Y'all ain't seen nothin' yet. I agree its shocking, but extreme examples are everywhere. Back when I was really getting cooking with my .45-70, I went to a gun show downstate. It had a lot of ammo tables, for whatever reason. Most were gunshops dumping their excess (about 1990.) I was looking for supplies, not factory ammo. But on one table the guy had a stack of .45-70 Remington ammo. He wanted $4.50 a box, but told me if I took all 10 boxes, he'd let me have it for $4. My gawd that was a lot, $.20 a round! But on the other hand, it wasn't very expensive for brass. So I bought it. My buddy helped me lug it and everything else out to the car.
Looking at ammo prices, I see its about $35.50 a box today. Just garden grade pumpkins goin' down range.
12 years ago (and 3 weeks), I turned 50. While generally happily married, with self supporting sons, I still realized no one was going to give me anything of any value for my Bday. Its my job to give out worthwhile presents. At the half century point, I realized that if I was ever going to get anything decent for a Bday, it was going to come from me. So I splurged a bit. I bought myself a genuine Weatherby. Not that I really like the brand, nor am I fooled about it. But there on the gunshop shelf was a .30-378. It was a big boomer, noise wise. The shop would only sell me 2 boxes of ammo at $80 a box of 20.
Much like the .458 I had, I understood most guns and people never burn up even one box of ammo due to recoil. But I was persistent. We went to the Shooter Warehouse (I think) in Salt Lake a few months later. The guy had a stack of the stuff at a discount, and virgin brass for half as much. I stocked up. Now I see the same loaded ammo is about $120 a box of 20, or $6 an eardrum splitting round. Hint: wear earplugs under your earmuffs!
And padlock your wallet.
Those of us who have been in the game a long time are just amused by all this fixation on pricing. But even the components are costly to replace. Just my boxes of 50 Barnes bullets (180 grain) are selling for over $30 a box of 50, and you've got to supply your own brass and powder.
And now you see why I haunt the gunshows. Looking at the tables staffed by good ole country boys. From time to time I spot and buy boxes of .308 bullets. Sometimes they apologize for charging me $10 for a box of 100. Its the same price marked on the Sierra or Speer box from 20 years ago, give or take. Pride has no place in today's economy.
If the component is in good shape, and cheap, its time to buy.
On a related note.....The family farm gun was an 1873 Sringfield. it was bought surplus for about $1.50 back in the very early 1900s. The ammo was nearly as expensive as the gun. Great big old nickel shells, inside primed. I've got one. They look like huge rimfire shells. Those were as expensive as the rifle for a box of 20. Used for shooting hogs and beefs. These days they use 22s for the same duty!
Its amusing because in 1990 when I was paying $4 for a box of commerical ammo it was only twice as much as the Gummit wanted in 1906.
The rule here: buy when you can, don't burn up all your ammo, save for a rainy day.
