View Full Version : Ammo price increases coming again
I was hearing rumors about this on the gunshop grapevine and a few forums over the last month or two. Then saw a copy of this letter from ATK and found out it's for real.
http://gunmart.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-on-atk-ammo-price-increase.html
Bottom line, commodity prices are going up again, ammo is going up again.
Yep, unfortnately. Wideners' has posted a warning on their website as well.
ShimmySham
03-09-11, 15:01
hm...looks like I should go ahead and jump on a couple cases of XM193 then...
Almost everything will be going up. Even though it wasn't convenient I just got 500 rounds of Federal 5.56 for $159.95
According to these guys! Plus other company's are saying the same thing. :mad:
http://www.wideners.com/
NOTICE:
"Large price increases for all ammunition and components are coming in April and May 2011. Record high costs of primary metals such as lead and copper are cited as part of the reason."
Supergrade
03-15-11, 18:24
Not good... ammo is heavy, gas prices sky rocketing...
Heard this a number of times in last month or two from the local toy store. Costs for materials are climbing like crazy.
We are hearing a 10% increase (in some instances).
Buy now.
C4
What happened to “what goes up, must come down”. Term must have been coined by an economically challenged individual. :rolleyes:
What happened to “what goes up, must come down”. Term must have been coined by an economically challenged individual. :rolleyes:
Gravity, not prices. Prices always go up. There is no down, just an occasional supply side error.
Nevertheless, I'm going to stock up on ammo, bullets and primers. I can't see buying cases instead of ammo, when I get enough, then I'll just use reloads, but for now, I'll stock up on ammo and reload them later.
Never buy new cases. For the cost of a case, bullet, primer and powder you can get somebody to do the work for next to nothing if you buy plinkers/practice. Then you reload.
When the cost of 1000 rounds exceeds the cost of a Hornady or Dillon progressive, I'll definitely go the reload route big time. Currently I just do it for my .243 and 6.5-06.
Supergrade
03-18-11, 06:52
When is this price increase due out? April or sooner?
From what I read..price increase starts on May 1st. I'm loading up in the next 6 weeks..plan on purchasing around 6k rounds of ammo..
Supergrade
03-18-11, 13:28
Thanks dewman, I'll have to get some by then as well.
I wonder if this will drive up the Russian prices or not.
CarbonCycles
03-18-11, 14:15
Beautiful, thanks for the headsup...time to put an order in for more 556.
anyone know what exactly is driving the increase (i.e. brass, propellant, etc?)
christcorp
03-18-11, 15:00
Beautiful, thanks for the headsup...time to put an order in for more 556.
anyone know what exactly is driving the increase (i.e. brass, propellant, etc?)
The price of Copper. China is growing their economy, and they are using/wanting a lot more copper. Copper is used in most all wiring, electronics, etc... Copper is also used to make brass. (Copper and zinc). Most bullets are also copper jacketed. Throw in the past few months of rising energy costs, and that's the reason. It's not an Obama-Scare or anything similar.
And yes, to the person who asked if it would raise the price of russian steel case ammo. The bullets are still usually copper jacketed. But being the case isn't brass, it may not go up in price as much. However; there is still transportation costs and well as supply/demand. As brass ammo prices go up, more and more will start trying steel case ammo. That's going to increase the price because of demand.
CarbonCycles
03-18-11, 15:25
Thanks for the response. I hope demand-pull economics doesn't get overly carried away like it did a few years ago...that was painful paying a "premium"
The price of Copper. China is growing their economy, and they are using/wanting a lot more copper. Copper is used in most all wiring, electronics, etc... Copper is also used to make brass. (Copper and zinc). Most bullets are also copper jacketed. Throw in the past few months of rising energy costs, and that's the reason. It's not an Obama-Scare or anything similar.
And yes, to the person who asked if it would raise the price of russian steel case ammo. The bullets are still usually copper jacketed. But being the case isn't brass, it may not go up in price as much. However; there is still transportation costs and well as supply/demand. As brass ammo prices go up, more and more will start trying steel case ammo. That's going to increase the price because of demand.
We are hearing a 10% increase (in some instances).
Buy now.
C4
Is that the general max it's going up? Or is that the minimum end?
We were already heavily stocked on ammo, all components, mags, links, drums, belts ect.
When we got wind of this we made a road trip to buy 230k+ additional rounds of various calibers and several cases of magazines.
We saved a ton of money on shipping, and the cost per round went down signifigantly by buying in bulk.
We shoot a lot, so this is not a lifetime supply by any means. But hopefully when the time comes to buy more we will have decent prices again. Certainly no guarantee on that, just wishful thinking at best.
Unfortunately some of what we bought is foreign surplus that seems to be drying up. 8mm Romanian is the main concern there.
We hit the DAG pretty hard. Not sure how long the supply of it will last either.
Wideners sent us bunch of IMI M193 that will go into a semi-permanent stash.
Supergrade
03-20-11, 13:00
Went to Cabela's yesterday and loaded up. Thanks for the heads up
snackgunner
03-21-11, 09:57
We are hearing a 10% increase (in some instances).
Buy now.
C4
With the price increases that are coming, what .223/5.56 ammo are you stocking guys up on? And where are you getting it from?
With the price increases that are coming, what .223/5.56 ammo are you stocking guys up on? And where are you getting it from?
Are you talking about "blasting" ammo or defensive ammo? We generally do not stock the cheaper "X" type ammo because there are just to many companies willing to sell it for $1 dollar's worth of profit.
For defensive ammo, we stock the Speer 24448 (my personal fav), Federal MK318 and MK319, Hornady TAP (55-75gr) and Hornady TAP Practice (55/75gr).
C4
snackgunner
03-21-11, 14:43
Are you talking about "blasting" ammo or defensive ammo? We generally do not stock the cheaper "X" type ammo because there are just to many companies willing to sell it for $1 dollar's worth of profit.
For defensive ammo, we stock the Speer 24448 (my personal fav), Federal MK318 and MK319, Hornady TAP (55-75gr) and Hornady TAP Practice (55/75gr).
C4
Sorry about that, I didnt mean to neccesarily ask you where you were getting your ammo from. I only meant to quote you because of where you wrote "buy now" and meant to ask every member of the forum here where they are buying their ammo from and what ammo they are buying. Basically that was dumb of me to quote you.
My fault.
But I am looking for mostly defensive ammo, and looking to buy in bulk before the ammo prices get out of control. Im going to check out that speer .223 you have, Ive heard good things about it.
christcorp
03-21-11, 15:15
When it comes to Defensive type ammo, I don't stock up. There are 2 trains of thought when it comes to defensive shooting.
1. Self/Home Defense: Person breaks into your house or tries to mug/rape/etc... you on the street.
2. SHTF/Red Dawn/Zombies: End of civilization as we know it. No law enforcement. We're on our own.
Let's do the 2nd one first. If this was a true scenario, then I would need/want more ammo than is financially feasible for me to buy if it was like TAP ammo. Therefor, regular FMJ type ammo would be fine. A 1000 round case is probably more than enough, and it doesn't matter what kind you buy. As long as it works fine in your gun.
As for the more realistic scenario; self/home defense. I don't believe in the "Practice with what you carry" philosophy. That is a total waste of money. If I took my handgun out shooting every weekend or so and shot 100 rounds of Golden Sabers, Hydra-Shocks, Corbons, etc... that would be a total waste of money. I go through quite a few boxes of ammo when I first buy a gun, to see what it likes. Once I know what it likes for defensive purposes, I buy a couple boxes and call it a day. E.g. 2 boxes of 20 each for each defensive pistol. If the 1:1,000,000 chance ever comes that I have to use the self defense ammo to protect myself, then once I get the gun back from the police, I will buy another box of the ammo. And it won't matter to me if it's $10, $20, $50 a box. It's one box that I'm replacing.
Even if you were semi-OCD about your ammo and felt you needed to replace your "Defensive Ammo" at least yearly, then it would still only justify having 1-2 boxes of ammo. For me; I have 2 each 20 round magazines loaded for home with Hornady TAP ammo. That's ALL the TAP ammo I own. I won't use it for zombies, Red-Dawn, etc... scenarios. And for home defense (I don't conceal carry an AR15), I don't believe that I will be needing 40 rounds of ammo.
And if worst came to worst and I didn't foresee some other imaginary possibility, 90% of my plinking ammo is Soft Point MFS 62 grain ammo. Soft Points work real well as home defense ammo. But for my self/home defense ammo, I have 2 boxes each for each gun that MAY be used for self/home defense. I don't believe in shooting my "Defense Ammo". That's why I have plinking ammo.
As for my AR15 plinking ammo, I stock up mainly on Steel case ammo. My M&P15 loves it, and I can get it for less than $5 a box. Mostly MFS 62 grain Soft Point. Some Barnaul FMJ 55 grain. Some Tula and some Wolf. ALL Steel case ammo. I also have about 400 rounds of brass PMC bronze ammo. I definitely keep a minimum of 1000 rounds for plinking on hand. Because of the prices, I have 2000 rounds on hand. But defense ammo??? Hell no. That's just wasting my money if I buy anything past 2 boxes. And at only 2 boxes for defensive purposes, i don't really care if it's $10 or $40 a box.
Sorry about that, I didnt mean to neccesarily ask you where you were getting your ammo from. I only meant to quote you because of where you wrote "buy now" and meant to ask every member of the forum here where they are buying their ammo from and what ammo they are buying. Basically that was dumb of me to quote you.
My fault.
But I am looking for mostly defensive ammo, and looking to buy in bulk before the ammo prices get out of control. Im going to check out that speer .223 you have, Ive heard good things about it.
Understand.
Well hopefully they are buying from me before I have to start raising my prices. :D
C4
When it comes to Defensive type ammo, I don't stock up. There are 2 trains of thought when it comes to defensive shooting.
1. Self/Home Defense: Person breaks into your house or tries to mug/rape/etc... you on the street.
2. SHTF/Red Dawn/Zombies: End of civilization as we know it. No law enforcement. We're on our own.
Let's do the 2nd one first. If this was a true scenario, then I would need/want more ammo than is financially feasible for me to buy if it was like TAP ammo. Therefor, regular FMJ type ammo would be fine. A 1000 round case is probably more than enough, and it doesn't matter what kind you buy. As long as it works fine in your gun.
As for the more realistic scenario; self/home defense. I don't believe in the "Practice with what you carry" philosophy. That is a total waste of money. If I took my handgun out shooting every weekend or so and shot 100 rounds of Golden Sabers, Hydra-Shocks, Corbons, etc... that would be a total waste of money. I go through quite a few boxes of ammo when I first buy a gun, to see what it likes. Once I know what it likes for defensive purposes, I buy a couple boxes and call it a day. E.g. 2 boxes of 20 each for each defensive pistol. If the 1:1,000,000 chance ever comes that I have to use the self defense ammo to protect myself, then once I get the gun back from the police, I will buy another box of the ammo. And it won't matter to me if it's $10, $20, $50 a box. It's one box that I'm replacing.
Even if you were semi-OCD about your ammo and felt you needed to replace your "Defensive Ammo" at least yearly, then it would still only justify having 1-2 boxes of ammo. For me; I have 2 each 20 round magazines loaded for home with Hornady TAP ammo. That's ALL the TAP ammo I own. I won't use it for zombies, Red-Dawn, etc... scenarios. And for home defense (I don't conceal carry an AR15), I don't believe that I will be needing 40 rounds of ammo.
And if worst came to worst and I didn't foresee some other imaginary possibility, 90% of my plinking ammo is Soft Point MFS 62 grain ammo. Soft Points work real well as home defense ammo. But for my self/home defense ammo, I have 2 boxes each for each gun that MAY be used for self/home defense. I don't believe in shooting my "Defense Ammo". That's why I have plinking ammo.
As for my AR15 plinking ammo, I stock up mainly on Steel case ammo. My M&P15 loves it, and I can get it for less than $5 a box. Mostly MFS 62 grain Soft Point. Some Barnaul FMJ 55 grain. Some Tula and some Wolf. ALL Steel case ammo. I also have about 400 rounds of brass PMC bronze ammo. I definitely keep a minimum of 1000 rounds for plinking on hand. Because of the prices, I have 2000 rounds on hand. But defense ammo??? Hell no. That's just wasting my money if I buy anything past 2 boxes. And at only 2 boxes for defensive purposes, i don't really care if it's $10 or $40 a box.
I was talking to an Ammo dealer friend awhile back with this very same question. "Which ammo to stock up on?" My thought was like yours, focus on the cheaper stuff. After my convo with him, I changed my mind.
Typically, the "good stuff" (HG or Rifle ammo) is generally the hardest to get, commands the most money on resale and is usually the first to go up in price.
So I am now buying up the "good stuff" to hoard.
C4
So I am now buying up the "good stuff" to hoard.
C4
If you run out of places to put all of your hoarded ammo, please feel free to send it to me for safe storage.
I realize that the announcement from ATK is very real as is the increased cost of raw materials. That being said I hope we don't create more of problem than need be by stocking up--like the great ammo shortage of 09 :)
If you run out of places to put all of your hoarded ammo, please feel free to send it to me for safe storage.
I realize that the announcement from ATK is very real as is the increased cost of raw materials. That being said I hope we don't create more of problem than need be by stocking up--like the great ammo shortage of 09 :)
Uhm, ok. Go outside and wait by your mailbox for the ammo to be delivered. :sarcastic:
I am already finding it hard to get certain ammo. So I think it has already started.
C4
Just hit up Wideners for 1K PRVI M193 and 1K PRVI 75 gr match. Had good results from both in my 1/7 and 1/8 twist rifles.
Just ordered 400 XM855 from PSA. Also got 100 TulAmmo 55gr locally for $4.75/20. I've been stocking up on S&P9mm and Magtech 45acp FMJ.
Getting ready to get a progressive press too. since I have 1000+ of 5.56 ammo and once-fired and quite a bit of 9mm and 45acp brass I think I can get by on that. I still need to stock up on 7.62x39 since my goto second might change to an AK-47 and I have less than 800. Primary is a BCM 16" middie BCM with Magpul BPS backup plastic sight). Looking at an Aimpoint PRO for the BCM if I can get one (retired AF, not LE). If that doesn't work, Primary Arms T1 or M3 clone.
I'm not an "operator", just worried.
Don't forget "normal-capacity" magazines just in case..
Next payday, more ammo.
I've been working with a number of ammo manufacturers and pretty much everybody is feeling the heat on costs for raw materials. This seems to be the real driver behind the price increases although certain companies are trying their best to hold the line.
And I agree with Grant, best to purchase the higher quality as they are not manufactured in the same quantity as the plinker ammo.
I'd also project that things will slow down beginning in April after price increases have pretty much taken effect across the board. The announcement for price increases beginning Jan 1 has cause a bit of a buying surge that is finally being felt back at the manufacturers. With price increases already here, I suspect that from April on, availability will improve.
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