Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Someone in the know....ammo prices?

Yep. Those who stockpiled while prices were low (like during the years 2019) and are selling for current market price are not gougers. They're simply taking profits while the going is good. If it were stocks or gold, we'd applaud them for being smart investors.

I'm involved in a small business making 9mm and 5.56. We run a half dozen Camdex machines and average a few million rounds per month. Availability of components right now is tough and it's not what you know but who you know in order to keep a supply in the pipeline. The only way we've managed is we've prebought our primers for a year in advance with OEM suppliers who we have relationships with and are willing to hook us up with preferential service.

I can assure you that our retail prices follow our costs and there's no looney conspiracy to gouge among small businesses like us. The only gouging I've seen is where average Joes who invested in lots of ammo over the last few years are now selling and making a profit on their speculation. The prices I've seen on retailers shelves accurately reflect their costs as near as I can tell and in some cases I'm amazed that they are not asking for more money.

What’s the saying? Lack or preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Even though I have plenty of ammo, I'm miserly with it.

Instead to hunting hogs with top shelf premium ammo, I use reliable, acceptably accurate cheap bulk ammo. NO FMJ's. It's hunting.... Not paper punching or tin can rattling. Even a hog deserves a clean death.

Caught myself finishing off a hog the other night with my 1911 loaded with 230gr HydroShoks... Ummm.... Nope. Switched those out to ball ammo for that purpose. Cheaper and I have more of them.

Practice with a 22.

Leave the centerfire cartridges where they are. Sparing use the .22lr ammo too, but not at the expense of not practicing or having fun.

In these times, be wise with what you shoot, and how you shoot it.

That's it in a nutshell.

Like I said, I told people I know and family more than a year ago they needed to be buying ammo.

Many of the same have shown up asking for ammo, because they didn't.

I usually give them something, but not much.

If they want more they can get on GB and pay the going rate for their ignorance.

The real question is will it return to "normal" or is this the new normal?

I'm sufficiently stocked up. But I'm hesitant to use any of it-because replacing it may cost me a fortune.

I have enough to hunt and stay practiced enough to hunt. But can't just go shoot recreationally like before.

-Jake

I know this has been discussed before but from someone who actually has to purchase from suppliers, has your price for loaded ammo really gone up 2.5-3X? That appears to be what is reflected locally and online. Big retailers seem to be holding prices and I can't imagine them losing money intentionally. I don't know enough about the ordering to have a valid opinion but it does appear some online vendors and local shops are gouging to take advantage of the situation we are in. Maybe it's the best way to slow down demand while supply catches back up?

Luckily I reload, but still wish I had several thousand more primers on hand. I'm likely stocked up for over a year at the rate I shoot for small rifle and pistol, longer than that for large rifle. I would like to get back to $0.30/rd ammo on .223 so I can just buy it instead of having to load to shoot.

I'm pretty confident we'll never get back to even close to the normal we knew several years ago. In our business we are trying to forecast our component needs out for at least a year so we can assure we are still in business. That represents around 50 million rounds of ammo for our little operation. It's a big risk for us because availability is fickle, plus the stroke of a politicians pen could put us out of business in this current political climate.

The OEM component sources are gambling also. You can bet it's seriously discussed at every staff meeting if it will pay off to expand manufacturing facilities or not. The most obvious safe path is to run current equipment around the clock and do the best you can with what you have.

The changing from the Trump administration to the Biden fiasco has put the fear of God into ammo manufacturers for facility expansion and who can blame them? Every day we agonize over questions of expanding our business and if we will even be able to stay in business due to politics. Because of this we have increased our profit margins a little bit to cushion us from the increased risk we have now days. This contributes a bit to increased ammo price points among our peers, but I wouldn't call it gouging.

It might be a good time to go into business making innovative dry fire equipment.

Maybe you could name some of these "Big Retailers" that have kept their prices down so some of your fellow shooters can get some reasonably priced ammo, I am seeing either rising prices or empty shelves, usually both.

Kaiser Norton

Interesting and thanks for posting. Would you say that as a manufacturer, component availability is tough because of the shutdowns (in addition to the demand) or do you think those supply channels have opened back up or close to back up to pre virus levels?

Your observation about current prices in big box and local gun stores is consistent with what I've seen too.

Except we don’t have the ability to order from the distributors to cut out the middle man like the LGS does. Anyone can buy a stock or gold, ammo has a middle man (or two) that gets his cut. I wouldn’t sell mine for the going rate because I can’t replace it at reasonable cost. I’m not in the position to sell but I have enough to shoot at normal levels for a year or two. My range trips are limited now and I m mindful of how much i shoot when there because I don’t know when this shortage will end and I don’t want to be in the position of many others who don’t have and must pay the piper.

Have a buddy who recently bought an AR and gets upset when I joke that the selling price for my ammonia the going rate. If SHTF I would give him a fair share at no cost but I have 2 boys in my family and I have to supply them to practice as well. What’s the saying? Lack or preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

I'm pretty confident we'll never get back to even close to the normal we knew several years ago. In our business we are trying to forecast our component needs out for at least a year so we can assure we are still in business. That represents around 50 million rounds of ammo for our little operation. It's a big risk for us because availability is fickle, plus the stroke of a politicians pen could put us out of business in this current political climate.

The OEM component sources are gambling also. You can bet it's seriously discussed at every staff meeting if it will pay off to expand manufacturing facilities or not. The most obvious safe path is to run current equipment around the clock and do the best you can with what you have.

The changing from the Trump administration to the Biden fiasco has put the fear of God into ammo manufacturers for facility expansion and who can blame them? Every day we agonize over questions of expanding our business and if we will even be able to stay in business due to politics. Because of this we have increased our profit margins a little bit to cushion us from the increased risk we have now days. This contributes a bit to increased ammo price points among our peers, but I wouldn't call it gouging.

It might be a good time to go into business making innovative dry fire equipment.

I saw a gun shop bidding and buying bulk ammo the other day. He was scarfing bulk ammo up.

I have no doubt he'll break open the cases and sell 20 round boxes much higher.

Really don't have a big problem with that, mostly because if he didn't have a market, he wouldn't be doing it.


You can't really impress on people that they need to stock up when prices are low, and ammo is flowing like a river...

You can say it over and over, and people just don't listen. History doesn't teach those type anything.

Those types that DON'T stock up are the same ones squealing like a pig under a gate when they are out or low on ammo.

Primers are going for up to $50.00 a sleeve of 100 on Gunbroker.