The demand for Hornady's ammo is so great that they've "added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, [and] people and space." They are producing many popular items "24 hours a day" and "several hundred employees work overtime every week" to make as much ammo as possible.
Black Hills Ammunition president Jeff Hoffman is seeing the same demand Hornady is experiencing. He says the only ammo that isn't absolutely flying out the door are some of the rarer, larger caliber hunting rounds.
Supplies of 9mm, 45 acp, 40 S&W, and .223 are scarce in the marketplace, and where they can be found, they are being snatched up by desperate consumers as they are unloaded off trucks at stores like Walmart & Gander Mountain.
So why the shortage? Ammo producers like Hornady say the cause isn't government orders but a "politically-induced buying panic." Although producers say they've seen buying panics in the past, nothing compares to what we're experiencing now.
During panics in the past, gun owners bought up all the ammo they could; during the current panic, even people who don't own guns have been buying ammo for the gun they might buy in the future. At the same time, first-time gun buyers have not only been buying guns but also every bullet for it they can find.
Add to this the fact that some producers can't expand their production as rapidly as Hornady and others have, and it's easier to understand why handgun and AR-15 calibers are scarce.
As Remington ammunition put it: "Remington is at full capacity at this time in a majority of categories of ammunition. We are continuing to look at how to increase capacity and supply our ammunition products to the various channels of distribution/sales that we support."
A few years back, a MEMO was prepared at the White House and sent to a select few, advising them to purchase stock in munitions manufacturers in anticipation of proposed legislation banning and controlling guns. Someone anticipated this surge .. (I made that up) ... Shelves are empty here in Licking County. Oh, the toilet paper stock up .... all that ammo out there .... scares the crap out of me ............. sorry about that.
