What's Going On?

[ggibson511960]

Every now and again I peruse market offerings for 300 H&H ammunition to gauge prices and availability. A well known distributor now offers a box of 20 Federal cartridges, loaded with 180 gr Trophy Bonded bullets at $143. Looking sideways at the same bullet loaded in 300 Win Mag, a box of 20 sells for $77. Of course neither of these is available and no backorder is offered, but the comical disparity in pricing begs the question if Federal is serious about ever again selling 300 H&H or any other caliber less popular than 223 or 9 mm. There seems to be 223 and 9 mm ammunition reappearing for sale, but less popular calibers remain vanished. It's a hypothetical conjecture, but do ammunition companies seriously consider ever offering less popular calibers or is this silly pricing structure a way to rid themselves of manufacturing and stocking complexity? Simple economics dictate a higher price for less popular calibers, but a 100% premium for essentially the same cartridge?

 

[waffles]

Much more money to be made supplying the things that sell (9mm, 223, etc). My understanding is that the less popular loadings are made in batches, and with the popular stuff selling quickly it doesn't make sense to swap tooling and manpower to do runs that will never sell in the same volume. When they get enough of the popular ammo sitting on the shelves they'll switch to the others.

 

[DWalt]

That is true - the ammo manufacturers produce fast turnover calibers like .22 RF, .223, and 9mm 24/7. The slow-selling calibers may be produced only for several months, weeks, or days during any given year in an amount adequate to meet projected market demand. Some 20 years ago during one of my visits to Federal's plant, I saw .35 Remington being produced on one line, and I sort of remember being told that it was scheduled to be produced for only about two weeks during that year.

 

[505Gibbs]

That is true - the ammo manufacturers make calibers like .223 and 9mm 24/7. The slow-moving calibers may be produced only for several months, weeks, or days during any given year in an amount adequate to meet projected market demand.

Amen to this!

 

[Sevens]

How many people are buying .300 H&H?

The number is so small that statistically speaking…, it is so irrelevant that it nearly ceases to exist.

Most of the folks who own something so chambered are either loading their own or they have a boutique supplier producing ammo for them.

It is probably a really bad business decision for an ammunition maker that is one of the largest in the history of humankind to actually use their equipment to make a run of ammo that almost nobody is going to purchase.

 

[quikdraw67]

Try finding .284 Winchester. LOL

 

[Valmet]

There are a handful of commercial sporting cartridges/loads that are nearly impossible. 6mm Rem and .35 Rem come to mind of late.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Here in Denver Metro retail, there is PLENTY of 9mm, .40, 5.56 and 7.62 NATO.

 

[Llance]

.220 swift selling for anywhere from $30.00 to $60.00 a box of 20. I have a hundred rounds for the rifle (Rugar M-77) that I bought for 115.00 total cost for rifle and ammo 230. Cheap shoot'n in my book.

 

[Skeet 028]

Way back yonder I needed some 300 H&H and the fellow I shot with found me some at Lonoke in Rem warehouse so bought 500 rounds.. He also got me a case of 6.5 Rem Mag for a couple of customers. It was warehoused ammo and had been in there for 2 years.. the 6.5 was the last case in the warehouse. I also have some 22 Win RF that was made by CCI. They supposedly make a batch every 5 years or so. In between...rots of ruck!

 

[6string]

All must drink the 9mm/5.56 Kool-Aid

What I find baffling is the sheer lemming-like conformist mentality that compels folks to suddenly look at the 9mm and 5.56mm, both of which have been around for ages, as the do everything cartridges.
It's frightening the power of media to create such lockstep thinking.

But, yeah to the OP, I feel your pain. Same situation for primers and powder.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm thinking supply and demand applies here. (hate those words lol) Like mentioned in this thread, the 300 H&H is becoming obscure while the 300 Win Mag is popular.

Fiocchi is known to make the less popular and older cartridges and at a fair price. You might look on their site from Italy, not the Fiocchi USA site. It's just a guess.

I just looked on the AmmoSeek site and they list an online store that has Remington 300 H&H ammo in stock for $2.50 a round. $50 for a fairly rare ammo isn't all that bad compared to the price you quoted. Several other sites have the ammo for between $3 a round up to $4+ a round.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I feel your pain. I own 6.5 Remington Magnums and a . 348 WCF. The . 348 is actually easier to find than the 6.5 RM. Thankful I've been a reloader forever 40 years.

 

[Skeet 028]

I feel your pain. I own 6.5 Remington Magnums and a . 348 WCF. The . 348 is actually easier to find than the 6.5 RM. Thankful I've been a reloader forever 40 years.

I thought I had gotten rid of all my 348 and I found 2 boxes out in the grudge. One was another "old" box of Win 250 gr Silvertips and one of the newer 348 made When Browning made some repops of the Win 71 a few years back. I even found a box of brass. Didn't take long to be gone for certain.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I'd love to find a box of 250 grain Silver tips just to have them. I have several boxes of factory ammo but it's all newer production stuff, as you said probably from when the repro models were made a few years ago. When I bought my model 71, I did get 8 boxes of new Winchester brass in the old blue and yellow boxes.

 

[Skeet 028]

I'd love to find a box of 250 grain Silver tips just to have them. I have several boxes of factory ammo but it's all newer production stuff, as you said probably from when the repro models were made a few years ago. When I bought my model 71, I did get 8 boxes of new Winchester brass in the old blue and yellow boxes.

Somewhere in all the mess I have is most of a box of Winchester 250 gr STs. One day whoever is cleaning out the stuff will find 'em. Heck yesterday while looking for one of the new Rem 700 triggers I sold on ebay..I found some tins of Alcan 220 gr jacketed 44-40 bullets. A little dented but still neat

 

[Nevada Ed]

300 H&H to "African" ammo being a large custom load is now going to be

like buying "GOLD" from the jewery stores.

If you have a "Specialty" rifle, you havd better reload or have agood paying job.

 

[Cal44]

The asking price for a product that is unavailable is meaningless.

 

[Skeet 028]

A kid....well much younger than me came up today to fix the Security light out in the back...It's a rental from Elec company. While he was here a coyote ran across the road up toward the house...talked with him a bit and he is a reloader. he told me he was making out on components except for LRPs none for a year. ...so before he left I gave him a hundred CCI LRPs(all I could find without going down to the vault). I also told him he could come up and shoot some coyotes. Our chicken flock is down from 16 to 8...and I've shot 2 myself He was happy with both things. BTW the price on the CCI primers was 70 cents. They were older than he was I think and still good!

 

[Rudi]

Still don't see any .38Spl. anywhere.