Good Monday Evening! It’s been an interesting week, for the firearms community and the nation at large. Before I touch on a few of the current events I’d like to roll out a new webpage that I’ve been wanting to do. It is a product highlight page, it is a way I can bring attention to some new products that catch my eye. Sometimes it will be new products that I have a hand in developing, or it may be something that I am able to work on within the course of my job and want to spread the word. The new product page can be found here: Product Highlight Page.
At this time, unless it is linked to Amazon, I am not getting any sort of commission or free product. It is just stuff I’d like to draw attention to because either I had a hand in its development or I think it’s a neat thing and would like to get the word out. The first of these products is something I had a hand in designing and bringing to market. It is called The Puck, and it started as a handy multi-tool for Case Prep, but we found out it had a lot of utility beyond that.
If you’d like to read more about it here is a write-up I did on it The Puck. I talk a bit more about the inspiration and how we have found it to be useful. I know it’s a dead-simple tool, but it’s really proven to be pretty handy both on the reloading bench as an addition to a field cleaning kit.
Moving on to current events. When it comes to what is going on in the firearms community the big news is that David Chipman’s nomination to head the ATF has been pulled. Basically, the Senate did not have the votes to confirm him as head of the ATF. While this is a significant win for the firearms community, I am a bit pessimistic that it is going to do anything more than delay the inevitable. Look for another nomination, who is just as anti-gun, but has a less overt history.
We should be wary of anything coming out of this administration at this point. Especially given the pattern of flagrant disregard for the Constitution. If recent events are any indication, it would not surprise me if we see more Executive Orders that come out of the Oval Office which on their face are blatantly unconstitutional, but will issue anyway. The strategy seems to be, that try and force everything you can through and let the Courts figure it out. Right now COVID is being used as the blanket justification, but I suspect the recent rule changes being proposed by the ATF may also be part of that same strategy.
While I do not mean to be all doom and gloom there is a bit more bad news to share. It does not look like this component shortage we have been dealing with will be relaxing any time soon. Many powder suppliers have begun to announce that they will not be accepting new orders for powders from many medium to small ammunition plants. They are likely concerned that they will be struggling to keep up with the current contractual obligations they have with large OEM and Military contracts. This also means we are likely to see price increases in the coming year on powder, so when it is available it is likely to be anywhere from 5% to 10% higher.
The shortages are not unique to Ammunition and Ammunition Components. Pretty much every supply chain, from raw materials like steel and copper to semi-finished good like computer chips are facing major slowdowns. The cost of a standard shipping container has gone from $2,500 to over $20,000 in some cases. This has been going on for many months now, so it is not new. However, we thought maybe the market for ammunition and related components was beginning to ease, but that seems to be reversing right now.
The industry is at mercy of the State Department. Given the recent moves from the State Department to clamp down on Russian Ammunition imports, many are wondering if there might be more clamping down on importation which will future starve the industry of much-needed components. That could really have a disastrous impact on many small to midsize ammunition and firearm retailers.
That’s all I have for this week. As always if you are looking to get in touch, the best way is to send me an email at jay@theballisticassistant.com. You may check us out on Parler, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. If you’d like to submit a load to our load database, the instructions are here.
As always, shoot straight and stay safe!
The Ballistic Assistant