AMMO ?????

[Dave Lively]

Get use to the new normal.....

If 2021 is less crazy than 2020 prices will decline but it may take a few years.

I check my records and looked up a few price points for Speer Lawman 9mm FMJ after the last big shortage which started in 2013.

2013 - Wasn't shooting a lot this year, ammo was nearly impossible to find so I was shooting ammo from before the shortage.
2014 - $270/case late summer.
2015 - $240/case in the early summer, $200 later in the year.
2016 on - A slow decline to the very low prices everyone now thinks are normal with some fluctuations.

This shortage is worse so the effects will probably linger. And if many of the new gun owners become shooters there is going to be more demand.

After looking at this I am a little more pessimistic than I was before. I am guessing about a year before 9mm becomes widely available for less than $300/case and another couple of years before it approaches $200/case. Unless 2021 is a repeat of 2020 in which case all bets are off.

 

[Jdavis]

I have a pretty good supply but, I'm always looking for more which has proven to be difficult. Prices locally are way up and mostly more than I want to pay. It kind of puts a kink in range time. I hate to do much shooting because of all the uncertainty and who knows if or when I could replace it.

 

[PeteC]

...I hate to do much shooting because of all the uncertainty and who knows if or when I could replace it.

That is sort-of my feeling also. I have what I consider I "need" as far as self-defense ammo goes, but range ammo at 50 cents+ per round is a bit expensive for my wallet. I've been shooting my 22s a lot this summer, and acquired a couple I had wanted for some time. Anything like 38spl and up, is just not affordable if I go through a couple boxes per visit to the range... to add insult to injury, my favorite local supplier of HBWC is out of stock... LOL!

Local (midwest) prices are not horrible compared to what I am seeing online, but still high.

At the last show:

9mm range ammo (Federal 115gr FMJ) was $100/150 boxed, and $60/100 bulk..38 spl range ammo was around 33~40 cents/round. CCI Mini Mag, $16/100 or $75/500.

 

[ancient-one]

If 2021 is less crazy than 2020 prices will decline but it may take a few years.





After looking at this I am a little more pessimistic than I was before. I am guessing about a year before 9mm becomes widely available for less than $300/case and another couple of years before it approaches $200/case. Unless 2021 is a repeat of 2020 in which case all bets are off.

I hope that you are right but I don't think that it will ever get back to the $200-300 case range. Again, I hope that you are right and I am wrong. If things go the wrong way we may not even be able to buy ammo.

 

[Dave Lively]

I hope that you are right but I don't think that it will ever get back to the $200-300 case range.

Why not?

If the ammo manufacturers were making money at that price last year I don't see why they cannot do so in the future. Its not like they were giving it away last year. If there really is a permanent increase in demand they would have to build more capability which would take time but they could do that.

 

[Ruger Nut]

I got a text last night from Target Sports that they had Federal white box 9mm range ammo in stock at $299 for 500 rounds. It's still there now if you want it.

It's the same stuff you could get at the beginning of the year for $10/box of 50. It's really unfortunate. The pendulum will swing again though.

Not if we're singing the "BLUES" in Novermber.

 

[ancient-one]

Why not?

If the ammo manufacturers were making money at that price last year I don't see why they cannot do so in the future. Its not like they were giving it away last year. If there really is a permanent increase in demand they would have to build more capability which would take time but they could do that.

I was thinking along the terms of manufacturing and sales restrictions which would increase the costs. It could happen.

 

[robrossk]

Timing is everything. I went to my local Bass/Pro for an order pickup last Thursday. Decided to check the ammo shelves just for the heck of it. To my surprise they had both 9mm and 40SW. This is after seeing empty shelves for months. I bought 9mm target ammo for $14, and 40SW for $17 (5 boxes of each).

 

[Johnrh]

Get use to the new normal.....just like our parents did when gas went to over a buck a gallon. I remember as a teenager when we had gas rationing in the mid 70s taking our cars to the gas station and waiting in line to buy .36 cent guess.....never went back to those days in my parents life time.....better in my lifetime but I don't see ammo getting cheaper while I am alive....maybe for my kids but now for us that are mid 60s and up.....

Wow that was expensive. I lived in Tucson in the late 60's. We were told Tucson was a dumping ground for excess gas in CA, yup CA. We paid 25 cents a gallon.

When i was a kid in the 50's and early 60's I remember my mother and father going into the gas station and ordering a dollars worth. Plus you got your oil checked and front window washed. Now I can't even get my Gf to wash the window let alone check the oil and I have to pump my own gas too. And the gas smelled nicer too.

Oh, I forgot, this is an ammo price thread. Ammo is too expensive, that should cover it.

 

[Doug M.]

This is why prudent shooters buy ammo whenever they see a decent price and get case lots at a minimum. It's been several months since I bought ammo (for a rifle that is still on order). I generally buy in bulk. I think my personal record is 12,000 rounds delivered to my office a few years ago.