I've got a friend over at
Ellett Brothers, who supplies half the nation with ammo through their distribution warehouses right down the road and their sales offices all over the South, and he told me what little they get is rationed-out by the box, rather than the case, these days. The reason I called him was because I need 35 Remington. He said their vendors (sic: manufacturers) were focusing on more common calibers and that all the uncommon calibers that requires retooling, to run the presses, are on hold.
I told him that 35 Remington was common and in wide demand. He told me that, compared to demand for other calibers like .308, 30-30, 30/06 and even 270 ... 35 Remington is barely a speck on the radar but that he understood the niche demand and they were still trying to get as much as they secure - they have standing orders with their vendors.
I called him from my LGS when, after having prepaid for six boxes of 35 Remington almost a year ago, my LGS friend claimed he was still unable to get it and knowing I knew someone over there, he asked me to call while telling me my friend was just recently been promoted. So I did, and that's what I was told, almost straight from the horse's mouth. (I also learned that there has just recently been a huge reorganization and that practically all the old timers are gone from management and have been replaced either from within or with people from outside the company - at almost every position right up to the CEO)
I grew up a few miles from Ellett Bros, they are a big deal around here and employ thousands of people. I can remember the days, back in the sixties and seventies, when they were THE distributor for the entire country, the proverbial middle-man, for guns and ammo along with all the other sporting goods they distribute. They are still the big boys on the block in terms of other sporting goods from arrows to golf balls to anything Marine (water sports) related, but when it comes to ammo, I was told the big boxes are monopolizing the ammo buys. Wally World, Cabelas, Bass Pro Shop, et al, demand certain quotas be met or else they'll take their multi-million dollar contracts elsewhere ... and they are not demanding niche calibers so the big manufacturers are concentrating on what they need to fill contracts on common calibers and everyone else is stuck with getting the leftovers. (This in addition to huge government contracts being paid for with our tax dollars at higher prices than the current civilian market would support ... so the government contracts will always get priority even over the big boxes and the big boxes have accepted that fact.)
He told me they had talked to several smaller manufacturers about special runs on some calibers and was told it would be too expensive, the finished product would be too expensive, to make it worth anyone's while. It all starts with components and even if Georgia Arms, Atlanta Arms, or one of the other small manufacturers, were willing to make the runs, they'd have a hard time securing the niche caliber components.
Even Hornady, who made its bones on developing and manufacturing niche calibers, is hesitant to shut down the line and retool for 35 Remington, 308 and 338 MX, and others because at the rate their lines run, (XX,XXX number of rounds per hour), and with demand for common calibers the way it is, a six hour shut-down to retool and calibrate the line would mean the temporary loss of 100s of 1000s of rounds of a more common caliber for which there is equal or more demand and for which they are already having trouble filling contract quotas. It would cost them 10s of 1000s of dollars in lost production because the hours are not just lost in retooling for, let's say 35 Rem, but they lose another six hours when having to switch back to the more common caliber which are in higher demand.
What we are occasionally seeing out there right now, is probably leftover stock from much earlier runs that was stashed away somewhere and is either just now hitting the shelves or was always there in little known off-the-beaten path LGSs.
He told me point blank that he sees very little relief in the foreseeable future because, even if we elect a very Conservative administration in the next election, that the country's anxiety with regard to the state of our economy and the overall uneasiness and fears about our country's future will continue to fuel shortages for at least the next decade if not longer. He said his sales team, who man their phone banks 12-14 hours a day in shifts, are hearing from their LGS customers that we, the shooting public, are in "hoarding mode" (and I hate that term), shooting less and hoarding more when it comes to ammo. He also said that calibers that were on their way out two decades ago, like 35 Rem, have found a new following thanks to the massive increase in interest in leverguns and thanks to forums such as this one, which he was very familiar with because he too owns several Marlins.
Common calibers, he told me, are starting to catch-up a little thanks to inflation within the industry and less disposable income among shooters to continue buying ammo at increased prices. He thinks prices have stabilized to some degree, but supply continues to be a problem, (then we got off on the 22LR discussion and I almost was depressed).
Then we got on the topic of Marlin, because I know they are distributors for Marlin and all of Remington really. He was reserved about what he was willing to say about Marlin. I expressed some concern about quality issues, he said they were aware of issues and that Marlin was working hard to resolve the problems with the move and training new production line employees in NY. He said they have experienced a noticeable drop in quality control issues from Marlin and he felt confident that Marlin rifles would soon be back to pre-relocation quality standards ... that they were very close. He said that Marlin has recently recognized Ellett Brothers and Jerry's Sports as Distributors of the Year, (both now fall under the parent company USC or United Sporting Companies). He said they sold more Marlins last year than in any year in their history to the best of his knowledge.
