COMPONENT SUPPLY AND ITS IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE

Many of us have come to rely on a steady supply of ammunition. We all like to stick with what works well for us. Even reloaders will have their favourite recipe and look to source the same component parts. This is especially true for those who take part in competitive shooting. In these cases, the stakes are higher and nobody wants to risk using a brand-new product in the hope it delivers great performance. For some time now, there has been a factor which may have impacted our ability to source our go-to ammunition and in some cases may have changed our preferred product’s performance: supply chain.

Ammunition companies are reliant on either raw materials or component parts. They develop a product and spend months and even years refining and testing it until they have a successful recipe which will go out to market. The ingredients of this recipe are vitally important as they define the product’s performance. A combination of propellant, primer, bullet and case, for example, give a measured and consistent pressure and velocity. Change one of those items and it is likely you will need to alter some variables to achieve similar results. Sometimes, no matter what changes you make, you can never repeat your previous glories. Anyone who reloads will attest to this. Sometimes a certain propellant will perform much better than other products available. In the past, ammunition manufacturers simply ordered their preferred parts and things ran like clockwork. So what has changed?

Covid caused huge supply chain problems which most people have forgotten about. The problems have not gone away. A two-year backlog in components and raw materials from China and other major export countries is still an issue. During this time, logistics costs skyrocketed and many routes closed down completely. Covid especially affected the shipping of hazardous goods such as primers and propellant. The logistics companies had so much work to catch up on they simply eradicated the most problematic type (licensed, hazardous cargo).

Geopolitics have also played a role. China has historically supplied vast amounts of gun cotton used to produce nitrocellulose-based propellant. With various wars being waged, it is common for countries to slow or withhold supply of raw materials either to stockpile it themselves or affect other region’s abilities to do so. This has happened with cotton. Some may wonder why nitrocellulose cannot be produced using other less specific cotton types or even wood fibre. It can, but any change affects the end product dramatically. Given the precise burn rates and energy output required with propellant, these changes may take a number of years of testing to complete.

Wars. The more wars we have the more the sporting industry suffers. All raw materials and components in the small arms world are dual use —defence or civilian. Of course, the defence market gets first pick. It buys in much larger bulk and governments exert pressure on suppliers for obvious reasons. Propellant manufacture also changes with medium and large calibre shells taking precedence over their smaller calibre cousins.

So what does this mean for the products we have come to depend on? There are a few very large manufacturers who saw all this coming a long time ago and made considerable investment in stock. This strategy can be risky as a misjudged purchase of vast quantities could mean death for a smaller company if it cannot sell it. We also have to consider the shelf life of propellant and the complex storage requirements. Propellant must be stored in a controlled environment and within a licensed building with strict maximum quantities. Not all companies have vast storage for hazardous goods and many suppliers have no room to keep it on hold. This means that many companies have simply chosen to brave the storm and continue buying as needed. Of course, they have not always been able to source the components and materials they have preference for. In some cases, they have had to source sub-standard products such as propellant that is a little beyond its sell by date. This leads to velocity variations and of course precision issues when it comes to rifle ammunition. I recently cut some 12g cartridges to inspect them as they were not performing as usual. I found three different types of propellant being used. I have also seen a few clay shooters with smoky discharges and furry barrels which says something about the quality of that propellant. In centrefire, the main issue is the supply of full-build rounds. Some products are just becoming very tough to source. The manufacturers are less likely to push out inaccurate rifle ammunition as it will quickly kill their reputation.

How can we mitigate this as sellers and customers? I would suggest buying smaller test batches and testing them yourself as a customer. If you are happy with the result then purchase a bulk from that lot which you know is good. Any good manufacturer will never deviate from its recipe within a lot number, that would make its quality inspection and returns life very difficult. As a retailer, you should be asking questions of your suppliers. A good supplier will never be offended by honest sensible questions on this topic. If they are offended, that probably tells you something.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, e-mail your views over to editorial@twsgroup.com