$$$ Ammo as an investment

This is a very poor idea, in my not all that humble opinion. The unknowns about the future of the ammunition market are legion, and it's not like there's an ammunition trading desk. It is not outside the realm of possibility that at some point, ammunition sales between private parties will be heavily regulated, to the point of making them near impossible . . .

Backlighting said:
A friend recently told me he will be spending $10,000 acquiring ammo to be stored as an investment.
We both discussed which calibers and agreed the most popular (most in demand) would be prudent. That included 22lr.,9mm, .45ACP and 5.56.
How much the investment will increase is any body's call.
Definitely better, we agreed, than cd's, which are yielding a pathetic approx 1.25% APY
The page you tried was not found.
Better than gold or silver bars/coins?
There you might be rolling the dice?
Stocks? same as above.

We all know that in a country wide economic meltdown, resulting in rioting and looting, ammo would command a hefty premium from what you paid for it...
and just look at how the cost of ammunition has increased in the last few yrs. without any meltdown.
Just keep a sufficient amount of rounds/calibers you own firearms in.

Thoughts, anyone?
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GatorFarmer said:
I sold my old stash of ammo and mags. Ammo is heavy and a real nuisance to move around.

You have to know your market. I can't imagine some of the folks I used to sell to meeting in a police station. Not because they were criminals, rather because the people who constantly squirrel away ammo, regardless of price, tend to be wary of the government.

Anyway, one guy can't defend a big stash. It is different if you have a family and a compound, or even a gang. But if things are ever bad enough for ammo to really be at a premium, and you lack the experience and street smarts that come from experience dealing with illegal and high demand products...well you won't last long.
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My best friends dad back in the Clinton years buried ammo and firearms all over his property (7 cans and tubes). Because he was worried about the Government seizing/banning - firearms/ammo.

12 years later when he passed away... My friend and his brother only found 2 out of the 7 stashes before they sold the property.

So much for the government taking it away. He just gave it away for free.
 
Depends on the price he can get it for and how important the $10,000 is to him. I wouldn't bet my retirement on ammo, but assuming it is a small fraction of his portfolio it isn't the worst investment out there.
The holding cost are minimal unless he's has to move it. I'd look into buy milsurp ammo meant for long term storage to minimize the chance of contamination.

In reality $10,000 of ammo isn't that much. Ask anyone who shoots full auto regularly.

Thankfully the market has almost returned to normal and reasonable deals can still be found. If I was buying 10K in ammo I'd buy half now and try to get a better deal once 22lr drops a little more.
 
In many cities, you must have a license to sell ammo for profit.

If I owned a gun shop with a storefront, investing 10 grand on ammo might be a good thing. But maybe not. How long will you sit on it? How much will it appreciate? How much will it cost to store it?

Ammo prices have increased recently. But not that much. One may have to sit on that ammo for ten years to make a profit. Unless you intend to gouge people. After word gets out you probably won't sell it all. But then again people are stupid so you just might.

Having said the above makes me realize that there are too many variables involved. If I have that kind of money I would buy the ammo for personal use.
 
If I has $10K sitting around with all other needs satisfied, I would invest in ammunition as well. My modest portfolio contains no stock market hinged investments any longer; been burnt over the years every time I was paper rich. Tangibles are my choice, be it real estate, precious metals, ammunition, etc. I leave dollars and gold alone as well. If the economy falters, what would a dollar be worth, the full faith of the United States government? And I would have better bartering power at the grocery store with nice clean .45 ACP or Morgan silver dollar than I would with a Krugerrand (which I view as hard to make change for). So many investments hinge on the stability of the dollar to extract a value, and the stability of the dollar is my largest concern. Call me a pessimist or whatever.... this is just MY humble opinion and I impose it upon no one else.
 
A true country wide meltdown doesn't seem very likely to me. But we
will see an increase of social unrest and tension. The key to making a
profit on anything is to buy it right to begin with. Basic ARs like the
DPMS and S&W Sport have been on sale for $500 or even less lately.
$10,000 would buy 20 NIB ARs which would seem to seem to be a
sure bet for a profit at some point in the future.
 
Back when I started to plan my retirement, I bought ammo, powder, primers, etc every Saturday or every trip to Walmart. I still have 9mm Blazers I paid $4 per box for and Federal bulk packs of 22lr I paid between $8.50 and 12.00 for. I could have sold ammo back during the latest situation and "made" money. However, I thought how would I replace what I sold?

I want to keep a certain amount of ammo on hand. I shoot and then reload or buy to keep at that level, although I am not exactly sure what that level is. I can foresee when it might be good barter material.
 
In a very sour world event..
If he thinks he will turn ammo
into Gold coins he is wrong.

BECAUSE.. the guy with the gold coins
will hire enough mopes to go take his ammo.
Ammo is the Last asset you ever sell much
less advertise it for sale in dire times.

Split it 5K ammo 5K silver/grub....
 
Muss Muggins said:
This is a very poor idea . . . It is not outside the realm of possibility that at some point, ammunition sales between private parties will be heavily regulated, to the point of making them near impossible . . .
Click to expand...

This is what I would worry about as an investment. Some day, we might get away with being able to hold onto the ammo we've bought, but selling it could be an entirely different matter.

As for when the SHTF - If things ever get that bad, I'd prefer to have food stockpiled rather than gold or ammo. I'd want a little gold and ammo, but the hardest thing to come by is going to be food, water and energy (gas, electric, . . .).

I'd bet the odds of making any money is slim.
 
Ammo is not an investment. When I bought my first 9mm handgun around 1990, the Dow was 2500 and you could buy a box of 9mm for around $7 (There was a bit of a panic then too, as I recall, so it may have gone lower in the meantime. Now the Dow is over 17,000 and you can buy a box of 9mm for $10. Do the math. Now do the math again, factoring in the discount you'll take on 25 year old ammo. Ammo that's not sellable at the factory fresh price, but not old enough to bring a collectible price.
 
Let me know if your friend knows of a bank that will allow him to use the ammo as an asset, or collateral.... Then we might be on to something.....
 
Big Stick said:
Let me know if your friend knows of a bank that will allow him to use the ammo as an asset, or collateral.... Then we might be on to something.....
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If there's a meltdown, like the Great Depression, there won't be any banks open. Just look what recently happened in Greece.
 
If total societal collaspe occurs, the short list of priceless commodities will include ammunition. The extent that makes you rich vs makes you a deceased victim will be determined only in the happening.

If your friend/ his family are shooters, they can eventually use the ammo in regular training/ recreational shooting.

If looking for an investment in the context of buy reasonably cheap, and sell reasonably high, the timing is off . The prices are too high to buy cheap. If he had a time machine, he should have bought 3 years ago. At this point, when .22lr hits $25/ 500 or 9mm $5/ 50 , then start buying 10K rounds at a time as an investment.
 
RJJ 1971 said:
Investment to make profit = who knows if it's a good idea...

Investment to ensure you and your family can practice fundamentals and maybe eventually depend on, in a bad situation = good idea.
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Correct! :) Sometimes you invest to make money over time and sometimes you invest to save money over time. Investing in ammo, when you can buy it right, falls mainly into the latter category. :cool:

reddog81 said:
In reality $10,000 of ammo isn't that much.
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Also correct. :) Depending on what rounds you chose to buy and cost per round, I could spend that much money and still be well under my moonbat nanny state's "no storage permit required" limits. :cool:

JH1951 said:
If I has $10K sitting around with all other needs satisfied, I would invest in ammunition as well.
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I would too. The key here being "all other needs satisfied" and not putting yourself into logistical or legal jeopardy in any way. Pallets of toilet paper might be just as good an investment with very little legal risk, but it takes up way too much space. ;)
 
I don't see it as an investment. Everyone has some sort of Mad Max senerio going on from watching too many movies. And if you think a ban on say green tip 556 is going to create some kind of havoc...it wont. There will be an initial spike then it will settle down and people will still continue to buy and sell green tip 556 cause of how much there is already. This has been proven twice. Once with Chinese 7.62x39 and just recently with 5.45x39.

Chinese 7.62x39 is now considered collectable and is worth slightly more than 308 range ammo. That's after 22 years. Surplus 5.45 had an small initial run but despite being banned there is still so much of it that the prices really weren't effected considering that we also had 2 panics. Prices are about $50 more than they were 10 years ago and a can of 1080 rounds is about $200
 
Arik said:
Everyone has some sort of Mad Max scenario going on from watching too many movies.
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I haven't watched a Mad Max movie (or anything similar) since the original back in 1979. :) Check out this sub-forum for the crazy kinds of nonsense driving me: http://smith-wessonforum.com/2nd-amendment-forum/

I still remember the great ammo shortage and price spikes of 2013. And look at all that's happening after just one successful terrorist attack within our borders... when it's a near certainty that a whole lot more of them will be coming. :(

Investment for profit? No. Investment to avoid what I believe are crazy laws, shortages and price spikes coming? Yes.
 
You will be lucky to beat inflation over the long haul. Ammo like most gun related things are a bad investment.
 
TTSH said:
Oh Dear Lord!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Please don't let my wife read this post!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

She will leave me for certain! :(
Click to expand...

I always joke one of my greatest fears after I die is that my wife will sell all my guns for "what I told her i paid for them". ;)
 
TTSH said:
I haven't watched a Mad Max movie (or anything similar) since the original back in 1979. :) Check out this sub-forum for the crazy kinds of nonsense driving me: http://smith-wessonforum.com/2nd-amendment-forum/

I still remember the great ammo shortage and price spikes of 2013. And look at all that's happening after just one successful terrorist attack within our borders... when it's a near certainty that a whole lot more of them will be coming. :(

Investment for profit? No. Investment to avoid what I believe are crazy laws, shortages and price spikes coming? Yes.
Click to expand...

This is why you should dollar cost avg your ammo buying. Buy a certain $$$ amount every month like clockwork. Set a par, for example enough 9mm to last a year of regular shooting, for each caliber or round you shoot and keep it at that level. I also buy in bulk in order to drive the unit cost down.

Get the best deal you can each month so that you are spreading the cost over a timeframe so that the spikes don't hurt you as much and you are not constantly guessing the market. Yes you will buy some ammo at higher prices but you also won't miss the lows. You also keep up with your pars so when a real shortage happen you don't have to buy and can wait it out.

I did not buy much ammo from late 2012 to early 2014. Some here and there when I found a good deal but I never ran out. I still have a few thousand rounds of 22LR from pre 2013 purchases.

This type of investing in ammo make sense to me. For a profit not so much.
 
Arik said:
I don't see it as an investment. Everyone has some sort of Mad Max senerio going on from watching too many movies. And if you think a ban on say green tip 556 is going to create some kind of havoc...it wont. There will be an initial spike then it will settle down and people will still continue to buy and sell green tip 556 cause of how much there is already. This has been proven twice. Once with Chinese 7.62x39 and just recently with 5.45x39.

Chinese 7.62x39 is now considered collectable and is worth slightly more than 308 range ammo. That's after 22 years.
Click to expand...

Chinese 7.62x39 is collectable? Seriously? Hadn't heard about
that. Some of us may still have a stash of Chinese 7.62x39.
What's the soure of information?
 
If you bought ammo when 7.62x39 was 99 a case and 223 was 139 a case you could make money . I wouldnt tell every one you have it when they try and take it or make you get an licence to even have that much . I think the time is coming now you wont even be able to buy a case of what ever you want .
 
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