Ideas for Shooting Practice During an Ammo Shortage

The 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic cleared store shelves of lots of things we all took for granted. Liquor distilleries were getting into the hand sanitizer business and your Aunt Linda spent a full afternoon going from store to store to max out their toilet paper-per-customer allotments. When times were uncertain and bread and milk were flying off the shelves, people were also ramping up their purchasing of guns and ammo. When I visited a Cabela’s in April 2020 to purchase a new Benelli, they said just two weeks prior people had been waiting for six hours in line at the gun counter to buy whatever firearms were available at the store.

2020 brought record firearm sales in the United States. Noticeably, go to any sporting goods store and unless you have incredible luck, the shelves that used to brim with shiny, crisp boxes of handgun and rifle rounds will be empty except for the price tags advertising the ammo that used to occupy them. It’s well known that we are dealing with an ammo shortage right now, with no immediate end in sight. If you are lucky enough to find some ammo for sale, it’s not exactly dirt cheap. For many shooters who enjoy spending time at the range to keep perishable shooting skills sharp, times are tough and it’s time to get creative when practicing shooting. The ammo shortage won’t last forever, but right now is not the time to waste valuable rounds.

Ideas for Practicing Shooting During an Ammo Shortage

• Try some dry fire drills. If the type of gun you’re practicing with allows you to dry fire without damaging the firearm (do some research), dry firing can be very beneficial without costing you a thing in ammo. Make sure there is no live ammunition in the vicinity of where you’ll be practicing dry firing, especially if you’re running these drills indoors. Use empty magazines and run drills changing magazines and working on your form. You can also use red, polymer snap caps or dummy rounds when running dry fire drills. Dry firing can help you work on technique and form such as catching bad habits like flinching. Filming yourself or watching yourself while running dry fire drills can help you correct form issues.

• If you have multiple firearms and want to practice with live rounds, use your guns with cheaper and more common ammo to practice. If at all possible, save your expensive ammo for later and if you can accomplish your training goals with cheap, abundant ammo then do that. .22 caliber rimfire rounds for a long rifle are generally a reasonable round to use when it comes to price and quantity.

• In addition to dry-fire drills, you can try no-fire drills. If you have handguns, no-fire drills are an excellent way to keep awareness and skills sharp. You can practice mag changes, drawing, pointing on target, and re-holstering your firearm.

• Take time to research some of the innovative products available to shooters as training tools. You can find products that use lasers to record shot placement while protecting your firing pin from damage. The advantage of laser products is that they provide feedback about shot placement, sight picture, breathing control and form that you wouldn’t necessarily get from dry fire drills alone.

• Finally, an obvious one: use less ammo. Do your best to be intentional and thoughtful about your live-fire shots at the range to make every shot count. Right now might not be the time for the same recreational plinking we all loved before the US ammo shortage began, but staying mindful of your ammo supply and conserving it as best you can will help you out in the long run.

While US ammunition manufacturers are doing their best to ramp up production to keep up with the high demand for ammo, unfortunately it looks like it will be a while before things are anywhere near back to normal. Think ahead for your 2021 hunting seasons and the ammo you will need, and keep an eye out for it at stores throughout the year. Now is not the time to do the usual “stop by Rural King a week before deer season and pick up some 12-gague slugs.” Believe me—I tried that, and it didn’t work. Shooting is a perishable skill and to be a responsible gun owner, keeping your skills fresh is important. Time to get creative with your practicing and, of course, always keep safety first.

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