Ammo Prices Going Up April 1st?

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PhoenixRookie

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As the name implies, I am a relative rookie here. But when I got my Taurus 38SP I could get ammo for $9.99 for the standard box of 50. Now I can hardly find the ammo and when I do, it is around $15.99. However my last two visits to Cabelas and Sportsmans Warehouse they were out except for the $30/box 25 round variety. So my first question is, why are warehouses almost completely out of 38SP lately? Both of them each carried more than a dozen such caliber revolvers (far more than 357s or 44s) so people are obviously still buying them at a good rate.

The guy working in the ammo department at Cabelas couldn't or wouldn't say, but he did tell me that they are 95% sure prices on all ammo will go up April 1st and that everyone needs to stock up now. Maybe you are all aware of this but thought I'd point it out anyway.

I know that the price of metal is continually going up as they are re-opening previously closed copper mines in this state, as well as the price to truck deliveries, but are these price increases justified? Or is it like the gas companies where they are making record profits while gouging us?
 
ATK (Federal, CCI, etc) wholesale prices up 9% on promotional stuff (the plinking stuff) and 5% on other ammo effective April 1st. Haven't heard fromt he other mfgs.
 
Don't know if we are being gouged but I do know the price of a car battery is about the same as it was 10 years ago, and new car prices have not gone up 300%, nor have tractors or lawn mowers.:cuss:
 
Don't know if we are being gouged but I do know the price of a car battery is about the same as it was 10 years ago, and new car prices have not gone up 300%, nor have tractors or lawn mowers.
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Ten years ago the best batteries you could get were Interstate Megatrons (my preference) or Die Hards. I got a Megatron for my first car for around $75. The last battery I bought, an Optima Red Top (which is the best you can get now), was almost $200 OTD.

I work in sheetmetal, and the price of raw material has gone up over 300% in the past few years. Scrap costs for carbon steel is now higher than the purchase price used to be for 304 stainless. I crushed a 2200 lb Fairmont and got 180 bucks for it, and got well over $300 for a complete 94 Explorer. Five years ago that explorer would have been maybe $65.
 
Ammo Prices Going Up April 1st?
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The answer is to reload your own 38 Special, for about $3.00 a box.
For what a few boxes of store bought pistol rounds cost a shooter can buy a bare bones reloader and accessories like this (about) $30 Lee hand tool.
Leeloader.gif

In 1960 I couldn't afford to shoot my 38 and 45, so I bought a Lyman 310 reloading tool. There's no telling how many thousand 38 and 45 I loaded with that $14 tool. Then I sold it for $10.:)

A shooter doesn't have to buy a lot of expensive reloading equipment and have a dedicated reloading space just to load 5 or 10 boxes a month.

In reloading money is speed.
To load a box of 38, 9mm, 45, etc, with a "hand tool" it takes about 35 minutes.
Using my Dillon progressive reloading press it takes 8-10 minutes to load a box.
 
A shooter doesn't have to buy a lot of expensive reloading equipment and have a dedicated reloading space just to load 5 or 10 boxes a month.
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Amen.

Most of us have WAY too many reloading goodies, (but we need them all, really we do) and some of us advise the purchase of 4,5, or $600 bucks worth of stuff to new reloaders to get started. Not necessary at all. They should get the minumum they need and then go hog wild buying stuff after they are hooked, if they want to.
 
Interesting device M2. I didn't know those existed.
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http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.ex...oryid=8598&categorystring=9315***731***680***
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Midway has them.

I use it when I want to load just a few rounds for testing, etc. That way I don't have to change the settings on my big press.

The other day I timed the time it took to load a box of 9mm, including changing the dies. About 38 minutes.
But normally the way the tool is used is you do one step at a time on a lot of cases.
It's handy, like, having the tool handy so when you have a few minutes, waiting for supper, etc, you can sit down with the tool, almost anywhere, and size some cases.
I reload mostly just in free time.
 
Or is it like the gas companies where they are making record profits while gouging us?
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You mean that crazy free market thing? The fact people are stocking up now at already higher prices (compared to a year ago) shows that the market will certainly bear higher prices.
 
Thanks for the point on reloading. I didn't realize I could do it on the cheap. My neighbor has been doing it for 20 years but tells me the cost of equipment he has doesn't really make it worth it for the average person.

I am all for the cheap and simple route.
 
My local walmart had EVERYTHING jump at least 5 bucks this week.

100 pack 9mm remmington hollow point. Was $18.98, and is now $23,88
550 pack .22 Federal long rifle ammo was $8.88 and is now $13.88

Amazing. I purchased some more with what I had and hope I can get more while it's cheep
 
I started reloading with a Lee "hammer operated" classic loader. I'd get the hand press before that, though.

I reload .30-30 (and soon 7.62x54mmR, and soon 9mm, maybe). It isn't that hard once you figure everything out. I bought a single stage Classic Cast press for durability, and I use that now.
 
Or is it like the gas companies where they are making record profits while gouging us?
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PhoenixRookie, if you're going to discuss financial and economic topics, I suggest you learn to dig a little more deeply into the topic, or else people are going to take your argument apart like dingoes on a carcass.

For example: record profits, yes, but what are the profit margins, and can you explain the difference? What are the typical margins in other industries (comparing oil companies' "greed" against that of other industries)? Of $1 worth of revenue, how much goes to whom--in other words, who makes the most money off of petrochemical sales?

I'll look forward to hearing your answers.
 
The fact people are stocking up now at already higher prices (compared to a year ago) shows that the market will certainly bear higher prices.
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at least in the short term. Who knows if the price is artificially inflated and will adjust in the long term. I'm hoping it does, but don't have enough data to do a forecast and actually say if I think it will.
 
Ammo prices are always going up along with everything else. I'm still buying ammo though.....just not shooting it.
 
Ten years ago the best batteries you could get were Interstate Megatrons (my preference) or Die Hards. I got a Megatron for my first car for around $75. The last battery I bought, an Optima Red Top (which is the best you can get now), was almost $200 OTD.
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Bad comparison. Optima gel cell batteries exsited a decade ago, and were twice the price of a top tier lead-acid battery then as well. And while they are good for drag racing, off roading or other applications where the battery may be subject to excessive abuse, but they typically last only about half as long as a conventional battery.

That said, the inflation of ammunition and fuel prices is disproportionately high as compared to other goods.
 
Keep in mind ammo will not go up April first for the consumer. It takes a while for the prices to trickle down to the consumer.

The increase that Nightwing has seen at his Wang Mart is most likely the January fifth increase finally showing up in his region.
 
Ammunition companies haven't been making much profit for years leaving them with little margin to eat the costs, we keep buying it anyway, metal prices are up up up, gas prices are up. Expect more of the same until demand goes down.
 
Ammo prices

Well ammo prices at Wal-Mart have already gone up here in N.E. Florida.
Did a minimum restock of the basic ammo that I use and it was expensive.
I guess it takes a lot of oil to make those bullits now days.
cmanhome
 
I just bought a 1911 and was thinking of buying another one. However 22's are looking better.
 
There has been a TON of discussion on this topic for over two years now. In general, there are two main things happening:
1. China is eating metals like mad.
2. The US military is using far more rounds than in peacetime.

Some other things to keep in mind also:
* Ammo manufacturers don't dedicate machines to calibers. They may have ten machines available on any given day to allocate to less common calibers. Some very uncommon calibers are manufactured only once a year, or even once every several years. That stock obviously increases in price as supply dwindles. If enough people shoot it, they will allocate a machine to make it. After all, they're out to make money, period, not provide ammo to the world. Just so happens that they make their money by supplying us with ammo.

* Clearly, the more you buy, the better your rate. If you have 5 or 10 friends that shoot the same caliber as you (or calibers, even), you might want to look into a bulk buy. Gun shops and FFLs can generally get a palette of ammo for much lower price per round than when you buy by the case or box.

* Whenever you start stocking up on ammo, it's a good idea to know the local laws pertaining to storage of it. In some areas, you're good to hundreds of thousands of rounds, and in others, that would be classified as a magazine, which means you'd have to meet several criteria on the storage facility and method, and may even be open to audits.

* Yeah, it sucks to have to pay a ton more for ammo than we used to, but at least it's still available. For all you Californians out there, were you aware that our State Assembly is considering a bill that would prohibit the transfer of more than 50 rounds of handgun ammo within a 30-day period (to anyone, including friends and family), unless you're a licensed ammo vendor? That, and they're proposing a $3/box tax on handgun ammo. If you care about pricing and freedom, you might just want to contact your assembly member and raise heck on the issue.

* For everyone else - California is unfortunately often the harbinger of doom for other states. If you know people who live in CA, even if they're not shooters, ask them to write their reps and oppose this.

Oh, and welcome to the High Road.
 
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