Newbie wondering how long ammo prices stay high

Carvin said:

Hi all,

I've heard there were price hikes before but this is the first one that has occurred during my brief time shooting. Could some of you who have seen this before venture a guess as to how long ammo prices will remain this high?

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Probably will go down once tp is found on the shelves of the store, vs. on a pallet, one pack per person.

MosinT53Hunter said:

Probably will go down once tp is found on the shelves of the store, ...

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Just a data point, but the paper isle at my grocery store was full this afternoon.

While most shortages don't have much logic behind them, this shortage has even less logic behind it. We're doing it to ourselves by panic buying for no reason. Since most, well at least many, shooting ranges are closed, the actual "need" for ammo isn't there.

I can't predict illogical behavior, but pulling out my crystal ball, I'd expect many folks will be back to work by June, and I'd think the ammo will become more readily available by late summer.

As of today components to make ammo have went up 30%. Prices won’t drop till those come down. The last Obama price hike never dropped to pre Obama prices. I don’t think they will return to pre Coronavirus levels either.

Honestly, online places like Sgammo.com have had ammo in stock and not terribly overpriced, relatively, even now.

But it will be a bit, especially since things will ramp up again come November.

Between the Covid bug and the election, it won't be this year.

Depending on who wins, both the bug and the election, it could be like this for the foreseeable future.

Imho.

ETA: welcome to THR.

Won't come down till after the election, and then, if only Trump wins.

Be a year easy. Even longer if Biden gets in, or the Republicans loose the senate. If you do any amount of shooting, best to roll your own. It is well worth the investment. When an ammo shortage happens, or reloading supplies dry up. You will be glad that you roll your own and were stocked on reloading supplies.
I've only needed to buy .22 lr and 12ga. And with a stash of a bazillion of them on hand, I'm good for the apocalypse. I load for 10 calibers 7 handgun 3 rifle.

Sorry for your unfortunate timing, but I don't think you can time the market in either direction. Take a deep breath, and buy a year's supply from SGAmmo. I'd buy half now, and half by the end of May. If prices drop, add another year's supply in August.

This coming from a guy who starting building a Constitutional Supply during Obama1. I define that as: enough ammo to continue to practice for 2 Presidential terms, with enough left over to contribute meaningfully to the security of my free state. You make your own number.

Carvin said:

Hi all,

I've heard there were price hikes before but this is the first one that has occurred during my brief time shooting. Could some of you who have seen this before venture a guess as to how long ammo prices will remain this high?

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How old are you? This will be the norm for awhile, and if Trump loses we are doomed.

It's hard to predict how long the shortage will last. Maybe a year or two. The key is to build a reserve when the prices stabilize. It's like putting food away during the summer for wintertime when you know food will be scarce. In the gun world, you know there will be an ammo shortage some time in the future.

To bad you cant stock up on gasoline.

2 years or so. Educated guess. Not my first rodeo. Hell not my third.

Prices are about as low as they have ever been....................just bought 1000 RMR plated bullets for .10/ea - not getting any cheaper than that for quality stuff

I'll second the roll your own crowd. Handloading adds another facet to the wonderful world of shooting and makes it relatively easy to keep a solid stock of ammo during down times.

A basic Lee single stage package is less than $200 after you buy some dies and I personally find solace in the peace and repetition of handloading. Might be because that's daddy's "quiet time" in a world of two kids under 4

The ammo market is inverse to the stock market. Both hate uncertainty. During times of crisis, stocks go down, ammo goes up. At least that has been my observation over the past 50 or so years. There are exceptions, but it stays pretty consistent.

When you can believe what you see on the nightly news, ammo prices will come down.

The reason for the current panic is because most people can not trust the BS news agencies. When they say there will be no food shortage, I really wondered if there would be a food shortage!

The media is sickening, out of control propaganda that caused this panic. I believe you should by ammo now because I don’t believe it will ever go back to 2019 prices.

Look for sales. You can still some at decent prices if you look hard.

JTQ said:

Just a data point, but the paper isle at my grocery store was full this afternoon.

While most shortages don't have much logic behind them, this shortage has even less logic behind it. We're doing it to ourselves by panic buying for no reason. Since most, well at least many, shooting ranges are closed, the actual "need" for ammo isn't there.

I can't predict illogical behavior, but pulling out my crystal ball, I'd expect many folks will be back to work by June, and I'd think the ammo will become more readily available by late summer.

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People prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Unlike an election with anti gun people winning it, this panic wasn't based on politics, it was based on fear of the unknown because the world hasn't seen a pandemic like this in a century. Unlike 1918 when people were more self sufficient, nearly all people today depend entirely on a market to buy their food.

When I see the headlines of meat factories shutting down production due to outbreaks and there are fears of shortages, it makes me uneasy because hunger leads people to do wild things to get their fill, especially when few people in the US have ever experienced true hunger and starvation in their lives.

I wouldn't say ammo will be back in August, we don't know if there's going to be a second wave of this virus or not as things re-open because the fact is that 330 million Americans haven't been exposed to this virus yet and have no immunity to it, plus it's election time.

I think this ammo shortage is here to stay for a long time.

Till about 6 weeks to 6 months after the Kung Flu Parade gets over itself . . .

Ammo, unlike TP, is a durable good. SO, after the people go buy a ton of it, 'just in case', the price will go down, the distribution will catch up, as people see no more 'need' to buy a ton of it.

Prices are still normal @ Academy. Sells out quick & gets restocked next shipment.

I purchased a fair bit of reloading supplies online just over a week ago, and was able to find everything I needed at everyday going price (but alot of places were out). I was delighted to find a great sale price on some .45 acp projectiles (before a rebate offer also) with cabelas. Locally although ammo was real thin several weeks ago but improving last week, I didnt see anysignificant changes in prices. I think the more expensive premium rounds left gave an impression that ammo was more expensive. Shop around. And like most of us do when you find a deal/sale, start a little back stock.

JR24 said:

Honestly, online places like Sgammo.com have had ammo in stock and not terribly overpriced, relatively, even now.

But it will be a bit, especially since things will ramp up again come November.

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That's my prediction also. Once we come out of COVID, then election campaigning and political buffoonery will roll things into next year.