current ammo situation?

[FLINT]

I haven't been in the gun store in a while. Should I bother or is it still pretty grim?

[Blaine]

What I've seen is that if it's available, it's 2 or 3 times $$ what it was "a while" back.

[Oldncrusty]

I can find about any standard ammo, but like Blaine said, its 50-100 percent more than say 2019. I dont expect it to come down ever simply because of hyperinflation.

[FLINT]

[6pt-sika]

I did something tonight I never thought I’d do . Remington SP-10 wads at the normal places in the USA are non existent . Anyway someone I know in TX told me he found a bunch in the UK and in Canada . Also said he’d ordered some from the dealer in Canada and gave me the webpage . PDQ I ordered a 5,000 case . To be honest the price is just about the same per bag as what I paid on Gunbroker a couple years ago . Shipping for a case from Ontario to VA was $105 but figuring that in the cost was maybe $3-5 a bag of what I paid couple years ago .

[Birchsmoke]

I was at Sheels yesterday. They had quite a selection. I picked up 2 cans of reloader 7 and 500 308 sierra 168 for matches . They had lots on 9mm, lots of 22. No primers. Lots of pistol powder. A bunch of 12 ga. and Miscellaneous others that I didn't bother to examine I see Walmart had 22 and 30-30.

Dollar tree is going from $1 to $1.25 that about sums it up.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I'm seeing a lot of 9mm, 5.56 and .308 here in San Antonio. Prices at Academy never really went up that much.

Some .45 ACP but not much.

Frankly, the vast majority of what I shoot is ammo that I load and there has never been a slowdown on that.

[JOG]

Up here in Maine we have next to nothing on the shelves!
5.56 along with pricey 308 seems to be the only ammo that's regularly on the shelves.
Some cheap no name brand in 9mm for $23.99 a box of 50.
The factories are pumping out millions of rounds a day!
Where is all the ammo going?
Johnny

[Blaine]

Where is all the ammo going?
Johnny

Word has it that Uncle Sam ordered millions and millions for their domestic agencies, and the military, and they are still trying to fill orders. This started under Barry, and has continued...

[FLINT]

yeah, unfortunately I don't load for all of the calibers that I have. I do need primers though to be able to load for anything. It's my fault, I wasn't proactive or prepared. I even thought about it several times from 2017 - 2019. I thought, man, I should really stock up now. But I was hopefull that we'd get a few more years of plenty. Then things got crazy in 2020 and I thought, I'll just wait for things to calm down...........

[Griff]

A couple of years ago I was down to my last 2,000 LP primers... so I bought another 5,000. Still have that case to open, but... I'm on the last 1,000 of the previous case. I don't shoot enough factory ammo to warrant looking. Although I don't reload 38-S&W and only have 2 boxes. Only have 2 pistols in that caliber anyway.

[.45colt]

I bet Uncle Joe left enough loaded ammo in Afghanistan to keep shelves full here for years.............. .

[marlinman93]

I was in the local Cabelas just before Christmas and the ammo guy was stocking his shelves with shotgun and 9mm ammo. Looked at the prices and #2 steel shot 12 ga. 3" was $26 a box. And the 9mm with all 15 or 20 rd. boxes, and just over a buck a round. So no bargains on either.
I had Cabelas points, and needed some 3" 12ga. for my home defense semiauto shotgun, so used some points to buy a box of the steel #2 they had. But it wont see much shooting time anyway, as I'll use 2.75" for practice, and playing with that shotgun.

[Lever Len]

Buffalo Bore has some stuff in stock but their shipping starts at $35 per box of 20

[AJMD429]

I bet Uncle Joe left enough loaded ammo in Afghanistan to keep shelves full here for years.............. .

So T R U E

[Sixgun]

"Current ammo situation"? Tens of thousands of rounds from dozens of calibers....many are obsolete. .223, 9mm, '06, .308, 30-30, .22, on and on and on.........50-60 thousand primers , thousands of empty brass, tens of thousands of cast and jacketed bullets....

Oh! Didn't read your post well enough......"at stores"....I was thinking what I have here...---006

[Rockrat]

Picked up some 380 today for a decent price. First I have seen around here somewhat reasonable.

[6pt-sika]

"Current ammo situation"? Tens of thousands of rounds from dozens of calibers....many are obsolete. .223, 9mm, '06, .308, 30-30, .22, on and on and on.........50-60 thousand primers , thousands of empty brass, tens of thousands of cast and jacketed bullets....

Oh! Didn't read your post well enough......"at stores"....I was thinking what I have here...---006

My calibers have lessened but the biggest thing I’ve done is cut down significantly on the oddball stuff . The most oddball I load anymore are 6.5x54 MS , 7x57 and 8 gauge . This past deer season I shot four times and killed four deer . One with a ML , one with shotgun and two with rifle . Besides loading the ML the only thing I loaded that wasn’t left over from the year previous was the buckshot loads I used in my cannon . Think I’ve got thirty thousand handloaded shotgun shells another five thousand factory loads and enough powder primer shot and wads to load maybe another thirty thousand shells . As to rifle cartridges I’m set well enough to be able to load a couple thousand rounds per rifle . Heck I’ve got enough home cast bullets to load probably thirty thousand 444’s .

[Bill in Oregon]

We are selling Speer 9mm brass cased and Federal FMJ .380 for $30 a box at our county shooting range, as well as Speer Lawman .45ACP for $32 and I believe, American Eagle .40 for $32. The rangemaster managed to piggy-back on orders for our sheriff's department from a distributor in Utah.

[Trailboss]

...Heck I’ve got enough home cast bullets to load probably thirty thousand 444’s .

I don't understand the reasoning behind this. A 444 will be a lever action or single shot, I seriously doubt that a person could fire 30,000 rounds in a lifetime. After all, it's a big game hunting round. Not criticizing just saying...

[6pt-sika]

...Heck I’ve got enough home cast bullets to load probably thirty thousand 444’s .

I don't understand the reasoning behind this. A 444 will be a lever action or single shot, I seriously doubt that a person could fire 30,000 rounds in a lifetime. After all, it's a big game hunting round. Not criticizing just saying...

When you realize I’ve got I think 40-50 molds . When I cast I cast for overstock as they won’t go bad . When I had close to thirty 444’s I shot A LOT of paper with various 444’s . I think the last year I kept semi decent track of the amount of 444 I shot it was over 3,000 . But at that time I wanted to try any and every mold from 200-450 grains . Don’t think I’ve cast a 44 cal bullet in over five years maybe closer to ten .

[Sixgun]

When you realize I’ve got I think 40-50 molds . When I cast I cast for overstock as they won’t go bad . When I had close to thirty 444’s I shot A LOT of paper with various 444’s . I think the last year I kept semi decent track of the amount of 444 I shot it was over 3,000 . But at that time I wanted to try any and every mold from 200-450 grains . Don’t think I’ve cast a 44 cal bullet in over five years maybe closer to ten .

Right...that how I think.....this stuff does not go bad unless of course it gets into a flood and that's only for the powder....you can even recast them into something else.

I loaded up some 357's, 44 Spls, and 45 Auto back in the early seventies at a time I did not know a whole lot.....I marked the date and every now and then I'll pop a few off....getting to be a half century old and every one goes off with authority.

There's a few things in life you can never have too much of.....money...food....and guns & ammo and if you buy the right guns, it's better than any 401K plans, but you knew that 6 point. we think alike...---006

[6pt-sika]

When you realize I’ve got I think 40-50 molds . When I cast I cast for overstock as they won’t go bad . When I had close to thirty 444’s I shot A LOT of paper with various 444’s . I think the last year I kept semi decent track of the amount of 444 I shot it was over 3,000 . But at that time I wanted to try any and every mold from 200-450 grains . Don’t think I’ve cast a 44 cal bullet in over five years maybe closer to ten .

Right...that how I think.....this stuff does not go bad unless of course it gets into a flood and that's only for the powder....you can even recast them into something else.

I loaded up some 357's, 44 Spls, and 45 Auto back in the early seventies at a time I did not know a whole lot.....I marked the date and every now and then I'll pop a few off....getting to be a half century old and every one goes off with authority.

There's a few things in life you can never have too much of.....money...food....and guns & ammo and if you buy the right guns, it's better than any 401K plans, but you knew that 6 point. we think alike...---006

In the last thirty days I’ve dropped three grand in powder . Granted most of its shotgun powder . But a bunch became available to me at prices comparable to pre crud prices and much of it I’ve not used before . BUT it can ALL be used in my applications . I started buying more powder than I needed when that Obamite p..r..I..c..k arrived on the scene .

[Old No7]

This is the most I've seen in one place in quite awhile...

Old No7

20-22.jpg

[AmBraCol]

This is the most I've seen in one place in quite awhile...

Old No7


20-22.jpg

[OldWin]

I fear the "current situation" is the permanent situation.
It's in the ammunition manufacturers best interest from a short term business perspective (which seems to be the prevailing one these days).
In the past, when there was a shortage or panic, the manufacturers would add capacity. This costs money on several levels. When the panic was over, they are left holding the bag, with overcapacity and too many employees. The firearm manufacturers had this same issue. While sales may be up, many of these companies have struggled in recent times. This trickles all the way down to small gun shops, many of which have disappeared.
Another contributing factor is the "cartridge of the week" phenomenon that has gone on for a decade or more. There is no way these companies can keep enough supply of all these chamberings. They can't dedicate lines to every one, so are forced to change over constantly or do seasonal runs. This all translates to cost. And let's not forget, some of their biggest competition was eliminated by the Biden import ban on cheap steel cased ammo. That is a HUGE amount of ammo.....gone.
Fast forward to now. They have guaranteed 100% sale of product with no inventory taxes. The only cost increase for them is raw materials. Competition eliminated. While many types of ammo are scarce, 5.56 and 9mm are everywhere. Albeit at much inflated prices. These two cartridges are coincidentally the ones they load for US government contracts. Passing the savings on to us? This is their lowest cost to produce centerfire ammunition. That's why the price per beer is cheaper in a 30 pack than a 6 pack.

The last 25-30 years have been a firearms renaissance. So many new and reproductions of old firearms, factory cartridges that were obsolete 80 years ago could be purchases easily, on and on.
Many cartridges that were low in sales compared to others are going to soon be gone I think. They will be dropping like flies. Hence, so won't the guns when nobody can find or afford ammo. Gun sales are high right now, but if this ammo thing drags on, nobody will pay (especially in this economy) for guns they can't shoot. Thus, the boom in gun games that we have enjoyed will dwindle. With the political climate, I'm sure nobody in the firearm and ammunition industry wants to stick their neck too far out.

Anyway.....this is my fear. Hopefully, I'm way off.

[Ray Newman]

OldWin: I think you are onto it.

[JOG]

For the first time in month my local gun shop has a fair amount of ammo in stock!
With the exception of 22 cal. and 38 spl, along with 357.
I was surprised to see 30-30, 45-70,9mm,45acp,45 Colt,223.243,308,30-06.
I didn't see any 35-caliber ether.
Nothing but black rifles and polymer pistols!
Johnny

[stretch]

One concern I have is the consolidation of arms makers and ammo makers into just a few large players.

Much easier for the government to control.

The other legitimate fear is that some of these companies are controlled by wealth management companies,
hedge fund entrepreneurs and the like.

They get greedy, borrow against the hard assets to create short-term returns and growth on paper,
take everything else, and then declare bankruptcy. That's why Remington went under. Too many doses
of that and your industry catering to private citizens is gone. Restrict a few imports - like Russian ammo -
and you've effectively disarmed the country without changing any laws at all.

Yep, I'm paranoid! But am I paranoid enough?

-Stretch