Ammo getting hard to find

[GRAZOR]

We are going Coyote hunting this weekend and I stopped at gander to pick up a few boxes of .223 for the hunt. Not a bullet in the store! Guy says they sell it as fast as it comes in and it is coming in real slow.

The Ruger Ranch used to be one of my favorites to shoot but now I have to second guess the caliber.

Any one else having problems finding .223 ammo?

What about reloaders here, do we have any?

Gary

[ELK_HUN10]

Cabelas will not guaranty their delivery of 223 ammo due the war, the defense department gets first priorty. You can still buy 223 bullets but not necessarily in the size or shape you want. The material to make the bullets is what is in short supply. Most military bullets comply with the Geneva Commision standards. Law enforcment also has first use and they do not have to comply with the Geneva Commision. This is the time of the year that ammo is hard to buy. Most sporting good stores do not stock up with a lot of ammo untill just before hunting season. Inventories are also down because of the recession. Midway USA just had a sale on 223 ammo. They have fast delivery but they would not be able to get the ammo to you before the weekend except for the very expensive next day delivery. I had heard that Gander Mountain had bought Cabelas and Overton's so they would know what they are talking about. I think small stores that specialize in reloading equipment would have a box of two of your ammo but it would be more expensive. Here even Walmart sells ammo so you can usually find what you need without special ordering it. I have so much ammo laying around that I would have to live to two hundred to shoot it all, not counting the powder, bullets, primers and cases I have. If my house ever caught fire, it would be safer to just let it burn. Most people I know, also have their share of ammo just in case. My cousin is ridiculous, back in the sixty's when the first modern gun control laws came out he bought 10,000 rounds of ammo. Of course 80% of it was 22 cal ammo. But that is still a lot of ammo and he does not shoot that much. I have three or four hundred bullets for my black powder rifles but that gets shot up within a couple of years. I have several bullet molds and I always keep about a 100 pounds of lead on hand so I don't run out. I don't pour bullets for high velocity guns although a gas check works pretty good to help keep leading down. Good luck on finding some ammo, I am sure someone has it. You can always fly out to Idaho and get some. Either that or order some on the internet. Ammo is the one thing that the Cabelas store here will not let you return. Once you buy it, it is yours even if you got the wrong caliber or size of cartridge. That is true for mail order also.

[GRAZOR]

Thanks ELK, I found a couple boxes in one of my back packs from last year so I am OK for now.

I have been sitting back and not maintaining my war chest supplies for the past few years. I need to hook up with a reloader and just buy a thousand rounds for the 223 so I can sight the gun in and not have to mess around with 6 different loads from 5 different companies. I used to load all my own ammo and had 5 gallon pails of brass from the range but that was 10 years ago before I retired. The 223 was about the easiest and cheapest to reload but when friends come over and I load up a few 30 round mags it don't take long to burn a bunch.

Gary