Ammunition manufacturing tends to be very hard to scale: it takes large amounts of capital to invest in production and long periods of time to tune that production into a consistent product. The end result is that ammo production capacity is, for practical generalizations, completely fixed. Nobody produces more when prices are high, and only in rare scenarios would they stop production when prices are low.

The end result is usually strong swings of price for moderate changes in demand. And we're currently seeing demand levels that have never been seen before.

And couple that with riots last year, plus covid shutdowns wreaking havoc on the production lines. They're way way way backed up right now.

> Ammunition manufacturing tends to be very hard to scale: it takes large amounts of capital to invest in production

Also: how many people want to deal with lead (Pb) and all the toxicity that it entails?

If only one component of a cartridge/round (bullet, shell, propellent, primer) isn't available then you can't finish making it.

That's interesting, I know multiple people who reload so it can't be too hard.

It’s not difficult to start, but it requires intense attention to detail to do well (and safely). For instance - I usually a single-stage press instead of one of the fancier turret presses I have, because I like to weigh every ten rounds that come off to ensure consistency. Likewise, I spend the time necessary to choose a powder that fills more than 50% of the case volume so a double charge will overflow and be obvious. That’s even before I start load development, which is often specific to a single firearm, bullet, and even primer sometimes.

Speaking of primers... there are none out there for sale, and there haven’t been since very early 2020. Reloading equipment is easy to find, supplies not so much.