Ammunition: Who is making the $? Who is price gouging?

[PracticalRifleman]

My question is where is it all going? I'm hearing companies are putting out record amounts, but it seams like it's just getting dumped into a black hole or something. I remember sandy hook, and ammo was actually available but just at ridiculous prices. Now it's just gone.

My local shop will get a pallet of 9mm in. Limit to one box per customer, then it’s gone in a day.


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[grizzlyblake]

I understand the OPs question.

Everything else aside who is making the bigger margin now? Are the manufacturers selling to distributors at the higher price? If so, what is, say, Federal doing with an extra $700/case of 556? Are they still netting the same margin because labor and materials are costing them so much more?

[Bulletdog]

I'm working in Georgia right now. There is plenty of 9mm to be had if you are willing to spend $50 for 20 rounds. The local gun show had 9mm at almost every booth for $1 per round for cheap-o target ammo. 115gr fmj. One guy had an industrial sized drum of it for sale. 15,000 rounds for $15,000. He was even willing to throw in the old rusty dolly to make the deal.

There doesn't seem to be a shortage. There does seem to be ridiculously high price gouging. There is an Academy right down the street from my hotel. After reading this thread, I'll be going there tomorrow to see what day is ammo day and what time I have to be there to get 9mm at a reasonable price.

To Steyr's point, I'm all stocked up on every caliber, so I have no need of 9mm at these elevated prices, but I am wondering when the prices will drop back down to something more reasonable. It really sucks that an affordable ammo supply is now a factor in my decision to go practice at the range or not. Admittedly, there has been more dry-fire practice at home than usual for me. I have a lot stocked up, but at some point I will need to buy more. $15 to empty one mag on a G19 is not a proposition I'm looking forward to.

The criminals that have taken over our government against our will will stop at nothing to get the guns out of our hands. They are playing the long game and preventing a new generation of shooters from coming of age due to skyrocketing ammo prices is well within the realm of what they will stoop to. If you are not suspicious of things like this, you are doing it wrong.

[morbidbattlecry]

My local shop will get a pallet of 9mm in. Limit to one box per customer, then it’s gone in a day.


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It's crazy man. Sandy Hook was nothing like this.

[SteyrAUG]

My question is where is it all going? I'm hearing companies are putting out record amounts, but it seams like it's just getting dumped into a black hole or something. I remember sandy hook, and ammo was actually available but just at ridiculous prices. Now it's just gone.

Easy actually.

First BIG NAME DISTRIBUTORS, those who order more in a single year than you will in a lifetime. They are at the front of the line and sometimes they "BUY IT ALL." And then you have to buy from them bitching the entire time because their prices are outrageous.

Next BIG NAME STORES where neckbeards with no jobs promptly group text their buying crew and clean out shelves within the hour despite any "two boxes per customer" limit and it's for sale on GB by the end of the day.

And on an on it goes until supply finally catches up with dramatic demand which can take awhile. Then ordinary LGS locations stock ammo and people scoff and say "Where were you when I needed you" and "Panic is over why isn't this crap discounted 50% off retail?"

And so it goes. Those with a clue factor in two to 5 boxes a month, every month and come the next panic buy they will be sitting on a respectful ammo reserve.

I got caught in ONE magazine supply shortage when anything over 10 rounds couldn't be made for sale from 1994 to 2004, I promptly went about correcting that. At one time I had over 1,000 AR magazines, not in inventory but personal stash. Well over 500 G19 and G17 mags. 1,200 HK G3 mags, a few hundred MP5 mags, a couple hundred HK 93/33 mags and when they had them below $10 I probably grabbed almost 1,000 Uzi mags. I pretty much have all the mags I'll ever need for all of my firearms for the rest of my life if they suddenly stopped making ALL magazines tomorrow.

That's the plan, I don't give a shit what they pass. I went without new cars, new cell phones and a bunch of other crap to secure the shit I need. I have reserves of ammo but I did blow through most of my training ammo that will need to be replenished because I don't dip into my reserves.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

My question is where is it all going? I'm hearing companies are putting out record amounts, but it seams like it's just getting dumped into a black hole or something. I remember sandy hook, and ammo was actually available but just at ridiculous prices. Now it's just gone.

I do have trouble with this too, but I think it was one of the ammo manufacturers that put in context of gun owners or guns and boxes of ammo sold per year. We all here go through thousands of round a year. Most gun owners go through MAYBE a box a year. I bet 20% of gun owners never get through the first box of ammo they buy. So in 2019 all it takes is the 5 million new gun owners and a portion of standard gun owners to buy just a couple of extra boxes and SCHHHHHuuuuck- that is the sound of ammo disappearing from the shelves, which drives people to want it more. I also wonder if the online sales of 500-1000 round boxes leads to people buying more than if they went to the store and bough it by 20/50 round boxes.

[GH41]

I do have trouble with this too, but I think it was one of the ammo manufacturers that put in context of gun owners or guns and boxes of ammo sold per year. We all here go through thousands of round a year. Most gun owners go through MAYBE a box a year. I bet 20% of gun owners never get through the first box of ammo they buy. So in 2019 all it takes is the 5 million new gun owners and a portion of standard gun owners to buy just a couple of extra boxes and SCHHHHHuuuuck- that is the sound of ammo disappearing from the shelves, which drives people to want it more. I also wonder if the online sales of 500-1000 round boxes leads to people buying more than if they went to the store and bough it by 20/50 round boxes.

This^^ with one exception... I'll bet the real number of new buyers who never shoot a single round is more like 80%.

[PracticalRifleman]

Only people gouging are the old shyt stains that hang out in Academy parking lots buying regular priced ammo as soon as it’s placed in the shelf, with the intention of reselling if online.


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[Bulletdog]

Only people gouging are the old shyt stains that hang out in Academy parking lots buying regular priced ammo as soon as it’s placed in the shelf, with the intention of reselling if online.

But that is the question in this thread. Why is Academy the only place anyone here has seen selling ammo for "regular" prices? Are the retailers having to pay the wholesalers two to three times, or five to ten times, the normal price to buy it, and then passing those costs on to customers? Are the distributors jacking up the prices on the wholesalers? Are the manufacturers having to pay more for the raw materials and passing on those costs? Are the raw material suppliers getting jacked by their suppliers? Gas prices aren't up, so we can't blame it on that. With all the covid layoffs and shut downs, there are plenty of people who are happy to be paid to handle and deliver all the stuff in every step of the process, so no shortage of employable people to do the job. Cardboard, plastic and printing prices haven't changed, so it isn't the packaging that is costing more.

Somebody somewhere in this supply chain, or a combination of somebodies, has made 9mm go from .20 cents a round to over $1 per round in a very short space of time. It doesn't suddenly cost 500% more to make it, package it, or deliver it, so why is it costing 500% more to buy it? Who is making that extra money? When will supply catch up with demand?

[ChattanoogaPhil]

The answer is the retailer or end-seller is where the huge spikes in price are, and drives availability. Below are glaring examples.

500rd box of Winchester M-22 22LR.

CTD = $249 In stock.
Optics planet = $149 You can place a backorder.
Midway = $41 Out of stock.

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Best I can tell the so-called ammo shortage isn't being driven by consumption. During the pandemic our club has been far less active. In general, I think the ammo supply has mostly moved from retail shelves to consumer storage.