Pistol ammo...Price gouging?

[Natty Bumpo]

We are all aware of the apparent ammo shortage...............even NPR did a feature on it a couple of nights ago, for crying out loud.

This week I saw American Eagle brand 115 gr. FMJ 9mm ammo which typically sells for around $10-12/box or so (right?) going for $20/box. This was in a PDX-metro gun shop. I would prefer not to disclose the name of the vendor.

I am not making a value judgment on whether or not this is justified nor do I think it productive enter into a discussion of economic theory.

I am just asking a simple question..........namely............

Has anyone else witnessed similar examples? If so, do tell......

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[ORBrit]

I haven't witnessed anything like this - but I also haven't seen ammo on the shelves for a couple weeks at Bi mart or Walmart - at least not 9mm or .22LR

My friend just got the last 700 rounds at Walmart yesterday though - still under $20 for the 100 packs of WWB.
They usually sell out within 30 mins to an hour of restocking according to the sales staff.

 

[tionico]

I rarely frequent such gun stores, but the last few times I've been to a major gun show I could not believe the prices on ammo...... the SAME red brick of .22LR, American Eagle, I saw at Bi Mart a couple weeks ago for $15 was on an ammo dealer's table for $25...... most normal pistol ammo I'd seen for mid-teens the box/50 was mid to high twenties.... needless to say I didn't buy any from the major dealers. BUT-- in cruising about the various small vendors' tables I found a few good deals on ammo.... and bought.

 

[OreGunSun]

What is crazy is $30 bricks of .22LR.

With Ammo - I guess that it is Supply and demand - I have heard at 2 different places - that Primers are backorder 8 months.

That Ammo Demand is up 50 to 80 Times previous normal demand.

CMP (Citizen Marksmanship Program ) In January was taking orders for June Delivery of Aquila .30 Carbine FMJ.

Funny it used to be that you would pop in to wal-mart and grab a few boxes of 50, on the way to the range or plinking.

I saw on another site 1,000 rounds of .40 S&W Blazer (Brass FMJ - the same as the Speer lawman that Wal-mart was selling for 10.97 the last time I bought) It had sold for $290 ( not including S&H)

But a handgun with out ammo is just a hammer and a rifle is just a bat or a club.

 

[swoop]

I found some 115 gr. FMJ 9 today for 16.99 glad to get it.... how sick. :nuts:

 

[Shifty]

I found a box of S&B .40 in my ammo locker with a $8 price tag on it, I almost cried

 

[finch6013]

we owe all this to those ammo hording people. You know who you are

 

[NK777]

we owe all this to those ammo hording people. You know who you are

Who's hording? I'm just not totally convinced that there has been all that much hording going on. I've been shooting less and less ever since this craze started. In other words I think I'm consuming less ammunition then I was before. I'd hate to be out of ammunition and there be none to purchase at the store. It seems today like there really is no ammunition for sale at the store. **** I'm not shooting what I have up until that changes.

I'm still waiting on bullets and powder to arrive that I ordered 3 weeks ago. Damn hard to reload with out them. This **** is scary! Where the **** is all this stuff going honestly?

See I figure if everybody is complaining and or can't find ammunition then where the heck is the supply really going? I think this needs to be investigated. Something just doesn't smell right to me here.

 

[jordanvraptor]

Maybe its as simple as more demand than supply. Whether its hoarding or just more people buying guns and ammo, the person that sells the ammo has to pay more to replenish inventory. Its the same story with gasoline although that is somewhat artificially inflated by investors in the futures market... The price of brass or even lead leads to higher cost. My gun club was saying that ranges used to have to pay people to come mine out the lead from a range. Now, it can actually be profitable. At least it was before the recession hit hard.

 

[Spray-n-pray]

I went in to Big 5 yesterday just to see what I could find. The only pistol ammo to speak of was a few boxes of .40. They had a couple Fiocchi, a couple UMC, and one box of something else I can't remember right now. All of it was the same price - $24/box. I couldn't bring myself to pay that much........... yet. On the other hand, Bi-mart had at least 4 cases of .22 lr, 2 cases remington, and 2 of American Eagle. At least their prices weren't ridiculous. The Remington was $17/525 rounds, and the Am. Eag. was on sale for $15. They also had 8 boxes of Rem. .223 45gr. HP, but I don't need it that bad to where I have to spend $12/20 rounds. I did purchase their last 3 boxes of XM193. I guess what I am trying to say is, that you can still find ammo if you are willing to look around.

 

[NK777]

You may well be correct jordanvraptor and it might not take a huge shift in demand to create the shortage we're seeing. I just don't know though... things seem to be completely drying up and that is just flat scary.

 

[NK777]

I went in to Big 5 yesterday just to see what I could find. The only pistol ammo to speak of was a few boxes of .40. They had a couple Fiocchi, a couple UMC, and one box of something else I can't remember right now. All of it was the same price - $24/box. I couldn't bring myself to pay that much........... yet. On the other hand, Bi-mart had at least 4 cases of .22 lr, 2 cases remington, and 2 of American Eagle. At least their prices weren't ridiculous. The Remington was $17/525 rounds, and the Am. Eag. was on sale for $15. They also had 8 boxes of Rem. .223 45gr. HP, but I don't need it that bad to where I have to spend $12/20 rounds. I did purchase their last 3 boxes of XM193. I guess what I am trying to say is, that you can still find ammo if you are willing to look around.

yeah... in small quantities for high prices if you aren't picky sure. Before the so called craze I used to buy 250 to 500 rounds of 230gr 45 ACP UMC a month from my local Bimart though. Seemed like those Mega packs were always in stock then one day the shelves were empty. Used to buy primers 1000 at a time and they always had them until they didn't one day. Kind of shocking! Then all the ammunition brands I'd never seen on the shelves started arriving.

In short, things sure got weird in a hurry.

 

[Spray-n-pray]

In short, things sure got weird in a hurry.

All too true....

 

[finch6013]

its too bad that the ammo makers cant expand and create more jobs for this economy and then be able to keep up with demand. Maybe they are affraid to bump up production too much and then when the craze dies not be able to afford the overhead.
I too have been shooting alot less. I went from about three times a month shooting all day to once a month shooting maybe an hour.

 

[ORBrit]

The .22LR drying up was what surprised me!
I wouldn't consider my self a hoarder. I would just rather purchase the ammunition I think I will need to shoot in the next couple years at reasonable prices. All my 9mm WWB was purchased when I first got my Glock 4 years ago. I bought 2000 rounds back then and have just under 1000 now. I have purchased Remington and Blazer occasionally, but no 9mm since the election.

 

[gallogiro]

Well, I'm glad that Bi-Mart in woodburn has not inflated their prices. On the few boxes they had they were around the same price they were before. There's another gun store in woodburn where they are price gouging like crazy. They had a crate of corrosive 7.62x39 yugo surplus stuff, they wanted $25 for 40 rounds. And selling WOLF .223 at 10.99 a box, yes, WOLF!!!! Granted they only had five boxes. So I went to Bi-Mart and they had UMC .223 FMJ for 8.99 (still pricey but its what it usually sells for and it's brass not steel).

 

[CharlesAFerg]

we owe all this to those ammo hording people. You know who you are

Who's hording? I'm just not totally convinced that there has been all that much hording going on.

Hoarding.

 

[OreGunSun]

I will stop buying Ammo when I can no longer afford it or until prices and supply drop to the ballpark that they once were.

To many perfect storms on too many fronts -

What is is Hoarding ?

If you shoot a black powder rifle?
If you shoot a bolt or single shot rifle?
If you shoot a lever action or stripper feed rifle?
If you shoot a semi-auto rifle?
If you shoot a Full-Auto Rifle?

I guess that it depends on your need or desire -

Hunters a box of 20 can last a season -

I heard on that ABC show that 9 million new guns have been sold since the Election - if just once box of 50 was sold with each firearm that is almost .5 Billion rounds of ammo.

 

[dr drae]

Wade's Guns in Bellevue, WA is charging $25/box of 50 for .40SW.

 

[gallogiro]

Well, this year the holidays are going to be a lot easier, now I know what to get friends for christmas.