Forbes by Aaron Smith 3/4/2021
Ammunition shelves are running bare in gun shops across America, forcing gun owners to consider other options, like reloading used brass casings, or making their own ammo.
But there’s no way around it. Reloaders face the same supply shortages as consumers who buy their ammunition ready-made. In fact, for reloaders it might actually be worse, because the big manufacturers get priority for the basic materials.
“If you don’t have the components, then you’re stuck, just like with factory loaded ammo,†said Philip Massaro, president of Massaro Ballistic Laboratories and author of ‘The ABCs of Reloading.’ “You’re going to be waiting a long time.â€
Reloading is a small-scale manufacturing process for ammunition. Most ammunition is made in factories by manufacturers like Winchester or Vista Outdoor, which owns the Federal, CCI and Remington ammunition brands.
“Once ammo became very difficult to find, we did see more customers turn to reloading supplies and equipment,†said Ryan Repp, director of content and communications for Brownells, an Iowa-based firearms retailer and ammunition manufacturer. “We are doing our best to keep up, but it’s been a similar story to ammo: demand is outpacing supply.â€
But all ammunition needs the same basic materials including bullets, primers, powder and cases. Reloaders are having a hard time finding the components because the ammunition companies that make them are using those components to manufacture millions of rounds of their own ammunition for sale to the public.
More:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/aaronsmith/2021/03/04/gun-owners-take-up-reloading-to-sidestep-ammo-shortage-but-it-may-be-too-late/?sh=223508452161
