Guns Save Lives brought up a very good point Wednesday, noting that the next logical target of Obama Administration sanctions on Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine is Russian ammunition. An importation ban could halt the importation of Barnual, the various “Bear” brands, Herter’s,  Tula, Wolf, and other Russian-made ammunition virtually overnight.

These sort of sanctions would compound an already tight market, which is expected to start feeling a supply contraction due to the P.B. Clermont propellant plant explosion in March rippling down to the consumer level as we move into the fall. PB Clermont is the second largest manufacturer of small arms propellant in the world. Manufacturers who already face a tight supply of brass and primers are finding it very difficult to line up supplies of some common kinds of propellant as a result.

Even prior to the threat of Russian sanctions, or the PB Clermont explosion, distributors and retailers began anticipating a shortage of centerfire rifle hunting ammunition in some calibers,  as most manufacturers have been attempting to catch back up on orders of the high-volume calibers (.223 Remington, 9mm, etc) that shooters use in practice most frequently and in large quantities.

Our advice would be for shooters to estimate their projected ammunition usage in each caliber they own over the next year, and then see if they have enough cartridges in their inventory for each caliber. You do know how much ammunition you have, right?

One you determine any projected shortfalls you may have (if any), it would be a good idea to determine which calibers are in the most dire need according to your own shooting patterns, and then start purchasing accordingly as your budget allows.

At lot of people seem to have the impression that the ammo crunch is waning and that we’re just around the proverbial corner from having overflowing supplies of ammunition on store shelves again soon.

I would advise against making that assumption, for all the reasons noted above.