I don't need to read an article to know that when regular (non-military) ammo disappears from the store, it's cause people are stockpiling.
Yeah but we have had similar situations before and yet the shortages never ran on for this long. Besides if hoarding was the only answer then wouldn't the shortages be mostly of home defense and s#^t hit the fan type ammo like .223 or 9mm? What cannot be found for love or money in my neck of the woods is hunting ammo in calibers like 30-06, 270, 7mm-08, 243 etc, etc. I keep hearing about all these new gun owners who ran out and bought a gun out of fear over all the social unrest across the land. But if that was your reason for buying your first gun what kind would you get? Wouldn't an AR 15, a handgun or hell even a shotgun be a better SHTF weapon than a bolt action rifle in a hunting caliber like 30-06? I just can't believe all these new gun buyers are the reason for all the hunting ammo being gone. That makes no sense to me.
Back when Obama got elected there was a lot of panic buying of guns and ammo as well. Not only that but the conflicts in Iraq and Afganistan were much bigger and more intense back then. Lot more boots on foreign soil that had to be supplied with ammo. Also around the same time the department of homeland security purchased over a billion rounds of ammo. That's a huge order. And all those things I just mentioned did cause a shortage in supply for private citizens like myself. But that shortage lasted about 2 months.
Now the overseas conflicts are a wisp of what they were back then. No huge government ammo purchases. And yet we are a full year into this drought with no end in sight. I just don't understand what has made it so much worse this time and I don't buy a lot of the excuses that I have heard.