Wisconsin Ammo factory owner scolds the hoarding "gun nuts"

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.wisconsincartridge.com/productcart/pc/wiscartridge1-attention.pdf

Found in story on Wisconsin Journal.

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Scott A. Young, president of the Wisconsin Cartridge Corp., an ammo sales business based in Friendship, was absolutely right when he posted a notice on his company’s Web site scolding buyers who have been acquiring huge amounts of ammo.

He advised customers that with the economy still in danger and with Iraq and Afghanistan on the agenda, the president "doesn’t have time to think about bans or taxes on ammunition and firearms."

Young noted that the gun owners’ worst enemy was not the president but the stockpilers:

"Due to the hoarding of ammunition, you consumers have managed to raise the prices of ammunition and components 50 to 500 percent. You didn’t even need the government to impose any taxes or bans. You did it all yourself."

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/447919

:toast: to Scott Young! The top link I posted is his letter to gun owners.

[Hoopla Phil]

1. Only in such a high demand market could a company speak so ill of it's customers.

[Tejas]

5. I predict a retaliatory firemission on Barfcom - nt

[Old Codger]

2. truth

I am a gun owner and love to shoot, but the fact is that some gun owners are our worst enemies when it comes to this stuff.... right wing pushing stupidity.

[ManiacJoe]

3. 100 and 250 round limits on orders?!?!?!

Who buys ammo in such small amounts? Buying by the case (1000 rounds for handgun, 500 for rifle) is usually cheaper per round and much more convenient. It's not like the stuff has expiration dates...
:mad:
What the owner needs to do is expand his production lines to meet the demand of the market. Ammo has been in short supply for eight years now.

[Tejas]

7. Doing his part to spur the frenzy (imagine that!) nt

[RamboLiberal]

11. Short supply for last 8 years?

I had no problem getting ammo till last few months. And why should owner expand his production lines for what may be a temporary bubble?

There are some manufacturers like this guy and some of the retail shops who are limiting buys right now trying to let everyone get their fair share and stop the greedy hoarders.

[rl6214]

12. It's probably been

the last 6 months that I have had trouble finding ammo or reloading supplies. I have stocked up well in the past though so it hasn't affected me too much. Just can't restock what I am using.

[krispos42]

13. He can work the machines more

Overtime, adding a night shift, adding a weekend shift, etc.



Depends on his machinery. If he's running one 40-hours shift a week, that's 128 hours a week the machinery is idle.


He could add a weekend shift by having the "regulars" move to a M-Th@10hr shift and adding a F-Su@12hr shift, keeping his machinery busy 76 hours a week. Or having two shifts working M-F@8hr.


Or combine them, I guess. 116 hours per week.



Ultimately he could run four shifts on a two-week rotating schedule. Each shift works a 3x12hr and a 4x12hr workweek, totalling 84 hours in a two-week period. For example, shift A works Su-Tu from 6am to 6pm on week one then Su-W from 6am to 6pm on week two. Shift B works S-W from 6pm to 6am on week one and S-Tu 6pm to 6am. Shift C works W-Sa 6am to 6pm on week one and Th-Sa 6am to 6pm on week two. Shift D works Th-Sa 6pm to 6am on week one, and W-Sa 6pm to 6am.

Lots of days off and 4 hours of overtime in the wallet.


I imagine they did something similar during World War Two.

[yay]

15. Winchester has their machines running 24/7

Atleast I think it was winchester.

[RamboLiberal]

17. For him it could well depend on supply

of cases, powders, primers, and bullets. So he may not be able to expand his production. I just got 2000 rounds from a local commercial reloader and they had to wait to get a load of primers.

I understand as another poster said that Winchester is going 24/7, Remington says they are working OT, and Black Hills is expanding their production capabilities.

[benEzra]

18. Supply has been tight since 2005 for .223 and 7.62x39mm...

as evidenced by the more-than-doubling of 7.62x39mm prices between 2005 and 2007. It started when post-Katrina hedging (due to the Katrina-related confiscations, ammo sales bans, and illegal declaration of "martial law") met the ammunition demands of Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm still shooting $1.75/box 7.62x39mm from the early 2000's. I wish I had "stockpiled" several thousand rounds at those prices, alas...

[Abq_Sarah]

14. You're correct about the bulk orders

For target ammo, I always purchase by the case. It's much cheaper and can be stored for years.

As for the "paranoia" part, if President Obama would make a definitive statement about his support for the 2nd amendment, admit his desire to reinstate the AWB is unconstitutional and promise to veto any bill that attempts to circumvent it by making ammunition prohibitively expensive, this wouldn't be an issue, would it?

Get the AWB language off your platform and pledge to support the Constitution. Now, that was easy, wasn't it? ;)

[Tejas]

4. Mr. Young is clueless, but still gets one guess as to where

most of the retail ammo is going.




(gun ranges that buy their ammo locally, such as the stock rooms of Walmarts before it even reaches the shelves)

[jmj217]

6. Hopefully

Gun and ammo dealers are banking some of their recent profits. Eventually this bubble is going to burst and demand will drop sharply. This demand is unsustainable and once some of the stockpilers realized they have enough ammunition to last them 10 years and more guns than they can fit in a closet the bottom is going to fall out fast. Then the gunshops will see their business drop like a rock to levels much lower than before the recent surge in demand. I hope they see bubble burst coming and are making plans to get through the slow times ahead.

[X_Digger]

10. Or the bottom of their closets fall out. n/t (sorry, couldn't resist)

[bossy22]

8. he is right

as someone who works in the industry i can tell you that prices have gone up to the massive amount of bulk ammo purchases due to fear that some how obama is going to ban ammo

it gets annoying because it raises the price for everybody...

[Historic NY]

9. his notice

http://www.wisconsincartridge.com/productcart/pc/WisCartridge.pdf

[aikoaiko]

16. How is this "Obama is busy with the war and economy" thing supposed to calm fears and reduce panic?

All Steve Young is doing is affirming that Obama WILL attempt to enact bans when he has the time.

:shrug:

Steve Young -- you're a fucking idiot.

[benEzra]

19. Looking at the website, it looks to me like a small-time operation.

He probably loads bullets manufactured by others, powder manufactured by others, and primers manufactured by others, into cases manufactured by others (new or used), and is upset that his cost for those components has greatly increased.

Tight supply caused by people buying up all available production is not a "ban." It is the exact opposite of a ban, as ammunition sales are at record levels (and the current tight market dates back to 2005, when post-Katrina hedging met Iraq/Afghanistan war demand).

[dusmcj]

20. shortage & price hikes started happening way b4 election even

Y'all weren't watching - supplies of surplus got short because most countries started obeying the UN (CIFTA ?) regs against trading in war material & started destroying their surplus stocks instead of shipping them to the US for sale. The last major glob of reasonably-priced .223 that I saw as a randomly chosen measure was Radway Green a couple years ago.

Further, the US war effort and developing world material consumption have both cranked up demand and therefore price of metals, as well as induced shortages in newer surplus. (Prices on new commercial production always were a joke to begin with - 45 cents a round for .308 FMJ ? please.)

Last, the gun industry has been trying to profiteer like a mofo. It's fairly hilarious that the gun industry needs to prove how many morons participate in it by having one of its own proclaim that bad bad ammo buyers' hoarding is just forcing the poor things to raise prices, they couldn't help themselves. Gang, it's called price it is high as the market will bear.

Not to decloak in front of the antis and reveal our meat and two veg, but this is akin to the small shops that are operating on the brink of bankruptcy but still insist on whacking ridiculous margins onto what they sell, or worse, engage in deceptive advertising (e.g. claiming ammo is one thing when the headstamp says it's something else (of lower quality)). Dumb dumb dumb dumb. Not the way to attract or retain customers; if you want to be a flinty hick sell moonshine.

[SteveM]

21. In Austin, shelves are getting bare -- even .38s & 9mm are hard to find...

Haven't been to the range in months, and the only ammo which can be found is at the few local ranges which have stockpiled and sell ONLY to customers using the range.