AZ:Yuma Ammo Shortage Easing?

Shelves of the Walmart on 24th St. have a few boxes of .38, .40, and .380

I was pleasantly surprised to see a few boxes of pistol ammunition along with the 12, 16, 20, and .410 birdshot shotgun loads on the shelves of this Walmart. The clerk said that they had been delivered today, but I saw them at 2:30 pm. He said that .223 cartridges were out the door within an hour, as were any .22 that they received.

As usual, they had plenty of .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, .300 Winchester, .300 WSM, and some .22-250. They also had a good supply of .410 2 1/2 inch defense loads designed for the revolvers that take them.

I then went to the largest gun store in town, Sprague's. I was pleasantly surprised to see cases of .223 for sale piled on the floor.

While the prices were about 60 cents a round, at least it was available.

They had .22 ammunition on the counter, limited to two boxes per customer.

They had most pistol calibers available, limited to one box per customer.

They also had cases of 7.62x39 and .308 (7.62x51) for sale, even if it was steel cased ammunition from Russia.

I asked the clerk if the ammunition supply was easing, and he said that they were still short, but they had a bit more than at their lowest point.

When I asked how they were able to have a better supply than most, He said "We have been here for 60 years, and we pay our bills."

I have been reading other reports from around the country that the supply of ammunition may be starting to catch up with demand.

©2013 by Dean Weingarten Permission to share granted as long as this notice is included.