Ammo Availability .30-06 Winchester brand

[Cornbread]

Here we are, almost 2 years into this Covid crap and ammo is still non-existent. All I see is just a bunch of foreign made ammo. Does anybody else see this. The manufacturers keep claiming they are pumping it out but where the hell is it? Just trying to find Winchester premium brand with 165 grain accubonds or even Triple shocks ain't there. There are all these B.S. videos on Youtube by doofuses that cruise stores showing junk ammo. I feel like we are being conned. I happen to find in |March and then June ammo on the Federal site, premium 160 grain accubonds and Triple shocks which shoot really well in my custom 7MM Mag. I bought 5 boxes of the TTX in March and then 6 boxes of the accubonds in June. But what a fridge deal at $64 a box....like gold. At least not $90-100 a box. I had to vent. My nephew in Michigan shoots a ton of 9mm and .223 for shooting classes he takes and he's had orders in from April 2020 for 1000s of rounds and none have been filled.

Oh, BTW, I had 9 boxes of Federal Gold Medal with match bullets that shot really well in my Remington 700 that I had a local guy switch the bullets to Barnes Tipped Triple Shocks. The bullets cost me $1 a bullet and the reloader charged me 50 cents a bullet. The gold medals had 168 grain in there and I had to switch to 168 grain or less. The Barnes TTSX were 168 grains. A fridge perfect match. And in the end they shot great.

 

[MThuntr]

Oh, BTW, I had 9 boxes of Federal Gold Medal with match bullets that shot really well in my Remington 700 that I had a local guy switch the bullets to Barnes Tipped Triple Shocks. The bullets cost me $1 a bullet and the reloader charged me 50 cents a bullet. The gold medals had 168 grain in there and I had to switch to 168 grain or less. The Barnes TTSX were 168 grains. A fridge perfect match. And in the end they shot great.

That's dangerous...the switch from 168 match bullet to 168 copper isn't a 1 to 1. You're lucky the rifle didn't blow up

 

[OntarioHunter]

That's dangerous...the switch from 168 match bullet to 168 copper isn't a 1 to 1. You're lucky the rifle didn't blow up

Why? 168 gr bullet is 168 gr bullet and Federal is not known for loading powder to the max. Not in my experience anyway. The bullets might seal differently but the pressure difference would not be significant. I load IMR powder and Hodgon's websight table has specs for 168 gr bullets, not different brands or types of 168 gr bullets.

Edit: I was wrong. Hodgon does specify bullets, but only one option for 168 gr and two for 165 gr. I didn't notice that he was switching from a match bullet. How many grains of powder difference between minimum match and copper bullets? Interesting. I only load hunting bullets so don't run into this. I guess if one is going to the trouble of knocking out a bunch of bullets from a factory box of shells, you'd think he'd just change powders too. Or maybe he couldn't get any powder? Not unlikely. Is it even possible to find loading data for Federal's powder? Don't recall seeing any on the shelves.

 

[rjthehunter]

Why? 168 gr bullet is 168 gr bullet and Federal is not known for loading powder to the max. Not in my experience anyway. The bullets might seal differently but the pressure difference would not be significant. I load IMR powder and Hodgon's websight table has specs for 168 gr bullets, not different brands or types of 168 gr bullets.

I'm pretty sure he's being sarcastic...

 

[JLS]

I feel like we are being conned.

What’s the con?

 

[rjthehunter]

What’s the con?

The jack@$$e$ that are sitting on 100s or 1000s of boxes of ammo/piles of reloading supplies is the only con I see. Then they try to sell them for 200% markup on gunbroker.

 

[SilverDollars]

Howdy. I'm beginning to see some Remington ammo appearing here. Just the other day, at Cabelas, I saw 5 new boxes of Savage 300 150 gr ammo for sale. They had some other assorted calibers as well.. I bought 2, should have bought one more. but, my budget was pushed. I probably have enough brass for reloading, in that caliber anyway.

 

[David658]

At a gun shop in Monte Vista, CO, I bought two boxes of Win 30-06 and two of Hornady .308 on Wednesday. Seeing more on the shelf (lots of .223/5.56 and Mil 308) for us hunting types, but nothing like it orta be.

 

[EastCoast94]

I’ve been seeing more 30-06 ammo available online and in stores here in NY. Just this week I bought 3 boxes of Federal on Bud’s Gun shop

 

[ccc23454]

Last week, buddies wife asked me to get couple boxes of ammo for his bday. Walked into Walmart had the guy open ammo case and hand me 2 boxes federal 300 win mag 180s for$27ea. No issue, case was well over half full. There is still shortages but locality and hoarders are becoming issue, both will resolve in time. Try not to support price gougers! Do need to see improvements in components availability.

 

[JLS]

The jack@$$e$ that are sitting on 100s or 1000s of boxes of ammo/piles of reloading supplies is the only con I see. Then they try to sell them for 200% markup on gunbroker.

I thought maybe it was making a stupid YouTube video that people would actually watch.

 

[MThuntr]

Why? 168 gr bullet is 168 gr bullet and Federal is not known for loading powder to the max. Not in my experience anyway. The bullets might seal differently but the pressure difference would not be significant. I load IMR powder and Hodgon's websight table has specs for 168 gr bullets, not different brands or types of 168 gr bullets.

Edit: I was wrong. Hodgon does specify bullets, but only one option for 168 gr and two for 165 gr. I didn't notice that he was switching from a match bullet. How many grains of powder difference between minimum match and copper bullets? Interesting. I only load hunting bullets so don't run into this. I guess if one is going to the trouble of knocking out a bunch of bullets from a factory box of shells, you'd think he'd just change powders too. Or maybe he couldn't get any powder? Not unlikely. Is it even possible to find loading data for Federal's powder? Don't recall seeing any on the shelves.

It's all about bullet length. Lots of info out there about loading the two. The 168 copper is significantly longer than the match bullet causing case capacity issues as well as bearing surface issues which may be miniscule to us but can cause major spikes in pressure especially with unknown powder charges.. Enough so to possibly end a range session in a single trigger pull. This may only manifest in high temperaturesbut why risk it.. I don't have 168s to compare but somewhere I posted a 180 copper next to a 208 match and they were similar in size.

Left to right 180 accubond, 180 etip, 180 hammer, 208 eldm


To your edit. I'd assume they're using proprietary powder unavailable to the public...likely a spherical double based powder so they can volumetric load thousands an hour so the only option old be to dump the powder and load your own but at that rate it would be cheaper to buy components and have someone load for your rifle.

 

[HighDesertSage]

I don't think the sky is falling. I was able to pick up a case of 30-06 Nosler Trophy Grade 180 Accubonds the other day for $500, or $50/box. That's not as good as the pre-pandemic prices of $40/box, but also no where near as bad as the $80-90/box I was paying 6 months ago. Also Walmart's here in Iowa now consistently have 270/308/30-06/300 core-lokts and power points in stock. I think it's starting to turn and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[rjthehunter]

On a different note... If anyone has a pound of IMR 4350 they'd part with let me know!

 

[Dougfirtree]

Last week, buddies wife asked me to get couple boxes of ammo for his bday. Walked into Walmart had the guy open ammo case and hand me 2 boxes federal 300 win mag 180s for$27ea. No issue, case was well over half full. There is still shortages but locality and hoarders are becoming issue, both will resolve in time. Try not to support price gougers! Do need to see improvements in components availability.

I've noted in past shortages, that certain areas seem to recover much more quickly. My part of NY is still bare, but it seems like the mountain west does pretty well (relatively). I've often wondered whether it's just a game of where stuff reliably sells, contracts with big vendors like Sportsmans Wharehouse, or if there's a political component to it. NY is certainly not the darling of the ammo industry...

 

[Cornbread]

I don't reload, that's why I had to get somebody I know to switch the bullets. This guy that switched the bullets for me is a long-range guy with tons of experience reloading, so I seriously doubt if there would be a potential safety problem by switching bullets.

I think we are being conned because there are no primers around and high quality ammo (Federal Premium, Winchester Supreme, Nosler ammo) is non existent. It must be because the manufacturers can't find primers. Yeah, there is plenty a crap ammo around. I'm looking for something that does 1MOA or better in my 3 rifles. Primers are not around. Period. BTW, there are scammers out there "selling" primers if you use a "Vanilla" VISA card. Caveot Emptor!!

 

[JLS]

I think we are being conned because there are no primers around

I’ve seen large rifle primers available twice in the last couple of weeks. It’s not that they’re not around, they do go fast when they’re available.

 

[JLS]

 

[Michhunter 270]

I called a LGS and ask him how is it going, he said a little bit a go i could not sell a gun because i had no ammo for them, now i can't sell them because they won't pay the price of the ammo !!!

 

[mtmuley]

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60 buck for 20 rounds of .06? Glad I'm a "hoarder". mtmuley