase limit, we were able to buy standard target ammo at roughly $45 per flat for 12 and 20 ga. and a little more for 28 and .410. When we tried to put in a second order, the effects of the COVID plague made assembling any kind of volume selections in gauge, shot size, etc. impossible. I don't think we will ever see $45 a flat ammo prices again but who am I to say. I would trade an increase in price within reason for availability and selection anytime. Given the economy of scale in ammunition production, sooner or later the combination of availability of components, labor requirements, production, shipping and transport will slowly reach equilibrium and let us buy what we want where and when we want it.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Kevin, some of my contacts that are retailers are saying probably not much change in availability of components until sometime over the summer, and even then we may only see dribs and drabs coming in.

[Big D]

I have 5 or 6 flats of reloads on hand, and a reasonable amount of components. My problem is that I sent my PW 800+ in for a tuneup about 4 months ago. It is still not scheduled. Haven't asked what the problem is, and they have not offered

[Quigley97]

Originally Posted by John Dallas

I have 5 or 6 flats of reloads on hand, and a reasonable amount of components. My problem is that I sent my PW 800+ in for a tuneup about 4 months ago. It is still not scheduled. Haven't asked what the problem is, and they have not offered

John,
I to sent my PW LS 1000 in for a tune up. I talked to a lady there 12 days before Thanksgiving. She told me they were swamped and figure 3 to 5 months for the turn around. I shipped it the next day and they received it on the 16th of November. Hopefully I will have it back just before the Spring Southern. Now I am back to when I started with my 50 year old Mec 600 Jr. It definitely brings back memories.

[Phil Yearout]

I have plenty of hunting loads but almost no target loads. A guy at my club kept me supplied last year; hope he can do the same this year or I probably won't be shooting. I was in the local Cabela's a few weeks ago and they had Herters target loads in stock - the first I'd seen in some time. They were $90 a flat; the last ones I bought were under $60. I didn't buy any. Last week they were all gone.