Ammo Prices - At what point are you priced out of the market?

[375supermag]

Hi...
I reload for just about every caliber that my son and I shoot.
I have thousands of rounds of .22LR and .22Magnum ammunition. I don't shoot either of them enough any more to worry too much about buying more at this point. Same with 7.62x39...lots on hand, don't shoot it much.

I do buy one centerfire rifle caliber...7mmMagnum. Only reason is because my rifle shoots Winchester Ballistic Silvertips factory ammunition more accurately than any handload we have yet tried. Since I basically only use that rifle for hunting, a couple of boxes a year has been sufficient for verifying zero and hunting. As I am contemplating quitting hunting because of my age, I may never need another factory round in that caliber. My handloads that shoot into about 1-1/2" at 100yds, will be sufficient for target range shooting.
Having said that, I think $70 for a 20 round box of ammunition would probably be the most I would pay for factory ammunition.

 

[shafter]

If you are low I would recommend buying here and there at these prices. I suspect they will continue to slowly fall but they might not. Something could trigger another panic so don't get caught with your pants down.

 

[AK Hunter]

They have already priced me out of buying, that's why I reload almost everything I shoot.
The prices of reloading components have come close to pricing me out of that too, I won't pay more than .10 cents per primer or $40 a pound for pistol powder $35 a pound for rifle powder.

 

[Buzznrose]

I’m not entirely sure how to answer the OP’s question. The higher ammo goes the less I shoot, for me to be entirely priced out it’d have to get real high but for me to get back to shooting a couple hundred rounds a week or more it’d have to drop about 50%

I know 10 years ago I made less money and shot a lot more. I’m afraid shooting is really becoming a rich man’s sport, for those of us that don’t have time to reload.

Shooting has always been expensive if you shot a lot…but yes, it’s crazy these days.

I am fortunate that when it was rock bottom pricing, I was able to stock up with cases of rounds. But I’ve not always been able to do so. It did hurt spending a few thousand bucks on ammo, but it was all on $0.04 .22LR, $0.14 9MM, and $0.22 .223.

my biggest regret was that I didn’t buy triple the amount and sell half in 2020, as I could have paid myself back for everything and had a free cache of ammo…

Live and learn…

 

[epags]

I am at a strange point in life. As the price of loaded ammo as well as reloading components keep going up and my age also keeps going up (thank goodness), my ability to shoot for hours on end is going down.
All in all, I think I have enough ammo and components to make more to last my life and still some.

 

[brmiller]

I am at a strange point in life. As the price of loaded ammo as well as reloading components keep going up and my age also keeps going up (thank goodness), my ability to shoot for hours on end is going down.
All in all, I think I have enough ammo and components to make more to last my life and still some.

That's a good point to be at.

Unfortunately, I am not at the same point, on either ammo or components. Almost didn't make it through last Christmas though, so not sure how much further I have to stretch what I have left.

 

[Buzznrose]

That's a good point to be at.

Unfortunately, I am not at the same point, on either ammo or components. Almost didn't make it through last Christmas though, so not sure how much further I have to stretch what I have left.

Lots of folks in this position…I’ve been there for much of my life. Stay focused and learn the tenants of frugality. It helps a lot!

 

[Buzznrose]

Flexibility is key to shooting through ammo droughts and price hikes. I have three basic rules I go by…

1. Buy as much as I can comfortably afford when it’s cheap. No revelation here…but it bears repeating as I’ve met a LOT of shooters who think they should always be able to just buy a couple boxes on the way to the range, as if it an entitlement.

2. Embrace the .22 LR! It’s much easier to buy extra .22 than it is to buy extra 9MM or .223, and it is fun to shoot! I run the crap out of my CMMG .22 conversion bolt in an AR, and I shoot my Glock 44 as much or more than I shoot ALL my other pistols combined. Lots of great options in both long guns and pistols under $400, many under $300. Ruger 10-22, Henry .22, Taurus TX 22, Ruger and Heritage revolvers…etc. Walmarts around me are selling Federal Automatch bulk ammo for under $0.07 per round. It shoots fine for bulk ammo.

3. Embrace the BB gun! When COVID hit, I ordered a Glock 19 replica CO2 pistol. It fits in my holster, and I ran LOTS of shooting drills in my backyard and garage for less than $3.00 a session (probably 150 rounds). No hearing pro needed, built a backstop with spare lumber and cardboard boxes. Just wear eye pro. lots of great air guns out there for under $150…many way under $100.

Get creative and plan ahead. Shooting fun and training isn’t restricted to center fire cartridges!

YMMV

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Twenty years ago when I qualified for my CMP certification for the local military matches I could buy Lake City brown boxed .30 Carbine for $6.00 for fifty rounds or 12 cents a round.
Now commercial Remington or Aguila .30 Carbine is $49.95 for fifty rounds, basicly a dollar a round.
I bought my IBM M1 Carbine for $225 in 1990. WWII IBM in full Korean War Era upgrades, including a Japanese Howa style M2 non-reflective wood stock.
If I shoot my Carbine Vintage Military (1947 or earlier issue) and Vintage modern (post-1947) I could easily pay more for one season shooting than I paid for the rifle.

 

[citizenconn]

Your dollar is becoming worth less every day. Better stock up now if you are running low.

Ok, but I need two more guys and maybe another guy to drive the car. Are you in?

 

[citizenconn]

there could be a 1000 guys saying how much ammo costs and as sure as the turning of the earth some guy will come on and say he got a box of 30-06 for $12.95

I shop at Crazy Dad's Ammo Emporium.
The deal for years has been I supply all the rifles, i.e. at least one in any new caliber I want him to reload. All ammo I shoot is free, as long as I pick up and return my good brass. I also build or buy him a rifle/pistol(s) in the new caliber. Occasionally he gets a bonus rifle/pistol for being employee of the year.
The last couple of years I have also been buying some specific bullets I want to try out (like the 250 gr A-tips for the .300 PRC he was too cheap to buy) and of course snatching up any primers I happen to see.

 

[Insignificant bill]

I only buy 22lr and 12ga shells. reload everything else. Primers are the roadblock for me.

 

[bullseye308]

Fortunately I have been reloading 30+ years and learned long ago that every 4 years there is a shortage of some sort. The key to not being affected was to always keep 5+ years of components on hand and that has served me well since. I was shooting 16k of pistol a year and 3-5k of rifle so stock was sizable but not bad. Then I started casting pistol bullets and really saw the savings. I got priced out of factory 25 years ago just for the volume I was shooting. Buying components in bulk, picking them up locally, and shopping smart is where it is at, whether factory ammo or reloading components.

The best you can do now is decide where your cutoff is and buy any time you find it under that without going into debt. Set money aside just for ammo and put out instock notices and be ready. It is out there, at a price you can tolerate, but you have to be willing to be jump on it in a hurry. Having friends or family be on the lookout as well can be beneficial. I help a few locals find ammo within their budget now and again, and sometimes buy with them to help others that will inevitably be looking for some too.

 

[AlabamaRoscoe]

If I need it, I purchase.

 

[KY DAN]

Any more it's just stupid to me to buy, not because I don't have the money or time to make the purchases possible.

I am dead on the inside and I do not find joy in guns, ammo, reloading , shooting. I am selling so much of my collection because I will not have a need for it.

What's the point, no matter what we can't make anything affordable again. I wish I could do things over but it's too late and the wolf is at the door.

 

[citizenconn]

Any more it's just stupid to me to buy, not because I don't have the money or time to make the purchases possible.

I am dead on the inside and I do not find joy in guns, ammo, reloading , shooting. I am selling so much of my collection because I will not have a need for it.

What's the point, no matter what we can't make anything affordable again. I wish I could do things over but it's too late and the wolf is at the door.

I feel ya buddy. There are a lot of folks out there feeling the same as you are. PM me if you need to. Sometimes it helps to talk to other people you don't know just to get it out there. I've had to start over several times in life and didn't think things would ever get any better, but they eventually did.
I don't say this to many folks, but I'll be praying for you.

 

[starnbar]

KY DAN don't go down that road right now times are dark and despair is apparent at every turn but be strong you cannot be defeated if you get up every day and do what you have to do remember the old saying
Illigitimus non carborundum

 

[KY DAN]

I feel ya buddy. There are a lot of folks out there feeling the same. PM me if you need to. Sometimes it helps to talk to other people you don't know just to get it out there. I've had to start over several times in life and didn't think things would ever get any better, but they eventually did.
I don't say this to many folks, but I'll be praying for you.

KY DAN don't go down that road right now times are dark and despair is apparent at every turn but be strong you cannot be defeated if you get up every day and do what you have to do remember the old saying
Illigitimus non carborundum

I agree with everything stated, I am not the only person with a sad 2020 and on story. I am able to meet all obligations financially, I just stare at my retirement, bank account, weekly pay check and monthly expenses and I know no matter what I do hard times are coming that will destroy what I have attempted to protect with emergency funds and years of frugal living. Colonel Sanders taught us it's never to late to find purpose

I used to scold people for not preparing and stocking ammo and stuff and now I would give it all away if it ment it would help people genuinely and not support another re seller.

 

[robin banks]

I shop at Crazy Dad's Ammo Emporium.
The deal for years has been I supply all the rifles, i.e. at least one in any new caliber I want him to reload. All ammo I shoot is free, as long as I pick up and return my good brass. I also build or buy him a rifle/pistol(s) in the new caliber. Occasionally he gets a bonus rifle/pistol for being employee of the year.
The last couple of years I have also been buying some specific bullets I want to try out (like the 250 gr A-tips for the .300 PRC he was too cheap to buy) and of course snatching up any primers I happen to see.

like to hear how those 250 gr A tips works out. you will be having some recoil

 

[Old Dog]

I guess I am one of the fortunate. My retirement income is pretty much at the same level as when I was working, we have no debt other than one car payment and a mortgage (but will sell the house easily and net half a million) so we still have a lot of disposable income which gets used for nothing else besides travel. Plus, prior to the last couple elections and legislative sessions, I was buying ammo pretty much by the pallet-load. I still buy ammo now and then if it's in calibers I shoot regularly but at this point, I think I can do a lot of shooting over the next 20 years and don't really need to keep buying ammo. I have more of a shortage of storage space for ammo than I do a shortage of money to buy more.

I consider ammunition to be at about the same priority level for me as gas for my vehicles. Which means I'll just bite my tongue and fork over whatever it takes.

I try to regularly gift ammo to friends and acquaintances in need. Those I know that will actually shoot it...

 

[toivo]

.22 L.R. - $.10 for bulk, $.15 for nicer standard velocity stuff for small game.

I'm already out of the market. I'm seeing Federal 510 in the blue box for $45.00 a brick. Fifteen years ago that same brick was $10.00. Ten years ago it was $20.00. Where does it end? No other commodity -- not even gasoline -- has gone up at a rate like this.

I bought a lot of target-grade .22 LR when it was about 7¢ a round. When I say "a lot," I'm talking about 25,000 rounds, give or take. I'm hoping to see prices drop again in my lifetime, but if they don't, I might just have enough to last me.

 

[243winxb]

I buy if available. Paid 70 cents a round for 9mm Luger a while back. Bought 500. (GOV gave me all that free money, back then. Reload & cast for 9mm now.

My 1500 member club has few shooters. When one shows up, they complaint about factory ammo price. Not paying $1 or more per round.
Last 2 guys were shooting 22LR. 10 cents ea., still to high.

I still shoot 2 or 3 times a week. Mostly home cast pistol & 22lr. Testing 44 mag neck tension today, again, along with the Colt GC 45acp.

 

[SeanSw]

I'm out now. LGS has .38 wadcutters for $35/50. I just can't justify that for plinking.