Loading ...Frustration over the ammo shortage has created some pretty fun conspiracy theories. These are probably the top three: 1) Companies are stockpiling their product to drive up demand; 2) Ammo plants have shutdown completely; 3) Ammo companies are in cahoots to stop selling to civilians and are now selling only to the military. It’s worth noting that similar conspiracy theories cropped up during the panic buying and ammo shortages of 2014. It’s also worth noting that none of these conspiracies are true.
“I’m tired of all the hate mail, I’m tired of people showing up at our factories, I’m tired of reading the misinformation out on the internet right now about us not trying to service the demand that we’re experiencing,” Vanderbrink says in the beginning of the video.
In a follow-up video, he answers the common complaint: Where is all the hunting ammo? “Federal has been around for 99 years and we’ve made more hunting ammo this year than we have in [any of] the 99 years of our company. Certainly that wasn’t enough, we understand that.”
Vista Adds Remington Ammo to the Fold
Besides turning out rounds at the Federal plant, Vista is focused on getting the Remington ammunition plant running at full capacity in Lonoke, Arkansas. Vista purchased Remington ammunition and its assets and the Remington trademark in October after the Remington Outdoor Company filed for bankruptcy. Currently, Vista is bringing back furloughed employees and hiring hundreds of new ones to get Remington Ammunition back on its feet.
“Ultimately the consumer wins with this acquisition,” Vanderbrink says, who got his start in the ammunition business as a salesman for Remington. “We’re going to invest heavily in the brand, we’re going to invest heavily in the facility, and we’re going to modernize it. At the end of the day, the American worker wins, and the end consumer wins… We will get production up and going and that will help [ammo] availability.”