Is the ammo supply on the rise

[mljdeckard]

Got it-

We need an 'ammo czar'. A kitchen cabinet post to regulate and oversee the ammunition industry, to make sure that those who sell ammunition don't make more money than they deserve. Better yet, the ammo industry needs a bailout and in exchange governmental control. That will work towards 'competition' and level the playing field, everybody wins, right? Let's to the same thing to gasoline, cigarettes, and bubblegum.

Or how about we just let the free market sort itself out? I have my 1k rounds per gun, I'm dealing with my obsession to buy all the .45 I come across. What happened to ARs 5 months ago will also happen to ammo. We now understand that we cannot take for granted that we will always be able to walk into a store and buy whatever ammo we want. New shooters who have no attention span and just bought because of the election will loose interest. AGAIN, if manufacturers artificially keep the prices high, someone will emerge to undercut them and drive the prices back down. This is capitalism, and I happen to be a fan.

 

[SpeedAKL]

Got it-

We need an 'ammo czar'. A kitchen cabinet post to regulate and oversee the ammunition industry, to make sure that those who sell ammunition don't make more money than they deserve. Better yet, the ammo industry needs a bailout and in exchange governmental control. That will work towards 'competition' and level the playing field, everybody wins, right? Let's to the same thing to gasoline, cigarettes, and bubblegum.

Or how about we just let the free market sort itself out? I have my 1k rounds per gun, I'm dealing with my obsession to buy all the .45 I come across. What happened to ARs 5 months ago will also happen to ammo. We now understand that we cannot take for granted that we will always be able to walk into a store and buy whatever ammo we want. New shooters who have no attention span and just bought because of the election will loose interest. AGAIN, if manufacturers artificially keep the prices high, someone will emerge to undercut them and drive the prices back down. This is capitalism, and I happen to be a fan.

I laughed at that first paragraph!

 

[SpeedAKL]

Rifle ammo seems to be in better supply on the web, particularly for .223 and 7.62x39. CheaperThanDirt is no longer trying to re-brand itself ExpensiveAsHell.

Pistol ammo stills seems to be very scarce. I can't find decently-priced .45ACP anywhere on the web.

Haven't been to the local shops recently.

 

[RV11]

Was at Dicks last week and they were fully stocked.

 

[TJ AK-74]

2 days ago, WM had about 4k rounds of .22 bulk packs, mostly Winchester. They had the first Federal 550 packs that I have seen in about 6 months. And no, I didn't buy it all up, just got 1 box. Also had 2 boxes of 9mm, some .223, and some .40. They were going to get a 100 round WWB of .45 and some more .40 that night. I think people have either finally got enough ammo or are out of money because of the high unemployment rate.

Last week at Academy's they had several boxes of 9mm and .38 at just $2-3 more per box than WM.

 

[CoLJ]

Been watching this closely since last December...

Centerfire rifle ammo seems to be in reasonable supply once again. 223 started showing up regularly around these parts about Labor Day.

40S&W has been surprisingly available for many months- wonder if that says something for that caliber? 45 and 9 are returning, and even have been able to find 38 special in the last couple weeks. 380 is still a no-show everywhere.

22LR... hard to say. 500 round bricks have been in short supply. Starting to see it in Remington though.

 

[12many]

I have seen crazy prices on .380 auto. Like 40$ per box.

Vegas is still short of may calibers, but southern utah has some at the local shops. I think it depends on where you are at. I suspect cities have more new shooters buying it up and just more people in general. For the size of vegas, there is not that many places that sell ammo.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Checked at WalMart today, there were at least fifty 100 packs of .223 WWB at $40 each. Most other calibers were in evidence, just not that many of each.

A welcome change.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Scheels in Omaha has stacks of everything, literally. Cases and cases of rifle,pistol, even .380. Prices are pretty good too.

As far as the hoarding goes, I hoard as much as I possibly can. As a result, during the last shortage I had plenty.

 

[mboylan]

One final thought. Ammo today is cheaper (in real terms) than 40 years ago. Anecdotally, a box of 9mm FMJ (50 rds) in 1969 was about $5. That is $30 adjusted for inflation. Most target ammo can be had for about half that price today. So for all the bellyaching about prices, your milk has gotten WAY more expensive over the last 4 decades than your ammo has. Ammo prices just increased all in the last 2 years!

Yeah, people got spoiled in the early part of the decade. That 2003 $9 100 pack of 9mm WWB would have cost $20 in 1985. Adjust for inflation and people were paying $40. In real dollars we are paying about half of what ammo cost from the late 60s to mid 80s.

 

[huntsman]

One final thought. Ammo today is cheaper (in real terms) than 40 years ago. Anecdotally, a box of 9mm FMJ (50 rds) in 1969 was about $5. That is $30 adjusted for inflation. Most target ammo can be had for about half that price today. So for all the bellyaching about prices, your milk has gotten WAY more expensive over the last 4 decades than your ammo has. Ammo prices just increased all in the last 2 years!

Yeah, people got spoiled in the early part of the decade. That 2003 $9 100 pack of 9mm WWB would have cost $20 in 1985. Adjust for inflation and people were paying $40. In real dollars we are paying about half of what ammo cost from the late 60s to mid 80s.

Comparisons are only valid when comparing apples to apples; I don't remember the cheap plinking ammo being around in the 60's-70's era.

I think the ammo companies came out with cheap ammo because they couldn't hold down the cost of the regular stuff.

Just check the price of a box of Remington Express for a sticker shock and legit comparison to old VS new.

 

[mustang_steve]

I know it was meant as a joke, but seeing the word "ammo" immediately followed by "czar" made my head hurt.

 

[Niel4]

I try to buy at Wally World when i can...way cheaper than local gun stores.

If you had asked me a month ago if ammo supply was better I would have said yes...I had just bought 500 rounds each of both 9mm and 45 acp from Walmart over the course of 2 weeks. They also had 22 lr bricks and a ton of 40 S&W.

Now I'm looking for 38 spcl and/or 357 mag for my new GP 100 and have been for a month. I have 1 box of 50 to show. My range has some but not at a price to stock up on. I want 1500 rounds of 38 spcl and 500 357 mag and i don't want to pay a lot!