Ammunition comes to the local sporting goods store in Waco, Texas, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If you find yourself driving by at quarter to nine on one of those days, you will see a line of people snaking along the side of the building, waiting for the opening and their chance to buy rounds. Any other day of the week, the shelves are empty.
It has been this way for months. Gun magazines and websites discuss the “Great Ammo Shortage,” which started during the pandemic, but which is projected to last into 2022.
Folks on the internet speculate that ammunition plants have shut down, and that companies and/or the government are stockpiling bullets to drive up demand and prices. It got so bad that the president of the biggest ammunition producer in the U.S., Jason Vanderbrink of Vista Outdoor, made a YouTube video because he was “tired of all the hate mail.” Vanderbrink walked through Vista’s production process and told angry gun owners that hearing about the conspiracy theories related to the “so-called ammunition shortage” is “getting really old.” The video has nearly two million views.
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