I *was* so super excited yesterday, having gotten a good deal on a Rock Island Armory (RIA) 1911 (#51421) in .45 ACP with a 7+1. I started paperwork and can pick it up a week from Monday.

I'm not in a rush to buy ammo and don't intend to use it for home defense.

I didn't stop to think why this 1911 went on sale. I think I know at least part of the reason.

However, .45 ACP ammo is in short supply here in Northern California and when I can find it, FMJs are $.80 per cartridge, JHPs are unobtainium.

I'm in California and it's hard to find an FFL to have ammo shipped to (another crazy law that ammo must go through a California FFL that I hope gets overturned), so I'm looking at LGSs.

I'm not set up space-wise or knowledgeable enough to reload.

I'm wondering what a good price point would be to start buying .45 ACP. What are pre-pandemic prices?

Thanks!

Only 45acp ammo I can recall purchasing prior to the panic was during Federal's BIG! Black Pack $ale...

BLACK PACK 45acp 230gr FMJs were around $0.32 each when your total order exceeded some arbitrary level (circa $150 as I recall?) which then included FREE $HIPPING!

I bought the 45s, some 22s, 380acp & (even?) some 9mm because the overall prices were pushing the actual cost to reload them...

Those WERE the days!

Cheers!

I’ve begun using a place in Hollywood Fl. They currently have Winchester 230 gr ball for about .60 a round, shipped, no tax outside FL.

They even run specials every day for ammo and whatever else they sell.

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Sure you did

But will they ship to California?
A growing list of businesses will not.

45 ACP has always been more expensive than 9x19mm and even 40 S&W, mostly due to the fact that the 45 ACP cartridge makes use of more brass, lead, and copper than the smaller calibers. Right now, 45 ACP prices are through the roof due to cost of materials and so much demand for 9x19mm by government and law enforcement agencies as well as civilians. The high demand for 9x19 is forcing manufacturers to reduce production of 45 ACP, as well as most other calibers, in order to focus on 9x19 production.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

[QUOTE=smoothshooter;141534304]But will they ship to California?
A growing list of businesses will not.[QUOTE]

First order of business would be to find a willing FFL. Having secured an FFL, contact Bereli to see.
Or maybe contact Bereli first.

The ammo seller is in FL. I’m guessing they could care less what CA thinks as long as its legal. Seems to be a war going on between the two states.

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Sure you did

You can purchase direct from Norma ...Norma Shooting . They have .45ACP available now for $27.99/50 with free shipping with purchases over $149 . Keep an eye on their site as they had this same ammo available a few weeks ago for $24.99/50 ...one weekend only.
I've made a number of purchases from them over the past year or so and have always had great service.

He's in California, and it sounds like there is no FFL holder close to where he lives.

California does not allow you to just have ammo shipped to your door. You need to have it shipped to an FFL holder and pick it up there.

Find somebody that reloads.

I doubt any ammo prices will get back to pre scam demic.

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No baby we aint

What is the place in Fl?

I wonder what part of California you are in. My friend in Winters bought a CZ pistol and the shop was happy to sell him 40 rounds of some kind of extreme terminator round for $80.
I offered to send him plenty of 9 mm FMJ and some quality hollow points to fire for function. But I would have to send them to his FFL. The local gun shops don’t want to deal with that.


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Forget pre-pandemic prices, it's irrelevant in your case (sorry). You'll have to shop around for the best deals and with gas being what it is in CA trying to save pennies may cost you $$$.

FWIW, my LGS has Federal 100 packs for $56 + tax, the 500 round bulk packs were a little cheaper per round but not by much.

Reloading used to save me big bucks, but now primers are $170/1K before tax. If I'm going to pay $0.35 per round to reload centerfire ammo (18 cents for primer, 12 cents per bullet, 5 cents for powder) I might as well just buy bulk 9mm at that same price--$0.35 per round.

If I run out of large pistol primers I'll just have to shoot more .22, 9mm or *gasp!* I'll have to shoot up my stash of .45 ball, .357 JHP or .38 factory loads.

Giants1, this is the best website I've found for comparison shopping on ammo prices. You can shop by caliber, brand, weight, etc. and filter the results however you want...it's great.

Right now, tonight, they have a link to Blazer Brass 230-gr. FMJ for 42 cents per round...

Good luck to you...

Best Ammo for Finding Ammunition 2022 - Guns Mags Reloading | AmmoSeek.com

That will only get you so far with savings because bullets and primers are still expensive and hard to find, as are some powders.Hang out on any of the reloading forums and you will see what I mean.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

I'm lucky in that I have a good guy to order through that does not charge much and is an all round good guy to deal with. I got a supply of Federal .45 ACP 230gr. +P HST just before things went nuts.

Last boxes I bought earlier this year were .54 cents a round at Cabela's in Fort Worth TX. Can you drive to Vegas?

I normally reload but if I see a decent price I'll buy a few boxes now and then just to build the stash.

Academy here has AE45A for $29.95 (50) and $59.95 (100) +tax. I have a 5% discount (LE) and .60 rd. seems to be a fair price.