Average Joe
Member
Don't buy. When the price gets high enough, people will stop buying, then the price will come down.
Ammunition Costs
- Thread starter QUICK_DRAW_McGRAW
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It's funny how the Fed says inflation is under control yet the cost of everything is going up. US Interest rates have been lowered considerably over the last couple of weeks to bail out Wall Street, expect to see ammo and everything else continue to get more and more expensive as Inflation increases and the value of the US dollar decreases.
M2 Carbine
member
Yes, you're in business.
Wheel weights don't contain any tin, it's too expensive. I believe the lead is hardened with antimony, which requires you to keep the lead a little hotter so it casts a nice filled out sharp edge bullet.
Some times I added a little Line-O-Type to the wheel weights. It seems to make the hot mixture flow better, but I've shot many thousands of plain wheel weight bullets.
One more caution. Never allow any moisture to get in the hot lead.
Years ago I had some battery terminals that I had washed off and let dry for days. When I put one of the terminals in a almost full pot of molten lead the lead exploded upward. There was lead on the ceiling and walls but amazingly nothing but a couple small splashes on my clothes.
There must have been the slightest bit of moisture on that terminal, that instantly turned to superheated steam and blew about ten pounds of 800 degree lead all over that room.
Forty years later, now and then I still find pieces of lead in cracks.
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
I just took up reloading again after a many year hiatus.
Shocking the price for components even but you are right, it helps a lot.
jeff-10
Member
The increases in prices, for everything from gas to ammo, is related more to the devaluation of the dollar than anything else.
Try some inflation calculations, to see what ammo HAS cost in the past.
The year I turned 16 and could finally legally hunt alone, was 1959. I clearly recall asking my Dad for money to buy one box of 12-gauge shells, these being the rock-bottom, low-brass paper hulls with fiber wads etc. The price was exactly $3.13 for 25 rounds. The Ol' Man winced visibly as he gave me the money.
Accounting for inflation to 2006, that old box of ammo costs TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS in today's currency. Walmart sells far better shells than those 1959 models for under $4.00 per 25.
There's no doubt that prices are going up. However, we have had very decent costs for a long time, and it's no surprise to me that ammo is reflecting the higher costs for materials and labor.
Thank Heaven for handloading and bullet-casting!
The year I turned 16 and could finally legally hunt alone, was 1959. I clearly recall asking my Dad for money to buy one box of 12-gauge shells, these being the rock-bottom, low-brass paper hulls with fiber wads etc. The price was exactly $3.13 for 25 rounds. The Ol' Man winced visibly as he gave me the money.
Accounting for inflation to 2006, that old box of ammo costs TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS in today's currency. Walmart sells far better shells than those 1959 models for under $4.00 per 25.
There's no doubt that prices are going up. However, we have had very decent costs for a long time, and it's no surprise to me that ammo is reflecting the higher costs for materials and labor.
Thank Heaven for handloading and bullet-casting!
XD-40 Shooter
Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2007
- Messages
- 912
The skyrocketing price of ammo pushed me into reloading, in early 2006. If I had to pay factory ammo prices for 40 S&W or 357 mag, I'd be out of business. Fortunately, I have several thousand rounds of 40 S&W and 357 mag, that were loaded for less than $6/50.
ThomasT
Member
Trbon if you haven't bought your casting stuff yet look at the Lee molds. They are all i have and they cast good bullets. Not the prettiest but good serviceable bullets for shooting. I have killed one Elk with a 54 caliber Lee bullet and won a shelf full of trophies shooting falling plate matches with their bullets.
You can buy their molds reasonable and the sizers work well also. Never cast bullets barefooted. Trust me on this.
Check your local scrap yard for linotype. You can drop hot bullets in a 5 gallon bucket of water to harden them.
I use the Lee liquid alox lube but lately have started using Rooster Jacket, a waxy lube and the stuff is great for pistol bullets. It dries in less than an hour also.
You can buy their molds reasonable and the sizers work well also. Never cast bullets barefooted. Trust me on this.
Check your local scrap yard for linotype. You can drop hot bullets in a 5 gallon bucket of water to harden them.
I use the Lee liquid alox lube but lately have started using Rooster Jacket, a waxy lube and the stuff is great for pistol bullets. It dries in less than an hour also.
Cesiumsponge
Member
Everything is skyrocketing. Don't forget the US dollar is continuously being devalued by arbitrary quantities of money being printed without a backing value, and borrowing copious sums of money from other countries.
Better start investing in the peso or Canadian loon as well as reloading equipment
Up here in Washington, Canadians are coming down HERE to buy goods for cheaper. It has always been the other way around since I was a kid.
Better start investing in the peso or Canadian loon as well as reloading equipment
Up here in Washington, Canadians are coming down HERE to buy goods for cheaper. It has always been the other way around since I was a kid.Gordon, 5 years ago, the average price of 9mm JHP to a law enforcement agency, was probably closer to $7 a box of 50....., (it was under $6 on the CA contract). Today it's in the 12-15 a box range for them. What the dealers and distributors sell the LE marked product for, doesn't correlate to what the PD's are paying for it.
Ammunition prices have gone up for a combination of reasons, rising raw materials, labor, supply and demand, due to shortages because of miltary contracts, etc. But as Bruce pointed out, compared to 20, 30, or even 40 years ago, ammunition is still cheap in comparison to most other goods and services.
"Try some inflation calculations, to see what ammo HAS cost in the past.
The year I turned 16 and could finally legally hunt alone, was 1959. I clearly recall asking my Dad for money to buy one box of 12-gauge shells, these being the rock-bottom, low-brass paper hulls with fiber wads etc. The price was exactly $3.13 for 25 rounds. The Ol' Man winced visibly as he gave me the money.
Accounting for inflation to 2006, that old box of ammo costs TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS in today's currency. Walmart sells far better shells than those 1959 models for under $4.00 per 25.
There's no doubt that prices are going up. However, we have had very decent costs for a long time, and it's no surprise to me that ammo is reflecting the higher costs for materials and labor.
Thank Heaven for handloading and bullet-casting!"
I agree with you about the cost of ammo years ago and how it is comparatively much cheaper today. This is more than likely due to many more companies producing ammo over the years and the sheer volumes produced which would bring the prices down considerably.
What I have noticed is when I used to compare US ammo prices to Canadian ammo prices, in the past the US prices were considerably cheaper. Now when I compare prices, ammo is either the same or cheaper here in Canada. This is significant considering there are probably allot more stores selling ammo in the US than there are here in Canada so more competition should equal better prices.
In my opinion, the only thing that I believe would explain the fact that the prices are so much closer now would be higher Inflation in the US and a weakening US dollar. The Canadian dollar used to be only worth .65 cents to the US but is now equal to the US dollar. This should be a concern to all Americans as the Federal reserve continues to print money and lower interest rates in the face of rising inflation and a dropping US dollar.
The year I turned 16 and could finally legally hunt alone, was 1959. I clearly recall asking my Dad for money to buy one box of 12-gauge shells, these being the rock-bottom, low-brass paper hulls with fiber wads etc. The price was exactly $3.13 for 25 rounds. The Ol' Man winced visibly as he gave me the money.
Accounting for inflation to 2006, that old box of ammo costs TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS in today's currency. Walmart sells far better shells than those 1959 models for under $4.00 per 25.
There's no doubt that prices are going up. However, we have had very decent costs for a long time, and it's no surprise to me that ammo is reflecting the higher costs for materials and labor.
Thank Heaven for handloading and bullet-casting!"
I agree with you about the cost of ammo years ago and how it is comparatively much cheaper today. This is more than likely due to many more companies producing ammo over the years and the sheer volumes produced which would bring the prices down considerably.
What I have noticed is when I used to compare US ammo prices to Canadian ammo prices, in the past the US prices were considerably cheaper. Now when I compare prices, ammo is either the same or cheaper here in Canada. This is significant considering there are probably allot more stores selling ammo in the US than there are here in Canada so more competition should equal better prices.
In my opinion, the only thing that I believe would explain the fact that the prices are so much closer now would be higher Inflation in the US and a weakening US dollar. The Canadian dollar used to be only worth .65 cents to the US but is now equal to the US dollar. This should be a concern to all Americans as the Federal reserve continues to print money and lower interest rates in the face of rising inflation and a dropping US dollar.
Gordon Fink
Member
Take Federal Hydra-Shok ammunition in the 9×19mm flavor. A box of 20 (consumer package) costs about $17, but a box of 50 (law-enforcement package) costs only about $20. I’m sure that wholesale prices are lower in both cases, but my point was that not all ammunition has appreciated at the same rate.
~G. Fink
~G. Fink
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
THAT one you can blame on tort lawyers and liability insurance companies.
Massad Ayoob article: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob108.html
Ammo expense
Ammunition, particularly ammunition for practice or competitive shooting, is a commodity. Like soybeans. You can invest in soybean futures but not in ammo futures. If you could have invested in ammunition futures in 2006, you would have become rich in 2007. This was when ammo prices went through the roof.
...
As I write this, a copy of the 1986 Gun Digest is sitting next to the computer on the desk where I’m working. It lists 115 grain 9mm full metal jacket ammo at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $22.50 for a box of 50 cartridges. Today’s price for the same stuff is $16 for twice that amount? Let’s have a little perspective here. The same publication lists .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) jacketed hollow point (JHP) defense rounds at $26.05 for a box of 50. Today, just outside Chicago, I spotted Winchester USA brand 230 grain JHP at a bit less than that for the same sized box at a Dick’s Sporting Goods chain outlet. 21 years of inflation later, I can’t honestly complain about that.
Ammo expense
Ammunition, particularly ammunition for practice or competitive shooting, is a commodity. Like soybeans. You can invest in soybean futures but not in ammo futures. If you could have invested in ammunition futures in 2006, you would have become rich in 2007. This was when ammo prices went through the roof.
...
As I write this, a copy of the 1986 Gun Digest is sitting next to the computer on the desk where I’m working. It lists 115 grain 9mm full metal jacket ammo at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $22.50 for a box of 50 cartridges. Today’s price for the same stuff is $16 for twice that amount? Let’s have a little perspective here. The same publication lists .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) jacketed hollow point (JHP) defense rounds at $26.05 for a box of 50. Today, just outside Chicago, I spotted Winchester USA brand 230 grain JHP at a bit less than that for the same sized box at a Dick’s Sporting Goods chain outlet. 21 years of inflation later, I can’t honestly complain about that.
ScottG1911
Member
What do yall think them Democrats are going to do ban your guns, no way. They are going to tax our ammo and ban all they can. stock up
Ammunition prices are going to be the LEAST of your worries if what I think is going to happen, happens. Stagflation was bad in the 70's, but the way things are going now, I think we're going to be in a whole new world of economic hurt.
Count your blessings, mate. The cost of ammo right now is bloody cheap when considered in the light of global metal commodity prices, the price of oil, and the relative value of the dollar.
Basically, I think the ammo we're buying now is the last of anything even remotely cheap. From this point on, it starts becoming difficult to find - because it's too expensive to produce. It's already getting to the point where people who would've bought a case of ammo a year ago will only buy a box or two - not only because of the increased ammo prices, but because of the prices that have gone up across the board.
Basically, I think the ammo we're buying now is the last of anything even remotely cheap. From this point on, it starts becoming difficult to find - because it's too expensive to produce. It's already getting to the point where people who would've bought a case of ammo a year ago will only buy a box or two - not only because of the increased ammo prices, but because of the prices that have gone up across the board.
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