What Caused the 2021 Ammo Shortage?
Well, to be blunt, 2020 caused the 2021 ammo shortage. 2020 scared everyone and 2021 is suffering from it. Particularly, the firearms industry.
We capped off at about 5 million first-time gun buyers in 2020. That is unheard of! Here is a detailed article on all those new gun owners and what that situation looked like.
Strangely enough, all of those gun owners want ammo for their newly-purchased firearms, and the previous gun owners never stopped wanting to shoot.
Consequently, you have a large influx of people wanting to buy ammo on top of the existing market, which was already pretty busy with the impending events of 2020/2021.
Read here if you are an existing gun owner or new to the club!
How Does this Affect Reloading and Primers?
There are more people than ever buying guns and ammo right now. This immediately created a cascade of events.
- The ammo market got overwhelmed and ammo became scarce.
- More existing shooters started reloading an alternative.
- Primers became a hot commodity and more people are now buying them.
- Now big-name ammo manufacturers and handloaders are soaking up primers.
- Primer manufacturers can’t keep up with exploding demand on 2 fronts.
- New gun owners found out they can make their own ammo at home too.
- More people are buying, shooting, reloading, and searching for ammo and components than ever before, in the midst of a pandemic.
Ultimately, the existing shooters/enthusiasts are buying what they can, and all of the new people in the sport are doing the same. Bear in mind, THERE ARE A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE.
Why Hasn’t the 2021 Ammo Shortage Subsided?
Below is a list of a few key reasons why things still aren’t looking better.
1. Panic buyers – These are the folks that feel compelled to buy guns and ammo for whatever reason. Whether it be because of new leadership, civil unrest, or because it simply seems like the new trend.
2. Hoarders – These are the people that are buying everything they can get their hands on and not using it. They are just keeping half a million .22lrs in their basement in case the zombie apocalypse happens, or they for some reason think that caliber is going extinct.
3. Scalpers – These are the people that are taking advantage of the crisis and buying everything they can get their hands on to sell it for a profit. They will take everything they can get solely for the purpose of ripping someone else off and raking everyone over the coals for monetary gain.
How can the 2021 Ammo Shortage be Fixed?
I know you hate this, but YOU can’t fix it. This is something that simply has to be waited out, and I know you don’t want to hear that.
The reality, is people who are buying things at 10x the retail cost are the reason prices aren’t going down. That has to stop before everything starts to get better.
There are a lot of people who have an insatiable need for items in this market right now that will do just about anything to get it. That is something neither you nor I have any control over and never will.
What do we do Now?
We live on. Keep doing what you normally do. If you can’t find ammo or components, don’t shoot or reload for awhile.
Definitely don’t call your local gun store and complain to them about why things aren’t on the shelves! They are having a hard enough time as it is.
When things get better, buy these items when they are cheap and plentiful again in bulk to prepare better for next time.
This happens in cycles and it will happen again. So, in the way of a good Risen Citizen, learn from this and keep it in your pocket for the next time things begin to go awry.
Be smart and prepare when the going is good. Now is the time to be prepared, not start the process.
Don’t give in to the madness and spend your next mortgage payment on something you will likely never use. Now is a good time to learn a little patience.
Maybe while you wait, you could try out some new coffee here (15% OFF) and let me know what you think!
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With the ammo and reloading shortages going on for almost a year I keep up my shooting practice using a Glock 19 BB gun. CO2 and BBs are plentiful and cheap.
Better than nothing 🙂
That is a great way to practice, especially when things are in such short supply! Way to think outside the box!
You can buy ammo and CCI primers across the northern border and when their shelves are bare, they are restocked. Here in the US, the ammunition on the shelves very sporadically available and primers anywhere are rare. The greater number of buyers is an excuse and not what is really happening. Someday we will find out what it was all about. Until then we deal with unrealistic excuses.