7.62x39 ammo pricing and my bucket of change.

[jagdpanzer347]

For a while now it looked like 7.62x39 ammo MAY be going to come down in price. Availability has been far, far better than it was this time a year ago. However, while perusing some ammo vendors on the web, Wolf seems to have gone up about fifteen percent. Cabelas has it for two hundred bucks a case! Now granted, I haven't found ammo pricing at Cabelas to be that great anyway. Midway shows pricing at around one seventy-five per K. I was hoping it might get back to around one-twenty or so. The glory days of buying it at eighty bucks a case are obviously in the past.

Ammo pricing rant off. I keep this bucket that I throw my spare change in. I've been throwing it in there for a WHILE. Cashed it in today, and low and behold, I had two hundred and twenty-five bucks. Promptly drove up to AIM and bought a case each of Brown Bear and Golden Tiger. A hundred and fifty a case each. It was kinda' like buying it for less than a hundred bucks. At least that's how I rationalized it. Anyway, if you need some x39, buy soon or be gouged even further.

-jagd

 

[Daemon688]

Maybe I should consider unloading all my wolf ammunition on the market? I bought about 7k rounds in 2004 and IIRC it was only $89.95 for a 1000. I still have lots of it lying around the house.....mostly because I don't have the time to shoot.

 

[WinchesterAA]

DAEMON! before you do that buddy sell me a couple grand!

or if the price is right, all of it! I have tons of time to shoot and nothing to shoot with!

 

[Shweboner]

ever consider reloading?

 

[270Win]

I remember when x39 was down at about $75.00 per 1000 if you looked around a little.

This current $180 per 1000 (average price, I think) is just crazy. And no one can come up with a solid, convincing reason for the price jump.

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

Increase in the price of metals is a part of the reason, but that is only reflected in the price increase of pistol ammunition; ex. WWB at Walmart going from $10 to $12...it does not explain the doubling in price of military cartridges. The GWOT is no explaination either. Nor is a few large orders that Russia filled.


People can laugh at me all they want - I say there's foul play involved.

 

[darkknight]

i heard it was because the war in iraq that wolf is selling most its ammo to them so thats why their is a shortage. not saying thats the truth but its what i hear aim surplus is selling it for 139 a 1000 i think

 

[rbernie]

I have 1000 rounds coming in from SportsmansGuide. After discounts, it came to $150/1000 shipped to my door. Without discounts, it'd be about $175/1000.

 

[ZeSpectre]

$162.00/1000rds out the door at the local gunshow last month. I don't shoot the SKS much so that should last me a LOOONG time. Course if the price dumped I suspect I'd be buying more just to stockpile.

I know y'all used to get much better prices than this back when, but it doesn't seem so bad to me coming from $300/1000 rounds of .357 magnum

 

[Coronach]

The real question is whether or not the lowlowlow prices before were an accurate reflection of the "real" price of the ammo, or due to a major glut in supply for some reason or another. In other words, the current "inflated" prices could just be the result of a correction in the market, and more accurately reflect what the stuff "should" cost.

I dunno.

Mike

 

[MD_Willington]

I remember when x39 was down at about $75.00 per 1000 if you looked around a little.

We did a group buy of around 3K rounds at 65/1000 probably around 2004...

 

[hagar]

The main reason ammo is so expensive, is that everybody is quaking in their boots that Pelosi and the Democrat scum is going to ban ammo and guns, and they are running their little legs off to get the last overpriced battlepack that they can. The quickest way to bring the price down is to have a "don't buy ammo this month" campaign.

 

[ZeSpectre]

The quickest way to bring the price down is to have a "don't buy ammo this month" campaign.

Because they have to move that ammo before it spoils? Economically I don't think that works but then again I'm no economist

 

[Davo]

Man Im hurting...Ive got a Johnny Appleseed shoot to go to next month and ammo for the SKS and AR is WAY steep now that Im starting school again.

 

[tinygnat219]

The main reason I can think of for rising 7.62X39 prices:

80-150 dollar SKS Rifles available.
160.00 per 1000 rounds.
MANY SHTF scenarios.

Land out west probably has more of this ammo buried in it than State Arsenals have in Europe!

 

[Andrew S]

Anyway, if you need some x39, buy soon or be gouged even further.

This is the attitude that is driving the price increase. The demand is greater than the supply coming in. People keep worrying so they stockpile it and increase the demand. I people stop buying it at these outrageous prices they will have no choice but to decrease prices.

I won't touch the stuff for over 130 a case unless I run out and REALLY need some.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

I refuse to pay over a hundred and fifty a case. That's why I made my recent purchases. If it doesn't come down in price, I'll shoot x39 sparingly. Shoot a lot of .22LR and 7.62x54R and sit on the vast majority of my "assault rifle" calibers stash. Honestly, I'm also concerned about future restrictions on ammo importation.

-jagd

 

[Sniper X]

re-loading 7.62X39 is about as financially sound as trying to reload .22! Anyway, I wish HI had that problem with my 7.62mm Nato! The cheapest you can find quality ammo for that is about $120.00 per 200!

 

[TX_Shooter]

The quickest way to bring the price down is to have a "don't buy ammo this month" campaign.

Humm, maybe we can do that w/ fuel and see what happens

 

[gezzer]

http://www.ammo-connection.com/ammo_russian.html


$165 thousand delivered CONUS

 

[Frog48]

Its still $2.86 per box at Academy. In fact, I picked up some yesterday.

 

[Coronach]

Well, let's also think about what was just said.

You're an ammo maker/importer/whatever. You used to sell your product for $80/1000. There is a disruption in the market, supply dwindles, prices spike.

Fast forward a few months. Now you have product, and you release it on the market at $160/1000, because supply is still a little tight.

It flies off of the shelves. Hmm.

Now...supply is back in force, but how far are you going to drop price, if the ammo is still flying off of the shelves? As long as it is selling like hotcakes, the price ain't gonna drop. Only when everyone has restocked depleted reserves and the importers stock starts to collect dust will the prices return to "normal".

And reread my earlier post about "normal" prices. I'm not sure that the "good old days" of 7.62x39 were very normal.

Mike

 

[jagdpanzer347]

Mike, you have brought up valid points about 7.62x39 pricing in the past. It would be most interesting to see what the current dealer pricing is on this stuff. As well as the net cost to produce it.

The .223/5.56 market is even worse. How much was XM193 two years ago? About three hundred these days. More than I'll pay for sure. Supply and demand I suppose.

-jagd

 

[Lone_Gunman]

If we will ever quit dicking around in Iraq, ammo prices for 5.56 and 7.62 will drop.

 

[ScottsGT]

This is the reason I decided NOT to buy an AK rifle. I almost got one last month, but seeing the pricing of ammo, I'm looking at getting Python instead.