How has the ammo/component shortage affected your Shooting
 

There is a great thread currently about ammo shortage, RST, and what is appropriate to shoot in our guns. I am wondering how this has affected you. Have you cut back on your shooting? Also interested in how shooting ranges are affected, maybe Mike will chime in about his Rock Mtn. facility.
I dont shoot targets during hunting seasons, but they are essentially over now. This summer I went to Hunting Hills less frequently, and went I did I would only shoot 100 instead of 200 targets. My best friend has an Atlas Wobble trap and we tended to use it more this summer. I still have a large supply of factory shells and a pretty fair stash of powder, primers, and shot, but unless things ease up, I will shoot less again this spring/summer.

Not too much for me personally. I really do not shoot all that much. Maybe once a month on average. The difference it has made for me is that I actually set up my reloading stuff after 4 years of laying dormant after my move. In the middle of 2020 when no events were happening, where I would not ally buy a few flats of RSTs to have on hand, I was going to order 5-6 flats from them. Until I saw the shipping cost, it was going to basically cost me a flat of shells to get them to me. I was sitting on components to load 4-5000 shells. So I figured I would set up the stuff and start loading again.
Again, I dont shoot nearly as much as many of you all, so it does not really correlate all that well.

Over the last year I have come into some reloading components. Powder, primers, wads and such. Stuff that I bought from local people who were cleaning out. I do not hoard the stuff. I know what I need for my own purposes, so I always move the stuff along for a reasonable price to people I know who shoot more than I do.

Like, Brian, I don't really shoot that much. I don't shoot clays at all, and never have, and with bird numbers down, and my own self-imposed limit on birds, I'll likely get through the season on just a few boxes of shells.

Also, like Brian, I'm considering getting my reloading equipment set back up. I still have lots of components left from when I reloaded. I don't really want to go there, but if RST folds and light game loads are not available, I may go that route.

I dont think RST will “fold”.

I am a hunter not a shooter. I have never been on a trap or skeet range. I shoot a little during dove season. After deer season closes I get out and stroll around some old hunting grounds where quail used to reside. Then Spring turkey. So I don't shoot much.

The shell shortage has not had any impact on me. I have a few flats of 20s and 28s.

I’m not worried that RST might fold - I simply don’t see that happening.

I don’t shoot much at all these last six plus years. I might shoot 10 or 12 rounds of Skeet in a year, trap only at Major Waldron’s on Jan 1st every year, sporting clays 3 or 4 times in a year and 5-stand a couple of times.

When I built my gun room 7 years ago I set up a loading table with 16, 20, 28 and .410 presses and started reloading but still bought most of my ammo from Morris… but I simply haven’t had the time or inclination to reload for the last couple of years.

I need to get my grandson Cam down here to learn the reloading process, after all he shoots most of the 20 gauge stuff I load… but with school, lacrosse, homework, girlfriend, truck, and work I have my doubts that will ever happen…





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The BIGGEST thing so far out of all this are primers . I guess I went forty years using nothing but WIN 209’s . Now I mostly use Cheddite’s . To be honest I’ve not noticed and difference I can miss or hit just as easily with either brand :rotf:

This for me is a extremely sad story. My shooting partner (Tim) and I jointly own a trailer and shooting cart (modified golf cart) and travel for shooting venues in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. In 2019 we shoot three days a week, Tuesdays Wobble Trap, usually Thursday was skeet but sometimes Sporting Clays and Saturdays was Sporting Clays. He bought Fiocchi Shotgun shells by the pallet and I reloaded. In 2019 we both shot over 9,000 shells, 2020 down to barely 3,500 and 2021 less than 2,500.
The shooting clubs in Maricopa County (Phoenix) along with any club across the Arizona which accepted state Fish and Game Funds enforced strict guidelines for shooting. The Rules and Regulations took all the fun and camaraderie out of going to any of our facilities.
I've since moved to Texas however Tim and I have multiple shooting trips on the book in 2022. We'll meet at a location shoot 2-3-4 days at several venues and games and get together 4-8 weeks later at another location. In October Tim and I had a 3 days of shooting here in the Fort Worth area at Fossil Pointe and Fort Worth Trap and Skeet and each shot over 600 rounds.
Tim still has over two pallets of shells and I have plenty of primers, powder and wads but under 200 pounds of lead. Yes I'm a hoarder!!!!

Like many, I was able to get some inherited reloading equipment back in the game. Now I can load what I need (hunting) and hope that one day the availability will return so I can buy what I want. Ready availability may be the new "good price". Its worth noting I had tried to give the presses and components away for years but nobody I asked had any interest.

I used to shoot about 8000 a year but to do that required a bunch of travel. Don't dp the travel thing much anymore preferring to stay more local so my shell consumption is down to 5-6 thousand, all reloads.

Because I always bought components in bulk for the economy of doing so I have enough on hand to get through this year and part of next. So, I do not expect to curtail my shooting at all. That is, if there is a place to shoot. I frequent four different clubs shooting clays and 5-stand and all are reporting their attendance at 40-50% or pre-pandemic/shortage levels. Comments have be made about cutting back on shoots because it is just not worth the effort. I hope that is not the case.

I certainly did not mean to suggest that I had any information suggesting that RST may close up shop, and I'm sorry if I appeared to do so. I'm just thinking about a business that cannot do business and how long that can last.

I wish you were closer. You're a kindred spirit (hey, a guy who likes small gauge doubles with straight/splinter stocks and two triggers!!).:bowdown:

It is a very difficult time for business in general. The business I am involved in sells plumbing and electrical supplies. Common things that we have been buying and selling for decades, such as electrical outlets and rough-in boxes, cannot be obtained from our normal manufacturers. Lead times are ridiculous. We have had to search for new sources and still have difficulty getting certain items. You have to be creative and fluid in order to survive unless you are just setting on a huge pile of cash.

No impact so far, I am probably good for 2 years or more with my regular routine. It has had one positive effect in that I am cleaning out the odd ball stuff that I don't use any more. That left over 3 lb of Green Dot, the 400 Cheddites, the 400 paper hulls that have one reload left in them and the 500 RIO primers. All this needed to go anyway, perfect time. I only load for the 12 gauge, a 7/8 and a 1 oz load both with American Select. I was getting low on it until a member stepped in and helped me out, a lot !! Thanks !!

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".

Those of us who know and love Morris Baker understand that RST isn't going anywhere.

I think that's highly accurate. I talked to him a few weeks ago, he's as upset about the shortage as anyone and just taking it day by day.

This to me seems to translate to more and more “Made in China” stuff filling a need… and that’s very sad.





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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 :whistle:

That certainly has come into play even before this supply chain crisis. For years our trade professionals (plumbers, electricians, building contractors) demanded quality US made products. Our pipe was made Charlotte NC. Plumbing products in Kohler Wisconsin. Electrical devices only US made products such as Square D, Eaton, GE, etc. We have seen an erosion in the demand for quality and now it is all about price. No longer is the quality product demanded, it is now the cheapest price you can get me.

It is very discouraging to say the least.

Harold, we have been able to procure 12g shells for our inventory on a regular basis. We have plenty in stock. Right now we have Fiocchi and Federal. 20g is hard to come by. We will only sell our shells for use here on our range. If you buy 100, you shoot 100. Members get a price break of $2/box. As for reloading components, I have been buying primers, wads, shot and powder for years. I even got my Spolar cranked up to load 7/8 oz 12g. I am good for years. When they said PB and 7625 were being discontinued I loaded up with 60 lbs of each. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!! :rotf: Heck, I even ordered 5K of the Rio primers from PR and have them for sale in the lodge. At $85/1000 I'm only making maybe $4 on each box of 1000. Sold 2K on the first day. If the rest don't sell I'll just add them to my component stash. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

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

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.

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.

ammo
 

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.

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

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.

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.

So far I have been able to cover my ammo needs without any need to cut back on my shooting. I shoot about 150 bismuth shells per year and I have 600 Boss on hand. I reload target rounds in 8,10,12 and 20ga. I shoot about 3000 targets per year. I have been able to buy components mostly from BP and my local guy Pete's. I have 15000 primers and enough powder to last a couple of years. I have not had any issue getting shot or wads. I do hope Remington does not stop producing SP10 and SP8 wads.

Same story here - the Gainesville VA Cabela's store got a large ammo shipment (mostly metallic; .223, 9MM, 380, .45 auto etc.) 3 days before Christmas and had I would judge c. 40 flats of Herter's target ammo out. When word got out they went fast - I bought 2 flats as they were stocking the shelves then came back 2 days later (Fri.) for 2 more - I would say just over half of it was gone then. Christmas was Saturday and the following day I went back and they were completely out. $84.99 plus tax put it a few pennies over $90. First target ammo they'd had in months.

Ammo
 

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.

Shoot more than ever
 

I must of had a premonition of the coming ammo shortage, I started buying flats quite a bit, I am now sitting on about 28 flats. I go to various registered Sporting Clays events and there goes 100 rounds, I also shoot in a 5 Stand league and sporting clays at my local club and trap at other clubs so I go through a couple of flats a month. I continue to buy it when i see it, thank God for Walmart's :rotf:

I don't go to WalMart, but many guys I know get ammo every single week there. The Federal 100 packs for $29 I think. Granted they're not for vintage guns but for practice who cares.

So do you practice with a non vintage gun?

Andy, I make a quick cruise thru the Walmart sporting section whenever I can. I 've picked up a half dozen or more of their Win Universal 100 packs in 20 ga. I shoot them in all my fluid steel 20's for clays and grouse. I've picked up several Federal 12 ga 100 packs 1 1/8 oz 7 1/2's, I rarely shoot a 12, but sell em at cost to those who do ---

Admit I don't haunt Walmart regularly but when I've checked they always have very little ammo if any. Word around here is that guys usually have an "in" with somebody who works there and when they get 'em in they're gone pretty much before they hit the shelves. I'd take a whole bunch of those Winny 12ga 100 packs for my SBT's!!

:usa::usa:I need to start a new thread on why I will not patronize Walmart.

Reggie I shoot anything I can whenever I can. Usually Gun Club Lite or AA Lite in my Vulcan barrels, but anything at all up to Howitzer loads in my Guerinis/Beretta/Benelli/Browning clays guns. Most of my stuff I shoot now if I'm going to use it in a Parker is a 2 3/4" I load with pressures south of 8,000PSI. Harold Pickens and Mike Koneski have been repeatedly telling me not to worry about 2 3/4" loads in these barrels with plastic shells as long as they're not crazy stuff. The one Damascus I have only gets RST until my MEC press gets here.

$90/flat is a very good price today for most shells.

If those shells are 1 oz and 1200 FPS they are fine for vintage guns.