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Old February 19, 2013, 04:10 AM   #1
Ignition Override
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Est. .380, 9x18, 9mm ammo prices when the fever cools?

Did not think that more space was permitted in titles. How about the price relationships?
When cooler heads prevail over the rest of this year, do seasoned handgun owners (I've never had one) anticipate that the general ratios between the lower prices in these three rounds will be similar to what it was a few months ago?

To be clear, nobody can forecast actual prices, but will Makarov ammo probably be a little cheaper than .380, and 9mm Luger a bit less than .380?
Maybe my earlier impressions were wrong, Before the panic hit.

And why did the panic even spread to handgun ammo?
Lately, the only proof that "the sky is falling(!)" was near Chelyabinsk Russia.

Last edited by Ignition Override; February 19, 2013 at 04:18 AM.
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Old February 19, 2013, 07:27 AM   #2
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You really can't predict the pricing or availibility situation which are related. At this point you can only guess. My guess would be that you will see the same disparity in pricing between ammo, but that all ammo will stay at higher levels than those pre-panic. I am not saying they will stay as high as now, but they will be higher than what they were before Newtown. How much higher is anyone's guess, but most likely it will be at least 10% - 20%, or even a bit more.

All bets are off if there are importation bans, ammo taxes, outright ammo bans, etc.
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Old February 19, 2013, 08:06 AM   #3
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Quote:
When cooler heads prevail over the rest of this year, do seasoned handgun owners (I've never had one) anticipate that the general ratios between the lower prices in these three rounds will be similar to what it was a few months ago?
Yes.
Quote:
To be clear, nobody can forecast actual prices, but will Makarov ammo probably be a little cheaper than .380, and 9mm Luger a bit less than .380?
Typically, .380 > 9mm Mak > 9mm Luger, although 9mm Mak prices are a bit difficult to compare, because most of the 9mm Mak ammo on the market is steel case (Brown Bear, Silver Bear, Wolf Military Classic, etc). If you can't use steel-case ammo at your local public range- which is becoming more and more prevalent- brass-case Mak ammo is comparable in price to .380 or slightly higher, and it's less widely available.
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Old February 19, 2013, 09:32 AM   #4
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One other thing re: 9mm Mak...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pilot
All bets are off if there are importation bans, ammo taxes, outright ammo bans, etc.
I'm no Chicken Little, but I'd like to mention a couple of notes re: 9x18mm Makarov.
  • Potential import restrictions on Russian ammo will have a much greater effect on the price and availability of 9mm Mak than the other 2 cartridges because most 9mm Mak ammo comes from Russia.
  • As I write this, several states have gone to a FFL-only ammunition sales system, or seem likely to do so. This will probably have a negative effect on the price and availability of 9mm Mak in those states because it sells slowly enough that most retailers can't justify stocking much of it and/or selling it cheap.
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Old February 19, 2013, 10:16 AM   #5
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I agree that things someday will return to 'more normal' levels, but every time a freak out event occurs, prices always seem to stay 10-15% higher than they were previously. And if the Russian ammo ever dries up, get ready for serious price increases for domestic stuff.
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Old February 19, 2013, 08:54 PM   #6
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I don't even know, I went into a small gun shop and he was selling 9mm for $45(!) a box! It should be $8-$15 absolute max.

It's because of hoarders, they're buying up everything the minute it comes in and leaving people like me who buy a few boxes at a time, with nothing!
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Old February 19, 2013, 09:33 PM   #7
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Hoarders are the name we give to others who buy the ammo that we don't get.....

This is the free market undergoing an aberration due to political forces and the reaction of the public to those forces. It is fear-driven. Civil unrest or natural disaster may lead people to hoard foodstuffs, water, gasoline and other essentials which they believe, rightly or wrongly, will soon be in short supply. That is what has happened to the market with guns and ammo.

People's other favorite term right now is price gouging. Price gouging is a pejorative term referring to a situation in which a seller prices goods or commodities much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. This rapid increase in prices occurs after a demand or supply shock: examples include price increases after hurricanes or other natural disasters. In precise, legal usage, it is the name of a crime that applies in some of the United States during civil emergencies. In less precise usage, it can refer either to prices obtained by practices inconsistent with a competitive free market, or to windfall profits.

So, recent tragic events caused a rapid political response that is ongoing and unpredictable resulting in fear that guns, ammo and certain accessories will be unavailable, banned or both. That fear causes 'hoarding' of available supplies. The supply is no different that before the tragedy but the demand is markedly greater. Since the demand is greater than capacity to manufacture, prices rise (highest bidder concept)- WE do the hoarding but there is NO price gouging. WE, as the gun market consumers, are responsible for the hoarding; the free market is responsible for the prices. Prices will come down when the hoarding ceases. The hoarding will cease if/when the political climate eases up and the laws being considered are stupid crazy.
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Old February 19, 2013, 09:37 PM   #8
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You're right, but I don't and won't hoard even with the opportunity to do so. People are buying 20-30 boxes at a time if they show up, and that ends up depriving those of use who only buy a few here and there.

Hoarders are the people stocking their basements to bursting with ammo they don't intend to use just because. Some are doing it to re-sell at higher prices, but many are so fearful that there will be no more that they just keep piling it up. That's hoarding.

Price gouging is a different matter entirely, prices going up due to lack of availability isn't gouging.

Buying a brand new gun at $400 to turn around and try to sell it for $700 is fine if people are desperate enough to pay it, but it's still sketchy.
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Old February 20, 2013, 10:10 PM   #9
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Hmmmm . . . Maye in some places some folks are "buying all they can get" but out here in Tucson . . a person is limited. Sportsmen's Warehouse will not raise their prices unless the mfg. does to them (which I applaud). You have to get there before they open on a Friday morning -they give out a limited amount of numbers and then you wait your turn until your number is called. They will tell you in advance how many boxes of what caliber, primers, etc. you are allowed. I consider what they are doing to be very fair. However, when I was there, several "gangbangers" were their and they, as well as a number of others, took the max of everything. It doesn't take any brains to know that those jokers are buying to resell at a good profit and I wouldn't be surprised that with some of the buyers, it was on Craigs List within several hours.

The day I was there, they had no 38 spl. We stopped at another gun store and I was surprised that they had a limited amount of various calibers in stock - and you were limited to purchasing three boxes. I ended up buying 2 boxes of 38 spl target WC and a very reasonable price.

I have a small quantity of various calibers but I refuse to buy more if I don't need it nor will I pay the goughing prices that some are trying to charge. I have started shooting more 22 rimfire - primarily because of the cost but the supply of that is pretty scarce as well. Hopefully, the clowns that are buying and stockpiling ammo that they'll never use will either run out of space or money soon. Greed is a terrible thing . . . both in buying and stockpiling more than you need as well as charging more that it is worth. . . but I guess that's human nature?
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Old February 20, 2013, 11:20 PM   #10
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I'm new to gun ownership and bought a few pistols in the last 3 months. At time of purchase of the first gun (SIG P239), 9mm was ~$14/50rds. Then I bought my second semi-auto (SW M&P9c) a month later and the price of 9mm ammo jumped to ~$20/50rds. Keep in mind I hadn't purchased any ammo up to that point because I was still getting all the proper gear, supplies, etc.

Then finally I broke down and got a 22LR semi-auto, thinking that 22LR ammo would be cheap for plinkin. Much to my surprise you can't find it anywhere.

I finally found some 9mm ammo online for $0.40/rd, buckled down and bought 1000rd case. I thought at first I must be nuts, but realized I can only do my part and only buy what I need .

I suspect that eventually things will subside, ammo will be plentiful and reasonable prices will return.

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Old February 21, 2013, 01:38 AM   #11
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I think we will see this hysteria mode for a while given the current political climate.
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Old February 21, 2013, 10:50 PM   #12
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as compare to before the craze happened brass cased 380, 9mak, and 9mm went for about $18, $16, and $12 per box of 50. i could also find steel cased 9mak and 9mm for around $10 a box of 50 so my cz 82 got feed a steady diet of silver bear hollow points in zinc plated steel cases for $10 a box without issue. hopefully the crazy will come to an end soon and without any permanent price increases, might just be my wishful thinking though
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Old February 21, 2013, 10:57 PM   #13
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It will take a while (a year or more) to fill the pipeline back up with the less common calibers that were dropped temporarily. But, without questioning the ethics of ammo makers or dealers, if you sold beans at $1 a pound, and there was a panic and you found people would gladly pay $3 a pound, would you go back to $1 a pound or would you go to, say, $2 a pound and make more money?

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