Why Ammo is so Expensive These Days

[Mauser88 0]

1980s: Domestic ammo was widely available but not particularly cheap, with the exception of military surplus, which was plentiful. If you shot common US military calibers, you could get surplus ammo cheap. Imported ammo was also cheap in the calibers that were available, but not a whole lot of .223 and .308 was available.

 

1990s: The Soviet Union effectively disintegrated at the end of the 80s, and by the early 90s, ammo importers were scouring the world for surplus ammo, which was available in HUGE quantities as militaries on both sides scaled way back and then modernized, abandoning older calibers and weapons, which were sold for much-needed cash. Surplus imported ammo FLOODED the US market, and ammo prices for most calibers plummeted. Even the domestic manufacturers introduced bargain lines of FMJ ammo (most of it being large batches of QC rejects from military-contract ammo runs) at low prices. But there were a couple of down notes: Chinese ammo was banned in the early 90s, mostly cutting off the cheap AK ammo, and in 1997, Clinton signed a law preventing surplus US military ammo from being sold on the civilian market. Still, ammo was abundant and cheap.

 

2000s: From about mid-98 to spring of 2000, ammo prices went up and was selling in absolute record quantities due to fears around the "Y2K bug". Most calibers were still readily available in quantity due to the massive volume of post-Cold War imported surplus that was still coming in. But the best ammo started running out, and starting around 2001, the quality of the imported ammo started to fall, and some formerly-common calibers, such as .303 British, began to dry up. In early 2001, I started posting for the first time that people should consider putting some of the good ammo aside and shoot up their worst ammo instead. Many listened, but many others continue to bump-fire high-quality ammo into berms by the caseload every weekend, insisting that "there will always be plenty of cheap ammo."

 

9/11/01: The attacks set in motion some massive changes in US policy, but we didn't really start seeing the effects in the gun world until the end of 2002. Our military was sent to Afghanistan and then Iraq, and just as significantly, HUGE amounts of money were made available to police departments and federal agencies to upgrade their weapons (read: buy ARs) and training (read: shoot a bunch of ammo). This happened right around the time that all that post-Cold-War surplus that we'd been shooting for a decade was finally beginning to dry up. And there was no question that the US ammo manufacturers, including the government's single remaining ammo plant, Lake City, were totally unprepared for the rise in demand for military ammo, which OCTUPLED in less than a year. Not only did virtually all domestic ammo manufacturing get immediately redirected to military contracts, but the US military had to buy foreign ammo as well just to meet US military demand. And the US was far from the only country involved in the war. Ammo plants across the world started getting huge orders for military ammo, even from countries that weren't directly involved in Afghanistan or Iraq. The 9/11 attacks destabilized the whole world, and every country decided to spend some money on weapons and ammo.

 

By 2003, most of the imported surplus was gone, domestic ammo was being largely redirected, and new-production imports were also being redirected for military use. And after a decade of the AW ban spurring people into action, the number of US civilians who had mag-fed military-pattern rifles had grown by orders of magnitude, creating a huge demand for ammo. The fact that metals prices went through the roof a couple of years later didn't help, but that really was only a small contributing factor in the equation.

 

What it came down to was this:

 

Ammo manufacturers, foreign and domestic, prioritize their customers in 3 tiers:

 

Tier 1

[Maksim 1,504]

Very good summary. Moral of the story.... buy the components and reload. =)

 

Or use a slingshot or bbgun.

[rscalzo 3]

Components have rising along with everything else. The box of primers that was $23.00 last year is now $34.00. Bullets have risen an equal amount even though the prices of the raw material has dropped significantly. The only component not going up that much has been powder.

 

Up here the prices of ammo hasn't actually risen. The popular spot for ammo is Wal-mart and their bulk packs of Winchester and Dicks. Neither raised prices very much at all. The problem is everyone, mainly small dealers coming in and buying the entire stock and repricing it at a much higher price. Some pricing is not justified by the dealer cost. but supply and demand in a free market allows it. If you want it and are willing to pay the price...go right ahead.

 

HUGE amounts of money were made available to police departments and federal agencies to upgrade their weapons

While large amounts of funding was made available, little of none was provided to buy firearms. Nor was training affected all that much If it was, the fully stocked shelves of the dealers would have been empty in 2002. but they were not. the same for the military usage. Talk to someone just returning and you will find that the round count was almost nil during their tour. again, the shortage happen in 03, 05, 05, 06,07 or even early 08? Nope. The panic started late 08. Production is the same, usage probably down so where is it going? In someone's basement where they will store it in hiding unwilling to use it. Now that makes sense. Not going to shoot it but I have to have it? For what? A profit later down the road? Doubt it. People are still trying to dump the stuff they bought at inflated prices from the Y2K scare.

 

About ti only accurate assessment is the military surplus ammo situation. Outside of 06 HXP, their isn't much at all. Some filters down but it seems most has stopped. One of the biggest causes was the demise of Talon that demilled ammo but was put out of business after it was learned that they were violating numerous terms of their contract and had a few high profile accidents. there gos all the surplus components, brass and powder that so many were buying up...myself included. Those items were used to reassemble much of the surplus finding its way to the shooting public.

[Lublin 3]

Being in the manufacturing business, raw materials are up. Strangely, scrap is down. :evil:

[Scottcba1 8]

I was just doing some online shopping. You can find some good deals when buying in bulk( IE: 250rounds or higher) but almost everything in 9mm is back ordered. Some only 2weeks but some were as far off as 10 weeks.

 

-Scott

[Mauser88 0]

Makes me glad I'm sitting on 15,000 rounds of 9mm

[rscalzo 3]

I'm sitting on 15,000 rounds of 9mm

Don't fart...

[Lublin 3]

I'm sitting on 15,000 rounds of 9mm

Don't fart...