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What’s the one thing most gun guys and girls need now more than just about anything else? Other than Mike Bloomberg discovering the loss of his entire fortune in yet another an ill-conceived electric car venture, most gunnies need more gun food. And Armscor’s heard their call. They’ve invested $4 million in new ammo production capability. And being as responsive to customer demand as possible, they’re focusing their efforts on the the calibers people want most. “Presently, that includes .223/.556, .45ACP and .22TCM.  The 22TCM ammo is exclusive to Armscor and made expressly for Rock Island Armory’s series of firearms.” Pardon me? Ammo inventories are at historic lows and Armscor’s focusing their efforts on cranking out….22TCM? Gee, if we owned an ammo factory, we’d be cracking the whip to get more .22LR and 9mm on the trucks along with that .223/5.56 and .45ACP. But what do we know? Here’s Armscor’s press release . . .

Pahrump, NV (May 2, 2013) – In the face of a national ammo shortage, Armscor USA and Armscor International have doubled their manufacturing capabilities and committed $4 million in new equipment and facilities to support shooting enthusiasts and gun owners.

“At Armscor, we recognize the inconvenience and frustration of gun owners have in finding ammunition and we are doing everything we can to push more product out the door and on to store shelves,” said Martin Tuason, CEO of Armscor International.  “We are at something of an advantage in that our growth in US sales had us already looking at long term expansion so we are really accelerating our timelines.”

Armscor has facilities in Stevensville, MT, Marikina Philippines and Pahrump, NV.  The company is prioritizing ammunition production based on calibers in most demand.  Presently, that includes .223/.556, .45ACP and .22TCM.  The 22TCM ammo is exclusive to Armscor and made expressly for Rock Island Armory’s series of firearms.

“We will be frequently updating our progress on our Facebook page to keep our loyal customers informed,” said Tuason.  “We want to assure everyone that we are doing everything we can…as fast as we can…to keep our high quality products on the shelves.”

To learn more about Armscor and their complete line of ammunition, visit www.armscor.com or www.facebook.com/ArmscorPrecision.

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77 COMMENTS

      • I have shot a tcm 22. It is a 223 case cut down to 9mm size. It is NOT a necked down 9mm. NO recoil. Excellent accuracy! I have given some consideration in selling my Colt Python, and buying one.

        • They reinvented the 5.7 it in something much more affordable than the FN offering and in an extremely popular platform. The 22 TCM pistol can also be bought as a package with a 9mm barrel that uses the same mags.

    • Hey if 22 TCM is available everywhere, it probably would sell guns for Armscor. It’s not a bad idea to ramp up its availability.

    • The 22TCM rocks! You could think of it as a short 223 that uses magnum pistol powder. Love it in the double stacked 1911. Looking forward to it in a rifle.

  2. Actually, it’s brilliant.

    Nobody can buy ammunition for their guns, so in comes Armcor offering a huge supply of their own proprietary ammunition. Unable to use anything else, people will be forced to buy their RIA guns that use the .22 TCM.

    /end conspiratorial rant.

    Ok, in all seriousness, maybe that’s just because that’s what they have the materials for to manufacture already and assume people will be buying the .223 and .45?

    • Brilliant is a strong word. That’s precisely what’s going on. I doubt that it’ll work and it strikes me as a bit unethical.

      • Producing an obscure cartridge is “unethical”?

        That’s a novel definition of the word, I’ll give you that.

        • Interesting turn of thought, I agree. WTF is .22TCM? Am I supposed to know?

          Isn’t Pahrump Art Bell’s home town? Aside, I mean, from being a sound the Little Drummer Boy makes?

        • producing a sh!t ton of proprietary ammo to the exclusion of calibers which people already want to buy in an attempt to get them to buy your gun. It’s a dick move.

      • I was attempting to be humorous, not actually suggest it as “brilliant.”

        Whether or not it works, whether or not it was their intent…. time will tell.

      • What’s unethical about it? They do not have an obligation to use their manufacturing capacities to crank out rounds in your preferred calibers, and they don’t force you to buy their guns nor ammo.

      • A manufacturer pushing a proprietary cartridge is nothing new. Doesn’t make sense to invest in the R&D and tooling for their new pistol then quit being the only supplier of ammo.

        I get a chuckle that a company can dump $4 million into new ammo equipment to start cranking out .223 and .45 Auto and people still find something to complain about.

    • Makes sense to me, how many of us have bought new or dusted off our old .38 spl or other less common gun becuase there’s ammo available.

        • Target Masters West in Milpitas California. They’ve had .38 and .357 thru this whole mess. They had 9mm a couple of days ago. Prices have gone up, but it’s there.

  4. Note it says “includes” and not exclusively. Sorry – lawyer weasel argument but it reads they are making other stuff as well. Only a fool wouldn’t make 9mm

    • Since I think they are the largest manufacturer of 1911’s, hence 45ACP and the only manufacturer of the 1911 in 22TCM, I think their basically covering their own with ramping up 45ACP and 22TCM output!

  5. I visited the Armscor site and looked at the press release to make sure it wasn’t a transcription error on the way to the TTAG post…

    “Presently, that includes .223/.556”

    WTF is .556? Is that another one of those micro calibers, like .9mm?

  6. Keeping your proprietary caliber well supplied is smart, especially in times when the smaller guys’ influence on things like 22LR, .223 or 9mm would be like throwing a bucket of water on a nuclear meltdown in terms of effectiveness. There’s money to be made in all calibers nowadays, but if you can make your special caliber less undesirable by actually having appropriate gun food for it, people will get tempted.

    • I would imagine that Armscor is contractually challenged to provide a certain number of .22TCM rounds and just threw that info into their press release. I doubt if they are ramping up the .22TCM production all that much over what they were committed to produce before the great drought of ’13.

      Question: Is Armscor the sole provider of that ammunition? I have not see any on any shelves where I shop and am just curious if they have an exclusive contract.

  8. I think I will start a munitions company and produce nothing but .25 ACP, .45 GAP, and .44 Special. Plus my own proprietary caliber, the .319 Pulatso, a round ballistically identical to the .32 ACP, but requires a propritary firing mechanism that doesn’t exist yet.

  9. Well I hate to sound like a politician but at least they are doing something! I think most companies are going full capacity at the moment. They are moving as quickly as they can, many manufacturers are back ordered for months or even years. I would love to see how many jobs in America were created from our governments actions against our rights. I mean really the whole Obama salesman of the year is not a joke.

  10. Maybe this ammo shortage will make some folks rethink the whole “always buy a gun in common a common caliber because it will always be available” advice for a SHTF type scenario.

    • I agree in the short term, if you’re looking at stocking up for your own purposes.

      I guess I would offer that if things ever go truly ‘sideways’, you’ll want to be able to grab your ammo from whatever field expedient depot there is. Which will generally be the stockpile of some guy who, umm, “no longer has any use for it”. Dollars to donuts he won’t have 5K rounds of .327 Mag.

  11. Lets hope obama doesn’t step in & say they need more ammo for the kids, you know, one for us 2 for hs, one for us 2 for fish & game, Randy

  12. I recently picked up some of their .22 WMR and like 5 boxes of their 10mm. Seems to be nice ammo. Quality, finish, etc is good. Slightly smoky but not horrible. Brass is nice, primers are nice. I’ve run through about 150 rounds of their stuff so far without any issues. Not that I’d expect issues, but it seems to be good ammo and the price is good for the quality.

  13. I’m looking for a .40 cal because the ammo is much more available than 9mm around here, I suppose if I saw piles of a strange caliber for a good price, I might consider buying a gun that shoots it…

  14. Pahrump, NV???? Say that out loud three times…. There has to be an interesting story about how that place got its name.

    • Interesting, but not as much fun as say, “Squaw Peak” in Phoenix.

      Anyway, I used to drive past Pahrump often enough to stop by one time. The name is just a modification of a Native America phrase referring to the multitude of artesian springs in the area.

  15. Armscor is the first ammunition vendor that I have heard of who is fundamentally increasing capacity. I will reward them for their effort and try to purchase their ammo whenever it is available if it is even close to a competitive price.

    Thank you Armscor.

  17. Remember when Polaroid gave their cameras away or were very cheap because they made the money on film.
    Today, a thousand rounds = the price of the gun it shoots (9mm .45) maybe two thousand for an AR.
    If the price was 25 cents a round, the cheap ammo gun would pay for itself and put you in the black pretty quick.

  20. Speaking of .223 and 5.56 mm ammunition, I am hearing about some modest supplies on a couple of store shelves in one of the Midwest states. The .223 stuff is priced at $0.50 per round and the 5.56 mm is priced at $0.60 per round. There was also some .40 S&W target ammunition available as well. Still no .22 LR though.

    • Here in central NC I’ve seen in the last week small quantities (with purchase limits) in big box stores of TulAmmo .223 at 26 cents, Federal XM193 at 42 cents, and Independence 5.56 at 50 cents.

  21. I’ve been to Pahrump, NV three times. That’s where I stay when I take a class at Frontsight Firearms Training Institute.

  24. Why 22TCM? They might as well crank out 300Blackout while they’re at it.

    No one even knows much about 22tcm or owns it. I bet its just a marketing ploy to sell their 22TCM pistols. Never met anyone who even owns that caliber. At least its good to hear they are ramping up 223 and 45ACP production.

  25. Armscor should get serious and do their marketing and product lines like Remington did with the 30 Remington AR. …. ;-\

  28. Great ammunition at a great price. Purchased their 22LR HP and it is the best shooting ammo I’ve ever put through my Henry Golden Boy.

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