Five months ago you could have 1,000 rounds of 5.56 delivered to your door for $210. I know those days are gone (for now) but this is absurd. I swear I’m not making this up, but I wish I were.

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70 COMMENTS

    • I agree Chuck, where?!?! You couldn’t if you shoot brass cased 5.56 as far as I could ever find. Best available was around $300.

      • Cabela’s was selling some brand of 55 gr f0r $4.00/20 at that time. They had endcap bins full.

    • Local gun store posted on FB that they had some 555 round boxes of Federal for $100. Sad thing is, they were probably bought at the Walmart that’s less than a mile away for 1/4 that.

  3. Last summer the CMP had a case (5k rnds) of 22lr mil surp Rem for 90 bucks. If i recall they sold 4 million rnds in 72 hours. These are bizzaro times indeed.

    • I don’t remember that but I did get in on a group buy through my CMP affiliated club last year @$100/case (.02/rd.). They came back in stock briefly in September and I bought another case for $150 + s&h. It took them almost two months to fill the order but thankfully they filled it.

      I’m still fairly well-stocked in ammo, overall, because I’m clearly the only one who loaded up before the election. But with no end in sight to this ammo shortage, I’m about to shut down everything except my .22 LRs. I just won’t pay >.50/rd. for “bargain” .223/5.56.

      • “I’m about to shut down everything except my .22 LRs.”

        It’s hard to be Blammo with no ammo. Am I right? 😉

      • You remember correctly about the 22 buy from CMP. The clubs got the case for 64 dollars plus some shipping. Only had available a couple of days as I said. Then a little later on, they had a smaller qty to get rid of but the price had gone up a bit.

        Folks in the broader gun community just don’t think about the CMP but they always have various ammo at from very good to just competitive prices. But they have it ! Plus any business you do with them helps a ton of shooter programs.

  4. While there are many people who purchased in fear that ammo was to become unavailable soon-rightfully so-the fact is that MANY have taken ammo off the shelves purely for profit. Supply and demand. Go to Wally World buy cheap-then run a local ad offering ammo at X price because “you can cry over my pricing-but you can’t find ’em anywhere else”

    • Just quit buying it, once these loosers see that people arnt going to pay the stupi price they are asking ,they will quit robbing the shelves at walmart,but yes you are right people who dont even shot are trying to get in on the price goughing game, just don buy it.

  5. I wouldn’t give you a penny per round for Rem Golden Boys. They worked poorly last time I tried, in a bolt action, can’t imagine in a semi auto. I can easily wait for better stuff.

  6. Probably the “perfect storm” in that there is such high demand yet i have customers in the metal stamping industry who either refuse or are reluctant to produce .22 and in some cases 9mm because “there is no margin in it right now”. The have been concentrating on filling orders on more profitable calibers or in some cases adding production cautiously for fear of seeing the demand slow and are then caught with new capital investment that then goes idle quickly.

    • “there is no margin in it right now”

      If there is no margin in it now then how could there have been margin before?

      • What the manufactures are paid for their end production is not keeping up with their overhead, ie raw materials, labor, insurance, to offset their costs. If they don’t have enough raw material available or they didn’t hedge future metal costs properly they are toast. Parts suppliers to the auto industry always thought they were going to make up on volume for low margin parts years ago. How’d that work out for manufacturing in the US!?

        • There is a currently and allegedly a scarcity of raw materials to make bullets. Yet, I’m surprised it has gone up so much that they are stating that there is no margin in it right now. Labor should not have gone up so much since November 2012. I could be wrong yet it somehow seems extreme.

  8. Seriously, for many without ammo that is a bargin.

    I rather dry fire and use my pellet gun than pay those prices.

    But, that is not as nuts when you look at these prices
    http://www.gunbot.net/ammo/22lr/

    Between $0.80 and $0.20 a round for 22lr.

    I have what I have and when its done, I will use my airsoft and pellet gun

    • I had not thought of that. As .22 ammo is unavailable to me. A good high powered pellet gun. I know they make some powerful ones now. I should check pellet availability first.

  9. If you’re gonna shoot, you’re gonna pay in today’s market. I’ve paid 10 cents a round for a brick and considered myself lucky. I’ve also waited 45 minutes for Acadamy to open on delivery day and paid $22 for a brick and considered myself very lucky. Hats off to Acadamy for not raising their prices!

  10. The prices have gotten too high for me, and I won’t pay it anymore. I realize they’re getting it somewhere, but the pot’s too rich for my blood. When the price get back down to fairly reasonable levels, I’ll shoot again, till then it’s dry fire or pellets.

    Eventually this is going to really start hurting some of the shooting ranges, if it hasn’t already. The manufacturers need to stop selling to the Government (at dirt cheap prices, no less), and focus on the public a little more.

    • Such a true statement, but when the public doesn’t buy (normally) in the volume the government does, that’s gov’t contract really helps your business…the same rings true for all industries…yea, you’re margin isn’t as good…but like Walmart…if I can sell hundreds of widgets for $10 profit each or sell a million for $6 profit each…one puts more money in your pocket TODAY. That’s how the gov’t works. I personally don’t think that the gov’t should be able to have firearms other than police forces and military. There is no reason we have to pay for their range time either. Let them qualify once a year…100 rounds max. Outside of that it’s on them to practice. It’s how local PD forces do it. Why should the feds be different? If they need the practice, why shouldn’t we get tax write offs for our ammo usage as it’s key to protecting ourselves and our communities…that’s what the 2nd amendment was for…an armed population that would use their shooting skills for the greater good of the community…if gov’t gets to use tax dollars for it, I want a write off on my ammo!!!

      • Through my Nat’l Guard unit, I shoot 49 rounds per year: 9 to zero, and 40 to qualify. In an equivalent Big Army unit, I might do that twice a year.

        • Your second figure sounds similar to what we were required to fire to “qualify” when I was in the Army from ’72-’74. Really a ridiculously low amount for someone who should be proficient with a sidearm/rifle. I regularly went to the range with my own handgun to practice on my own dime, but I wonder if that is even an option for today’s troops in the US – given the “guns are evil” mindset of the current DoD and CinC.

          And why does DHS need 2.3 billion rounds of ammo and thousands of what DiFi calls “weapons of war”? What war are they planning on fighting?

    • I don’t expect ammo prices or availability to settle down for at least the next year.

      I’m expecting things to just barely start to calm down around October or November..then the Christmas rush will hit and we’ll be right back to no ammo for another 6 months.

  12. It looks like speculators are going from round to round. I noticed the 30-06 supplies are drying up. A couple a weeks ago I had notrouble finding it. Now it’s getting scarce. You can bet that there are large number of non-shooters out there who are going to have sell their wares at some point then the bubble is going to burst. Speculators who also shoot will end up with a lifetime supply of ammo. They will have merely shifted future demand back to today.

    • Excellent points… I must say I ordered a block of 10 magpul mags from brownell in December and got them in late January. I got them for $125. I wish I had ordered a dozen. I could then have easily sold them for $20 each and paid for my entire order while keeping several for myself.

  13. As a Financial Analyst for a production company(not firearms related), I’m able to guess what ammo companies are probably thinking…they’ve expanded their hours of production meaning they have extra overtime cost for presumably hourly workers. That’s OK because the added sales in theory cover those costs. It also would reduce their overhead(cost of building, electricity, water, space, taxes, non production people like finance, administration, accounting, marketing, r&d expenses now spread over more product). Now, with supplies being low to none, demand is through the roof. This means prices increase. Now, the ammo companies probably recognize this is temporary…it may last months or even years, but nonetheless temporary. If they hire extra workers and make extra production lines, this reduces their overhead and, when things calm down, will cost them more…so they have no motivation to expand their lines. They enjoy the better profit margins and reduced overhead for the time being and wait for things to calm down. Will prices come down? That’s my concern. What’s your motivation to lower prices. Until supply grows so heavy that they can’t sell it, then, and ONLY then, will prices come down.

    The best we can do as gun nuts is to scale back our shooting. I know I have just to save on digging into my personal inventory. It’s not the answer any of us want to hear as I’d love nothing more than to eat a brick of .22lr or enjoy shooting 200 rounds through my AR-15 but if we all hold off a bit, and uncle sam stops using our tax dollars to build up their inventory (enough so every government worker could spend the next two months shooting a few hundred rounds a week) then supply will catch up and we’ll suddenly see prices back to normal. Unfortunately, not all of us have a large inventory at home…I understand that…but my guess is the only way we’ll see prices drop is if we a pro-gun President is elected in 2016 and Obama is nothing but a faded nightmare for us. Then we’ll see prices come down…or so I hope. I swear, if 5.56 ever gets back down to .10 a round I’ll invest in tens of thousands of rounds so the next Obama(unfortunately there is probably some nightmare of a person out there now waiting to become President someday and go after our guns a decade or two from now) that I’ll have a good inventory. The ability to practice like we have and enjoy our sport has been stolen by Obama…we have the anti-gunners to thank…they don’t understand our sport. They don’t understand how knowing we can defend our home, our families, and others around us is a source of pride and comfort to us. They don’t understand how target shooting is a fun hobby. The President himself enjoys golf…and while the driving range is fun enough, the golf swing has never felt natural to me. Let him enjoy his sport and he should let us enjoy ours…as a golf club could be used as a weapon if desired too…

    • +1

      And if you stop watching cable news and reality TV and spend the same amount of time reloading instead you’ll be a much happier person and it remains a time neutral investment.

      • yeah but primers are getting pretty hard to find as well.
        i’m glad i stocked up but in retrospect wish i would have stocked up MORE primers…

  15. Not a bad price, but as far as 22 goes, I’m always on the look-up for CCI mini mag than any other brand. Stuff performs flawlessly for me.

    • Four years ago I was paying .10 a round for minimags (all a Sig Mosquito will eat and still cycle) and I thought times were bad THEN!

  16. Rimfire is a blessing and a curse at the same time. Pre-craziness it was so cheap it was a blessing. However who would have thought it would be so hard to find??? And the longer it stays scarce the more people will continue to hoard what they can buy. This cycle won’t be broken for a long, long time.

      • +1

        True but….

        The reason I have been using “gloomhound” for years online is that I couldn’t get “Ugly Dog” for a screen name over at the now defunct Avalon Hill forums back in the mid 90’s.

  18. Patience and timing, fellow shooters! Just picked up two 525 round bricks for $20 each and 50 round boxes of Tula 9mm for $10 each. My secret? I walked into this place called “Walmart” for the parabellum, and Dunn’s sporting goods for the lr ammo. For the .22 enthusiast I recommend quality time with a bolt action and/or single action revolver to pace your rounds. My battered Marlin 25 and new-to-me Ruger Single Six just got exercised yesterday as the kids and I eradicted some very threatening cans! Plus, you can shoot cheaper, less potent ammo because you cycle a bolt or cylinder. The timing does require a few fruitless visits, but I’m willing to spend a little time to save a lot of money.

  19. The pisser is I was going to buy two of theses at Gander Mt just before the scare and put one back.

  20. Pellet guns. I’m looking into muzzleloaders and archery. In my yoot we could get .22 LR for less than a penny a round.

    I will not be disarmed, even if it means simply storing my guns and the ammo I have until they’re needed.

    • I here you, thats what I have been doing, Iam setting on my reserves untill prices come down let the price goughers choke on it.
      It has been good for my bow shooting skills,and I feel all warm inside every time I use my arrows over and over.

  21. Two weeks ago, I bought a Browning Semi-Auto Takedown 22 (SA22) made in Belgium in 1964 for $399. I am really looking forward to shooting it.

      • I did! You play’in with me? 🙂

        While it looks good for being 48 years old, a friend of mine might strip off the bluing and either re-blue it or put on a dura-coat like finish. I’m thinking a dark midnight blue or black. We are also talking about stripping the wood of the Browning factory’s glossy shelaque and put on an oil finish.

        • Yeah, definitely playin. I’ve seen you mention it in other threads. Very cool that you got something you’re excited about.

          I have a similar thing that I got from my Dad about a year ago. It belonged to my Great Grandfather, my Grandfather and my Dad.

          http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remington_Model_24

          The shellac is tortised, the bluing is worn to shit and I love it.

          It’s based on Browning’s SA22. It’s a takedown also. I’m having trouble getting it to cycle reliably, though. My hunch is that the modern .22 is making it cycle too fast and that’s making it catch the spent brass before it falls clear.

        • Swarf,

          I wasn’t aware of the Remington Model 24. It’s interesting. What types of 22LR have you shot from it that are causing problems?

          Remington produced the SA22 model for Browning from 1917 until about 1955. From 1955 until about 1975 the SA22 was made directly by Browning in Belgium. Since then, the gun has been made in Japan. Introduced in 1914, I believe FN made the SA22 until 1917. Next year is the 100 year anniversary of the SA22.

        • Thanks for the link, Aharon

          I don’t remember exactly what ammo I’ve tried through it. Probably Blazer or whatever was on sale at Outdoor Emporium that week.

  23. I saw a posting on a local site for a dpms AR15 with a red dot sight I never heard of before for 4000.00. I looked up the red dot sight and it was 40 bucks brand new. I sent a message to the greedy sob letting him know what I thought about him and his greed.

  25. Lesson for the future, when the price of ammo returns to semi-reasonable:

    Buy a brick a week, or a brick every other week, until you have at least 10k rounds as a base. Then buy what you need to shoot on a monthly basis. Even at $20/brick, you should be able to scrounge up that much from your weekly budget without perishing from hunger. You know, skip a couple of fast food meals and drink plain tap water instead of the $2/bottle stuff. Or even – wow, this is radical – cancel your cable TV and start reading books! (OK,OK, sorry – that is kind of crazy advice, ignore it.)

  26. Since everyone asked where I got 5.56 so cheap, the answer is Tulammo. It’s not terribly accurate (okay it kinda sucks for accuracy) but for me it’s been incredibly reliable. I’ve had about 1 failure per thousand rounds, and I’ve shot through more than 2000 rounds through my AR and AK. AT 200 yards it turns a precision AR into a musket, but its perfect for plinking and practicing your run-and-gun. I used to look for it on Ammoseek, and before the panic it was always less than $240 per 1000 delivered to my door.

    Now, of course, its gone.

  28. Remember when everyone was making fun of reloaders? That’s how much I reload .45 acp for.

    4.2 gr of bullseye under 200gr SWC:
    $36/500 cast bullets + $32/1000 primers + $19/1666 powder charges = $0.118.

    • I don’t reload, but the FIL does, I’ve been helping him find supplies. He’s had no worries for range ammo.

  29. Those same buckets were on sale this week at Cabela’s (and available for an hour or so). $69+ shipping.

  30. I sold 500 rounds of Aguila for $80 bucks at the gun show this morning. It’s crazy out there. People will throw money at you for 9mm and .22LR

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