I have been getting emails on a regular basis from people concerned about the shortage of .22 LR ammunition. Rather than speculate, and risk fueling the conspiracy theories swirling around internet forums, I decided to ask ATK directly. ATK is a major ammunition producer that owns the CCI, Federal Premium, Fusion, Speer, Estate Cartridge and Blazer ammunition brands. They said to me …

The current market and environment is causing stronger than usual demand for products in our industry. The current increase in demand is attributed to the civilian market. Our facilities operate 24-hours a day. We are continually making process improvements to increase our efficiency and investing in capital and personnel where we have sustained demand. We are bringing additional capacity online again this year.

So there you have it. They are producing it as fast as they can but they are at maximum capacity. Strong demand means they are flying off the shelves faster than they can be supplied. The shortage will continue until either than can expand their facilities or, and more likely in the shortterm, demand cools.

People tend to buy ammunition in the winter and shoot it in summer. I don’t know why they do this (I tend to buy more in summer than in winter). I suspect by the beginning of summer there will be enough .22 ammunition on the shelves.