How the Great Ammo Shortage Ends: Subscribe To Get Ammo Sent To Your Home? According to a new report from market research and consulting company Parks Associates, more than 80 percent of households in the United States with broadband Internet services have at least one subscription video streaming service. While some traditional subscription services, notably for books and CDs, have faded in popularity as streaming has taken over, today there are still countless consumer products with everything from beer and wine to shaving razors and coffee being available – where the products are shipped directly to one’s house.
Great Ammo Shortage Solution: Subscribe for Ammo?
Such a subscription-based service could now help hunters and sport shooters not have to worry about empty shelves at the gun shop. It also ensures a certain volume of sales for the company. Federal Ammunition recently announced the launch of Federal Connection, a new subscription program where consumers can receive five boxes of 250 rounds of Full Metal Jack ammunition delivered to their doorstep every month. Taking a cue from retail giant Amazon and others, the service even offers free shipping. However, a 12-month commitment is required for enthusiasts to enroll in the program.
“We are very excited to launch this new service which is loaded with benefits for our online customers,” said Jason Nash, Federal’s vice president of marketing. “Interested consumers should visit our website to learn all the details of the new program. At the time of the subscription service launch, available calibers at the initial rollout will be 9 mm, 40 S&W and .45 ACP, with possible expansion into other loads and cartridge options, pending market demand.”
As noted by Nash, the “Federal Connection” subscription service would offer some of the most popular calibers. This is the latest step that the company has embarked on to enhance its website and e-commerce capabilities. It had previously launched one of the first industry online loyalty programs that allowed consumers to obtain exclusive merchandize from the points earned for online purchases. New products and merchandise are regularly added to the rotation to keep customers coming back.
Vista Outdoors, which owns multiple ammunition brands including Federal, as well as Speer and CCI among others, had first teased the subscription service last summer.
“We’ll be the first to launch the new subscription program,” Vista Outdoor Chief Executive Officer Chris Metz said in an interview with Forbes last summer.
Exactly how Vista will be able to meet the demand has not yet been made clear, but the company has ramped up its efforts to produce as much ammunition as possible. In May, Metz announced that Remington’s factory in Lonoke, Arkansas was running at near full capacity and that the plant employs more than 900 people – and at the time was still looking to hire more. The company has steadily hired workers since February and currently has doubled its workforce from what it had in November of last year, when Vista Outdoor acquired the facility.
Image: Creative Commons.
Image: Creative Commons.
Image: Creative Commons.
In November, the President of Vista Outdoor Ammunition Brands, Jason Vanderbrink, also told reporters that the brands he oversees are producing 40 percent more cartridges than before the start of the pandemic.
While this may not end the great ammo shortage, for those who are concerned about keeping their personal supplies stocked up, Federal Connection could be “the connect” to have. It is available in states where it is legal to order ammunition online.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
