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Old July 30, 2021, 03:46 AM   #1
Alan0354
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Is ammo availabilty getting better yet?

Have not been keeping up lately, is the ammo availability situation getting better yet lately?
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Old July 30, 2021, 07:25 AM   #2
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Within the last 2 weeks I bought 9mm Fiocchi and .45ACP Federal Champion from 2 different LGS’s. Two box max at both places. The prices are still higher than I want to pay. The fact that WalMart isn’t selling ammo is going to keep ammo prices higher at other sources.
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Old July 30, 2021, 09:54 AM   #3
Carl the Floor Walker
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Just went to the LGS and range yesterday. DEAD. Hardly no ammo at all. Not many firearms for sale either. But they did have a good supply of Shotgun ammo which seems to be the norm lately. I got lucky and picked up three boxes of 22.cal Federal 325 rds fir $18.99 at WALMART. The MGR told me this is the first in many weeks that they have had in any in. She told me to come back tomorrow and it might still be some left as many have given up even looking for it. (Three Box limit)
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Old July 30, 2021, 11:04 AM   #4
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I get emails every day from online vendors. 9mm has been hovering around $400 / thousand for a few weeks. Prices have started to drop to the $375 range in the last week. That's a lot better than $600 to $700 but still 50% high than it should be. Selection of other calibers has increased but prices are high.
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Old July 30, 2021, 12:11 PM   #5
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Probably not going to get much cheaper. Inflation is here. This will be the new normal.
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Old July 30, 2021, 12:11 PM   #6
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Thanks guys, I wait another 3 months and check in again. My guns can wait. I need to have a brand and model that is available consistently. I need to fire like 200 round to proof it is reliable for the gun first, then buy a few hundred rounds to stock up. Can't take a chance to waste 200 rounds just to find I cannot buy it anymore.
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Old July 30, 2021, 08:16 PM   #7
Carl the Floor Walker
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Originally Posted by Carl the Floor Walker View Post
Just went to the LGS and range yesterday. DEAD. Hardly no ammo at all. Not many firearms for sale either. But they did have a good supply of Shotgun ammo which seems to be the norm lately. I got lucky and picked up three boxes of 22.cal Federal 325 rds fir $18.99 at WALMART. The MGR told me this is the first in many weeks that they have had in any in. She told me to come back tomorrow and it might still be some left as many have given up even looking for it. (Three Box limit)
Lol, I went back after posting this and yes, they still had some left and bought another 3 boxes
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Old July 30, 2021, 09:18 PM   #8
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I've been to a few gun shows lately and get lots of internet/email offers. Ammo is plentiful...lots available, and prices are dropping. I've actually been offered 9mm at under $20 a box. However most is still too high to tempt me. I did get some CCI .22 and a couple of boxes of .30-30 from Walmart...at pre-Covid prices!
I'm watching and waiting.
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Old July 31, 2021, 02:06 AM   #9
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I've found it available. But I've also found some small pistol primers online...which tells me that things are getting better.
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Old July 31, 2021, 06:50 AM   #10
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hold off on buying it. the more you buy the more itll stay high. make sellers starve a little and itll come down. basic supply and demand.
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Old July 31, 2021, 07:18 AM   #11
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Availibility ? Getting better.

All important question still being asked ? "How much" ? Your still going to pay $28 for a 50 box of 9mm out my way.
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Old July 31, 2021, 08:17 AM   #12
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Locally to me it’s around $20-$21 a box of 50 of 9mm. You can try ammoseek.com for online shopping, though if you live in a restrictive state you may not be able to order from certain vendors.


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Old July 31, 2021, 02:19 PM   #13
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Will we ever see 9mm for $9.95 a box again, I doubt it. Or 223 (5.56) for $6 - $7 per 20 round box. I usually buy cases and look for prices around $300 - $330 per 1000 rounds, but nothing like that lately. Availability is better but prices are too high. Probably will be like the 22LR drought during the Obama years, when it all comes back prices will be 30% higher for everything. I did get some PMC 50 BMG for $2.48 per round, four 10 round boxes, heck of a deal compared to Hornady at $9 per round.
I saw some good prices on ammoseek, but when you got to check out it was $75 for shipping. They’re going to get it some way.
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Old July 31, 2021, 07:34 PM   #14
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I saw some good prices on ammoseek, but when you got to check out it was $75 for shipping. They’re going to get it some way.
It depends a lot on the seller. Some absolutely make it on the shipping. Others charge as little as $20 shipping for a case of 9mm. Some sellers even have dramatically different shipping prices depending on the product (whether coming from a different warehouse or they simply need to move certain products more).


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Old July 31, 2021, 07:44 PM   #15
Carl the Floor Walker
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Personally I do not think the low cost of ammo like we had before is ever going to come back. I think the 22.cal will be the next 9mm for those of us that like to make it to the range and shoot often. The days of high volume shooting are over. And the 380, will be a true luxury to shoot.
Thankfully I have all the guns I need, and will not be purchasing any new guns unless another 22.cal come along. My guns are all broken in, I am very familiar with shooting them.
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Old July 31, 2021, 07:46 PM   #16
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The days of high volume shooting are only over if you can’t or won’t pay the price.


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Old July 31, 2021, 08:32 PM   #17
Carl the Floor Walker
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I guess you are right. Not many of us will make it. I belong to two indoor ranges and my club a outdoor range. I do not see any of these guys out there much any more and for sure they are not doing any high volume shooting.
Lol, the good news, is look how much money I will be saving. I was spending what I thought was a fortune before. All good things come to a end at some point.
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Old July 31, 2021, 10:05 PM   #18
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Can't take a chance to waste 200 rounds....
No round that strikes it's intended target is ever completely wasted.
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Old August 1, 2021, 07:15 AM   #19
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Still empty shelves in my area of western PA .

On line does seem to be improving. Hopefully That is a sign of things to come.

If there is silver lining, I have had a normally busy public range all to my self.
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Old August 1, 2021, 01:40 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Alan0354 View Post
Have not been keeping up lately, is the ammo availability situation getting better yet lately?
Aound here, "maybe". Last time I was in the farm store, they actually had a pile of steel case 9mm, and 100 round packs of .45ACP. Normally the pistol ammo case has been barren and empty.
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Old August 1, 2021, 05:33 PM   #21
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Ammo shortage is Getting better for me, thanks to my poor memory! Looking for something this am, found a bag I bought last year at KTP; had a new box of .45 LC and a .38 Special target ammo! Bought them last year before the "ammo drought" hit, forgot all about it. Like opening an Xmass gift.

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Old August 1, 2021, 06:10 PM   #22
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Yesterday I stopped by what is locally billed as the world's largest gun store-- and it may well be as they took over a former major supermarket building a few years ago.

The good news is I saw ammo and component shelves that not too long ago were bare now starting to fill with product. Not everything you're looking for but enough so you could go shooting. The bad news was prices-- mostly yowza!.

Same general inventory situation at their long-- and I mean long-- gun counters. Increased stock-- up to maybe 30-40% of what was there a couple of years ago- but mostly punishing prices.

But a few months ago the count was more like 10% (all my eyeball estimates). Several of the counters had been closed off and blocked as the case shelves and gun racks were empty. Yesterday, only one counter was empty/closed off.
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Old August 1, 2021, 07:57 PM   #23
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I don't base availability off what's in store, I base it off what's in stock online and at what price. I see Blazer 9mm Aluminum is $20 a box, which is a lot better than the $30 I've been seeing Federal brass 9mm at and it appears that the ammo isn't selling out super fast.

For any other handgun caliber it's either out of stock or ridiculously priced. I see Midway has Federal 10mm HST ammo at $2.50 a round in stock and it's like nobody is buying it so why hasn't Midway lowered the price? In normal times that ammo would be maybe half the cost and it's not like there's a huge demand for 10mm ammo anyway.

Seems to me a lot of retailers bought ammo at outrageous prices from distributors thinking it was going to sell, it hasn't and they're like a used car dealer holding onto a 12 year old F150 that doesn't start and has two flat tires and won't let it go for less than 6 grand because they won't turn a profit.

IMO, for calibers that aren't 9mm, .223/556, 762x39, .22, and 12ga, we're in for a very long wait. You consider that it's taken us 7 months to go from 9mm at $40 a box to $20, it's gonna take us another 7 months to get anything outside the most common calibers to become available at prices 50% higher than normal and a lot of that's because inflation is going to hit like a tsunami.

And that is if there's no major mass shooting. We're pretty lucky so far this year that we haven't had a Pulse nightclub, Vegas, Parkland school, or El Paso Walmart shooting this year.
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Old August 1, 2021, 08:07 PM   #24
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The days of high volume shooting are only over if you can’t or won’t pay the price.


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When you consider the prices for everyday essentials like fuel, food, hygiene products, vehicles, etc. it's leaving less and less money available for people to spend on a particularly expensive hobby.

I remember last year seeing people blast thru 200 rounds of 9mm in about half an hour and hey, good for them, but it's pretty damn wasteful IMO when 100 rds worth is enough to stay loose.

This is why I always bring another gun to the range in a cheap to shoot caliber, either .22 or a black powder that takes a while to reload. Allows me to enjoy a trip to the range, breathe some fresh air, and not go broke doing it.

And whenever Webley gets off their rear end and starts shipping their bolt action CO2 air rifles to the US, I'll be buying one of those.
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Old August 1, 2021, 08:23 PM   #25
TunnelRat
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Is ammo availabilty getting better yet?

All of these economic points are known to me. My point was simply that there are those with larger discretionary incomes than others, hence the can/can’t. It’s not meant as a judgmental comment but one based in reality (there are items and hobbies I could never personally afford and likely never will). Those people will likely continue to shoot a substantial amount. It may be that the group of people that continue to shoot higher round counts will get smaller.

Another option is that the frequency with which people shoot high volumes decreases. I’m still shooting 200 rd of 9mm or so during my sessions, I’m just doing it half as frequently. Ammunition right now is about twice what I was paying pre panic and COVID. I’ve kept my spending the same and adjusted the frequency accordingly.

To be frank we had a number of years where prices were so low that people got used to shooting high volumes and not thinking about it. That’s not the case anymore. I still think a person can have higher round count sessions (that phrase is a bit subjective), but it may require more planning than it did some years ago.


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