Author Topic: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?  (Read 9396 times)

Offline goodfellow

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I don't know if you guys follow ammo prices, but after Pres. Trump was elected, the prices across the board dropped significantly (as did the prices for firearms). Fast forward to 2019 and I'm seeing the prices for ammunition rising significantly in the last few months. The main calibers especially -- 22LR, 9mm, .223/5.56x45, and 7.62x39 have increased about 10-15% overall when looking at bulk pricing (5000rds/case in 22LR, and 1000 rds/case in all others). Many online retailers are already sold out of the most popular bulk 22LR brands in case packaging.

At the local gun range, the old timers are looking back on their collective historical experiences and are suggesting that folks are again getting very nervous about the coming election year. Also, the NRA scandal(s), California-like ammunition law initiatives in other states, and the new "Red Flag" firearms laws are taking their toll. As a result people across the nation are slowly arming and stockpiling ammunition again.

We may quickly be returning to the fearful political climate of the early 2010's, when shortages were the norm, and fear mongering was the order of the day, and we may well see those Walmart ammunition trolls starting up their shenanigans again very soon. 

« Last Edit: August 26, 2019, 10:07:27 AM by goodfellow »

Offline DeadNutz

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2019, 11:04:45 AM »
I haven't checked ammo prices lately but I don't doubt it. I have to leave in an hour to go up to So. Lake Tahoe in Calif. for an internment service. I unloaded the ammo and mags I carry in the truck as you can't get caught bringing ammo into Calif. I will feel naked up there without protection. I feel like I'm leaving the USA every single time I enter that state.

Offline pep

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2019, 06:47:51 PM »
I haven't checked ammo prices lately but I don't doubt it. I have to leave in an hour to go up to So. Lake Tahoe in Calif. for an internment service. I unloaded the ammo and mags I carry in the truck as you can't get caught bringing ammo into Calif. I will feel naked up there without protection. I feel like I'm leaving the USA every single time I enter that state.

You are, not a feeling but a fact.

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1776 ................... what happened!

Offline highland512

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2019, 08:17:06 AM »
And in a year and a half when price go back to normal I will laugh at these dummies again.

People are so irrational its not even funny. Nobody plans or pays any attention until they read some stupid artical on the internet or the news hypes up a mass shooting and coming gun laws and then they panic buy anything they can find like a chump. Will we have any new gun laws this or next year??? I doubt it. Will Trump lose the election??? Not against any of the D's that are currently running.

 People need to chill and put their money into their 401k and stop hording ammo.

Offline goodfellow

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2019, 08:21:12 PM »
Over the summer we had a few get-to-gethers with immediate family and out of town relatives, and in the process shot up a few thousand rounds of 22LR. It was a lot of fun and yesterday was time to reorder. Well, the case prices sure have changed. Two years ago a case (5000 rounds) of Remington Thunderbolt (40gr. lead bullets) was selling for $129 + reasonable shipping. Today I ordered from the same retailer for $169 + reasonable shipping. Searching other popular ammo sites yielded no better prices, but in most cases they were already sold out. There were some sites that offered the case for a few dollars less, but then hit you hard on the shipping.

Bottom line -- "gotcha" politics, Red Flag Law initiatives, and the coming election are all driving the prices higher. By Christmas we're probably looking at 10-20% higher prices than today. As we approach the next election, I expect shortages across the board to be much more common occurrence. Walmart is already out of the picture for acquiring military and common handgun calibers. I'm hoping that they will keep 22LR in their inventory. A lot of rural folks depend on 22LR as their primary utility caliber.

Offline highland512

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2019, 07:50:58 AM »
Walmart can kiss my ass when it comes to sports and outdoors The only reason they get any of my $$ is due to the fact that they are the only grocery where we can get everything in one stop within a 30 min drive. All my ammo purchasing is done at Rural King where the supply and prices are on point. I think they have some out there by you goodfellow, I know for a fact there is one in Front Royal.

Offline bmwrd0

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2019, 08:03:45 AM »
Because I have some odd caliber guns, I have been using this to find ammo lately.

https://ammoseek.com/

Breaks it down by cost per round and number of rounds per package. Then it gives you a list of sellers to check out online. Worth looking at for those who buy online.

Offline goodfellow

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #7 on: October 08, 2019, 08:06:37 AM »
Thanks Highland -- I love Rural King. They have great prices and are definitely 2A friendly. I rarely bought any ammo from Walmart (maybe a few rounds of 30-06 and .40 S&W), but most of my regular ammo purchases over the last decade were always made in bulk and online. 

Offline highland512

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2019, 03:07:57 PM »
I have learned to keep it simple. I sold a couple .40 hand guns, a 300blk "assault style rifle" ::), 30-30, and a .380.
Now I focus my ammo accusations on .223/5.56, .22lr, 12 ga, .38/.357, and 9mm. So much easier and cleaner to store 5 flavors of ammo instead of countless types. 

I have slowly bought over the last couple years in prep, but I dont think any of the current clowns from team D will be the winner in 2020.

Offline slip knot

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2019, 04:49:22 PM »
Ammo was abundantly available at Academy this afternoon. went in to ogle a new EDC Kimber in .45acp. Bought a box of .40 and .45. The Kimber may be going on my wish list for Christmas. ;D

Offline wilbilt

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2019, 11:28:57 PM »
Obtaining ammo has become increasingly complicated here in California.

I am thankful I anticipated these developments and have been stocking up for years, along with reloading.


Offline goodfellow

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #11 on: October 24, 2019, 07:26:35 AM »
Obtaining ammo has become increasingly complicated here in California.

I am thankful I anticipated these developments and have been stocking up for years, along with reloading.



Very smart move! I don't reload, but do have some ammo in reserve. Several friends of mine are well equipped to turn out a lot of rounds, and they are stocked to the hilt with powder, primers, bullets and casings. The California situation, and the recent tragic Virginia Beach shootings have prompted many of these guys to stock up on components because "they see the writing on the wall".

Offline wilbilt

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #12 on: October 25, 2019, 09:00:06 AM »
Obtaining ammo has become increasingly complicated here in California.

I am thankful I anticipated these developments and have been stocking up for years, along with reloading.



Very smart move! I don't reload, but do have some ammo in reserve. Several friends of mine are well equipped to turn out a lot of rounds, and they are stocked to the hilt with powder, primers, bullets and casings. The California situation, and the recent tragic Virginia Beach shootings have prompted many of these guys to stock up on components because "they see the writing on the wall".

Yea, I am sure reloading components will be next on the California hit list. Probably in the next legislative session.

Offline goodfellow

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #13 on: November 04, 2019, 08:44:30 AM »
There are three Walmart stores in my immediate area, and for the past 15-20 years they have made the "politically correct" decision to minimize the sale of ammo and firearms. In fact they were pressured by the local anti-gun lobby many years ago to not stock firearms at all. Ammo supply was always sporadic and minimalist at best.

Now comes the surprise, or better said, "the irony"! Ever since Walmart decided to pull out of the military caliber ammo business, the shelves have been overflowing with stocked ammo -- in any caliber. Except for one small strip mall Walmart location (which never had much supply anyway), the larger stores and super centers are literally stocked to the rafters with ammo; ... and it's cheap!

Consensus is that they are draining their warehouses and regional distribution centers to comply with the new corporate mandate. Hence they plan to get rid of the stocks as quickly as possible and are holding prices very low. My question to you rural and mid-western members is -- are you seeing the same thing in your areas? i was up in West Virginia last week, and the local Walmart was stocked with everything -- including a great selection of long guns. 

November is hunting season and I expected full shelves, but they were literally stocking inventory in the aisles.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2019, 08:46:47 AM by goodfellow »

Offline DeadNutz

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2019, 04:26:29 PM »
When I was in the local Walmart last week I noticed quite a few empty spots on the shelves in the ammo case.

Offline john k

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #15 on: November 04, 2019, 08:00:03 PM »
Nothing  noticeable here, plenty on the shelves,  Nebraska, farming country, or the city. 

Offline wilbilt

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2019, 05:12:49 PM »
There are three Walmart stores in my immediate area, and for the past 15-20 years they have made the "politically correct" decision to minimize the sale of ammo and firearms. In fact they were pressured by the local anti-gun lobby many years ago to not stock firearms at all. Ammo supply was always sporadic and minimalist at best.

Now comes the surprise, or better said, "the irony"! Ever since Walmart decided to pull out of the military caliber ammo business, the shelves have been overflowing with stocked ammo -- in any caliber. Except for one small strip mall Walmart location (which never had much supply anyway), the larger stores and super centers are literally stocked to the rafters with ammo; ... and it's cheap!

Consensus is that they are draining their warehouses and regional distribution centers to comply with the new corporate mandate. Hence they plan to get rid of the stocks as quickly as possible and are holding prices very low. My question to you rural and mid-western members is -- are you seeing the same thing in your areas? i was up in West Virginia last week, and the local Walmart was stocked with everything -- including a great selection of long guns. 

November is hunting season and I expected full shelves, but they were literally stocking inventory in the aisles.

Here in my Nor Cal area, hunting is a big thing. Upland game, waterfowl, etc. Walmart was always the go-to for ammo. They used to have shotgun ammo stacked in the aisles this time of year. Those 100-round value packs were a good deal.

Due to recent laws enacted in this state, all ammo has to be locked up, among other ridiculous state requirements for both sellers and purchasers.

The only thing I buy there anymore is motor oil and fertilizer.


Offline eborcim

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #17 on: November 08, 2019, 11:54:54 AM »
Walmarts around here closing out ammunition sales.

Offline slip knot

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2019, 07:26:56 PM »
Haven't set foot in a Walmart in years. One of my buds was in and he texted me that they had 223 for $25/100 or $.25/round.

Last week I went to New Orleans for a few days and decided I was gonna need some extra ammo... just in case. I picked up 4 boxes of .357 Hornady for $100 or $1/round. I seem to recall these being $20 a box last time I bought so they may have gone up in the past 6 months.

Offline highland512

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #19 on: November 12, 2019, 07:20:51 AM »
Haven't set foot in a Walmart in years. One of my buds was in and he texted me that they had 223 for $25/100 or $.25/round.

Last week I went to New Orleans for a few days and decided I was gonna need some extra ammo... just in case. I picked up 4 boxes of .357 Hornady for $100 or $1/round. I seem to recall these being $20 a box last time I bought so they may have gone up in the past 6 months.

You always need extra ammo in NOLA, when I was working nights in NO East I carried 2 extra mags. Its a neat place to visit but a horrible place to live and work.   

Offline TacticalFun

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #20 on: November 12, 2019, 08:23:52 AM »
I am very glad that i am a dealer and do not have this problem

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


Offline Elroy

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2019, 12:33:19 PM »
Elroy has observed that ammunition prices have moderated to more reasonable level. Locally Elroy has found .22LR availability plentiful but cost remains "slightly" elevated. If one shops around, it's possible to remain stocked up with out going broke. As an example, last week Elroy picked up several boxes of .223 brass cased 55 grain Federal at $.30 a round.  Elroy considers that reasonable.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2019, 12:45:33 PM by Elroy »

Offline RustFarmer

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Re: Price of ammunition - a barometer for the coming election year?
« Reply #22 on: December 27, 2019, 11:14:56 AM »
Indiana

Current ad 12/26 - 01/08 for Bass Pro Shops has Federal Black Pack 22LR.  1100 rounds for $44.97 or 4 cents per round.