Ammo Prices going up another 50% in next 4months --> true

[lrb111]

Blazer Brass in 45ACP was 19.99 per 50 this morning at Gander Mountain. The UMC 250 Rd was $89.99......

A week ago the 250 UMC .45 was $69.95 at Acadamy. I've been trying to stock up.

[Right2Carry]

Blazer Brass in 45ACP was 19.99 per 50 this morning at Gander Mountain. The UMC 250 Rd was $89.99......

Blazer Brass in .45 acp is 10.87 at wally world for 50.

[The Raven]

Personally, I was hoping that prices had peaked. I haven't shot steadily in years, but this year my wife and I decided to get CHL. I had to make multiple trips to the range to get my wife comfortable before class, and I began to wonder whether or not I was going to be able to afford it.

I have been trying to decide on a new carry gun, and honestly I find myself factoring in 9mm just so that I can afford to practice. Feeding my Glock 21 is not fun. I am going to have to brush up on my rock throwing if ammo prices keep going up.

Later.

[ShootingStar]

I talked to an owner of an indoor range in the Houston area who told me that the Chinese are buying up all the scrap metal they can get their hands on. He sells the left-over brass to a recycler who sells it to whoever pays the most.

As someone else said, fuel prices always add to the cost because of the weight of ammunition. It might be good idea to stock up while you can since fuel prices are going up as we speak. If you can't find loaded ammuntion, buy bullets in bulk. I just bought some from Precision Bullets for the about the same price as the local gun store sells them for. These are the polymer coated ones mentioned in a previous post. They don't smoke much and are much cleaner than regular lead bullets. Also, the polymer is easier on your barrel than copper jacketed or lead I'm sure. So far I really like them.

As for reloading semi-auto, yea it's a pain, but if prices are high enough, it's worth it. I practice with what I reload and save the other stuff. Even if you don't reload now, save your brass now in case later it becomes feasible for you. Even if you don't use it, you can always trade it.

-SS

[Jason73]

blame ammo prices on China:

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., the world's second-biggest copper producer, and other leading mining companies say demand from China will soak up scarce supplies of the metal and buoy prices.

``China will be a strong consumer of copper for years to come,'' Freeport Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson said yesterday in an interview in Santiago.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... in_america

[Skiprr]

''China will be a strong consumer of copper for years to come,'' Freeport Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson said yesterday in an interview in Santiago.

This is disheartening. I figure my .45ACP factory, FMJ, regular-shootin' ammo (not defensive rounds) costs me about 30 cents per shot, give or take a couple of pennies.

So let's do away with pennies. Our useless Lincolns (no besmirch meant to the past President) are alloys, but they still consume a huge volume of new-mint U.S. copper each year.

Not a new idea. But if we didn't have this carryover from the 19th century that serves now only as a rounding error in retail transactions, how much copper could we conserve for more important things...like bullets. (I'm only half joking...)

[Skiprr]

Just an FYI if anyone is interested. I found Sellier & Bellot .45ACP FMJ at Sportsman's Guide for $10.90 per 50 (I think it's just a bit higher if you don't belong to their "buyer's club"). I didn't see the ammo from browsing their Website, so it may be a catalog-only special thing: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=334248. The S&B isn't the best in the world, and its primer is on the hard side, but all in all I put their .45ACP on par with Magtech, and it seems a little cleaner than Winchester WB. So I ordered two cases. UPS Ground shipping from Minnesota was $19.99, and I had a $5 off coupon. So I'm getting two cases at, net cost, 22.55 cents per round.

[ejector]

Hi guys,

I'm new here, so please excuse me if this has been mentioned before.

I was in Academy this morning looking at 9mm Blazer for $6.87/50rounds, the man behind the counter warned me that his friend at Winchester mentioned "Ammo will go up another 50% in the next four months because of Red China".

Anyone know if this is true - ammo going up 50% in the next four months?

I just read the following in the dallas morning news.. it's been 4 months, intereting this came up right now..
Price of ammo to shoot up
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... f6a54.html

Rising dairy and oil prices grab the attention of shoppers and motorists. But the increasing price of ammunition – a consumer product the government considers when calculating the rate of inflation – has largely gone unnoticed.

The price increases began after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, then were compounded by a double whammy: the war in Iraq, which pushed up overall demand, and growing industrial powers such as China, which bid up the cost of needed raw materials.

The impact is widespread:

•Ammunition dealers complain of declining sales as they are forced to pass along rising costs to consumers.

•Hunters and gun enthusiasts, who initially stockpiled ammunition when prices spiked, are now making more of their own or shooting less.

•And police departments in the Dallas area are experiencing long delays in shipments and having to adjust training schedules accordingly.

"It's no good to have the gun without the ammunition," said Ken Mitchell, an ammunition dealer in Justin.

Manufacturers dramatically ramped up production after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, producing about 1.5 billion rounds last year – more than 3 ½ times the number manufactured in 2001, said Gale Smith, a spokeswoman for the Army's Joint Munitions Command Center in Rock Island, Ill.

But they struggle to keep up with the demand as troop deployments continue in the Middle East. Military spending on small-caliber ammunition increased from $242 million in 2001 to $688 million in 2006.

The ammunition business is also feeling the pinch because of the rising price of global commodities such as copper, brass, nickel, steel and lead.

For instance, China's torrent of construction has added to its manufacturing capacity. And the country is hungry for resources to feed its growth. The components needed to manufacture ammunition are also used for laying power lines and adding buildings to wider skylines.

"We were paying $1 a pound for copper two years ago. Now we're paying $3 per pound," said Brian Grace, a spokesman for Minnesota-based Alliant Techsystems, the military's biggest producer of small-caliber ammunition. "Not all the costs are being passed on. We've tried to soften the blow with supply chain management and improved efficiency."

Despite those efforts, dealers, hunters and law enforcement officers are feeling squeezed.


Stockpiling

Mr. Mitchell estimates that the volume of his ammo sales, which make up about half of his business, has dropped by more than half in the past two years.

Certain rounds, such as .223-caliber, used in the Army's M-16 and law enforcement's AR-15, have become increasingly difficult to find in the civilian market. Supplies of the .308 cartridge, the standard round for NATO and a favorite of hunters for its deadly effectiveness, have also tightened.

Some calibers cost only 10 percent more than a year ago; other varieties have more than doubled in price.

When prices started to rise, savvy gun owners stockpiled all they could get, sending prices even higher. Now dealers say that as soon as new supplies come in, customers snap them up.

"It doesn't matter if it's 50 cents or $3, whatever's cheapest gets bought up quick," said Robby Rucker, a manager at Southwest Ammunition Supply in Mesquite.

He said his wholesalers raise their prices from 3 percent to 10 percent each quarter. He expects more price increases in September.

That's a problem for Karl Pifer of Granbury, who specializes in manufacturing designer ammunition that costs more but performs better.

"The market is moving toward lower-quality and lower-cost ammunition that gets mass produced," said Mr. Pifer, owner of KC Precision Ballistics. "I try to stick with the prices I've got, but when they go up, it's hard. It hits me before it hits the customers."

When Mr. Pifer received a catalog in the mail last month for materials, he rushed online to place orders on the good deals. But he was too late. An e-mail in his inbox alerted him that prices had gone up since the catalog was distributed. It was, he said, the fourth increase in eight months.

Prices of factory-produced ammunition – and increased surcharges for shipping and handling – have gotten so high that more hunters are making their own in a process called hand loading.

"Guys on a budget are going back to hand loading with the price of ammo doing what it is," said Dallas resident Noel Hutcheson, 71, a retired stockbroker who hunts quail and ducks.

Sales of ammunition components such as empty cartridges and primers have grown at Mr. Rucker's family-run store each time retail prices for ready-to-use ammunition have gone up.

But do-it-yourself ammunition production isn't cheap either. Someone making his own shotgun shells is going to spend roughly a third more than last year on supplies, said Don Snyder, executive director of the National Skeet Shooting Association and the National Sporting Clays Association.

"There are some people who are shooting less," said Mr. Snyder of San Antonio, whose two groups have about 3,000 members in Texas. "It's just an additional cost to compete and enjoy our sport. There are a lot of people that jump in and pay the tariff and do it."


Must-have item

No matter what the cost, the police need to pay. Law enforcement demand for ammunition grew after 9/11 as departments increased their officers' live fire training.

Several police officials said they are paying more for ammunition and experiencing delays for shipments.

But everyone from Fort Worth to Carrollton insists that public safety has not been compromised. Of eight departments surveyed, none has resorted to giving deputies fewer bullets or pulling guns out of service.

The Dallas Police Department, which spends roughly $500,000 annually on ammunition for about 3,000 officers, used to have orders filled in six weeks. Now it takes six to nine months, said Sgt. Paul Stanford, range master for the department.

The ammunition used in patrol rifles, identical to what the military needs, costs 35 percent more than two years ago, Sgt. Stanford said, rising from $84 a case to $114 a case.

And a case of 9 mm rounds, the standard for Dallas Police Department service weapons, costs 10 percent more than two years ago – going from $98.75 in 2005 to $108.15.

The impact on smaller departments, which often don't have a special relationship with wholesalers, can be even greater.

In Hurst, which has 72 officers, Assistant Chief Richard Winstanley needs to plan a year or more ahead for what his staff might need. He has to be especially proactive to keep .223 rounds in stock.

"We have to be patient," Chief Winstanley said. "Some training has to be put off until we receive the items."

While the police and other gun owners hope prices come down, they are adjusting to the reality of costlier ammunition.

"We're still buying bullets because we don't have any choice," Dallas' Sgt. Stanford said. "It's like gas. You have to absorb the cost."

[lawrnk]

According to the Dallas newspaper, big jumps ahead.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... f6a54.html

[Taz65TX]

I picked up some ammo the other night at Wal-Mart. The clerk there said as long as our troops are leaving ammo brass in other country, the ammo cost will go up.

[killerfly128]

Blazer Brass in 45ACP was 19.99 per 50 this morning at Gander Mountain. The UMC 250 Rd was $89.99......

My god am i spoiled .... Blazer Brass is 9.48 at my local wal mart ... I am gonna have to stock up i think

[Hamourkiller]

Every one needs to remember this, when the prices eventualy drop, stock up like no tomorrows. When SKS ammo from China was less than a hundred per 1100 rd case I spent 200 per paycheck until I had ten plus cases. Corrosive but shoots well in the $90 SKS's from Chinna.
Blue Star Cartridge at one time had tens of thousands of pulled Remington Core locks for sale. Around $3 to $4 per hundred. I bought 150 and 180 gr 30-06 bullets and 170gr 30-30 bullets. Plus by buying these in volume I got a good price on non pulled bullets as well.
Needless to say I will die of old age before I run out and my children will inherit.
When this stuff gets cheap again buy it up! It always goes in cycles. I learned the hardway after Vietnam and did not pick up the 30-06, 308 Nato 45ACP and M1- Carbine ammo that was packed in barrels at every gun store. So remember this pain and when pricess fall again stock up.

Right now one good source of ammo is the CMP, they have Greek M2 Ball at 26cents/round. The Greek brass is first class and easily reloadable and is non corrosive. 31 cents/round gets you the ammo loaded on M1 enbloc clips. Do a price check on once fired or new 30-06 brass vs the cost of this ammo. Shoot this stuff then reload the brass.

192rds on clips in a spam can delivered is $57
240rds in 20 rd boxes in a spam can delivered is $64

Good luck and good shooting.

[AFJailor]

heh, the price of Ammo goes up because the Military shoots it all, you should SEE the amount of ammo we use every year just for Qualifications.
Between the MK-19, M-2, M-9, M-4, M-203, M-249 and the M-240B we shoot a whole lot of rounds.

Also my local gun dealer up here in Nodak land told me Sep. 1st ammo will go up 15%, then november 1st another 15% and then february 1st another 11-15%. He's a pretty well-informed guy so Im pretty sure we will be seeing a sharp increase in prices in the next 6 months or so. He said that it had something to do with the price of lead increasing or some such.

[carlson1]

My last little ammo buy was $7.86 a box for Winchester 9mm. I thought was a decent price, so I stocked up. I do not reload and so I have had to make sure I have plenty on hand.