Ammo Prices

[jimmyj]

I was visiting a LGS and overheard the manager speaking to a customer concerning ammo prices.
The manager said ammo prices currently were approx $1.00 per round and would go even higher in the future?

 

[s&wchad]

We won't be discussing politics or the upcoming election here. Fair warning...



——————————————————————-

Shelves are bare, but there's a lot of ammo already in circulation. I attended 2 small club swap meets in the past 2 weeks and there was a lot of ammo for sale.

I saw quantities of .223 for 50 cents per round and lots of 9mm for $20/box. .22 LR's are going for $20 - $25 a brick and there's a good supply of that too. I've seen ammo shortages and panic buying enough to know this isn't the time to buy, unless you're running on empty. This too will pass.

 

[Culina]

Lots of things have happened this year that have created demand for guns and ammo, and they keep happening so I think the guy you overheard is correct.

 

[Seamus O'Caiside]

I'm sure he would LIKE to sell ammo for $1 per round, but if you do a little shopping around you can get some varieties for $0.50-0.75.

 

[Turn4811]

By my calculations ammo has doubled in price since this time last year. For those of us who reload primers, cases, powder, and bullets are in short supply and can be a 3 or 4 month back-order with prices about 20 to 40% higher than last year at this time.

On a positive note my 401k has rebounded to the high mark before the market crash. As the wise man said, "we shall see."

 

[Echo40]

Realistically speaking, prices can only go as high as folks are willing to pay, ergo if you refuse to buy ammo at $1 a round and others do the same, then prices will decrease, especially as the supply increases.

Personally, I refuse to pay the currently inflated prices on ammunition, but then again, I have more than enough ammo to get by until prices stabilize. At any rate, I would strongly suggest that ANYONE who is currently buying ammo do their due diligence by shopping around, establishing a baseline for the cost of ammunition, and refuse to do business with scalpers who are price-gouging (i.e. charging well over the going rate) regardless of availability.

Also, I urge people to remain calm, don't give into panic, and buy only what you need. There's no sense in spending in excess on ammunition and giving your money to crooks in the process when it could be better spent on food, water, medical supplies, and fuel. If you want to prep, then you need to learn to do it right by allocating funds towards more immediate necessities/essentials, and realistically speaking you're far more likely to run out of food long before you run out of ammunition. In fact, ammunition is in all likelihood the last thing that anybody is likely to run out of, including hunters, much less your average citizen.
Honestly, I cannot stress this enough, if you already have a decent supply of ammunition in stock, even if it's only a couple of boxes, then don't go spending $1 per round or more on ammunition, it's a waste of money and will only serve to drive up the cost of ammunition even further. I know that tensions are high right now, but if you allow the mere thought of danger to drive you into a a state of panic, then how can you expect to keep your head in the face of an actual threat? Be brave, be smart, and be wise. Remember that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, and that the greatest enemy a warrior can ever face is the fear within. If you can conquer your fear then you can overcome any obstacle, but crumble before it and you've already lost because you cower/flee before mere phantoms of your own imagination.

 

[uncleted327]

Problem is supply isn't predicted to return for a long while. Components are running out and don't look to be available for the time being. Prices will continue to rise until supply is exhausted. There will always be people willing to pay whatever the asking price is due to deep pockets or empty magazines...

 

[Echo40]

Predictions are largely based upon estimations, and any estimate based on skewed statistics is bound to be inaccurate. Demand for ammo has been high ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and it's very likely that the statistics were compiled during the peak of panic buying, at which point many private businesses were shutdown nationwide, this restricting the flow of ammunition/reloading components and ultimately resulting in skewed projections.

Furthermore, depending on the source of the predictions, results could potentially be skewed even further in a deliberate fashion in order to increase profits, even if only as a short term countermeasure devised to makeup for lost revenue during shutdowns.

I could be wrong, but based on my own personal observations, overall availability of ammunition isn't nearly low enough to justify the inflated prices, and I am doubtful that any practical limitations on the availability of ammunition could most likely be made up for within a year so long as ammunition manufacturers continue to ramp up production.

Regardless, the wealthy will undoubtedly continue to buy ammunition even at inflated prices because they can easily afford to do so, but for the average person, the cost of ammunition is exceeding the threshold for affordability. (Honestly, at $1 or more a round, plus tax and especially the cost of shipping and handling online. Even an ordinary box of 50 rounds is painfully pricey.) Anyone who isn't either seriously hurting for ammo or in a severe state of panic is most likely going to pass on buying ammunition.

 

[mattallamerican]

you just have to wait with in 2 yrs it will be back to normal

 

[pasound]

I started stocking up pistol and revolver ammo from SGAmmo over a year ago, after stocking 223 and 22LR from local stores. Now stocked up on primers and powder from Powder Valley and others, and luckily, brass and bullets at Cabelas. Not going to need any for a few years. I'm ready for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Efficient markets are a wonderful thing, and that is exactly what the Internet and online auctions for ammo is giving us.

To a person with one gun and no ammo, $1 a round for a box of 20 or 50 rounds is a small price to pay.

For the person with a box or two of ammo, $400 for one case of 500 rounds might look like a good deal.

For the person with several cases of ammo stashed away, it's a good time to wait for prices to get back to normal, and they will.

 

[cmj8591]

Eventually, supply will catch up to demand or demand will depress to the level of supply. It's not going to take years. more like months. If 9mm ammo goes to 1$ a round, it will stifle demand until the price drops. The average shooter will not be spending 2 0r 300 bucks every week end to shoot up the local sand bank. Then one of two things can happen. The price drops so that the ammo companies can stay in business or they keep the price high and go out of business. OPEC has been operating by those rules as long as they have been in existence. The reason I'm more optimistic than some posters here is because the supply chain is still intact. COVID put the brakes on logistics but once everything gets caught up, ammo will start to reappear. That's why I think months and not years. Forget about the election. It's affect on ammo is just wild speculation at this point regardless of who wins.

 

[peterGun]

6 months from now people will look back wistfully at those $1 a rd good old days.


On line ammo sales will be BANNED

Overseas arms and ammunition supplies will be BANNED, goodbye Wolf

TAXES on ammunition and guns will rise 500%, at least, maybe much, much more

Ammunition licenses with background checks will be required, 100 round limit per month, tracked

Oh yes, its coming

Psssst, hey meester, wanna buy a baggie of 9mm? $5 a bullet, the good stuff, man!
10 bullets, only $50! Govt man don't know u got it, heh heh

Don't forget old Joe said he wants to ban 9mm, that'll be the dagger in the heart for a lot of gun guys.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpikeIDMT]

Don't forget old Joe said he wants to ban 9mm, that'll be the dagger in the heart for a lot of gun guys.

Been to any gun shows lately?

$1 a rd is here, and people are paying it!

 

[scoobysnacker]

An online ammo ban would be a hard blow for me. That, combined with Walmart's decision to get out of the popular defensive rounds, would make a mess of a lot of places.
My local range sold 9mm at $20 a box of 50, BEFORE this all started. They knew they had a captive audience, so if you didn't bring enough, you had to pay. They didn't even carry, say, .32 acp (a fairly popular niche rd with the Beretta and Walther entries), I had to get it from a nearby pawn shop that had 1-2 boxes when I bought my first .32.

Academy would stock a few choices in decent prices, and Jim's, a large gunshop, would have most every caliber (but not at great prices). There's a Bass Pro and a Cabela's in neighboring parishes (counties to you non-Louisiana folk), but when you start figuring in the 40+ minute drive to get to either location (and not knowing what's in stock at what price), my situation gets a bit uncomfortable.

 

[Dave Lively]

An online ammo ban would be a hard blow for me.

Me too. I am old enough to remember having to sign a book when buying handgun ammo and thought the 86 act allowing mail order ammo purchases was a huge improvement.

Banning online sales is one of those things that is easy to say but gets a lot harder when you have to define all the details and pass a law. I am not sure what is meant by an ban on online sales of guns and ammo. Online gun sales have been illegal a long time unless you live in the same state or go through a FFL. And while there are local online trading boards I have never seen anyone ship a gun without going through a FFL even if the buyer is in the same state. Definitely a solution is search of a problem

Any such law would likely end up being implemented so buying ammo online would be like buying a gun online. It would have to go through a FFL who would charge you something. It would have less effect if you make really big purchases and would most hurt those that buy a box or two at a time.

 

[raljr1]

Me too. I am old enough to remember having to sign a book when buying handgun ammo and thought the 86 act allowing mail order ammo purchases was a huge improvement.

And I remember some small town hardware/ variety stores that stopped selling ammo when they had to start asking customers to sign and show their ID to prove their age. One woman owner said she didn't want to have to ask her female customer how old they were.

 

[junglefighter]

I bought 10 bxs.(50) of Fiocchi 44 Spl. from SGAmmo yesterday and with tax and shipping=$40.00 box.Same ammo at gun show this last weekend was $50.00 and some was $60.00 bx.Stores are out of 44 Spl/44 Mag.and this surprises me to be out of this caliber.

 

[pharmer]

On the flip side, manufacturers are hesitant to ramp up to meet demand. Currently, demand is off the charts. Producing "normal" output keeps prices high, inventory low which is most desirable for the "American Business Model." Joe

 

[robrossk]

In my neck of the woods handgun ammo is very scarce (retail shops). I saw ammo in Northern Indiana 3-4 weeks ago at $28 for a box of 9mm range ammo, and same in South Dakota a week ago for $37. There is little or no 380acp, 9mm, 40sw, 38 spec, 357 mag, 44 mag to be found. The local online folks are selling anywhere from $20 to $50 for a box of 9mm, and 223/556 is anywhere from .50 to 1.00 per round. Trading has worked a bit for me (to get more of what I want). Crazy times. We have a show coming up this weekend and I will be going to see face to face what some others have mentioned in this thread.