Mostly an update on ammo, mostly...
This update will be mostly about ammunition with a few other update odds and ends thrown in as well.
Ammo Silver Linings
We’re starting to see some “silver linings” out there when it comes to the ammo shortage. We’re getting shipments from manufacturers that have been on backorder for months. We’re also seeing more opportunities to buy pallet quantities where we didn’t see any before.
In fact, we’ve even got an excess supply on a number of popular calibers now! What that means for our customers is that they can now buy up some calibers over and above their subscription to add to their inventory.
Most ammo has a default buy up quantity set to a single box (or zero if we have it on backorder) but for the calibers below, we have raised that buy up limit to a larger quantity:
1,000 Round Limit:
- 223 / 556 Practice (now also offering case lots for sale on Gunbroker!)
500 Round Limit
- 308 / 7.62 NATO Practice
- 7.62x39 Steel Practice
- 38 Special Practice
- 44 Mag Practice
200 Round Limit:
- 40 S&W Practice
- 45 ACP Practice
[BTW: In case you were wondering, our system allows you to buy up once per week - we don’t want any crazy button clickers draining our entire inventory of something - even if we have excess supply of it…]
Updates on Other Popular Calibers:
We finally have some .22LR on the horizon! The manufacturer is still 60-75 days out but at least we have a pallet level commitment. So that will clear the queue for .22LR once it comes in. We won’t allow buy ups just yet but if you have subscribed to it, it won’t be long before it fills and is moved into your inventory. We’re also seeing smaller amounts trickle in and we will fill those as they arrive.
We’ve also been chipping away at our queue of 300 BLK and 9mm Self Defense. Two very popular rounds that have been difficult to find. In the past week we’ve filled 24,000 rounds of 9mm Self Defense and 10,000 rounds of 300 BLK Practice and Subsonic. If you are subscribed to those and have them in your queue, don’t sell them just yet - relief is around the corner.
12 gauge 00 Buck and Slugs are two other popular SKUs that we’re seeing more of and should have a pallet level commitment soon, which will clear out any queued ammo in short order.
Steel case ammo other than 7.62x39 is still difficult for us to source. Primarily the 9mm and 308, but also 30-06, 6.5 Grendel and 45 ACP. There are only a small number of manufacturers that make these rounds (ie: Wolf, Tula, Barnaul) and we don’t have a firm commitment from any of them yet.
Hunting and Match calibers are trickling in but there are so many variations that it is hit or miss depending on the caliber. We have multiple POs with Sierra Ammunition that have been trickling in about one caliber a week - last week we received 300 Win Mag for example, the week before it was 270 Winchester. We just don’t know what they will send us next or when.
And last but not least, an update on 9mm Practice - the one SKU everyone is looking for! We have a large open PO with PMC (our main supplier) but just don’t know when they will fill it - it could be later this month or 3 months from now. We have another vendor for 9mm FMJ but won’t count on them yet because they are a relatively unknown brand. We ordered 10 cases in order to test its quality and trickle it out there for feedback before we buy in bulk.
So that’s it for ammo updates this month. I know some ammo has been in queue a loooong time, but thankfully we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My suggestion is don’t give up your place in line unless you really have to, because anything could hit any day now. If you have to, there is a little “return” button that will credit you for anything in your account and give it to the next person in queue.
Other Updates
We’re working on a new site-wide UI update that should be out in the next couple of weeks. It will add a better customer interface and provide a graphical summary of your crate ammo. It should be pretty slick and address some of the concerns we’ve heard regarding how crate information is displayed.
After the UI update, we’ll be focused on adding a Gear Crate for customers with existing gear or those that want to add gear in the future. This will provide a way to purchase and store random extra gear items until your next shipment: magazines, cleaning kits and other fun stuff.
Lastly, on a completely different topic, we have decided to discontinue our use of the “Big 4” social media platforms. We have pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube but will no longer post or provide customer support through those platforms.
This was primarily a business decision: we don’t have the resources to keep posting content for a questionable return - or under constant threat of deletion. However, it was also a moral decision because we can’t, in good faith, support companies that engage in politically motivated censorship.
The reality for a 2A company is that these platforms can delete our business profile in the blink of an eye without so much as a warning - so why should we play their game and invest in building up a community and content on their platforms? So we won’t.
So in the mean time we’ll utilize email and blog posts more often and look for other freedom loving platforms to support in the future. Or maybe we’ll just build our own. ;)