FMJ cost gone up???

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Steve H

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I haven't bought any 45 FMJ bullets for at least 3 years. I always buy in bulk of at least 500 or 1000 at a time. I was just looking around the net and I'm seeing prices of $0.14 - $0.18 per bullet today. Seems even plated are a bunch higher. Did I miss a big price increase or is old age letting me forget the prices from a few years ago? Maybe its finally time to start using lead.
 
NO, it is true!!

Metal prices continue to go up, and always will.

The rest of the world is becoming industrialized and no longer use stone tools, ride donkeys, and burn dung for light & heat.
Now they have electricity, cars, TV's, and cell-phones.

That creates a huge worldwide demand for copper wire, lead for battery plates, etc.

rc
 
You noticed that too?

I had to tap into saving today to replenish the checking account.

My wife & I's Social Security cut it for several years, but it isn't cutting it anymore.

rc
 
How can metal prices go up when my retirement check hasn't?

Actually, metal prices have come down off their highs.
Lead was $1.60 five years ago...today it's $1.00.
Copper was $4.50 2 years ago...today it's $3.62.

The spike in bullet prices has more to do with supply and demand exacerbated by manufacturer greed.
 
Actually, metal prices have come down off their highs.
Lead was $1.60 five years ago...today it's $1.00.
Copper was $4.50 2 years ago...today it's $3.62.

The spike in bullet prices has more to do with supply and demand exacerbated by manufacturer greed.

I think a lot of the bullet companies claimed bullet prices though.

230Gr. Cast .45 went from $35 for 500 to $60 for 500 right around the 2008 firearm supply rush though. Prices never have come down from that...but I am not sure they have gone up much since then either.

I am a state government employee. We haven't gotten a raise since 2007, yet our health care, retirement contributions and parking fees continue to rise, so as cost of living goes up, our take home pay goes down.
 
If you look back several decades though, ammo and component prices haven't tracked with the price of raw materials for some time. The price of copper and lead have steadily increased for a long time while the price of ammo and components stayed relatively stable. Until around 2008 the price of ammo and components did not even increase with the rate of inflation and were getting cheaper in real dollars. Enter the large spike in demand for ammo and components in 2008 along with the sharp spike in copper and lead prices at that same time and the market "corrected" to a real valuation for lack of a better term.
 
The cost of just about everything goes up every year.
even if the metal has gone down a bit, the workers that
make the bullets want raises because the cost of gas
and groceries has gone up. The fed keeps printing money
and devalues whats in our wallets. then there are other
increased costs such as complying with obamacare, and
increased costs with the EPA reguarding lead pollution
contaminants. The raw material is usually only one factor
in the overall price of a finished product.
 
One of the popular US "bullet" manufacturers said , the lead and copper for their plated bullets HAVE gone up. Constrictor (above) is also correct that shipping prices have gone up dramatically.

What has gone 'down' or even stayed the same in price in recent years?
 
Well, guess it's off to the tire shop to scavenge for a little lead. I don't have to pay freight on that and the labor cost here is minimal and winter is here so the heat will be good while i'm casting.
 
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